UTK Special 10/30/25
World Series notes and more
I will start with an invitation. I’ve been using a new app called Fanarchy and loving it. It’s basically a pure sports social network focused on team fandoms. To vastly oversimplify, it’s a better sports Twitter. You might be thinking “I don’t need another social network. I don’t need another app.” The thing is, in all spaces, you make room for something better. No one is nostalgic for MySpace. No one gets tattoos of Slack’s logo. Fanarchy has taken out almost all the pain points and made a solid experience for fans to interact during games and during the downtime. You can download the app for iOS at the App Store and for Game 6, I’ll be participating in the game thread. Here’s a link for that, if you’d like to stop in and watch what could be the deciding game.
* There’s a narrative being spun around George Springer. While it’s a minor oblique strain on the right side, this is a definite “if it was the playoffs” moment. Any other time, he’d be off. Instead, John Schneider’s tendencies combine with timing and narrative to make Dave Roberts and the Dodgers at least account for Springer’s presence. They noted on the Fox pregame that allowing Bo Bichette to DH helps and adds to the defense, but my guess is it isn’t a pure even trade, while Andres Gimenez’s heater is making the actual values closer. But could Springer play? Close sources are keeping their mouths shut mostly, but of what we know, the answer is no, not yet. He could have pinch ran, maybe pinch hit in an absolute emergency, but that never came in Game 5. With the off-day and another afternoon of treatment, Springer will test it and have every chance to play, though the same things are in play. If he goes out there leadoff and has to come out, that’s worse than having him on the bench as a what if and if needed. Late indications are that they’ll try it (yep, official), but there is real downside here.
* Lots of questions about Trey Yesavage’s workload. Yes, he’s deeper and yes, he’s over the number the Jays wanted to have him at, but no one planned all this out. It’s the World Series, he’s pitching well, and if you want to talk workload, I’m just going to point at the strikeouts and the win and shrug. No one talks about rational workload more than me, but if he can’t lift the World Series trophy because his arm is too tired, so be it. Yesavage already had some injury concerns with his shoulder coming in to last year’s draft, so is he risky next year? Yes, but his heavy workload will be a known then. I have no issue with how he’s being used and I’m sure he doesn’t either. Oddly, he’ll be rookie eligible next season!
* I do not love having a game on Halloween. I like November less, even with weather not a factor for most of these playoffs. When they scheduled it, they didn’t know that, but they did know kids would be out trick or treating or whatever while parents would be up and down answering the door and giving out “fun size” sugar bombs. I don’t think Monday Night Football (or Sunday for that matter) is worth dodging any more, so travel days could be anywhere. At some point, cutting back to 154 games makes sense and doesn’t completely mess with records. Sure, Cal Raleigh wouldn’t have gotten to 60, but 58 is still historic and matches what Mickey Mantle played if you need the tradition hook. I’d be good with less - 140-something? - but it does mess a bit with career numbers, though the changes in the game itself make those unlikely.
* Speaking of career numbers, Aaron Judge is age-34 next season and has 368 career homers. I ran some Favorite Toy calculations and being conservative with an estimate of 45 homers per year, he gets just shy of 600 in five years. He’d be comfortably over it in six, when his current Yankee deal is up and if he’s hitting 45 home runs then (age-39), someone’s signing him and it’s probably the Yankees. 600 feels almost assured, but remember his forearm issue, his toe issue, and the wear and tear of those 162 games and playoff runs. My calculations have 600 at about 50 percent, 700 at 20 percent, and catching Bonds? 9 percent.
* John Smoltz made an interesting extended point during G4, discussing how Shohei Ohtani doesn’t get the same preparation, as well as in-game rest, as other pitchers. He discussed how he doesn’t get to watch or chart the day before, how he doesn’t go through the same reports (which I doubt), and even his routine is compromised. My mind went the other way. While I’ve often discussed that I think two-way players have exceptional value and should be encouraged instead of killed by drafting teams, maybe this says more about starting pitchers. Do these extended routines and five day rotations help? Even the complex, hours long warmups these guys do often don’t make much sense to me. If nothing else, it’s far too one-size-fits-all on workload and Ohtani shows us it doesn’t have to be that way.
* I realize I’m pot committed on saying that Ohtani could relieve, but after G4, he was saying it too. I don’t think he really needs “redemption” but the bullpen needs innings and Ohtani’s odd schedule makes it possible to do what would be his side work in-game. There’s a question of fatigue and of whatever’s holding his elbow together now - no, its’ never been detailed - but with nothing but rest behind a potential G7, I have to think Ohtani will present himself for consideration and it’s going to be very hard to look at whatever’s left in the Dodgers pen and not think Ohtani is better. There are DH complications, so coming in late is a must and extra innings could be a real issue. ESPN’s discussion about Ohtani as opener makes a TON of sense.
* Some are saying there’s slow movement on the manager and GM front, but teams are told to stay out of the way of the playoffs. Quiet leaks for Craig Albernaz to the Orioles and Derek Shelton to the Twins show that there’s behind the scenes progress, but several jobs are waiting on people from playoff teams, as happened last year with fewer openings. The Nats are ready to make Blake Butera their next manager. It’s a bold move, given he was a Rays 2015 draftee who’s never coached at the major league level, but the Nats will have a 35 and 33 year old running the front office and the dugout next season. Those numbers don’t even add up to Mark Lerner’s age! (72)
* Mike Maddux leaving the Rangers for the Angels is an interesting move, given the relative strengths of the pitching staff. Maddux won’t have much to work with yet and comes in with a new manager that should have ideas about handling a pitching staff, given that was Kurt Suzuki’s strength as a player.