Baseball fans, prepare yourselves. Graham Wexler is back, and apparently talking in the third person, and he’s posting his mock draft—pick by pick, team by team, and mercilessly honest. “This isn’t going to be a gentle stroll through your local ballpark,” Wexler warned. “Expect picks that make GMs sweat, analysts groan, and Twitter explode. If you’re attached to your favorite prospect, maybe look away. Or don’t. I thrive on...
Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona Diamondbacks — Two Writers, Two Worldviews, One Trophy on the Line With the World Series looming, we asked our two most opinionated columnists — Jack Fairchild and Kate Prescott — to break down what really matters in this showdown between the Cincinnati Reds and the Arizona Diamondbacks. What followed was less of a “joint analysis” and more of a spirited argument conducted through very sharp keyboards....
There’s no denying it: the Cincinnati Reds look like they’ve strapped a jet engine to the back of their lineup and decided to test FAA regulations. They’re loud, they’re explosive, and they’re coming into the World Series with the subtlety of an airhorn in a library. But the World Series is never just about who hits the hardest.It’s about who bends without breaking.It’s about who can take a punch, steady themselves, and answer...
There’s something magical about a baseball team that figures itself out at the exact right moment. The Cincinnati Reds didn’t just “get hot” this postseason — they achieved a full personality transformation. They became loud. They became aggressive. They became the kind of baseball team that doesn’t care who you are, how many games you won, or what the metrics say. They simply step onto the field and make your day considerably...
I pride myself on being a reasonably grounded analyst. I do the homework. I run the numbers. I check the matchups twice, sometimes three times if there’s coffee involved. And still — still — none of that prepared me for what the Arizona Diamondbacks just did to the Washington Senators. A sweep was not outside the realm of possibility.But this sweep?This was something else entirely. Let’s break down what happened and why my prediction...
Well, folks… I’ve said a lot of things over the years — some bold, some questionable, and at least one that got me banned from a barbecue joint in Tulsa — but rarely has a team made me eat my own words this fast. I predicted a war between Cincinnati and St. Louis.What I got was Cincinnati rolling up in a tank and flattening everything in red and white. Let’s break down the carnage. Game 1: Mussina Declares the Stadium Closed Reds 8,...
One season ago, Mike Stanley was carving out his legacy as the cagey, postseason-tested heartbeat of the Washington Senators. He looked every bit the franchise legend in the making. And yet—plot twist we all absolutely saw coming—he’d already been quietly shipped off in a budget-dump to the Boston Red Sox. Washington happily rode his heroics to a World Series, then tossed him aside the moment trading opened, like he was yesterday’s...
Washington Senators vs. Arizona Diamondbacks October is a truth-teller. It strips away reputation, payroll, preseason predictions — all of it — until only the strongest teams remain. And this year, the United League offers the most compelling contrast imaginable:the unstoppable Washington Senators, and the resilient, sharp-edged Arizona Diamondbacks, fresh off a grueling seven-game escape. Where Jack Fairchild revels in the chaos of the...
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Cincinnati Reds By Jack Fairchild October baseball doesn’t always give us the matchup we want — but this year, it might’ve given us the one we deserve. The St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds arrive in the Federal League Championship Series battered, tested, and emboldened by seven-game wars that revealed as much about their flaws as their strengths. And now?Two clubs separated by just four regular-season wins...
The opening round of the 1996 DBL postseason delivered everything fans could hope for — heartbreak, heroics, blowouts, shutouts, and three unforgettable winner-take-all Game 7’s. When the dust finally settled, four clubs stood tall: St. Louis, Cincinnati, Washington, and Arizona. Together, they move on to the League Championship Series with their World Series dreams still burning. FEDERAL LEAGUE — Chaos in the Heartland Cardinals Survive...