Do you know how fun it was to type those first 4 words? Braves World Series Roster. Wow. It’s been over 2 decades since the last time we’ve been presented that opportunity and I’ll not let the chance go by without giving my hope that the Braves will be BOLD with their 26. Adding to that, the Braves are +120 to win on Betway (so get your bets in here). First, we’ll take a look at the locks for the roster, assuming health, and will then look at some of the players that have shown they belong and some that have shown little semblance they belong.
Braves World Series Roster: The Guaranteed
- Ian Anderson
- Jesse Chavez
- Max Fried
- Luke Jackson
- Tyler Matzek (did you know he was out of baseball for 5 years with performance anxiety?)
- A.J. Minter
- Charlie Morton
- Will Smith
- Drew Smyly
- Travis d’Arnaud
- Ozzie Albies
- Freddie Freeman
- Austin Riley
- Dansby Swanson
- Ehire Adrianza
- Adam Duvall
- Joc Pederson
- Eddie Rosario
- Jorge Soler
Breakdown: I could’ve probably included a few more, but looking at this list, these are the players that have made an impact on the games(Luke Jackson, an exception) and will definitely be part of the next round, heath intact. This leaves us with 7 ? for the Braves World Series Roster and while many might seem obvious, I’m not 100% sold they are at this point.
A Look at the Asstros Strengths
No, that’s not a typo. Yes, they’re the Asstros and the whole world outside of Houston is rooting for the Braves. The Astros are a good hitting club and while their season splits are slightly different, it’s likely not enough for the Braves to change their approach:
- LHBs vs. LHP: .776 OPS
- RHB vs. LHP: .834 OPS
- LHB vs. RHP: .794 OPS
- RHB vs. RHP: .754 OPS
Unlike the Dodgers , the Astros don’t really have a big split to exploit. The Braves loaded their roster with LHPs because there was an outlier statistics: The Dodgers LHBs carried a combined .701 OPS against LHPs. The closest to an outlier is the RHB vs. RHP and I think that’ll sway the Braves a little in terms of their relief choices.
Starting Rotation
With the structure of the World Series being 2 games, off day, 3 games, off day, and 2 games, the Braves can roll with Charlie Morton on Tuesday for Game 1, Max Fried on Wednesday for Game 2, Ian Anderson on Friday for Game 3, and then a 4th starter will be needed for Game 4. Sure the Braves could go with a bullpen game and that wouldn’t surprise me, but I’ve got an outside the box idea that seems plausible. That idea? Spencer Strider. With the Astros being slightly less successful against RHP, what better way to get through the first 3-4 innings in Houston than to throw a dude that’s downright filthy when right and can run it up to 100 MPH? Yes, my game 4 starter is Spencer Strider.
Regardless of whether they go with Strider or a bullpen game, the rotation can reset after game 4 and both Morton and Fried can be ready to roll in games 5 and 6 with Anderson on regular rest should he be needed for 7.
The Bullpen
In a series where 4 of 7 games are played with the DH, how do you prepare your team? My guess is we see the same structure, 14 position players and 12 pitchers. With 5 already covered above, here’s my guess for the 7 bullpen arms.
- Tyler Matzek
- Will Smith
- A.J. Minter
- Drew Smyly
- Jesse Chavez
- Luke Jackson
- Richard Rodriguez
- Touki Toussaint
Breakdown: Look, it’s a pure guess, but an educated one. Chris Martin threw the best 2 pitches of the game on Thursday night before throwing a bloody awful 0-2 pitch to Chris Taylor. Since the sticky ban, Chris Martin’s looked broken. However, so has Richard Rodriguez. It might be rearranging deck chairs, but it seems like the best guess at the current stage…and the Braves need another RHP. It’s either Touki Toussaint or Jacob Webb and Webb has failed more recently than Touki.
The Bench
Assuming that Jorge Soler is the starting DH in Houston and the primary PH in Atlanta, he takes the first bench spot. And while the Braves could very well go with only 5 bench pieces, I expect to see some specialization on our bench, or maybe a 3rd catcher (though I won’t predict that). With Ehire Adrianza, William Contreras, and Jorge Soler already locked in, let’s look at our last 3.
- Terrance Gore: Considering 4 of the 7 games likely won’t see a PH, I think we see the return of the specialist speedster.
- Guillermo Heredia: I’d like to see Cristian Pache here, but I think Snitker values Heredia’s bat more at this point, and I can’t really blame him.
- Orlando Arcia: He’s here because he can play SS and is likely a better hitter and fielder than Johan Camargo.
What are your thoughts on the roster? What have I gotten right? Wrong? Let’s hear it in the comments section.
JC’d re who leads off: Why not just have the leadoff guy chosen on the basis of the handedness of the starting pitcher? Does it need to be any more complicated than that, at least until it moves to Atlanta?
I doubt we see many roster changes. Gore maybe, but unlikely. I still think Martin will pitch, and the only change will be subbing out Lee for a right handed reliever, either Rich Rod or Strider.
Still, it is very fun to think about a World Series roster for a change!
@1 I agree. Both will start in Houston, so playing time won’t be an issue.
If Soler looks like himself batting in Houston, I’d consider putting him in RF instead of Pederson when/if Houston starts a LHP in Atlanta. He’s been a better hitter while with Atlanta, which is a bit bigger sample than just in the postseason. He hasn’t seemed like that bad a defender, and Pederson has looked shaky in the field a couple of times.
Their career and full-season 2021 slash lines are closer than I had expected, though – one is career .246/.331/.465 and the other is .232/.332/.462. This year they’re .223/.316/.432 and .238/.310/.422 (same order).
I like the idea of starting Strider or another AAA RHP in game 4, but I doubt Snit will. If Gore is on the team and there’s a bullpen game in Game 4, there’s a real chance we’ll see PH Max Fried in the middle innings – the team would want to save Soler/Joc for late, would have Arcia PH the first time, would want to save Heredia for 9th-inning defense, would want to save Gore for pinch-running, and wouldn’t want to use Contreras. Maybe if the pitcher’s spot comes up in the middle innings with nobody on & 2 out.
I don’t know about Gore but we’ll see. I’m pretty much in agreement on everyone else except Rodriguez. He was a homerun surrendering machine over the last few weeks with Atlanta. I’m not sure why he would be included on on the WS roster when he didn’t make the NLDS roster. Of course I’m sure they’ve been working with him over the last 20 days and maybe they have more confidence in him.
Sorry for bad embed; shows umpire rotation for the series.
I think Dylan Lee made a reasonably positive impression, and that’s as good a reason as any to think that he’ll be included over Rodriguez. Certainly, the pen has always been a little lefty-heavy this year, but Lee’s currently a little higher on the depth chart than the Dúnadan, and probably higher than Rodriguez given the LCS roster assignments. Agree with you that Martin is awfully tough to trust at the moment. I’d be excited if they brought along Aragorn, though!
Going back to everyone’s experiences with playoff games….I have been winless in my limited appearances at a playoff game. Curt Schilling shut us out in 2001 if I remember right- think he gave up 2 hits the whole game. And then a Hawks team in the Joe Johnson era where we faced the Derrick Rose Bulls. Got blown out of that game too….Then this year I went to Game 6 Hawks-76ers where we lost again before we won a game 7 at their place. 0-3
….So when I got tickets to Saturday’s Game 6 I was extremely nervous for my luck and constantly wondered if I had some kind of effect on the game….I had to keep telling myself “this time is different” and then when Rosario hit the HR I knew things were different. And the when Matzek did his thing I KNEW things were different!!
And for all you asking about going to the Battery to watch the game, I found a good spot for parking that’s not too far away. I see prices for parking at triple digits now which is ridiculous. I went to spothero.com and there’s a place for only $30. It was $20 Saturday night. Hope all of you have a great time!!
Absolutely no to Rodríguez until he is allowed to use sticky stuff again. Those Astros bombers will tee off on him. I think they will probably stick with Martin but I would give Muller a chance (they won’t). Yes to Strider over Lee but I’m not too sure about starting. From college to starting a World Series game in 12 months would be wild. What happened to Touki at AAA?
I believe I would add the 3rd catcher to allow Contreras to pinch hit. I’ve never cared much for the designated runner role.
As far as Gore goes, Martin Maldonado will be one of the better throwing catchers the Braves will have faced this year. He’s got an accurate cannon and a quick release. Not sure if the Astros are better at keeping runners close than most of the Braves’ staff appears to be (with the notable exception of Fried) but either way I don’t think the Braves will be able to run wild on them like we saw both teams do in the NLCS. So if it’s going to be tougher for the Braves to steal, you could argue that would make Gore possibly more valuable, or that they’re not going to run regardless, at which point he’s virtually useless. I have no idea which of those two viewpoints is more valid though.
Contreras should be listed as a 20th guaranteed roster spot.
I would be very surprised if they put Touki on the roster. Less so with RR, but I doubt he is on the roster too. I think they just keep Martin. Strider seems interesting as a relief option. No way he starts a World Series game, though.
Thank you, Ryan.
Big Game Charlie Morton needs his biggest game tonight, and the Braves win the last game they play in 2021.
How’s the family? Did you keep the kids apart? Prayers.
Spencer Strider ain’t starting a World Series this year.
This is a lineup I would consider
Rosario
Freeman
Albies
Riley
Soler
Peterson
Duval
d’Arnaud
Swanson
Yeah, that seems basically right. The only tricky thing is two lefties at the top of the lineup, then a switch hitter, and then all but Peterson are right-handed. But it’s hard to move Eddie around when he just basically won the series with his bat. I’d maybe flip Soler and Albies?
@15
Yeah, I thought about that too. Maybe even try this
Rosario
Soler
Freeman
Riley
Peterson
Albies
Duval
d’Arnaud
Swanson
That way if you bring in the lefty for Peterson, then you flip Albies. If you bring one in for Freeman, then you set up Riley.
@14 The Astros’ starter tonight Framber Valdez is a lefty, so I think I’d start the lineup with Soler based upon the fact that he looked great in his last AB and prior to the COVID DL was looking really solid at the top of the lineup. After that, you throw in Freeman, Albies, Rosario, and Riley. Pederson, Duval, D’Arnaud and Swanson would be the last four in the lineup in some order. I think this is how I’d set it:
Soler
Albies
Freeman
Riley
Rosario
Duval
Pederson
d’Arnaud
Swanson
If we’re looking at a game that will likely be RH-pitching heavy, I would probably move Eddie to the top of the lineup. Lineup construction seems to matter less in bullpen-heavy environments though, since you can’t count on handedness of the opposing SP to tell you all that much about how many ABs you’re likely to get your best bats the platoon advantage.
@17
I like that too. Soler let’s us do so much.
I don’t want to see any pitcher in this Series not named Morton, Fried, Anderson, Smith, Matzek, Jackson, Minter, or Chavez, although I concede we will see Smyly. Anyone else should be a last resort; certainly not starting a game.
@19
I want to see Touki when we are up 15 going for the sweep
I’m with Smitty except I’d consider Heredia for Pederson and let Soler or Rosario DH (OF = Rosario/Soler, Duvall, Heredia) as long as the lefty lasts. And I think we’ll need another RH pitcher. Whether that’s Strider, Martin, RichRod, Webb, they’re not that far apart (until Strider establishes himself in the majors).
CF is cavernous at Minute Maid. I’m not sure Duvall is the best choice to play there.
@20 – I’ll allow it.
Not a fan of a roster spot for a pinch runner nor starting a WS with a guy that was in A ball 3 months ago.
We need to dance with who brung us at this point.
I’d probably keep Rosario at leadoff as it appears he’s in one of those Bonds level zones until he cools off. Soler has had very few ABs since returning from COVID and he’s prone to Ks.
Haven’t been reading previous threads, so I’m sure I’ve missed some good analysis, but Luke Jackson has been good! One unlucky inning and one bad inning against the Dodgers, yes. But good against the Brewers and throwing a lot of high-leverage innings.
@21
Then we may see Pache on the roster.
@24
I agree. I’d like to get him some work tonight.
I pretty much totally agree with @23, and also @20.
UPDATE: and @24 and @26. Hey, Stu!
Agree with Chief that I’d be real hesitant to move Rosario, especially vs RHP, and especially so far down as 5th. Also have more trust in the big leaguers that got us here over minor league pitchers in the world series.
Nice piece on Fredward: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/32473561/world-series-2021-freddie-freeman-fall-classic-moment-arrived
I think Game 4 will be Chavez/ Smyly unless we are down 3-0 or 2-1. If that’s the case I think Snit will consider bringing back Morton on short rest. Not sure he’ll do it but I think it’ll be a possibility.
Pache and Heredia are redundant, we don’t need both. Heredia will get the nod there.
I think you play the splits on leadoff. Soler leads against a lefty, Rosario against a righty. Rosario batted 5th in Game 4 and that was his better than a cycle, 2 HR, 4 hit game.
Even against LHP, I would still start Rosario. He needs as many PAs while he’s red hot until he’s not. Soler is an excellent middle-of-the-order bat.
I can see where Ryan’s head is at with Strider. If the internal scouting thinks he can get Astros hitters out, then you simply have more upside with him in the back of the pen. There’s a non-zero chance of him throwing a scoreless inning in a blowout in the first couple games, pitching in a close loss in the middle of the series, and out of desperation, pitching in a reasonably meaningful spot in a potential 7-game series. It’s not likely at all, but he’s probably just as good of a bet to pitch in a blowout as any of the other options, but he has the upside to potential be more helpful than that. Otherwise, feel free to roll the dice with someone like Richy Rod or Chris Martin, but I feel like we know what we got there.
I’m with Dusty (as I said @1, though not as clearly). If you think Rosario will continue to hit as he has, it really doesn’t matter where he hits in the order. I guess the one issue is that while I would have walked Rosario and pitched to Freddie in the 9th inning in Game 2, everyone else thinks I’d have been an idiot to do so. But if it’s Duval behind Rosario, you walk him every single time, even with a left-hander on the mound.
@29: thanks, Alex.
I think it makes sense to grab some kind of bulk inning guy, be it Strider, Davidson, Wright, Muller or even Touki. I suppose Dylan Lee can get a couple of innings, but I just prefer to have someone who can cover 4-5 innings in case a starter goes 1 or something so you don’t have to burn the whole pen.
I’m a hard no on the Heredia idea @21. He provides zero value offensively at this point. In fact, for the games at Houston, the bench guys had best get a lawn chair and some playing cards. Not a one will be getting into a game outside of the standard ninth-inning Heredia gambit and possibly pinch-running for d’Arnaud late or something. The nine guys in the batting order are completely locked in for the DH games, and there’s really no room for anyone else to work their way in there (barring injury…knock on wood).
I’m not against batting a righty leadoff against lefties, but I’m not sure Soler is locked in enough to be the guy right now. Snitker will have a better idea of that than we would at this point, though. I do like Dansby hitting ninth in the kind of swing guy/secondary leadoff position rather than moving him up to leadoff.
For the home games, my initial thought is Pederson starts in RF against righties with Soler as the No. 1 bat off the bench and Soler starts there against lefties with Pederson in the ace-in-the-hole pinch-hitting role. I’m willing to be wowed by somebody’s performance in the first two games to change my mind on that.
On the third catcher vs. pinch-runner debate, I’m Team Pinch-Runner. I will admit it’s of limited use, but a third catcher is of no use. If you want to use Contreras to pinch-hit, you should go right ahead. I actually probably would have him higher on the pinch-hitting totem pole, what with how terrible our bench has been.
On the No. 4 starter, my guess is that Smyly bought himself another turn at that, so the Strider/Muller stuff is probably for naught. I could see swapping out Dylan Lee for a righty given the construction of the Astros lineup, but nobody in the bullpen is gonna be used more than a turn or two outside of Smith, Matzek, Jackson and Minter. We will need Jackson to shake it off and come back strong.
I agree that a third catcher would generally be useless but Snitker has proven that he won’t consider using Contreras unless everyone else has been burned. In a non-DH game, Contreras would be at worst our third best PH option (behind Soler/Pederson and Adrianza). Are you willing to push him down to fifth in line in favor of Heredia and Arcia?
So given all that, which “useless” player should we keep? I say 3rd catcher over Arcia.
I weighed in on a third catcher in the previous series. it was a stupid idea then and it’s just as stupid now. If d’Arnaud gets hurt after you’ve used Contreras as a pinch hitter, make Heredia (or Arcia or somebody) catch, take your lumps and move to the next game. d’Arnaud is going to catch every game unless he gets hurt. If he gets hurt, you can bring up another catcher. Contreras is really only there to pinch hit, and he will be the last pinch hitter off the bench to minimize the probability above. Frankly, I think even that is too cautious, but I don’t have much of a problem with Contreras as the last man off the bench. The other possibility is that in some situation d’Arnaud is removed for a pinch runner. In that case, repeat everything I said above with Contreras instead of d’Arnaud.
Hey you guys…don’t stone me, but I’m trying to bring a little revenue into the site and betway has agreed to sponsor us for a bit. Their link is in the first paragraph and they might take the banner and the footer if all goes well. For me, I’d love to ditch the Google Ads and this seems to be a good way for us to move forward without annoying ads every time we click.
Great article by Joc: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/posts/joc-pederson-atlanta-braves-mlb-baseball
Snitker used Contreras in the 7th over Pache in the final game against the Brewers, so there is some precedent. I think we’re over-estimating Contreras a little as well. He hasn’t really demonstrated that he is a much better option than any of our other bench guys. I’d pick him if I needed a homer, that said.
Great profile on Alex!
https://theathletic.com/2912284/2021/10/26/braves-gm-alex-anthopoulos-journey-to-the-world-series-started-21-years-ago-with-a-cold-call-and-a-book/
I’ve been thinking since Saturday that Rosario is unlikely to be that big a factor in the WS. I was basing this on a vague, untested sense that LCS MVPs don’t usually perform that well in the next round. This piece has some data to back that up: https://www.mlb.com/news/2021-world-series-facts-and-figures
Here is the relevant segment for the click-shy:
@40, HELL YEAH. Let’s f’ing go!
@40: That piece has what we writing teachers call “effective voice.”
Kyle Wright is in Houston per sources.
Per Bowman, Wright and Gore are in. Webb and Camargo are out.
Just announced: Wright and Gore are on the WS roster, Webb and Camargo are off. Camargo did not look great in his PH appearances during the NLCS, and Webb has allowed 4 H and 4 ER in 1.2 innings pitched this postseason, so that makes sense.
I’ll take the Braves in six.
W-L-W-L-W-W
WS MVP: Austin Riley
@46 @47 Wow nice timing, all within the same minute!
So statute of limitations and stuff but when we stayed at the team hotel in Philly, Joc missed the team bus and we saw him standing outside completely alone (we had previously seen all of the buses for the team leaving before) talking presumably to someone from the Braves begging them not to fine or bench him because he didn’t want to miss the game.
I mean, would I peg Rosario to OPS 1.647 and win World Series MVP? No, I would not. By the same token, I wouldn’t just assume he’s not gonna hit in this series because he’s due for a regression. He was decent in the NLDS, too, though not good enough to figure into our MVP/LVP discussions. He had the exact same batting average as Freeman (who I thought was our DS MVP) in that series, if that does anything for you. Plus, I like him better at leadoff than Soler to begin with, all else being equal.
@46,47
Interesting. Maybe Game 4 is a Wright/Smyly combined effort, then. I don’t know what it does for anybody, as we’ve already seen a lot of him and not a lot of it has been good, but Wright was very good late in the year for Gwinnett, for what it’s worth.
The more I think about it, I’d rather have Gore over Arcia. Arcia has no tools; Gore at least has one, and it’s elite. You have Adrianza to play middle infield, and in an absolute doomsday scenario, could Freddie not play 3B and Riley SS or something insane? The scenario where you don’t have someone to play SS because Dansby and Ozzie both got injured or something is pretty far-fetched. Instead, the scenario where you absolutely need to steal a base on Maldonado is significantly more likely.
I’m bad at embedding tweets to get them to fully show up, apparently, but if you click on the link, it has the full roster. Wright, Gore in; Webb, Camargo out are the newsworthy things. No third catcher.
@53 My rumor was correct!! Yay. I prefer him over Ynoa anyway.
Braves Facebook posted photos of the players leaving for the World Series yesterday. Martin was there so I knew he made the team. Chavez is awesome. You must find his photos.
@51 That’s awesome.
I hate Kyle Wright on the roster. That’s an Arcian waste of a roster spot. He is undoubtedly nothing more than a long reliever to burn in a white flag role, so why not let Strider vets innings in that scenario?
Rosario won’t do THAT again, but I’d say he’s earned leadoff in Game 1. But he’s been consistently good for us since the moment he got off the DL.
Wright’s a fascinating choice. I don’t see him as a one-inning fireman — I wish the Braves would have tried working him in that way during the year, but they never did and it’s too late now — so he’ll have to be a right-handed Smyly. Good luck to him.
I don’t mind it, though Strider would have been exciting in kind of a big swing kind of way, could’ve been amazing, could’ve been done in by the moment and ruined his psyche forever (remember Joey Devine?). I think Wright earned a look with his performance at AAA to end the season and a righty makes sense against this lineup. I trust the scouts and FO to make the right decision here, my only criticism is that if Wright was a potential choice, why not give him a late season start with the big club instead of running bullpen games?
My predictions weren’t far off, especially considering I thought they’d carry a RHP that hasn’t been seen much.
@59. I am pretty sure he is the game 4 starter. I love it. I wanted Muller to make the roster only because I thought the Braves had turned the page on Wright. Glad to be wrong. Love Strider but he was playing college baseball last year. Wright has more experience.
@40 Love the guy and what he brought/brings to the team. It is Donaldson like swag for sure.
@61
Because they had Ynoa. Wright is just filing Smyly’s spot because he moved into Ynoa’s role.
I think it’s also notable that Lee kept his place on the roster. I thought they may go unbalanced on righty’s (7/5 vs 6/6). I think what this is likely to tell us is that Chavez will not be the opener in Game 4. My guess is that they won’t want to use Smyly at all. Start Wright and see how long he can go. Other than Matzek, Minter, and Smith, I think Snit will be RH heavy in his pitching choices.
I think everyone hoped to have a high functioning Ynoa or Touki for this role but since neither of those two are reliable at this point, Wright is next man up. Next RH man up.
If Braves announce Wright as Game 4 starter, the Astros will know the plan would be to get him the 3-4 innings and they’d likely frontload the lineup with LHHs.
Wright’s floor is one inning mop up guy, and his ceiling is Bryce Wilson in Game 4 of the 2020 LCS. I am so OK with it that I think I just peed my pants a little bit. Or, maybe that’s the Game 1 is 6 hours away.
@40 Thanks for sharing DG, this is awesome.
@65 Yeah, the chips were in on Ynoa.
I’m cheering for Kyle Wright, but he’s Kyle Davies if Kyle Davies was somehow even worse than Kyle Davies was in Atlanta. And like Kyle Davies, I expect Kyle Wright to have a perfectly acceptable career in Missouri.
@67 I think that’s part of the point. The Astros don’t have LHH to stack.
It’s an individual and not a team thing, but I’m a little surprised that none of the articles I’ve seen about Freddie have mentioned the opportunity he has to help his HOF chances this week and next. He’s probably going to be a borderline HOF candidate at best, and it seems most likely that he’ll fall a bit short unless he stays good for longer than is typical. (I’m sure we’ll discuss this in the offseason.) Having a big World Series that helps the team win could be an important boost to his candidacy. So far his career postseason slash line is .286/.399/.504, very close to his career regular-season numbers of .295/.384/.509. That’s good since (I assume) he has faced much better pitchers in the postseason than in the regular season, but it’s not different enough from his regular-season numbers to move the needle much with HOF voters. So this is his chance.
Benching the guy that nearly singled-handedly got us to the WS would be the most Barves things ever. Snit wouldn’t do that. The only decision game to game is Soler vs Pederson – both will play in the DH games anyways so that helps.
Nobody should expect Rosario to hit .560 again though. Gonna need a new hero or two. I feel like maybe Dansby is the guy this time.
I think Jesse Chavez starts Game 4 with Smyly as the bulk guy again. Wright is on the team in case a game gets out of hand and they want a long reliever to save the pen.
So the Astros added Marwin. Now they have one switch hitter. I still think Wright would have a good shot at a good performance in Game 4.
Why is 8 PM taking so long? Does it have something to do with the time zones?
That reminds of a playoff tradition: post your gametime tipple.
In honor of the Yankees and Mets absence from all but one game of the postseason, I will be having a Whistlepig Rye Manhattan.
@ 73 who is talking about benching Rosario?The only talking point is whether he should lead off against a lefty starter.
@76 (and ububba and anybody else with an affinity for stories about how the Mets are irrelevant in various ways)
One of the broadcasts mentioned that the last team to repeat as World Series champs was the 1998-2000 Yankees (probably one of Ron Darling’s soliloquies about how the Dodgers should be nominated for sainthood given what they were trying to accomplish) . I then proceeded to immediately recall that the Yankees beat San Diego in ’98 (and of course I knew they beat us in ’99), but could not for the life of me remember who they beat in 2000. Truthfully, I sat there for five minutes trying to think of it and could not. I finally had to look it up and when I did, I saw that it was the Mets and just started laughing hysterically.
Here it is:
DH-Soler
1B- Freeman
2B- Albies
3B- Riley
LF- Rosario
CF- Duval
C- d’Arnaud
RF- Pederson
SS-Swanson
Game thread.
https://bravesjournal.mystagingwebsite.com/2021/10/26/eddie-rosario-the-real-monster-of-halloween-and-game-thread/
@73, sorry I mis-parsed some of the conversation. For the record I’d still bat him leadoff. He’s the best hitter on the team right now, until he isn’t. Why shake things up?
@81 Agree. I wouldn’t hit him 5th.