Baseball

[O Really]

Padres clinch a spot with win over Dodgers. Life is good.

[Vrede too]

Padres clinch a spot with win over Dodgers. Life is good.

Congrats. Cubs-Padres for the Pennant. Let the trash talk commence.

[GoCubsGo]

Padres clinch a spot with win over Dodgers. Life is good.

Congrats. Cubs-Padres for the Pennant. Let the trash talk commence.

Cubs may have the exact same playoff road as last year..

BTW, a congratulations is called for on the south side.

[Vrede too]

Cubs may have the exact same playoff road as last year..

BTW, a congratulations is called for on the south side.

https://x.com/ABC7Chicago/status/2103318696986841436

El Series?

[O Really]

Padres clinch a spot with win over Dodgers. Life is good.

Congrats. Cubs-Padres for the Pennant. Let the trash talk commence.

Special shipment direct to Wrigley

[GoCubsGo]

Padres clinch a spot with win over Dodgers. Life is good.

Congrats. Cubs-Padres for the Pennant. Let the trash talk commence.

Special shipment direct to Wrigley

Be a shame if I have to experience a wildcard clinching victory and send the Padres packing like I did last year.

[O Really]

The infamy is not forgotten.

[GoCubsGo]

We're very skeered.

[GoCubsGo]

It's happening.

The AL Worst: Astros and Rangers both lose, guaranteeing MLB's first division champ without a winning record

[GoCubsGo]

Good stuff.

[Vrede too]

Good stuff.

https://x.com/MLB/status/2103925173720326589

Btw his wife, Genevieve's mom, is Kate Upton .


Phillies Phlop, 3 losses in a row, now just 1 game ahead of the D'backs with 2 games left. Vs Rays at 7:15 ET. D'backs have won 6 in a row , vs @Padres at 8:40.

[GoCubsGo]

Phillies Phlop, 3 losses in a row, now just 1 game ahead of the D'backs with 2 games left. Vs Rays at 7:15 ET. D'backs have won 6 in a row , vs @Padres at 8:40.

Phillies down 7-0 in the sixth.

This would be an epic collapse.

They need help from O Really's Friars.

Whoops, 10-0.

Boobirds are out.

[Vrede too]

Phillies Phlop, 3 losses in a row, now just 1 game ahead of the D'backs with 2 games left. Vs Rays at 7:15 ET. D'backs have won 6 in a row , vs @Padres at 8:40.

Phillies down 7-0 in the sixth.

This would be an epic collapse.

They need help from O Really's Friars.

Whoops, 10-0.

Boobirds are out.

Phloppies 3 make it 4 losses in a row, 1-12, but Padres save them by breaking the D'back streak, 10-7. Phloppies still lead by 1 game with 1 game remaining.

[Vrede too]

Phillies Phlop, 3 losses in a row, now just 1 game ahead of the D'backs with 2 games left. Vs Rays at 7:15 ET. D'backs have won 6 in a row , vs @Padres at 8:40.

Phillies down 7-0 in the sixth.

This would be an epic collapse.

They need help from O Really's Friars.

Whoops, 10-0.

Boobirds are out.

Phloppies 3 make it 4 losses in a row, 1-12, but Padres save them by breaking the D'back streak, 10-7. Phloppies still lead by 1 game with 1 game remaining.

@Phloppies vs Rays at 3:05pm ET, MLB.TV . D'backs vs @Padres at 3:10pm, MLB.TV . Idk if there's a tiebreaker in place or if they'd have to have a play-in game.
Ah, here it is:
Tiebreakers: Cubs over Phillies (phew); Diamondbacks over Phillies That would complete the epic phlop.

Padres secure home field for wild-card rematch with Cubs
BRD fandom demands more trash talk.

MLB, White House discuss playing game at national park
Possibly Grand Teton.
Not only would there be the impact of the single-game site, but there's also the tens of thousands of visitors, crew and vendors brought to Grand Teton/Yellowstone or other Park. All this while:

... Donald Trump has made major changes to the National Parks Service during his second term, including major cuts to the budget and staffing....

MLB playoffs 2026: Ranking teams by World Series pressure



Which playoff team most needs to win the World Series?

Repeating an exercise we do every fall when the MLB postseason is about to commence, we will try to determine how much immediate pressure each championship hopeful is facing.

What builds the pressure to win now? The answer is a little different for every team, and the weight of that pressure changes each passing season. Players age. Free agents leave and arrive. Playoff disappointments pile up. Playoff absences chafe.

Our Pressure Index formula considers the droughts, recent history and star pressure, along with age and pending free agents on the current roster. The original incarnation of the system was based on an old Bill James method for calculating "pressure points." The basic version assumes that the more success a team has without winning it all, the more that team's pressure builds up. That pressure doesn't finally release until that team wins it all, resetting the valve, and everyone who follows that team can relax.

Only Los Angeles Dodgers fans currently know what that feels like.

On to the rankings!

1. Milwaukee Brewers

Pressure Index: 109.7

Last title: Never

Last pennant: 1982

This is the Brewers' third straight year on top of these rankings, which makes sense. The Brewers have been perpetually successful over the past decade, but that first World Series title parade has still been elusive.

The pressure has only ratcheted up over the past year. After losing to the Dodgers in the NLCS in 2025, the Brewers have had the best regular season in franchise history.

The Brewers can finally release this pressure by finally, at last, overcoming the Dodgers.

2. San Diego Padres

Pressure Index: 108.3

Last title: Never

Last pennant: 1998

The Padres face many of the same historical pressures as the Brewers, as well as the same immediate obstacle -- the Dodgers.

The Padres have a more recent pennant than Milwaukee, though you have to be an adult to remember a World Series appearance for either team. Milwaukee has more of a knock-knock factor because of a longer string of good seasons.

Still, San Diego is in the same proverbial boat as Milwaukee, still aching for that first victory parade.

5. Chicago Cubs

Pressure Index: 101.8

Last title: 2016

Last pennant: 2016

It has been 10 years since the Cubs ended their historic title drought. You might think it doesn't feel that long ago, and you'd be right. But ironically, the Cubs commemorating that championship this season makes it feel even more like just another page from the history books.

We can't yet consign the Bryzzo-era Cubs to the same chapter as Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance, especially as some members of that curse-breaking Cubs team, such as Kyle Schwarber and Aroldis Chapman, are still playing, still doing great and chasing flags for other teams.

Nevertheless, it has been a minute, and this year's Cubs team is good enough to make a run.

"it has been a minute"

11. Chicago White Sox

Pressure Index: 97.3

Last title: 2005

Last pennant: 2005

The White Sox have a higher pressure rating than the three teams behind them -- all recent title winners -- because Chicago's last title was 21 years ago.

But no one expected the White Sox to be anywhere near this postseason bracket, and now that they've made it, few expect them to advance far. This lack of external pressure might prove to be the White Sox's superpower.

Pressure Index for non-playoff teams ...

[GoCubsGo]

Hats off to the White Sox who lost 120 games two years ago.


The Brew Crew and Friars field good regular season teams but are perpetually playoff snake bitten. My money is on that not changing.

Not overly optimistic about my Cubs in a bizarre up and down injury year ( Craig Counsell actually did an amazing job considering what he had to work with). They may pull off a victory in a short series with the Padres, mostly because the starting pitching for them isn't too spectacular, but then again we've only got three relievers who can get outs and we quit hitting with RISP in September.

[Vrede too]

Phillies did their job and ended their streak of 4 phlops, 7-3. Poor D'backs, who are losing anyhow. Phillies get the 102-win BREWERS, ut-oh.