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Craig Albernaz to be Orioles’ next manager

During Brandon Hyde’s tenure as manager of the Baltimore Orioles since 2019, the Maryland outfit made the playoffs twice, but never won a single playoff game.

Although it should have been done long before, the skipper was finally fired by the Loriots at the start of the 2025 season after a campaign start of just 15 wins against 28 setbacks. Hyde was then replaced by interim manager Tony Mansolino. Mansolino was a candidate to be named full-time manager, but it seems the Baltimore staff had other plans.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Orioles are close to naming Craig Albernaz as their next manager.

The 42-year-old will inherit a line-up that won 101 games just two years ago and boasts plenty of young talent, including former top prospects Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday and Samuel Basallo, to name but a few.

Returning to Albernaz, he was the associate manager of the Cleveland Guardians, holding that position since 2024 after serving as a bench coach with Cleveland. Earlier in his career, Albernaz had been the bullpen coach for the San Francisco Giants and spent time running the Tampa Bay Rays’ affiliate system.

Prior to his coaching career, Albernaz was a catcher in the minors for the Rays from 2006 to 2013 and the Detroit Tigers in 2014. He has never played in Major League Baseball.

It seems that Albernaz would have been a popular candidate to fill the vacant managerial positions of a number of MLB teams during the upcoming off-season.

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Bo Bichette at second base tonight

I mentioned it last night, but Bo Bichette is the talk of Toronto. After all, his health is an important element of the World Series for the American representatives.

Seeing him play defensively on the second cushion comes as a surprise.

While the star was unable to start Saturday’s Game #2, the situation has now been clarified: Bichette will be able to play defensively (at second base) tonight.

The manager confirmed it.

We don’t know, however, if he’ll be able to play the whole game. I imagine it will depend on the score and certain situations. I can see Bichette being replaced by a substitute runner, if need be.

But above all, I wonder how the case will be handled on the heels of three games in three days. Will he be the DH at some point? It’s hard to say at the moment.

Speaking of three games in three nights, John Schneider confirmed that all his relievers would be able to pitch three games in three nights, if need be.

It’s the end of the season and everything’s on the table.

So it’s safe to assume that, barring a catastrophe, the only gunner who won’t be pitching in Los Angeles (or who won’t necessarily be available, at least) is Kevin Gausman. The veteran will throw a #6 game, if need be.

Tonight, Max Scherzer and Tyler Glasnow will cross swords.

PMLB
  • Shohei Ohtani’s wife enjoyed the Toronto crowd’s shout-out to her husband.

  • Carlos Correa told George Springer to listen to David Popkins, the Blue Jays’ new hitting coach.

  • Desi Druschel is back with the Yankees as assistant pitching coach.

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The Blue Jays’ management of Bo Bichette is the talk of the town

In Game #1 of the World Series, Bo Bichette played second base for the first time in his life in the Majors. He did well, notably with a fine defensive play, but he didn’t finish the game.

Then, on Saturday night, he didn’t start the game. The manager wanted to give him a break to start the game, leaving the door open for him to enter the game later as a substitute hitter.

That’s what happened.

But it was when he stayed in the game defensively that questions arose. If he was okay playing defensively, then why didn’t he start the game?

The way I see it, I have a feeling the manager wanted to wait to bring him in at an opportune time in the game… and save him if he didn’t need him in Game #2.

Would it have been better to start him as the fourth batter? Everyone has their own ideas on the subject.

Still, it goes to show that there isn’t just one right answer for how to handle Bichette. A star player who’s too injured to play every inning isn’t easy to manage in the World Series.

It’s also true that John Schneider has more data in his hands than we do to make his decisions.

After flying out on Sunday and not playing, will Bichette feel up to playing the full game on Monday? We don’t know yet.

It’s really one day at a time for her. And it will also depend on whether George Springer can play defensively… because seeing Bichette as DH would solve a lot of problems.

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MLB in brief: Dylan Cease with the Cubs | Max Scherzer’s record

Dylan Cease with the Cubs?

It’s possible the Cubs are on his case this winter.

Max Scherzer’s record

Pitching for four different teams in the World Series has never been done before.

Vladdy and Shohei

They chat in English when they see each other, especially at first base.

The 2028 Olympic Games

It’s becoming an increasingly concrete dream for Major League Baseball players.

The impact of the sofa bed

In October, it’s more common than you might think. Guys have leases through September, usually.

The Blue Jays’ challenge

Winning three games won’t be easy.

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Bryce Harper hurt by Dave Dombrowski’s comments (and rumors)

Recently, Dave Dombrowski sought to motivate Bryce Harper. And his way of doing things was to publicly plant him.

In front of the cameras, he questioned whether Harper had what it took to become an elite player again. It was a strange decision from a manager with a lot of experience.

So is Philly in trouble? Yes, a little.

The main man chatted to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb about the subject at hand and his boss’s comments. And Bryce Harper wasn’t afraid to say he felt hurt by his president of baseball operations’ comments.

But that doesn’t seem to be the biggest problem in all of this, in his eyes.

In fact, DD’s comments have opened the door to speculation about Bryce Harper’s future in Philadelphia. A lot of people are wondering if he’ll be traded.

I didn’t see Dave Dombrowski’s comments as opening the door to trading one of the most polarizing players in Major League Baseball over the past 15 years.

And for what it’s worth, Dombrowski denied the rumors publicly.

Harper says he’s under contract until 2031 and refused to take out options in his contract to demonstrate his loyalty to the people of Philly.

He doesn’t want to leave.

When he was in Washington, he was the victim of trade rumors. He refused outright options (much to Scott Boras’ chagrin) to put the rumors behind him. So seeing them this fall makes him uncomfortable.

Harper can’t be happy right now. How will he respond in 2026?

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Further proof of Max Scherzer’s intensity

Max Scherzer is an intense guy. Everyone knows it.

Even though he didn’t finish the 2025 regular season well, he wants to win so badly that he became a different player in his playoff start against the Mariners. He wanted to show everyone that he could win, and his confrontation with John Schneider was a good example.

And now we’ve had further proof of MadMax’s intensity.

In a text published on The Athletic, Mitch Bannon reports that, while celebrating the victory in Game #7 against the Seattle Mariners, Scherzer went to see his manager to ask him lots of questions.

The manager’s response? “Max, I’m having a beer, man.”

The pitcher wanted to know what game he’d be pitching, so he could line up. He wanted to know which game he was going to need extra tickets for, and when he was going to pitch his bullpen session, which takes place a few days before a start.

But the manager wasn’t surprised. He just wished he’d waited until the next morning to answer those questions.

It’s this drive that makes Max Scherzer one of the best in his profession. And it’s also what means that, at his age, despite obvious signs of slowing down and despite injuries, he can sometimes put in fine performances.

The Blue Jays are banking on the fact that on Monday, he’ll be able to do well at Dodger Stadium. He’ll pitch Game #3, while Shane Bieber will face Shohei Ohtani in Game #4.

Does the fact that the bullpen will be rested tomorrow, for the first of three games in as many days, mean that Scherzer will pitch tomorrow? After all, he’s likely to pitch fewer innings than Shane Bieber, who also benefits from having an extra day of rest. #TommyJohn

In any case, one thing’s for sure: the Blue Jays will have an intense pitcher on the mound to face Tyler Glasnow, who lost to the Blue Jays in an August start.

Is that part of the reason, too? Did the Blue Jays not want MadMax to face Shohei Ohtani, who’s more likely to come out with a big one than Glasnow? Who knows.

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Here’s why Colonel Sanders was behind home plate at the Rogers Centre

After the muscular Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier in the playoffs and the Marlins Man in Game 1 of the World Series, last night (Saturday) it was the turn of another character to be prominently displayed behind home plate at Rogers Centre.

Colonel Sanders was on hand for Game 2 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. And you couldn’t miss him.

Here are two possible explanations for the presence of a man with a white goatee, wearing a white suit and black bow tie.

First, this may have been done intentionally by KFC Canada given all the excitement surrounding the Blue Jays’ playoff run, with Instagram stories pushing us in that direction.

Colonel Sanders has real ties to Canada, having moved to Mississauga in 1965 to oversee his Canadian franchises, and having had total control of the KFC brand in Canada until his death at the age of 90 in 1980.

But it’s not just this potential stunt that may explain it all.

Indeed, the appearance of Colonel Sanders may also be a reference to the “Colonel’s Curse”, a Japanese legend according to which the ghost of Colonel Sanders cursed the Hanshin Tigers, a Nippon Baseball League team in Japan, for throwing his statue into a canal.

The Dodgers have three players who came over from the NBL – game two starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and reliever Roki Sasaki – but none of them played for the Tigers.

If the second option is the right one, with Yamamoto’s performance in yesterday’s game, it’s safe to say that the curse doesn’t affect the Dodgers players at all.

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto: a complete game to lead the Dodgers to victory

Tonight, the Blue Jays and Dodgers faced off in the second game of the World Series.

Once again in the first inning, the Blue Jays sent traffic to the cushions, but to no avail. That wasn’t a problem yesterday, but we wondered if it would be today.

The difference? Tonight, unlike Game #1, the Dodgers scored in the first inning.

The Blue Jays responded a few innings later. In the third inning, Alejandro Kirk hit a sacrifice fly that brought both teams back to square one.

Game #2 was really a pitcher’s duel. For several innings, the guys couldn’t get on base because Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Kevin Gausman were on fire.

In the seventh inning, Gausman flinched. Will Smith and Max Muncy hit solo home runs, sending Gausman out of the game with three outs.

Against relief, the Dodgers had fun. They sent traffic to the paths and two runs scored in the eighth via a nasty pitch and an option by Will Smith.

The Dodgers’ catcher produced three runs today.

Ultimately, Yamamoto pitched a complete game tonight. After a complete game against Milwaukee, Yamamoto is really in his zone right now.

On the heels of this 5-1 win, the Dodgers tie the World Series 1-1. The next three games take place in Los Angeles, from Monday to Wednesday.

PMLB
  • The chants against Shohei Ohtani continued.

  • Well done.

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MLB in brief: Bo Bichette’s jersey | Red Sox love Kyle Schwarber

Bo Bichette’s jersey

He pays tribute to Vladdy and the Expos.

Red Sox love Kyle Schwarber

If he becomes a free agent, the club will try to pick him up.

Don Mattingly retired?

Won’t confirm if he’ll leave baseball after the World Series.

The importance of Japan

Beating the Dodgers would send quite a message to free agents in Japan from the Blue Jays.

Gambling is the talk of the town

Athletes need to watch their backs.

Salary cap

The Players’ Association doesn’t want it.

The Trevor Story case

Will the player get out of his contract? It’s safe to assume not.

Tyler Glasnow on Monday

And Shohei Ohtani will pitch on Tuesday.

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Bo Bichette will not be in the starting lineup tonight

After playing on the second cushion last night, on the heels of Game 1 of the World Series, Bo Bichette won’t be starting tonight’s Game 2, scheduled for 8pm at Toronto’s Rogers Centre.

He will start on the bench.

This means that manager John Schneider preferred to rest his veteran, who played defensively yesterday and had missed every game since September 6 before that.

However, I expect Bichette to come to bat later in the game – unless it’s a one-sided duel like yesterday for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa might not finish the game. And if the manager doesn’t want to send Bichette out defensively, he could simply send out Davis Schneider or send Addison Barger back into the infield to get Myles Straw on board.

George Springer will still be the hitter of choice, unsurprisingly.

Note also that the Blue Jays have decided that Max Scherzer will pitch Game #3 of the World Series. Shane Bieber, on the other hand, will be the starter for game #4, as the manager wanted to give him an extra day off.

Chris Bassitt has blister problems, but can still pitch tonight if needed.

PMLB
  • Brandon Hyde interviewed for Nationals manager position.

  • Toronto fans love “DAAAA Yankees lose” by Big Papi.

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