The Rundown: Arrieta Wins NL Pitcher of the Month, Bryant Has Best-Selling Jersey in MLB, Molina May Be Back for Cardinals
I haven’t stopped fidgeting since Sunday and will probably have to endure it for another day, until Wednesday at 7:08.
At least we’ll have baseball tonight, as Astros and Yankees face off in the AL Wild Card game. Although not as good a pitching matchup as we’ll see Wednesday, tonight should be pretty good, with Dallas Keuchel facing off against Masahiro Tanaka.
The Astros have been a nice story this year, with a lot of exciting young players (sound familiar?). Definitely looking forward to seeing phenom shortstop Carlos Correa in action.
At least this game should be something to hold us over until Wednesday.
Other notes
* Huge shocker, but Jake Arrieta was named the NL Pitcher of the Month for September. All he did was go 5-0 with 46 innings pitched, 46 strikeouts, posting a 0.39 ERA and 0.57 WHIP. Not really much of a contest for this award.
* Times have been set for the NLDS. If the Cubs can beat the Pirates on Wednesday in the Wild Card game, they’ll face the Cardinals at 5:30 Central on Friday and 4:30 Central on Saturday in St. Louis. I will be flying to visit family Friday night, and I’m really hoping to see a majority of the game before my flight takes off.
* Pretty cool: Two Cubs rank in the top 10 for MLB jersey sales in 2015. Kris Bryant landed at No. 1, while Anthony Rizzo was No. 8.
* Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina may be back for the NLDS, writes Derrick Goold. It sounds like his thumb is still injured, but he will be wearing a special splint that will allow him to catch and swing a bat. It will obviously be a big aid to the Cardinals if Molina is able to play.
* In very unfortunate timing for the Yankees, LHP CC Sabathia has left the team to enter alcohol rehab. It’s surprising news, but some things are more important than baseball.
* The Washington Nationals, perhaps the biggest disappointment of 2015, have fired manager Matt Williams. This team matched up with a better manager is a scary proposition. I wouldn’t be surprised to a see a huge turnaround from them next year under someone like Bud Black, for example.