These two NL West teams seem destined to face each other in the one-game crapshoot known as the wildcard game. The Rockies were division leaders as recently as Jun 20, then lost eight straight to drop down to third where they’ve remained since (aside from a few brief forays into second place, the last on Aug 20). The D-Backs haven’t led since Jun 1 and have mostly held down second place since then. This three game set is the final series between these two, with Arizona holding a 9-6 season edge going in. More after the jump.

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A companion to my earlier piece on AL teams, here is a rundown of unusual team accomplishments in the senior circuit. More after the jump.

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As the 2017 season heads into the home stretch, here’s a look at some of the junior circuit’s more unusual team accomplishments, both good and bad. More after the jump.

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As football season gets underway, here’s a look at baseball’s version of the takeaway/giveaway margin. On the gridiron, the unit of measurement is turnovers and winning teams usually need to show a positive margin between turnovers forced (takeaways) and turnovers surrendered (giveaways). In baseball, the metric is more like points off of turnovers, as this post will consider unearned runs scored vs. unearned runs allowed, those runs being the “points” arising from errors forced and errors committed, More after the jump.

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Don Baylor, longtime AL player and later an NL manager, has passed away at the age of 68. Baylor played over 2000 games, all in the AL, in a career spanning 19 years that included an MVP selection in 1979 and appearances in 7 post-seasons and 3 World Series. After his playing days, Baylor was the first manager of the expansion Colorado Rockies, guiding them to a post-season appearance in only their third season. More on Baylor after the jump.

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The front runners in the NL Central squared off last weekend in Milwaukee. The Brewers had held down top spot for 60 straight days until the Cubs caught them last week, with the Baby Bears holding a 1½ game lead entering this series. The Northsiders were riding high with an 11-2 run since the All-Star break while Milwaukee had hit the skids with a 2-9 swoon.

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Sports Illustrated writer Cliff Corcoran has authored an article with this provocative title. This is the team he chose.

I’ll leave you to consider Corcoran’s arguments. Let the debate begin.

Adrian Beltre is on the brink of 3000 hits and could reach the milestone this weekend. Here’s a look at the career (so far) of the Cooperstown-bound third sacker.

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As we look to the second half of this season, there are a number of players chasing notable career milestones. I’ll take a look at some of them after the jump.

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The two front-runners in the AL Central faced off in home and away series on consecutive weekends. The defending AL champions from Cleveland have yet to hit their stride this season, while the upstart young Minnesotans continue to surprise, leaving pundits still waiting for the Twins’ Cinderella start to reach midnight. More after the jump.

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