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Dodgers starter Zack Greinke opted out of his contract to become arguably the top free-agent pitcher on the market Wednesday. Greinke, 32, figures to command a significant raise from the $23 million he made last year. He went 19-3 with a major-league leading 1.66 earned-run average and a 0.84 WHIP, making him a favorite for the National League Cy Young Award.

Outfielder Jonny Gomes gave quite a speech during Tuesday’s World Series celebration for the Kansas City Royals, who defeated the New York Mets four games to one on Sunday.

Hours after firing Matt Williams as the Washington Nationals’ manager last month, general manager Mike Rizzo said he’d prefer to have someone with “some type of managerial experience, especially at the major league level” fill that role in future seasons. In Dusty Baker, the Nationals found a well-suited candidate. Baker, 66, was hired to be the Nationals’ next manager on Tuesday, stepping in after Williams was fired after just two seasons.

Royals 7 Mets 2 in 12 innings

From ESPN:METS RETRACING THEIR STEPS FROM 1986 Here's a crazy statistical anomaly that just might give you chills: Through the first three games of this year's World Series, New York's results have mirrored the first three games of the team's 1986 World Series run. Game 1, 1986 lost by 1, 2915 lost by 1 Game 2, 1986 lost by 6, 2015 lost by 6Game 3, 1986 won by six, 2015 won by six It's Halloween, it's spooky, and we have a Series.

I waited for Mr. Ward. The HAS to be a World Series thread on this forum. Read tweece for typos.

Apparently someone reminded the Mets that they are supposed to be playing in the World Series. This was pretty close to a "must win" and they did it.

Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who has cycled through eight "permanent" managers and two interim managers since buying the team in 2002, on Thursday landed the man he targeted in his latest skipper search: former New York Yankees star Don Mattingly, sources said. Mattingly, as expected, agreed to a four-year contract to replace Dan Jennings, who was reassigned to the front office but instructed not to return to work until he has more conversations with Loria. Mattingly, 54, and the Dodgers parted ways recently after he led the team to three consecutive National League West titles but no World Series...

Game 2 from Kansas City - Play Ball

Anyone watching the game? This is is crazy nail biter. As of posting it's tied 4-4 in the 13th inning.

Play Ball

The addition of Pete Rose to the Fox Sports 1 broadcast team has definitely served its purpose for the still building sports network. Whether he's criticizing Josh Donaldson for not playing through a possible concussion, or bonding with Alex Rodriguez over not being liked, Rose manages to get people talking with just about every pregame or postgame appearance. Now we have to include videobombs in Rose's act. During the eighth-inning rain delay in Friday's ALCS Game 6, Rose had the internet talking and immediately creating memes after momentarily popping up in C.J. Nitkowski's live shot.

Don Mattingly won't return as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers next year after agreeing with his bosses that he and the team needed a fresh start.

Mets looking for their 5th NL Pennant. Cubs looking to avoid elimination on the day they wre supposed to win the World Series (Back to the Future II)

Over the last two innings of the Mets’ tense, one-run standoff with the Dodgers in the elimination Game 5 of the National League Division Series Thursday night, Mets fans felt the Fear. The Fear is always there for playoff games, of course; their win-or-face-a-long-cold-winter-of-the-Knicks finality is the central basis of their appeal. But for the Mets, in 2015, the Fear felt more acute. Even for Mets fans, whose fandom is founded in fully expecting, with good reason, the worst fates to befall them (while, still, of course, finding a way to Gotta Believe), the Fear was unusually powerful. The Mets...

No doubt the ratings will be big for the Cubs/Mets game. Go Cubs!

My Cardinals lost. I'm going to pull for the Cubs to go the whole way! I was glad to see the Royals win. My hometown of Springfield Missouri used to be a Royals stronghold before The Dark Years. My wife still has a bobblehead of George Brett on the entertainment cabinet. The Rangers...I don't know what to say. That 7th inning was the strangest and ugliest inning of baseball I've ever seen in my life. As for tonights game between the Mets and Dodgers, it certainly won't lack for enmity. Don't expect kissing and making up after it's over.

Screenplay by Rachel Maddow.SNIP Under the circumstances, Utley’s play was to try to break up the DP, and he did this within the rules of engagement as they exist (if you don’t think so, watch the play again after reading baseball’s Rule 5.09(a) 13). Tejada’s play was to record the out at second and get out of the way in order the live to play another day. An off-line feed from Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy made the prospects of a DP on this play remote. Tejada’s eccentric acrobatics in a hopeless effort ended his season and landed him in...

Yoenis Cespedes stood near the batter’s box for a moment, holding his bat, watching the fastball he had crushed into the second deck of the left-field stands. Cespedes took a few steps, flipped his bat high into the air and rounded the bases. The theme song from “The Natural” pumped through Citi Field, fireworks exploded and Mets fans hugged one another, screaming. The three-run homer essentially ended Game 3 of this National League division series in the fourth inning on Monday night. From there, the Mets cruised to a 13-7 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers to take a two-games-to-one...

NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball has suspended Los Angeles Dodgers infielder Chase Utley for Games 3 and 4 of the National League Division Series for what the league deemed was an illegal slide into New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada.