There’s been a lot of talk about narratives lately, mostly concerning the Yankees and identifying reasons for their struggles. By comparison, the National League Championship Series seemed almost boring. Here you had two good teams playing for a chance to win their second world title in a two- or three-year span—nothing exciting about that whatsoever. In Monday night’s Game Two, the series-defining narrative arrived.

The tableau in the Yankees’ clubhouse after ALCS Game Two was telling: in a room packed with high-profile players, the greatest gaggle of reporters was gathered around the team’s hitting coach, Kevin Long. They had just filed in from the interview room, where Girardi had said, “We have to make adjustments.” Now they wanted to know what those adjustments would be. Standing just in front of Derek Jeter’s loudly vacant locker, Long fielded questions about why the Yankees haven’t hit over the first two games of this series or the last four games of the ALDS, and what they planned to do about it. At times, the exchange grew testy.

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Guess the MLB.com headline!

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Six-to-nothing leads have had a way of evaporating this postseason, but the Cardinals—despite a four-run Giants rally in the bottom of the fourth inning—held on to win Game One, 6-4. Will San Francisco fall behind, 2-0, for the second consecutive series, or will the Giants square things up before heading to St. Louis? To answer those questions, here are the PECOTA odds and projected starting lineups for Game Two:

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Kevin Goldstein has moved on to a greener pasture, but we’re bringing back one of his postseason staples to illustrate how the four League Championship Series squads were built.

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A few innings after Raul Ibanez solidified his True Yankee™ status with yet another ninth-inning, game-tying home run, seemingly setting the stage for an inevitable extra-innings win, the Yankees lost Game One. They also lost a leader and a pretty good player, leaving them looking much more vulnerable than they did a day ago. Here are three things to think about before Game Two gets underway.     

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The Giants clung to a 6-0 lead to win their Division Series with the Reds. The Cardinals overcame a 6-0 deficit to knock off the Nationals. Now, those two teams prepare to tangle in the NLCS, which begins tonight at AT&T Park. Here are the PECOTA odds and projected starting lineups for Game One:

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After a spirited ninth-inning rally, the Yankees lost Game One—and Derek Jeter, who fractured his ankle and will miss the rest of the postseason—in the 12th inning. Can Joe Girardi’s team bounce back and prevent the Tigers from racing out to a 2-0 lead? To answer that question, here are the PECOTA odds and projected starting lineups for Game Two.

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The two most recent World Series champions face each other for the chance to throw a second parade. Considering the Phillies’ decline to an aging, expensive .500 team this year, one might argue that the Giants and Cardinals are the league’s two best organizations: The Cardinals have won 89 games per year (and a World Series) over the past four seasons, and the Giants have won 90 per year (and a World Series). In a postseason that has been dominated by pitching, expect these seven games to produce plenty of offense.  

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“It’s not like he can play anywhere, or face some good competition on a rehab. That’s what you have to look at. When you bring somebody that’s been on the DL for an extended period of time, it takes time to be ready. It’s not that easy a game. That’s what we have to look at. What’s gonna be valuable to us? Someone who hasn’t been playing or the guys who have been here?”—Bruce Bochy on Melky Cabrera
 

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One night after the American League’s other surprise team saw its season brought to end by Justin Verlander, the Orioles suffered the same fate courtesy of CC Sabathia. If you’re a Yankees or Tigers fan (or an executive at TBS or FOX), you’re probably pleased with the way things turned out. If you’re anyone else, you might be mourning the underdogs. Like the A’s, the Orioles pushed their opponent to the brink: all told, the Yankees outscored the O’s by just four runs in 23 head-to-head games this season. But in the end, the better team advanced.

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After Game Four, I wrote:

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