Not the Yankees' best effort.

Outproduced Hoskins for less than half the cost for me this year.  Last 2 months .304/.395/.663 32 R 16 HR 45 RBI

The bigger culprit was Kapler having the bright idea to move him to the #2 then leadoff spot in the lineup from Aug 5-27.     .104/.315/.179 slash line.  

Not sure why an AL team wouldn't keep him on the roster for 250 ABs as a DH/1B, and we may get to find out if one will.

The Original Nat

Only three previous teams in history had ever gone from 12 games under .500, as the Nats were on May 23 at 19-31, to the World Series, and only one of them, the 1914 Boston Braves, actually won it. Since the Wild Card came into existence in '95, just six Wild Card teams have won the World Series, and only the 2005 Astros have been worse through 50 games (they were 18-32) and gone on to win a pennant.

He won me a flag in 1998.  He was a 13th round reserve pick.  And I count 7 seasons that you could easily drop into a HOF career . . . but not the rest of what you need.

What would Sexton's 2003 season look like, translated into this year's context?

In 2003 there were 5,207 homers hit in the majors. This year 6,776.

There were 30,801 strikeouts in 2003. This year 42,823.

In the new formulas, which Colin will be implementing shortly, Hoskins will lose $2 in both formats. 

I have to admit I hadn't fully paid attention to how bad Hoskins' season was.

Meghan Montemuro in The Athletic:

Hoskins had respectable overall production, led by a .364 on-base percentage (an improvement from 2018) and a 113 wRC+. But there were also concerning numbers: a career-high 24.5 strikeout percentage, a career-worst .454 slugging percentage (42 points lower than last year) and a 15.3 Infield Fly Ball percentage, tied for sixth-worst among 135 qualified hitters. Collectively, those metrics highlight Hoskins’ issues making contact in the strike zone and just missing some pitches, particularly mistake pitches, which he lamented during the season. At the root of it: Hoskins’ struggles against fastballs. His .214 average versus four-seam fastballs was nearly 50 points lower than his 2018 average against the pitch. Even when he found himself in favorable fastball counts, Hoskins wasn’t able to take advantage.

Most problematic, however, were Hoskins’ struggles in the second half, when the Phillies tried to make a push for the postseason.

theathletic.com

Kevin Kernan, assigned the NLCS, manages to work in a Mets angle.

https://nypost.com/2019/10/16/how-nationals-did-it-bryce-harpers-downfall-mets-heartbreak/

Yup.

https://nypost.com/2019/10/16/breaking-down-the-ripple-effects-of-yankees-astros-rainout/

Older minds, like ours, tend to do that.

Kyle Isbel, OF, Royals. The UNLV product continued to show off an interesting blend of power and on-base skills with a 2-for-4 night against Peoria. He singled, lashed a triple to right field (and went home to third in less than 12 seconds) and stole his fifth base of the AFL. The triple gave his team a three-run cushion in its victory and pushed his OPS for the fall to an impressive .961.

Alec Bohm, 3B, Phillies. On Tuesday night, Bohm touched off his second homer of the AFL when he took Twins righthander Dakota Chalmers deep in the first inning at Salt River Fields. The blast brought his OPS for the fall up to .923 and continued to cement his status as the Phillies top prospect.

Dean Kremer, RHP, Orioles. Kremer pounded the strike zone with a mix of four pitches, fronted by a low-90s fastball with hard cutting life, to strike out five hitters over four shutout innings on Tuesday night. The Orioles righthander, who led the minors in whiffs in 2018, now has 17 punchouts in 14 innings in the AFL.

Is there extra pressure playing in New York? Nah.

https://nypost.com/2019/10/15/yankees-must-bench-gary-sanchez-demote-adam-ottavino/

Fixed. Thanks. (My mind Yondered.)

Also, the heartbreak for the Cardinals fans -- who bleat the alleged moral virtues of their team (as is, "Oh, we play baseball the right way") at every opportunity -- is delicious.