The Sportsletter - Magic Numbers ⚾️

BY JEFF YODER

SEPT. 21, 2023 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

It’s official. The confirmation we’ve all been waiting for. After seeing it discussed for weeks on every sports show and podcast, we have a source with direct knowledge…

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop-star Taylor Swift are dating. And it came straight from… his brother, Jason!? It’s hard to know what’s real and what’s fake. Luckily, records and stats don’t lie. So we’ll stick with those.

Letter Rip!

  NFL PICKS   

The Sportsletter's NFL Pick 'Em

🏈 Play The Sportsletter’s NFL Pick ‘Em (Week 3)

*Winner Gets $50 / Top-5 Added to Playoff Pool

  POLL   📊

NFL Power Rankings (Week 3)

Looks like we nailed it with yesterday’s power rankings. Your votes went in line with our top-six teams. We asked: Who do you think should be No. 1 after Week 2? It’s the three NFC  powers ahead of their AFC counterparts.

Cowboys — 36.8%

49ers — 25.1%

Eagles — 13.8%

Dolphins — 10.3%

Chiefs — 9.1%

Ravens — 4.7%

  MLB   

Magic Numbers: Who's In & Who's Out?

Photo: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images

Baseball’s “Magic Number” Season is Upon Us — Let Us Help Make Sense of It All

By this point in the regular season, you might be baseballed out. October is so close you can taste it, but these dozens of regular-season games seem difficult to track in the final two weeks of the season. Who’s in? Who’s out? Who needs to win how many? And how does this loss impact the other teams? It’s all very chaotic. Enter baseball’s “Magic Number” phenomenon. The magic number is the number of wins a team needs (or the same combination of losses by competitors) to achieve the divisional crown or wild card spot. For our own sake, we didn’t go calculating each team’s magic number (not yet, maybe next week), but we’ve come up with our own simplified system — it’s called guessing.

Playoff Outlook: A total of 20 teams somehow remain mathematically alive with approximately ten games or less to play. Only 12 teams make the playoffs, and four teams have already clinched (Braves, Orioles, Dodgers, Rays). That leaves eight spots for 16 ball clubs.

Guessing the Field: In the next section, you can find the “playoff picture” to help break down the standings. If we assume the Twins and Brewers hold onto the Central Divisions (AL/NL) has they have since the All-Star break, we can eliminate two more bids. That’s six out of 12, confirmed. The Twins’ magic number stands at 2, and the Brewers’ magic number stands at 4.

Eliminating Yankees & Red Sox (AL): The AL Wild Card is going to crush one deserving team, but the Yankees or Red Sox would need a miracle. Let’s say they don’t get it. That means three of the following four teams get in — Astros, Blue Jays, Mariners or Rangers.

Eliminating Padres & Giants (NL): The two NL West bidders are likely going to fall short in a crowded race. Even with the Padres surging, it’ll take a miracle to nearly win out and hope other Wild Card hopefuls falter. That means three of the following five teams get in — Phillies, Diamondbacks, Cubs, Marlins or Reds.

For now, we’ll leave you with a standings compilation of every eligible playoff team. We’ll see the list dwindle day-by-day as the magic numbers come pouring in.

MLB Playoff Picture

American League

East: Orioles (95-57) ✅

West: Astros (85-68)

Central: Twins (81-72)

Wild Card 1: Rays (93-60) ✅

Wild Card 2: Blue Jays (85-67)

Wild Card 3: Mariners (84-68)

———————————

Out: Rangers (84-68)

Out: Yankees (76-76)

Out: Red Sox (75-78)

Out: Guardians (72-81)

National League

East: Braves (97-55) ✅

West: Dodgers (93-58) ✅

Central: Brewers (86-66)

Wild Card 1: Phillies (83-69)

Wild Card 2: Diamondbacks (81-72)

Wild Card 3: Cubs (79-73)

———————————

Out: Marlins (79-74)

Out: Reds (79-75)

Out: Giants (76-76)

Out: Padres (75-78)

✅ *Clinched Postseason Berth

MLB Quick-Hitters

Brewers Inch Closer: Josh Donaldson (1 HR) and Tyrone Taylor (2 HRs) gave the Brewers an 8-2 win over the Cardinals Wednesday to pull their magic number to four and inch closer to the NL Central crown.

Carroll Makes History: D-backs’ rookie Corbin Carroll has officially stamped himself the NL Rookie of the Year after becoming the first-ever rookie with a 25-HR, 50-SB season. In the process, he helped Arizona notch a 7-1 win over the Giants in a critical NL Wild Card race.

Toronto’s TKO Punch: The Blue Jays may have delivered the knockout punch to the Yankees on Wednesday with a 6-1 win behind Kevin Gausman’s gem (6 IP, 10 Ks, 3 Hits, 0 ER). Toronto has won five in a row through a critical stretch.

  WNBA   

Fun in the Sun ☀️

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Thomas & Bonner Help Sun End Lynx Season (90-75) En Route to WNBA Semifinals

Put ‘em away early! The Connecticut Sun jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half of Wednesday’s Game 3 and never looked back, cruising to a 90-75 win over the Minnesota Lynx. Game 3 was win-or-go-home for both squads. The Sun had huge performances from their twin forwards — Alyssa Thomas (28 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds) and DeWanna Bonner (25 points, 6 assists, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks). And with Connecticut firing nearly 60 percent from the field, Minnesota hardly stood a chance. The Sun round out the semifinals with all four of the WNBA’s top seeds, and their reward is a five-game series with the stacked Liberty.

Sun def. Lynx in Game 3 (90-75)

CON Wins Series (2-1)

WNBA Semifinals Bracket

#1 Aces vs. #4 Wings

#2 Liberty vs. #3 Sun

*Both Semifinal Game 1s Set for Sunday

*Semifinals Series Are Best-of-5

Read More

ESPN: Thomas & Bonner Carry Sun to 5th Straight WNBA Semifinals

Yahoo! Sports: Thomas & Bonner Power Sun in Decisive Game 3 to Meet Liberty in Semis

  NFL  

NFL Side Quests

Photo: Diamond Images / Getty Images

RBs Find New Homes, Kelce’s Pop-Star Romance & The Fields-Bears Saga

One day off from football would be nice, but it won’t happen until February. Instead, we’re greeting on these beautiful Thursday with a host of sideline (or side quests, as I like to call them) storylines between NFL Sundays. A big game tonight between the Giants and 49ers could be a one-sided blowout, but here are some headlines to chew on until Sunday’s renewed Week 3 action.

Running Backs Find New Homes

• Rams Trade RB Cam Akers to Vikings for 6th-Round Pick (NFL)
• Browns Bring Back Former RB Kareem Hunt on 1-Year Deal in Wake of Nick Chubb Injury (CBS Sports)

Travis Kelce & Taylor Swift

• Jason Kelce Says Brother Travis Kelce & Taylor Swift Are “100%” Dating (SI)

Fields Not Feeling the Play-Calling

• Bears QB Justin Fields Points to ‘Coaching’ as Possible Cause for Struggles (ESPN)

  SOCCER   

Soccer Scoreboard

Champions League Highlights (Matchday 1)

Real Madrid def. Union Berlin (1-0)

Galatasaray draw Copenhagen (2-2)

Bayern def. Man. United (4-3)

RB Salzburg def. Benfica (2-0)

Napoli def. Braga (2-1)

Arsenal def. PSV (4-0)

Sevilla draw Lens (1-1)

Inter draw Real Sociedad (1-1)

MLS

Inter Miami def. Toronto FC (4-0)

*Lionel Messi & Jordi Alba Exit Early With Injuries

LA Galaxy def. Minnesota United (4-3)

*Billy Sharp Nets Hat Trick for Galaxy)

Full MLS Scores & Highlights

  STORYLINES  

⚽️ Julie Ertz’s Final Game

Julie Ertz, who will go down as one of the greatest players in USWNT history, officially announced her retirement in August. Tonight marks her final match with the national team, but “it’s not because mama can’t play.” (FOX Sports)

🏈 NFL Trade Block Big Board

While 16 weeks remain in the 2023 NFL season, the October 31 trade deadline is on the horizon. The following trade block big board provides a look at the type of talent that could, or perhaps should, be available between now and the deadline. (Bleacher Report)

🏀 Could the Bucks Trade Giannis?

Giannis Antetokounmpo has quadrupled down this offseason on his urgency to win another championship, be that in Milwaukee or somewhere else. He has said it plainly. No bones about it. If Milwaukee isn't in the business of championships, he's out. (CBS Sports)

  NEWS   📰 

• Jason Kelce Says Brother Travis Kelce & Taylor Swift Are “100%” Dating (SI)
• Hall of Famer Warren Sapp Vows to Join Deion Sanders’ Coaching Staff at Colorado in 2024 (Sporting News)
• 25-Year-Old Miami Tight End Petitions for 9th Year of Eligibility in College Football (USA Today)

• Pacers & Buddy Hield Looking for Potential Trade After Extension Talks Fail (Yahoo! Sports)

• Brewers Pitcher J.C. Mejia Gets 162-Game Suspension for 2nd PED Test (CBS Sports)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️ 

The Must-Watch List

🏈 NFL (Thursday Night Football)

Giants at 49ers (8:15 pm ET)

⚽️ Soccer

USWNT vs. South Africa (7:30 pm ET)

*Julie Ertz’s Final Match

⚾️ MLB

Blue Jays at Yankees (7:05 pm ET)

Orioles at Guardians (7:15 pm ET)

Giants at Dodgers (10:10 pm ET)

Download The Sportsletter's Must-Watch Calendar

  THE TEAM  

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Product Manager: Matthew Cahill

Lead Designer: Joe Stella

Assistant Writer: Marissa Kasch

Social Media: Aaron Yorke

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