Outside The Confines: Saying goodbye

The Oakland A’s are in their final days. The White Sox avoid history for one more day. The Reds fire their manager. And other news around MLB.

The White Sox won last night, thanks in large part to the Angels dropping an easy infield fly in the bottom of the eighth. So the White Sox breaking the record of the 1962 Mets will have to wait until another day, and it won’t be the top story tonight.

• You probably missed this late last night, but the Padres clinched a spot in the postseason with a win over the Dodgers that ended in a triple play.

• The Athletics are in their final series in Oakland. Owner John Fisher wrote a letter to the fans explaining “we did our very best” to keep the team in Oakland. Of course, some doubt his sincerity — noting that he spelled “Loma Prieta” wrong in his recap of the team’s time in Oakland.
• ABC Bay Area reporter Larry Beil spoke for all A’s fans when he ripped Fisher on the air, pointing out the many statements that ring false in the letter. Then he literally ripped the statement up. Jon Hoefling collects other reactions to the letter in that article, including one from former A’s pitcher Trevor May.
• Tim Keown spends time with many A’s fans as they say goodbye to their team, as well as his personal history with the team.
• Marc Carig thanks the A’s for all the memories he’s had with the team. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• The A’s broadcasters share their memories as this chapter of their lives closes.
• Janie McCauley profiles the stadium workers at the Coliseum, many of whom have became as much a part of the team as the players. They’ve certainly been there longer.
• And finally, the A’s topped off this fiasco by putting this hat on sale. I’m sorry to say it’s sold out already.

• Now on to the White Sox. Sam Anderson spent three weeks watching White Sox games and tells of the story of what he experienced and the people he met along the way.
• Chad Jennings has 10 moves over 10 years that turned the White Sox into what they are today. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Jon Greenberg notes that as bad as the White Sox have been, their TV postgame show is first-rate. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Anthony Gharib notes that the White Sox social media team is leaning in to the humor surrounding this terrible season.
• White Sox general manager Chris Getz said that the team does not plan to sign any major free agents this winter. As if any would sign with them unless they had no other options.
• Mike Axisa looks at how the White Sox season affected the pennant races.
• Axisa also looks forward to how Hurricane Helene could affect the pennant races this week.
• The. top 11 things that are at stake this final week of the season.
• Jake Mintz wonders why no team is going to win 100 games this year.
• Jay Jaffe has the strongest positions for each of the National League contenders.
• The Reds have fired manager David Bell.
• Reds president Nick Krall explains why the Reds decided to make a change.
• Leo Morgenstern looks at what went wrong with the Reds this year and how much of that was Bell’s fault.
• Dayn Perry looks at what other managers are on the hot seat.
• Jon Becker has a big list of managerial candidates for the Reds and other teams.
• Gabe Lacques breaks down the “surreal” turnaround from trade deadline sellers to Wild Card contenders.
• The Tigers are calling up top pitching prospect Jackson Jobe for the final week. Jason Beck writes that Jobe may follow the path of David Price and the Rays in 2008.
• Austin Curtright explains what the Tigers can expect out of Jobe.
• Six potential “breakout” stars for this postseason.
• The Pirates released first baseman Rowdy Tellez when he was just four at-bats shy of a $200,000 bonus that would vest in his contract. They also released outfielder Michael A. Taylor.
• Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon announced his retirement at the end of the season. It’s been a good run.
• The Orioles demoted recently-acquired outfielder Eloy Jiménez down to Triple-A Norfolk.
• In honor of the Cubs’ Shōta Imanaga, Michael Baumann announces the “Jaime García All-Stars,” or players who had terrific rookie seasons in a year that they had no chance to win Rookie of the Year because of other even better rookies.
• Andy McCullough looks back at Shohei Ohtani’s historic and tumultuous season. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• David Schoenfield has grades for all 30 teams. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Leo Morgenstern comes to praise recently-DFA’d reliever Dylan Floro, not bury him.
• Matt Snyder loves MLB clubhouse champagne celebrations after clinches.
• Ronald Acuña Jr and his brother Luisangel Acuña met in the majors for the first time. They traded jerseys. Although technically, Ronald is on the IL, so they mostly met off the field.
• Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark has offers from the Phillies and Brewers to join the broadcast booth after a viral video of her calling part of a Phillies game she was watching on TV. C’mon, Marquee. Caitlin’s a Cubs fan! She’s getting drawn to the dark side by her Phillies fan boyfriend.
• And finally, the almost 51-year-old Ichiro Suzuki still has a cannon for an arm.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.