Opinion

Every fan wants his or her team to sign the biggest MLB free agents who are on the market every offseason, but sometimes, the middling contracts are the ones that pay off the most.

Through a season full of injuries and, at times, uncertainty, Jason Heyward was a constant.

April through September, Clayton Kershaw dwarfs the gorgeous San Gabriel Mountains backdrop at Dodger Stadium.

In October, those same mountains make him look small.

It has become one of the most inexplicable rituals of autumn, like Linus awaiting the Great Pumpkin and why so many people love candy corn. Kershaw, one of the greatest pitchers of our generation, steps into the postseason, and the Big Blue Train careens off the track.

NEW YORK — Terry Collins worried, because managers are paid to worry.

He knew what this night was going to be like at Citi Field. He knew what this city had been like since Saturday night, since Chase Utley rolled into Ruben Tejada and the National League Division Series began feeling like a morality play.

"I've got to keep things under control," the New York Mets manager said.

Based on recent headlines, you'd think the Chicago Cubs' rise to power has had everything to do with Jake Arrieta and little to do with, well, anything else.

In reality, however, the bats have also had a lot to do with that. And on Monday evening at Wrigley Field, they made that clear by upstaging none other than Arrieta himself.

Almost exactly seven months ago, Marcus Stroman lay crumpled on the ground after tearing his ACL during spring training fielding drills. 

On Wednesday, he'll pitch the biggest game of his young career and easily the most important contest of the season for the Toronto Blue Jays.

For a few minutes, it looked like the Houston Astros were going to win Game 4 of the American League Division Series in a romp, which would've pushed them one step closer to the World Series.

But it really was only for a few minutes. The situation took a hard left turn, and now the Astros find themselves in the same place they were a week ago: Reeling from a missed opportunity and needing to win a do-or-die game to extend their season.

Of course Matt Harvey will take the ball for the New York Mets in Game 3 on Monday at Citi Field. Chase Utley just cranked up the emotions of this National League Division Series from easy listening to ear-splitting.

As it just so happens, who else would be on deck to step squarely into the middle of this thing?

Josh Hamilton avoided history on Sunday, and he'll sleep better because of it.

With a base hit in the fifth inning of the Texas Rangers' 5-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, Hamilton snapped a 31-at-bat postseason hitless streak that dated back to 2011.

In a literal sense, the Toronto Blue Jays didn't need Troy Tulowitzki's three-run homer on Sunday.

The blast came in the sixth inning of Toronto's pivotal Game 3 win over the Texas Rangers. The Jays were already leading 2-0 and went on to win 5-1 to stay alive in the best-of-five division series, which the Rangers now lead 2-1.