Junior Caminero tapped the home-plate umpire and opposing catcher with the knob of his bat and then stepped into the box to chants of “M-V-P” in the first inning of Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. He smacked a center-cut fastball up the middle for an RBI single, casually tossed his bat aside, rounded first base and delivered a dramatic fist pump.

This is the guy fueling the Tampa Bay Rays’ postseason run. This is the heartbeat of their lineup, the wunderkind superstar, the MVP candidate, the cocksure third baseman who wagged his finger, Dikembe Mutombo style, at Steven Kwan after snagging his line drive in Game 2.

This is the guy the Cleveland Guardians, the last remaining threat to the Rays’ AL pennant plans, let get away.

These front offices are widely regarded as two of the best in the sport. They aren’t perfect, though. The Guardians’ front office keeps a list of its blunders. To err is human. To learn from erring is growth.

There’s no miscue that haunts them more than trading a teenaged Caminero to the Rays — compounded by the dual miseries that the Rays weren’t even initially seeking Caminero, and that the return the Guardians received has been virtually worthless.

That humiliating reality is on full display before a national audience throughout the ALCS. Guardians president Chris Antonetti sat on a navy-padded wall outside of the visitors dugout at Tropicana Field on Monday afternoon and watched a group of Rays hitters take batting practice. The group included Caminero, who launched several balls over sections of seats in left field.

“This is home,” Caminero said from St. Petersburg before the ALCS shifted to Cleveland tied at one game apiece. “There has been great harmony between me and the organization from the get-go. The support that I’ve gotten here has been nothing but love. They were the ones who made me a major leaguer.”

So, how did the 23-year-old — a two-time All-Star with 87 home runs over the last two years — wind up in the Rays’ organization?

After the 2021 season, the Guardians desperately needed to bolster their pitching depth. Tobias Myers was on the fringe of the Rays’ roster, and with teams needing to set their 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, Tampa made Myers available. According to multiple league sources granted anonymity for their candor, the Guardians were the only team that pursued Myers.

Read more here for free: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7691299/2026/10/15/junior-caminero-cleveland-guardians-tampa-bay-rays-trade-regret/?unlocked_article_code=1.I1E.3R1L.EW3e4ZVbLy1U&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta

EDIT: THE GAME I BOUGHT IS SATURDAY

Hello! Big win today!!

I don’t really know why i’m posting this but I just don’t really understand how they sell tickets for $190 for upper deck, and then drop it down to $99? For two tickets that I bought, i lost about 180 dollars because ticket prices went down. i’m not mad, just wondering why they them so expensive and then drop them?

So this is a bummer, I just saw that they moved the start time up to 1:00 p.m and my flight doesn't even get in until 4:00. I didn't know that they could just do that.

As a ‘90s kid, I love The Matrix. It’s one of the first movies I rewatched endlessly and I can conjure Neo dodging bullets instantly. So many moments from that trilogy stand out to me, but one scene hits me right now: when Neo meets The Oracle for the first time…to see whether Neo is The One or not. She describes being the One “kinda like being in love”. Nobody can tell you you are in love, you just know it. That love drove Neo to do impossible things to save Trinity, and then (eventually) save humanity.

I already wrote about how I started loving this team in September. Now I understand how falling for this team is both a thrill, but also made me vulnerable. A few weeks ago I became a believer, but now this team can break my heart. The excitement is 100% there, this is no longer another AL Central division winning team experiencing a nice season. This team could win it all, and I can no longer treat that possibility as an abstraction, in fact: it’s intoxicating!

Falling in Love with…

Petey Halpin

There is a small group of Guardians fans who call themselves “Petey’s Sweeties” as big Halpin fans. I now consider myself a member. I live for this energy from Petey Halpin. That bat flip is epic, almost as epic as Jose Bautista’s bat flip. The home run is a candidate for my Titanic Blast series. The home run and the bat flip combine to make an absolutely masterful performance from Petey Halpin who has now hit two massive home runs for Cleveland including his 3-run blast against the White Sox on September 16th. How can you not love this team after that?

Halpin has been a marvel this October batting .333 and slugging .750. After Angel looked more lost than a blind man with a broken smart phone for four games: Vogt gave Halpin the starting job in Game 5 of the ALDS. Petey rewarded his manager by providing big hits, none bigger than today’s blast. He has also played solid defense in center field; the crowd started chanting Petey after every one of his plays. A stunning performance, perhaps the most surprising home run hit by a Cleveland hitter since Rajai Davis took Aroldis Chapman deep in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. How can you not love the pesky 4th outfielder being the star?

Daniel Espino

I did not want Gavin Williams pulled from the game in the 6th inning, but…wow did Daniel Espino look good. He struck out the side in a thrilling display of power in Game 1; he made the Rays look like high schoolers in his one inning of work. He was similarly impressive today. He regularly hit 100 with his fastball and the Rays had no chance: none.

It has been a long road for Espinso, and how Vogt would deploy him this October was a topic of discussion among Guardians fans. Some expected him to start games, before giving way to Joey Cantillo (he still might start Game 4: we shall see). Others envisioned a late inning weapon. So far Vogt has deployed Espino in middle relief, albeit high leverage middle relief and Daniel has been masterful in this role. How can you not love a great comeback story?

Cade Smith

I feared Stephen Vogt would tire out Cade Smith pitching him every game. Perhaps taking Tuesday off was all he needed (Game 2 of the ALCS is the first Cleveland postseason game Smith has not pitched in his career). Smith was masterful today; Mariano Rivera-esque. He entered with 2 outs in the 8th, a runner at 3rd, and Yandy Diaz at the plate. Yandy is an incredibly dangerous hitter: but Cade shut him down. Cade then locked down the 9th, striking out 2 of the 4 batters he faced. Smith has not always been used as effectively as I would like: but he has been durable, and dominant, this year. Who does not love a lockdown closer?

The Big Rig

This postseason has not been kind to starting pitchers, with Gavin Williams arguably posting the most consistent performances this October. He was superb in Game 2 of the ALDS, got Cade Smith out of a jam in Game 4, and locked down the White Sox in Game 5. Today he continued his overpowering postseason striking out 9 Rays in 5 innings. He allowed only two runs, both on Chandler Simpson’s triple off a pitch that appeared well inside. Yes: it stinks Williams gave up the 2 runs, but sometimes you must tip your cap to the opposing team. The other side is good at baseball too.

But Gavin has acted like an ace this October, and he feels like an ace. I wanted Gavin to stay on, not just because I relish starters pitching deeper into games, but because I honestly think his stuff (even when he’s tired) might be the best on the team. He’s throwing gas, he’s confident, and I would have taken Gavin over anyone not named Cade Smith (and maybe Espino) today.

I have rarely used Gavin Williams’ nickname: but “Big Rig” is a great one for him. More powerful than a locomotive, and he brings the gas. Gutsy performance, even if managers no longer let their starters pitch as deep as they used to.

If you want to hear a crazy stat: there have been so far 52 ‘good’ starts in Cleveland postseason history. I defined a ‘good’ start (or better) as any start that:

1. Was at least 5 innings
2. Had a game score of at least 50

Now, Game Score is a statistic invented by Bill James to grade the quality of a start. Anything above a 50 is generally considered at least solid, 70 or better is great. 90-100 is an exceptional performance. Bob Feller’s famous Opening Day no-hitter scores as a 90, for instance. Len Barker’s perfect game a 98. There are some quirks to it: Corey Kluber’s 18 strikeout performance (the club record for strikeouts in a single game) is a 98.

Gavin Williams has pitched 4 of them, 3 of them this postseason. Second to Corey Kluber for the most in a single postseason, and for second most by any player in team history (the leaders are Orel Hershiser and Charles Nagy). That boggles my mind. I have more to say about the Big Rig, but I am saving that for later.

They Can Win It All

Realizing how deeply I have fallen for this team is a scary thought, and I felt it most powerfully after the Guardians stole Game 1 of the ALCS against the heavily favored Tampa Bay Rays. It’s the same feeling I got after Travis Hafner walked off the Yankeesin Game 2 of the 2007 ALDS and the game’s titan felt ready to collapse. We were not just a surprise division winner: but a true contender. It was the same feeling I felt when Jhonkensy Noel shocked the world in the ALCS in 2024. Any comeback, at that moment, felt possible. It is the same feeling I felt after Game 4 of the World Series in 2016 after Corey Kluber and our bullpen locked down the Cubs. We were on the cusp of winning it all.

On Monday I felt this feeling in my bones. This team can do it. They can win it all.

Intellectually I knew we could win it all a long time ago. In the postseason my rules are simple: the first team to two (if it’s the Wild Card Series) or three (if it’s the Division Series) or four wins (for the Championship and World Series) advances…or wins it all. All analysis is just a prediction, you still need to win the games and those games rarely play out as planned. I challenge anyone to show me where they predicted Petey Halpin would produce the offense needed for Cleveland to win today. After today your Cleveland Guardians are two wins away from the World Series and SIX wins away from breaking our curse! We have not been 6 wins away from a championship in a decade, when Tito led us to the World Series.

Before today: I felt relaxed (for the postseason). With the Guardians only winning 85 games, I felt it unlikely this team would make a deep postseason run. I wanted us to beat the White Sox and winning that series left me with a sense of contentment. Of course I wanted the Guardians to win it all, but my lower expectations let me enjoy each moment without demanding the next one. Coming back from an 0-2 deficit to shock Chicago was enough; if we lost to the superior Rays (who were better rested): I could live with it without feeling bad.

Not anymore. I can see the finish line, and I think every fan has that moment of investment, of possibilities becoming expectations. For some it came when we roared back to win the AL Central. Maybe for some it came after we beat the White Sox. Heck: I am sure some fans entered the year with a “World Series or bust” attitude. I get it. Had Tampa Bay swept us: I would still write an article like last year’s piece closing out the season. If we lose now: it will sting, there will be anguish. This team could not break my heart before Monday: now it can, and that’s scary.

The Joy of Investment

We are getting so close to glory. I was giddy after Petey Halpin’s homer, hugging strangers and becoming incapable of standing still. Every step we get closer is an absolute moment of pure joy. You start thinking, irrationally: that your team is a “team of destiny”; I have heard this phrase from several different fans and friends this postseason alone.

I concede: this team feels like a team of destiny right now. I know it’s not destined: I have watched far too much playoff baseball to believe it. There is no such thing as a team of destiny and you cannot know while you are living in the moment. But that feeling of being a team of destiny? No better feeling as a fan. That’s how I felt, as a young and naive fan, in 2007. I felt that way in 2016 after we dismantled the Blue Jays. I felt it in 2017 after we won 100 games. There comes a point where you simply believe “this is our year!” That feeling is top notch.

I want to bottle it and relish it while I can, because we all must know that the feeling can deceive.

Not a Team of Destiny: We’re Doing the Work

But the feeling is just that: a feeling, and I reject the mantle of “team of destiny.” I pointed this out to many friends of mine who discussed other teams this postseason alone. Several fans in my fantasy league described the White Sox as a “team of destiny” for instance and I dismissed the argument: every team that is winning in the playoffs feels like a team of destiny…until they don’t. My first postseason was 2007 and I recall the Rockies feeling like an unstoppable force. They won 14 of 15 games to end the season, and then 7 straight games to start the postseason. Phillies fans threw garbage on the field in disgust. The Diamondbacks were simply overmatched. No team I have ever seen felt more like a “team of destiny” than the ‘07 Rockies.

They got completely dismantled by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

The Cleveland Guardians in 2025, in some ways, felt like a team of destiny. The 2025 Guardians also felt touched by destiny as they chased down Detroit in September. That feeling did not protect them in October.. That did not last.

I take joy that your 2026 Cleveland Guardians are doing the work. We’re performing in the key moments. Whether it be Jose Ramirez, Gavin Williams, Petey Halpin, Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis or anyone else. This team is not destined: they are making their own destiny. That is more impressive than simply riding a magical wave, we make our own magic.

Six wins remain between Cleveland and a celebration generations of fans have waited to experience. I know how much it could hurt if this ends badly. Right now, I would not trade the feeling. Let’s keep making it happen!

Basically the title. Is Bibee going to get a start or are we going bullpen game?

I can't take a screen shot or record my screen while using the YouTubeTV app so I had someone take this picture during the game today. The score verifies that. The bottom half is a tab that should show scores for the day but it shows the standings instead. The only problem is those standings are from last year when we came back against Detroit and Chicago dumped 100+ games.

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We make slider dogs = Guardz win..... Basically have to make some more tomorrow night.

The "local stingray in awful mood" image gets me every time, I'll give them that. Tbh the Guardian statues look about as emotional as Cade Smith does after a win.

Two more to the World Series!!!

I think Gavin Williams 🙌 His pitching really frustrated their batters