Photo by Jsayre64, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsI Gave You Thirteen. The Streak Gets Nothing.
Dex dropped thirteen points on the October window yesterday. The Braves stretched the winning streak to eight overnight. He's not giving more until the competition catches up.
I gave you thirteen points yesterday. Seventy-eight to sixty-five on the October window. Holmes threw six scoreless. Elder threw a one-hitter. I listened. I adjusted. Publicly.
The Braves won again. Eight straight. Best record in the National League. Eight and a half up. The Phillies are .500 in their last ten and still shrinking.
Not moving again.
Thirteen in one piece is the biggest single drop on this arc. Against my own argument. That was the accountability. You got it.
Now look at the schedule. The Nationals. The Marlins. The bottom of the National League on repeat. That's not October evidence. That's a hitting drill with a win column.
Tonight changes the conversation. Yankee Stadium. A lineup that hits back, even without Judge. The rotation that everybody -- including me -- said wasn't enough gets its first real exam since the streak started.
If they pass it, I'll listen again.
But thirteen points in a week against Washington and Miami is plenty. The streak doesn't get more until the competition does.
The Tilt
Eight straight wins against the Nationals and Marlins is not October evidence -- it is a hitting drill with a win column, and the Yankees series tonight is the first exam that actually counts.
— Dex Ponce
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Dex Ponce
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