As much as the MLB postseason is about which team can rack up the most consecutive series wins in a pressure-packed month, I can't help but also see it as a bit of a Baseball Pageant, in which each city indirectly competes to prove that they have the most charming and lovable and deserving group of boys.
The San Diego Padres stand out. Their postseason has been less 'charm offensive' and more just 'offensive'-at least if you're a certain kind of baseball person primed to see disrespect everywhere you look.
Dominating the conversation in the build-up to Game 3 on Tuesday was the 'sinister sling' controversy, in which Manny Machado stood accused of throwing a ball toward the Dodgers dugout with an intent that was 'unsettling,' according to L.A. manager Dave Roberts.
The final score was a stressful 6-5, but as San Diego gathered all of its runs in one haymaker of a second inning against a wobbly Walker Buehler, they showed more scrappiness than charm.
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