If you watched Game 1 of the NLCS, you saw an obvious problem with Madison Bumgarner: He was struggling to reach 90 mph and finally fell apart in the fourth inning. After throwing eight shutout innings against the Dodgers on Aug. 20 -- throwing a season-high 123 pitches in the process -- Bumgarner struggled down the stretch, with a 5.89 ERA over his final seven starts. Chris Quick of Bay City Ball examines Bumgarner's declining velocity and wonders if it's time to just shut him down.

Other stuff to check out:

• Alex Rodriguez says maybe a change of scenery will be good for the Yankees. Wally Matthews of ESPNNewYork wonders about the mental toughness of A-Rod and Nick Swisher.
• Meanwhile, writes Ian O'Connor, Robinson Cano appears to be on March cruise control.
• SweetSpot contributor Anna McDonald looks back at Sid Bream's slide in the 1992 NLCS in a Moment in Time piece.
• Did you see the space jump on Sunday? Daredevil Felix Baumgartner successfully completed a jump from 24 miles up. Diane at Value Over Replacement Grit puts the jump in baseball terms.
• Jon Shepherd looks at Matt Wieters and whether you can expect him to hitter better in future postseasons.
• Two big offseason questions for the Nationals: Do you re-sign Adam LaRoche and Edwin Jackson?
• ESPN Insider Jim Bowden looks at what's ahead for the Orioles and Nationals.
• Steve Mancuso at Redleg Nation looks at what's next for the Reds.
• How can the Phillies fill out their starting rotation?
• Joey Matchulat with some interesting thoughts on the Rangers, including Geovany Soto's pitch-framing, Nolan and Josh, and Derek Holland.