We’re halfway through October. The Fall Classic is nearly upon us. And the field of contenders is nearly whittled down to two.

As things stand entering Thursday, the defending champs are on the brink, while the AL is completely up for grabs. And the teams that are down and out have lots of figuring-out to do.

Let’s talk to Shelfy about it.

Shelfy: Yeah, I mean, getting that stuff out of the way early is probably a good thing because we don't know what's going to happen over the offseason with the lockout and whatnot. Roster construction is gonna be weird. I was surprised that Don came back, though. The vibe I got, the few times I was around the team and talking with media people, was that he was kind of stepping in, not as a babysitter, but, you know — “It's Don Mattingly. He's sitting right here, let's slot him in for the rest of the season, then we'll reevaluate.”

His son's the general manager of the team right now, so it just seemed like a friendly situation. But I mean, if Don wants to lock in for the rest of the Harper era, I'm in.

Shelfy: Not really, because that information coming out as publicly as it did, as early as it did... Usually there’s a lot of speculation involved when that happens. So I never really fully believed that one. I am more surprised that Don extended than it wasn't Cora. I think the most shocking thing for me is Kevin Long getting let go. He seemed immovable. If they were gonna fire him why didn't we do it two years ago?

Shelfy: I think I might sound a little biased, but I think the Phillies are the most interesting team this offseason. Bohm’s a free agent, probably gonna walk. What do you do with third base? Aidan Miller could end up making the team out of Spring Training. If he does, is he your third baseman? Is he your shortstop? Does where he play depends on what you do in free agency? Do you spend money on another outfielder, or do you go with the platoon and give Brandon Marsh one more year? Do you spend the money on an infielder and move Trea Turner to the outfield? There's so many questions. 

The potential lockout probably couldn't have come at a worse time for the Phillies because they have a lot of question marks. Multiple guys could literally move positions. And it's a decent free agency pool. I think Randy Arozarena would fit the Phillies great, but there's so many moving parts. How do you get that done confidently?

It's gonna be weird, but I do think they're one of the most interesting teams going into the offseason.

Shelfy: I think the Dodgers are cooked, at least for this year. I don't know if the dynasty is cooked, because that team is still stacked, but the Brewers, I think, have put together the perfect modern-day baseball team. You wouldn't know that they're striking out 35 percent of the time right now. Advanced analytics people would hate that! But they're doing all the other stuff perfect. They're playing situational baseball when called for. They're not forcing it. They hit the ball the other way, they put the ball on the ground when they need to. They just do everything the right way, and you don't even notice the strikeouts.

Shelfy: I think the casuals could enjoy a series like this. For starters, it's always fun cheering for the underdog. When teams are involved that have never won a championship, being able, even if you're not a fan, to witness something like that for the first time, it's cool. I like watching teams win a championship for the first time.

But also these teams, it's not just the small market, the small payrolls. They put so much effort into their development and their scouting, and they expect these guys to come up and be productive in their arbitration years. Whereas some of these teams that spend a ton of money, their arbitration guys are doing, well, “maybe hopefully we'll get a little something out of him.” These teams are like, yeah, you, on Year 2 of arbitration, you need to be an anchor for this team. And you see guys who may not be well known, step up and have huge moments and turn into stars.

Shelfy: It's hard to go away from the Brewers right now. They're absolutely dominating. I do think that the Rays are going to come out on top in the American League, and we're going to have a Brewers-Rays World Series, and I think the Brew Crew is going to get it done. 

They're just firing on all cylinders right now. They have three center fielders, three shortstops, and a great pitching staff.

Shelfy: Oh, man! My go-to answer for this is always, you know, elevator interview, five minutes with a player, stranded on an island. My answer's always Andrew McCutchen. That guy seems like he just is a good time all the time. Andrew McCutchen's my number one. 

And then number two, I think I gotta go Jimmy Rollins. Jimmy Rollins is another one that seems like a good time. He's always on the golf course. I listen to the podcast a lot. He's a big banter guy. I think just being in a room with him and Andrew McCutchen would be fun.

It’s baseball’s version of the big dance. So it got us thinking:

Which MLB player would win Dancing With The Stars?

The best of what came out of Jomboy HQ, the Warehouse, and anywhere else we wandered out to over the last week.