This is what most teams play for every season—well, the Dodgers and many other teams do! Teams like the Rockies, Marlins, Pirates, White Sox, Reds, Blue Jays, and (to an extent) the Red Sox exist just to grease their owners’ pockets. The Dodgers and Yankees always try to win the World Series every year. The fact that they don’t is a testament to how difficult a feat that is. It’s one-third talent, one-third divine baseball providence, and one-third “who the hell knows?” Actually, it’s the Baseball Gods who ultimately decide. It’s hard for many people to understand that the best team does not always win. The hottest team (at that moment) wins… and the one the Baseball Gods ordain!
The Yankees have not been to the World Series since 2009, but they won it that year. This marks the Dodgers 4th time in the last eight years to be in the World Series. They have also won one (2020). It is extremely hard to get to a World Series and equally harder to win it… and yet here they are. Both teams are “offensive juggernauts.” Batting average and OPS are important, but “runs scored” is the prime directive.
The Dodgers have scored 70 runs in 11 games, while the Yankees have scored 43 in 9 games. The Dodgers average 6.36 Runs a game, while the Yankees average 4.77 Runs a game. The Dodgers have a better batting average, better OPS, better SLG, better Walk%, and better SB %, and they are 3-3 in save opportunities. The Yanks are 5-8 in save opportunities. The Yankees have a better ERA – 3.27 to 4.36, but they have not had to face the Dodgers, and the Dodgers have given up big bunches of runs in just a few games.
Both teams have pitching staffs that are sucking air. I will break down the splits and stats later, but this should be an excellent series with lots of star power. Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, and Shohei Ohtani were effective, and Kike Hernandez did what he always does in October, but Tommy “Freaking” Edman was the MVP of the NLCS. Freddie Freeman will have a week to heal before the World Series. He wasn’t a factor in the NLCS. That remains the big question.
At this time, I am going to assume that Miggy Ro will be inactive. Tommy Edman has been excellent at SS, and CF is fine with Kike and/or Pages. Lux has been injured, and his bat could be very important in Yankee Stadium. CT3 also showed why he is a big part of this team. If anyone doubts Dave Roberts’s managerial acumen, well… they are just haters! PERIOD! What a job he has done! The Dodgers have been forced to go with bullpen games, and in Doc’s own words, “The more decisions anyone has to make, the more chances you are to be wrong.”
Let’s also not forget Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes. They absolutely won the MLB Trade Deadline! In a season where the Dodgers lost an entire pitching staff, their depth was unbelievable. It would be great if Alex Vesia could return for the World Series!
Common Sense is Not So Common
I just shake my head and roll my eyes when Dodger Fans criticize Dave Roberts for starting with and leaving Jack Flaherty in Game Five. It was an easy choice for me because, while I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, I was blessed with common sense, which (these days) is not so common. Long story short: The Dodgers were not going to use their bullpen in that game… PERIOD! If you don’t see that… well, you need a dose of common sense!
Back in the High Life Again
By the way: That is my copy of the October 31, 1988 Sporting News that is in my office.
Love it Mark.
Any chance you go out to LA for a game? Pricey I know but this is the times of our lives!!!
Ill be there for the clincher….
I tried to see if I could buy tickets, but it kept erroring me out. I’ll look later.
We fly all of our remote employees back once a year for an intense week of training, and this year, that happens to be October 25-31.
If it goes 6 or 7, I might make it November or 2.
If you do, let me buy you a Beer.
Ill be there with my Son. Least i can do….
Tommy Edman is one of Andrew Friedman’s best trade acquisitions and yes, the Dodgers are piling up runs. Hopefully they can get some solid starting pitching from Buehler, Yamamoto and Flaherty. No question the bullpen has been huge. Good to see the Dodgers back in the World Series. Hopefully it ends with an LA Parade.
Hope LA gets the parade that covid prevented in ’20. What a weird season this has been so far, with so many highs and lows. Hope we get the ultimate high this year. I think we all need it after so many frustrating endings.
I’m most interested in how the Dodgers configure their WS pitching? Maybe Vesia, maybe Bazooka? Is it possible to swap Knack for Gonsolin? Hoping we get Freddie back as well. Max barely missed that errant throw from Taylor. My guess is Freddie’s stretch would have saved that error. What I do know, is that the Dodgers brain trust will field the best team available. This series may be a track meet! Go Dodgers, win it all!
SO SO SO Happy the Dodgers are in the World Series AND best of all is vs. the Yankees.
They’re not the juggernaut they were in the 1940’s and 1950’s against the then Brooklyn team but they are mighty indeed for this era.
Right now, there seems to be a “magic” Dave has conjured out of hats that are powering this team. A few big hits by Judge, Stanton & Soto will prompt heroics by Shohei, Mookie, and I even think Freddie may have a huge game if he’s on the roster – but they’ll have to shoot him with a tranquilizer dart to keep him off the field!
Tommy has been a revelation, so has the entire bull pen. GO DODGERS!!!
No matter what we need to keep scoring at this pace. Some great shutouts pinched by bullpen. Yesterday our best guys gave up 5 runs.
great job last night! hgot to admit, little concerned with kopech last night! as far as Teo goes, im sure he apologized to everyone in the dugout after his base running blunder. i thought it was gone too. Big Ben was a pleasant surprise! Braiser is also concerning. the long ball is coming to frequently for him. keep him away from judge and soto. is it a forgone conclusion Walker starts game 1? Again, Doc has done a remarkable job this year! So i’ll be happy to eat some crow for past criticisms! I said a few weeks ago Edman was the steal of the trade deadline. Now if Rojas is activated, why would they change anything? And who goes off the active roster? Kevin k? his defense could be big against the yankees big 3! Might be a difficult decision for AF. Love Rojas defense, but i wouldn’t change anything right now! Hey San diego! watching the playoffs? There’s always the off season. Preller will be wheeling and dealing i’m sure. maybe he can find a team to take Ferny and his massive contract and his over swelled head! Nah, probably not!
Striker. Shogun. Bullpen. Rince and repeat.
I first rooted for the bums in the ‘47 series vs the yanks. No tv of course, but a terrific exciting series vs the skanks. I have followed every Dodger game since. The teams of ‘52-‘53 were the best even though they didn’t win the ws, with all my boyhood heroes like Campy, Pee Wee, Robinson, Furrilla, Shotgun Shuba, Oisk, and my fave, the Duke. It’s been a long and joyful ride, and I am delighted to have the boys perform in October once more. This is a terrific team! Go Dodgers!
After beating the SD morons, I read that Teo said that the Dodgers hadn’t approached him about a contract extension, maybe that’s why he looked distracted, sad or disappointed, because I’m sure he would love to stay in LA. Maybe that made him fail in the first games against the Mets, and he realized that even though he won’t be back with the team, he’s playing to win a ring (in fact that’s why he signed with the Dodgers) and also to get a big contract next season. So I expect to see a very different Teo against the Yankees!
Very very cool! Now it’s time to don my Gibby jersey. This is the 4th time I’m going to wear it. Don’t want it to stink too bad, so SWEEP! Ok maybe not but these truly are DESTINY’S Dodgers. I still have my Oct.31,1988 copy of the Herald Examiner!
They will win!
Book it
Outscore the opponent.
A sure fire plan for victory
Sounds like a solid plan.
What a World Series!
My hot take: these are quite evenly matched, very motivated teams. Edges for either team regarding lineup, rotation, and bullpen aren’t huge. So there will be a lot riding on baserunning and defense on field, and managerial decisions about what happens on it. For better or worse this will put the magnifying glass on Roberts.
I’m pretty impressed with Roberts so far. It’s great seeing organizational learning across the board from the last few seasons. It’s a race to 4 wins, and sometimes keeping some powder (high powered relievers) dry for the next day can be successful. It’s been working so far, so hopefully it continues.
I also suspect Shohei and Yamamoto had an impact concerning preparation. They’ve been a very talented team the last decade, but talent alone doesn’t win. There were a lot of stories early this season about the dedication that Shohei and YY took to their work (reminds of the continuous improvement mantra in Japanese society). This set the tone that even Mookir Betts and Freddie Freeman were impressed by.
They’ve got a lot more fire under their asses this year. It’s what I’ve wanted to see for years. However it got their, I’m damn glad it’s lit.