The World (Series) according to Jim:
• Years ago, a New York writer – he happened to cover the Mets during an era where they were wandering aimlessly – put the art of covering baseball every day into perfect perspective.
“Our job,” he said, “is to write better than they play.”
So let’s just say the bar was pretty low at Dodger Stadium the last two nights. (And no smart remarks from the back of the peanut gallery. Columnist tells the jokes here, OK?) …
• Seriously, the Dodgers, down 3-2 after the Toronto Blue Jays’ 6-1 victory Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium, do have a chance at pulling this World Series out and ending a quarter-century of teams unable to repeat. Four teams have won Games 6 and 7 on the road and won the Series, and while that’s a tiny sliver out of 120 years of history, it is a start.
The 1958 New York Yankees were the first, winning a rematch with the then-Milwaukee Braves, the defending champs, by winning 4-3 and 6-2 in County Stadium. The 1968 Detroit Tigers, rallying from a 3-1 series deficit, knocked off the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals in Games 6 and 7 in Busch Stadium, with a 13-1 victory in Game 6 and World Series MVP Mickey Lolich stopping the Cardinals (and Bob Gibson) 4-1 in Game 7.
The 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates also came back from a 3-1 deficit and won twice in Baltimore, 4-0 and 4-1, to win the title. And the most recent team to pull off the improbable was the 2019 Washington Nationals, who won 7-2 and 6-2 in Houston in a series in which the visiting team won all seven games. …
• That World Series, of course, wrapped up about a month before the Astros’ sign-stealing shenanigans in the 2017 Series were revealed by former Houston pitcher Mike Fiers in a story in The Athletic.
In related news, are George Springer’s ears still ringing from the boos he received in Dodger Stadium before hurting his oblique in Game 3? …
• The point: It can be done. It just will take a lot more than the Dodgers have shown in the last two games – and actually the latter half of the 18-inning marathon Monday. Freddie Freeman’s walkoff home run that decided that game hid the fact that the Dodgers had a lot of chances to win earlier. From Shohei Ohtani’s second homer of that game in the seventh inning on, L.A. was 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position.
They were 0 for 5 in those situations Tuesday night (one of those outs did score a run) and were 0 for 1 Wednesday, an indication that Trey Yesavage and the relievers that followed, Seranthony Dominguez and Jeff Hoffman, had them by the neck. …
• But hitting wasn’t the only issue. The Dodgers’ bullpen again let a small deficit become a big one, and this is worth noting: In Games 4 and 5, six of nine inherited runners scored. For the World Series, Dodgers relievers have allowed 12 of 23 inherited runners to come home.
In the first three rounds, four of 24 inherited runners scored. Are the Jays that much better at getting people home? Probably. But are the Dodger relievers fulfilling every prophecy of doom that their fans feared in July, August and September?
Precisely. …
• A reminder: The headline on this column immediately after the July 31 trading deadline read “A disappointing MLB trade deadline for local fans,” and the subhead under it added: “The Dodgers think small while the Padres dream big.” And I noted that 13 relievers, including 10 late-inning specialists, were traded at the deadline and all went elsewhere.
Too bad someone didn’t dream up this T-shirt: “My general manager went to the bazaar and all I got was Brock Stewart.” …
• And by the way, do not – I repeat, do NOT – blame Alex Vesia’s absence for any of this. Family comes first, and Vesia put his priorities in order. If you insist that he should have pitched anyway, or that he was somehow shirking his responsibility to the team … well, I’m glad I don’t know you. …
• Another issue that reared its head Wednesday night: defensive lapses. The Daulton Varsho single that Teoscar Hernández turned into a triple with an ill-advised dive was the most egregious and led to a run. Mookie Betts’ off-line throw on a potential double play in the third didn’t result in a run but kept an inning alive. And four wild pitches in the seventh and eighth innings? …
• Incidentally, today’s reminder not to believe what AI tells you without checking further: In an initial Google search of teams winning Games 3 and 4 on the road, that platform’s artificial intelligence spit out the 1985 Kansas City Royals, who came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the St. Louis Cardinals. Additionally, it said the Royals were the first team to do so.
Uh-uh. The Royals’ triumphant Games 6 and 7 that year came in Kansas City. …
• There is agreement on this much in the Dodgers’ clubhouse: Freddie Freeman and Kiké Hernández used the term “funk” to describe the state the Dodgers’ offense is currently in. …
• But maybe Thursday’s day off will help, especially since the players’ plane left L.A. after Wednesday night’s game and they were scheduled for some down time before the Thursday night workout.
The second plane, with manager, coaches, staff, etc., was to leave Thursday morning. Let’s hope Dave Roberts doesn’t trigger any more potential international incidents in the event of delays – or at least any hurt feelings among our Canadian neighbors.
(Or, as spelled north of the 49th Parallel, neighbours.) …
• But I think it’s safe to say that Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the right choice to take the ball for Friday’s elimination game, even beyond his recent back-to-back complete games – and any pitcher who can go the distance and keep certain relievers out of the game is definitely an asset.
Yamamoto also has experience in big games, having pitched in the Japan Series and the World Baseball Classic on behalf of his home country. Roberts has touted that as a reason why Yamamoto inspires confidence, and why that 12-year, $325 million deal he signed two winters ago looks like a stroke of genius. …
• Asked, following Wednesday night’s game, why such big-game situations appealed to him, he said in Japanese: “To be honest, I don’t know why.”
In other words, he’s not overthinking it. Why should anyone else?
jalexander@scng.com