Instead of lamenting the decision to not bring Craig Kimbrel into the game for a two-inning save or wondering why the Atlanta Braves didn’t have a stone-cold playoff killer like Juan Uribe on the roster, it’s a little easier for this Scribe/Braves fan to actually give props to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Yasiel Puig is, without a doubt, TSFJ’s current MVP because of his attitude and all-world talent, but this is also a Dodger team that boasts a hell of a lot more. The aforementioned Uribe filled the most needed role of a team full of mercenaries: the guy who fears no pitch in no ballpark. It has guys like Hanley Ramirez, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, players who want to prove their former employers wrong. It has Clayton Kershaw, who doesn't need any more superlatives.
With high-priced sports teams becoming relative busts in the last few years in North America, the Dodgers represent a newer and almost cooler villain in the sense that the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees were not too long ago. The difference is that many baseball fans were enjoying a little schadenfreude after the dubious 31-42 start to only get punched in the mouth for much of the last four months. We hadn’t seen a big-money team pull itself out of its own hole like this in a while.
Think of how much doubt persisted early on: the San Francisco Giants won two World Series in three years with pitching and occasional hitting. The St. Louis Cardinals are ZOMBIES! The Washington Nationals were going to run all over baseball because of Nattitude! And because many in the national media haven’t learned their lessons, they said the San Andreas Angels of Disneyworld were the best team in Southern California.
Now, here we are. Sure, it took a little patience and some (healthy?) fear. Mix that with a sterling rookie, a deep outfield, the best starting pitcher in baseball, power on the infield and the right amount of cockiness and you have these Los Angeles Dodgers. The team that should win the World Series in three weeks.
Should being the operative word because the NL is deep. Some would say the Braves were the weakest team of the Senior Circuit’s side of the bracket, but the Dodgers still needed Uribe’s heroics to save them from shoddy defense in Game 4. The Zombies and the Pittsburgh Pirates have beat the hell out of each other all season long and could likely better Tampa Bay, Detroit (which is clearly not the same feared team as a season ago) and Oakland.
So, if last night’s Gatorade bath of Craig Sager is any indication, the Dodgers are going to probably endear themselves to those that love “swag” (whatever that is) and tick off even more people along the way. As long as they raise the Commissioner’s Trophy by Halloween, they really couldn’t care less.
Now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to cry in my cubicle. In the meantime, read these stories.
Both Patrick Ewing and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are curious about Jason Kidd’s coaching hire – Ball Don’t Lie
NFL will stop using pink penalty flags after Week 5 – NFL.com
Flyers coaching change: Philadelphia is hockey’s greatest show – SB Nation
The Golf Rivalry Between Jerry Rice and Tim Brown (VIDEO) – Wall Street Journal
New (college football) playoff committee comes with plenty of clout – CBS Sports
CineSports’ Noah Coslov talks about how the video featuring Kevin Durant’s comments on James Harden and Dwyane Wade went viral – Cynopsis Sports
The Touchback Era Is Ruining the Game - MMQB
Nielsen’s Twitter TV Rating Aims to Reveal Millions of Impressions Tied to TV Shows – Advertising Age
Beloved Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson Fact-checked Gravity – Vulture (By the way, I loathed high school, but since he is an alum, this is the only published dap Bronx Science will ever get from me)
