After 32 Years, The Drought Is Over
CLAYTON KERSHAW GETS HIS RING!!! We can put the Kirk Gibson HR and the Orel Hershiser team celebration into the Smithsonian, because we have new LA Dodgers World Series heroes. It took the 3rd time in 4 years for the Dodgers to finally cross the Championship line. Mookie proves to be a difference maker not only for the game but for a World Series Championship team. Corey Seager ends a
CLAYTON KERSHAW GETS HIS RING!!!
We can put the Kirk Gibson HR and the Orel Hershiser team celebration into the Smithsonian, because we have new LA Dodgers World Series heroes. It took the 3rd time in 4 years for the Dodgers to finally cross the Championship line. Mookie proves to be a difference maker not only for the game but for a World Series Championship team. Corey Seager ends a tremendous season and winning the NLCS MVP, tops it all with a WS MVP. Austin Barnes proves that a defensive catcher who gets a key hit (and key safety squeeze) once in a while can be such a positive force in a series, especially with the pitchers. I am so very proud of Austin Barnes. He has gone from being cast aside by so many “fans” to being a Dodger WS hero. Julio Urias proves to have ice water run through his veins as he dominates the last 2.1 perfect innings of a championship game with 4 Ks of the 7 outs. This was a team championship.
Of course not all of the news was great. Justin Turner, perhaps the backbone of this team, tests positive for COVID-19. JT says he feels great and has no symptoms. Doc was sitting next to JT for the team picture, both without masks. Prayers to JT for a quick recovery.
You have to play a full nine innings to beat the Dodgers. You can shut Mookie down for a game and 5 innings, but he is not going to let you beat him with a championship game on the line. Of course he had help from Kevin Cash. Dave Roberts was absolutely roasted for inserting Pedro Baez in with runners on base and KJ with the game on the line, and deservedly so. But Kevin Cash pulled Blake Snell, who was absolutely dealing, after Austin Barnes singled with one out in the 6th,for the Dodgers second hit on the night. Snell had thrown only 79 pitches. Snell had faced Betts, Seager, and JT twice each, and struck each of them out twice. Snell had 9 K’s in 5.1 IP. He was nasty (per Mookie) and gross (per Belli). However, as Cash has done all year, he brought in one of his best relievers, Nick Anderson, in high leverage situations, who promptly gave up a double on a 2-0 pitch to Mookie with Barnes moving up to 3rd. Austin scores on a wild pitch tying it up. Then Mookie scores on that dubious contact play on a Corey Seager ground ball to Choi trying to get Mookie at the plate.
In the 8th, Mookie leads off and sends an 0-2 86 MPH slider into the back wall of the left center bullpen for a HR and a 3-1 lead, the eventual final score.
Unsung heroes have to be the LAD bullpen. The Dodgers bullpen has caught a lot of flak throughout the last several years and especially during the 2020 playoffs, and especially Doc’s management of that bullpen. But in the two biggest games of the year, the bullpen was stellar. In games 5 and 6, the relievers pitched 12 innings, allowed 4 hits, 1 walk, and chalked up16 Ks. Game 6 was especially effective with 6 relievers putting up shutout 2 hit baseball in 7.2 IP. Doc apparently made the correct call on pulling Tony Gonsolin when he did, and inserting Dylan Floro who throws three changeups to strikeout Randy Arozarena in the 2nd inning. Alex Wood throws 2 perfect innings followed by some outstanding pitching from Baez, VGon, Graterol, and especially Julio Urias. Doc deserved credit for not pulling Urias in NLCS Game 7 for 3.0 IP against Atlanta, and deserved it again for leaving Urias in for 2.1 IP in Championship game, ending it in style with a K of Mike Brosseau and Willy Adames.
The Dodgers were under the microscope with extreme pressure as soon as the season started. It was a shortened season due to the virus, and the completion of the season was always in doubt. They were targeted by all as the best and deepest team in all of MLB, and it wasn’t close. They ended the season with an MLB best 43 wins. They beat the teams with the 2nd (SD) and 3rd (ATL) best records in the NL to get to the WS, and then beat the AL #1 team to win the WS. The Dodgers proved to the Baseball World that they were the best, and this WS will mean as much as 1988, 1981, 1965, 1963, 1959, and 1955.
It was great to hear Doc say thank you to Ross Stripling. I know that it was heartfelt, and as a huge Ross Stripling fan, I was glad to hear him recognized on this special night.
Kevin Cash was an absolute class act with some tough questions asked by Ken Rosenthal. He gave the Dodgers props and he thought that as well as Snell was pitching that he did not want him to face the Dodgers for the third time. Tampa Bay was the #1 seed in the AL and got to Game 6 of the WS by doing all year what Cash did in Game 6. Kevin Cash will be second guessed for a looooooooong time on that one decision. By the way, I think Kevin Cash is a fantastic manager. He made a judgement call that absolutely backfired. I bet if he is in that situation again, Snell stays in. The Rays were a class act, led by a class manager.
And the Rays were a class team. I will enjoy watching Randy Arozarena for years to come. Willy Adames may have to move over for Wander Franco, but both will be fun to watch. I hope Charlie Morton comes back for another run. Blake Snell will win another CY and Tyler Glasnow will grow from this WS. Manuel Margot has found a home in Tampa. The Tampa Bay Rays are legit and I am so happy that such a classy organization can make it to the WS and give the Dodgers are real fight. The best team won in 2020.
Maybe now we can give AF props as a great baseball executive. It has been said so many times that he cannot be called great because he has not won the final game of a baseball season. Now he has. Doc will continue to catch a lot of s***, but he is now the manager of a WS Champion. A lot of negative baggage can now be jettisoned. I am so very happy for AF and Doc. I am also happy for Pedro Baez and Kenley Jansen, for being long tenured Dodgers who have been prominent for many years for this team, persevering, and winning a championship.
Corey Seager won the WS MVP, but it could have gone to Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urias, Mookie Betts, Justin Turner, Max Muncy, Austin Barnes, Joc Pederson…It was truly a team championship
Bobby, I am sorry you missed the WS, but I am so glad you get to spend today in LA. My son and daughter in law were hoarse when they called home.
In the coming days, we can and will digest the season, and look to 2021 and the future. This may have been the final game in a LAD uniform for JT, Joc, Kike’, Baez, Treinen, Wood, and McGee, but for now, I only want to think of them as World Champions. But…
As Doc proclaimed, THIS IS OUR YEAR!!!
Most days my favorite Rock Band is Freddie Mercury and Queen, and I needed to play the following all the while writing this post. To be followed by Randy Newman and I Love LA.
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Discussion (121)
Disagree, not disagreeable
STB – interesting thoughts about Doc reaching out to Cash.
I’ve wondered how Doc’s relationship with AJ Hinch is these days?
If I remember correctly. he had Hinch stay st his place during the WS home games because of their enduring friendship!
What transpired must have put a little pressure on that relationship lol.
BTW – and thanks for asking earlier – I’m a 54 year old English man who fell in love with Baseball and the Dodgers back in the summer of 88 when I visited California with my girlfriend.
Being a big sports fan and particularly Cricket, I wanted to see Baseball for myself.
Sitting there in the warm glow of a June evening at Chavez Ravine, I was totally smitten (not with her unfortunately, she went when we got home).
We lost 10-4 with Don Sutton pitching for LA.
Loved it so much that I went back for more two nights later to see Fernando pitch a complete game in an 11-1 victory.
I was hooked.
To cut a very long story short – that trip changed my life. Arrived home and decided at 22 that I needed to see more of the world so within a year i was off.
Bought a round the world ticket and ended up being away for 2 years.
Spent most of the first year in Australia, via a few parts of SE Asia, but the second was always gonna be spent in LA.
Got a job in a Youth Hostel in Venice Beach and headed down to Dodger Stadium as often as I could.
Ramon Martinez was my favourite.
So here we are 32 years later, and I’m watching the games live in the UK every day, and talking to friends on a Blog. Who says technology is a bad thing…..
Hearing that Justin Turner defied instructions to stay off the field during the celebration last night. I don’t have a whole lot of facts, but if it turns out he was in defiance and a risk to everyone around him, then I would be in favor of harsh penalties against him, and totally opposed to any attempt by the Dodgers to re-sign him. But as I said above, for now I am withholding judgment until we get full disclosure.
If it turns out that Turner was in defiance, then it takes some of the lustre off of this championship for me, and completely changes how I look at Turner.
My initial WS thoughts
Urias – came of age
Mookie – worth every penny
Kershaw – so happy for you
Seager – a healthy Cory is really, really good
Roberts – became a complete manager this post season
Season 43 – 17 .717
Post Season 13 – 5 .722
There is NO asterisk
There are so many more but that is my initial day after impressions of this series
No slight to the rest of the players as this was a team win
A very gratifying World Championship, and congratulations to everyone on the team who contributed to it, which essentially is every player. And to all the millions of Dodgers fans who have waited so long for this. I was driving much of the day, and heard so many very happy people call into the various radio shows. And how about the fans who flew to Texas to give us a virtual home game crowd!
Well, I guess I will not get to criticize Roberts any more for a while or at least many fans will ignore it. It is somewhat amusing that Cash is getting blasted for doing exactly what Roberts did with Hill in two straight World Series, both times resulting in losses. Roberts handled things well in the last game, though I thought that the move to Urias was obvious, and then Urias got through 1.3 innings with only twelve pitches or so, so of course you leave him in as long as he is getting everyone out. But since we’ve seen him go to Jansen or someone else in such situations, we must applaud him for not doing it. He was as always gracious and likeable on the postgames shows. I do not think that he was brilliant in the playoffs, but after losing Game 4 to the Braves and Game 4 to the Rays, he changed his appoach, at least for that game. There may be a lesson there.
Betts was the big difference this year for me. He did not have a great playoffs with the bat, but he got the two key hits last night, and was great on the basepaths and the outfield in all the games. i’ll repeat what I said last night, that his shoestring catch and throw In NLCS Game 5, down 2-0, and looking as if we were about to lose the series in humiliating 4-1, fashion, seemed to wake up the team, and was the kind of play that we have not gotten very often in big playoff games. Betts was indeed a difference maker.
Seager was great, and we have to sign him. We also have to sign Buehler. We can debate about the rest of them. I am hoping that this is not a once in three decades great moment, but that we can join some other franchises in winning multiple titles in a short period. That should be the goal here. That’s how the Yankees approach it, and the Lakers and the Patriots, Seahawks, and Alabama football. I would like to think that our ownership is driven to win many title, not just rest on the one, as I think that we did for many of the seasons, with of course several different owners, since 1988. Can we win it again next year? Well, we are the early favorites, but that is almost reflexive of the oddsmakers. We will have challenges from San Diego, Atlanta, St. Louis, at least, in our leaague, and then Rays, Yankees, Astros and others will be strong teams.
I had mixed feelings about starting this season, I did not know if it would be feasible, and then when teams had to shut down and quarantine, it looked like like a mess. But we got through it, the playoffs were as good as in any regular long season, and I have not heard anyone scoff at the title as aberrational. We earned it, and it was great to watch all of it.
I am sure that I will have some quibbles about what we do or do not do in the offseason, but that is part of being a fan, I hope. I have enjoyed the almost always polite and insightful analysis provided by everyone here.
Congrats to all the Dodgers, especially for the players who got so close in ’17 and ’18. I’m happy for all the loyal fans who had to wait so-o-o long for another WS title. I’ve been a Dodgers fan since before they won their first WS in ’55. The Dodgers won 6 WS titles from ’55 thru ’88. That’s 33 years, so 32 years without a title is a long time. I think that they’ll win a couple more in the next few years. It was great to see Urias pitch so well in the series. It was also great to see Seager (my favorite Dodger) win the WS MVP award.
Happy WS win to all Dodgers fans!
Turner was in the dugout, celebrating, talking to, rubbing shoulders with his teammates and then on the field for the whole game until the eighth inning. Tell me, what difference did it make that he came out to be with them again after the game? If he was positive and with his teammates for eight innings what more could he have done? I suppose there were more people on the field after the game, but wouldn’t they be at risk just being with their mates and children because of their previous contact with JT?
I just don’t see the uproar about JT coming out, except that he may have defied the rule makers. He certainly deserved to be a part of the celebration. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is the victim of a false positive.
Dodgers are…
Best team in the office
Best team in the standing
best team in the stadium
I think that unlike other teams that have won the world series and do not return to the final, some do not even qualify for the playoffs, the Dodgers will continue to grow and be a better team than before.
I thought this season would only have value if the Dodgers or Yankees won it, because of the past and because of what happened with the Houston shits, but after enjoying these last series, I DEFINITELY say that no matter the number of games, Dodgers deserve to be champions!
About Turner,,, I pretty much guess this will be my opinion only, but here goes. Most of the last week, no one has been wearing masks in the dugout except the coaches. Players have been mingling for quite a while without them. So, Turner gets taken out in the 8th because of a positive test and is immediately isolated from the team. Tell me what difference his going back on the field makes when the entire team has been exposed for a couple of hours. All of these players and many of us have been cooped up for the better part of 9 months. The team had been following the protocols ever since the season started. And not one single case on the roster. And now, in the 8th inning there is one? Sounds pretty fishy to me. How come his is the only one? And if he has 3 tests after this that are negative, that means the positive one was wrong. So crucifying the guy before all the facts are in is nuts. Now, he did defy MLB security people who told him to not go on the field. Ok, that was not a good thing to do. But the man has been part of and the heart of the team for quite a while. I doubt in the same situation that I would have just sat there and watched myself. Here it is, the teams biggest moment since he has been a member, and he has to stay on the sidelines? What about allowing all those non players on the field for the celebration? Had they been tested? There are a lot of questions as to how the whole thing was handled. I for one am sick of all of this crap. I am not free if I am a prisoner where I live. We have restrictions here in my building, and most of the residents pay heed to them. I do not go into any of the community area’s or too a store without a mask. But if I am just out and about, I don’t wear it. There have been some positive test through out the majors over the season, and as of yet, not one of those players has been hospitalized as a result that I have seen. Lets get the whole story before we all lose our heads anyway. JT is a free agent now.
One person was not mentioned that should be. Caleb Ferguson before he went down was an important piece in the Dodger pen and they missed him in the playoffs. He will not be a part of the team next season since it is a 12-18 month recovery time.
MLB will investigate. Will they do anything?
Open on www.cbssports.comhttps://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/justin-turner-celebrates-with-dodgers-after-positive-covid-test-four-lingering-question-as-mlb-investigates/