Carpe Diem!
This Has Been Best World Series Ever . Especially After Tonight! Justin Verlander was tough, very tough he pitched 6 innings of 3 hit ball while striking out 9 and walking zero. The three hits were timely and gave the Dodgers a lead that the bullpen would not relinquish! Morrow and Maeda were nails and Tony Watson held his own, but Kenley Freaking Jansen closed out the final six outs
This Has Been Best World Series Ever…. Especially After Tonight!
Justin Verlander was tough, very tough – he pitched 6 innings of 3 hit ball while striking out 9 and walking zero. The three hits were timely and gave the Dodgers a lead that the bullpen would not relinquish! Morrow and Maeda were nails and Tony Watson held his own, but Kenley “Freaking” Jansen closed out the final six outs on just 19 pitches, 18 of which were strikes. The Dodgers only had 5 hits themselves and none were any bigger than Joc Pederson’s Big Fly in the 7th inning. Boy, has Joc come full circle or what?
When I saw last night’s lineup, I thought “That might be the lineup we see Opening Day 2018.” Joc Pederson could be in LF, Austin Barnes behind the plate, Logan Forsythe at 2B and Rich Hill as Opening Day Starter while Clayton rehabs from surgery. Just a fleeting thought! Logan Forsythe will be back and I predict he will have that “Career Year” for the Dodgers in 2018. He will look nothing like this years’ model. But, we will talk about that later.
Last night was truly a Team Win. Here the Dodgers are: on the verge of Destiny with the #3, #4 and #5 hitters hitting .130, .167 and .167 respectively. It’s not like they have not had big hits, but there haven’t been many. In the World Series, the Dodgers are hitting .208 with a .285 OB%. The Astros are hitting .242 with a .306 OB%, but the Dodgers have outscored them 33-29! The hitting has been spread out and it has been timely!
Surprisingly, the Dodgers have a 4.53 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP while the Astros have a 5.24 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Go figure! It’s interesting to look at all the stats, but none of it matters right about now. All that matters is what happens between those lines tonight. Darvish will start, but at the first sign of a problem, like a HR or a runner reaching 2B, he will be yanked and Alex Wood will get a shot. Maybe Darvish will pitch like he did against Chicago when he gave up one run in 6.1 innings. I just know that it will be everyone and the kitchen sink!
We may even see Rich Hill again for an out or an inning. Morrow and Jansen will be ready as will be Cingrani and Maeda and you can rest assured that Clayton Kershaw wants an opportunity for Redemption in Game 7. These are the guys who “brung” us – we have to play ’em! The Astros aren’t going to roll over an die – they will be fighting and scratching too. I have no idea who steps up and does what, but it’s time. Carpe diem! Someone or someones must seize the day!
It’s a Gunfight at the OK Corral, ‘er I mean Dodger Stadium:
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Discussion (81)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Insane. We’ve all been rambling on with our mostly goofy comments and predictions since March.
Now we’re here, game 7 of the World Series. I will be there. I’ll think of all of you if we can pull this off!!!
McCullers, followed by Morton and Keuchel on one side and Darvish on a short leash followed by Wood and the entire kitchen! This will come down to who handles the pressure and executes. Dodgers are a better team at home and Astros are a much worse hitting team on the road, big advantage Dodgers. I believe a tight hard fought win for the Blue but it could be a blowout too as the Astros looked really tight last night and were feeling the spotlight.
The worry over the skin of the World Series baseball continued last night. Verlander and Jansen each threw several balls out of the game based on their feel, with Jansen once firing the ball toward his dugout with visible anger. “Yes, I fired it,” he said. “I’ll keep my thoughts [on the ball] to myself for now, but I’ll just say anybody with common sense can see what is going on.
Tommy Lasorda tells Dave Roberts “You haven’t done s*** until you win tomorrow”
You are right it was a team victory. The defense was outstanding. JT and Bellinger were very good. I do not think we talk enough about the defense.
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You may be right about Joc. He certainly has done well in the play offs. Maybe he can get something through that thick skull that hitting to LF is ok. He is a slow learner when it comes to changing. Turner Ward needs to adopt Joc next year like he did Puig.
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You are right about Forsythe. He is a grinder. So is Barnes. So is Taylor. Those are three guys who complement our stars very well.