Baseball Needs the Dodgers
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I got home from work late Thursday night, once more having not written this newsletter — I hope you all haven’t entirely noticed my falling behind lately — and realized the NLCS was on.
So, as any procrastinating sportswriter worth his salt would do, I flipped it on.
I saw Tyler Glasnow wrap up his start and hand the ball to the Dodgers’ much-maligned bullpen. It’s been their glaring weakness all year, the obvious reason they couldn’t make it back to the World Series.
They gave up a single hit in the remaining 4.1 innings of their 3-1 win. Roki Sasaki, who damn near blew it in Game 1, got a killer play from Mookie Betts up the middle to keep a clean sheet.
And then I saw Tommy Edman (who we miss in St. Louis) break the tie with a single, Freddie Freeman score on an error shortly thereafter, and LA escape with a W again.
Milwaukee has now scored a total of 3 runs in 3 games. You can do the math on whether that’s good.
And when you watch a guy like Sasaki, backed up by a shortstop like Betts — and it’s occasionally hard to believe that he’s a shortstop now — who then throws to a guy like Freeman, while a dude like Shohei Ohtani (who hasn’t even been good in the postseason!) watches on approvingly, you start to realize that the Dodgers might just have a decent roster.
Tyler Glasnow — who some of you may know as Billy Dunne from Daisy Jones and The Six — was once one of the most promising young flamethrowers in the majors. Back in those Tampa days, and the Pittsburgh days before them, he was a guy who’d always be near the top of the league in strikeout average but could never stay on the mound long enough to put it all together.
It was hard for me to believe that last year was his first All-Star Game, but it was. He’s only ever reached 100 innings thrice in 10 years as a pro.
On top of everyone else, Glasnow is the kind of guy that the Dodgers just seem to stockpile, waiting for them to be ready to contribute. Extremely talented pitchers like Glasnow, who missed the entire playoff run last year, are the kinds of guys that LA can afford to wait on. Same with Blake Snell, who missed four months this season but looks pretty friggin’ ramped up now.
We somehow haven’t mentioned Yoshinobu Yamamato, who pitched a complete game a few nights ago. Or Teoscar Hernandez, Will Smith, Max Muncy. To a man, really solid players, all of whom have the potential to break a game open. You get the idea.
These guys have more talent than they know what to do with. And the reason they’re one game away from making it back to the World Series — a repeat contender, for the first time since the ‘08-’09 Phillies — is this. For whatever reason, after years and years of regular-season dominance and playoff collapses, they’ve changed their habits.
This isn’t that 111-51 team from a few years ago. The Dodgers barely won their division this year, a rare sight indeed over the last decade-plus. It’s like they’re remembering how good they are.
And I don’t have to like the Dodgers to acknowledge that this is a good thing for the sport. We should want there to be dynasties. We should want teams to be great. The last time we saw a repeat champion was the Yankees at the turn of the century.
A lot has changed since then. Baseball is not nearly the cultural force that it was 25 years ago. And that part’s not coming back, if you’re asking me. I’ve written about this before, but I think baseball — in America, at least — is fast heading the way of hockey. It will have a passionate, smaller following, as it continues to recede from what was once top billing.
But just like the Chiefs in the NFL, or the Warriors in the NBA, it helps a sport’s general cultural salience when there’s a title-winning team with some staying power.
Needless to say, I hope, is the fact that the Dodgers have not yet proven that’s them. They’re closer than we might’ve expected, entering October. And knowing October, we could have some surprises yet. I just happen to think, for all the (largely warranted) talk of the evil empire, it’s probably a net positive for baseball to have the Dodgers back in the mix.
You may recall that the last evil empire was those same Yankees. And, all due respect to the current edition, now that those guys are gone? I kinda miss the old version.
Why? They were interesting. And annoying. The great teams always are.
That all said, go Mariners. Or Blue Jays, I suppose, but mostly Mariners.
What? I never claimed to be impartial.
🏈 I know it was time for James Franklin to go, but man. You start to feel bad for a guy when things get that dark that quickly. On the other hand, I guess that’s what the $50M buyout is for.
🏈 Kinda makes you wonder if the timing on that Curt Cignetti deal with Indiana was coincidental. Either way, good for the Hoosiers. What he’s been able to do there is remarkable. They should’ve been willing to do whatever it took to keep him, and now they have. Other historically basketball-first schools, take note.
📚 Alright. The Remains of the Day was also remarkable. I loved Never Let Me Go, which is almost as different a novel as the same writer could have possibly penned. The throughline, I suppose, to the extent there is one, is Ishiguro’s talent for capturing longing. He also does an excellent job of forcing you as the reader to confront what the narrator will not allow himself to. It’s pretty brilliantly constructed, and with such a distinct voice behind it. I loved it. Would recommend that book to just about anyone. I see you, Sir Anthony Hopkins.
🥐 Now that Laura and I are caught up, it may be time to institute weekly Great British Bake Off takes. Our present clubhouse favorite is Iain. Frankly curious how you could choose anyone else. But I do miss Pui Man. These are my thoughts. Take them or leave them.