Baseball got its wish, with both no. 1 seeds making their way through the post season to face off in the World Series. It will be a star-studded World Series and should be a rating bonanza for baseball. The Yankees beat the Guardians in 5 games simply because the Guardians were not ready for the big stage. The Guardians big strengths, the bullpen and defense fell flat on their face. The Guardians failed to make routine plays in the field and it cost them dearly. The Dodgers eliminated the Mets in 6 games with the Mets bullpen simply running out of gas. It is a Goliath vs. Goliath World Series. Let’s take a look at how these team compared during the regular season and there are some surprises.
Both teams have big time offenses with a slight edge to the Dodgers. The Dodgers were 2nd in runs scored and on base percentage. They had the highest OPS+ which says they are the best hitting team in baseball. The Yankees are not far behind being 3rd in runs scored and on base percentage. They were 4th in OPS+. Pitching is where the surprise is. Neither team had what you would call great pitching, and the Dodgers were in the lower half in the key stats. The Yankees were 9th in runs allowed, 18th in fielding independent pitching, and 6th in ERA+ The Dodgers were 13th in runs allowed, 21st in fielding independent pitching, and 18th in ERA+, mediocre at best. The Yankees starting rotation ranked 9th and the bullpen came in at 13th. The Dodgers pitched worse than the Pirates with their rotation coming in at 25th and the bullpen 24th. They did have a lot of injuries, but you can see why people are always saying how shaky the Dodger pitching is. Despite that they have managed to throw 4 shutouts in the last 8 playoff games. When you look at WAR the Dodgers have a clear advantage at 7 or the 9 positions. Only Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are better than what the Dodgers have at each position. Two other areas where the Dodgers are clearly better. They were the 2nd best defensive team in baseball with the Yankees coming in at 13th. The Yankees were the worse baserunning team in baseball and the Dodgers one of the best. When you look at the teams’ stats, the Dodgers have the clear edge. What will be the key to victory. I think there will be four things.
How will the super stars perform? For the Dodgers, we have Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman. For the Yankees, we have Judge, Soto, and Stanton. Freeman has the ankle issue but this 4 day layoff can only help him. How will the regular 6 play? The super stars cannot do it all on. Will someone get to play because of injury and have an outstanding series like Kiki Hernandez. No matter how it happens, the supporting cast has to contribute heavily in order for their team to win the series. I think the biggest key to this series will be how do Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rondon pitch. Can they have an outing where they go 7 or 8 innings and give the bullpen a stress-free day. Even in Cole’s good outings in the post season he had some hard-hit ball off of him. Even with this break in the schedule the bullpens have been used heavily and could be at the breaking point for both teams. To me these two pitchers are the only ones capable of pitching such a game. If a Dodger starter goes beyond 6 innings I will be surprised. Then there is this ridiculous break in the action. The Yankees have not played since Saturday and the Dodgers since Sunday. Both offenses were pretty hot at the end of the Championship Series. I have written about some of the benefits of this break but the biggest detriment of having a break like this could be the effect it might have on the hitters. Since the Dodgers seem to have an offensive advantage it may affect them more. Only time will tell.
Overall, the Dodgers seem to have the better team, and play better fundamental baseball than the Yankees. I hate to put such a burden on two players, but Cole and Rondon I feel will be the key if the Yankees are going to pull this series out. How well will Freddie Freeman be able to play on that bum ankle will be another big factor. I am a National League guy, so I will be rooting for the Dodgers, and I do think they will win the series. The two no. 1 seeds going head-to-head. All is right with the baseball playoff system. (Not really) The star power will be on full display. It should be a great series. I will blog after each game and use the same format as I used summing up Pirate games. I will use the same title Pirate Morning Report but expect to see some reports in the afternoon as these games will be long and I will probably finish up watching them in the morning. This has been the post season of walks and foul balls. Despite the pitch clock a lot of these games have really dragged on because of this. Not a lot you can do about foul balls, but for God’s sake let’s hope these pitchers can get the ball over the plate. Have some guts, after all this is the World Series.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 