Dodger Blues
They couldn’t summon any elimination game magic in Atlanta. Now, the Dodgers get to settle in early for the winter.
I made a bold prediction before the Dodgers played the Braves in the National League Championship Series. One week ago, the Dodgers were on top of the world after fighting off the Giants in the National League Division Series. It was all good back then as they flew to Atlanta to begin the NLCS, and it was hard for Dodgers fans not to imagine getting past the Braves and moving on to the World Series. However, the Dodgers funky rotation management, the collapse of their offense under pressure, a few poorly timed injuries, and an excellent Braves team proved to be too much for the Dodgers to overcome. I said the Dodgers would win this series in six games, but it turns out that losing those first two games on the road was something to worry about. If it were not for a Cody Bellinger miracle homerun, the Dodgers could have been swept. Game 5 in L.A. was special for Chris Taylor and A.J. Pollock, and for a moment it felt like the Dodgers could win Game 6 back in Atlanta with Max Scherzer pitching.
Twenty-four hours later, the bad news dropped. Scherzer is scratched due to a “dead arm.” He’d used it up three games prior, exhausted its effectiveness.
Okay. The Dodgers are in serious trouble.
Walker Buehler gave up a 3-run blast to Eddie Rosario, the Braves own personal Jesus.
They were already facing the difficult task of trying to win two games in a row back in Atlanta, but without Max Scherzer even getting a shot at redeeming his short-lived, sub-par performance in Game 2, the odds of pulling off a win in this upcoming game were starting to look insurmountable. Truist Park would be roaring, putting more pressure on the Dodgers to be perfect, gassing up the Braves for the finishing move, the final nail in the coffin. Walker Buehler gave it a good effort, but it wasn’t enough because of the same thing that put the Dodgers in the 0 – 2 hole. Their bats were quiet in every clutch situation, which at this point in the series meant every at-bat. With every inning the Braves pitching silenced Dodgers hitting and the Dodgers marooned runners on base, the Braves relaxed and were able to apply pressure with base runners and get the hits they needed in clutch situations. The hitting was the major difference in this series, and it was a tale of two different teams.
As I sit and reflect on this 2021 Dodgers season, I’m proud of the Blue Crew for weathering all of the injuries and this ongoing situation with Trevor Bauer. They managed to win 106 games, which is usually more than good enough to win a division and set you up for the easiest path in the postseason, but this year, it was good enough for second place in the National League West, and a playoff berth via the Wild Card round. In the playoffs, the Dodgers managed one incredible walk-off win against the Cardinals to send them packing, and they managed to send the Giants home after a thrilling series in the NLDS. They mostly sputtered around in the NLCS, giving the Braves some exciting walk-offs to cherish forever, but the Dodgers did have two memorable wins for how they went about winning them. In the end, they were tired and beat up and were running on fumes against a team that was burning nitro. They lost in six, and are now headed into an off-season during which they could experience major changes to their roster. Uncertain times for the Dodgers.
L.A. Noir, 9/11/2021
Will they bring back Corey Seager and Chris Taylor? What about Max Scherzer? Does he walk and sign with another team? What about Jansen and Kershaw? Do they re-sign those legends? What will happen with Trevor Bauer? They could have used him. Could have used Max Muncy, too. Would have been nice to have Dustin May in that rotation, throwing fireballs. Would have been great for the Dodgers to have won two more games against the “Hated Ones” during the season, so they would have won the division and had to play one fewer round in the playoffs, not tax their pitchers’ arms with extra work, and have home field advantage in every series. If only … .
If only they stole one of those games in Atlanta ... If only they had a healthier pitching rotation ... If only Bauer kept his shit together, made better decisions off the field, and behaved like a decent human and a professional ... If only Dave didn’t put Julio in for late relief in Game 2 ... If only they hit better with runners in scoring position ... If only we had Kershaw …
If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were cherries and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas.
The list could go on, but why do that? It’s for nothing. The games were played, and the superior team won. Congratulations to the Atlanta Braves. You played exceptional baseball at all levels of the game during this series. You came up with the hits and the stops when you needed them the most. Hats off. I hope you manage to take your game to a higher level and beat the Astros, proving once again that they can’t win a title without cheating. Good luck
I’ll stop writing about the Dodgers now, as promised, until next season, and I’ll do what I can to take my mind off how this season ended. Most of them, throughout my life, have ended this way. I should be used to it by now. It’s impossible to win the title every year, anyway, but the Dodgers seemed primed for a repeat this season. Many things that were out of the team’s control ultimately tore apart the dreams of going back-to-back. Sad to see it end like that, but that’s how it goes. Here’s to hoping the Dodgers 2022 season ends with better results than this one did.
Despite some disappointment, thank you for the great season, Dodgers! You just won the World Series in 2020. Even though many people refer to that as the “bubble tittle” and discredit its validity, every team wanted to win it and would have celebrated the accomplishment had they been good enough to win it. They weren’t good enough even with a shortened season and expanded playoffs. You were, and you erased three decades of misery for the fans and the franchise. This season, you came up short, but you had a great run.
