potentialities

I know the deadline for proposing new sports for the LA Olympics has already passed, but consider how delightful synchronized pitching could be:





Originally posted here.

I'm not going to lie, I was a little concerned on Tuesday when the Yankees remembered how to hit. Not that Dave Roberts didn't do the right thing in game four—given the very limited pitching that he had to work with, he was 100% correct not to spend any of his high-leverage arms there, and it's easy to swallow a loss when you're up three games to none. Still, when the balls really started flying and the Yankees started feeling themselves, I could see where this might escape the confines of game four and spill over into games five+.

Fortunately, although the Yankees may have remembered how to hit, they fully abandoned all ability to field. I have never experienced anything quite like watching that fifth-inning five-run game-tying disasterclass meltdown. It reminded me of Hosmer's mad dash from the 2015 World Series, another clinching game five for the away team in New York City, except that it was a series of three increasingly baffling defensive miscues where what should have been routine became impossible. I didn't need the Dodgers' scouts to tell me that the Yankees don't prioritize defense when either selecting or preparing their players because I've watched them play and I have eyes, but stringing errors together like that is a whole other level of anti-clutch.

Before the fifth inning, I was still pretty sure that the Dodgers were going to win the series, but after the fifth inning, I was pretty sure that Dodgers were going to win the series in this game, which indeed they duly did. Even when the Yankees were up 6-5, I was like, yeah, nah. Bringing in Walker Buehler to close is the kind of bold move that has become low-key routine in the playoffs, so I wasn't particularly surprised when it happened—if I had been familiar with the backstory of how he'd been pitching himself to Andrew Friedman and Dave Roberts as an option out of the pen all day and getting the brushoff until his teammates played themselves into the exact unlikely scenario that required him to be in the bullpen and sent himself there, I would have been even more impressed.

A few minutes later Prior called Buehler on the bullpen phone.

“How do you feel? Did you throw today?” Prior asked.

“Yeah,” Buehler said. “I feel good.”

“I lied,” Buehler said. “I hadn’t thrown yet.”

He's ridiculous. If that was his last appearance in a Dodger uniform, it was 100% peak Walker Buehler and it was beautiful.

Freddie Freeman as the World Series MVP was obviously a given and could hardly have happened to a nicer person, but I absolutely can't believe that it turned out that he was secretly nursing even more injuries than the ones we already knew about. Absurd. I kind of wish he hadn't barely missed that home run in the last game to keep the streak alive as a cherry on top, but you can't have everything.

I love this time when the championship is decided and it's all celebrations and post mortems and inside stories, but I also really miss baseball already.

I definitely feared the worst when Shohei Ohtani was lying on the ground in pain last night after attempting to steal a base, but luckily he just subluxated his shoulder and it’s not impossible that he will actually be completely fine?? The day off today and the 2-0 series lead are both helpful. Get well soon, Shohei!

Edit: Dave Roberts is already saying that Shohei will definitely play tomorrow. Seems early, but okay!