Hi and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. I was hoping for Seattle, since they had never made the World Series before.
Here we are on Wednesday, with the World Series two days away. It will have been a week off for the Dodgers, while the Toronto Blue Jays will have had only three days off. They say that rust will hurt a batter more than it will a pitcher. Will the time off hurt the Dodgers?
Before this season, there have been four times when one league’s LCS went seven games and the other league’s went four games, giving them much more time off before the World Series. One of these you will be very familiar with:
1988
NLCS: Dodgers defeat the Mets, 4-3
ALCS: A’s defeat the Red Sox, 4-0
World Series: Dodgers defeat the A’s, 4-1
Oakland, which had the mighty Bash Brothers of José Canseco and Mark McGwire, hit .177 in the series, with Canseco and McGwire getting only one hit each (both were homers). They scored 11 runs in the series, and never more than four in a game, which came in Game 1 on Canseco’s grand slam off of Tim Belcher. This seemed not so much a case of rust as it was the A’s running into an outstanding Dodger pitching staff, led by Orel Hershiser, who pitched a three-hit shutout in Game 2. The Dodgers hit .246 in the series and outhomered the A’s, 5-2.
2006
NLCS: Cardinals defeat the Mets, 4-3
ALCS: Tigers defeat the A’s. 4-0
World Series: Cardinals defeat the Tigers, 4-1
The Tigers hit .199 in the series and scored 11 runs. The Cardinals went 83-78 during the season, including 12-17 in September, so they weren’t exactly a juggernaut. Plácido Polanco went 0 for 17, Curtis Granderson went two for 21 and Magglio Ordóñez went two for 19. They had three guys who hit .353 or better, so it was all or nothing for their offense. Neither side hit well, as the Cardinals hit just .226.
2007
NLCS: Rockies defeat the Diamondbacks, 4-0
ALCS: Red Sox defeat the Indians, 4-3
World Series: Red Sox defeat the Rockies, 4-0
The Rockies hit .218 in the series and scored 10 runs. The Red Sox hit .333 and scored 29 runs, so this was more a case of bad pitching by the Rockies, as their starting pitchers combined for an 8.33 ERA. The Red Sox hit an amazing 18 doubles in four games.
2012
NLCS: Giants defeat the Cardinals, 4-3
ALCS: Tigers defeat the Yankees, 4-0
World Series: Giants defeat the Tigers, 4-0
The Tigers hit .159 in the series and scored only six runs. Jhonny Peralta went one for 15, Prince Fielder went one for 14, Miguel Cabrera went three for 13. The Giants hit .242 and scored 16 runs.
So, the teams that had extra time off lost all four World Series and went 4-16 in the 20 games played. Three of the four hit below .200.
That stat does not bode well for the Dodgers, but it is an extremely small sample size. Keep in mind the Dodgers had six days off before the start of last year’s postseason, and that turned out just fine.
What are the Dodgers doing to combat the extra time off? Jack Harris wrote a story on it you can check out here.
Some key takeaways:
—Now, as they did back last year, the Dodgers are incorporating more simulated game activities into their schedule. On Sunday, they played a seven-inning sim game. On Monday, they took more rounds of live batting practice.
—“I think it’s nice to have rest and kind of let everybody take a deep breath and rest up or whatnot. … Just rest up and keep sharpening your skills.” Mookie Betts said.
—“All we’re trying to do right here is get four more wins to win a World Series,” Miguel Rojas said. “Last year, when we had the bye, and the year before, we were trying to get through one more month of baseball. You’re trying to prepare for that. You’re trying to get some guys healthy. I just feel like the difference with this one [versus] the one we had the last couple years is everybody is locked in on winning the World Series. We’re really close to doing that. And winning four more games is the most important thing.”
America hates the Dodgers
The people at Betonline.ag have analzyed tweets, hashtags and direct keyword phrases about whom fans are rooting for. On X, 92% of fans are rooting for Toronto.
The state-by-state rooting breakdown:
Dodgers – 4 states (California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah)
Blue Jays – 46 states (All other states)
Poll results
We asked, “Which team would you like to see the Dodgers play in the World Series?”
After 16,483 votes:
Seattle, 84.3%
Toronto, 15.7%
Poll time
What is your prediction for this World Series?
Click here to vote in our survey.
In case you missed it
Shaikin: Most MLB owners want to curb big spenders like the Dodgers. What does the union say?
World Series preview: Are the Dodgers actually the favorites? | Dodgers Debate
Here’s how to see the Dodgers in the World Series in person without a ticket
Nine concerns the Dodgers should have about facing the Blue Jays in the World Series
How Dodgers are navigating their World Series bye week: ‘Keep sharpening your skills’
Why the Dodgers’ return to the World Series was only a matter of time
Shohei Ohtani highlighted in film tracing history of Japanese and American baseball
And finally
Vin Scully and special guest Fernando Valenzuela throw out the first pitch before Game 2 of the 2017 World Series. Watch and listen here.
Until next time…
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.