2020 Dodgers: World Series Peaks and Valleys

I tweeted this today and feel it more and more as we get further away from last night’s debacle and closer to game time tonight.

In life and Dodgers baseball, we have two choices: hope or despair, and I will always choose hope – for a better tomorrow, for one more win, for the highest of highs yet to come. And I think I’ll truly appreciate that view from the top of the mountain when I get there, knowing I needed to persevere through many valleys below on my way there.

Hope to see you there!

Ok Dodgers Nation, time to re-group after last night, take a deep collective breath and move forward. I, for one, continue to choose hope over all else. It’s gotten me this far – in life and in baseball – and I don’t plan on stopping now.

So join me if you will. Time to put the Game 4 loss behind us, re-set and re-assess where we are at this point in the season:

This team, who battled back from a 3-1 deficit against a very good (and arguably better than the Rays) Atlanta Braves team, is now tied 2-2 in a best of 7, with Clayton Kershaw, the greatest pitcher of our generation taking the mound. A Clayton Kershaw ready to empty his 2020 tank after throwing only 78 pitches in Game 1. There will be no reason to pull him out of pitch count caution tonight, which will save this tired bullpen. He will continue to dominate and show why he’s the ace of this pitching staff and true team leader, with his Ace In Waiting Walker Buehler ready to take the ball in the next start.

Two of the game’s best pitchers ready to roll in the last 3 games of the year? I’ll take it.

The offense – save for way too many men left on base last night – continues its torrid pace. Mookie Betts will not have another 0-for-5 night; he just won’t, and as Mookie goes, so go the Dodgers. This lineup got to Rays’ starter Tyler Glasnow in Game 1, and after burning through his high-leverage relievers last night to salvage a victory, Kevin Cash may end up having to leave him in too long again, which could only mean good things for the Dodgers.

Brand new series starts today. A 3 game series and the Dodgers are starting Clayton Kershaw in game 1. Gotta feel good about that! #Dodgers #WorldSeries #LATogether pic.twitter.com/WwAtQwlpVH

— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) October 25, 2020

So, it comes down to a best of 3 to decide the World Series, which is a pretty nice position to be in if we’d been given this choice of a scenario when the season started – or when we thought it never would.

The key in game 5 will be setting the tone early the way they did in Game 3 of the NLCS and in their must-wins the rest of the way. Don’t let that terrible ending cloud your memories of the rest of this postseason: this team has shown resiliency and fight every step of the way, which I think we can all agree was missing from past teams, and there’s no reason to think that will change over the next 3 days.

Resilience. Fight. Hope.

Let’s do this, Dodgers Nation.