Whirlwind Series

 What--it's over?  This vaunted World Series for the Ages should be just getting interesting.  Instead it's all done.  Dodgers in five.

It was billed as Ohtani v. Judge but as I suggested it might not be, it wasn't.  Ohtani, with an injured shoulder, was mostly a non-factor.  Judge was worse that that.  With a terrible series at the plate he will go into history with that comical look on his face as he muffed an easy pop fly in the fifth inning of the fifth game (isn't that rule one--keep your eye on the ball?) to open the door to the Dodgers, who at that point had but one hit, and the Yankees had a 5-0 lead.  Another error and a third Yankee mistake later, it was 5-5.

Instead the hero was a guy nobody talked about before the Series started: Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman.  He'd gone without hitting a homer for so long that everybody forgot that he knew how.  But with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth in the first game, he hit one.  The first grand slam to end a game in World Series history.

And he wasn't done making history.  He hit homers in the next three games, which added to the last time he batted in a World Series, made it six games in a row, an all time record.  He batted in two runs in that fateful fifth inning of game 5, further earning his selection as MVP of the Series.  

There were plenty of home runs in this series but most of the games were low scoring affairs.  Defense was the main Yankee flaw going into it--some would say arrogance--and it turned out to be fatal, especially in the first and the final games.  The Dodgers got very good a la carte pitching, superbly managed, good fielding and timely hitting.  The Series had drama, but it was never really close.

But by shutting down the mighty Yankees, the deeper and more talent Dodgers have made things even worse for the San Francisco Giants.  The impression is that the Dodgers, in the same division, are going to be dominant for years.  That could make the many high quality free agents looking for teams this offseason wonder if they will be signing up for highly paid futility if they join the Giants.  Money to pay a superstar won't likely be the Giants only challenge in acquiring one. 

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors, after winning all their pre-season games, were electric in winning their first two in the real season, both by huge margins, and both by playing everybody.  They lost their third game when Steph went down with an ankle injury that may keep him off the floor for a couple of weeks. Then Wiggins was also out with an injury. But even without them, the Dubs thrashed New Orleans in back to back games at home.  So far they've been getting stronger as the games go on, throwing fresh bodies at opponents exhausted by their running, fast pace and tenacious defense.  They haven't played a contender yet, but they sure look like fun, with revelations of new faces and re-energized vets.

Both the Niners and the Steelers won marquee games last week: the Niners defeating the Cowboys on Sunday night, and the Steelers outlasting the Giants on Monday night.  Those are both solid steps on a road to the playoffs.