Finis

The 2020 baseball season ended last night with the Los Angeles Dodgers beating the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 3-1 in Game Six of the World Series. LA takes the crown, four games to two. Manager Kevin Cash of the Rays will be answering the "why did you pull Blake Snell?" question for the rest of his baseball life, I suppose. The Dodgers celebration was tainted by a positive COVID-19 test on Justin Turner who had to be removed from the game. MLB had gone almost two months without incident, and the playoff bubble had appeared to work beautifully, so the news was a bit of a shock. The virus has a way of defeating the best laid plans, it seems.

The Rays were a spirited and determined opponent and their bunch of "no-names" made some noise on the big stage. Game Four was one of the most fun and interesting post-season games I've ever watched. In fact, it was a good, competitive contest overall and showcased some great baseball. This is a Giants site and I've no enthusiasm for a Dodgers win but I will say that is a very familiar team. I feel like I know every player on the roster! Not just from the regular-season games these last several years but from all the playoff exposure, too. Anyway, I have a lot of friends who root for the blue and I am happy for them. Watching your favorite team win the World Series is a great thing.

I'm not one to put an asterisk on a record or a season. MLB and the MLBPA sat down and figured out the rules for a 60-game season. The Dodgers and Rays dominated that format. MLB and MLBPA sat down again and hammered out a post-season schedule. The Dodgers and Rays dominated that format as well, with LA coming out on top. All a team can do is navigate with the road map they are given regardless if it looks like last year's map or not. The Dodgers are the legitimate champions of baseball.

--M.C.

Odds

The Dodgers are favorites, to no one's surprise. The moneyline at Vegas Insider says -200 on LA (bet $200 to win $100) and +175 on TB (bet $100 to win $175). In fractional odds that's 1/2 on the Dodgers and 7/4 on the Rays.

I think it will be a close contest. The Dodgers have the depth and star power and I think that gives them a slight edge. They are also the home team (they bat last in Games One, Two, Six, and Seven) and that is also a slight edge. The Rays will have to summon their inner David to beat the LA Goliath. Sometimes, when two teams are even on paper, one will get hot and blow out the other. I think it is more likely LA can do that to TB than the other way around. Then again, the Rays have defied everyone's expectations this year, perhaps they will be the ones with the big performances and pull off an upset.

Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw face off in Game One tonight at 5:11 Pacific.

--M.C.

116th World Series

The Dodgers edged the Braves 4-3 to take Game Seven of the NLCS and advance to the World Series to face the Rays. Check this out: Cody Bellinger, he of the game-winning homer, "popped" his shoulder celebrating! You really don't want to get injured that way, do you?

The games begin on Tuesday, 5:09 p.m. Pacific. The Dodgers will be the home team. The schedule will include the usual off-days between Games Two and Three and Games Five and Six. All the games will be played in Texas, at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

--M.C.

Rays prevail

The Tampa Bay Rays won the first three games in the American League Championship Series only to watch their opponents--the Houston Astros--win the next three contests and force a Game Seven. The Rays prevailed 4-2 tonight in San Diego to punch their ticket to the World Series. Meanwhile in Arlington the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had fallen behind two games to none and three games to one against the Atlanta Braves, eked out a 3-1 win this afternoon in Game Six (after a 7-3 win Friday in Game Five). They will play the deciding Game Seven of the National League Championship Series tomorrow at 5:15 Pacific. I figured both LCS matchups would be close so I'm not surprised that both went to seven games. I'm happy for the Rays as I like the way they run that team and I like to see a good process rewarded. I'm not a fan of either the Dodgers or the Braves so all I really want tomorrow is a good game. Game One of the World Series is scheduled for Tuesday.

--M.C.

5-0

The Rays pitching and fielding have stymied the Astros so far and they take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven ALCS. Game Four is at 5:40 PT. The vaunted Dodgers have looked quite ordinary and they find themselves trailing the sizzling Atlanta Braves 2-0 in the NLCS. Game Three is at 3:05 PT. I thought both series would be more evened-up at this point.

Schedule is here.

--M.C.

LCS

The American League Championship Series begins on Sunday. The Tampa Bay Rays will host the Houston Astros at San Diego's Petco Park. The Rays edged a powerful New York Yankees team and continue to play excellent baseball. They finished the season on an 8-2 run on the way to a 40-20 record, second only to the 43-17 Los Angeles Dodgers, and took the AL East by seven games over the Yanks. The Astros powered past the Oakland Athletics, a team they finished seven games behind in the the AL West.

The National League Championship Series begins on Monday. The Dodgers welcome the Atlanta Braves to the Texas Ranger's Globe Life Field. Both teams have won all five of their post-season games. The Braves have thrown four shutouts. The Braves won the NL East by four games over the Miami Marlins, the team they beat in the LDS. The Dodgers won the NL West by six games over the Padres, the team they beat in the LDS.

I was disappointed the A's didn't make it through, they have had a good club for some time now but have yet to break through to the the LCS or World Series. The Rays are a very interesting team, the way they move players around and put them in many different roles is really something. In 60 games they had 60 different lineups, and 12 different pitchers earned a save for them this season. I'm rooting for them to get to the Series.

--M.C.

LDS

With the first-round madness out of the way the field is set for the League Division Series. It is a best-of-five with no off-days. The ALDS starts Monday, the NLDS on Tuesday.

The ALDS pits the Houston Astros against the Oakland Athletics in Los Angeles, and the Tampa Bay Rays taking on the New York Yankees in San Diego.

The NLDS features the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers battling in Arlington, with the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins squaring off in Houston.

Here's the updated bracket:

 

You can see that there were three upsets: the Marlins beating the Cubs, the Yankees beating the Indians, and the Astros beating the Twins. In the other five matches the higher seed won.

Here's a cut-and-paste from MLB:

Here's the link to the broadcast information.

Enjoy!

--M.C.