* Now that L.A. has been fully exposed to the National League Wild Card Series, short as it was, an observation: It only kind of, sort of, felt like a postseason series. ...
* Maybe it was because of the Dodgers' opponent. The Cincinnati Reds are young, at the start of whatever contention arc they might have, and they were here basically because the New York Mets self-destructed in the final weeks. Whether it was their own grit or the continuing misadventures of the Dodgers' bullpen, they found a way to make the locals nervous in the late innings of what should have been routs.
* The Dodgers' game ops crew did what they do for the postseason, from the flag-wavers atop the dugouts to distinguished alumni throwing out first pitches (Joe Kelly and legendary broadcaster Jaime Jarrín) to turning the center-field speakers from their normal 11 (on a scale of 1 to 10) to, oh, 14 or 15. Earplugs are suggested for those who attend in the next round.
But even with those frequent video board pleas to "MAKE ... SOME ... NOISE," it still felt less like the start of the postseason and more like a routine mid-September series. Maybe when the Philadelphia Phillies get to town next week the populace will respond with more urgency.
* Perhaps some of the traditional red, white and blue bunting around the stadium would help. If there was any around the stadium this week, I missed it. ...
* Journalist/author Joe Posnanski, bringing back some memories, posted in his JoeBlogs newsletter that Thursday "also happens to be Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, which means Sandy Koufax won't pitch. Fortunately for Dodgers fans, they're the one team that did advance on Wednesday, their exploding bullpen notwithstanding." ...
* This is hardly a carbon copy of last year's run to a title, at least not yet. But there is this: In 2024, San Diego had the Dodgers on the ropes in the Division Series - in what now would be considered high irony, it was a bullpen game that turned things around - and the Padres turned out to be the Dodgers' toughest obstacle and the second-best team in baseball.
(But sorry, San Diegans. Still no parade.)
This year? It's very conceivable that the winner of the Dodgers-Phillies series that begins Saturday in Philadelphia will end up as this season's champion. ...
* Then again, the fates could dictate a Brewers-Mariners World Series, between the team that currently plays in Seattle and the team that brought the big leagues to the Pacific Northwest for one season, as the Seattle Pilots, before moving to Milwaukee - and was immortalized forevermore between the covers of Jim Bouton's "Ball Four."
Thus, if that matchup takes place, shouldn't one of the late author's relatives throw out the first pitch? (Or, failing that, they could assure that whoever does throw that first pitch makes it a knuckleball.) ...
* This week's quiz: What role has Matt Stairs played in Dodgers-Phillies postseason history? Answer below. ...
* This is a travesty: In MLB's insatiable quest for more media rights money at the expense of availability to its fans, Netflix will have exclusive rights to the entirety of Opening Day next spring. If you're a fan and you don't have (or want) a streaming subscription, you're out of luck.
Thanks, Rob Manfred. ...
* Then again, Manfred isn't the commissioner under the most fire these days. The WNBA's Cathy Engelbert is hearing it from her league's players, who have had longstanding gripes anyway with the league's pay scale and now are taking aim at inconsistent officiating and increasing (and unnecessary) physicality.
Minnesota's Napheesa Collier, a member of the Players Association's executive council, called out the league and its commissioner for a lack of accountability, and it should be noted that this came after the league suspended Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve for a game - not just any game but a playoff elimination game - over comments about officiating. ...
* Among Collier's comments: "We have the best league in the world. We have the best fans in the world. But we have the worst leadership in the world. Year after year, the only thing that remains consistent is the lack of accountability from our leaders. ... I do believe we serve a league that has shown they think championship coaches and Hall of Fame players are dispensable, and that's fine. It's professional sports, but I will not stand quietly by and allow different standards to be applied at the league level."
Not only that, but Caitlin Clark voiced her support for Collier's stance, as did Indiana Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham. Maybe Engelbert should realize that when you've lost Clark, you've lost America. (Especially with a collective bargaining agreement that expires at the end of this month, and the promise of what at the very least will be testy negotiations to replace it.) ...
* Quiz answer: Pinch-hitter Stairs stunned a Dodger Stadium crowd, and changed the direction of the 2008 National League Championship Series, when he turned on a fastball from the Dodgers' Jonathan Broxton and put it in the right-field pavilion for a two-run homer in the eighth inning, breaking a 5-5 tie and giving the Phillies a 7-5 victory and 3-1 series lead. Philly clinched the next night.
That was the only at-bat of that series for Stairs, then a 40-year-old journeyman outfielder/first baseman/DH from Fredericton, New Brunswick, who played 19 major-league seasons for 12 different teams, including Montreal and Toronto. ...
* It was also the gift that kept on giving. In 2009, the same teams were in the NLCS, and the same matchup developed in the ninth inning of Game 4 in Philadelphia when Phillies manager Charlie Manuel fiendishly sent Stairs to the plate as a pinch-hitter. Broxton walked him on four pitches, hit Chico Ruiz with a pitch and then gave up a walk-off double to Jimmy Rollins, for a 5-4 Phillies victory and, again, a 3-1 series lead that the Phillies cashed in the next night.
Sorry, Dodgers fans. But it probably was worth a reminder, painful that it is, that bullpen issues are far from a recent phenomenon.