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2016 is over for the Dodgers or Nationals Thursday
Thursday’s Say Hey, Baseball recognizes that this is it for one of the Dodgers or Nationals, as Game 5 of the NLDS is upon us.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
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We know who is in the American League Championship Series, and we know that half of the NLCS will be the Cubs. What we’ll find out on Thursday is who will join Chicago, Toronto, and Cleveland in MLB’s final four, as the Dodgers and Nationals will face off in Washington in a decisive NLDS Game 5. It’ll be Max Scherzer for the Nats and, somehow, still To Be Determined for Los Angeles. That TBD is some combination of Rich Hill and Julio Urias, plus a bullpen that had Wednesday off, but which of the two is actually starting the game is unknown at this time on Thursday morning.
There’s not a lot of room to speculate here: The Dodgers will win their second game in a row after being down 2-1, or the Nats will put a stop to that and take advantage of said 2-1 lead by not having to win two games in a row to close things out. Scherzer is the best pitcher in the game, unless Rich Hill looks like Rich Hill, but that would require Rich Hill to start in the first place. So, you can quit speculating, and like Dodgers and Nats fans, just start sweating. Anything can happen in one baseball game — anyone can be the hero, the goat, or maybe both a few innings apart.
All we know is that the winner will head to Chicago for the start of the NLCS on Sunday. For the Dodgers, it’s their chance to win the Game 5 they did not in 2015 against the Mets. For the Nationals, it’s their chance to win their first playoff series ever — the Expos lost the NLCS in 1981, and both times the Nats made it to the NLDS after winning the NL East, they went home without a series win. [Edit: The Expos beat the Phillies in the 1981 Division Series, a one-off caused by the strike that changed the playoff structure temporarily.] Either way, we’re getting another LCS round team that hasn’t won a World Series in a long time (the Dodgers won in ‘88; the Nats, as you sussed out from never winning any playoff series, have never won at all), and that means a fan base’s heart is breaking louder than usual Thursday.
- Here is what baseball players would look like if we pretended they were sleeping when they crashed into walls.
- Clayton Kershaw’s reputation nearly cost the Dodgers the NLDS. Los Angeles got away with it this time, but this is something Dave Roberts will need to keep in mind if his team advances.
- There were extenuating circumstances for Kershaw’s seventh-inning issue in Game 4 — see above — and that’s usually the case for him in the playoffs.
- The Cubs killed the even year, except the even year didn’t really exist, which means the curse of the Cubs doesn’t really exist, which means they’ve just been incompetent for over 100 years. But, like the Red Sox before them, you knew that.
- Tim Tebow waited with a fan who suffered a seizure while getting an autograph, and even joked with the fan about their college football allegiances.
- Rejoice, as FOX will return to the normal center-fielder camera at Wrigley for the NLCS.
- Buck Showalter made a dumb call in the Wild Card Game — a really dumb call — but Orioles fans shouldn’t give up on him just yet.
- While we’re on the subject, here are the greatest recent crimes against closer usage.
- The Indians’ speed will test the arm of Blue Jays’ catcher Russell Martin.
- Blue Jays announcer Jerry Howarth won’t say "Indians" during the ALCS — that’s going to be tough to pull off, but it’s certainly commendable.
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