Cape San Blas sunrise / contributed photo by Kathleen GreesonCAPE SAN BLAS, Fla. – Hope your days have been swell.
Above is a picture from the Mrs. 5-at-10 at sunrise own here. (Side note: Chas, it was an 80-to-400 mm lens and she was shooting at 400 mm. I am quoting her fairly and accurately – hat tip to Almost Famous – but will have to relay any future questions because it is beyond my area of expertise. Uh-oh, theme show alert, because there are few movies I surprisingly enjoy more and that are amazingly 100 percent rewatchable as “Almost Famous” which turned 20 years old last month.)
We will try to move more quickly today. But, again, you know how that goes.
So with the breeze whistling and the waves crashing, from the satellite offices off of 30E in Florida, let’s do this.
Is this possible?
“It’s all here. It’s happening.” The Braves have a 2-0 lead in the NLCS. Five games to win two. Against a team spending twice as much as you, with two MVP winners in the lineup, with the greatest pitcher of his generation waiting to get the ball, and with an all-time run-differential in a 43-17 regular season.
How staggering is this conceptually? In the abbreviated 60-game season, the Dodgers lost back-to-back games four times, were the biggest LCS favorites (on the money line) since the peak of Jeter’s Yankees
And here are the Braves, up 2-0 after some ninth-inning magic in Game 1 and a ninth-inning high-wire act in Game 2.
But forget what the talking heads at the Fox studios were blabbing – the Braves have every bit of momentum, should feel overwhelmingly confident, and enjoy the relaxed swagger of playing with a supreme cushion.
Some Game 2 takeaways, and thoughts about today’s Game 3, which is simply win or wither for the Dodgers:
> The Dodgers did not lose three games in a row at any point in 2020. If tonight checks that box, then good night and enjoy the offseason, L.A. That’s right Dodgers, one more L, and “Your seats and tray tables should be locked in their full upright position.”
> Clayton Kershaw is a sure-fire Hall of Famer, who may have the worst postseason numbers, luck and legacy of any sure-fire Hall of Famer.
> What’s the ceiling for Freddie Freeman’s popularity in the A-T-L? We’ll explore this in a moment.
> Ian Anderson has pitched 15.1 postseason innings and has allowed the same number of postseason runs as Ron. That’s impressive.
> Kyle Wright gets a pressure-free freebie that has to feel like being a stand-in for a Broadway play that has just been renewed for another season.
> How excited as a Braves fav must you be to know what the future – immediate and foreseeable holds.
Let’s explore this for a moment:
Freeman is well on the way to an MVP this season (and likely multiple over his career) and speeding down the Cooperstown path. In a decade of being a full-time guy (that’s closer to nine season because of an injury in 2017 and COVID), he’s at .295/.383/.509 in an era when averages are not as important. Plus, his 162-game average is a staggering 39 2Bs, 28 HRs and 99 RBIs per. He’s a Gold Glove-level defender. He is signed through next season and with more than $111 million in career earnings, you would have to expect team and player wanthim to be a Brave for Life, no?
Ronald Acuña Jr. is as exciting as they come. And while we are here, can we let Acuña be Acuña for the next decade please? The game needs him and his enthusiasm and his energy and his smile. As William’s mom offered “”If you break his spirit, harm him in any way, keep him from his chosen you will meet the voice on the other end of this telephone and it will not be pretty. Do we understand each other?”
Ozzie Albies is not drastically removed from that team player of the game’s most young and exciting either. Cristian Pache looks the part.
Rookie deals for Wright, Bryse Wilson, Mike Soroka and Max Fried as well as Austin Riley and Adam Duvall, which means multiple years under contract (or arbitration) until true free agency.
There are real decisions to be made on Dansby Swanson, Marcel Ozuna and closer Mark Melancon, each of whom has been a central part of this glorious run in his own way. Each is a free agent after 2020.
Alex Anthopoulous has built a foundation as good – especially considering the price – as any in baseball. (Yes, AA can offer the Russell Hammond from the Wichita roof, “I am a golden God” right about now.)
And that foundation is on the cusp of doing the unthinkable. Ousting the Dodgers and getting to the World Series.
Are the Titans for real?
It’s hard to continue to deny what the Titans have built. “I didn’t ask for this role, but I’ll play it. Now go do your best. Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid. Goethe said that.”
These Titans know who they are more than any other team in the league. The run the ball with a grown man who does grown-man things like this. (Did you see Derrick Henry’s stiff arm? Holy goodness that’s a grown (bleeping) man among other grown men.)
These Titans, while not built to come back from a two-TD hole any time soon, are not built to be in many two-TD holes any time soon either.
These Titans, without much practice over the last 10 days, just punched a Buffalo defense in the face.
Sure it’s as fancy as a ham sandwich, but you know what, when you’re truly hungry, a ham sandwich is pretty dang tasty. “Is it that hard to make us look cool.” Side note Titans: The uniforms simply do not help in the cool department.
But here they are, 4-0, with a QB they trust, a RB they can rely on, and a defense that swarms and seldom makes mistakes.
That last one is a clear tip of the visor to Mike Vrabel, the former Pats linebacker and assistant who looks to be the only Bellichick protégé who has a clue about emulating his Jedi master’s ways.
Great win, Titans. Impressive in every measure.