2019 Playoffs Diary: OLCS Aftermath

It wasn't pretty. It wasn't easy. In fact, I can honestly say it was the most stressful series I've ever managed in my 21 years in this league. But in the end, we did it. We're moving on to the World Series for our sixth attempt at capturing that fucking trophy.

The OLCS was pretty much a perfect example to illustrate why we call the playoffs the "Tournament of Randomness." We could have easily won the two games we lost had it not been for a few outrageously-unlikely random events. And we could have easily lost all four games we won had it not been for some equally-unlikely events.

A few cases in point:

• Game One: Mookie Betts stole second base on a pitch-out in the 10th inning. He then advanced to third on a wild pitch, and then scored what was ultimately the winning run. If Betts is thrown out by our Vg-armed catcher, we may have won that game. If that wild pitch hadn't been thrown, Betts may have been stranded in scoring position on the slow roller to short that ensued. And, of course, if I hadn't fucked up by not bringing our infield in, who knows what may have happened in the 11th inning and beyond?
• In the fourth inning of Game Two, Freddie Freeman singled with two outs and then was picked off of first base. The throw down to second hit him in the back. Luckily for us, Mookie Betts then struck out to end the inning. If Betts had come through, there is a very good chance we would have lost that game.
• In that same game, Travis Shaw stepped to the plate with one out in the fifth inning and the bases loaded. We trailed by one run. He hit into what looked to be an inning-ending double play, but barely managed to leg it out. The tying run scored from third on that play. If Shaw is a step slower, we leave the bases full and lose the game.
• Same game, top of the ninth. Joplin trailed by a run. Taylor Rogers recorded two quick outs to start the inning. Then Betts hit a single to keep Joplin alive. No person in his right mind would try to steal in that situation, but Jim Doyle has never been in his right mind. He risked making the final out of the game by running against our Vg-armed catcher...and, as always, it seems, his risk paid off. Not only did Betts steal the base, but Carlos Santana then knocked him home with a base hit.
• In the bottom of the fourth inning of Game Three, we led by a score of 3-2. With one out and runners at first and second, Tyler Saladino hit a ball down to our Vg-ranged third baseman, Justin Turner. The ball somehow took a bad bounce and skipped past him down the line. Then our left fielder botched the throw to third, allowing their runner to move all the way to third from first base on the play. Later that inning, Freeman hit yet another infield single that scored the third run of the inning.
• In the bottom of the sixth inning in Game Four, we clung to a 1-0 lead. Joplin then mounted a rally against Stephen Strasburg. Freeman walked. Betts reached on yet another infield single. Strasburg then bore down and struck out David Peralta and Yan Gomes back-to-back. But he then hit Chad Pinder to load the bases. That brought Ender Inciarte to the plate with the bases loaded. This was the most critical point of the game. We handed the ball to our best pitcher, Oliver Perez, and he got the job done, getting Inciarte to ground out to first. That situation could have easily turned ugly in a hurry.
• In the bottom of the eighth inning of that same game, we still held on to our 1-0 lead. Shohei Ohtani was asked to retire the middle of the Joplin lineup. Betts singled, and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Ohtani then uncorked yet another wild pitch to move Betts and David Peralta into scoring position. Gomes' sac fly then tied the game. If Ohtani throws only one wild pitch instead of two (which seems reasonable), then we keep our 1-0 lead and head into Game Five one win away from clinching the series.
• Instead, Ohtani loaded the bases with his second walk of the inning. We then asked Pedro Strop to retire Tyler Saladino -- which should have been an easy task for him. But on an 0-2 pitch, Saladino somehow stroked a base hit up the middle, scoring what became the winning run of the game.
• Game Six, top of the second inning. With two outs, Charlie Morton singles off of Anibal Sanchez (which is ridiculous enough alone.) That then enables a rally to take place that includes a wild pitch, a walk, and two singles. The last of those two singles is a little squibber hit by Freeman that hugs the third base line. We let it roll. It stays fair. The go-ahead run scampers across the plate.

If any one of these tiny little random unlikely events hadn't occurred, the fate of the OLCS would have turned out quite differently. Despite all of these annoying little quirks, despite the fact that Tyler Saladino hit like Babe Ruth, despite Christian Villanueva and Danny Valencia going 0-for-the-series against Joplin's left-handers, despite Carlos Santana discovering a golden glove, despite Joplin running all over our catcher, despite our sudden inability to steal bases, and despite Pedro Strop's sudden inability to pitch against right-handed batters, we somehow managed to win the series anyway.

And now we prepare for Charlotte.