Top comment at the NYT: "Whole country rooting for the Brewers right now."
Oktubre 13, 2026
"Down 0-2 in the National League Championship Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to consider the unfathomable... benching superstar Shohei Ohtani."
"'Yeah, I mean, obviously it hasn’t been good,' manager Dave Roberts told The Athletic on Monday, after the Dodgers’ 7-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2. 'He doesn’t feel great. I think for me, it’s having a conversation with him tomorrow, kind of try to figure out what’s best for him, what’s best for us'..... Ohtani’s at-bats have been unrecognizable. Throughout October, a clearly compromised Ohtani has been getting beat on fastballs, and he’s rarely pulling the ball or hitting it hard.... He has attempted to shorten his swing and slap balls the other way.... In Game 2, Ohtani went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.... A clear sign of how uncomfortable Ohtani is at the plate? Leading off the sixth against Brewers left-handed reliever JoJo Romero, Ohtani showed bunt...."
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65 komento:
Like WW2 veterans, the old New York Dodger fans who remember them at Ebbets Field are sadly dying off.
…yah, he has owies, then again when you’re still playing in mid October everyone hurts…football is on so I’d stop short of that whole country rooting for the Brewers stuff but if they’re a rally point I’ll hop on, too…
Ohtani looks gassed. This is his 14th year of professional baseball and he’s 32. He pitched 85 innings this year along with his 618 plate appearances.
He’s the greatest player ever but he’s not a god.
The Dodgers owners should discuss getting a new GM & Coach.
Mrs. MJB and I watched this series last year. It’s memorable for all the announcers saying that no team had ever come back in the NCLS being down so many games yadda yadda. But the Dodgers did in fact come back and shock the Brewers. I understand many people hate the Dodgers the same way I hate the Cowboys and Niners but they are fun to watch and a part of me will always be in the mezzanine at Chavez Ravine sitting with Dan, whose family has had those season tickets since the Dodgers stadium opened.
I will be rooting for the Dodgers whether or not Otahni plays.
I just want to say that I have put a lot of time into trying to understand "pulling" and going "the other way," and though I have watched a lot of baseball, it's almost pure nonsense to me. It's not Andrew-Jackson's-foul-mouth-parrot nonsense, but it's just not for me to know.
If one believes that post a few weeks ago (IIRC) about the possibility of putting a salary cap in the next CBA, every team owner (except maybe the Brewers) should be rooting for the Dodgers to win.
Brewers fans have been waiting 44 years to get back to the World Series. Ohtani is still a great player but it's obvious he's injured and unable to play at the normal level. The entire Dodgers team looks old and the Brewers are young, athletic, hungry -- all the terms. It may yet end in tears, but as a long-suffering Brewers fan I'm enjoying every minute of this.
Althouse, those terms are meant to contrast what a batter is **expected** to do based on being L- or R-handed. So “swinging against type” is kinda what they mean.
The time to bench Ohtani and get him into rehab was last August.
Just so we are clear... "going "the other way,"" is not this.
"I just want to say that I have put a lot of time into trying to understand "pulling" and going "the other way," and though I have watched a lot of baseball, it's almost pure nonsense to me."
Meade must be having a great time watching these games with you.
My dream World Series 2026? Brewers vs Guardians (nee Indians).
Every mayor league team on occasion will go thru slumps, where it seems every player is just not performing up to their level. When it happens to a team like the Dodgers, loaded with some of the best of the best, the fucus tends to fall on their biggest star. Maybe that's not fair, it's just baseball and good old human nature. A sad story is more relatable or whatever, if it fucuses on one guy/gal.
The zen thing about a slump is that the more you and... the world focuses on it, the deeper into the mire it is likely to get.
Reminds me of Yogi Berra's paradoxical quote: “Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical.”
Let go Ohtani. Sitting Ohtani is probably the best move.
Milwaukee Braves won the World Series in 1957. Brewers have never won.
Dodgers are tanking to undermine arguments there should be a salary cap.
I'd like to see the Dodgers take 2 of the 3 in L.A. so the Brewers can win the series here in Milwaukee.
"Going the other way" is an attempt to let the ball travel just a little deeper into the hitting zone so that you end up making contact late enough to hit it to the field opposite your batting side. The result is that if you are a left handed and "you go the other way", you will hit the ball to right, and viceversa.
This is completely from memory btw. (Lem vibes mistakes)
"Mrs. MJB and I watched this series last year. It’s memorable for all the announcers saying that no team had ever come back in the NCLS being down so many games yadda yadda. But the Dodgers did in fact come back and shock the Brewers...."
The Dodgers were never down in last year's NCLS. They swept the Brewers. I don't understand your point. Do you mean the Brewers won more games in the regular season?
This is a nightmare scenario for the ownership. If the Brewers win then the World Series will be between the 19th highest payroll and 28th or 30th ranked payrolls.
If the Braves or the Red Sox are not in the Series I will root for the team with the longest championship drought so I am going with the Indians.
Baseball is so much about righty/lefty stuff. I've always had minimal sensitivity to right and left. Such a big deal is made out of it. Can't we move on?
The righty/lefty stuff is overdone. The best hitters are good against both. The best pitchers are good against both.
Switch hitting is also more or less a joke. Most switch hitters are weak from both sides of the plate. But there are a handful in baseball history who are excellent.
...not a good idea to tug on Ohtani's cape...
Top comment at the NYT: "Whole country rooting for the Brewers right now."
Not all of them. Some are still sobering up after celebrating the Yankees being swept by the Rays.
"Meade must be having a great time watching these games with you."
I read your comment to Meade who let me know that he believes you were being earnest and not sarcastic. I'd assumed sarcastic.
Both. Sometimes my wife deigns to watch sporting events with me. She asks lots of questions, and offers running critiques on rules, male physiques, dress, demeanor, jewelry and the content of commercials. It's generally entertaining, unless it's a really important game for my team.
"I read your comment to Meade who let me know that he believes you were being earnest and not sarcastic."
Meade...Dude...you da man. Smooth. Supafly smooth.
I was being a little snarky.
"Baseball is so much about righty/lefty stuff."
ai: "Hitting a 90+ mph baseball is widely considered the hardest single task in sports."
Back when they started building baseball parks, they weren't symmetrical. Because runs are so hard to come by, every little advantage that could be extracted, from the makeup of the field to which arm the pitcher uses to pitch, became, as Joe would say, a big fucking deal.
"Some are still sobering up after celebrating the Yankees being swept by the Rays."
While I'm not 'literally' one of those, I wholeheartedly concur.
Re 2025 Dodgers: Althouse is correct and I think it was the Blue Jay series that I was misremembering as Brewers. But even that series (now that I have gone back to see what happened) was back and forth and doesn’t seem like it would spark “historical comeback” talk.
We only watched the Dodgers games, NLCS & World Series. So a more diligent fan might be able to solve the mystery my earlier comment created. I recall the announcer’s comment but not who said it about whom.
I regret the error.
Specifically, “no team has ever come back to win the ____ Series after being down ____ after ____ games” was the announcement that stuck in my (occasionally unreliable) memory. Last Fall
"Specifically, “no team has ever come back to win the ____ Series after being down ____ after ____ games” was the announcement that stuck in my (occasionally unreliable) memory."
Announcers are always stating interesting facts in this format, and I think, with AI, things will get ever more specific about all the things that have never happened until just now or that haven't happen since [name the year]. The announcers are like background music in baseball. Sometimes it's best to just turn off the audio and go with video only.
"AMDG said...
If the Braves or the Red Sox are not in the Series I will root for the team with the longest championship drought so I am going with the Indians."
The Brewers have never won a World Series.
Curious George - The Brewers’ futility goes back to 1969. The Indians’ futility goes back to 1948.
Even this Cubs fan is backing the Brew Crew. Enough Dodgers.
We're all behind those Guardians if they get to the final show, though. They are our AL soulmates.
Commenters at NYT probably believe “the whole country is rooting for the Brewers.” NYT readers believe a wide array of caca.
Announcers could have been opining in the 4th game of 3-0 series about comeback odds vs sweep?
"Announcers are always stating interesting facts in this format, and I think, with AI, things will get ever more specific about all the things that have never happened until just now or that haven't happen since [name the year]. "
First time since 1906 pitcher has worn black shoes with red shoelaces.
As every Red Sox (and Yankees) fan knows, the Sox came back from 0-3 to beat the Yankees in 2004. That was the ALCS, but c'mon.
Brewers might do the unthinkable = a sweep. Next test is tomorrow night in LA.
That Bauers at bat was epic.
Some of the stats now are crazy, “He’s the first player in X years to hit a gap tooth cycle and whose mother in law by his second wife was named Ethyl.
"Sometimes it's best to just turn off the audio and go with video only."
I wish there was a channel that had the sounds of the game, crowd cheering, crack of the bat, but no annoucers.
Has anyone checked in with Ohtani's bookie lately? Not that he would be doing anything like gambling on games. No ballplayer in history has ever gambled on a game. Or shaved points. Or took a called third strike with men on second and third. Or anything remotely like that. Ask Pete Rose when you see him. But on the other hand, hitting a major league fastball/slider/curve is something that mere mortals can never even hope to do. Trust me, even catching one is a feat nonpareil.
I'm hoping the Rays win their series because the name "Guardians" grates on me every time I hear it.
“ I'd like to see the Dodgers take 2 of the 3 in L.A. so the Brewers can win the series here in Milwaukee.”
I get it, but I’d rather see the Dodgers have no chance to win the series here in Milwaukee. Zero. Nada. No way, hoe say. 🧹
“Ask Pete Rose when you see him.”
I will, but I already know Pete never bet against his own team. Pete might’ve been a sinner but he was loyal and trustworthy in his sinning. Prove me wrong.
“The announcers are like background music in baseball. Sometimes it's best to just turn off the audio and go with video only.”
I’m the opposite. Nattering announcers are an essential part of the baseball experience. I kinda miss the days when you could hear a ballgame on the radio.
Looks like the Brewers will make their ultimate demise as painful as possible for their fans.
boatbuilder said...
As every Red Sox (and Yankees) fan knows, the Sox came back from 0-3 to beat the Yankees in 2004. That was the ALCS, but c'mon.
10/13/26, 10:48 AM
—————————————
And Dodger Manager Dave Roberts’ stolen base in the ottoman of 9th inning of game 4 kicked off the comeback.
Even with the rules changes that have sped the game up, and made it possible to correct some officiating blunders, baseball is still too slow to watch live. Just let me know what happened when it's over. Thank you, YouTube highlights!
AMDG--It did indeed. Roberts gets a standing O every time he shows up at Fenway, and hasn't paid for a drink or meal in Boston since 2004.
‘I wish there was a channel that had the sounds of the game, crowd cheering, crack of the bat, but no annoucers.’
…does anyone recall when the NFL tried this in the 1970s? There were cries of ‘Bring back Howard Cosell!!!’
I don't like sports, but I had my transplant surgery on the first day of the World Series last year. So I had to watch the first game from my hospital bed....3.6 miles away from Dodger stadium. At the time, I was fully restrained to the bed with the breathing tube still down my throat. So I, literally, HAD to watch it. (Just like Malcom McDowell in A Clockwork Orange.)
I want the next game the Brewers play in Milwaukee to be game one of the World Series Close this series out in LA. To Smilin' Jack, you can still listen to baseball on the radio. I do it all the time.
Remember when Lou Gehrig all of a sudden couldn't hit and everyone thought he was just in an uncharacteristic slump? Well, you know, just sayin'.
Long time SF Giants fan now living in WI. If the Brewers were playing anyone else, I could sit back and enjoy the games. I hate the Dodgers so much that I have found I can’t watch. It’s rather funny how much I want the Brewers to win. In LA so I can watch the sad.
Remember when Lou Gehrig all of a sudden couldn't hit and everyone thought he was just in an uncharacteristic slump
No. I do not remember Lou Gerhig's playing days but I think at least half of the Althouse readership does.
Every NL fan is a Brewer fan
D.D. Driver said...
"No. I do not remember Lou Gerhig's playing days but I think at least half of the Althouse readership does."
You should watch The Pride of the Yankees, with Gary Cooper. It's a really good film.
I wanted a Brewers-White Sox Series just to flummox Cubs Fans. Oh well.
It's a great day when the Brewers win in the post-season.
Or, it's just a ploy for fans to waste $500.00 on tickets. The Dodgers have a cash-flow crisis and without Tommy Lasorda, or other big name backers, they've got to justify the exhorbitant salaries by initiating these mindless gimmicks.
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