Congratulations to the Dodgers on winning the World Series for the first time since 1988! While we hate the other LA team that won this year, Boston fans have always had some sympathy for the Dodgers, due to our having common enemies. A few other thoughts:
- Kevin Cash's mistake in this game is the opposite of Grady Little's awful one in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS: Cash took out his starter too soon, while Little notoriously left Pedro Martinez in too long.
- I am not so sure this is the greatest Dodger team ever, despite the headline below. A 60 game season is too little to determine greatness. I won't try to run the stats here, but it's arguable that the 1953 and 1955 Dodgers were more dominant by various metrics.
- Former Red Sox Mookie Betts and Dave Roberts played key roles in this victory (though many fans will argue that the Dodgers won more in spite of Roberts than because of him). The Red Sox trade of Betts isn't looking good right now. However, the jury on the final verdict is still out until we see what the Sox will do with the $365 million over 12 years that they saved.
- Sox fans also have reason to applaud the Rays this year, since they both vanquished the Evil Empire of Baseball, and ensured that the 2004 Sox will remain the only team to come back from a 3-0 playoff deficit by staving off the Astros in the ALCS. If the 2003 precedent holds, the Rays might be WS champs next year, after getting revenge on the Dodgers!