Boston won 108 games this season, eliminated a pair of 100-win teams in the playoffs and will be heavily favored to win the Fall Classic, but the Dodgers won’t make it easy.
BOSTON — Now the Dodgers head for the birthplace of the Tea Party, the American Revolution, and Beat L.A.
Strangely, the chant was born of hopelessness, with nobody from L.A. anywhere near Boston.
The Celtics were getting spanked by Philadelphia in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on a Sunday afternoon. The Lakers had already won the West. The fans re-prioritized their loathing. In unison, and without apparent rehearsal, the Garden rocked with “Beat L.A., Beat L.A.”
That was in 1982. As we know, it stuck.
The adult children of those fans will be sounding off on Tuesday night in Fenway Park, when the Red Sox and Dodgers clash like big-market titans in Game 1 of the World Series.
It’s a classic battle of the brands, but few people expect a memorable Series. The Red Sox won two-thirds of their games. They ran through the 100-win Yankees and 103-win Astros in a total of nine games.
They led the American League in runs, hits, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, batting average and were second in walks. They also were 12th in strikeouts. Probable MVP Mookie Betts, J. D. Martinez, Xavier Bogaerts and Andrew Benintendi combined for 114 home runs and 400 RBIs in the regular season.
Betts and Martinez were 1-2 in the league in hits, and they were two of four MLB players (with the Angels’ Mike Trout and the Brewers’ Christian Yelich) who topped the 1.000 OPS mark. As a club, the Sox were a relentless.289 with men in scoring position.
Chris Sale reduced hitters to a .183 average. Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello are Cy Young Award winners. Ryan Brasier has been a stupendous surprise in what was a sketchy bullpen. Closer Craig Kimbrel is as dominant as anyone, especially since the Red Sox corrected his pitch-tipping, with help from Eric Gagne.
Alex Cora, who came up through the Dodgers system, was always tabbed as a future manager. He has exceeded those predictions. He also has a better feel for the Dodgers than the Dodgers have for the Red Sox, since Cora was Houston’s bench coach during the 2017 World Series.
“He’s plus-plus with his knowledge and plus-plus with his people skills,” said Eddie Bane, the former Angels farm director who advises General Manager Dave Dombrowski.
“You know, we’ve been good for a while now. But the way we played this year was at another level. Martinez (a free agent) and his power were exactly what we needed for our lineup. He’s the smartest hitter I think I’ve ever seen. And that outfield (Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Benintendi) is tremendous defensively. It’s just been one of those years. They just never let up.”
The Red Sox keep churning out young players. They also keep the ones they want and use the others as barter. Pitcher Michael Kopech and infielder Yoan Moncada brought Sale from the White Sox. Dombrowski built winners in Montreal, Detroit and Florida.
Are you one of those annoying scolds who could even find fault with bacon? Well, the Red Sox only hit .250 and only slugged .395 against left-handed pitching, which they will see repeatedly. They were only 21-18 against playoff teams, as they rampaged to a 52-9 record against Texas, Miami, Kansas City, Baltimore, Toronto and the Angels.
Their bullpen is questionable, or was until Cora began using Nathan Eovaldi, another former Dodger who has rediscovered himself. “He throws 101 on the paint and then he gives you that cutter,” Bane said. “He’s a weapon for us.”
The bullpen and overall depth are the two familiar advantages for the Dodgers. They make it very challenging to pick an MVP. In the NLCS, Cody Bellinger got the award, but it could have gone to Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen, Manny Machado, Yasiel Puig or especially Chris Taylor. His monstrous catch in the fifth inning of Game 7 was the most consequential for a Dodger since Sandy Amoros skidded to rob Yogi Berra in Game 7 in the 1955 World Series.
The Dodgers might consider starting the Series with Kershaw and Rich Hill, who redirected his career in Boston. Hyun-Jin Ryu scuffled in his two games at Milwaukee, and Walker Buehler should be fully rested for the Game 3 home start Friday.
Julio Urias has earned the right to be a lefty troubleshooter in the bullpen. “The look in his eyes,” pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said, “has convinced me he can handle all this.”
Can the Dodgers handle the Red Sox? Sure, but it’s tough to see them closing the fist, especially with Games 6-7 in the historical home of L.A. hate. Take the Sox in six, but for entertainment purposes only.
