ARLINGTON, Texas — It is one of many alternate endings that have been suggested for the 2017 World Series (and there are many).
The Dodgers should have started Alex Wood in Game 7, the revisionists say. He was the Dodgers’ best pitcher in that series against the Houston Astros and even on just three days’ rest Wood would have given the Dodgers a better chance than Yu Darvish, who lasted only 10 batters in the Game 7 loss.
Wood pitched the final two innings of that game in relief, striking out three of the six batters he faced. But he said he was never approached about starting the game and doesn’t indulge in the revisionism now.
“I mean, it’s in the past. That’s what I think about it,” Wood said after the Dodgers’ optional workout on Thursday. “I mean, there was nothing ever discussed with me. We traded for Yu Darvish for a reason. He was pretty much unhittable until the World Series. That was a great team we played in the Astros. They got to him the first time. I mean, he’s a horse. You ride or die with that guy.
“Me and Kersh (Clayton Kershaw pitched four scoreless innings in relief on two days’ rest) were available after that and things shook out the way they did. So it’s really hard to look back and say, ‘Hey, I should have started, Kersh should have started,’ whatever it may be when you’ve got a guy like Yu Darvish sitting there in your rotation.”
After missing much of this year’s abbreviated regular season with a sore shoulder, Wood was not on the Dodgers’ roster for the Wild Card Series against the Milwaukee Brewers or the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres. He was added to the roster for the NL Championship Series and has allowed just one run on five hits in 4-2/3 innings, including two shutout innings in the Dodgers’ Game 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.
Wood is hopeful those could be steps toward a larger role as the World Series progresses.
“When you get to this point in the year, all bets are off,” he said. “When you get your opportunity to go in and throw up a zero or get your team to the next inning so they have a chance to win, I just try to contribute. I think my role is increasing as we’ve gone forward and I feel pretty good so hopefully I’ll continue to have some more opportunities.”
The Dodgers have Walker Buehler (Game 3), Julio Urias (Game 4) and Kershaw (Game 5) lined up to start the next three games of the Series. If the Series goes to a Game 6, however, the Dodgers would likely be forced to navigate another “bullpen game” like Game 2 during which Manager Dave Roberts used seven pitchers, each of them recording at least three outs (a World Series record for a nine-inning game).
Wood would be a more experienced hand to start that kind of game than rookies Dustin May or Tony Gonsolin, who have combined to allow seven runs in 5-2/3 innings over their past two appearances, both during what amounted to bullpen games (Game 7 of the NLCS and Game 2 on Wednesday night).
“I’m not thinking about that at all,” Wood said. “We’re taking it one game at a time. We’ve got a really talented team across the way in the Rays.
“For as much as people have been talking about whatever they’re calling yesterday – a bullpen game or whatever it may be – there’s plenty of guys we could have started and let them go a little bit longer. That was what we thought had the best chance to win the game. Sometimes it doesn’t always turn out the way you planned. But we felt good going into yesterday with the guys we had ready and available to take down some innings and give us a chance to win. And we were right there at the end, just came up a little bit short. We had some big hits and they did what they needed to do behind (Blake) Snell. So now we got a series and it’ll be fun rest of the way.”
CATCHER CHOICE
Roberts said Thursday he is mulling over which catcher to start with Buehler in Game 3. Austin Barnes caught Buehler in NLCS Game 6 and Buehler credited Barnes with guiding him through a no-outs, bases-loaded jam in the second inning and six scoreless innings overall.
If Roberts chooses Barnes, a major reason will be the value the Dodgers place on Barnes’ pitch-framing skills.
“I love both of our catchers back there with what Austin does behind the plate specifically,” Roberts said.
“It’s an elite skill (Barnes’ pitch-framing). I think he’s one of the top two or three in all of baseball. And that’s something that, it certainly has to be weighted because there’s a certainty of impacting or potentially 125 to 150 pitches in a ballgame. Will is very good as well. But as you can say that Will is a better hitter and thrower than Austin, Austin’s skill set to catch the baseball is elite.”
If Barnes starts, Roberts said Smith would move to DH.
GOLD GLOVERS
Three finalists at each position for this year’s Gold Glove awards were announced Thursday. Dodgers outfielders Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts are finalists for the NL awards.
Bellinger is a finalist in center field along with Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. and San Diego’s Trent Grisham. Bellinger won the award as a right fielder in 2019.Betts is a finalist in right field along with Chicago’s Jason Heyward and Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon. Betts won a Gold Glove each of the past four seasons in the American League.
In past years, the Gold Glove has been determined at least in part by voting of coaches and managers. That has been eliminated this year due to the regional schedule in the abbreviated 60-game season. Award winners will be determined by a combination of defensive metrics and statistical analysis.
The winners will be announced during a one-hour “Baseball Tonight” on ESPN on Nov. 3 at 4 p.m. PT.
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Dodgers’ Alex Wood not drawn into 2017 revisionist history - OCRegister
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