Kershaw fans Difo, Dodgers advance
The moon and stars seem to be aligned for the Cubs in their quest to get to their first World Series since 1945.
They sneaked past the Giants in the National League Division Series without much offense to speak of, and will face a Dodgers team in the National League Championship Series that"s still recovering from an emotional five-game NLDS triumph over the Nationals.
The Cubs are a year older and a bit wiser than they were last year, when the Mets swept them in the NLCS. And they still have that chip on their shoulder after an embarrassing performance.
"It left a bitter taste in guys" mouths as far as how far we had come last season and to get to that point, and then really not put up a fight," said Jon Lester, who is to face Kenta Meada in Game 1 of the NLCS.
The last time the Cubs faced the Dodgers in the postseason also ended up without much of a fight. The Cubs business operations department invited a Greek Orthodox priest to spread holy water in the home dugout before Game 1 to remove the "curse" that general manager Jim Hendry and manager Lou Piniella took pains to say did not exist.
The Cubs promptly were swept in three games.
Rev. Jim Greanias, the designated holy water spreader, said Friday he will be in attendance at Wrigley for Game 1, but only as a fan.
"I don"t think security would let me in with the holy water," he cracked. "I may be on a watch list."
A Cubs source with access to the pre-game ceremonies guaranteed there would be no repeat of the holy water incident.
So the Cubs will have to win it without any extraneous karma, just as they have done all year.
"They"re a solid team from what I understand," Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw said, tongue firmly embedded in cheek.
From what we have heard in Chicago, Kershaw is also solid as well. Though he missed part of the summer with back issues, Kershaw went 12-4 with a 1.69 ERA, 172 strikeouts and 11 walks, one of which was intentional.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hinted Kershaw may be able to start in Game 2 on Sunday after starting on Tuesday in Game 4 of the division series, and then retiring the final two hitters to close out Game 5 Thursday.
"Obviously we"re not prepared to make that decision yet," Roberts said. "But he"s tracking to start when we all think."
Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who deftly outmaneuvered Giants counterpart Bruce Bochy in the ninth inning of Game 4, has a new challenge in Roberts. Like Maddon, Roberts is an unconventional thinker who isn"t afraid to kick over the chess board.
Roberts said closer Kenly Jansen would be available for Game 1 despite being brought in during the seventh inning and throwing 51 pitches in Game 5.
"I"d be interested to see they won the war but the effect on Jansen and Kershaw when they get to Chicago," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said after the loss to the Dodgers.
That may sounds like sour grapes, but Baker"s point was the Dodgers may have overtaxed their two most valuable pitchers unnecessarily to get past the Nats.
We soon will find out if either or both can rebound without coming up for air.
This postseason has seen more outside-the-box bullpen moves than any in recent memory. Maddon said it always has been that way, but is just being played up more.
"It would be much more difficult to be consistently successful by moving people around that often and having them throw that much," Maddon said. "However, this time of the year is a different animal, and I think that I get it. It"s the way it should be."
Lester, one of the best left-handers in the game, is coming off eight shutout innings in the Cubs 1-0 victory over the Giants in Game 1 of the NLDS. The Cubs also have three lefties in their bullpen in Mike Montgomery, Travis Wood and closer Aroldis Chapman, and could add a fourth for the NLCS in Rob Zastryzny, who threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings Aug. 27 at Los Angeles.
Against lefties, the Dodgers ranked dead last in the majors in hitting (.213), on-base percentage (.290) and slugging percentage (.332).
"The so-called (criticism) they don"t hit lefties good, I"ve heard that," Cubs catcher David Ross said. "It doesn"t matter. They still won. That"s their take on it, too. Jon threw well (in Game 1) and I expect him to throw well Saturday."
The Cubs should be geeked up after their come-from-behind victory in Game 4, and are used to playing in this atmosphere.
"Getting through that first series, there was a lot of emotion, a lot of high energy, especially on the road at (AT&T Park)," said Kyle Hendricks, the Game 2 starter. "And the crowd here at Wrigley, honestly, we caught some games during the regular season that were just as loud as we"re getting in the playoffs."
The Cubs are treating it like just another day at the ballpark, as they have done all year long.
psullivan@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @PWSullivan
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-cubs-success-seems-set-sullivan-spt-1015-20161014-column.html
