Before we get to some playoff talk — and more talk about the dominance of relief pitching — I wanted to mention a couple of terrific Peter books that are out there now.
Peter King’s The Game comes out today — this is just Peter telling football stories from his remarkable forty-year career as a football writer. It’s fantastic. I’ve been lucky enough to share meals with Peter over the years, and every time we’ve hung out, he’s told wonderful, hilarious, incredible behind-the-scenes stories, and I’ve thought, “I can’t wait until you put all these in a book.” This is that book. You’ll love it.
Peter K. asked me to blurb his book — alas, I was too late to actually make it on the cover. But the blurb I wrote went like so:
I was once doing an interview with a big-time NFL executive, and in the middle his phone rang. “I got to take this,” he said. “It’s Peter King.” I nodded. Of course he had to take it. For forty years, everyone took Peter’s calls, and everyone escorted him behind the curtain because of his personality, the honesty of his work, and his passion for football and storytelling. Now, Peter takes us all behind the curtain, and it’s pure fun.
Also out: Peter Gammons’s It’s All About the Players: What I’ve Learned from Baseball’s Best — here’s another Hall of Fame writer looking back at the stories and lessons he’s picked up in his half-century of baseball writing. It’s fantastic.
I did manage to get my blurb for Peter G.’s book in on time, and part of it is on the cover. Here’s the full thing:
Baseball, more than any other, is a game of storytellers, and Peter Gammons is our Mark Twain, Aesop, and Stephen King rolled into one. Open this book to any page, and you’ll read a story that will make your heart soar. The title of this book is wonderful, but it’s not ALL about the players. It’s also about the special writers — none more special than Peter — who make those players come to life.
Here is where you can order their books:
There’s one more book to mention, though I haven’t fully read it yet: Alan Sepinwall’s Serling: A Journey Into the Twilight Zone with TV’s First Visionary. It comes out today. I’ve started it, and it’s great, and I know it will keep on being great. I’ll give you the full report when I finish, but I’d go ahead and buy it now because even though Alan’s a Yankees fan, he’s a helluva writer.
Brewers 7, Dodgers 4
I came into this Brewers-Dodgers series with a powerful suspicion that the Brewers are just flat-out better than the Dodgers. Sure, the Dodgers have all the big names, all the MVPs and Cy Young winners, all that $430 million can buy.
But — and this is particularly true now that Shohei Ohtani is less than a shell of himself — I think the Brewers lineup is more dangerous and versatile.
I think the Brewers are a better defensive team (though they haven’t always shown it), particularly in the outfield.
As for the Dodgers’ dominant starters, I’m coming around more and more to the idea that starters barely matter in October. It’s all about the bullpens, baby. Sure, it’s nice to get a great and long Yamamoto start now and again. But those are rare things in today’s game. I still like to ponder starting-pitching matchups because that’s been a part of baseball for more than a century.
Ooooh, look, Robert Gasser vs. Blake Snell, probably in Game 3.
Huge advantage Dodgers!
Only, probably not. Maybe the Dodgers jump on Gasser. Maybe Snell throws eight one-hit innings as he did against the Brewers in last year’s championship series.
But, again, probably not. For one thing, the Brewers will pull Gasser the minute he gets in trouble. For another, Snell has not lasted even five innings in more than a month. The much more likely scenario is that the score will be close in the fifth, and it will come down to the bullpen, and I think the Brewers’ bullpen is better.
Anyway, that was the nagging thought I had coming into the series.
Forget the hype. Forget the history. Forget the famous names.
This isn’t a David vs. Goliath situation at all.
