As the World Series continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. World Series Game 5:
The Yankees extended their season yesterday with a 11-4 win over the Dodgers last night. An Anthony Volpe grand slam put the club in front in the third inning, and while L.A. scored a pair in the fifth the Yankees responded in the sixth before pouring on five runs in the bottom of the eighth to seal the deal. After the club’s bats appeared to be largely absent throughout the series, the club is surely hoping yesterday’s offensive explosion will carry over into Game 5, which will be a rematch of Game 1’s duel between Gerrit Cole and Jack Flaherty. The Yankees ace threw six innings of one-run ball while striking out four in his first World Series outing since 2019, while Flaherty countered with six strikeouts and two runs over 5 1/3 innings of work. The game is scheduled to begin at 8:08pm local time this evening.
2. Freeman makes history:
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman made history last night when he became (as noted by MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell) the first player in World Series history to hit a home run in six consecutive World Series games. After hitting homers in the final two games of the 2021 World Series against the Astros as a member of the Braves, Freeman has gone yard in all four games of the 2024 World Series to this point, including his walk-off grand slam in Game 1. Last night’s history-making blast was a two-run shot in the first inning that gave the Dodgers the only lead they’d have all night. No player has ever homered in every game of a single World Series, though Freeman could change that with a home run and a Dodgers win this evening. Will he and the Dodgers make history again today?
3. As White Sox wrap up managerial search, all eyes on Miami:
The White Sox are reportedly set to hire Rangers associate manager Will Venable as their next manager, giving the 42-year-old his first managerial gig after he previously served as the #2 in both Arlington and Boston. The White Sox have not yet officially announced the decision, as teams generally avoid announcing news on days where a playoff game occurs. While the baseball world waits for Chicago’s decision to become official, all eyes will be on the final managerial vacancy remaining this offseason: that of the Marlins. Venable was reportedly a finalist for the job in Miami alongside Guardians bench coach Craig Albernaz. Will the Marlins’ managerial search conclude quickly in an Albernaz hire now that Venable is off the board, or is there a dark horse candidate who could emerge in the coming days?
Bet a huge amount on the Yankees with a bookie, please say it was still the right decision. Also bet that Ohtani would hit at least .400 for the World Series but he is only 2 for 15, not even hitting close to .300 let alone .400.
The bookie has been sending non-stop messages every couple of hours ever since the end of game 3 about payment instructions and doesn’t seem like the type who would be interested in negotiating.
Pay the man his money.
Don’t have it- thats the main issue.
Well, there’s always the witness protection program
Someone told me it was a sure thing the Yankees would win because of Judge, Cole, etc and because of the Yankees championship history (27 of them). Ohtani hitting better then .400 for the World Series seemed obvious because he hit a little bit under .400 for the LCS and he should have stepped it up for the World Series because of the stakes and because of his reputation.
“The main issue” is that you bet money you don’t have. You’d be better off by betting on an online site or at a casino because you have to put the money up front. On second thought: Wtf are you doing betting money you don’t have —–and because somebody told you “it was a sure thing”?????? Never mind betting online or at a casino. You should NEVER bet on anything again. Last: Tell your tough guy bookie that you need to set up a payment plan. You’re both doing something illegal, so he’ll probably just bluster and accept your offer.
Why bet if you don’t have the money to pay when you lose
I wish he had played like that against the Mets but it wouldn’t have made much of a difference anyways since he wasn’t the only one killing them
Hire a translator and pin it on him. Offer to take care of his family for life when he gets out.
Lmao !
Part of me thinks that Mizuhara got sold down the river. If you’re a big enough revenue-maker for those involved, it’s amazing how problems can just disappear.
Having spent almost a decade in Japan, I’ve yet to meet a gentleman from there that doesn’t like some “action”.
Ladies from Japan like Vegas for the “action” too.
You were sure enough of these Yankees to bet money you don’t even have?
It blows my mind that people still bet with a real bookie when you can easily bet online.
Don’t believe everything you read on line lol
Ippei? You still here?
Cant wait to see Jack Kaepernick get rocked tonight.
What does this even mean?
just more mush from the wimp
Please don’t feed the trolls.
Cant find a pitcher who hates America more….sad!
I googled him, and there is no record of him hating America! Can you post a link, please? Rangers fans, we care about that. We are the only MLB team that has never had a Gay Pride event at our ballpark! We are the American team!
Please take your homophobic rant elsewhere!
@terry
Who?
Weird racist rant.
@van lingle
I don’t think he ever reads what he writes.
Don’t listen to him lol.
Yet another enticing nugget from TerryTurdsuckle.
It’s a real shame that John Schneider wasn’t available to interview.
Even though I’m older and might get some grief from younger commenters, I think it’s a shame how the media have turned those Beavis and Butthead idiots who interfered with Betts into overnight “heroes”. I’m no Dodger or Yankee fan, but there’s no room for that sh$t in baseball or any sport for that matter.
rondon – What media? Other than that moron Earhardt on the Fox morning show, everything I’ve heard is condemnation.
Those two should be banned for life, what disgusting behavior. Very lucky Mookie didn’t get hurt and has been chill about it.
Jim Rice would have gone after those two idiots, just like he did when a Yankee fan stole his hat while he was laying semi-conscious on the field.
Well, it looked like the first tweets came from the media and it steamrolled. But honestly, I don’t care where it started. Glorifying those morons is pitiful.
rondon – Not surprising here since Gronk is King Moron, but still disappointing to hear this ….
x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1851650635198087361?ref_…
They forcibly grabbed a player. Banned for life stuff right there.
Absolutely.
@rondon —-Those effing idiots are grown men. And apparently, they’ve been told that they can attend tonight’s game. I truly hope that’s not the case. What they did bordered on criminal. They could’ve caused injury to Mookie
Flanster – I’m hoping the Yankees change their mind, but it sure does seem like they were told that. I really hope it’s confirmed whether or not they are in attendance during tonight’s broadcast.
Outside of idiots like those two, I’m betting there’s a good chunk of Yankee fans that don’t want em back either.
It’s mainly been ESPN and their writers trying to generate clicks by glorifying these morons. Even Jeff Passan reposted them on X which is disappointing. YS allowing these season-ticket holding fools back in again for Game 5 is terrible policy.
YBC – You mean Jeff’s post last night at 8:26PM?
If so, to me that’s not glorifying. Nothing he wrote was supportive of them. I think it’s a good idea to publicize bad behavior, let the fans suffer the humiliation and public backlash. And hopefully pressure the Yankees to do the right thing and perma-ban those clowns.
@FPG These man-children are not going to learn any lessons because they will have other morons justifying their actions. The proper thing to do is not give them any attention similar to field-runners during live broadcasts.
YBC – I’d be curious to have seen the reception they received at the bar they watched the remainder of the game in. You’re probably right though, they will probably tune out the 99% condemning their behavior and latch onto the 1% supporting it …. like Gronk, which I just posted upthread.
I don’t think it’s comparable to field runners, as those do it simply for the attention whereas the two Yankee morons actually believed they were “helping” their team.
Glad to hear MLB stepped in and demanded they be banned for tonight’s game. Not sure if it’s a lifetime ban or at least a few years.
How does anyone think they helped their team? The batter was ruled out.
I believe the fans do have the right to go for the ball if it’s in the stands, and don’t have to make room for the player. But that wasn’t the situation.
phillies – The morons were probably drunk and thought they were preventing Mookie from reaching into the crowd to make a catch.
Except he made the catch BEFORE his momentum carried his glove over the wall ….. and absolutely positively no fan is allowed to grab a player’s arm or grab onto his glove trying to pry it open and remove the ball.
The anger I have for this incident is palpable. For once I wish Mookie wasn’t so classy and mild-mannered, wish it was Carl Everett or Tyler O’Neill instead.
YankeesBC… Not a real high IQ pair. The ankle biter on the left looks like he graduated 6th grade with Jethro Bodine.
Rondon – Guy on left was a collegiate hockey player and classmate of Gronk.
That doesn’t exactly mean he’s a rocket scientist.. But either way, he was an ankle biter last night.
That pretty much says it all
rondon – That’s what I was getting at, he acted like a stereotypical arrogant dumb jock. Not surprised he’s a friend of Gronk, who always reminded me of Stifler.
Fever.. I’m with ya.
They’re Legends in their own Minds ONLY. I agree with you.
Don’t be a Sore Winner or Sore Loser. You know be like hockey players at the end of the game who have to shake hands and look into the (eyes (or not)) of their opponent and congratulate them. (EVEN IF they feel they got a bunch of bad calls/penalties etc. that effected the outcome of the game)
The Yankees as an organization glorify scum. That’s a big reason why so many baseball fans think of them as poop. The team and their fans. You can say all you want about respectable Yankee fans but that’s an oxymoron and they are all basically okay with their crap.
hayzee – They call it the Bronx Zoo for a reason. These sorts of incidents seem to happen most often in Yankee Stadium.
Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame….
Someone’s going to say anything if your on the net long enough
I don’t think that’s 99%+ peoples perception and a ton of people just say things today to get a rise….Look at the first troll post in here, someone spent a couple hrs in Da Lulu land willingly
Why was dude ever nervous last night? He has neck tattoos…
Troy – I heard the words on his neck translate to “No Regerts”.
I also heard that’s his credo
Can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not but not sure how those two correlate…?
ny papi
100% serious, if someone willingly gets neck tattoos and can go out in public without any shame, with testicles larger than that bull statue on Wall Street, then why would Luis Gil be nervous while trying to throw a ball in such a way that some dudes holding sticks can’t hit it?
What’s wrong with neck tattoos? You can’t really judge him for being nervous on the biggest stage of young career when his team is down 3 games. When was the last time you pitched in the ws?
papi – Neck tattoos are fine, but I prefer tramp stamps.
The stamps ain’t trampin like they used to. People say the modern day tramp stamp is in the chest area between the bewbs
Why pitch to Freeman? I don’t get it.
@Manfred Rob’s Earth Band
They were pitching everything inside to him and he was crushing it. Once they threw outside, he started rolling over it. Fortunate for him, he’s a fast big man.
So what would your game plan be? To walk Ohtani, Betts and Freeman and deal with the bases loaded every time?
Did Ohtani and Betts kill the Yankees this series? I wasn’t talking about them but now that you bring them up. I wouldn’t pitch to Freeman I know that. How many times do you put your hand on a hot stove before learning your lesson?
Well the Mets tried to pitch around people and it just made things worse. I wouldn’t put anyone on base against them. They seem to always make you pay for free bases.
You shouldn’t pitch around anyone but prime Barry Bonds. Stars are effective hitters because of their ability to get on base. If you let them get on base on purpose, you already gave in and let them beat you.
That’s one way to look at it. Joe Madden noticed Bryce Harper was really good at destroying Cubs pitching. What did he do? He pitched around him. What happened? The Cubs beat the Nationals when they did that.
He is “In the Zone” you just have to pitch him more carefully and try to keep him in the ballpark. He has great bat skills and hurt NYY even when he goes to the opposite fields. He seems to be running much better but his speed on basepath can be managed.
Right now if I was the NYY I would pitch Ohtani carefully but you know he is compromised and is feeling pain on many swings. Hard stuff in/up, breaking pitches, sinkers away. You actually do the LAD a favor by walking him. Great baserunning skills and likely to score with hitters after him.
Same with Mr. Betts, very dangerous 5 tool player. Pitch him tough try to keep him in the ballpark and hope your defense can make a play.
As good as the NYY offense is the LAD offense is better and deeper and there are players with much playoff experience like Freeman, Betts, Muncy, Will, Keke and more
Hypothetical, if the Yankees reverse sweep with a different player acting as hero each game, AND Freeman continues his homer streak, would you give him World Series MVP? Been a long time since we had a player on the losing team win MVP
@Kapler’s Coconut Oil
MVPs for both sides. Problem solved.
Doubt it. For one, the only time a player from the losing team won the WS MVP (Bobby Richardson, Yankees, 1960) was because the award voting was finished before the 8th inning of game 7, which was before the final lead change of the series. For another, if the Yankees pull off a reverse sweep I dare say that someone playing for NY would have eclipsed Freeman’s value regardless of how many home runs he hits.
Kap – It’s actually a great question, and the answer is likely yes. Since there are no requirements such as being on the winning team, if Freeman hits 7 homeruns in the World Series he would most likely be MVP.
BTW – Chuck Howley won Superbowl MVP despite being on the losing team.
Doubtful but possible
*What a strange feeling that would be for Dave Roberts at the font steps of it all for so so many reasons
Except LA never tied the game in the 5th….. closest they got was 5-4.
That confused me too… tried to figure out if I missed something for a moment.
I was beginning to doubt the script writers were doing their job but they proved their worth in gold last night.
Freddie is a short porch merchant
Yeppers, partially why Truist is designed the way it is. (happy tear)
I like it honestly, adds more scoring, and better scoring chances
Braves and Red Sox are still crying that Freeman and Betts are no longer with their teams. I have no idea how they let those players go. Eventually, I can only hope that teams will refuse to help the Dodgers at the trade deadline. Eventually, teams will get tired of all the winning.
Easy for the Braves, trade for Matt Olson, similar players and similar yearly salary and Olson is 5 years younger than Freeman.
Eric – Freeman has a better regular season resume, and much better postseason resume.
Age and salary is meaningless, anyone would take a healthy Freeman over a healthy Olson since 2022.
@eric
In what world are Matt Olson and Freddie Freeman “similar players”??? that tells me you don’t watch baseball.
I advise doing more research before you make baseless claims.
you couldn’t pay me ohtani’s contract to manage the marlins. one because i don’t know how to manage, and two because the team sucks
I would, without hesitation, take Ohtani money to manage the Marllins and use half of that money to buy the best players in the league, then trade them for nearly nothing to my Padres so they could win a WS in the first 3 years of my tenure. I’d keep the rest of the $700M for myself, of course, buy land in southern Utah and the coast of Oregon and live out the rest of my life in harmony with nature.
There would have to be conditions for me managing that team. Skip left for a reason, Ng too, for that matter. Neither were fired.
So, using LAD deferred money (via Ohtani’s contract) to fund the Marlins. Kind of like the competitive balance tax. Aren’t they already doing that?
Marlins are just a couple role players from being a 70 win team. Sign me up as manager.
thats never stopped aaron boone from managing
I’d manage them just to go back to having starting pitchers go nine innings and have players lay down sacrifice bunts.
Wouldn’t it be something if Freeman hit a homerun in every game of the series and they still lost the series. lol
Yet another lopsided series. One team shows up, the other doesn’t. Only publicly this series is getting is from two obnoxious fans. Not what mlb was looking forward to
roberts playing with fire by punting the game last night. yankees were completely demoralized and he allowed them to recover some mojo. praying it comes back to bite him
Yanks aren’t winning three more. Sorry.
It’s tough watching these bullpen games but the Dodgers got out of them 2-2, and with the high-leverage guys rested. You would take those results from a #4 starter
Tough to complain as a Lad fan but if this thing comes back to La Id like to see a “sudden” inj pop up with Hudson for Evan Phillips arrival in La
Hudson looks Texas toast
Yankees are probably not winning 3 more, but I’ll take one more. Then fire Boone next week.