Friedman's LCS ties; Jansen's role; more
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The man in charge of the Dodgers’ baseball operations is also the former employer of the men in charge of baseball operations for the other three teams in the postseason.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 12 | ATL 5, LAD 1 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 13 | ATL 8, LAD 7 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 14 | LAD 15, ATL 3 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 15 | ATL 10, LAD 2 | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 16 | LAD 7, ATL 3 | Watch |
| Gm 6 | Oct. 17 | LAD 3, ATL 1 | Watch |
| Gm 7 | Oct. 18 | LAD 4, ATL 3 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: “Obviously, all three are really good friends of mine and, in a vacuum, really happy to see them having success,” Dodgers president Andrew Friedman said. “Now I’m to the point where I want each one of them to lose, as I’m sure they feel about me.”
Braves president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos spent two years as a Dodgers vice president, a pit stop between top jobs with Toronto and Atlanta. Erik Neander, senior VP of baseball operations and GM of the Rays, and James Click, GM of the Astros, worked for Friedman when he ran the Rays.
“It’s fun going up against Alex and, hopefully, we’ll have the chance to go up against either Erik or James,” Friedman said.
The latest on Jansen
Friedman addressed the ongoing saga of Kenley Jansen, who has lost his role as the closer.
“Obviously, this has been a popular question and I totally get it,” Friedman said. “He is working incredibly hard."
Jansen nearly let the Dodgers’ Game 2 win over the Padres get away, but Friedman said the first 19 of 30 pitches “were really good and really competitive.” Then came the mistakes.
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Friedman said pitching coaches are working on delivery kinks and Jansen, who has not been available to the media, is all-in regardless of his role. Friedman added that with matchups influencing pitching changes, Jansen has a role.
“All he is saying right now is, ‘I want to be a part of helping us win a championship,’” Friedman said. “Ingame, I think there are really good runs for different relievers and just how to deploy it and when, obviously, depends on how certain games play out. But I do expect him to be a big part of helping us win a championship.”
Other notes
• Dodgers Game 2 starter Clayton Kershaw, who is 32 and has three National League Cy Young Awards, said he has learned a lot from Game 1 starter Walker Buehler, who is 26 and hasn’t completed three full seasons.
“I like the way he goes about things,” Kershaw said. “He can kind of relax me at times to see how he does it. Likewise for him, maybe I can give him a little more structure to what he does, and I think it’s a good balance for both of us. He’s a very good competitor on the mound. The conviction that he has is what separates him. Off the field, it’s been great for both of us.”
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• There may be no greater spokesman for the Dodgers’ unselfish approach to the game than Max Muncy.
“Anything you can do to help your team win is all that matters,” Muncy said. “I don’t matter. The team matters. Personal stats, they have no value here, really.”
Muncy also provided a succinct explanation on the challenges of passing time in the bubble: “Me and my wife look at a lot of videos of our dog, of our cat, we watch TV shows.”
• Manager Dave Roberts said the Dodgers and Braves are staying at the same hotel in the bubble. The Dodgers have been provided a recreational area to play pingpong, Skee-ball and air hockey, plus an outdoor basketball hoop.