Chicago Fire (10-5, On Road: 3-4) @ Los Angeles Lakers (8-4, At Home: 3-3)
The fact that we finished the 2076 Season with a 4-2 record against the Chicago Fire is, at this stage of the game, meaningless. The World Series is just a snapshot – representative of each club’s current form – where the winner will be decided not based on history but based on only the here and now. I’d describe our current form as sufficient – we’ve managed to get the job done, just not in an otherworldly fashion. We’ve been installed as the favorite here, but, until we actually play the games, all that talk is just that. Talk. Hot air produced by overpaid wing bags to generate clicks – puffs of sound so meaningless that they may be better left unheard. The reality is that, while the Chicago Fire do not inspire much support with their brand of play, they are consistent. You can count on them – they always play hard, they always make the right play, and they always leave it all out on the diamond. Like clockwork – just consistently ticking away as each second passes, each interval the same as the last. The Fire’s issue is not that they aren’t any good – they’re here aren’t they – it’s that they are boring. Stodgy even and stuck in their ways. This will be a battle of contrast – the flashy club from La La Land, replete with superstars and a jaded fanbase, against the lunchpail crew from Chicago who just come to work, get it done, and then go about their business like it ain’t nothing. For me… I like a little flash, a little pizazz, and lots of winning… let’s hope we can deliver on all of those things during this series.
WS Game 1: Ashton Hughes (1-1, 5.82) @ Dejuan Burns (2-1, 5.74)
Win, 3-2. Dejuan gives up two over 6.1 and Larry Williams hit a double and scored… Still not getting much from Otto – he went 0 for 3 and scored. Mullens, in the same boat as Otto, managed to steal a bag, Ash faced one batter and struck him out, and Barbaccia completes his 2nd save of the post season over two innings where he struck out every batter he faced – we’ll take more of that, sir. We got the win here, in a closely contested ballgame, where we played the type of ball that Chicago excels at. Can’t help but feel like this one was a gift – we’ll need to inject some more of our personality into the games that follow or may find ourselves on the wrong side of our second straight world series.
WS Game 2: Jake Payne (2-1, 3.92) @ Nat Millard (2-1, 4.21)
Loss, 8-2. Nat gets destroyed in the top of the 2nd – he’d have 6 total runs charged to his account – and Matt Olston gave up another two in relief as the Chicago Fire put on a Laker-Like performance in Game 2 to knot this thing up at a game a piece. Otto got his first RBI of the series, Mullen went 0 for 3 with a run (a great Game 1 Otto impression), and, outside of a nice piece of baserunning from Lonzo (SB #6 in the postseason) our team was listless and in poor form from the opening pitch. We really took one in the teeth here…
WS Game 3 (@ Chicago): Michael Brisk (2-0, 3.15) @ Nathaniel Firestone (1-1, 4.99)
Win, 9-6. A return to form for the La La’s… PEPPER goes 3 for 5 with a double, a homer, 3 RBI, and 2 runs, Rajkumar finished at 4 for 5 with 2 RBI and a run, and Brisky allows three to plate over 7 innings of work… Pepper hit the run-scoring double that put us up for good in the top of the 9th, Otto scored twice and drove one in, Lonzo & Otto both steal bags, and Barbaccia blows the save in the 8th but ends up getting the win after Pepper’s heroics in the top of the 9th. Funny – another win, our second, where we were fortunate to come away with the victory… Chicago is living up to their billing as the most consistently annoying club in the Majors.
WS Game 4 (@ Chicago): Lee Myers (1-0, 2.02) @ Evan Church (2-0, 2.53)
Win, 3-1. One more win for immortality… Lee Myers matched Church’s effort over 7 innings, both starters allow only one run to score, though Evan gave up only 3 hits to Lee’s 7. Larry Williams hit a solo homer in the top of the 8th that put us up for good, Mullens hit a SAC FLY for insurance in the top of the 9th, Barbaccia gets the hold, and Caldwell closes the show over 6 pitches where he’d earn both outs by pop up. Otto? 0 for 4 with 2 K’s. Mullens? 0 for 3. We are getting it done with our also-rans – never would have thought we’d be up 3-1 with the performances we’ve had from our “stars”.
WS Game 5 (@ Chicago): Dejuan Burns (3-1, 4.91) @ Ashton Hughes (1-2, 5.53)
Loss, 7-3. Burns got toasted for 5 earned, Ash gave up 2 more in his worst performance of the playoffs, and Chicago’s 3B Gavin Nalley hit two-out against Dejuan. Offensively, there really isn’t much to highlight – Chicago pitched four guys against us, and outside of some early success against Ashton, we were kept off-balance throughout this contest. I blame the 55-minute rain delay in the 8th inning for this loss – our guys don’t play well when they get rained on… in November… in Chicago. That coupled with a 9 MPH win blowing out towards right field is enough to shiver me timbers – I’m legit surprised that no one suffered a season-ending injury due to frost bite.
