Los Angeles Dodgers: Key decision points in Game Seven
By Bill Felber
Pondering the key moments behind the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-1 victory over Milwaukee in Game 7 of the NLCS
Any series-deciding game – even one ultimately settled by a four-run margin as was Saturday night’s NLCS contest between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers – has its share of decision points. Those are the moments when a manager or player must choose between options that could lead to the success – or failure – of his side’s cause.
The Dodgers-Brewers Game 7 contained several such options. (In fact following a series as replete with pitching changes and lineup switches as this one was, some have labeled it a manager’s series.)
The truth is that both Dodger manager Dave Roberts and Brewers manager Craig Counsell – as well as their players — faced critical decision points on the way to the Dodger victory. They involved not just who to start and when to pull those starters, but in what order to present their bullpen, how to deploy their defensive forces, and whether to let season-long or recent performance guide their personnel decisions.
The outcome sends the Dodgers to the World Series, where they will find a very old foe, the Boston Red Sox. The teams have met previously in a Fall Classic, but it was more than a century ago. In 1916, the Red Sox beat the Dodgers, then playing in Brooklyn, in five games.
As fans everywhere micro-analyze Game 7, this is a good time to look at the evening’s critical decision points, considering not just what the manager or player did and why, but also whether it contributed to victory … or to defeat.