The Los Angeles responded quickly during their dominant victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series.
That would give the team a week off before Game 1 of the World Series begins Friday night between Toronto and the Blue Jays. The balance is delicate with teams that have long breaks between games.
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In some cases, rest can be a good thing for a veteran ballclub during postseason play. This gives the group time to set up a pitching rotation while also helping players recover from various bruises and bruises.
On the other hand, there are cases where a long vacation can be a bad thing. There is a possibility that the rhythm will be disrupted in the at-bat, and if you are playing against a team that has few rest days, the opponent may be aiming to gain an advantage even with few rest days.
The have been on both sides of this premise. Fortunately for those supporting the Boys in Blue, the team has devised a familiar playbook that they aim to utilize.
Coach Dave Roberts spoke to the media on Tuesday. The team traveled to Toronto on Wednesday to begin preparations for the World Series. As Roberts said, the team is operating very similar to last year’s operation.
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This included giving the team Saturday off after clinching the National League championship on Friday night. On Sunday, the team reportedly held a training period that included live putting practice. From there, the group participated in the Kouhaku Sen.
“I think (we) have actually gotten a lot more comfortable with it,” Roberts said Tuesday of dealing with the long break. “We’re flying out tomorrow (to Toronto), so it kind of broke up the monotony of not playing. We had a day off, but the guys were active and feeling good. I think some guys did some things to get us back to full health.”
“We have another simulation game tonight, so we feel good about the players’ focus and play. We’ll be ready on Friday.”
For this group, this was clearly a trial and error situation. A few years ago, the team won a bye as the National League West Champion and had about a week off. That group was eventually swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in pretty embarrassing fashion.
Last year, the team took a much different approach to a similar situation. It reportedly had more to do with being close to each other than being away from the ballpark with their families.
Being an older ballclub, the team probably welcomes the break. There’s also the aspect that the have been in this situation before, but it doesn’t catch them off guard.
If he pitches and trains throughout the week, he will be expected to be ready by Friday.
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Photo credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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