First off, yes, what a game. Great showdown. Great new rivalry. Padres/Dodgers is lit (SORRY BOOMERS), which probably means Rob Manfred’s going to murder Fernando Tatís Jr. in his sleep tonight or something.
Honestly, I’m a little relieved Joe Kelly is serving that shadow suspension. I love him being the bad guy against the Yankees, or the Astros, or the Brewers (trying to will this into existence), but the Padres are a team against which I just kind of hope everything goes smoothly, since they’re, you know, likeable and #goodforthegame. I’m sure I’ll have to accept at some point that Joe Kelly and the Padres are enemies (hopefully Manny Machado does something peg-worthy and Kelly beats him up and it doesn’t have to be Kelly v. Tatís or something similarly painful), but I’m not there yet.
Beyond Joe Kelly, though, what a game. The intensity. The drama. The chaos (Jake Cronenworth pitching to David Price who flew out to Joe Musgrove in left field). And with only a fraction of the number of fans that’ll be at these things in September (and October??). Just awesome, awesome stuff.
Shifting gears, Yankees fans remain the best, and also the worst:
Absolutely hilarious move. And in response to a “bad team” that’s still the ALCS favorite. I love it. I love it so much.
Great night for baseball. Only thing that would’ve made it better would’ve been a Joe Kelly dinger pinch-hitting in the 11th.
