California dreamin! Gutsy Mets in prime position to knock off star-studded Dodgers
LOS ANGELES — In this improbably wonderful Mets run through late September and early October that can’t ever be repeated or even matched, they already beat the hated Braves, shocked the troublesome Brewers and dispatched the extremely disliked Phillies. The Mets turned an impossible gauntlet with a worse travel schedule into an utter joyride with necessary superb play. And things just got tougher.At least it would seem that way. The celebrity-and-star-filled Dodgers — the Mets’ National League Championship Series opponent after their 2-0 victory Friday night over the detested Padres — are the most celebrated roster maybe ever.
Full-fledged superstars comprise the first third of their excellent lineup, starting with the star among stars, Shohei Ohtani, the 50-50 man who will beat the all-around amazing Francisco Lindor for NL MVP.Ohtani has the talent of Babe Ruth, and at full strength these Dodgers have enough ability to fill out two competitive or better rosters. If the Dodgers aren’t America’s team, they belong to the world. They are not only the other National League team with a payroll past $300 million, unlike the slightly-pricier Mets ($341 million), who moved on from the brief Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander era just in time, the Dodgers actually still own all their high-priced celebs and Hall-of-Famers to be, even if they aren’t all healthy and active at the moment. Don’t think this doesn’t matter.
The three teams to reach baseball’s final four are the three $300 million teams, which is a pretty good indicator that money matters.The fourth will be the Guardians or Tigers, with both payrolls being less than nothing (at least by NYC standards). L.A.
is a franchise to be reckoned with, as well run as any, with accomplished pros all over the diamond and in the dugout, too, and they rode two long solo shots off ex-Dodger Darvish, by Kiké Hernandez and Teoscar Hernandez, to win the first postseason matchup of Japan-born pitchers ...