Instant Classic

Shank wraps up last week's World Series matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays; Games 6 and 7 were the best games I can remember in a long time:

Dodgers-Blue Jays World Series Game 7 was one for the ages, as well as one for all ages

It’s been several days and some of us are still talking about the seventh game of the World Series that unfolded late Saturday in Toronto.

In the ninth inning alone we saw Miguel Rojas’s (zero hits in a full month, 57 home runs in 12 seasons) unlikely homer . . . Toronto pinch runner Isiah Kiner-Falefa called out as he slid across home plate when he should have run straight up . . . Andy Pages making a Series-saving catch seconds after being inserted for defense. And there was so much more.

When baseball is played well in high-stakes games, it provides indelible moments frozen in time, easily summoned decades later.

Even though the 1975 Series was a half-century ago, Baby Boom New Englanders still carry on as if the thing ended last weekend. And why not? That epic had Looie’s shutout, Armbrister’s bunt, Fisk’s homer, Dewey’s catch . . . oh, and what do you think would have happened if Darrell Johnson hadn’t pinch hit for Jim Willoughby in the bottom of the eighth of Game 7?

Make the column about Boston - that's our Shank!

On The Ropes Already?

The Los Angeles Dodgers jumped out to a 2 - 0 lead in the 2024 World series last night, and Shank's wondering if it may be over already:

Despite Shohei Ohtani injury, Freddie Freeman and the Dodgers have the Bronx in a panic

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers two. Yankees zero.

The Bronx is down. And the Los Angeles battery is up.

Japanese rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto stuffed the high-powered Yankees on one hit over 6⅓ innings and the Dodgers won their second straight Saturday, beating the Yanks, 4-2, to take a 2-0 lead over New York in a 2024 World Series that’s already supplied a ton of memorable moments.

The only drawback for LA was the sight of latter-day Babe Ruth, Shohei Ohtani, writhing on the dirt around second base after he was caught stealing in the seventh. The Franchise sustained a partial dislocation of his left shoulder while sliding feet-first into the bag and no one knows much about his availability for the rest of this Series.

“I hope he’s OK,” Dodger hero Freddie Freeman — two homers in two games — told the MLB Network. “I haven’t heard anything. But when you’re in pain, holding your arm, it’s probably not a good thing.”

DHL Dan CCXXVII - The World Series Column

For Shank, the Yankees / Dodgers World Series is steeped in history:

Dodgers-Yankees is a World Series guaranteed to take us back, and other thoughts

LOS ANGELES — Picked-up pieces while worrying that Jerod Mayo is our new Butch Hobson …

▪ Dodgers-Yankees. Star Wars. Big Bucks. The Blue Ribbon World Series. Swimming pools. Movie stars. Life in the fast lane meets the city that doesn’t sleep. It’s the dream matchup for Fox.

We all know the World Series isn’t what it used to be when time stood still in early October and kids raced home from school to watch day baseball on black-and-white televisions.

But Dodgers-Yankees is as good as it’s going to get in a 21st century that’s seen MLB fall far behind almighty football.

The Dodgers won a thriller Game 1 Friday, 6-3, when Freddie Freeman hit the first walkoff grand slam in World Series history in the bottom of the 10th inning.

“One of the best baseball games I’ve ever been part of,” said Dodgers star Mookie Betts.

The 2018 World Series Champs

Shank writes a decent column about the winners - the 2018 Boston Red Sox:

LOS ANGELES — You can go back to bed now, New England. There’ll be no more late October nights watching the Red Sox thrash assorted Yankees, Astros, and Dodgers.

The 2018 baseball season is over and the Boston Red Sox are World Series champions for the fourth time in 15 seasons. Led by David Price’s seven-plus stellar innings and home runs by Steve Pearce (two), Mookie Betts, and J.D. Martinez, the Sox defeated the Dodgers, 5-1, in Dodger Stadium (a.k.a. “Fenway West”) Sunday night, winning the 114th Fall Classic in dominant fashion.

So there. New England has another masterpiece for its professional sports High Renaissance.

Swing And A Miss

Seems that Shank did write a column after Game 4. Seems that Shank didn't mention his last two columns on Twitter, but there they are on the (ugh!) Globe's sports section.

Isn't It Funny

...how we don't get a column from Shank after a big win by the Red Sox? That's because he can't devote half of it to second-guessing the manager, Alex Cora.

Turn On A Dime Dan - VIII

Two days ago Shank grabbed the steering wheel and hijacked the bandwagon of Red Sox Nation. After Game 3, he's not so sure anymore:

What once seemed certain for the Red Sox is now in doubt

Need I remind you of one columnist who, a mere two days ago, was all but providing that certainty?

LOS ANGELES – It was the longest game in World Series history.

It lasted 18 innings, consuming seven hours and 20 minutes.

And it may have seriously pivoted things in this suddenly-fascinating 2018 World Series. The Dodgers rallied from almost certain October death in the bottom of the 13th Friday night/Saturday morning and went on to beat the Red Sox on Max Muncy’s leadoff homer in the bottom of the 18th.

Los Angeles’s 3-2 victory ended at 3:30 Eastern Daylight Time.

“We could have put them away and we didn’t,’’ admitted Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

And all we can ask is . . . why?

From there, Shank engages in the usual second guessing of a manager whose balls he was licking in the previous weeks and conveniently reminds you multiple times of this being the anniversary of the Bill Buckner game. This guy did a complete 180 degree turn in one game / two days - he's completely shameless.

He Loves LA

A comment from a few days ago:

Wait, what? No Boston has/LA has column?

That's not far off the mark, as Shank hijacks the bandwagon yet again!

A great place for the Red Sox to beat LA is in LA

I have framed copies of all Globe front pages from Boston sports championships won in this century. The datelines under those happy headlines are NEW ORLEANS, HOUSTON, ST. LOUIS, JACKSONVILLE, DENVER, VANCOUVER, GLENDALE, and HOUSTON (again). Two of the 10 titles were won in Boston and required no dateline.

Now, with plenty of wall space available, I am ready to add: LOS ANGELES.

The Red Sox play Games 3 and 4 of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium Friday and Saturday. Game 5, if necessary, would be played Sunday night at Chavez Ravine. This means the historic, 117-win Red Sox have a chance to win Boston’s first championship in Los Angeles since Bill Russell and Sam Jones beat the Wilt Chamberlain/Elgin Baylor/Jerry West Lakers at the Los Angeles Forum 49 years ago.

You can see where it's going from there, as Shank regales us with the Boston / L.A. matchups across all sports from the past six decades, which of course features a few Larry Bird sightings.

Best comment from that column:

How big is the wall for Boston athletes who won't talk to you ?

I'm pretty sure that would require an entire room...

The New Mr. October

After a regular season in which he wrote a few columns containing many subtle and not so subtle digs & criticisms about the subject, Shank is now singing his praises.

David Price has morphed into Jim Lonborg/Luis Tiant/Josh Beckett/Jon Lester. Dare we say Curt Schilling? Boston’s much-maligned $217 million southpaw — a dartboard ornament for most of his three seasons at Fenway — is suddenly the Mr. October of the Red Sox pitching staff.

After a lifetime of historic postseason failure (zero wins in 11 postseason starts), Price has found his playoff mojo at the precise moment it matters most. On the heels of his series-clinching Game 5 masterpiece in Houston last week, Price on Wednesday dazzled the Dodgers, allowing only three hits in six innings of a 4-2 Red Sox victory in Game 2 of the World Series. J.D. Martinez delivered the winning runs with a two-run, two-out single to right in the fifth. Sox pitchers retired the final 16 Dodger batters.

Fortunately, that's it for the 'column', which doesn't bore you with any of that silly game recap stuff.

World Series - Game 1 Recap

That, and a paragraph or two written before the game even started, is all you should expect from Shank this morning:

“Beat LA! Beat LA!’’

Born during a Celtic playoff loss to the 76ers at the Old Garden in 1982, the chant was revived at Fenway on Tuesday night, and the redoubtable Red Sox fulfilled the fans’ command with an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first game of the 2018 World Series.

Eduardo Nunez’s seventh-inning pinch-hit three-run homer (another nice call by Midas manager Alex Cora) closed the deal for Boston, and Andrew Benintendi had four hits in his first World Series game.

Red Sox / Dodgers World Series Preview

Well, it's not much of a preview - Chris Sale goes against ace Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw tonight and tomorrow's matchup is David Price against Hyun-Jin Ryu, who's a hard-throwing lefty. I saw him on one of the NLDS games last week and he looks really good.

I'm really waiting on Shank to post some stupid tweets, but there's nothing up right now. That tells me he's writing half of his game column right now.

The Internet - How Does It Work?

Dave Roberts. Alex Cora.
Ever been a World Series where both managers played for both teams?

— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) October 21, 2018

Learn how to do your job and research it instead of asking everyone else to do it for you.

— Scott Kaplan (@WxManScott) October 21, 2018

I don't know Dan. Isn't it your job to answer that?

— Mike Anderson (@m_anderson2015) October 21, 2018

California Dreaming

Shank thinks there's going to be a World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers, complete with a few classic Shankisms.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — It’s a perfect time to be out here in the future home of LeBron James; the land of swimming pools, movie stars, and Kardashians.

The sons of John Farrell are in Anaheim for a weekend joust with the Angels and I am taking this opportunity to book a swanky hotel for the 2017 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and your Boston Red Sox.

Red Sox-Dodgers.

The Red Sox are out in California to play the Angels; it makes you wonder how Shank comes up with stuff like this.