It can be tempting to look at the state of the NLCS and believe the Dodgers have a good chance to lose. They’re down 3-1, and the Braves have simply looked better than them all series. The Braves have battled and fought, and the Dodgers have sat on their laurels, confident that they were the better team, despite the losses that they kept suffering.
Side note, inspired by an ultra-popular feature on Fox broadcasts, we’re introducing a new feature here at It Would Be Nice If The Giants Were Good (IWBNITGWG). See if you can spot it!
We’ve seen this before. We’ve specifically seen this before between the Dodgers and the Braves, and it was just last year. Atlanta went up 3 games to 1 on Los Angeles in the NLCS, and then what happened? The Dodgers bullpen shut down the Braves in Game 5, and then Walker Buehler and the Dodgers bullpen shut down the Braves in Game 6, and then the Dodgers bullpen pitched 6 scoreless innings to close out Game 7, and the Braves lost.
In both Games 5 and 7, the Braves took a lead into the 6th inning. In both games, they blew it.
IWBNITGWG BET SCOREBOOK
ODDS OF UPCOMING JOKE
ANAKIN SKYWALKER SAYING “LIAR” +250
BUDDY THE ELF SAYING “YOU SIT ON A THRONE OF LIES” +150
MEMENTO PICTURE CAPTIONED WITH “DON’T BELIEVE HIS LIES” -250
AL FRANKEN BOOK LIES AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM +1000
In other words, if someone tells you the Braves look like they might clinch…
Wow, if you’d bet $250 on that, you’d have won an easy $100! Something to keep in mind for next time!
No, it doesn’t matter the number of games each team has won or how they’ve been looking or anything like that. The Braves are not beating the Dodgers in a playoff series. The Braves very famously are extremely bad at winning playoff series even when they’re there year after year after year after (repeat 12 more times), and the Dodgers are not only much better at baseball than the Braves, but also they aren’t chokers, which comes into play when one team gets a lead that they can then choke away.
Everything that seems like it will go against the Dodgers is actually the reason that their turnaround will be dramatic and exciting. Cody Bellinger having an OPS just 100 points better than Logan Webb’s? Doesn’t matter, because he found himself in the playoffs. Max Muncy being too injured to play? Doesn’t matter because Bellinger will not only hit like gangbusters but also be phenomenal defensively at first base.
IWBNITGWG BET SCOREBOOK
ODDS OF UPCOMING THIRD ITEM IN LIST
GAVIN LUX’S FLY BALLS JUST BARELY STAYING IN DODGER STADIUM…FOR NOW +300
KERSHAW’S INJURY OPENING THE DOOR FOR A DOMINANT BULLPEN GAME +500
URIAS, INEFFECTIVE EARLY IN THE SERIES, COMING BACK TO SLAM THE DOOR IN GAME 7 -400
JUSTIN TURNER STAYING ON THE ROSTER DESPITE HIS INJURY AND HAVING A KIRK GIBSON MOMENT TO WIN THE SERIES -105
Julio Urias was ineffective early in the series, opening the door for the Braves to take a supposedly commanding lead? He’s just gonna come back in relief in Game 7 and slam the door on them, like he did in 2020.
Wow, the heavy favorite comes through! That’s easy money just waiting for you to take it…unless you’re SCARED. You know, like a BABY.
We’ve even seen this against the Giants. The Giants went up in the series and just needed to win one of the last two to advance, but the Dodgers came roaring back to take the series. And that’s the Giants, a team with significant recent history of postseason success. Do you think the Atlanta Braves can do better than that? Friends, they absolutely can not.
IWBNITGWG BET SCOREBOOK
IS THIS BIT GETTING STALE?
YES +300
NO -600
Fortunately, this bit isn’t getting stale, so I can do it one more time. Close call!
Yes, the Braves might be up 3-1 in the series, but they’re still the Atlanta Braves. You cannot trust them with a lead, you cannot trust them if they bleed. You cannot trust they’ll do what you need, you cannot trust them when they pitch Max Fried. You cannot trust them no matter how much they plead…
IWBNITGWG BET SCOREBOOK
ODDS OF HOW THIS DR SEUSS HOMAGE ENDS
YOU CANNOT TRUST THEM, NO SIR, INDEED +1200
YOU CANNOT TRUST THEM IN WORD OR DEED +1900
YOU CANNOT TRUST THEM, FOR THEY WON’T SUCCEED -200
YOU CANNOT TRUST THEM, AND WE’RE ALL AGREED +150
YOU CANNOT TRUST THEM, IT IS SO DECREED +300
YOU CANNOT TRUST THEM, SO DO NOT PROCEED -500
YOU CANNOT TRUST THEM, BECAUSE THEY’LL SECEDE +550
YOU CANNOT TRUST THEM WITH A VELOCIPEDE +5000
You cannot trust them, because they’ll secede.
Oh! The Civil War joke coming in strong! If you bet on that, you’re in the money now! This is why gambling is the only interesting part of watching sports!
Even sitting on a 3-1 lead, you just can’t trust that the Braves are going to win this series. It’s not who they are, and it’s not who the Dodgers are. They will allow themselves to be pushed to the brink of elimination, but when push comes to shove, the Dodgers will win every game they need to annoy the shit out of you. It’s a lock. You can bet on it.