Outside The Confines: The show goes on

Thanks to three home runs in Game 5 by the Dodgers’ Chris Taylor, the National League Championship Series is still alive. But unlike last season when the Dodgers overcame a three-games-to-one deficit in the NLCS, this time LA will have to finish the job in Atlanta. Or somewhere in the general vicinity of Atlanta. I’m pretty sure the Braves stadium is somewhere in Georgia.

• So all of today’s articles were published before the Dodgers beat the Braves to get the best-of-seven series down to a three-games-to-two lead for the Braves. With that in mind, Bob Nightengale announces that the Dodgers 2021 season is over. So yeah, Los Angeles is going to win back-to-back World Series titles.
• Zach Crizer isn’t quite that definitive, but he claims the end of the Dodgers dynasty is in sight.
• Alden Gonzalez writes something similar as the future, both this year and next, appears to be not as bright for the Dodgers right now. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Matt Kelly lists the 14 teams that have overcome a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven series.
• If the Dodgers do come back, they’ll have to do it without Justin Turner, who strained his hamstring in Game 4. Turner was replaced on the roster by infielder Andy Burns. Turner will miss the rest of the playoffs.
• Jay Jaffe writes that the Mookie Betts trade (in which the Red Sox got Alex Verdugo) looms large over both Championship Series.
• Ian Browne writes that the Red Sox are still confident going back to Houston down three games to two.
• However, Ken Rosenthal writes that with bad decisions in losses in Games 4 and 5 of the ALCS, Red Sox manager Alex Cora no longer has a postseason mystique. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Daniel Kramer writes that while Red Sox outfielder Kiké Hernández was originally reluctant to move to the outfield, he now embraces the position and has turned himself into one of the best center fielders in the game.
• Bob Nightengale asks Braves outfielder Joc Pederson the one burning question that everyone wants to ask him: “What’s up with the pearls?”
• Jay Jaffe looks at how Braves reliever Tyler Matzek overcame the yips and a stint in the independent minor leagues to become one of the best relievers in the NLCS.
• Ben Lindberg and Rob Arthur break down how well the experimental rules used in the minor leagues worked. Basically, we want a pitch clock now and we can toss the rest. The robot umpires are not ready for prime time.
• Zach Kram writes that despite MLB’s efforts, games, especially in the postseason, are far too long.
• Adam Kilgore thinks that an automatic ball-strike system would make baseball worse.
• J.J. Cooper explains what happens in the minor leagues if there is a work stoppage in 2022.
• White Sox pitcher Evan Marshall will undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss all of 2022.
• Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco had bone chips removed from his pitching elbow.
• Brittany Ghiroli explains why the Mets search for a team president has been such a mess. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• R.J. Anderson asks if Carlos Beltrán will ever get another chance to manage.
• Anderson also lists five candidates to be the next Padres manager.
• The Brewers fired hitting coach Andy Haines.
• I posted this article in BCB After Dark, but Buster Olney looks at the market for the top 5 free agent shortstops. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Mark Feinsand lists the nine likeliest teams to sign free agent shortstop Trevor Story. Yes, the Cubs are on the list.
• A school in Atlanta that was once named for Nathan Bedford Forrest has been re-named the Henry Louis “Hank” Aaron New Beginnings Academy.
• And finally, some teams get theme songs, but no team is associated with one song as much as the 1979 Pirates are with Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.” Michael Clair explains how that Pirates team became associated with “We Are Family.”

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.