THE FINAL GAME OF THE 2025 WORLD SERIES

I am into fantasy baseball, but I have no fantasy teams for this World Series.  Usually, I don't care much about these games after the regular season ends because I have no players to follow.  Plus, I'm almost always on a world journey in the Fall.  This year, I just returned from a short trip to California to search for Petite Sirah in Paso Robles, and won't do my end of the year spectacular until November 21, when I embark on what looks to be an incredible adventure through the Orient, where I won't return to Honolulu until January 24.  

While I know that my global readers couldn't care less about American baseball, there is something about the World Series this year that has fully captured my interest.  I spent around 8 hours, for example, glued to my TV watching the pre-game, Game 3 and post-game of the 18-inning victory by the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Toronto Blue Jays.  I enjoy sports watching, but this was kind of ridiculous.

But first, for many of you, but not those in Hawaii and Arizona in the USA, you will be able to sleep an hour more tonight.   

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  Congress is not close abandoning this practice, which began with the Uniform Time Act of 1966.  Now Secretary of State Marco Rubio long led the effort to keep daylight savings time forever.

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  18 states have passed measured in support of this.  If the nation adopts thing change, Hawaii and Arizona will be faced with a one-time need to go on what will be permanent daylight savings time.
• 31 states are currently considering doing something about this twice/year change.
• Where does your  state stand on this matter?  Read this.
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  Time magazine makes a case for repeal.
• Sleep deprivation abounds.
• Sleep deprivation lads to more car accidents, greater risk of diabetes and a higher risk of heart attacks.
• Dr. Elizabeth Klerman of Harvard Medical School says:

These studies show a fascinating pattern: “There's more cancer on the western edge of the time zone,” she says. Higher levels of obesity and diabetes, which have been linked to circadian disruption, crop up more, too. People are also more likely to be sleep deprived

• These problems are compounded by those two changes annually.
• The European Parliament in 2019 voted to end daylight savings time, but implementation has been difficult.  The problem is which one to take, standard  or day light savings time.

About the upcoming Game of 7 of the World Series Today, Tom Verducci of Fox Sports and Sport Illustrated, says it best.  So I liberally quote him.

On three days of rest. After throwing 93 pitches in Game 4 just 17 hours after reaching base nine times and fighting through body cramps in an 18-inning marathon. After 65 innings pitched coming off a second elbow surgery while throwing more 100 mph pitches than every pitcher with at least 15 starts except Hunter Greene and Tarik Skubal. After taking 801 plate appearances, fifth most ever. After hitting 63 home runs and stealing 20 bases, the first 60-20 player in an extended season. After scoring 158 runs. Against 41-year-old Max Scherzer, who will be the oldest of the 90 pitchers to ever start a World Series Game 7 and who will have started more double-elimination games (six) than any pitcher in history.

It’s amazing when you stop and think about it. After taking 801 at-bats and playing in 174 games, 17 of them as a two-way player with a twice-repaired elbow, Ohtani is likely to be pitching the final game of the season on short rest after a start, something no Dodger has done this year. There is no wrong answer—not when the answer is Ohtani.

“Nothing makes sense with that guy,” Wrobleski said. “He's a … I'm not sure if he’s a robot or an alien or, or which one he is, but we will find out eventually. But no, it's crazy! He’s a special, special player. Special, special dude. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes the ball tomorrow.

Who is Wrobleski?  First name Justin, just one of those nobodies you never heard of in the Dodgers bullpen.

Wrobleski is a guy who survived Tommy John surgery, a broken nose, getting cut from the first of three college teams, a season wiped out by COVID-19 and 28 days without pitching entering the World Series only to get meaningful outs with his team facing elimination. What doesn’t make sense even to a pitching survivor like himself, he said, is that a pitcher could be taking the ball for Game 7 after playing for 6 ½ hours Monday, throwing into the seventh inning Tuesday, going 0-for-4 Wednesday and scoring the winning run Friday after the Blue Jays didn’t have their ace, Kevin Gausman, dare pitch to him.

Now about that World Series demon, who is not hitting that well this time.  Defensively, Kiké Hernandez saved the Dodgers twice in the ninth inning.

The Dodgers in the ninth would need Glasnow and two high IQ baseball plays from Kiké Hernández to make the runs stand. With one on against Roki Sasaki, Addison Barger smashed a long fly ball to center. Improbably, the ball lodged between the ground and the padding of the wall. As center fielder Justin Dean raced after it, he turned and looked over his left shoulder. He saw and heard Hernández, the hustling left fielder, throwing his arms up and declaring “Dead ball!” Dean took his cue and immediately did likewise, thus rendering the play immediately dead, stopping the runners at second and third.

Then with one out and men on second and third.

Two pitches later, Giménez drove a pitch to left field that initially looked like a run-scoring single. But Hernández’s shallow positioning made it easy for him to get there on the catch. An overeager Barger drifted too far, thinking the ball would not be caught and was doubled up on a quick throw from Hernández. 

Now on to Game 7 of the World Series, 8PM on Fox Sports from Toronto.

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