Must-See Highlights, Facts, & Takeaways From Thursday’s DS Games

Top takeaways from Thursday's Division games:
1. Dodgers are 1 of the most well-rounded teams ever
2. Marlins had no business making it this far
3. No team benefits more from no fans than Houston pic.twitter.com/kltOOiG45c

— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) October 9, 2020

1. Dodgers are one of the best all-around teams ever assembled

LA doesn’t need the long ball to win games. The Dodgers don’t need 6-7 innings from their starter to walk out victorious. LAD came without great production from the heart of the lineup (unlike last year’s Nats). Not enough credit for LA’s continued success has been given to Andrew Friedman due of the team’s lack of postseason success. But it’s up to a GM/front office to build a team capable of getting to October. From there, there isn’t much they can do. Friedman carried his success from Tampa to the West Coast as the Dodgers have the best all-around team in the game with depth for days and no real weaknesses. It’s up to Dave Roberts and this team to take it from there and finally fulfill their destiny. 

2. The Miami Marlins had no business making it this far

The weakest team entering the playoffs was unquestionably the Miami Marlins. While Sandy Alcantara and Sixto Sanchez provide great hope for the future, this Marlins team really had no business making it this far in the first place. MIA took advantage of only a 2-game series to move past the Cubs, but the Braves pitching staff was too much for the fish. Atlanta shut them out in consecutive games with rookies pitching their first postseason game ever. Maybe, Miami can build from this miraculous season result in the coming years, but it became clear on Thursday that they shouldn’t even have been close to one of the last eight teams standing.

3. No team benefits more from no fans in the stands than the Houston Astros

Before the season started, the second episode of Pro Sports Takes featured predictions on which team would benefit the most from the unique circumstances surrounding this year. While Tampa Bay and Cincinnati proved to be solid choices due to them both exceeding expectations, it seems like no team’s season would’ve been altered more with fans in the stands than the Astros. The proven cheaters would be heckled at EVERY road game with it inevitably impacting their on-field performance and chemistry at some point. Instead they get to harness all that negative energy against them without any real noise during at-bats and have used an “us against the world” mentality to reach their fourth straight ALCS appearance.