LOS ANGELES — It’s not a three-peat. It’s a series of one-peats.
As they head into the postseason trying to become the first team since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees to win three consecutive World Series championships – and the first National League franchise to ever do it – the Dodgers prefer to break the historic achievement into smaller bites.
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“Obviously it’s there. But it’s not something we’re really focused on,” third baseman Max Muncy said Tuesday as the Dodgers began their bye-week workouts ahead of a best-of-five NL Division Series that will begin Saturday. “We’re trying to focus on ourselves getting ready this week, paying attention to whoever we might be playing and just trying to get ready for a postseason series the same way we’ve always gotten ready for it.
“We don’t need to be adding any extra pressure on to ourselves. We’ve been saying that for a long time. When you talk about three-peating, you’re putting that extra pressure on it that doesn’t need to be there. Winning a World Series is already hard enough as it is. So for us, we’re just trying to focus on what we have ahead of us and without the added noise to it.”
Though he has alluded to his team’s chances to do something “historic” and “special” when he addressed them during spring training and after clinching the NL West division title, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he has largely left any “three-peat” talk unmentioned.
“I don’t. I really don’t,” he said. “I think that for me, it’s a fallout of winning this year. This year is different. This team’s different, although I understand that there’s still a lot of the same players. It’s still a different season. There’s going to be different challenges.
“Our guys understand what’s at stake, and I think for me, it’s balancing the importance, the opportunity that we have versus trying to add more pressure than is there already.”
It’s not a difficult mental trick for his team to put history aside, Roberts said.
“I think that with our guys, I think that they’re pretty well trained to just focus on the here and now,” he said. “What’s done is done the last couple years. Yeah, we’re all aware that we have a chance to do something that’s never been done in the National League, and what it would mean for this franchise, this fan base. But it just makes life more difficult when you don’t focus on the job, and that’s winning this next series, right? So I think our guys are pretty focused on that.”
FREDDIE’S PLAN
First baseman Freddie Freeman ended the season trying to fight his way out of a slump (a .184 batting average in September with just two extra-base hits in his last 24 games) brought on at least, in part, by patellar tendinitis in his right knee.
The 2024 World Series MVP said he no longer has pain in that knee and wouldn’t use it to explain his poor finish to the regular season – so Roberts did it for him.
“I think that the mechanics have changed because they were compromised because of his right knee,” Roberts said Tuesday. “So now that his right knee is getting back to full health, I think he’s got to recalibrate the swing, and that’s where we’re at.”
Freeman did acknowledge that his swing got out of whack over the final month of the season.
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“I’ll never blame anything physical-wise of why I didn’t play well. I just didn’t play well the last couple months of the season. That’s what I’m going to go with,” he said. “Did I have some ailments in my knees? Yes, I did. I don’t know how much that contributed to subconsciously trying to do stuff where it didn’t hurt as much because there were times during the course of the last couple months, maybe a three- or four-day span where the knee was a problem and I couldn’t get into the front side. So maybe I created bad habits. But I won’t blame it on that. I just played bad.
“My knee is in a good spot now – that’s why the bye week is huge. Personally, it’s huge for me that I got five days to really work on mechanics of my swing, and my knee’s in a good spot where I feel like I will be able to do that.”
Freeman, a 10-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger, has a very specific four-day plan to rediscover his proper swing mechanics.
“I’m going to hit on the field every day,” he said going into the bye week. “I already know how my Tuesday is going to go. There’s going to be a lot of blocked balls to left, a lot of flares into left. I’m hoping as Tuesday goes Wednesday I’ll come back and those will be put down a little more. Thursday they’ll be moved over to shortstop and by Friday I will be feeling good. That is how my head is thinking right now.”
ALMOST READY
Right-hander Edgardo Henriquez finished the season on the injured list with lower back pain but he is eligible for the NLDS roster. He has already faced hitters in live batting practice.
“He’s trending really well at this point,” General Manager Brandon Gomes said. “His last live BP went well. He’s responding positively after he throws and isn’t feeling any lingering discomfort.
“We’ve still got a few steps to go. But if that all goes well, then yeah, the expectation is he’ll be on the roster.”
Getting Henriquez back for the NLDS could have “a huge impact” on the Dodgers’ bullpen, Roberts said.
“I think he’s one of those guys that getting the bye has really benefited,” Roberts said. “He’ll throw another live (BP) or sim game to some hitters … probably tomorrow. Then he should be ready to go. And given the body of work, what he’s done, the unique skill set could be huge for us, will be huge for us.”
GAME TIMES
The start time for the Dodgers’ series opener on Saturday will depend on the outcome of the Wild Card Series between the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres.
If the Cubs win that series and advance to play the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers, the Dodgers’ game against either the Philadelphia Phillies or Atlanta Braves will start at 6 p.m. If the Padres win and face the Brewers, the Dodgers’ Game 1 would start at 1 p.m.
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Regardless, Game 2 on Sunday will start at 5 p.m. at Dodger Stadium.