A Grip on Sports: As the Yankees hand out treats, the Dodgers fill their deep pockets with one more World Series title | The Spokesman-Review

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Have you run out of candy yet? It’s easy to do, what with Halloween sales starting in August and the hard-to-resist lure of a little Milky Way calling from the cupboard on a cold October evening. If you were not up to the challenge, don’t fret. You are not alone. Neither were the Yankees last night. They handed out runs like 100 Grands and Paydays. And the Dodgers cashed in.

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• Was it five errors and three runs, or the other way around? Right. A five-run fifth. Two physical errors, one huge mental – or something – one. A 5-0, seemingly insurmountable lead disappeared, to paraphrase Warden Norton, like a bad smell in the wind. Allowed the Dodgers to break out. And to redeem the unfulfilled expectations money brings.

Aaron Judge dropped a fly ball. Tuesday’s hero, Anthony Volpe, became Wednesday’s goat – the bad one – with a bad throw. And Gerrit Cole, spinning a masterpiece, read the spin wrong on Mookie Betts’ little grounder. Spun his wheels coming off the mound. Gave up. Asked Anthony Rizzo to come through. Nope. Not going to happen. Betts won the race to the bag. The Dodgers would soon win their eighth World Series.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Big market baseball teams have advantages. If Los Angeles wants to spend $700 million on Shohei Ohtani because it will help them get over the doldrums of “only” having the game’s best record and a single title in a decade, they can. Because they know they will make the money back in increased revenue.

The Dodgers didn’t need New York to chip in to win. But the bagful of treats helped. As did a couple of runs in the eighth inning, with situational hitting playing a big part. Two sacrifice flies gave the Dodgers a lead. Then they had to survive.

They did, with Blake Treinen expanding all his energy in the eighth and starter Walker Buehler wearing a reliever costume as he egged the House That Ruth Built (version 2.0) in the ninth.

The 7-6 win, the 4-1 Series edge, the entire Los Angeles season, was built on the edges. Luck was part of it, good and bad. But money, that’s the key. Only a handful of teams could lose an entire highly paid starting rotation to injury and still have deep enough pitching to win the World Series. And only one did.

• If you keep receipts, and I know for a fact some of you do, this Series title surprised me. L.A.’s pitching injuries made it seem impossible. How do you win four games with just three starters and a tired bullpen? Not sure how Dave Roberts’ team did it.

One way? Have the No. 3 hitter in you lineup hit four home runs and drive in a record-tying 12 in five games. That certainly helps. A hobbled Freddie Freeman was the rightful Series MVP. But the award could have gone to the Dodger relievers as a group. Or the guys not making $700 million, from former Mariner Teoscar Hernandez to former Cardinal Tommy Edman and beyond.

• Presentism is the bane of my life. It is worse than ever – ya, that is a joke. But it may just be true.

Our ears bled last night when Fox’s Joe Davis opened the Game Five broadcast with a pronouncement about Yankee starter Gerrit Cole. Called Cole among the best postseason starters ever. True? Well … maybe? Prolific, sure, with 22 starts and 11 wins, eight of them against so-so teams in the Division round of today’s expansive playoffs. But best? The pregame graphic had Cole’s career postseason ERA at 2.85. That’s good, and got better (2.77) despite last night’s no-decision. Best, though?

In my lifetime, guys like Bob Gibson – 7-2 with a 1.89 ERA in nine Series starts – and Sandy Koufax – 4-3, 0.95 in eight – stand out. Heck, Whitey Ford, with 22 World Series starts, 10 wins and a 2.71, is better than Cole in those metrics. And is still the Yankees’ best postseason starter. I wonder, is it possible just to praise a guy and not go overboard? Apparently not.

• One last thought for Candy Day (patent pending). What is best candy bar ever? You know, the one you want your kids to hate so much, when they bring 14 of them home, you can be “the nice person” who “sacrifices” and eats them so they don’t have to?

Probably not Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. It is the clear winner in most polls of Halloween treats, so unless there is a peanut allergy involved, the kids are not giving it up. Our vote? Baby Ruth. Not real popular but still darn good. And vintage enough to be tossed aside in favor of a Twix or Snickers or Kit Kat.

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WSU: Even though it is a bye week, Greg Woods has a Cougar football notebook in today’s S-R. We pass it along. … The Moscow-Pullman Daily News has a preview of the Coug women’s basketball season. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, it’s time for folks to make their weekend picks. Like John Canzano, who also has a column beginning with some thoughts on Washington State. … Jon Wilner has his weekly Holy War column and his weekend picks in the Mercury News. … There is a scandal brewing. Maybe. … Oregon really seems to be getting healthier. This is the Ducks’ second trip to Ann Arbor to face Michigan in the Big House, the first of which in 2007 went really well. … Kickers have up-and-downs in the course of a season. … Both USC and UCLA have seen a couple defensive players emerge from the shadows. … It’s official. Arizona State’s starting quarterback has overcome his injury. … Recruiting is all about relationships. … In the Mountain West, Army vs. Air Force is not the biggest of service rivalry games but it is not taken lightly either. … Hawaii football is back to taking charters to games. … The Boise State secondary is improving. … It is not easy to be a receiver at a school where the quarterback position is in flux. … The San Jose State volleyball team played at Utah State and there was a protest. But no forfeit. … In basketball news, the conference may be new but Oregon State’s women are up to the challenge. … Wilner has a look at the Big 12 race for the men today as well as his Best in the West rankings. He also has an overall top 25.

Gonzaga: Between the World Series and some personal commitments, I didn’t have a chance to watch any of the Zags’ exhibition win over Warner Pacific. But the outcome, a 109-52 GU win, was not surprising. Theo Lawson has the game analysis. … Theo also had a story earlier in the day when Graham Ike and Ryan Nembhard found out they are on the Naismith Trophy preseason men’s player of the year watch list. … Speaking of Ike, Jim Meehan noticed his different physical appearance and decided to find out how he improved in the offseason. What he discovered is in this story. … Jim also took care of Wednesday night’s difference makers. Earlier he delved into GU senior Michael Ajayi and Boise State’s Tyson Degenhart, a former Mt. Spokane High star, being named to the Julius Erving Award preseason watch list. … Colin Mulvany took care of the game’s visual report with this photo gallery. … Chet Holmgren made a statement early last night.

EWU: Michael Wortham may be a backup quarterback. But there is no backing him up when he’s returning a kickoff. He’s a guy Eastern’s opponents have to game-plan to stop in that regard. Dan Thompson has more on Wortham’s worth to the Eagles. … Eastern wide receiver Eftom Chism III was named one of 13 finalists for the FedEx Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award on Wednesday. That news leads off the S-R’s latest local sports column. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, a Montana tight end has moved on from baseball.

Preps: As he does each Thursday, Dave Nichols has a preview of the week’s football games. This is the last of the regular season and there still are playoff spots in play. … Dave also has this roundup of last night’s action.

Chiefs: Is it true you can’t win a game in the first period but you certainly can lose one? Semantics are fun. The real answers are no and yes, as Spokane proved last night, giving up four first-period goals to visiting Edmonton and lost 6-3. Dave was in the Arena and has this coverage.

Seahawks: The sideline scuffle on Sunday? The Hawks have worked it out. … If the team is going to have a successful final nine games, the rookies will have to play a role. … As will DK Metcalf. … Are the Seahawks going to be buyers? … We agree with this. Jim Plunkett was a Hall of Fame player.

Mariners: We linked World Series game stories and analysis and just plain interesting stuff throughout our column above. The game story from the S-R? It is linked first above and we link it again here.

Kraken: Seattle assistant coach Jessica Campbell is making sure to file away all of her first big moments as she breaks an NHL barrier.

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• Baseball is over until spring. The offseason begins today. The big question: Where does Juan Soto land? Seattle? … Sorry, I had to take a moment there to stop laughing. OK, better. The Dodgers? Yankees? Someone no one is mentioning, like Houston? Or Texas? All I want for Christmas – too soon to ask? – is the M’s bolster their lineup with one star and a couple decent guys. Is that too much to ask? Probably. Until later …

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