No That's Too Good, With Justin Halpern | Defector

"There is no real sense in getting upset about the Los Angeles Dodgers, for more or less the same reasons that there is no real sense in getting upset about the weather. Both are awe-inspiring and annoying in about equal measure, but there is only so much that can really be done about either. In this case, I guess, "reasonable expectations about how much fun the World Series might be" are the equivalent of carrying an umbrella."

"After a brief overture in which Drew told a story about his teen son getting into a car accident and learning a valuable lesson about car insurance, and an even briefer subsequent bit in which Justin and I roasted Drew for telling it, we got down to talking some damn baseball, and pretty much stayed at it for the next hour."

"Justin is an avowed Padres fan and Dodgers hater, and he made an impassioned case for the Dodgers being Too Good. Drew and I pushed back on it somewhat, but this was finally a matter not of the Dodgers doing anything wrong so much as a question of whether a team that has made itself this close to perfect is also any fun to watch. We talked about that, and the brief moment when a great Sal Frelick catch made it seem possible that the Brewers' team-of-destiny energy could triumph over the Dodgers' seamlessly optimized dominance, and the experience of watching the Dodgers obliterate both the Brewers' flimsy magic and, in Justin's view, the magic and randomness inherent to baseball. We considered the questions of whether the Dodgers have too many guys and are making it seem too easy, but also how and why they got there, and what this means for baseball (the consensus here was that it's probably good) and people who like watching baseball (this one was more mixed)."

The Los Angeles Dodgers exhibit exceptional roster depth and dominant performance that prompts debate over whether such excellence reduces the entertainment of postseason baseball. A dramatic Sal Frelick catch briefly suggested underdog momentum for the Brewers, but the Dodgers quickly subdued that surge and continued to showcase optimized dominance. Observers questioned whether the team’s depth makes outcomes seem too easy and whether that undermines baseball’s inherent randomness. The construction and strategy behind the roster were examined. The assessment leaned toward dominance being beneficial for the sport overall, while reactions among viewers remained mixed.

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