We’re deep into the AL & NL Championship Series, so Red Sox legend, three-time World Series champion, Hall of Famer and FOX Sports MLB analyst David Ortiz joined Friday’s edition of GoJo and Golic to break down the key storylines unfolding in Dodgers-Mets and Yankees-Guardians.
Big Papi starts the segment by praising the Los Angeles Dodgers and their deep lineup. They put a SHELLACKING on the New York Mets in Game 4 of the NLCS, winning 10-2. He mentions that it is incredible how they can manufacture a lineup and get away with having an MVP like Freddie Freeman on the bench while still scoring that many runs. Big Papi recalled an interview with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts where he said they didn’t just put that team together to go to the playoffs but to win the World Series, to which Ortiz says he was right. Further, he asked his colleagues, former Yankee greats Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, if they could imagine the Yankees lineup in the playoffs without them or the Red Sox lineup without him.
On the other side, as far as the Mets, Mike Golic Sr. asked Ortiz how much of their performance in this series is their playoff momentum finally running out versus simply a better team is going to take them out. He responds if you think about the Mets in June and July, when they were 11 games under .500, and now where they are facing the situation they are facing today in the NLCS, it is a big jump and a good sign even if they don’t end up beating the Dodgers. Ortiz adds that the job they were able to do in the second half of the season has been remarkable. Big Papi acknowledges that they have been spending a lot of money to bring in players trying to rebuild their organization to give the city of New York a different World Series perspective after being in the Yankees’ shadow for so many years. He believes ultimately that the Mets are taking steps in the right direction, win or lose, against the Dodgers.
Senior follows up by asking Ortiz if he thinks differently mentally when the guy in front of you is pitched around. Does it motivate a player to have a better at-bat? Shohei Ohtani homered in the first inning and walked three times, while Mookie Betts had four hits and four RBIs. Ortiz says you have to be careful pitching to two MVPs back to back, even knowing that Ohtani is a unicorn, with Ortiz saying he jokingly asked him last year what planet he was from. Big Papi credits Ohtani for his resilient attitude toward handling hitting slumps. Ortiz says that Ohtani is different, he does not care, and that he swings his bat no matter what. Despite Ohtani’s splendor, Big Papi concedes that Betts has been the center of attention for the Dodgers for quite some time, basically since arrived in LA from Boston, and his performance last night does not surprise him in the least because that’s Mookie Betts.
Mike Golic Jr. has Ortiz weigh in on how to pull yourself out of a hitting slump, referencing Aaron Judge’s struggles early in the playoffs. Ortiz shares that people sometimes don’t realize that the playoffs are a short series and anything can happen — you can get super hot or you can cool off, especially given the way the schedule is manufactured. He says as a baseball player, you don’t want to be sitting for too long because the game is all about timing and when you have to sit for a while waiting for the next series, that can cost you down the road. He adds that for a guy like Judge, you must always be prepared because, in the playoffs, average pitchers become good pitchers because they don’t have much time to make mistakes on the mound.
Senior asked Big Papi how crazy it is for the Guardians to have two pinch hitters, Jhonkensy Noel and David Fry, come in at the bottom of the 9th and 10th innings and hit home runs to earn a comeback win like that. Ortiz mentions that he looked at a stat where in games when Judge and Stanton homered in the same game, the Yankees are something ridiculous like 41-4. On the other hand, the Guardians are a team that has been quietly dominating their division because they are a team that is always prepared, especially at home. He says what the Guardians did was not surprising for him because that’s how they manufacture their runs. They have guys who are capable of coming in off the bench and doing what they did yesterday. So, Big Papi says the Yankees have to be really careful in this series, because that was a game the Bronx Bombers should have won and they don’t want to go back home facing elimination.
Ultimately, Big Papi sees the Dodgers and the Yankees as the two favorites to make the World Series, which will be huge for the fans, television, everybody. Over at DraftKings Sportsbook, the Dodgers are -1600 favorites to win the National League pennant, while the Yankees are -360 favorites to capture the American League pennant. The Dodgers also have the best odds to be the eventual champions at -130, followed by the Yankees at +150. DraftKings Sportsbook also has the Dodgers beating the Yankees as the exact outcome with the best odds, at +135, followed by the Yankees beating the Dodgers at +165.
Watch or listen to the full show below and tune into GoJo and Golic weekday mornings from 8-10 a.m. ET on DraftKings Network! See more about how to watch DraftKings Network here.
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Hour 1: Hour 1: Harrison Smith, Vikings Safety, on Sam Darnold, DC Brian Flores & Facing the Lions + Pressure on Bo Nix & Tony Bennet’s Surprise Retirement
Hour 2: David Ortiz on Shohei’s Dodgers, Guardians’ Game & World Series Prediciton + CFB Weekend Preview, NBA’s Top 10 Players and Little Debbies
VIDEO
Watch GoJo and Golic every weekday on Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Xumo Play, Google TV and DraftKingsNetwork.com from 8 to 10 a.m. ET. The show is also available via audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow Mike Golic Sr. on X at @golic and Mike Golic Jr. on X at @mikegolicjr.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information
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