Bill Plaschke, a Los Angeles Times columnist who is also a frequent ESPN "Around the Horn” hot take machine, has declared that there is "no doubt" that the Los Angeles Dodgers will defeat the San Francisco Giants during the National League Divisional Series.
This declaration comes before we know whether the Dodgers will even be participating in that series.
Plaschke did, however, make his grand proclamation on Wednesday's KNBR's "Murph Mac" program.
He said, "If the Dodgers are able to get past the Cardinals [Wednesday evening], I believe they go unharmed to the World Series championship." "I was the one who said that the Dodgers were history's best team. I now believe the Dodgers will handle the Giants in five games."
Plaschke once declared that the 2021 Dodgers would become the greatest team in MLB history, even though it might seem strange to declare a winner in a series you believe will be good enough to play all five games. Although the Dodgers did not win their division this season, Plaschke declared the NLDS complete before it began.
He said that he was certain of the Dodgers' victory over the Giants. It will be a great series but the Dodgers will win it. You can also have me on the team after they win it. I will repeat that again. It's all about the starting pitching. I don't believe they have the starting pitchers to match the Dodgers' in a five-game series. It's that simple. This is a simple equation that you can do all the math. You have [Walker] Buehler and [Julio] Urias going seven on you. I don't know how to deal with that. I don't think any Giants starter could do that against the Dodgers.
In Games 1 and 2, the Giants will use Logan Webb, Kevin Gausman and Urias in the NLDS. Webb and Gausman have respective 2.81 and 3.03 ERAs, while Buehler and Urias are at 2.47, 2.96, and 1.98 respectively.
Plaschke was a decent enough sportsman to make his "best team ever" prediction without being asked. This makes it very likely that he will go on KNBR again if the Dodgers lose to the Giants in NLDS (if Los Angeles gets there).
