The Los Angeles Dodgers are faced with a week off since sweeping the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series to the start of the World Series on Friday.
The time off is a potential challenge for them to overcome, as the Dodgers won’t be able to stay in rhythm and will need to keep their focus and intensity while not playing in games.
However, it’s also a similar circumstance to what they dealt with last October, when they finished with the best MLB record and had a bye in the first round of the playoffs. The Dodgers held team workouts and simulated games at Dodger Stadium as they waited on the Wild Card Series to finish.
Although their current situation seems relatable to last year, Miguel Rojas pushed back on that and shared the new challenges that come with the time off later in the postseason, compared to early.
“For me, it’s really different,” Rojas said. “All we’re trying to do right here is get four more wins to win a World Series. Last year, when we had the bye, and the year before, we were trying to get through one more month of baseball. You’re trying to prepare for that and trying to get some guys healthy.
“I think everybody is healthy right now and everybody is in a really good place to approach these last seven games of the year. I feel we’re doing everything we can to stay plugged in, stay prepared and be ready for whoever we have to face on Friday.”
The Dodgers are holding team workouts at the stadium while they wait for the World Series to begin, and just trying to find any way they can to stay ready.
“We had a full off day after we clinched, then yesterday was our first day here,” Rojas said on Monday. “We had a bunch of live BPs, defensive work. Everybody was kind of doing their own thing to be ready.
“I feel like last year we realized to continue to work every single day and get your body on the same rhythm of the regular season. I feel like the difference between this one and the one we had the last couple of years, everybody is locked in on winning the World Series.
“We’re really close to doing that and winning four more games is the most important thing. Doesn’t matter if you’re tired or not. You should be doing everything you can to be ready.”
Even while waiting, the Dodgers have had enough success to not changes things up too much. It has taken sacrifices, playing through fatigue and injuries to get to this point, and Rojas knows they need to continue doing that.
“Doing the same thing that we’ve been doing the last month,” Rojas said. “I feel like as soon as we approached the postseason run, it was sacrificing everything and making this the most important weeks of our life.”
Dodgers watching ALCS
During the team workouts at Dodger Stadium, the American League Championship Series was broadcast on DodgerVision as the Dodgers waited to find out if they’ll be traveling to Toronto to face the Blue Jays, or hosting the Seattle Mariners.
“We were watching during our practice,” Rojas said. “Obviously we’ve got to pay attention to what’s going, how they play and all that, but we’re going to have plenty of time to prepare for whoever we have to play.”
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