Substance over style
Brian T. Smith says the Astros are poised to steal the Dodgers’ show.
LOS ANGELES — It was like a real-life movie set.
A portable stage rolling toward second base in sweltering heat.
The dirt behind first and third filling up with stacked video cameras and glaring lights.
Reporters holding out microphones — cast members waiting to play their parts.
And security personnel guarding every entrance, constantly checking for official passes and only letting the right people on the lot.
Never mind that the Dodgers were more than three hours away from taking the field Monday, and media day inside a revered stadium — which features palm trees and a mountain as an unofficial backdrop — was just a fake walk-through for the real thing.
“This is the hardest part,” said ex-Astro Enrique Hernandez, who’s four victories away from winning the World Series with his 104-win, movielike team. “But, obviously, this is L.A. and it’s kind of crazy at all times. We need to figure out a way to deal with the noise, as we like to say.”
You, as proud Houstonians starving for a baseball championship since 1962, have known since 2015 that these Astros also have real buzz.
Super fun. Instantly lovable. Highly addicting.
Remember how ear-pounding the “MVP” chants were for Jose Altuve inside Minute Maid Park during Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, as the legendary Yankees followed the storied Red Sox on the Astros’ postseason hit list?
The fourth-largest city in America was plenty big enough.
Put a win in the can
But on an international sports stage, and in the city that loves to make a good living off make believe? The Dodgers are the movie. Your Astros are the trailer. At least, until they win one. “Houston’s never won a World Series game. We plan to change that very soon,” said general manager Jeff Luhnow, before Game 1 of the World Series at Dodger Stadium.
Simply getting a decent, up-close look at the best team in baseball was a physical challenge Monday. A small room was used to contain Los Angeles’ entire roster.
It wasn’t the smartest of big league ideas, considering some of the Dodgers’ biggest names were surrounded by media circles running 10 deep, and even lining up to ask a few questions to a reserve utility player required an awkward 30-minute wait.
Barely slide to the left and a microphone on a long stick suddenly took your place.
Briefly glance to the right at the human pool surrounding Yasiel Puig, and some new person was suddenly inches away from you on the left.
When the Astros finally arrived for their show in the same room, the majority of cameras and eyes were glued to the field, watching the highest payroll in baseball do life-changing things, like fielding soft grounders and standing in the outfield.
“You know what? The city of L.A.’s big-city. They’re a big-market team,” Astros closer Ken Giles said. “They have a lot of great experiences and a lot of great players.
“Of course they’re going to look like they’re going to overshadow us a little bit. But that’s reality.”
So is the fact that Altuve’s Astros are the ones worth cheering for. Four years removed from 111 losses, they’ve felt like a World Series team since April. And they really could take the whole thing if they can avoid another New York-like hole and claim one of the initial two in Los Angeles, then shine — electric, loose, fast, free — in the city that loves to call their name. “Let’s Go Astros!” Clap. Clap. Clap, clap, clap. “Let’s Go Astros!!!” Third-best record in baseball, second-best in franchise history, every bit as deep as the Dodgers and Justin “ALCS MVP” Verlander perfectly set up for Game 2. Overlooked? “Not at all,” said veteran catcher Brian McCann, who spent a few years playing for the Yankees in an even bigger city. “We feel very good coming into this series and very confident.” Underdogs? “I know what you’re saying,” he said. “But not one bit. Not one bit.”
Taking on history
But at Dodger Stadium, where pretty much everything welcomes you in omnipresent blue, and it’s difficult to find a corridor that isn’t overwhelmed by major league history?
Six titles and 31 playoff appearances in 134 seasons.
Glass-covered walls loaded with Cy Youngs, Gold Gloves, a 1988 World Series trophy, and jerseys once belonging to Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and so many more.
For the Astros, making their fifth League Championship Series was a big deal less than two weeks ago.
“Had we not come through Boston and New York, it might feel a little bit different,” president Reid Ryan said. “But our guys feel like they belong.” They have and they do. And if these Astros take down the Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers on the way to their first World Series title, it’ll feel so much better than any fake movie.