The Brewers’ sweep of the Dodgers did more than end Los Angeles’ season. It sent the Commissioner’s Trophy to Milwaukee for the first time in 69 years, and it stopped the Dodgers from becoming the first baseball team to three-peat in 26 years.
Dave Roberts opened up about the loss in a conversation with Buster Olney of ESPN, and he drew a sharp distinction between what the Dodgers brought and what the Brewers brought.
“I was telling my wife after we got eliminated that I know our guys were hungry, but the Brewers were starving.”
While Roberts was reflecting on the end of the Dodgers’ run, Emmet Sheehan was landing on a different kind of spotlight. Paul Sporer of Fangraphs put together a list of four players to watch in fantasy baseball for the 2027 season and placed Sheehan at No. 1.
Sheehan spent much of the regular season fighting to hold his place in the majors, but he flashed real upside down the stretch. Sporer pointed to his fastball command as the big issue, while also suggesting there may be another route for him to take.
He either needs to greatly improve his fastball command or alter it in some way, perhaps even switching to a sinker. I tend to find homer issues something that can be overcome, though, so while it is a significant wart for Sheehan, the core skills are too strong for me to ignore so I’ll happily rebuy even around pick-160.
Dustin May, meanwhile, got a different kind of October experience. He was the one former Dodger to finish the year with a World Series title, and he spoke with Robert Flores of MLB Network before the series about why this trip to the Fall Classic carried extra weight.
“It means more to be in this moment today knowing two years ago, looking back at it, I wasn’t really sure if I was ever going to play again.”
The Dodgers won’t take home the title every season, as this postseason showed, but Cary Osborne of Dodger Insider notes that they remain the team everyone has to measure themselves against when the trophy is on the line.
In Other News...
Dodgers Are Suddenly Linked To A Pricey Elly De La Cruz Pursuit
The offseason rumor mill has already started spinning around Elly De La Cruz, and one of the more eye-catching possibilities involves the Dodgers. MLB insider Jim Bowden reported that the Reds are willing to at least listen on trade interest for the young shortstop, and he specifically pointed to Los Angeles as a club that could make sense if Cincinnati decides to move him. Boston was also in the mix before, with the Red Sox once making a strong push that the Reds turned away.
For the Dodgers, the appeal is obvious. De La Cruz brings the kind of talent that can reshape a lineup and add another dynamic piece to an already ambitious roster, but the path to getting him is anything but simple. Cincinnati has already tried to lock him in with a major extension offer, and Scott Boras represents the kind of agent who tends to make long-term business trickier than most teams would like, which is exactly why this storyline figures to keep gathering steam. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Nearly Changed Everything Before Their Title Run
Around the 2026 MLB trade deadline, the Brewers made a serious push to land Tarik Skubal from the Tigers, putting together an offer built around prospects Luis Pena, Jett Williams and Josh Adamczewski. Detroit passed on the package, and the talks reportedly stalled because Milwaukee would not part with pitcher Logan Henderson, the piece the Tigers wanted to complete the deal.
In the end, the Brewers kept their young core intact and went on to win their first World Series title anyway. It leaves a familiar what-if around a deadline swing that nearly changed the shape of the race, and a reminder that sometimes the deal that never gets done can still echo all the way into October. [Read more 🡒]
Dave Roberts Just Reopened A Painful Dodgers Question
After the Dodgers were swept by the Brewers in the National League Championship Series, Dave Roberts spent some time reflecting on the team that kept rolling all the way to a World Series title in 2026. The Dodgers manager came away impressed with Milwaukees hunger and determination, and he pointed to a specific moment from that run as an example of just how competitive the Brewers were when the stakes were highest.
For a Dodgers club that expected to be in the middle of that October fight, Roberts remarks only bring the old discomfort back to the surface. He admired the way the Brewers handled the playoffs from start to finish, but his comments also reopened the larger question of what separated the two teams when they met, and what Los Angeles will have to find if it wants a different ending next time. [Read more 🡒]