The Dodgers made it to game-7 of the 2007 World Series by winning an MLB-best 104 games during the regular season, three games in the National League Division Series, four games in the National League Championship Series and three of the first six games of the World Series. That’s a remarkable 114 wins.

But the Dodgers lost the 2007 World Series on exactly 47 pitches made by Dodgers right-hander Yu Darvish, the same guy that the team – and an entire nation – rallied behind after being the victim of racism by Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel, this in addition to also losing game-3 of the Fall Classic in which he made a total of 80 pitches in only 1.2 innings pitched.

In the simplest of terms, Yu Darvish failed his teammates and millions of Dodger fans on baseball’s grandest stage not once, but twice.

But the saddest part about Wednesday night’s devastating 5-1 loss to the now World Series Champion Houston Astros is that it never should have happened – period.

In addition to his regular bullpen stable of Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields, Kenta Maeda, Brandon McCarthy, Brandon Morrow, Ross Stripling and star closer Kenley Jansen, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also had starting pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood available to him for the single most important game of the 2017 season; the one game that was the difference in being the champions of the baseball world or being the soon-to-be forgotten World Series runners-up.

Quick … name the team that lost the 2005 World Series without looking it up.

See what I mean?

There is no one, not one person on the planet, who had a problem with Darvish starting game-7. Hey, anyone can have a bad day like the one that Darvish had five days earlier in game-3 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, right? But with all of the greatness that Roberts literally had at his finger tips (via a direct phone to the Dodgers bullpen), there is no way on God’s green earth that Darvish ever should have been allowed to continue after giving up his second of what would soon become five Astros runs. In doing so, it is impossible to not think of the old saying: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Shame on you, Dave Roberts.

In his combined 3.1 innings pitched during the 2017 World Series, Darvish allowed eight earned runs on nine hits (including two home runs) while walking two and striking out none. But for as bad as Darvish was, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is as much to blame for leaving him out there for as long as he did in both of his World Series starts. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Granted, you can argue that only four of the five runs allowed by the 31-year-old Habikino, Japan in game-7 were earned, or even that two runs would have been enough to beat the Dodgers on Wednesday night before a sold out Dodger Stadium crowd of 54,124. But when Darvish allowed his fifth (and final) run on a two-run home run by eventual World Series MVP George Springer with two outs in the top of the second inning, you could feel the excitement and energy – and any hopes of the Dodgers winning their first World Series title in 29 years – leave Dodger Stadium with Springer’s home run ball.

Although a five-run deficit is/was most certainly not insurmountable by this Dodgers team, it is/was a lot more difficult to overcome than a two-run deficit would have been which, here again, absolutely should have been the length of Darvish’s leash under any circumstances with the weapons that Roberts had at his disposal a mere 350 feet down the left field line in the Dodgers bullpen.

After allowing a completely ineffective Darvish to give up five runs, Roberts finally removed him after 1.2 innings which, coincidentally, was the exact same number of ineffective innings that he lasted in his game-3 start five days earlier. It was blatantly obvious that the second-year Dodgers manager was hoping (against all hope) that Darvish would finish the painful second inning down only 2-0 so that he could pinch-hit for Darvish in the bottom half of the second inning, with Darvish’s spot due up third.

Instead, Darvish left a 98.2-MPH four-seam fastball right over the middle of the plate that Springer absolutely crushed, sending it 438 feet into the Left Field Pavilion of Dodger Stadium for a back-breaking two-run home run that essentially ended the Dodgers 2017 season. It was a classic example of over-managing, something that the defending 2016 NL Manager of the Year has rarely done in his two seasons as the Dodgers skipper.

After Springer’s devastating blast, Roberts finally brought in hard-throwing right-hander Brandon Morrow to get out of the inning without further damage, which he did by striking out Astros left fielder Marwin Gonzalez on three pitches. But unfortunately for Roberts, the Dodgers, and all of their fans, the irreparable damage had been done.

In his two World Series starts, Darvish lasted a combined 3.1 innings, allowed a combined nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits including two home runs, while walking two and striking out zero. There is bad, and then there is Yu Darvish bad.

Over the next seven innings, Messrs. Kershaw, Jansen and Wood allowed no runs and only two hits (off of Kershaw) with a combined three walks (two intentional) and nine strikeouts. In other words, Roberts decision to utilize starters Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood in addition to relievers Brandon Morrow and Kenley Jansen worked flawlessly and exactly as planned. Unfortunately, Darvish had already spotted the Astros five runs to put the Dodgers into a hole from which they could not escape … although the Dodgers most certainly had their chances. They were an inexcusable 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left a total of 10 runners on base on the night.

The only extra base hit that the Dodgers would collect in game-7 of the 2017 World Series – the most important game of their entire season – was Chris Taylor‘s leadoff double in the bottom of the first inning.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The lone bright spot for the Dodgers in Wednesday’s World Series finale was a pinch-hit single by Dodgers senior statesman Andre Ethier that allowed Joc Pederson to score from second base. That was the sum, mass and total of the Dodgers offense in the single most important game for every man on the Dodgers roster.

The Dodgers lone run on Wednesday night came on Andre Ethier’s sixth-inning pinch-hit RBI single. It was quite possibly Ethier’s final at-bat in a Dodger uniform. (Photo credit – Keith Birmingham)

In a gracious and noble attempt to offer up an apology (of sorts) to Dodger fans, Darvish posted this on Twitter shortly after Wednesday night’s painful loss:

Although there is no disputing Darvish’s sincerity, the timing of his statement (apology?) on social media is a bit suspect. As most Dodger fans know, the 6′-5″ / 220-pound right-hander became a free agent when the final out was recorded on Wednesday night, thus bringing an end to his six-year / $56 million contract. In other words, his (perhaps) ill-time statement might be perceived by many as a plea to Dodgers to seriously consider re-signing him to what would undoubtedly be a very significant salary increase. There is a very good chance that this is the very last thing that bruised Dodger fans want to even think about right now, if you get my drift.

But alas here we are, Day-1 of the remaining 147 days until Opening Day 2018 on Thursday, March 29, when the 2017 World Series runners up – who all but Dodger fans will soon forget – will square off against another orange-wearing team – the perennially-hated San Francisco Giants – at Dodger Stadium. But for as painfully long as that is, I absolutely cannot wait for it!

Is it time for Dodger baseball yet?

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By the way, the team that lost the 2005 World Series was the Houston Astros.