The Windup: The Roundtable | Are the old Dodgers pressing?

Podcast: The Windup: A Show About Baseball
Episode: 189 – The Roundtable | Are the old Dodgers pressing?
Date: October 31, 2025
Hosts: Grant Brisbee, Andy McCullough, Sam Miller

Episode Overview

The Roundtable crew—Grant Brisbee, Andy McCullough, and Sam Miller—reconvene to break down the ongoing World Series between the Dodgers and Blue Jays, focusing on the legendary marathon extra-inning Game 5, the emotional momentum and fatigue of the rosters, particularly the aging Dodgers core, and whether the team’s struggles in the clutch are evidence of “pressing.” The trio discuss how narrative themes like aging rosters, overcorrection, and the hunt for “athleticism” recur in October, and trace how those can collide with the hard realities of a seven-game grind. Other highlights include in-depth praise for Shohei Ohtani’s dazzling performance, debate about “pressing” as a concept, and the undeniable fun of breakout Blue Jays players. Spirited banter, thoughtful analytics, and trademark dry wit blend to deliver an essential NLCS/World Series roundtable.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. World Series Marathon: Extra Innings Magic and Misery

• Collective Awe at Game 5

  • The hosts marvel at the epic extra-inning contest, agreeing that the game belonged among the greatest of all time—until it dragged on, testing everyone’s resolve.
    • Andy McCullough: “That was, like, one of the best games I’ve ever seen until about the 14th inning. And then I was genuinely afraid it would never end. There was, you know, too much game, as they say.” [06:09]
  • The game’s drama included exceptional, awful and bizarre moments (“the whole menu”), capped by legendary individual performances: Shohei Ohtani’s 2HR/2B/5BB marathon, Clayton Kershaw summoned from the bullpen, and Will Klein closing after nearly throwing his arm off.

• Exhaustion and Surreality

  • Sam Miller recounts how the stadium itself seemed trapped in an infinite loop—Fox Sports ads replacing Geico, camera guys marooned behind walls, “a cruel experiment.”

    • “Around inning 13, 14... I noted that there came a point where I realized that all the Geico ads had been replaced by Fox Sports in-house ads and I started to feel a little bleak, like, oh, we've gone too far.” [07:28]

  • The group references past marathon games and the odd folklore they produce, like the infamous 33-inning pro game where a 12-year-old never returned to baseball:

    • Sam: “It was a 12 year old who stayed through the entire Pawtucket Rochester game, never went to another baseball game.” [16:05]

2. Shohei Ohtani: Playoff Legend in Real Time

• Historic Performance (“The Greatest Inconsistent Hitter”)

  • Ohtani’s Game 5 was lauded as one of the defining postseason performances, with awe at his unpredictability and power.
    • Andy: “He is a player who, when he locks in, is uns—he’s the greatest inconsistent hitter I’ve ever seen, if that makes sense…” [14:03]
    • Sam: “When he’s on that day, there is nothing he can’t do.” [15:10]
  • The hosts note the rollercoaster nature of Ohtani’s form—periods of over-anxious misery, followed by stretches where he becomes “unsolvable.”

• Baseball’s Postseason Randomness

  • Ohtani’s domination prompts a reflection on how even the greatest can disappear or reemerge game-to-game. Andy points out how the Blue Jays at times let their starters face Ohtani three times, yet weren’t punished—a testament to October’s “small sample madness.” [12:29]

3. Dodgers: Are They “Pressing”—Or Just Old?

• Sam Miller’s Research

  • Sam shares findings from his (widely praised) Pebble Hunting newsletter article, using Statcast data to show six Dodgers regulars have altered their swings this series—getting steeper, harder, and popping up fastballs, all hallmarks of "trying too hard" (or “pressing”).
    • Sam: “Their swings, according to Statcast bat tracking data, are…what you might associate with trying too hard...to hit a home run because you’re trying to make up for three bad weeks in one swing.” [28:51]
    • The four Dodgers sticking with their normal swings are fine; the “pressers” are putting up abysmal lines.

• The Age Factor

  • Andy and Grant riff on the aging Dodgers core, noting how late-series exhaustion and creakiness are magnified in pressure moments:
    • Andy: “Playing 150 games of elite shortstop in his age 32 season has left Mookie Betts looking pretty tired... In the process, though, he’s had his worst offensive season of his career.” [33:28]
  • The hosts discuss the cyclical tendency for front offices, fans and analysts to over-interpret October—claiming teams need “youth and athleticism,” only to chase big veteran bats again come December.

• Mental Pressure and the “Favorite’s Curse”

  • Sam shares a theory from a child development professor about negative emotions arising when reality diverges from expectations. For the Dodgers, the burden of expectation as favorites may be producing anxiety and “pressing.”

“The downside to being the favorite...you have a vision of the future where you’re just clicking...When it stops working, that probably causes a lot of stress...” – Sam Miller [29:52]

4. Manager Moments and Physical Comedy

• Dave Roberts’ Stumble

  • A supposedly lighthearted footrace between Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and infielder Hye Seong Kim turned into a slapstick moment:
    • “Unfortunately is at an age now where when you try to run, you immediately trip and he fell face-first into the infield.” – Sam [34:57]
  • The crew jokes whether this was a deliberate “work” to loosen up the tense Dodgers, but agree “the sniper got him as he rounded [second].” [35:53]

• Aging and Empathy

  • Grant riffs on his own anxieties about sliding in front of his kid’s softball team for the first time in decades, channeling universal empathy for Roberts’ “Dad moment.” [37:27]

5. World Series Bullpen and Roster Chess

• Pitching Plans and All-Hands-On-Deck

  • The conversation shifts to forecasting the final games, especially Dodgers strategy using only their “core” arms, notably Yamamoto, Sasaki, and maybe Ohtani in a dramatic relief cameo.

    • Sam: “I love seeing starting pitchers unexpectedly come out and you don't know how tired they are. You don't know what they've got.” [42:38]

  • The possibility of “kitchen sink vs. kitchen sink”—potentially deploying Scherzer, Bassitt, Trey Yesavage, etc., in Game 7—promises more legendary chaos. [43:40]

6. Blue Jays Love: Breakout Heroes and Fun Vibes

• Energy, Vibes, and Roster Building

  • As fun as it is to micro-analyze Dodgers malaise, the roundtable agrees the Blue Jays simply “have more energy,” led by unexpected October standouts.
    • “The Blue Jays played the last two games with a lot more energy and...like they still felt like they were playing World Series games and the Dodgers felt like they were kind of [not].” – Sam [22:16]
  • The group has fun praising new folk heroes (“I love David Schneider now... Addison Barger... smashing hair...”), agreeing the refreshing vibes beat the October pressure narrative. [46:46, 48:58]

• Ernie Clement & “More Ernies!”

  • An extended, tongue-in-cheek run about the discovery of infielder Ernie Clement and the desire for more “Ernies” in baseball history ensues.
    • Grant: “All these guys are brand new to me. Like Ernie Clement. Wow, there’s an Ernie…More Ernies? Ernie Lombardi. Ernie Riles. You know, we need more Ernie’s.” [50:54]

7. Meta-Analysis: October Lessons and Overcorrections

• Patterns and Pitfalls
  • Sam cautions against false lessons drawn from small samples—one year it’s “get athletic,” next it’s “find an Eddie Rosario.” There's no single trait that guarantees postseason glory, other than being loaded with talent, good fortune, and the willingness to try.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“That was, like, one of the best games I’ve ever seen until about the 14th inning. And then I was genuinely afraid it would never end. There was, you know, too much game, as they say.”
— Andy McCullough [06:09]

“He is a player who, when he locks in…is the greatest inconsistent hitter I’ve ever seen.”
— Andy McCullough on Shohei Ohtani [14:03]

“They are swinging harder by swinging longer at steeper angles...They're hitting a ton of pop ups, like a truly historic, like, comical launch angle collectively, especially on fastballs…You can draw reasonable guesses about…trying to do too much.”
— Sam Miller, on his Dodgers “pressing” research [28:51-29:49]

“Playing 150 games of elite shortstop in his age 32 season has left Mookie Betts looking pretty tired…In the process, though, he’s had his worst offensive season of his career.”
— Andy McCullough [33:28]

“The more the anti heroes are the Dodgers…the unexpected trajectory, like, is kind of the Dodgers and the Blue Jays. It’s like watching Teletubbies…like, yeah, these guys are fun…Look at them succeeding.”
— Sam Miller [46:46]

“All these guys are brand new to me. Like Ernie Clement. Wow, there’s an Ernie…More Ernies? Ernie Lombardi. Ernie Riles. You know, we need more Ernie’s. That’s a good baseball name.”
— Grant Brisbee [50:54]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:06–04:53: Andy’s travel saga and arriving sleep-deprived for the show, setting the energy for the episode.
• 05:19–11:28: Celebrating and dissecting the all-time great extra-inning Game 5.
• 12:29–16:05: Shohei Ohtani’s legendary performance & the quirks of postseason strategy.
• 28:51–34:57: Sam’s “pressing” article breakdown, Dodgers analytic woes, and aging narratives.
• 34:57–37:52: Dave Roberts’ pratfall: physical comedy as team morale booster or just time’s revenge?
• 42:38–43:40: Previewing Game 6–7 pitching chaos; all hands on deck, legendary relief scenarios.
• 46:46–50:54: Blue Jays’ lovable, fun roster—how energy and joy beat out meta-narratives, plus “More Ernies!”
• 51:16–53:03: Final thoughts—resolving not to make predictions (“that’s not how baseball works!”)

Closing Thoughts

This roundtable episode captures the drama, randomness, and emotional whiplash of postseason baseball—revealing how analytics, pop culture references, humor, and storytelling combine to bring the game’s biggest moments to life. Whether you missed the episode or just want a deeper read on where the World Series stands, this is the essence of October baseball, delivered with wit and insight from three of the sport’s sharpest commentators.