Jackpot! Winning the BIG ONE!!

Today is a day to dream HUGE! Big dreams. REALLY big dreams!! Winning that $700 Million Powerball jackpot? Pfft – bigger than that, bros!

(Ok, I’m sure there are some Angel fans out there who’d rather score that big jackpot tonight: the ones calling to KLAA Sports Lodge or reading the game stories from the LA Times wire reports probably. Yeah, those guys. The ones that started to follow the team in 2003, visited a few times between 2005 and 2009 and haven’t been back since).

Powerball

Yes, we are talking the Big One. The biggest, bestest dream you’ve ever had. The Fantasy of fantasies you’ve been thinking of every week since your childhood, not just some odd Wednesday or Saturday afternoon every now or then.

We’re talking about the Angels sweeping the Dodgers in the 2017 World Series and how it’s going to go down. Don’t waste your time today thinking about that new yacht on the Amalfi Coast in Italy or flying off to your estate on Lanai in your Gulfstream G550. The singular focused daydream today and every day is about Mike Trout taking Clayton Kershaw deep three times in Chavez Ravine on an October evening, cracking a big dent in that orange 76 ball in the outfield.

Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

The Set Up

The Big Wish has usually started like this - Dodgers come out during the season and look like the most incredibly dominant baseball team ever seen! Unstoppable! Unbeatable! Playoff tickets already printed in August and parade down Wilshire Blvd. already planned for early November! The commotion is like Hollywood Blvd. on a Saturday night.

The Angels, on the other hand, are lying low in stealth mode. They’re staying close to snatching a playoff spot, but not too close to draw unwanted hype and attention. You’ve been scheming for years that this laid-back, OC-vibe season goes like this: a gritty team, hanging around .500 all season and then putting on a few winning streaks right when back-to-school season starts to barely squeak into the playoffs as the last one in. The attention is like chillaxin’ on T-Street Beach in San Clemente on a Tuesday afternoon.

The Set Up is almost completely fulfilled. We’re at the point where we’ve managed to round up a few bills and are standing in line at Circle K ready to get our ticket. You can’t win if you don’t play and we’re just about in the door. There are just a few more steps to make to wrap up the chance to win.

Red October

The Dodgers just blow through the NLCS and NLDS in dominating faction like the regular season. Short series with lots of off days in between. Clayton Kershaw again purges his October demons and articles abound how Cody Bellinger is now the Best Player in LA.

Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images

The Angels on the other hand struggle and barely get out of a road Wild Card game in Yankee Stadium that goes extra innings that has been delayed a day because of rain. They then fly all night to play the AL’s best team waiting in Houston. A five-game series with games ends at 2 am on the East Coast when the nation is consumed by the NFL and College Football. Even after game winning hits and spectacular infield plays, still no one has ever heard of Kaleb Cowart or Andrelton Simmons. ESPN mumbles something about our key bullpen pieces: Kyle Middleman and Steve Bedrosian.

This ALDS triumph is followed by seven more games with Boston. Extra innings, weather delays, battered starting pitching with four relievers each night and yet, somehow, someway they get some key hits in key moments and win the ALCS. Boston smugly moves on to Kyrie Irving and Tom Brady. Oh, but don’t be fooled: New England will weep and weep all those dreary, cold winter days when the trees don’t have leaves. And they some weep some more.

Freeway Series

Tuesday October 24th is the moment we’ve been waiting for. Every one is assuming it will be the Dodgers who will dominate this series. Just way too much pitching and hitting and the big city team that wins 117 games will clearly overwhelm their suburban kid brother who won only 85 games.

Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images

However, just four games and five days later, another LA dream dies busted. Mike Trout and Albert Pujols have multiple home run games. The Dodgers are completely annihilated. Andrelton Simmons robs hits heading to Fresno, Escondido, and Victorville. Kole Calhoun homers and guns down runners at 2B and 3B with his arm. Martin Maldonado picks off runners from 1B, 2B and 3B. Four different relievers pick up Saves.

Powerball Dreams - the world wakes up on Sunday morning October 29th stunned - the Angels have swept the Dodgers, shutting the blue up and down from Palmdale to Torrance. Los Angeles Angels are crowned the 2017 World Champions.