Maybe the Cubs woke up the sleeping giant that eventually ended their title defense in brutal, decisive fashion Thursday night in an 11-1 thumping in their home park.
Not when they let a close Game 2 slip away in Los Angeles behind John Lackey, not in this series at all, but more than six months ago, in this same location. The Cubs raised their banner and received their championship rings before their home opener April 10. The visiting team for that game was the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I was talking to everybody that night, just curious what different people's approach was,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said shortly before his players doused him in champagne and Bud Light.