Dodgers: Justin Turner’s clinch comments definitely contrast with Giants

The San Francisco Giants clinched a playoff berth on Monday night, still nursing a moderate lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

No matter how hot the Dodgers get, they just can’t seem to track down San Fran, the team that matches every victory one-for-one. Highly frustrating, and the phenomenon has led to LA spinning their wheels without any sort of Wild Card lead to worry about a 16.5-game advantage over the Cincinnati Reds, one of the most ridiculous totals imaginable.

The clinch finally arrived late Tuesday night, when a win over the Diamondbacks coincided with enough scattered losses to give LA the crown. It didn’t, however, come at a point where the Dodgers were able to sit back and relax for even a second.

After all, the disappointment of doggedly tracking down the Giants to no avail still remains.

Longtime Dodger Justin Turner was asked this week about how his team would react when that inevitable day came, with so many goals still ahead of them.

His answer? He wasn’t exactly committed to being happy yet.

Justin Turner doesn’t know if the Dodgers will celebrate their 2021 postseason berth.

Turner didn’t exactly want to say it out loud, but we can go ahead and fill in the blanks for him: no, there was not going to be an ostentatious, bragged-about celebration when the Dodgers make their spot in October official.

And, lo and behold, Tuesday night consisted of a bunch of handshakes and back taps.

Just a W. That’s all.

But why wouldn’t this Dodgers team be casual about it? After all, there were great things foretold for this team prior to 2021. Things that had nothing to do with a one-game showdown for all the marbles. In fact, this team is so stacked that similar things are being predicted now, even though all MLB experts are armed with the knowledge that LA’s postseason run could be done in a blink, derailed by a blister.

When 2021 opened, most experts were depressed that only one of the supposed NL West super teams could win the division, while the other — either the Dodgers or Padres — would be relegated to the Wild Card.

Oh, if we had a time machine …

As for the other NL West squad that’s made its way to the playoff mix already, they went all out to celebrate their postseason christening.

https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/1437829207967485952?s=20

It’s easy to contrast this spectacle with Turner’s nonplussed words — in fact, we just did.

The circumstances are different, though. Nobody except the men in that Giants locker room expected them to be here … but they believed it.

Plus, they’re the ones actually leading the NL West, a feat they’re seemingly preemptively celebrating.

Sure would be a shame if the calm-and-collected Dodgers came from behind on ’em while they were popping bottles, though, wouldn’t it?

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