We are shocked — SHOCKED! — that there could be sign-stealing going on in this National League Championship Series.
And yet that is what Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal says he fears as the series heads to Los Angeles, tied at a game apiece.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Grandal used Game 1 as an example, with the Cubs' Ben Zobrist on second base, Addison Russell at the plate and the Dodgers' Joe Blanton on the mound.
“All the sudden, Russell is not taking good swings at sliders, looking like he’s looking for a fastball and in a certain location,” Grandal recalled. “Did we know Zobrist had the signs and was doing something for it? Yeah, we did ...
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“We are literally paranoid when it comes to men on second, and they are trying to get signs. We know who is getting the signs. We know what they’re doing. We know what they do to get it.
"In the playoffs, one relayed sign could mean the difference between winning the World Series and not getting there. That’s why we have four or five different sets of signs, and we’re constantly changing.”
Not much opportunity to do any sign-stealing in Game 2, since Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen allowed only one baserunner to get that far in LA's 1-0 victory.
But, frankly, given the well-chronicled World Series droughts on the line in the NLCS, it would be a huge surprise if the two teams weren't trying to gain any advantage possible.
