The Dodgers aren't thinking too much about it with Jack Flaherty as the Game 5 starter

The Dodgers are led by smart guys. Really smart people. Every now and then a little too smart for her own good.

The Dodgers would have already won the National League Championship Series if they had used their best relievers in the Game 2 bullpen. In a short series, they didn't give their best to win.

So credit where credit is due: The Dodgers could close out this NLCS with a win on Friday, and they're not thinking about it too much.

Your starting pitcher: Jack Flaherty. The Dodgers are doing their best to win.

“There is a sense of urgency,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

There should be. It should always be like this in the offseason. Sacrifice today for the sake of tomorrow, and tomorrow may not come until spring.

You may be wondering what all the fuss is about. The Dodgers have three starting pitchers. Walker Buehler started Wednesday and Yoshinobu Yamamoto started Thursday, so Flaherty was the obvious choice for Friday.

The Dodgers never settle for the obvious and always diligently look for the slightest advantage. That could have led to them hosting a bullpen game on Friday. They have three chances to get the one win they need to qualify for the World Series. If they lost Game 5, they would still have had Flaherty available for Game 6.

There's a new World Series wrinkle in the postseason schedule. If the championship series in each league ends in no more than five games, the start of the World Series is postponed by three days.

The Dodgers could win in five games. The New York Yankees could do the same.

If the start of the World Series goes up and the Dodgers win a bullpen game on Friday, they'll have Flaherty available for Game 1, followed by Yamamoto for Game 2.

By using Flaherty on Friday, the Dodgers would have neither Flaherty nor Yamamoto available for Game 1 if the World Series started early.

Roberts said the Dodgers did not take the possible accelerated start of the World Series into account when deciding to use Flaherty on Friday.

“He gives us the best chance to win,” Roberts said.

That is the correct answer. In the postseason, always do your best to win today and then worry about tomorrow.

Before Thursday's game, however, Roberts rejected a commitment that Flaherty would be in the starting lineup on Friday.

“That’s kind of our goal,” Roberts said at the time, “but it’s not set in stone yet.”

He said the Dodgers wanted to see how Thursday's game went and which relievers could be used.

“There are things we are still talking about,” he said.

After the game, Roberts pointed out that there was no playful intent in that response.

“We were still figuring things out,” Roberts said. “But after tonight, just talking to the pitching people, the front office and especially Jack, we just felt like tomorrow was the day. So he's in line.

“So not really what went into the game.”

It helped that the only key replacements the Dodgers needed Thursday were Evan Phillips, who was on five days' rest, and Blake Treinen, who was working for the second straight day after four days' rest.

But it also helps that the Dodgers' front office is borrowing a little swagger from the players. Maybe the Mets or the Cleveland Guardians force a sixth game and none of it matters.

From the day Guggenheim Baseball purchased the Dodgers, team president Stan Kasten marveled at the chance to lead the storied team. Not just any team, he often said. The Dodgers!

The Dodgers shouldn't have to play for every tiny advantage, perceived or not. They posted the best record in the majors despite having 20 pitchers on the injured list.

At some point — and this is pretty much the point, with a 3-1 lead in the NLCS and a win in the World Series — the Dodgers will just have to say, “Come at us.” Hit us.”

“I like the us-against-the-world attitude that our guys have kind of adopted,” Roberts said after Thursday’s game. “I think it’s kind of ironic with the Dodgers, but I like that.”

The Dodgers as disrespectful underdogs? You against the world? Come on. The Dodgers!

“That’s fair,” Roberts said. “Usually we are the world.”

The World Series. That's fair.