Idle Thoughts, while waiting for the Giants to block and tackle, the Red Sox to stop finishing last and for drivers to begin using their turn signals again:

• Dr. Idle, Dr. I to his close friends, has echoes of the great John Sterling in his head today.

Rarely has there been a better illustration of “you can’t predict baseball” or “that’s baseball, Suzyn” than this postseason.

Put it this way: If you had the teams with the three best records (Orioles, Dodgers, Braves) winning one postseason game combined or the top four MVP candidates in the National League (Freeman, Betts, Olson, Acuna) going 6-for-43 in the division series, here’s hoping you alerted DraftKings and bet with both hands.

Dr. I will do Dr. I things again next summer, like still awake at 3 a.m. watching the Yankees in the 14th inning of an early May game in Oakland.

But really, this postseason is more evidence that winning the division in baseball isn’t merely irrelevant anymore, but perhaps a detriment. Nobody is going to convince Dr. I that the aforementioned numbers for Acuna, Olson, Betts and Freeman aren’t a byproduct of the week off given to the division champions.

• Trivia: Who were the batting champions in the only year when the champs in both leagues each hit .325 or lower?

• A hearty welcome back to the great Barry Neistat, who used to run Muddy Waters (Dr. I’s official headquarters) with his wife, Susan.

Barry is now the Cafe Manager for Waterford Senior Services.

“We definitely scored big with Barry. He not only provides our patrons with great meal selections that are unique to him and his career in the restaurant industry, but he’s inspired these wonderful connections with local eateries where meals are brought in or our seniors visit as a part off-site trip,” said Dani Gorman, Waterford’s Human Services Administrator and part of the glue that keeps the town strong.

“We have worked hard at Senior Services to reach a larger group of residents and Barry is a big reason for our growing numbers. The meals in the cafe, like his father-in-law Hughie Devlin’s ‘Love Salad’ to a pastrami on rye sandwich, we really scored big with Barry on so many levels.”

• Did you see that The Heel With The Bad Achilles, otherwise known as the insufferable Aaron Rodgers, recently challenged Travis Kelce (Rodgers calls him ‘Mr. Pfizer’) to a COVID vaccine debate with RFK Jr. and Dr. Fauci?

Count Dr. I among the legions who would rather get his spleen removed with a cocktail fork than be sentenced to that.

• Can someone — again — explain the Daniel Jones hate?

The guy has five turnstiles in front of him.

This is a recording.

• This past Friday (Oct. 13) marked the anniversaries of Bill Mazeroski’s homer (1960) and Derek Jeter’s flip play (2001).

• OK. So Dr. I can’t really explain New London.

But can someone help out here?

They pave Bank St. in early summer with all their ornate strips on both sides of the road, courtesy of “Custom Design Decorative Asphalt Stamping.”

Now they’re digging it up again to run pipes below ground?

Isn’t that plan, you know, out of order?

• Just because Dr. I is a caring kind of guy, has anyone checked in on Coach Prime lately?

• Not that Dr. I is a UConn guy or anything, but can the Big XII explain this newfound fetish with inviting Gonzaga and not UConn?

Is it all those championships?

National fan base?

Thriving media market known as Spokane?

• Mad props to Ledyard football coach Mike Serricchio, who changed his offense during the bye week and went to the Single Wing, what former Day great Ned Griffen calls “God’s Offense.”

Ned may have a point. The Waterford folks yelled “Jesus!” a lot trying to stop it the other night.

• Trivia answer: Pete Runnels and Dick Groat. In 1960, Runnels (of the Red Sox) led the AL at .320 and Groat (of the Pirates) hit exactly .325.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro