Well they made it. They won the division and proved the pundits wrong. They beat the supposed better team, and beat them often. They outlasted the D-Backs, who are still trying to make it in, and did the same with the Giants.
The Padres were certainly the popular choice prior to the season starting. With all their high priced superstars, LA was not supposed to have a chance. Well take that San Diego.
But it wasn’t like they just waltzed to the title. There have been many twists and turns and new faces.
Of the players now on the roster, eleven were not there on opening day.
Brasier was picked up on waivers, Kelly, Lynn and Yarbrough in trades, Pepiot was on the IL. Miller, Sheehan and Stone were in the minors. Wong was a minor league free agent, Rosario and Hernandez picked up in trades.
Eleven players, that is a lot of turnover. All of the starting rotation was hurt or in Syndergaard’s case, traded, and Julio has legal troubles. Buehler was declared out for the year after his attempt to return in September was shut down.
For the first time in this run of playoff appearances, the Dodgers are going in without a set playoff rotation. The only one certain of a spot is Miller. Even Kershaw is questionable. It looks like the plan this time around will be to use bulk and openers. Except for Miller. Kersh would be used as an opener, with Sheehan and his bulk backup.
Barring some unforeseen incident, Lynn will be on a short leash too like he was tonight. The Dodger bullpen is a strength right now. They have been the best in baseball for a while.
But will it be enough to win in the playoffs? Pitching is magnified many times come playoff time. The team with the best pitching usually wins.
One bit of encouragement I get about this staff is that teams sometimes struggle against pitchers they have not seen. That can be an advantage. Right now the playoff picture is so muddled in the National League that the Dodgers likely opponent changes day to day.
If the playoffs started today, the Phillies, Cubs and Diamondbacks would be the wild card teams with the Dodgers playing the winner of the Brewers/Cubs. The Phillies-D-Backs winner would play the Braves. But, the Cubs, who have played 2 less games than the Reds, are in a virtual tie with the Reds.
Miami and the Giants are still in the hunt being .5 and 2 games back respectively. The real dark horse is the Padres who have to make up 5.5 games and pass four teams to get in.
The Cubs are slumping and have lost 8 of their last 10 and 5 in a row. But we all know teams can pivot and go on winning streaks too. The Cubs schedule is not being kind to them though since they face Pittsburgh, the Rockies at home, then the Braves and Brewers on the road.
The D-Backs face the Giants (2), Yankees, White Sox and then the Astros. All those series are 3 games. Miami gets 2 more with the Mets, three with Milwaukee, three more with the Mets in NY, then the Pirates.
The Reds have 10 games left, 2 with the Twins, 3 with the Pirates, 2 with Cleveland and 3 with St. Louis. The Giants have 7 games left with the Dodgers, 2 with Arizona and 3 with the Padres.
It is going to be a wild finish. I would think the Dodgers won’t know who their opponent is until the last weekend of the year. One thing, I do not think the Dodgers are going to let the Giants waltz into Dodger Stadium without putting up one hell of a fight.
This has turned out to be an eventful and special season. It is special because this team has performed above expectations. But when you look at the way things are right now, they have as good a chance of making it to the World Series as any of the other contenders.
The Braves are not invincible. They lost their 5th game in a row tonight. Yes, they have a fine pitching staff and one of the most potent offenses in baseball. But the Dodgers had all of that last year and look what happened to them.
The kids shall lead them. Miller is this year’s Valenzuela.
Nice win last night. Walk-offs are always fun. Mookie just got his hand in before the tag. Miller on the bump tonight as they go for the sweep. Friday nights tiff against the Giants is on Apple, so I guess I won’t be watching.
This season has been a hell of a ride. Possibly, the most interesting team we’ve had since way before AF got to town. I still don’t expect them to go all the way but I’m in for the ride.
The playoff rotation keeps edging toward the rotation I have been hoping for with Miller, Sheehan, Pepiot, and Stone having prominent roles. Miller might be the only pitcher slated for 6+ innings with Kershaw, Lynn, Yarbrough and those already listed slated for 4 maybe 5 innings.
This year and this team would be especially fun for a Dodger WS championship.
Roberts has to be a strong candidate for Manager of the Year.
Acuna fighting for the MVP with Betts also finishing strong.
We all know that the MLB playoffs are a crap shoot. The best team most likely won’t win the World Series, but not even get to the World Series. To have a team win 111 games and be gone in the NLDS is not right. The teams with the top two records in their respective leagues should have major advantages over a wild card team that advances. I don’t think that’s the case right now.
First, with the expanded playoff format MLB should consider reducing the regular season schedule to let’s say 140-148 games. That way the World Series would conclude by the middle of October, not in November. To compete against the NFL and NBA for viewership is not beneficial to the sport.
Second, the scheduling for the division series should be changed. The wild card goes three straight days which is good. The division series should start the next day after the wild card winners are determined. This reduces the off time the top teams now encounter. Baseball is a game of repetition. Too much time off is not always welcome as the Dodgers found out last year. Also, it doesn’t allow the wild card and supposedly inferior team to restack their rotation. I would think a wild card team advancing to the DS would most likely have a weaker pitching staff either talent wise or depth. They should not have any advantage at this point in the playoffs to rest their pitchers or players. This would be the real advantage to the top two teams in addition to getting a bye. Finally, the games should be scheduled with the first three games at the top seeded team’s park and the last two (if necessary) at the wild card stadium. This would be another possible advantage to the top seeded teams in that it reduces travel. If a wild card team can overcome all these disadvantages then they deserve to move on to the next round of the championship series.
The Championship and World Series would continue as currently scheduled and finish the season mid October. Seven months of baseball that starts in cold weather and finishes in cold weather doesn’t seem right for a summer sport. If the schedule was reduced to 140 games then the season could start in the second week of April and finish mid October. Six months of baseball is OK with me.
I know this will never happen. Why? TV scheduling and of course, money. These changes might be good for baseball and it’s fans, but when has Boob Manfred and the owners ever taken that into consideration?
Regardless, let’s enjoy the playoffs and root for our pitching starved Dodgers to victory. For them to win the World Series this year could be one of the most exciting baseball stories in recent history.
Carry on.
Perhaps they should move JDM up to the clean up spot, followed by JHey #5. and bat Muncy #6. Or move Outman up in the order so he has a better hitter batting behind him.
Atl lost again so we’re only 2 losses behind them (granted they own the tiebreaker)
No one will ever confuse Bobby Miller’s rookie year with Fernando’s. Blasphemy!
Since coming to LA, the Dodgers have won (when they do win) with superior starting pitching. Not so this year.
Miller has been good (not great) and Pepiot has been very good in a limited sample. Stone and Sheehan have not been good. There is no way to put lipstick on that pig! With Kershaw’s tender shoulder a giant question and Lynn’s proclivity for the long ball a nightmare, the Dodgers’ feast or famine offense will have to be much better than their opponents’ to have a chance to win.
It could happen (and I hope it does), but it probably won’t.
By the way, I think Roberts should be Manager of the Year this season. With all of the injuries and the alleged superiority of the Padres, the way that the team has played together and been resilient is credit to Roberts.