the post-Vin, we will KershYu 2017 DODGERS juggernaut

I'm not gonna violently disagree, but y'know, the Dodgers can still turn around and go 5-2 in the next week, at which point this panic will look silly. "Momentum" or lack thereof coming down the stretch has meant doodlysquat in the postseason; we all know this.

― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, September 12, 2017 4:01 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i'm not panicking, i'm a cubs fan. :) so actually i am panicking, but not over the dodgers.

it was hard to consider this team as anything other than the favorites back when they were at a 120 win pace but i mean i just don't think they were nearly as good as that pace indicated (that goes without saying, so many guys were playing over their heads), but i think the past couple of weeks have revealed a lot of deficiencies that go beyond those of your usual 105-ish win team. though i won't be surprised when (or if....?) they go on another good run to close out the season, and if they win the world series.

One mitigating factor in this 17-game stretch is that six of them were against Arizona, a team almost as hot at the time as Cleveland. When I suggested a bump in the road would be good for them ("an 8-12 block of games or something like that"), I hardly envisioned this, but I'd still put much more faith in the 70-20 stretch than the current 17-game nightmare. As soon as they manage to win back-to-back games before the playoffs, I'd say they'll be past this.

(Their troubles have helped me tremendously in my pool; I'm back in second, and have moved ahead of the guy who has the Dodgers.)

When you get bodied by the Giants prior to the playoffs, panic mode is engaged.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, September 12, 2017 4:35 PM (four hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this losing streak has a thousand fathers but holy shit playing a game in the middle of the night after a four hour delay when youre desperate for a win is some bullshit. not blaming anyone in particular other than fate.

was pretty sure this team wasn't going to win 115 but I was also pretty sure they weren't going to pay .050 baseball in september. I blame the SI cover.

the guy who worries me the most is darvish. if he can't be more than the 4.5 era guy he's been for us so far it doesn't matter how we line up for the playoffs. kershaw, hill and a diminished alex wood aint getting it done. plus theyre all lefties.

Folks. This has been wild. I think I'm going back to cricket.

Don't apostasize, caek!

See above; what you've just seen very possibly meant nothing.

3 wins in a row, now 6 up on Washington

One of those things lodged in my brain, so I knew both names before finishing the sentence: Bellinger tied Frank Robinson and Wally Berger for the NL rookie HR record today.

judge still within striking distance of the ML record (iirc mcgwire had 49)

Jerry Crasnick
ESPN

As if losing 20 times in a 25-game span weren't bad enough, the Dodgers are now suffering some dings to their lineup mainstays. Corey Seager, who is already dealing with a sore right elbow, has fouled balls off his calf and ankle this week and sat out today's series finale in Philadelphia. And Justin Turner had to leave today's game after being struck in the hand by a Mark Leiter Jr. pitch in the first inning. This is not the way manager Dave Roberts envisioned gearing up for the playoffs.

Gotta admire Curtis Granderson. If he's not quite Hall of Very Good, he's in the Hall of Pretty Damn Good Almost Every Year.

Rich Hill, the legend

https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2017/10/6/16435180/rich-hill-fastball-curveball-change-los-angeles-dodgers

Jonah Keri:

Much of the Dodgers' sky-high payroll, though, comes from players making minimal contributions in the playoffs -- or less. Andre Ethier saw just 34 at-bats all season, and made $17.5 million. Injuries turned Adrian Gonzalez into a non-factor this year, he wasn't healthy enough to make the playoff roster, and he made $22.4 million. Scott Kazmir didn't throw a pitch all season, and he made $17.7 million. Injuries limited Brandon McCarthy to 92 ⅔ innings pitched (and kept him off the playoff roster), yet he banked $11.5 million.

Think those are bad? The Dodgers cut Sergio Romo, and were left to cover the $1.8 million left on his deal as he played for the Rays. Matt Kemp collected $3.75 million in Dodgers checks this year, and he's a Brave. The Dodgers dumped Cuban import Hector Olivera on Atlanta too; two years later he'd been suspended for domestic violence and washed out of the league, landing with the independent Sugar Land Skeeters... and somehow the Dodgers owed him $4.7 million too. And while Carl Crawford was by all accounts a good citizen and well-liked teammate, his legs failed him, so the Dodgers paid him $21.9 million this season while he enjoyed retirement.

Make no mistake: It's a damn fine luxury to be able to spend $92 million in basically dead money, then roll to the best record in baseball and a spot in the Fall Classic. But check out the origin stories of many other Dodger players, and you can see how the team's plan of attack worked so well when it came to building a winner. The Dodgers wouldn't have gotten here because of Kershaw and some other lavishly-paid stars...but they also wouldn't have made it without youth, data, and depth.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/if-you-think-dodgers-are-in-world-series-due-to-payroll-you-arent-paying-attention/

Dave Roberts is half Japanese, is he the first manager of Asian descent to manage in the World Series?

apparently he's only the 2nd Asian American manager in MLB, period. (preceded by Don Wakamatsu in Seattle)

We’re here to bring the Dodgers back to Brooklyn. pic.twitter.com/V5Zrqir9cw

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 11, 2018