the post-Vin, we will KershYu 2017 DODGERS juggernaut

Top 1st
COL 1-0 Nolan Arenado singled to center, Charlie Blackmon scored, DJ LeMahieu to second

Top 3rd
COL 2-0 Nolan Arenado homered (377 ft.) to deep left

Top 8th
COL 6-0 Mark Reynolds homered (403 ft.) to deep left center, DJ LeMahieu, Nolan Arenado and Carlos González scored

Cameron sees some "real problems"

This is one of the strangest seasons in baseball history. We don’t really have data points that can tell us what a struggle like this might mean for the team going forward. The fact that they were nearly unbeatable until they were nearly incapable of winning should tell us something about how fickle trends can be, but even if we don’t know what losing 15 of 16 means on a grander scale, this skid has created some very legitimate concerns as the Dodgers head towards October.

Obviously, the offense has been a big problem, and the team can’t feel good about their recent production. A lot of the team’s early success was built on most everyone in the lineup dramatically outperforming their projections, and no longer can the team just assume that they’re going to get production from every spot in the order. But right now, the more worrying performances are probably coming on the mound.

For instance, I don’t know that Dave Roberts can really trust Alex Wood in the postseason, barring some significant late-season turnaround. Saturday night’s clunker was just the latest in his own six-week funk. Over his last eight starts, dating back to July 21st, Wood has struck out just 17% of the hitters he’s faced, and he’s running a 123 ERA-/131 FIP-/102 xFIP-. He’s allowed a .346 xwOBA during that stretch, putting him in the same tier as James Shields and Ubaldo Jimenez.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-dodgers-look-beyond-terrible-right-now/

that rotation is not really intimidating. not sure what's up with Darvish but for all the ace #2 talk about him, he's always been more of a Kerry Wood type for me, and his single "ace" season was in 2013. i don't see him getting much better. Alex Wood is coming back to earth, and i love Rich Hill's comeback but he's still a giant question mark for me, at least health-wise (and also turning into a pumpkin wise)

and there are a lot of holes in that lineup right now, not sure they can reliably count on Taylor, Forsythe, Bellinger, Puig, Pederson, etc...

I'd take the Nationals in the NL now, no doubt.

lost 11 in a row now

best.
team. ever?

The Dodgers are the first team in history to both win 15 of 16 games and lose 15 of 16 games in the same season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

I'd take the Nationals in the NL now, no doubt.

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.

All the usual arguments about sample sizes are out the window here -- nothing even remotely like this has ever happened before. Even truly horrible teams won't lose 16 of 17 games at any point in a season. There were a ton of blowout losses in there too, so it can't be brushed off as bad luck. And only historically great teams play .850 baseball over a two month period. But this team did both! I have no idea what to make of any of it.

Dodgers now 3.5 games ahead of Nats for best NL record, play in DC this weekend.

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

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