Seven more wins, and the Dodgers win the NL Title. Then, with Eleven Total Post-Season Wins, they will win it all. The World Series! The only question is: Will the Baseball Gods allow it?
See, that’s what it all boils down to. The Dodgers outspent everyone in the past offseason, and the Baseball Gods punished them for it by making sure that they had the most pitchers with their arms falling off in all of MLB… maybe ever! The Dodgers had 2,158 days with players on the Injured List, which is the most in all of baseball. Despite that, they won the NL West and have had a home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Dodgers were better than any other team in baseball during the regular season. That’s a fact. It has been decided. Based on 162 games, the Dodgers will win, but the problem is that the playoffs only require you to win eleven games to become the world champion. Also, remember this: 96.667 percent of teams that make the playoffs do not win the World Series!
The Arizona Diamondbacks seized the pennant last year, a thrilling reminder that every generation gets its Cinderella team, riding a wave of momentum all the way to the World Series. The 2023 Diamondbacks, who managed just 84 regular-season wins, were that team. Well, unless you count the team that bested them in the Fall Classic—the Texas Rangers, who might be an even more improbable story. Their bullpen, notorious for coughing up home runs, seemed to worsen as October loomed. And then, as if touched by a wand, they transformed from a glaring liability into an unexpected strength. It was pure October magic—the wildest, most unpredictable magic of all.
But here’s the twist this year: for the first time in recent memory, there isn’t a clear favorite to win it all. Not even a shortlist of four or five contenders feels safe. Every roster has its flaws, and yet, each team possesses enough firepower to claim the crown without needing a hint of October weirdness. It’s shaping up to be a thrillingly balanced field. However, the Dodgers have three former MVPs on the team, including Shohei Ohtani, who was the best player in the NL this year. From top-to-bottom, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the best offensive team in baseball.
The rotation has lost more than a dozen arms, but they just made more. Flaherty, Yamamoto, Buehler, and Knack will be the starters, and the bullpen will be at the ready. This team can mash their way to a championship… especially if the bullpen can live up to their potential. The playoffs are indeed a “crapshoot.” Anyone who believes otherwise is full of the stuff they shoot! In baseball, you can hit a 104 MPH fastball right on the screws to a fielder at 115 MPH, while the other team can hit a 99 MPH fastball at 78 MPH and drive in 3 runs. It ain’t fair, and that’s what we all realize… well, at least some of us do.
That’s what we all love… and hate about the game of baseball. Baseball is life!
US Water Systems
Last week, while I was at Cleveland Clinic, my son oversaw the migration of US Water Systems from our office in Indianapolis and our manufacturing in Danville, Indiana, to a 100,000 state-of-the-art facility in Plainfield, Indiana. We started US Water Systems in our garage 23 years ago. About four months later we moved to 1209 Country Club Road, where we have been ever since. Before we moved, my wife and I posed in front of it last week.
The move is over, and here are the new digs:
My wife and I no longer have offices there. Our offices are at home. We are still very active in the direction of US Water Systems, but our son, Steve, is the CEO and in charge of day-to-day operations. Last month (September), he oversaw 26% growth compared to last year. This has been typical since he took over. It’s time for us to step aside… and we have! I thought it might be fun to look back over the last 25 years because LA Dodger Talk has been there the whole time.
… and the next generation is on the way:
I am so proud of him!
It has been a great year despite all the crazy injuries..I have never seen a player like 17.He is the greatest player I have ever seen. Barry Bonds is who I compare him .This year. Now let’s. Win the Gold
Man, we are really the serious underdogs this postseason. ESPN just buried us in its postseason preview. SD is better, Phillies are better. If I were Roberts I’d paste that in the locker room.
To me, that is great news.
Me too. Champ shit only.
I read it. I didn’t think there was any burial.
In fact, they had the Dodgers as the favorites:
NLDS opponent: Braves/Padres (57.2% chance of advancing)
World Series odds: 17.3% | ESPN BET odds: +300
Mark –
You have had a hell of a life both professionally and way more importantly family!
I know you have had a few big speed bumps thrown in your path – hopefully, making it through those bruised but not beaten allows you to really appreciate and enjoy your successes.
Congrats on all your work and still finding time for us old farts who love the Dodgers.
The new and very improved format was a long time coming but has been worth the wait.
Total agreement that nobody has a clue on who will win this whole damn thing.
Looking forward (hopefully) to eleven more wins.
RIP Pete Rose. Even though as some have said “He was not a good person off the field”, I believe Pete Rose belongs in the Hall of Fame for his on the field accomplishments. He is the all time hit leader and played the game the right way with grit and determination to win every day. That record will never be broken..Maybe there should be a special room at the HOF for guys like Pete Rose and,the steroid users who were Hall of Famers before their use like Clemens and Bonds.
They are part of the game. Their plaques can say whatever needs to be said about them, but in many ways, Pete Rose was “baseball” and is still (and probably forever) the all-time hit leader.
Sometimes it’s easy to throw all ones accomplishments down the tubes when exposure becomes overt. Pete’s gambling was stacking the deck on games he bet on as best as a manager could which left games he didn’t bet on at a disadvantage. His punishment may be harsh but he doesn’t smell like a ‘rose’.
He got a life time ban. Now that he’s dead put him in. The ban is over. I was against him going in until yesterday.
Good point!
The Hall of Fame is a joke. It used to be MLB’s the best of the best. Ok maybe not Maz. Then in came the executives, managers, play by play guys, veterans committee, negro league committee, etc. etc. Watered it down. But no Rose, Bonds,Clemens etc. Instead you get Baines, Big Poopi etc. Not for me anymore.
Book em
The clubhouse custodian is the next entree into the HOF, and then the Beer Guys.
Hey, some of those concession guys walking around the stands have pretty good throwing arms.
They should have something like a home run derby for most accurate throws. A special section in the hall.
I had a great time my two visits the hall (with two different wives), but the last time was back in the ’90s.
Chris Sale off playoff roster
I am shocked he lasted as long as he did.
When was the last time he did that?
Yo David, pretty cool not having anybody be able to find you because nobody has an address for you huh? You can get mail though. You get a box at a place that here would be like mailboxes etc. And people still do use WhatsApp for phone calls although they do have phones with regular phone numbers. But their plans are different than ours so everybody still just uses WhatsApp when they’re on Wi-Fi. Not planning on being anywhere close to Panama City though. We think we’ll end up on Azuero peninsula in surf country. Pretty cool that Panama is the only country in Central America where baseball rules over soccer.
I think I’m going to take a bag full of my old bats and mitts and give them to the kids wherever I end up.
Cheers
Baseball America added two Dodger Minor Leaguers to a list of 20 “Sleeper Picks:”
Zyhir Hope, OF, Dodgers
What We Said: The Dodgers added Hope and Jackson Ferris in the January trade that shipped Michael Busch to the Cubs. Chicago had drafted Hope out of high school in the 11th round last year and paid him $400,000, the equivalent of fifth-round money. He has outstanding speed and quick hands that helped him crush three early home runs in California League play, including one with a 113 mph exit velocity. The power is real. If Hope hits, he could take off as a prospect.
What Happened: In between stints on the injured list, Hope was one of the better players in the Dodgers’ farm system. The outfielder showed a blend of production, strong analytical traits and future projection. He’ll attempt to build on the roughly half-season of production in the Arizona Fall League.
Hyun-Seok Jang, RHP, Dodgers
What We Said: When he’s got it going, Jang has some of the nastiest stuff in the minor leagues. The righthander, whom the Dodgers signed last August, spent his first season stateside in the Arizona Complex League. On July 28, in the first game of his team’s championship series against the cross-valley rival D-backs, Jang was magnificent. The righthander spun three one-hit shutout innings and struck out eight of the 11 hitters he faced. As has been the case all season, Jang did show a bit of wildness. He walked one hitter and uncorked a pair of wild pitches. In the regular year, he struck out 41.5% of the hitters he faced, but also finished with a walk rate of around 16% and threw nine wild pitches. Jang has serious upside and major league-ready stuff. To reach his ceiling, he’ll need to throw more strikes.
What Happened: Jang spent his first pro season showing some of the best stuff in the Dodgers’ system while also displaying well below-average control. His four-pitch mix wowed evaluators in the Arizona Complex League and helped him earn a bump to Low-A to close his year. Ultimately, he punched out 68 hitters in 36.2 innings while walking 27 over the same span.
This Dodgers team that is going to face this postseason reminds me of the 2015 World Series champions, the Kansas City Royals:
1. A very good offense (these Dodgers are better)
2. A good defense in general, with some outstanding players.
3. A tremendous bullpen, remember Greg Holland and Company (the Dodgers’ bullpen is also tremendous and they are in their best moment at the end of the year)
4. Both teams with a “suspicious” starting pitching rotation (in the case of the Dodgers because of the damn injuries).
Is it true that Fernando died? I’m not sure, but I read something
Here’s what I know:
1. Last week, Fernando unexpectedly left the team for undisclosed reasons.
2. He is in the hospital.
3. He is not expected to return for this postseason.
4. We do not know what ails him.
5. Godspeed!
SD essentially gets a Bye into the next round.
Why doesnt MLB re-seed after the first round?? For instance if the Mets win they would be the worst seed left so the #1 seed should play them.
But whatever we are gonna beat SD regardless….