100 Wins History
For the first time in major league history, a team won 100 or more games in four consecutive full seasons. Yes, 2020 was wedged in there, but still, four full seasons of 100 wins! Pretty amazing when you think about it. The Boys of Summer team won 100 or more once. Alston’s…
For the first time in major league history, a team won 100 or more games in four consecutive full seasons. Yes, 2020 was wedged in there, but still, four full seasons of 100 wins! Pretty amazing when you think about it. The Boys of Summer team won 100 or more once. Alston’s Dodgers did it twice, 62 and 74. The only Dodger team other than this one to win at least two in a row was Leo Durocher’s 42 and 41 teams. And the 42-team finished second.
The Dodgers have won 100 or more in five of the last six full seasons. In 2017 they won 104, then only 92 in 2018. So, it is quite the big deal. Dave Roberts may be disliked by some and called a company mouthpiece. But the guy has his teams winning and doing so consistently. And the job he did this year? Wow. They have had obstacles before, but this season has to have been his most challenging. I mean it cannot be easy not knowing who is pitching one day to the next. Think about it. They lost all five of the starting pitchers who were supposed to be the backbone of the staff. And they started dropping early.
First Pepiot. Then in May, they lost Dustin May after he appeared in 9 games. He was 4-1 at the time. Syndergaard never pitched well. He did not rediscover his fastball and was eventually traded. Michael Grove was on the OKC charter. Tony Gonsolin eventually went down with arm trouble. Both he and May had to have surgery. That left them with few options. Rather than scour the waiver wire for starters released by other teams, they went the other route, they started using their top prospects.
Miller, Stone, Sheehan and when he got healthy, Pepiot again. Julio Urias, who rarely looked like the same pitcher he was the last two seasons, was inconsistent and then he got into trouble with the law and was placed on Admin leave. They traded for a starter, Lance Lynn, not the one everybody was hoping for, and a long reliever, Yarbrough.
The bullpen was awful to begin with. Then on June 21st, Ryan Brasier made his first appearance as a Dodger. Now, I am not saying he is the reason for the turn around, but since that date, the Dodgers pen has been the best in baseball. Old friend, Joe Kelly returned and guys like Graterol and Phillips kept up their great work. Shelby Miller has been good out of the pen also.
The offense was never the problem. But it can be streaky. There were games when they left the farm on the bases and could not get a hit with runners in scoring position. But they were the best two-out RBI team in the majors and their batting average with runners in scoring position is .279.
So, how will this 100-win team fare in the playoffs? I have read a lot on a bunch of different sources. There are some who think the Dodgers fall again in the NLDS. Others think the Braves will make short work of them if both make the NLCS. Personally, I think a lot of people are underestimating the bulldog in this team. Last year’s epic fail is one hell of a reason to not let that happen again. Can they make it work? Can they use the lessons of last year’s disaster to their advantage?
Outside of a few players, this team has playoff veterans. Yes, the pitching staff has a bunch of kids they need to lean on, but the leadership on the staff is battle tested. Kershaw, Lynn, Kelly, Graterol, Miller, Phillips, Vesia, Ferguson, they have all been there before. And the offense except for Outman, they have all been there before too.
I trust this time; the layoff is not going to be a problem. But I do believe MLB needs to make some adjustments down the line. Reseeding after the wild card would be one. No off days between games 1 & 2. The teams with the bye should be rewarded. Too many off days for the winner of the wild card. Making the wild card a five-game series would work.
I think this team is poised to have a much better playoff run than last year. Time will tell if I am right. Poised is one thing, doing it is another. As of right now they are one game from being bounced out of the NLDS by a wild card team from their own division for the second straight year. Wednesday will tell us something about the desire and fire in this team. One game at a time, are they as resilient as most of us believe, or are they just a poor man’s version of last season’s flameout?
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Discussion (51)
Disagree, not disagreeable
In any other profession if you managed a team that made the playoffs 8 times won 1 lost 7 and had an inability to foster a thriving environment for rookies imo you would be fired. Thats Dave Roberts and morons continue to beat the drum for him. The data suggests we will not win with roberts.
No question, 100 wins is an amazing fete, especially considering all the injuries to the pitching staff. Won’t be surprised if the Dodgers win 100 next year.
The loss of Dustin May was really huge. He has ace stuff. No reason to bring up Julio. Certainly wasn’t pitching like an ace and then boom, he implodes with another domestic violence incident.
Yes, the offense tends to be hot or lukewarm, sometimes even cool.
Since you brought this up, Bear, I agree MLB needs to change the playoff format. During the season, third, fourth and fifth starters really matter. The spacing of playoff games really changes all this. I don’t care why they think they have to use the current format, television no doubt and money, always about money, but the games should reflect the actual season. That means you play back to back games, then travel, play back to back and then back for the final game of the series. Honestly, the Dodgers should be playing in Arizona tonight.
As to the Dodgers young pitchers, we should add words like anxious or anxiety to the mix. Even outfielder James Outman said that was causing him problems. Now I’m guessing the playoffs create a sense of anxiety in even veterans, but they may cope better or adjust quicker. The DBacks ability to score early certainly helps them relax.
As to the 0-2 start, the Dodgers can still win. It’s a three game winning streak. Pretty routine stuff. How they react will tell the tale.
Another first inning implosion by the starter derailed the Dodgers again. Plus the inability to come up with the big hit when they had chances to score. This certainly does not look good.
Yet another playoff disaster in the making.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
One of the main reasons they lost last night is that none of their superstar players are playing like superstars. Mookie Betts is 0-7 with a walk, a run scored, and none driven in. Since he hit .450 in the 21 NLDS against the Giants he is 6-44. That’s a .105 average folks. He hit his last postseason homer against the Giants. Freeman is 1-6 with 2 walks and a run scored. By far his worst series as a Dodger so far. Martinez had two hits last night and drove in a run with his homer. He is 2-6 with 2 walks and 2 K’s. Muncy, 1-7 2 K’s, Outman,0-5 3 K’s and a walk, Rojas 2-4. So why did Roberts pull him for Wong? Heyward and Peralta not much at all out of those two besides Peralta’s late inning double in game one. Smith, 2-8 with a triple, 2 RBI’s, and one strikeout. When your stars are not playing like stars, you won’t win many games unless the supporting cast does one hell of a job picking them up.
I said it yesterday and I will repeat myself today. Off season priority, pitching, and lots of it. They have some very talented young arms, Miller, Sheehan, Pepiot, Stone. Grove does not seem like that kind of arm to me although he has had some moments.
The minors are loaded with RH pitching. But there is not a top-notch lefty down there. Should they make 2024 the transition year that this season was supposed to be? Will Dodger fans settle for watching a bunch of kids get on the job training and hope they win enough to get into the playoffs?
Myself, I am a little dubious the fan base would enjoy that very much. There will be a lot of change this winter. Question number one on everyone’s mind is will Kershaw return. If he does, there is your part-time lefty starter. I still think they need a second one. Locks for the rotation next year, I see only two. Buehler and Miller. May and Gonsolin, late in the season at the earliest, more like 2025.
I would like to see them sign either the lefty coming from Japan, or Jordan Montgomery. Maybe even one of the RH starters who will be on the market. The offense will look somewhat different because I believe either Heyward or Peralta does not come back. I think Martinez is gone also. They have to decide if they will exercise their option on Muncy. I think Deluca has an excellent chance of making the roster next season simply because he hits RH. Hernandez, Rosario, Wong, those guys are gone. With CT3 under contract through 25, he is not going anywhere. I would also like to see a backup catcher who can hit and throw runners out.
The key is breaking out on top first.
We have been behind every AB in this series.
Take a lead and things could swing momentum.
I believe.