Dominance

As the Dodgers attained their 80th victory of the season on August 15th, a full 114 games into the season, there is simply one word that describes their performance: “dominance.”  The kind of dominance that ranks up there with some of the greatest teams in baseball history.

They’ve done it with major injuries that would have decimated most teams.

Kershaw has had two IL stints, and who knows when he will return.  Team ace (at the start of the year), Walker Buehler is out for the season, and probably next, Dustin May still hasn’t yet appeared. Blake Treinen was only with them for a little over a month.  Daniel Hudson, a little more than that.  Yet, here they are with all this pitching depth, holding things up at a record-setting rate. 

Tyler Anderson and Tony Gonsolin account for 27 victories and only three losses.  Those are your number 4 and 5 starters. Julio Urias has turned things around after a slow start and is on the pace to win close to the 20 wins that he had last year.

The bullpen is ranked third in MLB in ERA.  Bullpen role players have stepped up above and beyond what was expected of them.  Phillips, Almonte, Vesia, Price, Ferguson, and Graterol, all have excelled.

Even the lackluster performances by Kimbrel in the closer role have not derailed this team. 

The pitching injuries and closer failure were enough to destroy the seasons of 90% of the teams out there.  But not the Dodgers.  This is a stacked bunch.  Andrew Freidman has masterfully constructed a 40-man roster that is deeper than any of Major League baseball.

The subpar years from key position player components like Muncy, Taylor, and Bellinger have not resulted in extended losing streaks.  Dave Robert’s patience with them appears to be paying off as they slowly come around.  Even if they don’t fully return to being the threats they were before, their defense has been stellar, and they have contributed in small ways.

It wasn’t until late June that this ball club began to streak.  They kind of snuck up on the baseball world with their dominance. Even with the occasional losing streak that had early on, they never dropped from contention.  At no time was post-season play qualification in doubt.  Now they are in a position where they could tank and play .250 baseball the remainder of the way, and they still would qualify for the playoffs.

There was a series in San Francisco where the ball club was swept.  Early on, there was a series loss in Arizona and a lackluster series against Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but aside from those couple of slip-ups, this season seems to be near perfect.  Their 12-1 August record speaks for itself.

With 48 games remaining (as of August 16), here is what their final record will look like if they play at the following clips:

.300    94-68

.350    97-65

.400   99-63

.450   102-60

.500   104-58

.550   106-56

.600   109-53

.650   111-51

.700   114-48

.750   116-46

.800   118-44

Setting the MLB record for victories is within reach, but it would require the Dodgers to continue to play at a record-setting pace.  Probably highly unlikely as they step off the accelerator in late September when the division and home field advantage is clinched.  At that point, the focus should be on the key components to remain healthy, sharp and as well rested as possible.  

It would be great for the Dodgers to be in a position in their final weeks of play to have their position player starters get an at-bat or two and then rest half the game.  At this point, this possibility seems highly likely.  I call it Fall Training Baseball.  Something they haven’t been able to practice for a few years due to extremely heated Division race chases.  all know that their downfall in last year’s post season play was caused by weariness brought on by a heated pennant race when they won 106 games and finished second.

Some additional Dodger bullets:

• Crazy schedule makers have the Dodgers playing Miami and Milwaukee 14 times over the next two weeks. Milwaukee has been slumping, and Miami is out of contention.  Is it possible to beef up their record even more prior to September?

• A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Lux, Freeman and Turner should all hit over .300 by season’s end and that Freeman would win the batting title.  Perhaps a bit optimistic on my part, but none are falling off the table at this point.  Admittedly, it’ll be tough for all those predictions to come to fruition, but I’m still hopeful.

• More on schedule quirkiness:  This is the first season in MLB history (with the exception of 2001, when 9/11 canceled a week of September games) where the regular season won’t be finished until well into October.  If the Dodgers go all the way, they cannot win the World Series in October because Game 4 of the World Series is scheduled for November 1st.  If it goes seven games, the baseball season won’t conclude until November 5th. Throw in some inclement weather, and it pushes back more. Can we say Thanksgiving baseball? 

• Just when you think Friedman couldn’t possibly pick up a quality acquisition off the scrap heap, he did so by shipping off Dodger utility man Zack McKinstry for right-handed reliever Chris Martin who is gelling at the right time.  I like this pickup.  Unfortunately for Martin, unless the injury bug hits the team hard, it will be difficult for him to make the post-season roster.

• Dave Robert’s and Andrew Friedman’s most difficult decisions will be who to keep off the 26-man roster in the postseason.  There are so many deserving players on the cusp.  Winning the championship this year is a 40-man roster proposition, not 26.  So many have contributed valuably this year.

• Most fans were in favor of MLB’s changes regarding September roster expansion, restricting it to a cap of 28 players.  Frankly, I am disappointed that we will have fewer prospects given the opportunity to show their stuff this year.  Cartaya, Stone, Miller, Outman, Vargas, and Reed all probably deserve an opportunity.   It looks like we will only get to add returning injured players but what exactly the front office brass is thinking is anyone’s guess.

• Brusdar Graterol, Victor Gonzalez, and Tommy Kahnle should be given a shot to recover from injury in September as well.  There simply isn’t enough room for everyone.  Nor is there time (Recent reports from Dave Robert’s states that Danny Duffy is feeling discomfort after facing live hitters, so he is probably out).

• The promotion of Gavin Stone and Bobby Miller to AAA Oklahoma City and Nick Nastrini to AA Tulsa is well deserved.  Emmett Sheehan probably deserved a call-up, too, but when you send someone up, another has to be released or sent down.  It is probably a numbers game.  Speaking of numbers, Sheehan’s stats are quite impressive (W-L 6-2, 2.80 ERA, 16 GP, 10 GS, 54.2 IP, 37 H, 22 R, 17 ER, 2 BB, 17 K’s, .187 BAA, 1.15 WHIP).

Future Dodgers Down on the Farm (MT)

• OKC won 2-1
  • Mike Grove had his best outing, going five innings, allowing four hits (all singles), 0 Runs, 0 BBs, and striking out 10!
  • The Bazooka pitched one inning and allowed no Hits or Walks, striking out 1.
  • Jacob Amaya is hitting .209
• Tulsa lost 9-5
  • Kyle Hurt went 3.2 innings, allowed 2 Hits, 1 ER, walked 5, and struck out 6.
  • Jordon Leasure gave up a walk-off Grand Slam – Game Over
• Great Lakes lost 6-3
  • Diego Cartaya hit his 21st HR.
  • Jose Ramos was 2-4 and hit his 23rd HR, and now has 85 RBI. I look for a big jump from him next year.
• Rancho Cucamonga won 9-6
  • Dalton Rushing hit a 3-run HR and walked. He is hitting .469 and will move rapidly through the system.
  • Yenier Fernandez (still 19) was 2-3 with his 8th HR
  • Ronan Kopp went three innings and allowed 2 Hits, 2 ER, 2 BB, and 3 Ks.