From Here on, It's a Crapshoot!
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in 2024. It is tough in the modern era to win it two years in a row. In fact, it has not been done in 25 years. The Dodgers have a shot, but it is much more difficult this time around. Everyone has analytics and scouting. It’s a chess…
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series in 2024. It is tough in the modern era to win it two years in a row. In fact, it has not been done in 25 years. The Dodgers have a shot, but it is much more difficult this time around. Everyone has analytics and scouting. It’s a chess match, and it’s never been harder to win back-to-back than now.
That said, the Dodgers have the best chance of winning another World Series. However, baseball is a crazy game. A hitter can check his swing and hit an “excuse me” triple that scores multiple runs. Or, a hitter can hit the ball right on the screws at 109 MPH and hit into a triple play. That is what is maddening and awesome about baseball. I happen to like the Dodgers’ chances… but you never know. This is baseball.
What I do know is that if the Dodgers don’t win the World Series, most will blame Andrew Freidmen or Dave Roberts! “There’s no such thing as a crapshoot! “Friedman should have signed Mantale, Mays, Clemnete, Drysdaye. Koufax and Gibson. He’s a bum!”
Play ball!
More from Dodger Talk
Dodgers Food Trailer
I did this interview a couple of weeks ago with Chef Mike, who runs the Dodgers Food Trailer for the Great Lakes Loons. They are there for every home and road regular season and playoff game. They prepare three meals a day for approximately 50 people (players and coaches). Since games end late most evenings, they do not prepare breakfast. Many of their hotels have a complimentary breakfast anyway. However,…
Meet LAD 2026 Draft Picks 1-12
3 picks were High School players (2 SS and 1 OF). There was a college OF, college catcher, college SS, and 10 college pitchers. Of all the talk for a need for a catcher, the only catcher the Dodgers selected was Luke Bard, son of LAD bullpen coach Josh Bard. Bard was a 4th year senior from Houston Christian University. He is not a prospect, so the Dodgers are still…
Interview with Paul Beachy – Team Bus Driver For The Great Lakes Loons (LA Dodgers Minor League Team)
It’s been a few days since I did this interview. We have evidently been working my son-in-law (the video guy) like a rented mule at US Water Systems. However, I am taking him to London with me in a few days, so maybe Watford will buy him a pint as a tip, but he’s a dang Red Sox fan, so there is that! I thought that it would be interesting…
Thanks for Your Service: Chris Taylor
I was going to do this post when Chris announced he was retiring, then he changed his mind, but since the chances of him ever playing for the Dodgers again are slim and non-existent, I will go ahead with this post. He unretired, went on the IL, then decided to call it quits on May 24th. Taylor was born in Virginia Beach VA on August 29th, 1990. He attended Great…
Discussion (89)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Keller closing for Cubs, things get weird in October.
SD STILL SUCKS.
9:08 PM ET
Reds (83-79)
Dodgers (93-69)
SP Hunter Greene R
7-4 2.76 ERA
SP Blake Snell L
5-4 2.35 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
3B Max Muncy L
RF T. Hernandez R
2B Tommy Edman S
CF Andy Pages R
LF E. Hernandez R
C Ben Rortvedt L
70° Wind 10 mph Out
Anyone surprised Banda not on roster?
I guess only 2 games….
Headline in the Wall Street Journal:
Bad News, America. The Numbers Say We’re Getting Another Yankees-Dodgers World Series
Jared Diamond writes:
Despite spending somewhere close to $650 million to assemble their rosters, the two most prestigious franchises in Major League Baseball didn’t exactly have the smoothest summers.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, the superteam that looked destined to dominate the sport, endured an unending spate of injuries, a prolonged slump from star Mookie Betts and underperformance from many of their high-priced newcomers. The New York Yankees, meanwhile, dealt with frequent bullpen meltdowns, incomprehensible lapses in fundamentals and frustrating stretches of inconsistency that frequently left them searching for answers.
It was enough to give hope to the millions of fans around the country who want nothing more from their October baseball than to see the Yankees and Dodgers implode in spectacular fashion.
But with apologies to those people, we’re here to deliver some bad news. History suggests that the stage is perfectly set for a Yankees-Dodgers rematch in the World Series.
The reason for that is simple enough: They both hit a ridiculous number of home runs.
The MLB postseason, which begins on Tuesday, is often described as a “crapshoot”—a zany, monthlong gauntlet where chaos reigns supreme and the best team in the regular season rarely wins.
In recent years, however, there has been a clear blueprint for October success hidden within the madness. In a game that increasingly revolves around power, the past five champions have all finished within the top four in MLB in homers. Seven of the last eight were in the top 10. In fact, over the past decade, only the 2015 Kansas City Royals were in the bottom half of MLB in home runs.
There is a common misconception that the way to win in the playoffs is by relying heavily on small ball. (This theory will undoubtedly come up a lot on television broadcasts over the next few weeks.)
The problem, it turns out, is that the exact opposite is true—and the numbers bear it out.
No matter what time of year it is, home runs are always correlated with winning. Teams that out-homer their opponents have won 76.5% of their regular-season games this decade.
In the playoffs, though, the effect is amplified dramatically, with the club that hits more homers winning a whopping 84% of the time over that span. The team that bashes more home runs in a postseason series has a winning percentage of .800.
So while other elements on offense are important, Mariners general manager Justin Hollander says, “They are not as important as hitting homers.”
So, contrary to fans who want to bunt and play small ball, the HR is still King!
For those still pining for Mason Miller:
1. The Dodgers did not have the Top Prospect to get him. Top 5 Prospects have so much greater value than Top 10 or Top 20 Prospects. No matter how many times you say it, the Dodgers did not have the collateral. And, even if they did, they should not have burned them.
2. Mason Miller has made it clear he wants to start next year.
3. We are watching the Padres ship stink… er’ sink.
So far both Ohtani ABs. Ended with a ‘wow’
They flipped the switch.
vesia still looks tired. henriquez looks like triple A. dryer finally put out the fire! Trienan was not bad! bloop hit? we’ll take it! Hope the bats don’t go silent tomorrow!! finish it off!!!