Just Wait Until Next Year…

I was thinking overnight. If a team that won 111 games, which is nearly an all time record and IS a franchise record, can’t win the World Series then:

1 What Dodger team can win the World Series going forward?

2 Is baseball a fluke?

Let me make myself perfectly clear, I have followed the Dodgers since the 1978 World Series, so I’m going nowhere. I will always follow the Dodgers.

Mark, I really enjoyed your article today. Your title, “Just wait until next year”, sure rings a bell to us fans of the “older variety” (late 40″s, Early 50″s). Good luck with your business ventures. Thanks for starting this site and keeping it alive for 20 yrs. I don’t post much but I sure enjoy reading the posts from the many knowledgeable fans. Hopefully you’ll make an appearance on the site now and then.

I Really enjoyed following the Dodgers this year even with the disappointment of losing in the playoffs. I’ll end by saying “just wait until next year”.

Anyone know if Jose is ok?

Or did his Padre friends all beat him up Sat night?

Mark, what an excellent analysis of who’s in and who should be out. Very well thought out with excellent points. I agree with practically every thing you said.

I have had a busy morning and want to comment on some of your thoughts, but little time. Tomorrow I will.

* But I will briefly share my concerns for areas that have concerned me the most. Like the outfield since we traded Pollock. The outfield needs a housecleaning. The rest of the team just some landscaping. I don’t like a group with poor batting, huge splits, that strike out 50% of the time. Trayce Thompson got a nice chance, started well and faded. And he’s hopeless against LHP. I don’t need a big splits guy that requires 2 players to play left field. I love CT3 but it’s time for him to be elsewhere. I’m not convinced that we need a swiss army knife type player, anymore, with the DH. I would sacrifice versatility for a solid everyday player. Gallo, really? Bellinger needs a major change of scenery. We have rationalized his value long enough. There are other outfielders, perhaps in-house, that are good, if not great, defenders, who hit better than .200. And cost less then 17 million. IOt’s time to see what our valued prospects can do. I like a switch hitter and Reynolds is an interesting idea. But Bellinger can’t hit, won’t hit and costs too much for premier defense.

I want Trea Turner back but not at Seager money. No to Bogarts, Correa, and Swanson. I do not see Lux at SS. He stays at 2nd for me with Amaya getting a shot. And call me dead crazy but I would consider if Turner leaves, moving Mookie to 2nd if Lux goes to short. Betts looks bored and lifeless sometimes now. He’s lost his MOJO. A change might invigorate him. His numbers would make him a premium 2nd baseman much more than a corner outfielder. When Cartaya is ready, I look at Smith at 3rd. In the meantime, Rios is Bigfoot? JT / Muncy? Same old song there. Arenado is a great thought.

Anyway Mark, thanks for the good summary today and what you do throughout the year with this site. I enjoy sharing ideas with the fans. Enjoy you’re time away and I look forward to when you return.

My first post was right away when I first got on this website today and I didn’t read Mark’s comments up top.

Mark, good luck with everything you’re doing. I wish you the best. See you when you get back. I will still be here, because I will always follow the Dodgers. Again good luck, wish you the best.

Good assessment but a tinkerer’s approach.

I am not a Dodger fan but I live here, follow the team and think I can be unemotional about them.

This team needs an overhaul, maybe not of players but attitude. The team is built for 162 games, not for the playoffs.

They are a button-down unemotional bunch, business like and without passion. They look like an All Star team without a superstar leader.

Justin Turner is done as a threat. Trea Turner in my humble op. looks like a deer in the headlights in the playoffs. He looks nervous at bat and the usually near flawless SS, boots balls and makes throwing mistakes in big games. Let him play on a last place team and achieve HoF stats, and he’ll look great, but I don’t want him in my fox hole.

Lux looks like an OF to me. Bellinger is done and Smith is first rate behind the plate. Freeman could be the team leader but he seems a little uncomfortable doing that.

I think the Dodgers need a streaky powerhitter who can carry you thru the playoffs (Soto, or Schwarber type). Mookie is great but keep him healthy and tell him to have fun and lighten the mood.

Pitching ?, where is Bueler next year. Urias needs to be treated like an Ace and start throwing like one in big games and get to the 7th inning. Roberts loves to play games with his staff but sometimes he over manages the relievers.

And then what’s up with Doc. Like Bobby Cox he can win his Division every year but his record and decisions-making in playoffs is frankly bad. Hard to fire a HoF manager but he needs to learn the right lessons and not just overreact to last year’s wrong ones.

Last year he ruined his pitching staff esp Urias in playoffs. This year he seemed shell shocked.

The team went into the playoffs without any challenge or worry, but they also got real cold their last series against Denver and with a bye on top of that their bats never recovered. The Padres relief staff completely dominated them.

The fix?? Don’t be afraid to add some pop and enthusiasm at the trade deadline; add some players who play with emotion even if they don’t seem “Dodger Blue” types. Machado, Soto, Alvarez in Houston, Harper and Rodriguez in Seattle plus others are leaders because they seem fearless to their teammates. Mookie and Freddie are quiet leaders. Perhaps Kershaw was this type but his best days are past.

Dave needs to inject more emotion into the clubhouse; after 162 games the team is flat and lackluster.

I want to see more fire at playoff time. Maybe Dave could get mad once in awhile and let his players see his passion not just his analytical precision.

I’m hoping for a Guardians/Phillies World Series because: I hate the Yankees because they are the Dodgers World Series rivals. I hate the Astros because they cheated against the Dodgers in 2017. I hate the Padres because they knocked out the Dodgers.

If it’s a Guardians/Phillies World Series I wonder how many people in this country will even watch.

Actually, I think he makes a great argument.

As I posted earlier, over the last ten years the Dodgers have a regular season winning percentage of .613 and a playuff winning percentage of .546. Considering that the teams they played in the post season were the best regular season teams, I’m inclined to think that the Dodgers have done pretty well in the playoffs.

Like everyone, I’d like to find something to blame this fiasco and come up with a solution. I don’t think the solution is different players, coaches or front office. The solution is to have the players perform at their peak performance levels whrn the playoffs come around. Easy to say but hard to implement.

We could stay on this site for days, and most of us would have our own opinions of Roberts and the Dodgers and what went wrong. Roberts has been explaining some of his reasoning online. I saw a story a little while ago about why he brought in Almonte and then the move to Vesia. This stuff is on fannation.com if you want to look it up. Go to MLB on their index and then click on the Dodgers. Also, an article with Friedman explaining why the 111-win season is important. You have to win to get there. And the Dodgers keep giving themselves that chance. As for Roberts, I have mixed feelings about Dave. I do not think he is a bad manager; he communicates with his players really well. I just think he is a mediocre in game strategist. I think he likes playing match-up way too much and does not go with the hot hand often enough. I think he should trust his starters more than he does, and he is sometimes too slow in reacting to situations that need immediate attention. I feel his catchers should be more proactive as to giving pitchers a blow when they make several bad pitches in a row.

The facts are simple. The Dodgers lost to a team they dominated in the regular season and it was ugly. The offense was colder than a mob hit stiff on ice. They could not get the big hit when they needed it, and they left enough runners on to fill a bus. The only starter who was clean and unscored on was Anderson. Kersh, 3, Urias, 3 and Gonsolin, 1, all gave up runs. Kersh put them behind, but the offense tied it. The bullpen lost all three games. Unusual because the pen was nails most of the season. The Padre pen on the other hand was unhittable. The Dodgers normal strategy of running up the starters pitch count and then pounce on the bullpen backfired totally in this series. Now it is back to the drawing board. The team as it is constructed right now is going to need an infusion of new blood. Guys we know for certain are out of here, Price, Kimbrel, Gallo and most likely Turner. On the bubble, Alberto, Bellinger, Thompson, Taylor, JT and Muncy. Pitchers most likely not returning, Heaney, Martin, Anderson, Duffy. Hudson, Buehler, Nelson, all on the mend from major surgeries. Both of the catchers, Freeman, Lux, Betts, Vargas, all locks to be back next year. There will be movement. Bank on it. The four free agent SS give the Dodgers some choices. I think Turner goes east. The Braves retain Swanson. Bogaerts and Correa are the two most likely signable by LA> But LA fans would revolt if they signed Correa. There are several older SS available who could mentor Amaya since I do not think he will hit enough to play right away. I like Iglesias who was with the Rockies this year. Solid defender with some pop and bat to ball skills. Also a good baserunner. Would be a lot cheaper than one of the high priced spreads.