Dodgers' Postseason Hopes: Are They Sleepwalking to Victory?
Craig, Tom and Kevin discuss the Dodgers' surprising season, their World Series chances, and the impact of Ohtani's injury in this insightful analysis.
Video Transcript
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the talk of baseball since the beginning of the season, and for good reason.
Mm-hmm.
They were the best team in baseball at the All-Star break.
Yeah.
And then they've been a 500 team since.
You know, Kevin, we've seen this happen in sports before, whether it's the NFL or the NBA or the NHL, where teams that are just so much better on paper than everyone else get off to these big leads and then sleepwalk, which is exactly what the Dodgers have done, especially in August.
In July, they've been a 500 team.
This is probably, if you believe the Dodgers are gonna win it all, the only and best time that you're gonna be able to get them at this price, which is, not significant plus money, but it is there.
The plus money is there, believe it or not.
Minus money at the start of the season, like minus 105.
I, I'm, I'm of the belief that they are sleepwalking through this and I'm not worried at all.
I just wonder what has happened to their power- Mm-hmm Kevin.
The power, from a lot of their guys has simply not been there.
They're gonna have the pitching, and the power's not gonna win them the World Series, but it is a little bit alarming that, Tucker and finally Freeman homered, and Betts and, Muncy and, you know, they've been missing a lot of power on their team.
A lot of slug is the way that I would put it.
Yeah, I think this is the greatest hindsight team we've ever seen, in that whatever happens, it'll become very obvious.
Meaning, if this team gets eliminated at any point before the World Series, there will be a group, I might be in the group even if I don't belong in the group, who goes, "Of course they didn't win, the They've been playing awful baseball, or mediocre baseball for a while.
They're injured.
The Tucker stuff didn't work."
And on the other side of it, the other h- hindsight opinion, is when they just win a third straight World Series, we'll go, "What did you think was gonna happen?"
Right.
Someone was gonna beat this talented team?
And this is why, for me, and I, I've, I, I've said this many, many, many, many, many times to, you know, my, weekly co-host Gabe, this Dodger season is the last thing I wanted, which was a unexciting regular season.
If you are going to put together what is supposed to be this dream team, this monster squad full of MVPs and Cy Youngs and postseason performers, be can't-miss.
Hunt down not 100 wins.
No, no, no, let's talk 105, 110, instead of every year just setting your watch to them going under their win total.
It's boring, because if people like us take the time to analyze what the Dodgers are now giving us on a nightly basis in August, in September, I think there is, at least for me, guys, a part of me that feels ridiculous and like I'm wasting my time.
Why does it really matter when they play poor baseball against St. Louis if in the opening round of an NLCS they're facing Miza-rowski in Milwaukee and it's pick because they're throwing the World Series MVP or the reigning two-time AL Cy Young?
And then by the time it gets back to Los Angeles, they're minus 190 because it's Blake Snell or it's Tyler Glasnow or it's- Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Y- So that's kind of the, the struggle for me with this Dodgers season, is I didn't want it to be good.
And that's, and that's what it is.
It's a good season.
Now, other Dodgers notes that we have to talk about is this Ohtani situation, that he might be shut down- Mm-hmm for the entire season and him not throwing.
I've been on the record of saying I think Ohtani wants to pitch.
I think the Dodgers don't want Ohtani to pitch.
But does this change anything materially for you going into the postseason, whether or not he's pitching?
Because I think his bat's far more important to them than his arm is.
Yeah.
I, I don't know if they, don't have full control over Ohtani, but this whole situation has been ridiculous.
He has been clearly tired for a while, and they have been clearly going to win the NL West for a while.
And instead of giving him the time off that he needed at the dish, they proceeded to wonder when he's gonna get back on the mound.
Ohtani, again, I'm sure we'll talk about the MVP race.
Part of the reason PCA's the MVP favorite is Ohtani's not been as good as he usually is.
