![]() The loss to the Astros was by far harder to take, given the mistakes that were made in order to lose Game 5 and 7. Two World Series appearances in a row and two losses seems pretty hard. And they look like they will be the only other team that wants to win this year in the NL West, outside of a Padres surprise. The Rockies were a good team and definitely deserved to win the division. It felt good to have Walker Buehler on the mound for that game as one of the more dominant pitchers in baseball down the stretch. And how could there not be any doubt going into Game 163? ![]() The Rockies were the bigger threat as the season played on and I had conceded the fact that the Dodgers would have to settle for the wild card when the Rockies had a one-game lead heading into the last series of the year. The Diamondbacks looked like they might be the team to win the division when they had control for a while, but they found a way to delightfully mess it up. The bad start created an uphill climb that the Dodgers had to fight to get out from underneath. If I’m being completely honest, there was real doubt all year long. Were those in Dodgers-land ever in any real doubt? Remember that this answer is going up on a Rockies site. The Rockies took your division title streak to the brink last year. It just wasn’t Rich Hill’s time to leave the game yet. Say what you want about the platoons and lineup adjustments, the Dodgers were within a few outs of tying the series when they had a 4-0 lead as they entered the seventh. Without Muncy, the offense would’ve had some struggles that surely would’ve cost the Dodgers the division.Īs for the World Series, the Red Sox were just the better team. The SpongeBob-like first baseman smashed 35 homers with a. The Dodgers have had good success with finding those guys over the last few years and Max Muncy was the surprise of 2018. (We won’t discuss Stripling’s performance in that All-Star appearance.)Įvery professional sports team is looking for a guy that comes out of nowhere to put up big numbers. It helps when a guy like Ross Stripling can start the year in the bullpen and step into the rotation to reel off a 2.01 ERA in 13 starts leading up to making the All-Star team. The incredible depth in the organization allowed them to get through injuries all season long, including the diminishing Clayton Kershaw spending two long trips on the injured list. The pitching was solid throughout the year, especially the starters who finished with the second lowest ERA in baseball (3.19), behind only the Astros (3.16). That’s a 101-win pace if they played that way from the start. Getting Justin Turner back on May 15 was what eventually pushed the team to play better, going 76-45 over their last 121 games. Overall, they lost 10 of 13 games to the not very good Marlins and Reds (1-6 vs Cincinnati) and couldn’t seem to get out of their own way. There was always a feeling they would turn it around at some point, but watching them lose 16 of 21 between late April and the middle of May didn’t exactly instill confidence in what was ahead for the 16-26 last-place Dodgers. There was no telling what team would show up each night. It’s hard to say a whole lot went wrong in a year that resulted in sixth straight division title and a second consecutive trip to the World Series, but they had their share of ups and downs all season. What went right for the Dodgers in 2018? What, ultimately, went wrong?Ģ018 was a test of patience for those interested in the Dodgers. The following has been edited for length and clarity. We asked Ryan Walton of True Blue LA to answer a few questions for us about the upcoming Los Angeles Dodgers season. Instead of trying to figure out what we need to know about them ourselves, we thought it would be a good idea to ask our friends at our neighbors here at SBNation to help catch us up. With the 2019 season just around the corner, it’s time to catch up with the other teams around the division.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |