Dodgers Struggles Irrelevant Come Playoff Time
The Dodgers have played ugly ball lately, but teams playing poorly go in often suddenly look good in baseball's playoffs.
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LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 19: Ronnie Belliard #3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates hitting a grandslam homerun bringing in Matt Kemp #27, Casey Blake #23, and James Loney #7 in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger stadium on September 19, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jacob de Golish/Getty Images)
Losing 11-1 to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates is ugly. But Monday was just the latest in a long line of ugly for the Dodgers — they just went 3-4 on a road trip against the two worst teams in baseball.
That has Dodgers fans thinking this team is going to return to the one-and-done form in the playoffs that has been the story of the franchise since 1988. Not true, the Dodgers are actually in a pretty good spot for the postseason. In baseball, past performance is no indication of what happens in the playoffs.
First, Joe Torre has been resting guys — Monday’s lineup had no Rafael Furcal, no Manny Ramirez, no Casey Blake. In for Blake was Mark Loretta, whose error opened the door to five early runs for the Pirates Monday. The team on the field is not the Dodgers team that earned the best record in the National League (and still has a two-and-a-half game lead with a week to play in that department), that team is getting some rest. This is a more makeshift lineup.
But the Dodgers need to be playing well going into the post-season, you say. That matters in football and the NBA, but not so much in baseball. Last year the Dodgers were just 4-5 in their last nine games going into the playoffs, but got deeper than they have in decades. Two years earlier in 2006, the Dodgers finished the season 9-1 then promptly went out and got swept by the Mets.
What is the key to winning in the playoffs? Tommy Lasorda has always said it’s the bullpen, and the Dodgers have the best one in baseball.
And nobody else is tearing it up in the National League either. The Dodgers are 5-5 in their last 10 games, the exact same record as the Cardinals, and St. Louis’ once dominant starting pitching is slumping. Then there is Philadelphia, who is 4-6 in their last 10 and has a bullpen that has just fallen apart, with closer Brad Lidge losing his job.
Sure, the Dodgers have issues, there are starting pitching questions and some key bats have been slumping. They have not looked like the team that was the best in baseball back in May. But they only need to return to that form for a short run, and that switch can be flipped. Just like Manny does a bat as he admires another home run.
