Will It Be Time For Dodgers Baseball?

     We are fast approaching Labor Day and the final stretch run in baseball. In only one division, the N.L. Central, is there truly a race for the automatic playoff bid. The defending World Champion Chicago Cubs--how strange that sounds----are being chased by the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers. Although the race isn't really over, the Cleveland Indians, the Cubs' last season's World Series opponent, have stretched out a 6 game lead over the Kansas City Royals.

     There is a solid race in the A.L Wild Card among the New York Yankees who currently lead the group; Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Minnesota Twins, Kansas City and Seattle Mariners are all above .500 while a host of below .500 teams--the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays are within 3 games of the final Wild Card spot.

     In the N.L Wild Card race, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies both have a 4 game lead over St. Louis and a 4.5 game lead over the Brewers. Arizona and Colorado had established themselves early in the season as the two teams most likely to be in the one game play in.

     Arizona and Colorado have had excellent seasons. Only two teams in the National League have better records than them--the N.L East leaders, the Washington Nationals, and the N.L. West leaders, the Los Angeles Dodgers. In any other season, Arizona and Colorado would be fighting for the N.L West crown along with the Wild Card spot. However, this is no ordinary season due to the Dodgers.

     L.A. has a 19 game lead on both teams, with the Dodgers having 42 more games to play while Arizona and Colorado have only 40 games each to complete. This is because the Dodgers have an incredible 86-34 record at this juncture. They have won nearly 72% of their games thus far--that is an astounding record.

     What has happened to create this monster season for the Dodgers? Let's first look at some team accomplishments. Sixty games ago, the Dodgers were 35-25. Suddenly, the Dodgers put everything together, compiling an unbelievable 51-9 mark.Even more compelling is the fact that the Dodgers have now won 37 straight games where they have scored more than 4 runs. By far, they have the best home record at 51-14; their road record is in the top 3, along with the Houston Astros and Washington--both have thus far played more game on the road than L.A. It has been 75 days since the Dodgers have lost a series and 96 days since they have lost a series on the road. It has been eons since a team has been more than 50 games over .500 this late in a season. The Dodgers are on a pace to exceed the 2001 Seattle Mariners' all-time record of 116 regular season wins in a 162 game schedule.  The National League record is held by the 1906 Cubs, who won 116 games in a 154 game schedule, finishing ahead of the New York Giants by a full 20 games. Seattle lost in the ALCS while the Cubs didn't have 2 playoff series to navigate to get to the World Series and they still lost the Series to the cross-town White Sox.

     When looking at the Dodgers' roster of position players, 3 names immediately stand out:  Justin Turner, Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager.  This core of the Dodgers represents why they are outhitting their opponents.

     Turner leads the N.L. in batting, sporting a .345 average. While his 17 homers and 55 runs batted in are not extraordinary, it is his OPS (On Base Percentage plus Slugging Percentage) which is--it is at 1.000. Only 4 MLB players have a better OPS than Turner. What this says is that when Turner gets on base--which he does frequently--he hits for power as well as a high batting average. Additionally, Turner has struck out just 38 times in nearly 400 plate appearances. He also has committed only 4 errors in 86 games at third base this season, providing sound fielding too.

     Corey Seager was the 2016 N.L. Rookie of the Year. The Dodgers' shortstop is following up that great start to his career with another solid year. Seager is batting .310 with 19 homers and 62 R.B.I. With Turner, the Dodgers have the best left side of an infield in the majors, one comparable to the Houston Astros' middle infield tandem of second baseman Jose Altuve and shortstop Carlos Correa.

     Then there is the phenom. Cody Bellinger is the overwhelming favorite to win the N.L Rookie of the Year award. All Bellinger has done is slug 34 home runs while amassing 79 R.B.I. His 34 homers are second in the N.L. to Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins who has smashed 44, and he is second to Aaron Judge of the Yankees among rookies. He has rotated between first base and the outfield due to a series of injuries to Dodgers' starters.

     The Dodgers are so loaded with talent that the mercurial Yasiel Puig, the Cuban-born outfielder with the great physique, outstanding power and a great arm, many times bats eighth in the lineup, just ahead of the pitcher. What makes the Dodgers so tough is that this lineup isn't full of all of the starters--first baseman Adrian Gonzalez returned to the playing field on Friday night in Detroit after an extended stay on the D.L. and veteran outfielder Andre Ethier is not projected to return to the team until September. The one chink in the lineup appears to be Joc Pederson, who burst on the scene hitting droves of home runs in 2015, but whose average has tailed off to .215 in 2017 with a pedestrian 11 homers and 33 R.B.I. This is why the Dodgers have acquired 36 year old outfielder Curtis Granderson from the New York Mets. Granderson has hit 20 homers in 2017 and 312 for his career, which makes him appear to be more reliable than Pederson.
   
     As good as L.A. is in hitting, it is their pitching which is the finest attribute. Right now, a number of Dodgers pitchers are injured or on the D.L. Leading the injured Dodgers' pitchers is ace Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw, who will be paid $34 million this season, is arguably one of the greatest pitchers of all time, evoking comparisons with Dodgers' Hall of Fame left-handed pitcher Sandy Koufax. His resume reads like a top Hall of Fame pitcher--3 Cy Yong Awards; 4 N.L. E.R.A. titles; 1 N.L. M.V.P. honor; 7 time All-Star; and nearly 2100 strikeouts over a 10 year career. Impressive stats.

     This season, Kershaw jumped out to a 15-2 start, with a 2.04 E.R.A. and 168 strikeouts. But back problems have sidelined him, most notably now he is on the D.L. until nearly the end of August. While Kershaw's career statistics in the post-season have not nearly matched his excellence in the regular season, the Dodgers need him at the top of their rotation to have a chance to win it all.

     Supplementing Kershaw is lefty Alex Wood. In any other year, Wood's 14-1 record and 2.30 E.R.A. would put him in the forefront for the N.L. Cy Young Award, he is the SECOND best pitcher on the staff by record and could easily be third in any post-season rotation after the Dodgers acquired Texas Rangers' ace Yu Davish in July. Quietly, righty Kenta Maeda has pitched to an 11-4 record with a 3.76 E.R.A. Fourth starter for now, Rich Hill is 9-4. Righty Brandon Mc Carthy has a 6-4 record but now is on the D.L. with a blister on his pitching hand and no time table for his return. Plus, Hyun-Jin Ryu has rejoined the rotation after being injured; the lefty is only 4-6 at this time. The Dodgers have a pleasant dilemma--when all are healthy, which 3 or 4 pitchers comprise the post-season rotation? And even if one is injured, they seemingly have enough depth that a very capable pitcher can step into a starter's role for the playoffs.

     The Dodgers' closer is Kenley Jansen. The big righthander with blazing fastball has recorded 32 saves thus far. In 55.1 innings pitched, Jansen has surrendered 33 hits including 4 homers, walked 5 batters while striking out 83 with a minuscule 1.35 E.R.A. His control is so dominant that he has only permitted 39 batters to reach base and he has thrown only 1 wild pitch.

     Also out of the bullpen are right handers Josh Fields and Brandon Morrow. They have pitched to a 10-0 record and each has an E.R.A. under 3.00. It seems that the Dodgers possess a solid, if not spectacular relief corps.

     Those relievers pitch to two very respectable catchers. Ysmani Grandal and Austin Barnes have combined to hit 21 homers and drive in 82 runs. Grandal is batting .263 while Barnes has hit at a .293 clip. The duo has only allowed 29 wild pitches and 14 passed balls; Dodgers pitchers overall rank either number one or number two in most every pitching category. The catchers also throw out a good number of those attempting to steal given the Dodgers' pitchers are good at holding base runners.

     It appears that Manager Dave Roberts has a very good squad which is seemingly well-equipped for the post-season. There is all around strength at every key position. While he is not hitting like he did when he was with the Philadelphia Phillies, 6 time All-Star Chase Utley brings  the intangible to the clubhouse--proven, veteran leadership with the knowledge how to win as evidenced by his 2008 World Series ring and his jarring 2015 playoff slide injuring Mets' shortstop Ruben Tejada.

     The bigger questions ahead of the Dodgers involve something similar to the Golden State Warriors two season ago---should they attempt to break the record for most wins in a season, or focus on getting everyone healthy and ready for October baseball? Will they succumb to the same fate as the Mariners, Cubs and Warriors, or will the Dodgers win the World Series when they should be prohibitive favorites?

     Only at the end of this year's World Series will the question be answered--was 2017 the time for Dodgers baseball?