Remember a little while ago when the Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Giants were all pretty close to each other in the NL West standings? Yeah, the Dodgers decided there wasn't gonna be any drama this year.
It is looking like, once again, the Dodgers will be taking the division, having only lost two games in August, and having pulled 12 games ahead of the nearest competition [the Giants]. And while I liked the tension of having the Giants and D-Backs ahead in the division at certain points, all of that is gone because both of those teams have lost a bunch of momentum. The Giants are trying their best, and Kyle Harrison did a decent enough job in his first start, but unless the Dodgers completely fall apart, which is unlikely, there's not gonna be any catching up.
What this all tells me is that everything the Dodgers needed at the deadline, they got, and those pieces did exactly what they're supposed to. Miguel Vargas wasn't working at 2nd, but now both Enrique Hernandez and Amed Rosario are excellent upgrades both defensively and, in Rosario's case, power-wise. After a limp year in Cleveland, Rosario's issues at the plate seem to have been curtailed, and he's got 12 RBIs and 3 homers through 19 games. Too many starters were unpolished options, now you've got Lance Lynn pitching like he used to before his 2022 arm troubles. Lynn is 3-0 with a 1.44 ERA in 4 starts for LA. This is the kind of Lance Lynn performance the Dodgers wanted, and they're getting it.
Plus, a lot of the guys that took a while to figure things out have built up decent seasons. David Peralta is now hitting .275, and is playing outstanding defense. Miguel Rojas is also having the kind of defensive season that's at least keeping him at SS despite weaker offensive numbers. James Outman, after a quality dip in June, is now the kind of hard-hitting outfielder the prospectors were excited about, with 52 RBIs and 15 homers in his rookie season so far. Outman may be striking out a bit too much, and he may only be hitting .250, but he's establishing solid power numbers and has been a big part of this Dodgers team's intimidation. Freeman, Betts, Muncy and Martinez are scary enough, but if you've got this rookie who can hit just as well, that's even scarier, cause that's the next 5 or 6 years for ya, if he keeps it up.
The Dodgers are looking pretty unbeatable this year, but that is, ultimately, how they always look. In years like this, where they rack up wins in the regular season, the bottom usually falls out before the World Series. Sometimes they do make it work, but they've only won the whole thing once with this regime. Even with Betts, Freeman, Kershaw and Urias all delivering their best work, you can't predict if this momentum's going to last, and if the guys they go up against in October are gonna strike said momentum before they do. I think the Dodgers do have a shot this year, but they need to fight this 'unsinkable' image that's doomed them so many times before. Being 12 games ahead may not help that, sadly.
Coming Tomorrow- Was not expecting this guy to have the best season of any Baltimore starter, but am grateful regardless.
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