Muncy Talks

 

I don't think anyone is surprised that the Dodgers are winning the NL West this year. That was a foregone conclusion after their very productive offseason. The surprise is just how a pedestrian of a season this turned out to be, despite everyone who joined this team. Most of the big free agency additions were supporting players. Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell, Kirby Yates, Tanner Scott, even Teoscar Hernandez honestly. It was a lot of smoke, and a lot of pieces that could have been keys to a championship if circumstances didn't land this team where it ended up. 

Whereas instead of the Dodgers getting to the postseason because of all these players they got contracts for this offseason, the Dodgers got to the postseason in spite of the majority of them not adding much. This is an underdog Dodgers team in this playoff scenario, and a Dodgers team that probably will have to be active during the Wild Card round, meaning they could be vulnerable immediately. How many people thought that was gonna happen when they signed Sasaki? He was gonna be the kill switch. And then he does okay for 9 starts and gets hurt, and they get to October with Emmet Sheehan and Hyeseong Kim in major roles. 

The only reason the Dodgers can get practically nothing from all of those contracts, plus partial years from Tyler Glasnow, Max Muncy, Tommy Edman, Will Smith and Michael Kopech, and STILL WIN THE NL WEST...is because they are the Dodgers. This team is built to withstand just about anything. All of this is keeping me from thinking they're a World Series team, but that doesn't mean they won't still end up there. They still have Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow in peak form. Plus, now they have to win it for Kershaw. Perfectly timed, that Clayton Kershaw, announcing his retirement a week and a half before the end of the season solely to establish stakes. Granted, Rob Manfred spoiled this a couple months ago by naming him to an All-Star team and having him get a royal walk to the dugout after it, but it's still a big deal. You can't just lose with Kershaw retiring, right? Though honestly wouldn't it be a great tribute to Kershaw's prime? Just choking hard in a divisional round?

[I know, I'm one to talk as a Yankee fan.]

Even with the injury issues, you still can't count this team out. Max Muncy was gone for a month and he's still a very crucial part of this lineup, with 19 homers and 68 RBIs in 98 games. Muncy has been way more of a factor in these teams than I ever would have thought in 2018, and the fact that he's become a perennial Dodgers hero as much as Betts or Freeman at this point is pretty cool. It's also nice to see Blake Snell making up for lost time, as he's 5-4 with a 2.44 ERA and 67 Ks in 10 starts. That is Blake Snell alright, even if he's been limited. Shohei's even been really effective on the mound, with a 3.29 ERA in 13 appearances. They're thinking of pitching him in relief in the postseason, or even eventually making him play the outfield or something. Go nuts, man.

The Dodgers are so well-built, and so deep, that even a decidedly down year, they're not completely out of the race. They'll probably be the third seed, meaning the Reds or Mets or whoever sneaks in is still gonna have to surprise them. There's still time for this team to heat up further and recapture their 2024 energy. They're just doing it from behind this time.

Coming Tomorrow- Further proof that missing time isn't a dealbreaker, a guy who was out for most of the season, came back a month and a half ago and has been absolutely electric.