The NL West Moves Pretty Fast

(Had to. HAD to.)

So, uh...hot take. The Dodgers aren't doing too well this year.

I don't know how it happened. They didn't make a great deal of changes from the WS-contending 2017 squad. They added a still-hot Matt Kemp, they called up a strong Walker Buehler, and they put less of an emphasis on Pederson.

And yet...Kershaw, Ryu, Turner and Seager got injured, Bellinger slumped, the pitching staff inflated, and the rest of the NL West rose above them. The Dodgers, who have been consistently good for the past decade, need to cope with impending inadequacy.

The core of the team has descended into an okay bunch of players who've done better elsewhere, and they're resting on the laurels of people like Yasmani Grandal and Alex Wood, who can only do so much. This honestly proves how ineffective the Dodgers can be if the star players are removed...and if Kenley Jansen is off to a bad start. And it's sad, because there's a lot of passion on this team, and this is a team that, if everyone was healthy and playing well, could be right there with them. But the D-Backs, Rockies, and even the Giants, have a leg up on the Dodgers, and unless there's a sharp change, this is how it's going to be.

It's sad, because Walker Buehler just pitched a combined no-hitter, and he's got some legitimate promise as a pitcher. I sincerely hope he can help the team pick it up.

Coming Tomorrow- Catcher for...well, there's no other way to put it- the weirdest team in baseball this year.