This season for the Los Angeles Dodgers has been magical. Every move they’ve made has come up aces. Their late inning heroics are unparalleled in recent times. They are a frightening team to see on your upcoming schedule. The Dodgers could very well be the first team since the 2001 Mariners to break the 110 win threshold. Yet for some Dodgers fans, like myself, there is a second type of fear looming. A fear that this whirling dervish of a season is going to end badly. I needn’t look further than the three I’s for that sense of trepidation. And no, I am not making reference to Kurt Angle’s Attitude Era mantra. Instead these three I’s I will address are injuries, inexperience, and indecision.
INJURIES
Injuries are a fact of life. In sports, they are going to happen to everybody. But for the Dodgers, trips to the disabled list have been a more than regular occurrence this year. Every current starter, as well as three other starting pitchers, has spent at least one stint on the disabled list. Now most of them will be off the shelf before the playoffs, but that lingering specter of injury haunts one of the most talented units in all of baseball. Staff ace Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to return Friday from his sojourn, a most welcome sight. But there is still plenty to worry about when it comes to breakout lefty Alex Wood and Brandon McCarthy. It isn’t just the pitchers though us fans are worrying about.
The pickup of Curtis Granderson makes for a more than adequate stopgap, but this offense has looked vastly different since rookie sensation Cody Bellinger hit the disabled list. Do they need him back to right the ship or will somebody else up their game that extra bit to compensate? We’ll see. Overall though, the question remains. Will this team at any less than 100% be able to win the World Series?
INEXPERIENCE
The Dodgers have been a regular playoff participant for the better part of this past decade. The NL West has basically been a game of see-saw between them and the Giants. They have plenty of players with postseason experience. While some of that experience hasn’t gone so well for some of LA’s bigger names, those October games are invaluable belt notches. Heading towards the 2017 postseason though, there is a good chunk of this squad taking their first crack at the MLB’s second season. The aforementioned Bellinger has set the National League on fire, but will he, especially carrying a knock now, crack under the bright lights of the postseason? The same question goes for Chris Taylor, a man that has risen from obscurity to be one of the Dodgers’ most dependable outfielders.
I personally think those two hitters will be fine. My inexperience centered worries focus more on the bullpen. Closer Kenley Jansen (20 1/3) nearly has more postseason innings than the rest of the bullpen combined (26 2/3). The Dodgers were aggressive at the trade deadline, but I still worry about the readiness of their seventh and eighth inning arms come October.
INDECISION
If not for the emergence of the Rockies and Diamondbacks, Dave Roberts would be a slam dunk back to back NL Manager of the Year. His infusion of new talent into a fairly set squad has been seamless. Nevertheless, the Dodgers’ manager has had his bouts with indecision this year that could cost them come October.
Knowing when to pull a pitcher, or not, is one of the most vital tenets of being a Major League manager. There have been numerous occasions throughout 2017 where Roberts’ hook has come far too quickly, or not nearly quickly enough. I know it is impossible for a manager to get every call to the bullpen correct. That isn’t what I am saying. But with the expectations heaped upon this club entering the season’s final months, every trip to the mound goes under a microscope. I’ve voiced my concerns in regards to the bullpen, but is it possible Roberts has similar reservations? “Having a guy work out of his own jam” is a noble cause for the baseball fan who is stuck in the 70’s, but in today’s game indecision gets you fired. And even if he wins 110 regular season games, poor pitcher management in October has felled more experienced managers before him.
Are the Dodgers favorites to win the World Series in your eyes? Will any of these three I’s be their downfall? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @sportsftb or myself @TREVORutley. Here’s to this paranoia being unfounded for the first time since 1988!