It's Time for Dodgers Disappointment Playoff Baseball

by Eric Fulton
After advancing to the World Series the past two years, the Los Angeles Dodgers, in the team’s seventh consecutive postseason, was poised to be the first team since the New York Yankees from the late 1990s and early 2000s to make it to at least three straight World Series. The Dodgers faced the Washington Nationals in the National League Division Series, a team who got off to a very rocky start, but was the best team in MLB from late May into the postseason.

Even though everyone had penciled in the Dodgers to once again make it to the National League Championship Series, the Nationals, who were led by their strong starting pitching (Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasberg, Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez), MVP candidate Anthony Rendon, speedster Trea Turner and young outfield sensation Juan Soto were a particularly strong foe.

Going into the series, the Dodgers had MVP candidate Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager, Max Muncy, Justin Turner and Joc Pederson. You could say it was another David vs. Goliath matchup. And, just like in Biblical times, David would find a way to win.
The Dodgers won 106 games in the regular season, but all of that was erased with the upset by the Nationals in the Division Series in five games. The 106 wins in 2019 was the most by a Dodgers team ever. They won the National League West by a wide margin, but when they had their chance to move on, they simply could not capitalize. Don’t get me wrong, I am going to give the Nationals a ton of credit. Washington was an underdog, and yet they proved why they were the best team throughout the summer.

In Game 5 of the Division Series, the Dodgers had home field advantage and they had a pitcher in Walker Buehler, who has been really good in the postseason. Buehler was also one of four Dodgers pitchers to win at least 10 games this season (Hyun-jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw and Kenta Maeda the others). Buehler was brilliant in game five going 6 and 2/3 innings giving up just one run. Manager Dave Roberts had a decision going to the seventh with the season on the line and it backfired majorly. He went to his veteran ace Clayton Kershaw, who has had a history of bad performances in the postseason. While it can be a great idea for some to put your best pitcher on the mound in a big situation, it may not be the greatest plan when that pitcher historically struggles.

Kershaw, who arguably is one of the 10 greatest regular season pitchers in baseball history, just isn’t the same pitcher in the postseason. He gave up back-to-back home runs to Rendon and Soto to tie the game at three.

The Dodgers had chances to win in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but couldn’t get it done. In the 10th inning, former Dodgers infielder Howie Kendrick burned his old team by hitting a grand slam to give Washington a 7-3 lead. In the home half of the inning when Nats outfielder Michael A. Taylor made a diving catch to end the game, it would be the nail that ended what could have been a special season for the Dodgers.

In some instances, an elimination like this would get managers/coaches fired. The Dodgers, however, aren’t going that route with Roberts. He has been a great manager for the Dodgers leading the team to four straight postseason appearances. The team has been the best in the National League for some time now and have done it with mostly players that have grown up in their farm system, but just can’t get over the hump.

The question is what moves they will make to finally get there. Last offseason, they traded a popular player in outfielder Yasiel Puig, which turned out to be a good decision. But expect most of the team to be intact for the 2020 season. One thing is certain, though, until this team can bring home a World Series title, they will merely be stuck in the good team conversation and not the great team conversation.  ​

---