Dodgers' Postseason Hopes: Are They Sleepwalking to Victory?

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the talk of baseball since the beginning of the season, and for good reason. They were the best team in baseball at the all-star break, and then they've been a 500-team since. You know, Kevin, we've seen this happen in sports before, whether it's the NFL or the NBA or the NHL, where teams that are just so much better on paper than everyone else get off to these big leads. And then sleepwalk, which is exactly what the Dodgers have done, especially in August and July. They've been a 500-team. This is probably, if you believe the Dodgers are going to win it all, the only and best time that you're going to be able to get them at this price, which is not significant plus money, but it is there. The plus money is there. Believe it or not, minus money at the start of the season, like minus 105. I'm of the belief that they are sleepwalking through this, and I'm not worried at all. I just wonder what has happened to their power, Kevin. The power from a lot of their guys has simply not been there. They're going to have the pitching, and the power is not going to win them the World Series, but it is a little bit alarming that Tucker and finally Freeman-Homard and Betts and Muncie, they've been missing a lot of power on their team. A lot of slug is the way that I would put it. Yeah, I think this is the greatest hindsight team we've ever seen, and that whatever happens, it'll become very obvious. Meaning if this team gets eliminated at any point before the World Series, there will be a group. I might be in the group, even if I don't belong in the group, who goes, of course they didn't win. They've been playing awful or mediocre baseball for a while. They're injured. The Tucker stuff didn't work, and on the other side of it, the other hindsight opinion is when they just win a third straight World Series, we'll go, what did you think was going to happen? Someone was going to beat this talented team, and this is why for me, and I've said this many, many, many, many, many times to my weekly co-host Gabe, this Dodger season is the last thing I want, which was a unexciting regular season. If you are going to put together what is supposed to be this dream team, this monster squad full of MVPs and Cy Youngs and post-season performers, B can't miss. Hunt down not 100 wins. No, no, no. Let's talk 105, 110. Instead of every year, just setting your watch to them going under their win total. It's boring because if people like us take the time to analyze what the Dodgers are now giving us on a nightly basis in August, in September, I think there is, at least for me, guys, a part of me that feels ridiculous. I'm wasting my time. Why does it really matter when they play poor baseball against St. Louis if in the opening round of an NLCS, they're facing Mizorowski in Milwaukee and it's pick because they're throwing the World Series MVP or the reigning two-time AL Cy Young, and then by the time it gets back to Los Angeles, they're minus 190 because it's Blake Snell or it's Tyler Glass now, or it's... So that's kind of the struggle for me with this Dodgers season is I didn't want it to be good. And that's what it is. It's a good season. Now, other Dodgers notes that we have to talk about is this Otani situation that he might be shut down for the entire season and him not throwing. I've been on the record of saying, I think Otani wants to pitch. I think the Dodgers don't want Otani to pitch, but does this change anything materially for you going into the postseason, whether or not he's pitching? Because I think his bats far more important to them than his arm is. Yeah, I don't know if they don't have full control over Otani, but this whole situation has been ridiculous. He has been clearly tired for a while and they have been clearly going to win the NL West for a while. And instead of giving him the time off that he needed at the dish, they proceeded to wonder when he's going to get back on the mound. Otani, again, I'm sure we'll talk about the MVP race. Part of the reason PCA is the MVP favorite is Otani's not been as good as he usually is.