Dodgers looking for opponent in World Series
Look to the west. Literally. Figuratively. Seriously.
See the best current team in sports. Observe a franchise doing almost everything right and refusing to settle for second place. Be overwhelmed by the constant winning that never seems to end and a club that hits, pitches (and spends) like it’s destined to hoist the 2017 World Series trophy before the baseball world.
Look to the west and hear this from the 85-34 Los Angeles Dodgers in mid-August: “We’ll see you in the World Series.”
I know Yasiel Puig dealt with some immaturity issues when he first appeared in the majors,
and proclaiming a Series appearance before September could come back to haunt a franchise that hasn’t exactly delivered the last four postseasons.
But if I was Puig — after a thrilling walkoff, with win No. 85 glued to the board — I would have been tempted to smile and say the same exact thing.
The Dodgers are that good. Oops. That was a typo. The Dodgers are that great.
They’re on pace for 116 victories, which has happened twice in baseball history (2001 Mariners, 1906 Cubs). That Chicago team played 111 years ago and preceded a 108-year World Series title drought, which gives you a good idea of how insane L.A.’s 2017 run has been.
Since dropping three consecutive games and being 35-25 on June 6, the team with the highest payroll in Major League Baseball ($256 million) has rolled off an astounding 50-9 mark and jumped out to a nearly insurmountable 12-game lead for the best record in baseball.
Hot without Kershaw
I made it this far without even mentioning the club that once owned that boast. That tells you the depth of the divide that separates the Astros (7447) from the Dodgers.
In the spirit of fairness, I should also point out that Clayton Kershaw (15-2, 2.04 ERA, 0.88 WHIP) hasn’t recorded a major league inning since July 23. Which means that while the Astros slid backward when their ace went on the disabled list and then struggled in his return, Los Angeles has just kept winning and winning and winning without the best pitcher in baseball.
One current stat in the Astros’ favor: Jose Altuve leads MLB in batting average (.361). Thus, National League-leader Justin Turner (.345) is officially second to the Astros’ MVP candidate.
I’m sure I’ll receive 15 messages reminding me that the ’01 Mariners went 116-46, then crashed in the American League Championship Series against the absolutely loaded New York Yankees (who fell to the Randy Johnson-Curt Schilling Diamondbacks in the World Series). Trust me: I know. The Dodgers could win all 43 regular-season games that remain, hold home-field advantage through the Series and still face-plant in the NLDS. Kershaw has a 4.55 career postseason ERA and hasn’t exactly been Mr. Reliable in the playoffs. The last four seasons have seen Los Angeles fall in the NLCS and Division Series twice apiece, and Washington might be good enough with a healthy, on-fire Bryce Harper to … Oh, whatever. The Dodgers’ offense ranks second in MLB in OBP, third in OPS, fifth in runs and seventh in home runs. The pitching staff leads baseball in ERA (starters first, relievers second) and batting average against. And even with Adrian Gonzalez, Andre Ethier, Scott Kazmir and Kershaw on the DL, everyone from Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager to Alex Wood and Kenley Jansen have the big-lights city out west dreaming of winning its first World Series championship since Kirk Gibson magically bombed Dennis Eckersley in 1988.
Loads of offense
I’ll now point out the Astros’ lineup can bombard anyone in the game — except when it’s getting blanked 4-0 by Arizona on Thursday at Minute Maid Park — and tops MLB in everything from runs and hits to home runs, OPS and total bases.
That’s right: The Astros’ offense is better than the Dodgers’. And if the American League’s best team can get its act back together — 14-18 since the All-Star break — in time for October, we could be staring at one heck of a cross-country World Series in 2017.
The seemingly unbeatable Dodgers versus Carlos Correa, George Springer, Altuve and Co. The biggest spender in the game against a franchise that continues to balance win-it-all-now with contend for a decade.
Everything the Astros do the rest of this season will be shadowed by the Dodgers.
“We’ll see you in the World Series.”
We’ll see — for both teams.