Andrew Gonzalez
With Opening Day just 31 days away, Dodger fans are already clamoring about what might come of the 2015 season. Of course there are key factors that must be taken into account in order for our Boys in Blue to reach postseason glory. Here are my 5 keys for the Dodgers postseason success.
1: Bullpen
-The Dodgers bullpen was an inconsistent one throughout the regular season. During the NLDS, however, the bullpen became consistent but the wrong kind of consistent. They were consistently bad. The bullpen ERA ballooned to an almost 5.00 ERA during the Dodgers postseason run and the relievers gave up some big runs in big situations. During the offseason the new front office of the Dodgers immediately began looking for ways to improve the bullpen. One of the new relievers recently acquired was reliever Joel Peralta, the 38-year-old veteran from the Dominican Republic. Peralta’s career ERA sands at 3.92 including a bit of a down year for the righty at 4.41. Hopefully Peralta can have a solid year as the oldest pitcher in the Dodgers bullpen. In order for the Dodgers to make it deep into the playoffs their bullpen must play consistently well in 2015.
2: Clutch Hitting
-Throughout the season the Dodgers failed to pullout close games. The Dodgers consistently faltered if they were down past the 7th inning. None of the Dodgers big bats were able to pull through and rally for a late win. However, with the new acquisitions of Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick, that may change during the 2015 season. Kendrick had more than a few walk-off hits for the Angels last year including an 11th inning homer against the Rangers. Rollins is known for his clutch hitting and many Dodger fans know how great of a hitter he is in the postseason as we witnessed it while he played against us as a member of the Phillies in the 2008 playoffs. Rollins and Kendrick will no doubt provide some late game heroics next season as we’re sure to see some walk-off hits by both men.
3: Health
-The key to any winning team is health. The Dodgers were plagued with DL stints during the 2014 season. Kershaw, Ryu, Uribe, and Crawford are just a few of the names that suffered injuries last year. If the Dodgers look to be a true championship contender next year they’re key players must remain healthy.
4: Consistency in the Outfield
-With the trade of Matt Kemp and the possibility of an Andre Eithier trade looming, the Dodgers outfield traffic seems to be no longer present. If the Dodgers do trade Eithier, their outfield would most likely look something like Joc Pederson in CF, Yasiel Puig in RF and a platoon of Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke in LF. Kemp was probably the best hitter in baseball at the second half of last year so him no longer being here means the two youngsters Puig and Pederson must step up and provide the pop that Kemp provided. If Pederson can do what he did in the minors and if Puig can consistently play well then the Dodgers will be fine without Kemp. Crawford has played extremely well, when healthy, and Van Slyke is a great weapon to have against lefties. With 2/3 of the Dodgers outfield being young, they must not falter and need to hit and field consistently.
5: Clayton Edward Kershaw
-Kershaw was the most dominant pitcher last year. Number 22 won not only the CY Young Award, but also became the first pitcher in the NL to win the MVP since Bob Gibson in 1968. Clayton went 21-3 with a 1.77 ERA including 239 strikeouts. That was the regular season. During his two games in the NLDS against the Cardinals his ERA skyrocketed to 7.82. He gave up 11 runs in the postseason including 3 homeruns, while during the regular season he only gave up 9. Clayton Kershaw performing well during he postseason is the key to the Dodgers postseason. If the ace of the staff can’t perform during the playoffs, we won’t be seeing them in the World Series.
Those are my 5 keys to the Dodgers postseason success. Hopefully we’ll all be rejoicing as the new MLB Commissioner hands over the World Series trophy!
