Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA –There are two ways that you can look at the epic collapse of the 2022 Dodgers. First, you could shrug your shoulders and say, “That’s baseball.” Meaning that the unpredictability of the postseason does not necessarily guarantee that the best team ends up with the brass ring at the end of the carnival. Or, you could say that the Dodgers’ October failures are actually representative of something that is systemic in nature. That is, the way the Los Angeles Dodgers go about their business is fundamentally flawed. I think I fall between the two camps, but if I had to choose, I would lean toward the latter. You can’t have this much success in the regular season and this much failure in the postseason without something being awry. Let’s identify a couple of things right off the bat.
Too many vets?
The Dodgers’ roster is built on a few basic concepts that need to be looked at closely. First, the idea of depth. The Dodgers’ depth is almost legendary by now. Almost every position on the bench is filled by someone with big league bona fides. But we have to ask at what cost? Is the roster so packed with big leaguers that the hot youngster gets squeezed out? Where is the Dodgers’ version of the Guardians’ Oscar Gonzalez?
Miguel Vargas was added to the roster, but he was never given a chance to do anything in the postseason. Similarly, Dustin May was in the bullpen, but just sat around while the Dodgers went down to defeat. If you’re not going to use these guys, why even bother putting them on the roster? A larger focus on developing and promoting talent in-house might serve the roster better than having a team bloated with thirtysomething free agents.
Streaky players?
In addition, we have to ask ourselves how much of the Dodgers’ regular season success is predicated on streaky players? Mookie Betts, whom I adore as a talent, is nevertheless notoriously streaky. He will look like the best player on the planet for a month at a time, and then completely disappear for ten games. That is a big risk in the playoffs, where the more consistent performers can be counted on with more certainty. I’m sure the Dodgers will make the playoff again in 2023, but do I have any idea how Mookie will perform in October? Not a clue.
“Too Much” Depth?
Another thing depth gets you is a lot of regular season wins. This lineup murdered the fourth and fifth starters again and again and again. But in the postseason, you’re never going to see those lower-end pieces. How many of the team’s wins against the Padres were off Sean Manaea, a guy who Bob Melvin wouldn’t let get within a mile of the pitcher’s mound in October? The Padres, on the other hand, had three very good pitchers in Darvish, Snell, and Musgrove, a lockdown closer, a couple of great bullpen pieces, and a bunch of garbage otherwise. But it was that strategy that ended up winning the series. Maybe the Dodgers need to give up a few wins during the year to secure top-level talent in the front end.
Flawed Postseason Pitching Strategy?
We’ve seen it countless times, the most recent in the deciding game on Saturday night. The Dodgers’ management insistence on pulling starters way before their effectiveness is over. None of the starters in all four games pitched past the fifth inning. Granted Tony Gonsolin was never expected to do so, and Julio Urias ran into a bit of trouble in his fifth inning, but Kershaw and Anderson? Those guys were both on a run. Kershaw had retired nine straight. And TA had only give up a fifth inning walk in his last three innings. Why pull those guys? Because the analytics say so?
You have to learn from the past. There may have been a couple of times that a starter was left in too long, but most of the time it’s been the opposite for this team. Have we learned nothing from what happened to Blake Snell in 2020? Every time the bullpen door opens, there’s a chance that next guy might not have it. Or, as was the case on Saturday, the next three guys. Let these guys pitch until they show they can’t. At least give them 100 pitches to show what they can do.
The whole thing ends up snowballing on the bullpen, and by the end of the series, guys are spent or hitters have figured things out.
Nope. In the playoffs, we gotta let the big dogs hunt.
Easy on the arrogance?
Andrew Friedman has put together an amazing team (thanks to nearly 300 million dollars). But it’s not a perfect team. He needs to think why lesser teams have rings and he’s only got one. This little patch of land should have two or three titles by now. Friedman needs to ask himself honestly why it doesn’t.
Or he could just shrug and say, “That’s baseball.”
