Is it time to give up on the Dodgers?

The Dodgers have gotten off to a dreadfully bad start to the season, sitting 9 games below .500 at 17-26. They are barely hovering above last place in the division, and really starting to enter uncharted territory this season. Injuries are partly to blame (Kershaw, Seager, Turner in particular), but the bad start also highlights this team’s surprising lack of depth. Yes, they went to the World Series last year and somehow had a ridiculous regular season. Coming into the 2018 season, I had the Dodgers still winning the division. Something about this team, however, has never really sat well with me. For such a high-payroll organization, there seem to be a lot of mediocre players and holes in the lineup/rotation. The past 5 years have been defined by crushing disappointment and early postseason exits (with the exception of last year’s World Series loss). I just have a really hard time trying to figure out how to categorize the Dodgers. I always end up grouping them with the elite teams because of their continued regular season success. Maybe this is the year that the Dodgers affirm my belief that they are… dare I say it… overrated?!

For the Dodgers fans out there, it’s nothing personal. But I am officially giving up on the Dodgers and their ability to be a World Series contender. The 17-26 record, in my opinion, is more indicative than just a slow start. First off, the lineup is not very good. Cody Bellinger has come back down to Earth this season, hitting a respectable – but not otherworldly – .270 with 6 home runs. Corey Seager is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but he was only hitting .267 prior to that. Those two guys are young, and they both have bright futures ahead of them. But when they aren’t hitting like All-Stars, this lineup is exposed and weak. Chris Taylor, Yasmani Grandal, Matt Kemp, Enrique Hernandez, Puig, Pederson, Utley, and Forsythe are all not that good. They won’t win this team a championship. The only guy even capable of hitting like a star is Justin Turner, and he’s just returning from a wrist injury (very difficult for hitters to come back from, by the way). The Braves and Phillies have more fearsome lineups than Los Angeles does, believe it or not. The Dodgers are just stuck in a really weird position right now, and I can’t get behind it.

The rotation has plenty of question marks, too. Clayton Kershaw is obviously a generational talent, but he has low-key gone through serious injuries in each of the past 3 seasons. With him on the DL, who do the Dodgers turn to? Alex Wood – dependable, not an ace. Kenta Maeda, whose starts have been all over the place this season. Hyun-Jin Ryu is hurt once again. Rich Hill, who is back to pitching at a 6.20 ERA level. Ross Stripling. Walker Buehler. The Dodgers have the 4^th highest payroll in the majors! Last year people praised them for their pitching depth. Yes, I suppose when dinosaur Rich Hill is pitching well and Ross Stripling is able to throw no hitters you can say they have a deep rotation. But a lot of what these guys did last year are anomalies. It really shouldn’t surprise people to see the Dodgers struggle at trotting out quality arms every night. How are they expected to compete with a Verlander/Keuchel/Cole trio, or perhaps a Darvish/Lester/Hendricks? Elite teams have multiple elite arms; the Dodgers don’t.

There is still a whole lot of regular season left, and the NL West is pretty wide open. The Diamondbacks are reeling, especially with AJ Pollock expected to be sidelined for two months. The Rockies are, well, the Rockies – hit a lot of home runs, bad starting pitching, bad bullpen. The Giants are extremely devoid of starting pitching with Cueto on the 60-day DL. So, who knows? Maybe the Dodgers can stay within striking distance of the division and perhaps take the NL West crown once again. But mark my words, the Los Angeles Dodgers are done. Dunzo. Finished. They aren’t winning anything in the postseason. Give me the Braves and Phillies, the Cubs, the Nationals. By some miracle if the Dodgers make the postseason, they are going to get bounced pretty early this year. The front office in LA needs to take a long, hard look at this team and might need to make a major overhaul. The group of guys that are going out there on a nightly basis are not going to win anything. I’m giving up on them.