Los Angeles Dodgers: A Second Half Worthy of a Storybook Ending
The Los Angeles Dodgers are pushing for a fourth straight postseason appearance and NL West title in as many years. If 2016 can be their year, it will be one for the history books.
First off, let’s start out with stating some of the impressive facts that have led to an inspiring run by the ball club.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently ahead of the San Francisco Giants in an even calendar year. This is significant because of a very daunting pattern that Dodgers fans will find no comfort in when it comes to their bitter rivals efforts; the Giants won the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
The Dodgers’ place atop the NL West right now is a fantastic thing, worthy of praise and respect from baseball pundits and fellow managements circles across the league. The club has faced more adversity than any baseball team not named the Bad News Bears would ever be expected to be confront.
A few days back when pitcher Scott Kazmir was placed on the disabled list, Los Angeles tied a major league record for sending their 27th man to a place no player wants to be. And it’s still only August.
The greatest casualty of all, of course, is the southpaw that, when healthy, reigns supreme over all other left-handed pitchers on planet earth, in Clayton Kershaw. The undoubted ace of this staff and a generational talent, Kershaw — already a three-time Cy Young winner at 28 — was perhaps having his finest season to date when a back injury shelved him.
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Such has been the story since late June. But that’s still just beneath the tip of the iceberg when it comes to why this team doing what they are doing is so special this season.
Despite missing all of this time, Kershaw ranks second on the club in total WAR at 5.0. Who is first you ask? A rookie shortstop, hitting well above .300 and second on the team with 22 home runs.
A season ending injury to Rockies’ shortstop Trevor Story has all but sealed Corey Seager‘s fate as this year’s National League Rookie of the Year. His .916 OPS ranks 12th in the NL and his 265 total bases fourth.
Though his freshman performance has thus far been very memorable, Seager is not the only rookie on this Dodgers squad making his mark. Let’s not forget a man by the name of Dave Roberts, who is in his first full season as a bench boss at the big league level. Given all the injuries Roberts has had to work around and other things like the sideshow surrounding Yasiel Puig‘s demotion, the significance of his work from within the dugout cannot be overlooked.
The Dodgers have started 14 different pitchers in 2016. Just when things felt like they were starting to normalize within a Kershaw-less rotation, Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson have all been moved to the DL within the last few weeks.
Right now, the rotation is solidified by Kenta Maeda at the top, who has been reliable all season so far in his MLB rookie campaign. After that, new acquisition Rich Hill, a washed-up Bud Norris and fellow rookies Julio Urias and Ross Stripling are helping to round things out.
Obviously, this group was anchored all of last year by Kershaw and Zack Greinke. The latter’s absence is something to consider, as well. Greinke lost the 2015 NL Cy Young award by a slight margin to Jake Arrieta. On this day in 2015 with Kershaw and Greinke carrying the club, Los Angeles was 68-56. They are now at 71-56, three additional games above .500 from where they were on this day a year ago.
Yet, through it all, the Dodgers are 41-36 (.532) with a healthy Kershaw pitching every five days and 30-20 (.600) in the 50 games they have played without their ace being in action. Truly remarkable.
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Another important thing to focus in on during the second half for the Dodgers is that the club is winning ball games right now with their bats. A club more renowned for their pitching in recent years, Los Angeles has been swatting their way to victories as of late.
A seven home run outburst versus Cincinnati in a 18-9 drubbing August 22 on the road is a small sample of their hot second half bats. Since the All-Star break, the Dodgers lead MLB in team slugging percentage (.464) and are second in AVG (.274), total bases (601) and runs scored (195).
Seager and Justin Turner themselves have been two of the hottest hitting players in the NL post All-Star break. Seager’s .384 AVG ranks second while Turner’s .341 ranks eighth and his 11 home runs rank second alongside the third highest OPS in the NL at 1.080.
Lastly, one reason, and perhaps the most important notation that has the Los Angeles Dodgers pulling off a storybook season in 2016, will be giving the inimitable Vin Scully a chance to call his boys in blue one last time in the postseason.
Scully, 88, has called games for the Dodgers since their days in Brooklyn. This is to be his final tour of duty. The legendary commentator scaled things back in 2016 as well, calling only home games for Los Angeles. But it’s been nearly three decades (1988) since Scully was able to call a game that saw his club clinch a pennant.
Every Dodger in the clubhouse is aware of Scully’s legacy, presence and just how special it would be to give him a proper and well deserved send-off. Barring a September collapse, things are looking favorable.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have a two game lead on the Giants as August winds down and there is promising news surrounding the possible return of Kershaw sometime in September.
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Even if a wild card berth is summoned, this Dodgers club has probably already overcome the biggest challenges they are going to face this calendar year. For the sake of Vin and company, a pennant in 2016 would be an amazing thing to witness — though their perseverance would hardly be shocking.