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MLB Dream Bracket: Who wins between the Reds and the Dodgers?

By Manny Gómez

LOS ANGELES, CA - 1985: Pete Rose #14 of the Cincinnati Reds pins down Mariano Duncan #25 of the Los Angeles Dodgers as he dives back to first base during a game at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - 1985: Pete Rose #14 of the Cincinnati Reds pins down Mariano Duncan #25 of the Los Angeles Dodgers as he dives back to first base during a game at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images) /

MLB Dream Bracket: Yankees vs Red Sox

Who Has the Better Pitching Staff?

To round up each team’s 26-man roster, each team also features a pitching staff of 11 starters and relievers. With that, here is the pitching staff for each team:

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Cincinnati Reds: Tom Seaver, Jim Maloney, Mario Soto, Jose Rijo, Aroldis Chapman, Randy Myers, Norm Charlton, Rob Dibble, John Franco, Don Gullett, and Johnny Cueto.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Sandy Koufax, Clayton Kershaw, Don Drysdale, Don Sutton, Kenley Jansen, Eric Gagne, Mike Marshall, Phil Regan, Fernando Valenzuela, Don Newcombe, and Orel Hershiser.

In pitching, you have a similar story, only it’s the Reds that lead in every category but two: W-L% and WAR. This comes as a surprise when you consider that the Dodgers feature a staff of guys like Kershaw, Koufax, Drysdale, etc. It seems that every arm out of Los Angeles is beyond elite.

That being said, the numbers don’t lie and this is how they fall.

When taking wins out of the equation, the Reds edge the Dodgers in both ERA and FIP. In fact, Cincinnati features a lifetime ERA of 3.11 and a FIP of 3.19, while the Dodgers have a 3.16 ERA and a 3.24 FIP.

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Considering that the difference in there is quite small, we have to allow win-stats to play a major role in the process of deciding who the best NL team is. In doing that, the Dodgers have the advantage as they feature a .576 W-L% versus the Reds’ .569.

What’s more, LA also has a 444.5 WAR versus the Reds’ 309.8, giving the Dodgers a distinct advantage when considering wins.

Now, while we ultimately made our decision in the AL by totaling WAR stats on both sides of the ball, we just can’ let that slide here. If we were to allow it, then the Reds would win because according to WAR, they’re worth about 39 more wins than the Dodgers.

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However, given that the Dodgers are better than the Reds in every offensive category except WAR and they take an advantage in the win-stats for pitching, we have to make the ultimate determination that Los Angeles will ultimately win and face off against the Yankees for the MLB Dream Bracket finals.

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