The demise of the Los Angeles Dodgers

Hardly six months after playing in the seventh game of the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers have fallen on hard times.

The DL is as crowded as the waiting room at the free clinic and players that had breakout years in 2017 are having breakdown years in 2018.

All-star shortstop Corey Seager is out for the year with a bum elbow, ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw is out with a sore biceps muscle and hasn’t seen his fastball lately, saddled with a 1-4 record.

Cody Bellinger, last year’s Rookie of the Year, is struggling through a sophomore slump and the once-vaunted bullpen has disintegrated before our eyes. Justin Turner played his first game of the season this week after breaking his wrist in spring training. Logan Forsythe was on the DL as well, nursing a bad shoulder.

Things are bad.

Whispers have started about Dave Roberts’ job.

Baseball writers are calling the Dodgers the biggest bust of the year, the team with the highest payroll and nothing to show for it.

Arizona has laid claim to the National League West and the Dodgers are floating near the bottom of the division standings with the likes of the San Diego Padres. LA is 8.5 games out of first place with no indications things will improve anytime soon.

Not that there haven’t been a few bright spots.

Matt Kemp, once thought to be trade bait, is hitting north of .300 and is playing an inspired left field. Rookie Walker Buehler is a flame-thrower, hitting the gun in the mid to upper 90s and showing flashes of brilliance. Yasmani Grandal is getting most starts behind the plate because he started with a hot bat. Grandal has cooled to a .270 clip but remains a better option than Austin Barnes, struggling at .222.

Then there’s the kids. Alex Verdugo had a long cup of coffee and showed he will hit in the bigs. Kyle Farmer and Max Muncy got a little playing time as well, and showed they are not far away from playing in the Show every day.

But guys like Chris Taylor (.234), Joc Pederson (.237), Yasiel Puig (.210), Kike Hernandez (.216) and Chase Utley (.250) are not putting it all together.

Starting pitching has not been any better. Hyun-Jin Ryu has been a bright spot at 3-0 with a 2.12 ERA and Buehler is 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA. Kershaw, Rich Hill, Kenta Maeda and Alex Wood have been disappointing.

The big controversy in Los Angeles the last few years has been how many people couldn’t catch the Dodgers on television because a dispute with the cable company.

That issue may die down this year.

Sweep of San Diego helps right LA ship

Nothing like a three-game sweep to lift a team's spirits.

The Dodgers pounded the Padres 13-4 last night to complete a three-game sweep of San Diego and record LA's fourth straight win.

The brooming of San Diego came with a roar as the Dodgers outscored the Padres 30-10 over the three-game set and evoked memories of last year's amazing run to the World Series.

The Dodgers will see if they can keep the bats warm this weekend when they host the Washington Nationals and face off against the likes of Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, two of the top hurlers in the league. Scoring against Washington figures to be a little tougher.

LA's offense has been ignited by Yasmani Grandal (.352), Matt Kemp (.347), Chase Utley (.343) and Cody Bellinger (.304). Corey Seager is hitting at .254 but is chopping at a .310 clip over his last seven games.

Grandal came into the season battling for playing time with Austin Barnes but has forced Dave Roberts to keep him in the lineup with a torrid start. Kemp, who the Dodgers tried to move after acquiring him from Atlanta, has forced the Dodgers to keep Andrew Toles in the minors and Joc Pederson on the bench.

Kemp was once an MVP candidate and is flashing signs of his early glory days with the Dodgers. He has solidified his position in left field and in the heart of the batting order.

Dodgers looking up at rest of NL West

Fourteen games into a 162-game season is a relatively small sampling.

But it's still a little unnerving that the Dodgers, reigning National League champions and five consecutive times NL West Division champs, are in last place in the division at 5-9 going into tonight's game in San Diego.

Twelve of the first 14 games have been against divison rivals San Francisco.and Arizona. The Dodgers have split with the Giants but the Diamondbacks had rattled off five straight over the Dodgers before Clayton Kershaw stopped the bleeding yesterday with a seven-inning, two-hit performance in a 7-2 victory.

Kershaw struck out 12 while Arizona's Zack Godley struggled with control, walking six over four innings. Kershaw relied heavily on his slider as an out pitch and was putting up a string of zeroes until Paul Goldschmidt took him deep.

Chris Taylor sparked the offense with a homer, double and three RBI and Yasiel Puig contributed with a two-run single to pace the Dodgers.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak and 11-game regular season skid against Arizona.

Of course, sandwiched in that regular season slump against Arizona was a three-game sweep by the Dodgers in the 2017 NLCS.

LA's path back to the World Series gets more difficult as the days go by. Arizona and Colorado are 11-4 and 9-8 respectively while the Padres, Giants and Dodgers are about five games off the early pace.

On the injury front, Logan Forsythe joined Justin Turner on the DL with shoulder inflammation, which means Chase Utley, Kike Hernandez and Kyle Farmer figure to get more playing time.

Dodgers still a little wobbly out of the gate

The Dodgers have stumbled out of the gate to start the 2018 season, splitting six meetings against the Giants, getting swept in a three-game set with Arizona and winning the first game of a two-game series against Oakland last night.

The Dodgers are 4-6 through the first 10 games while the Diamondbacks have jumped out to an 8-3 mark. 

On the mound, Clayton Kershaw is winless through three starts despite posting a 1.89 ERA. Closer Kenley Jansen has a 7.71 ERA in 4.2 innings of work but has started pitching to form the last few games, getting a pair of saves.

The starting rotation and the bullpen look solid, giving the Dodgers a strong crew working the mound. Kenta Maeda, Rich Hill, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Alex Wood have thrown well, giving Dave Roberts a solid five-man rotation.

Where the Dodgers are still working out the kinks is with the bats, where Chris Taylor, Yasiel Puig and Corey Seager are barely scrapping above the Mendoza line. Justin Turner is still on the DL with a broken wrist but the recycled Matt Kemp (.308), Chase Utley (.300), Cody Bellinger (.297) and Yasmani Grandal (.321) are starting to heat up on offense.

Taylor and Seager hit back-to-back dingers to open the game against Oakland last night and Kemp went yard for his first homer of the year in a Dodgers 4-0 win. 

Ryu tossed six innings of one-hit, shutout ball to get the win last night with Tony Cingrani, Ross Stripling and Jansen preserving the shutout.

Getting back to the World Series is not going to be easy. Arizona and San Francisco have upgraded to keep the Dodgers from winning a sixth straight division title.

Dodger pitchers come strong out of the gate

The first weekend of the 2018 season is in the books and if this opening performance against the Giants is any indication, the Dodgers will once again have a stellar pitching staff.

L.A. lost the first two games of the series by 1-0 scores as San Francisco's Joe Panik stunned the Dodgers on back-to-back outings.

But the silver lining in those two losses was the fact that Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood gave up only one run between them, with Kenley Jansen giving up the other.

The Dodgers earned a series split with a 5-0 win on Saturday and a 9-0 pummeling of San Francisco
on Sunday as Kenta Maeda pitched five innings of shutout ball and Rich Hill tossed six innings of shutout ball to notch a pair of wins.

Other than Jansen's solo HR to Panik, the Dodger bullpen pitched 10 innings of shutout ball. Scott Alexander, Pedro Baez, JT Chargois, Tony Cingrani, Josh Fields, Wilmer Font and Ross Stripling posted nothing but zeros.

Last night, Yasiel Puig had three hits and is looking solid and Cody Bellinger broke out with an opposite field dinger as the Dodgers piled on the Giants. San Francisco has a new look with Andrew McCutcheon in right and Evan Longoria at third and should be formidable when Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardziga return from injuries.

It's only four games, but I like our pitching and scoring 14 runs in two games after being shutout twice to start the season. Hopefully, Justin Turner's broken wrist will not keep him out of the lineup too long.

Redemption is theme for these Dodgers

Going into tonight's Game Seven against Houston, the Dodgers' roster is filled with players trying to make the final step to redemption -- World Series champion.

These are players once judged to be not ready for prime time who are now on the sport's biggest stage.

Let's start with Joc Pederson. Pederson came into the majors with a splash, hitting for power and making the All-Stars a few seasons ago. Then his hitting went south. Pitcher's figured out his go-for-broke swing and his numbers plummeted. He lost his spot in the outfield and was banished to the minors. He wasn't on the NLDS roster but Roberts played a hunch and put him on the NLCS roster. Pederson is hitting .316 in the playoffs and has gone yard three times in the Series.

Chris Taylor is another reclamation project. Playing three non-descript seasons with Seattle, Taylor showed no power. He retooled his swing and hit 21 homers this season and has gone yard three times in the post-season. More importantly, Taylor has been the catalyst of this offense at the leadoff spot.

Perhaps the most renowned of the reclamation projects is third-sacker Justin Turner, a journeyman with the Mets who arrived in LA in 2014. Turner also retooled his swing and has evolved into one of the game's leading hitters. Turner hit .322 this season with 21 dingers and has been the heart and soul of the Dodger lineup.

Yasiel Puig, who came on like gangbusters as a rookie in 2013 and in his second season in 2014, started to struggle in 2015. Puig was benched and sent to the minors last year but has come back with a vengeance. Puig had 28 homers and 74 RBI and discovered a new plate discipline. Puig is hitting .302 in the post-season with three homers.

Kike Hernandez, a journeyman outfielder who hit .212 during the regular season, has come alive in the post-season. Hernandez is hitting .302 in the post-season, highlighted by his three home run game against the Cubs.

Charlie Culberson spent most of the season in the minors, toiling in Oklahoma City. Then Corey Seager hurt his back and was left off the NLCS roster. Culberson suddenly found himself on the big stage and has not shrunk from the challenge. After getting only 13 at-bats in the regular season, Culberson is a sizzling 8-for-16 in the post-season and another option for Dave Roberts.

Kenta Maeda spent the regular season in the Dodger rotation, posting a 13-6 record and a 4.22 ERA. Maeda was sent to the bullpen for the playoffs and has responded like a champion. Maeda is 2-0, has appeared in nine games and has an 0.84 ERA as the middle relief anchor for the Dodgers.

Brandon Morrow is the main setup man to get the Dodgers to closer Kenley Jansen. Morrow has spent 11 seasons in the majors and never won more than 11 games as a starter. Morrow has appeared in every playoff game for the Dodgers and in every outing, except for the bizarre Game Five, has shut down his opponents. Solidifying one of the game's best bullpens, Morrow has been the glue for LA relievers.

Logan Forsythe had a disappointing season at the plate, hitting only .224 and making his acquisition from Tampa Bay look like a bust. In the post-season, however, Forsythe has made the trade look like a winner. Forsythe is hitting .294 in the playoffs and has delivered clutch hitting while playing a strong second base.

World Series goes Hollywood

They call it the Fall Classic.

Last year, the Cubs and Indians squared off in a seven-game series that went down to the wire with a dramatic Game Seven win for the Cubs, ending a historic 108-year drought.

Now we get the sequel -- and boy can Hollywood write a sequel.

Their backs to the wall, the Dodgers beat Houston ace Justin Verlander 3-1 on Halloween last night, forcing a Game Seven tonight in Chavez Ravine and a chance to end a 29-year drought.

Rich Hill went 4.2 innings to match Verlander in a 1-1 game the Dodgers broke open in the sixth, when Chris Taylor hit a jammed inside fastball down the right field line to score Austin Barnes, who opened the inning with a single to left.

Corey Seager then scored Chase Utley with a warning track fly out to right and the Dodgers were up 2-1 on Verlander, who was undefeated since joining the Astros at the trading deadline.

Joc Pederson provided an insurance run in the seventh inning with an opposite field home run off reliever Luke Gregorson and the Dodgers held a 3-1 lead going into the eighth frame. Pederson has gone yard three times in the World Series.

After Brandon Morrow, Tony Watson and Kenta Maeda patched together 2.1 innings of shutout ball, Dave Roberts called on Kenley Jansen to provide a six-out save, which he did in stellar fashion, retiring all six batters he faced, three of them on strikeouts.

A key point in the game came in the fifth inning when Roberts called on Morrow to get Alex Bregman with two outs and runners on second and third. Morrow induced Bregman to ground out to Seager at short and the threat was turned away.

Coming on the heels of Sunday's 13-12 extra inning loss in Houston, in which the Dodger bullpen was thrashed, last night's pitching performance by LA relievers justified Manager Dave Roberts' sticking with what got his team to the brink of the first World Series title since 1988.

After crushing it against Arizona and Chicago in the NLDS and NLCS, Dodger bats have been relatively quiet in the World Series. Chris Taylor has been the most timely hitter, coming up clutch when the Dodgers have needed it most.

Chase Utley got the start last night, scoring after being hit by a pitch and making a key defensive play at second base. Cody Bellinger, hitting a paltry .167 in the Series, came up with a critical scoop at first to stave off a Houston rally.

The Dodgers will send Yu Darvish to the hill tonight against Lance McCullers. Expect the entire Dodger pitching staff to be available in relief to try and pin down a championship.