In what’s starting to feel like an unfortunate October tradition, the Dodgers have once again choked in the playoffs.
Despite winning the National League West title and having the third-best record of any team in baseball this year, the Boys in Blue were swept in a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Dodgers have now failed to make it past the first round of the playoffs for two years straight — and three of the last five — causing fans and commentators to wonder what’s going on.
“It just doesn't seem like there was a sense of urgency or an edge,” says KLAC Sports Commentator Petros Papadakis. “They got punched in the nose, and then they just laid down. That's been the MO with this team.”
Things were rocky from the start. In the first inning of the series, Dodgers ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw gave up six runs. Notorious for his postseason yips, Kershaw was in especially poor form.
According to Papadakis, “A lot of people have not been shy about criticizing Clayton Kershaw's postseason performances. This [time] I think, even … his most sharp critics felt awful for the guy.”
This disastrous showing may also have been the last game of Kershaw’s career. Faced with a serious shoulder injury, he is likely to retire from the MLB.
Matt Moreno of the website Dodgers Blue says the writing is on the wall for Kershaw. “Physically he didn't have it. … His fastball velocity was down. His command was a lot more shaky than we're accustomed to seeing. … If I had to place a bet, I think retirement is probably the safest one.”
Two of the Dodgers’ other star players, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, had similarly disappointing postseasons. They only got one hit between the two of them against the Diamondbacks.
From Papadakis’ perspective, Betts seemed stoic and dispassionate in postgame interviews. “I think [it] rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, because it just didn't seem like that big of a deal to him.”
Team management also has some explaining to do. Some folks have begun to wonder whether Manager Dave Roberts and General Manager Andrew Friedman should be worried about their jobs. But Matt Moreno thinks the two don’t need to burnish their resumes quite yet.
“I think he's 100% safe in his position,” says Moreno in reference to Friedman. “And honestly, Dave Roberts I would put close to that as well.”
Repeat October surprises mean the Dodgers are in desperate need of a fresh approach. Both Moreno and Papadakis think that might be in the form of Angels pitcher Shohei Ohtani. With Kershaw likely out of the picture, the Dodgers need a new ace with Ohtani’s talent.
However, Ohtani underwent elbow surgery this year and won’t be able to pitch again until 2025. That means the Dodgers have to decide whether they’re willing to wait it out.
For Moreno, this puts the team in a tough spot. “It's stuck between a rock and a hard place of how much do they invest both financially and just in time in pursuing Ohtani — compared to maybe getting somebody like Jordan Yamamoto, another international free agent who's supposed to be a pretty good pitcher [who] would immediately provide a boost to their starting rotation.”
Either way, Moreno says, “It's going to be an interesting offseason for the team to say the least.”