Red hot and blue: The Dodgers are dominating baseball

How good are the Los Angeles Dodgers this year?

For starters, the Blue Crew has a record of 85-34 and they’re ahead in the National League West division by a ridiculous 18.5 games – their biggest lead ever, Brooklyn Dodgers included.

This team is on pace to shatter the franchise record for wins in a season, which is 105. And it has a good shot to break the all-time record for wins by any team (the 1906 Chicago Cubs and the 2001 Seattle Mariners each won 116).

The Dodgers are also on track to break team records for home runs, runs scored and striking out opposing batters.

It’s been a thrilling ride for Dodgers fans, at least those who have been able to make it out to Chavez Ravine, and those who aren’t blacked out of TV games because of the long-running impasse involving the team’s cable channel.

Of course, ask any fan and they’ll tell you the season won’t be a total success unless the Dodgers win the club’s first World Series in nearly 30 years.

But that’s still ahead. As they march inexorably to the postseason, the mood is ebullient in Dodgerville.

CJ Silas hosts a show and a podcast for ESPN Radio 1280 in San Luis Obispo, and she’s a lifelong Dodger fan. She says there is something magic in the air at Dodger Stadium this year:

“A lot of people are bringing up ’88, the last time they won the World Series, 1981, with Fernando Valenzuela, which is in my time one of the best seasons ever,” Silas says. “So historically, there are probably four or five seasons that can all be compared to know. But remember, the game has changed. The players are more athletic, they (have) higher quality nutrition in their lives, they’re doing more recovery. It’s a different sport because the athletes are such a higher level now.”