The Dodgers Have the Best Record in Baseball and Higher Expectations Than Ever. Can They Win it All This Year?

Here we go again.

Decoy Ohtani high fives his dad after throwing out the first pitch on their bobblehead night (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Hi friends-

The playoffs are a month away. It is time to talk about the Dodgers.

As we all know, the Dodgers have a recent habit of winning a billion games during the regular season. Did you know that only three teams in North American sports have current streaks of at least 13 consecutive winning seasons? The Dodgers are one (13), the Yankees are another (31!), and would you believe the Clippers are the third? (Also 13).

Here’s what these three franchises have to show for their consistent regular season success since 2010:

• Dodgers: Three World Series appearances, one ring.

• Yankees: Zero World Series appearances, zero rings.

• Clippers: Zero NBA Finals appearances, zero rings.

Sustained success is supposed to bring titles. At least that’s what Jerry Dipoto said when he infuriated the entire Mariners’ fanbase by explaining his goal was to win 54% of all games because aiming for a B- every year was the best long-term strategy to game winning a World Series. Dipoto’s line of thinking is that when GMs push too hard to win now it ultimately hurts their team’s chances of winning it all because they might not be as good in the future.

We know this is hogwash, as evidenced by the fact that Dave Dombrowski—who loves to trade prospects and sign big stars—has won two titles with two different teams and may win a third with the Phillies this year. (He probably would have won one with Philadelphia last year had the team not employed Craig Kimbrel).

Anyway, after Andrew Friedman futzed around and used a lame Dipoto-like strategy of not trading for anyone of value at the 2023 deadline and subsequently watched Lance Lynn tie an MLB record by giving up four consecutive home runs in an elimination game to end the Dodgers season, he got off his ass last winter and pushed all the Dodgers chips into the center of the table. Finally.

First, he signed Shohei Ohtani to a ten-year contract worth $700 million. Then he traded promising young starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot to the Rays for their ace Tyler Glasnow—and extended his contract. Then he inked the best free agent starting pitcher on the market, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, to a $12 year deal worth $325 million.

(Friedman was able to do all of this because he let Corey Seager, Trea Turner, Cody Bellinger, Max Scherzer, Yu Darvish, and Manny Machado all walk. Contrary to popular belief, the Friedman Dodgers have been so averse to spending huge money on star free agents that Friedman himself has never in his life given a Scott Boras contract a deal that lasted longer than a year).

Anyway, this season was supposed to be a boat race for LA from beginning to end. But because this is the Dodgers we’re talking about, all their pitchers got hurt, and the might not even win their division.

With Glasnow, Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Bobby Miller, and Walker Buehler all dealing with nagging injuries this season and Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Emmett Sheehan, Kyle Hurt and Ohtani all unable to throw a pitch in 2024, Friedman did not sit back at the deadline this year and hope for the best.

He added a resurgent Jack Flaherty, as well as the versatile IF/OF Tommy Edman to help fill holes at shortstop and in centerfield. He also traded for MIchael Kopech, who suddenly looks like Charlie Sheen’s character in Major League after being fitted for proper eyeglasses. Kopech has faced 42 hitters as a Dodger so far and has struck out 16 of them. (That’s a 40% K rate. The MLB average was 22.7% last season). Kopech has allowed three hits and just one run in 13.1 IP.

A rash of league-wide injuries to top teams as well as the new wild card format disincentivizing any owner from trying to win 100 games has led to a complete clusterf—k in the standings, which currently look like this:

Dodgers 79-54

Phillies 78-55

Yankees 78-56

Baltimore 77-57

Milwaukee 76-56

Arizona 76-57

Cleveland 76-58

San Diego 76-59

Kansas City 75-59

The Royals lost 106 games in 2023. They are 4.5 games out of having the best record in baseball In 2024. I’m fairly certain these nine teams will be among the 12(!) that make the playoffs, but we have no idea what the seedings will look like.

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

What does this have to do with the Dodgers?