At 18-25, Optimism Remains For The Dodgers Despite Everything
One win won’t solve the Dodgers problems, but when Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier both hit home runs and Clayton Kershaw twirls a gem, there’s reason for optimism.
Yes, the team is 18-25 and seven games behind the first place Arizona Diamondbacks, but of the six divisions, the Dodgers are separated from first place by the smallest amount.
Jon Morosi of FoxSports.com said Dodgers fans should still hold out hope for this season:
“As many issues as they have right now, I believe that getting Zack Greinke back into that rotation has the chance of creating that trickle-down effect.”
The win won’t cure the Dodgers offensive woes, but it gives you an idea of what the team could be. Kemp, Ethier, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford haven’t clicked together at any point this season as the Dodgers are ranked second to last in runs scored.
But getting on-base hasn’t been an issue, which means that they’re giving themselves chances to cash in. The more opportunities the middle of the lineup has to produce, the more likely their bats will wake up with runners in scoring position.
Kershaw, Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu have been great all season long and if Chris Capuano can build off his last start, the Dodgers rotation might be finally rounding into form.
Chances are the San Diego Padres will fade out of the race, but the other three teams in the NL West are formidable opponents. Thankfully, the second wild card is in place and last season that team had 88 wins. For the Dodgers to get to that point, they’d have to go 70-49 in their remaining 119 games.
Is it impossible to think that they can do it? No. Hopefully Hanley Ramirez gets back in a timely fashion and can be inserted into the middle of the Dodgers lineup. A seven game lead in May isn’t a huge deficit to overcome and if the Dodgers bats continue to heat up, the team will be in the thick of things come September.
