Dodgers News: MLB Insider Calls LA Overrated Ahead of Postseason
MLB Network insider, Harold Reynolds, joined the Dan Patrick Show to talk postseason baseball. They began by talking about the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers, because why wouldn’t you talk about the best team in baseball?
Patrick asked him a simple question: “How big of favorites are the Dodgers? And how big of favorites should they be?”
Reynolds, who’s been with the MLB Network since 2009, clearly isn’t a huge fan of the Dodgers.
“Well I think they’re probably highly favored,” Reynolds said, “but I think they’re overrated with the favoritism.”
Okay so an insider doesn’t think the team with the best record and run differential in baseball is the favorite. That’s okay. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. He must have a good reason for this belief, right?
“I’m a little concerned about their starting pitching,” Reynolds said. “I think the pitching is not where it was at. You lose Walker Buehler, that was a huge blow to them. And Scherzer’s now with the Mets. So you look at the staff from last year that didn’t get all the way there, they’re two down. I just don’t see it.”
Interesting. So he didn’t point to the injuries of Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Blake Treinen or Chris Taylor as a concern. He pointed to the fact that they’re without two of the starters from last season’s team, even though they won 111 games this year without Scherzer all year and Buehler for most of it.
But pitching wasn’t his only concern.
“The top three guys in the lineup I think have a chance to be all Hall of Fame potential players,” Reynolds said. “Mookie, Freddie Freeman, Trea Turner, incredible. But there’s a drop-off after that.”
So Reynolds doesn’t think Will Smith, one of the league’s best hitting catchers, is a threat come postseason time. He also doesn’t think Justin Turner, one of the hottest hitters in baseball in the second half of the season, is a worry for opposing pitchers. Nor is the power-hitting Max Muncy, or the rest of the lineup, including Cody Bellinger and Gavin Lux. Does he know the Dodgers had a +334 run differential this season, the league’s fourth-best since the beginning of the 20th century, and best since 1939?
Reynolds finished it off with a double down.
“I still think the Braves are the favorite in the National League,” Reynolds said. “The Braves are the best team in baseball.”
Definitely an interesting comment coming from someone who’s watched the Dodgers put together one of the best regular seasons in MLB history. But I guess everyone can’t be on your side, and the Dodgers should only use comments like this as motivation to turn one of the best regular seasons in MLB history into one of the best complete seasons the league has ever seen.
I think this just goes to show how good the NL and top of the AL are this year. If the best teams win, the Dodgers will have quite a task to win it all. Let’s go, Dodgers!
Winning Champioships is never easy. And if it wasn’t quite a task, it wouldn’t be so highly touted as to be called World Series Champions. And if the Dodgers don’t get it done then they don’t deserve to be champions. Simply put win or go home!
BUT THE VIG PROBLEM WE HAVE AND HAVE ALWAYS HAD PAST SEASONS AND NO OME TALKS ABOUT IS Dave Roberts decisions in post season always costs us games and even rings like in tge 7th game against the Astros we lost because of Roberts and no one else!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
In general, the analysts at MLB Network are not impressed with the Dodgers, none of their brackets call for the Dodgers to go all the way and only a couple have them making the WS and in both cases losing to Houston. Keep in mind, these are the same folks that pretty much to a man hailed the Soto trade and said the Padres would overtake the Dodgers this year. So maybe they are still “underestimating” the “overrated Dodgers.” We’ll see.
Have you noticed that while the betting odds favor the Dodgers, it seems almost everyone on media program is picking Astros or Braves. And many not having LAD even make World Series. Maybe it has to do with prior history of not closing it down and winning it all over the years except one. Maybe it is just lack of understanding the work and dedications the entire LAD organization has to put up a great team year after year. Anyway, it is put up or shut up and I hope LAD wins it all… and arm chair media types like Harold Reynolds can just fade away.
Reynolds is obviously a east coast homer. Very biased and lack of knowledge.
In a sense Reynolds is right. If the Dodgers win the WS it won’t really be because of shutdown starting pitching. It will be because of their offense and bullpen. The Dodgers’ ‘system’ will be for starters to go 4-5 innings. Probably no more than twice thru the order, then turn it over to bullpen. Meanwhile they have to score runs!
I really dont care what anyone thinks. Bottom line is that we had the best team in baseball this year and if we dont bring home a world series title, its going to hurt and people will say we choked. I will personally say that the Mets or the Braves would be a difficult series for LA. But if we play well, we can absolutely win it all this year. Go Dodgers!
Imagine if it was A Rod who said this.
East coast sports writers always dis the west coast teams of any sport. They are so biased toward east coast & midwest/southern teams it’s not even funny. That’s why I don’t listen to any sports programs originating from the east. While Aaron Judge’s home runs are a shining & huge accomplishment I know that if someone on the best coast (west) achieved the same thing they would not get near the coverage Judge does. The Dodgers have a great team and seem to have a very harmonious clubhouse. However, any team can have a string of bad luck in the postseason leading to losses that hurt. We shall see.
Sounds like a Bob Costas comment that lit Tommy Lasorda up in 1988.
Who is Reynolds? He is clearly ignorant.
I always thought Harold Reynolds was a lot of hot steam. His comments will be proven once again a lot of hot steam with no substance.
Harold Reynolds is a complete fool.
He’s a BIGTIME hater … Of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He’s one of the dumbest mlb “analysts” ever lol ?