Dodgers news: Postseason format, Mookie Betts, Mike Trout
The 12-team postseason format hasn’t worked out in the Dodgers favor so far.
Since the inception of the updated postseason layout in the 2022 season, the Dodgers have won just a single game during that span, dropping their previous six straight postseason games.
It hasn’t helped that the Dodgers received a five day grace period before their first postseason series, whereas their opponents were able to ride the momentum they gained from winning the wild card series, only needing no more than two days rest as a team.
This isn’t simply a Dodgers issue, but it’s a problem teams that are strong enough in the regular season to obtain a first round bye. (Editor’s note: Except for the Astros)
In the two seasons with a 12-team postseason format, just two of the top seed teams with first round byes made it to the Championship Series in 2022 and just one team, the Houston Astros, cracked the penultimate round this season.
J.P. Hoornstra of the Orange County Register proposes an idea that could fix the Dodgers’ underperformance on the biggest stage of the season:
“Here’s an idea for the two top-seeded teams in each league: Fill your five off-days with practice games. Keep the number of at-bats and quality of opposing pitchers high. Only next time, make sure it’s a game of consequence for one of the two teams on the field.”
Links
The 2023 Gold Glove nominees were recently announced for each league. Mookie Betts is once again nominated for a Gold Glove in right field, but he is also nominated for a utility Gold Glove for the first time in his career.
Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic writes about how Betts’ transition to the infield, mainly increasing his starts at second base and filling in at shortstop, which ultimately helped the Dodgers defense as a whole.
With soon-to-be 2023 American League MVP Shohei Ohtani’s future still in question, three time MVP Mike Trout’s future with the Angels is also uncertain, as it was reported that the Angels would be willing to trade their superstar outfielder if he insists on moving.
Michael Duarte of CBS Los Angeles listed the current odds for teams willing to land Trout. The Dodgers currently have the highest odds for acquiring Trout at 3/1.
When the Dodgers clinched their first of eleven consecutive postseason berths in 2013, they celebrated by jumping into the pool at Chase Field. Flash forward ten years, and the Diamondbacks celebrated their first NLDS series win in 16 years, celebrating by jumping into their home stadium’s pool.
The Philadelphia Phillies have a 2-1 advantage over Arizona in the NLCS and are looking to not only finish the job out west, but to celebrate the same way as the Dodgers of then and the Diamondbacks of now, per Chuck Schilken of the Los Angeles Times.
Ben Clemens of FanGraphs evaluated manager Dave Roberts’ season, handing him a report card for the way he handled the team throughout the regular season and in October. Roberts was given a C+ grade for how he managed the offense and a B- minus for managing the pitching staff.
