Before the suspension of Manny Ramirez it was hard to find a person who didn't have the Dodgers representing the National League in the World Series. Now it's not so clear.
The Dodgers have now played seven games since losing Ramirez and they're 3-4. That's not a very good sign, but one good thing they have going for them is their division they play in.
The NL West is probably the weakest division in the National League and even without Ramirez, the Dodgers still have a great shot at winning that division. Besides the Giants, who they're 5-4 against, no team seems to even have a chance at making it close in the division race.
However, can they take their division crown to the World Series unlike last season? It's still very possible because Manny Ramirez will be back in plenty of time to get back into the thick of things when the postseason rolls around.
The two teams outside of the NL West that could definitely give the Dodgers problems in the postseason are the Cardinals, the Cubs, and the Mets. The Cardinals have looked solid all season and the Cubs are currently in the midst of a four-game winning streak. The Mets have looked average all season but there's still plenty of time for them to get hot.
Dodgers fans shouldn't panic because as bad as the Ramirez suspension looks, it's not the end of the world. All it means is the NL West race will be a little bit more interesting between the Giants and the Dodgers.
The bottom line is the Dodgers are no longer a great team for the next 43 games, they're just a good team. The good part is, the NL West is full of below average teams so a good team will still win that division and earn a spot in the postseason.
No comments:
Post a Comment