by
Greek Giant
Last night the Dodgers officially clinched the National League West division title, their 13th, in the past 14 seasons. It’s an astonishing feat and a testament to the excellence of the Giants fiercest rivals. It is also a testament to the relative futility of other NL West teams, the Giants included. We all know that the only non-Dodgers to win the West were the San Franciscans in 2021. But how on earth, in this modern day, does one team dominate like the Dodgers? It boggles the mind and, as always, it comes down to a combination of factors, ranging from the creation of the best front office in baseball to the evolution of LA into a destination, a brand for baseball players. The consistency is amazing. Personally, what impresses me the most about the Dodgers is their ability to keep drafting and developing quality players like Paul Pages and others and turn them into productive Major Leaguers for their team or trade chips to acquire the likes of Mookie Betts and others. No team is better at converting low draft picks into top of the line players and it is perhaps the principal reason they dominate the NL West. I would argue that with a more experienced Manager the Dodgers would have one at least one more and maybe two more (2017 and 2021) Wold Series.
For the Giants the final nine games of the season have become interesting thanks to the strong play and development of all the youngsters from Jonah Cox and Turner Hill to Bryce Eldridge, Drew Gilbert, and Christian Koss. The Giants are now a very athletic team with enthusiasm and gusto. They are fun to watch.
The Giants begin a three-game series against the Los Angelenos tonight down south and since the clinching was done yesterday we don’t have to witness the indignity of our hated rivals winning a championship against the orange and black. Tonight at 7:15 PM, Cesar Perdomo (0-1, 3.68 ERA) takes the mound for the Giants against Tyler Glasnow (4-1, 3.50 ERA). Expect the Dodgers to rest most or all of their starters and to utilize Glasnow, if he starts at all, for only a few innings.
For Saturday’s game the pitching matchup is listed as TBD for the Giants versus Tarik Skubal (10-7, 2.70 ERA). That game starts at 6:10 PM.
For Sunday’s 4:10 PM game neither team has listed a starting pitcher at press time.
I must end this post by saying that one of the casualties of the balanced schedule is that the traditional/classic rivalries have fewer games. I miss those. I think MLB needs to add a few more intra-divisional series and fewer inter-league games. We have lost the importance of each League’s characteristics with all the inter-league games and the addition of the DH to the NL. It has hurt the game, in my view.
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