Tagged: Los Angeles Dodgers

3 reasons why: Dodgers will win the World Series

As the 2016 season approaches, I will be taking a look at the 10 teams with the best odds of winning the World Series and examining three reasons why each team may ultimately hoist the trophy. Today’s team:

Dodgers (14/1 odds to win World Series): The Dodgers have won the National League West each of the past three seasons. It’s not getting to the playoffs that’s the problem – it’s winning once October comes around. The Dodgers did not have the best off-season and fans in Los Angeles are certainly frustrated, but all hope is not lost. The club didn’t make big splashes – the type of moves fans loves, even though they don’t always work out – but the Dodgers are still very solid and a projection of 91 wins, per FanGraphs, is nothing to scoff at.

Clayton Kershaw: Clayton Kershaw’s postseason struggles have been well documented, but in the regular season, there is no one better. Over the last five seasons, Kershaw has thrown 198 or more innings with an ERA of 2.53 or better. Of course, Kershaw is probably the only part of the rotation Dodgers fans aren’t worried about. The loss of Zack Greinke hurts, but if everyone stays fairly healthy, the Dodgers should have enough pitching to be playing meaningful games late in the season.

Young talent up the middle: After hitting .337 in 27 games for the Dodgers last season, 21-year old Corey Seager was recently named the top prospect in all of baseball. Although it’s unlikely he hits that well again, he’s certainly proven that he belongs in the Major Leagues. Seager has immense talent and a full season of him in the lineup could do wonders to the Dodgers offense. Of course, Seager isn’t alone. Joc Pederson exploded in the first half last season before struggling in the second half. The 23-year old hit .230 with 20 homers prior to the All-Star break, then hit just .178 with six blasts in the second half. However growing pains are part of the process and likely taught Pederson a bit about what it takes to persevere through a grueling 162-game schedule. With the youth of Seager and Pederson, couple with the veteran leadership of Chase Utley and Howie Kendrick, the middle of the Dodgers defense is in pretty good shape.

Veteran leadership: Players like Seager and Pederson can provide youthful energy, but veteran leadership is important to any postseason run. Chase Utley knows what it takes to win a ring and both Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez have plenty of experience as well. Resigning Howie Kendrick was also a big move for this category as Kendrick will undoubtedly help out the clubhouse.

2 outs and no one on, a quick look at pitching efficiency in the NL West

The Jackson 5 may have sang “Easy as 123” but for a pitcher on the mound things aren’t quite as simple.

The goal is certainly to retire the side in order every time, but it doesn’t always happen that way and often that can be what separates a good pitcher from a great one.

Earlier this week, while watching the Atlanta Braves and Arizona Diamondbacks from the Chase Field press box, a colleague and I were discussing how many batters reach base with two on and no outs.

In that particular game the starting pitchers retired the first two batters faced in each of the first two innings, but in all four half innings the third batter reached (two of them scored).

Not only does allowing the third batter to reach open up the potential for a run to score, but it extends the inning.

If the pitcher retires the fourth batter of the inning, it may look like a “no harm, no foul situation,” but that’s not exactly the case.

The pitcher now has to throw more pitches, which if this situation happens of couple of times in a game, will certainly add up.

Those extra base runners could be the difference between a starter going five innings vs six or six vs seven, which then puts extra stress on the bullpens.

It’s a compounding problem and the more I thought about it the more curious I was so I looked up some numbers in the National League West.

It should come as no surprise the when there are two outs and none on the Los Angeles Dodgers, in first place in the division, have allowed opponents to hit just .229 (with an on-base percentage of .309).

Also to no surprise, Dodgers starters have pitched the most innings in the division with 337 1/3. Of course, having Clayton Kershaw in the rotation helps that number as well.

As for how the rest of the division pitches with none on and two outs …

Team (in order of standings) Opponent batting avg Opponent on-base % Starters innings pitched
San Francisco Giants 270 334 339 2/3
San Diego Padres 243 313 338
Arizona D-backs 251 315 310
Colorado Rockies 249 335 289

The numbers don’t align perfectly with the standings, but with the exception of the Giants it’s clear that the better teams are the ones that do a better job of getting out of innings as soon as possible.

Betting Odds for the 2015 Baseball Season

With Spring Training just about to begin, it’s that time of year where every fan base believes their team has a shot to win the World Series.

While some teams are more likely to win it then others, anything can happen and that’s what makes sports so enjoyable.

However, the odds of every team hoisting a trophy in late October are not all equal, which makes those surprise runs by teams no one saw coming all the more enjoyable to witness. But how do we know who the favorites and underdogs are? Well…

Bovada.com – a gambling website – has released its odds to win the AL, NL and World Series.

Bovada gives the Angels and Red Sox the best odds to win the AL, but the best odds to win the World Series are given to the Nationals and Dodgers.

Here’s a look at every team’s odds to win the World Series:

Washington Nationals 13/2

Los Angeles Dodgers 17/2

Boston Red Sox 10/1

Chicago Cubs 10/1

Los Angeles Angels 12/1

St. Louis Cardinals 12/1

San Diego Padres 14/1

Chicago White Sox 16/1

Detroit Tigers 16/1

San Francisco Giants 16/1

Seattle Mariners 16/1

Toronto Blue Jays 22/1

Oakland Athletics 25/1

Baltimore Orioles 28/1

New York Mets 28/1

New York Yankees 28/1

Cleveland Indians 33/1

Kansas City Royals 33/1

Miami Marlins 33/1

Pittsburgh Pirates 33/1

Houston Astros 50/1

Texas Rangers 50/1

Atlanta Braves 66/1

Cincinnati Reds 66/1

Milwaukee Brewers 66/1

Tampa Bay Rays 66/1

Arizona Diamondbacks 100/1

Minnesota Twins 100/1

Colorado Rockies 150/1

Philadelphia Phillies 150/1

Odds to win NL:

Nationals 13/4

Dodgers 19/4

Cubs 6/1

Padres 13/2

Cardinals 13/2

Giants 8/1

Mets 14/1

Pirates 14/1

Marlins 16/1

Braves 28/1

Reds 28/1

Brewers 33/1

Diamondbacks 50/1

Rockies 75/1

Phillies 75/1

Odds to win the AL:

Red Sox 11/2

Angels 11/2

White Sox 7/1

Mariners 7/1

Tigers 15/2

Blue Jays 10/1

Yankees 12/1

A’s 12/1

Orioles 14/1

Indians 14/1

Rangers 22/1

Astros 28/1

Rays 33/1

Twins 50/1

Quick Thoughts:

– I wonder when the last time the Mets and Yankees began the season with the same odds to win it all.

– Five of the top seven teams are in the NL, but three of bottom four are in NL as well.

– A World Series between the Angels and Dodgers isn’t too far fetched.

– In Bovada’s view, the NL appears to be top heavy, with the AL being the more balanced league. This is also reflected in the odds to win each league.

– The Cubs off season moves have certainly grabbed everyone’s attention.

– Not a ton of confidence in the Giants going back-to-back.

Is This California’s Year?

“Now let me welcome everybody to the wild, wild West. A state that’s untouchable like Eliot Ness”

Odds are Dr. Dre and Tupac weren’t thinking of baseball when they came out with “California Love,” but the song – which came out in 1996 – could also serve baseball fans as an introduction to the 2014 playoff races.

There will be great drama and meaningful games across the country throughout the remainder of the season, but it’s time for people to start staying up late and watching the great baseball taking place on the West Coast.

The 2014 season is shaping up to be the first ever in which four teams from California are simultaneously in the playoffs – sorry San Diego.

Twice (A’s, Angels, Giants in 2002 and A’s, Dodgers, Padres in 2006) California has had three teams in the playoffs, but that’s it.

Not only would four teams be historic, but it could also heighten the tension in the playoffs as intrastate series always produce a unique form of drama.

There is plenty of baseball left to be played and injuries or any number of unforeseen variables could alter the postseason picture, but as of now four California teams have tremendous odds of making the postseason.

According to Baseball Prospectus, Oakland has a 99.5 percent chance of making the postseason, Anaheim’s at 99.1 percent, Los Angeles at 84.0 and San Francisco at 78.2.

The A’s are a game and a half up on the Angels in the AL West while the Giants lead the Dodgers by a game in the NL West.

Undoubtedly expanded playoffs have provided this opportunity, but don’t let that discredit what is happening out West as there is some tremendous baseball being played out there. Three of the top four win percentages in baseball come from the state of California and four of the top 10.

The NL West race will be fun to watch for a multitude of reasons, but the simplest is because it’s the Giants and Dodgers.

Whenever those teams square off, tensions are high. Throw in a potential division crown and the nine remaining games between the team that has won two of the last four World Series and the team that has a league-high $242,128,402 payroll are sure to provide compelling story lines.

The A’s and Angels don’t have quite the same rivalry, but the AL West race – a race between teams with the two best records in baseball – isn’t hurting for reasons to watch.

Not only are the Angels and A’s going to go head-to-head six more times on the field this season, but they have also been duking it out in the front offices.

The A’s made the biggest splash of the trading season when they acquired Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs, but the Angels weren’t going to be outdone. The Angels have bolstered their bullpen through trades and have added Joe Thatcher, Jason Grilli and Huston Street.

The AL West race is also intriguing because the teams – despite a lot of similarities – are opposite when it comes to perception. The A’s, despite having won the division each of the past two season, are a team devoid of superstars and often lacked recognition. The Angels finished third in the division in 2012 and 2013, but because their roster features Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and Josh Hamilton they still had no troubles finding their way into the headlines.

West Coast teams are likely to play a big role in the second half of the season and as the calendar turns to Fall, California is not a bad place to be.

California knows how to party.

And this year, one of four baseball teams may prove it.