Editorials

Dodgers News: Mattingly Not Ready To Talk Chances In Playoffs

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The expectations that the Los Angeles Dodgers carried into the 2015 season were quite high as the new front office came in and changed the team.

The team took an early lead in the division in April and only losing it once on May 29 before regaining first place the next day. After jumping out to a 22-10 record, the Dodgers have gone just 40-40 since, but still sit 2.5 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants for the NL West lead.



In the midst of the team’s first four-game losing streak since 2014, the Dodgers have seen their pitching doom them, as their starters have struggled as well as the bullpen. On the season, the Dodgers pitching staff has posted a 3.39 FIP and 3.56 ERA, which is good enough for seventh in the majors.

However, they have struggled greatly as of late. In the last two weeks, the pitching staff has a combined ERA of 5.75 while opponents have hit .288 against them and the on-base percentage has jumped from .299 in the first half to .321 in the second half. This has led to the Dodgers being outscored 63-57 in 11 games.

On their current four game losing streak, the Dodgers have been outscored 32-14 and have allowed at least five runs in all games.

When asked if he can trust his staff in the playoffs, namely the bullpen, manager Don Mattingly stopped any notion that the team is already in the playoffs. “It’s not time to talk about playoffs, it’s time to talk about winning games and qualifying for the playoffs,” the Dodger manager said.

Perhaps even more disappointing is the fact that the offense has been hitting quite well in these two weeks, slashing .295/.369/.459 and hitting 13 home runs.

Although the front office made some moves to acquire extra pitching, the new players have yet to make a positive impact. In 25 innings, Mat Latos, Alex Wood, and Jim Johnson have allowed 26 runs on five home runs for a combined ERA of 9.36.

The front office has made many moves in an effort to improve the team’s pitching, however, these attempts have yet to pay off, but one thing is certain: it must improve if the team wishes to make the playoffs.

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Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

3 Comments

  1. Throw a grenade into the bullpen!!! The dodgers need to fire everybody, pay them for not playing, the hire the entire Royals team….hell the look like the Dodgers anyways….we can afford it and it makes a hell of a lot more sense then the crappy trades they are doing now!!!

  2. They need to stick with Garcia, Avilan, Howell, Baez, Johnson and Jansen. I think they should let Johnson regain his confidence because he was a stud in Atlanta like 2 weeks ago. Also maybe even a trial with Bolsinger in the pen couldn’t hurt. Bolsinger is a gamer.

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