Dodgers Players Are Not Interested in Taking the ‘Fake Playoff’ Wild Card Spot
The Dodgers managed to move slightly closer to the Giants this week in the NL West. But it seems like all year long, they’ve been playing just a step behind San Francisco. And it’s only just now that the Giants are showing signs of slowing down.
But the Dodgers still have work to do. With a month left in the season, they have to continue to win games and at least keep pace. Given the improved health of their lineup and the pending return of big names, that seems very possible.
What the Dodgers do not want is a Wild Card spot. AJ Pollock just spoke this week about how they’re shooting for the division lead and how a Wild Card spot would feel like a disappointment. To him, it doesn’t even feel like they’ve reached the playoffs.
Yeah the wild card is kind of a fake playoff ya know? You think you’re in the playoffs but you’re really not. But it’s crazy, you look at the Giants, they’ve been playing great baseball the whole year. You look at their team and they’ve got a great team. They’ve got good pitching, good defense, their offense is scrappy…it’s going to be a dogfight all the way down until the end.
There’s certainly something to that mindset. The Wild Card series does feel like something that happens before playoffs actually kick off. And the Dodgers definitely don’t want to find themselves in a situation where they are forced to come into the Division Series a little less rested than the Giants, who they would play right now.
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The only thing they can do is to focus on the games they have in front of them, not worry about what San Francisco is up to. But the good news is that they get the Giants for 3 games starting tonight. Time to get some distance in the standings.
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Problem solved if seeding in playoffs was basis record…fairly simple…
best team in baseball home field advantage thru World Series!
Don’t you think we’re unfortunately going to go back and forth with the Giants throughout this month as to who’s in first?
Dodgers the playoffs are in Your hands. Take care of business.
Robin, so true and that means Roberts understands that the best lineup MUST be in there from here on out. The pitching should handle things but we both know the offense doesn’t show up every game. The hitters must show up for every game and if there’s one area that may still force them into a WC game, it’s the offense that plays like it did this past Sunday.
Maybe you should check your game schedule? The Dodgers/Giants play 3 games starting TOMORROW not today.
And Giants are exclusively on UTUBE today.
There’s still a chance you can play in the “fake playoffs” so shut your ass! So weird how everyone hated AJ now loves him. So bipolar!
Post or not, I love the work you and your brilliant team do!
His point is you aren’t in the playoffs until you win that game
It may feel more like an actual part of the playoffs if it was a best of 3 series, like last year. Your chances for advancing are better than they are with just a one and done game.
I’ve never liked the single wild card game format. This is baseball not football. The wild card format should be a best of three series, or have a single wild card in each league that immediately plays the best division winner in the league in a full length series. The real reason to avoid being a wild card is to avoid having an entire 162 game season come down to one game, with all but one SP being spectators.
I agree with ya here over this current one and done WC game. I hope the MLB MLBPA can come to a different resolution for this WC format. Best of 3 should be the way its set like it was last year. But we don’t need 16 teams in the PS because like last year a few teams with below .500 winning marks got in.
Well said, Dodger 106 W. Well said.
It’s so horrifying that we could win 102 games and then get eliminated in a single game. They really need to get rid of the second wild card. It’s garbage.
Please don’t your famous days off. We need all hands on deck. My memo is you must hit the ball every batter needs to hit and keep the ball in play. No strikeout or caught looking. No errors please
please do not ever lose a game again. SMH
AJ is right. stupid MLB with a do or die 1 game WC. Go back to 1 WC playing the top Division team in a 5 game series.
Like I said a best of 3 if there remains 2WC winners in each league. But the idea to have 1 WCteam is fine too because that wild card winner at least goes straight to the best of 5. Obviously this one and done game is not good for the game itself.
What? So the Dodgers should continue to win games and try to avoid a wild card slot?
That’s so informative. I did not know that.