{"id":2065800,"date":"2023-10-13T02:04:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T06:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/postseason-dodgers-faceplant-becoming-annual-socal-tradition\/"},"modified":"2023-10-13T02:11:39","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T06:11:39","slug":"postseason-dodgers-faceplant-becoming-annual-socal-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/postseason-dodgers-faceplant-becoming-annual-socal-tradition\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodgers&#8217; postseason failure: A recurring SoCal tradition."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpostseason-dodgers-faceplant-becoming-annual-socal-tradition%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2065800&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>October Meltdowns: Dodgers&#8217; Postseason Struggles Continue<\/h2>\n<p>Just as splendid fall colors are\u200b a famous New England tradition,\u2064 October meltdowns by the Los Angeles Dodgers have become a rite of autumn in Southern California.<\/p>\n<p>Regular-season beasts for more than a decade, \u200cthe Dodgers crashed \u200dand burned in the \u2063postseason \u200dagain this \u200dyear, being\u2062 swept out of a National League Division Series \u200bby the \u200dupstart \u200cArizona Diamondbacks with a 4\u20132 loss Oct. 11\u2062 at Chase\u200c Field \u2063in Phoenix.<\/p>\n<p>Winners of\u2063 at least 100 games\u2064 in each of the past four full regular seasons\u2014the first team in Major League Baseball history to accomplish\u200c such \u200da feat\u2014the Dodgers\u2019 latest postseason \u2062folly \u2063lasted all of five days. The\u200c only \u200dreason it took that long \u200dwas an unusual schedule that called for\u2063 off days between \u2064games.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Related Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/sports\/d-backs-slug-4-homers-in-record-setting-barrage-sweep-dodgers-with-4-2-win-5508737?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><strong>D-backs Slug 4 Homers \u200bin Record-Setting \u200bBarrage,\u2064 Sweep\u2063 Dodgers With 4\u20132 Win<\/strong><\/a>  &#8211; \u200c10\/12\/2023<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/sports\/more-diamondbacks-1st-inning-magic-gives-2-0-nlds-advantage-over-dodgers-5507168?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><strong>More Diamondbacks\u200b 1st-Inning Magic Gives 2\u20130 NLDS Advantage Over Dodgers<\/strong><\/a>  \u2064 &#8211; 10\/10\/2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThere are not a lot of words, other than hurt, disappointed, frustrated,\u2063 and a little bit embarrassed,\u201d utility man Kike\u2064 Hernandez told \u200dreporters in a subdued Dodgers \u200bclubhouse.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2063Dodgers\u200b finished 16 games\u200c ahead of 84-win\u2062 Arizona on the way to their 10th \u200bNational \u2064League \u200dWest division title in the past 11 seasons, and yet failed\u2063 to beat the\u200c Diamondbacks even once when it mattered \u2064most.<\/p>\n<p>It\u200c was an uncanny repeat of\u200d last year, when the Dodgers outdistanced division rival San Diego by 22\u200d games in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/super-bowl-posts-worst-ratings-since-2007-despite-homebound-audience\/\" title=\"Super Bowl Posts Worst Ratings Since 2007 Despite Homebound Audience\">regular season<\/a> but \u200blost to the Padres \u2062in four games in\u2064 a National League Division Series. \u200bTwo years ago, the Dodgers\u2062 were \u200c18 games better than Atlanta during the regular\u200d season, only to fall to \u2062the Braves in six games \u200bin the best-of-seven National League Championship \u200cSeries.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Mookie Betts (50) of \u2064the Los\u200b Angeles \u200cDodgers reacts as he slides\u2063 under the tag \u2064from Jake Rogers (34)\u2064 of the Detroit Tigers, to score the game winning run for \u200da 3\u20132 win during\u2064 the\u2064 ninth inning at Dodger \u200bStadium in \u2063Los Angeles on Sept. 19, 2023. (Harry How\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Those three \u200bresults, in each of the past \u2062three years, rank among the six largest\u200c postseason upsets in Major League Baseball history \u2064when based \u2064on regular-season victory differential.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have\u200b to\u200d do a better job of figuring out a way to get our guys prepared for \u200cthe postseason. I\u2019ll own \u200dthat,\u201d Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said during his post-game\u2063 media session. \u201cWe have great players. The regular \u2064season, I think we do a great job, but the last couple postseasons, \u2062it just hasn\u2019t gone well for us. I have\u2062 to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Dodgers\u2019 two\u2064 leading \u2063stars, first\u2064 baseman Freddie Freeman \u2064and\u2064 versatile\u200c outfielder-infielder Mookie Betts, went a\u2063 combined 1\u2013for\u201321 at the plate against\u200d Arizona. In \u200cthe process, Freeman and Betts transformed from\u2063 most \u200bvaluable player candidates to poster boys for a high-powered regular-season offense that \u200dwent \u2062ice cold \u200bonce the \u2063calendar turned to October.<\/p>\n<p>Diamondbacks pitchers held the Dodgers to a .177 team batting average and only six runs, two in each game. Betts, Freeman,\u200c Max Muncy and J.D. Martinez, the first foursome in\u2063 Dodgers history \u200cto each collect more than 100 runs batted in during a regular season, combined to drive in one run during the\u2063 playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>Remarkably, the anemic offense, which never produced a lead in the series, wasn\u2019t even the Dodgers\u2019 biggest problem.<\/p>\n<p>Starting pitching, the team\u2019s hallmark from its time in Brooklyn right on through the Los Angeles \u200cglory days \u200dfeaturing \u200bluminaries such as\u200d Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Fernando Valenzuela, and Orel Hershiser, was historically bad.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Manager Dave \u200bRoberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers relieves Clayton Kershaw\u2062 (22) in the first inning \u200bagainst the \u200dArizona Diamondbacks during Game One of \u200bthe Division Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Oct. 7, 2023. (Harry How\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Erstwhile ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw\u2014who did not escape\u2062 the\u2064 first inning in an 11\u20132, series-opening loss\u2014rookie Bobby Miller, and \u2062recycled\u2064 journeyman \u200bLance Lynn\u200d combined \u200cto give up 13 runs while completing only 4 2\/3 \u2064innings, the fewest by starting pitchers in the first three games of a \u2062postseason\u2064 series in Major League history.<\/p>\n<p>In\u200c the clinching game, Lynn\u200d surrendered a postseason-record four home runs in the \u2064third inning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDisappointing, no matter how\u200b it ends, if you don\u2019t win the whole thing,\u201d said Kershaw, who was in line to start again had the Dodgers \u2062pushed the series to a fourth game. \u201cThis one\u200c hurts a lot just \u2064because of\u2064 how it went down. Obviously, it\u2019s\u200b a horrible way to end \u200dit personally, but that\u2019s ultimately\u200d not important. \u200dIt\u2019s\u2064 just how I didn\u2019t help the team win the \u200bseries. \u2064That\u2019s the most disappointing \u2064part, letting \u200cyour guys \u2064down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kershaw, \u2063a\u200d sure-fire Hall of Fame selection \u2064down \u2064the road,\u200b is set \u200bto turn 36 during spring training in March. Hampered in recent years by myriad \u2062physical challenges, including a shoulder injury \u200dthat cost him six weeks and severely limited his\u2063 stamina down the stretch this season, he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/i-dont-understand-the-point-youre-making-harris-deflects-when-pressed-by-nbc-on-absence-at-the-border\/\" title=\"\u2018I Don\u2019t Understand The Point You\u2019re Making\u2019: Harris Deflects When Pressed By NBC On Absence At The Border\">repeatedly deflected questions<\/a> about his \u2062baseball \u2062future after \u200cGame 3.<\/p>\n<p>In \u200cthe end, despite their well-earned reputation for player development and seemingly bottomless financial resources to\u2063 acquire \u2063proven veterans, even\u200c the Dodgers couldn\u2019t withstand a series\u2063 of injuries and other pitching-staff \u200battrition. They \u2062lost starters\u200b Dustin \u200cMay and\u200b Tony\u2062 Gonsolin \u2062to elbow surgeries, and Walker Buehler\u2019s recovery from a second career Tommy\u200b John \u200bsurgery precluded him\u2064 from making a hoped-for \u2062return this season.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Julio\u2063 Urias (7) of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the\u200b first inning of a\u2062 game against the San Diego \u2062Padres at PETCO \u2063Park in \u2062San Diego on May 7, 2023. (Sean M. Haffey\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>While May, Gonsolin, and Buehler face uncertainty \u200cgoing forward, left-hander Julio Urias\u2019 time\u2064 with the Dodgers is almost\u200d certainly over following his early September \u200barrest on felony domestic violence \u2064charges.\u2064 All \u2064of that doesn\u2019t even account \u200cfor former \u2064Cy Young Award\u200d winner\u200b Trevor Bauer, who might still be atop \u2063the club\u2019s\u200d rotation if not for 2021 sexual-assault charges that derailed his career.<\/p>\n<p>Despite having seen\u2063 their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/postseason-dodgers-faceplant-becoming-annual-socal-tradition\/\" title=\"Dodgers' postseason failure: A recurring SoCal tradition.\">team make 11 consecutive post-season appearances<\/a>, the third-longest\u2063 such run in big-league history,\u2062 Dodgers owner and chairman Mark Walter, president and \u200dchief executive officer \u200bStan Kasten, and president of baseball operations\u200b Andrew Friedman have overseen just\u200b one World Series championship.\u200c And even that came with \u2062something of \u200dan asterisk, following a 2020 season shortened to 60 games \u200cbecause of\u200d the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s hard \u200cto \u200cfind words right now,\u201d Freeman told \u200creporters after Game\u2063 3. \u201cFrustrating. Me and a\u2062 lot\u200c of us didn\u2019t play the way we \u2062wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2>What role do the \u2062team&#8217;s offensive \u2063struggles \u200bplay in the Dodgers&#8217; failures \u2062in the playoffs<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Retch, Kershaw&#8217;s performance in the playoffs \u200dcontinues \u2063to raise questions about his ability to\u200d excel in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/have-you-tried-box-breathing\/\" title=\"Have You Tried Box Breathing?\">high-pressure situations<\/a>. Despite\u2063 his regular-season success,\u2064 Kershaw&#8217;s struggles in the postseason have become a\u2064 recurring theme for the Dodgers.<\/p>\n<p>While Kershaw&#8217;s \u200dperformance was disappointing,\u200b it was not the sole \u200dreason for the\u200b Dodgers&#8217; failure in\u200b the playoffs. The team&#8217;s\u200c offense, which was one of the best in \u2064the\u2062 league\u2064 during\u2064 the \u200cregular season, \u200bfailed \u2063to produce\u200b when it mattered most.\u200b Key players such \u200das Freeman and Betts, who had\u200b been instrumental in the team&#8217;s success throughout the year, went cold at the plate and\u2063 failed to drive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just like the vibrant fall foliage in New England, the Los Angeles Dodgers&#8217; October collapses have become a customary occurrence in Southern California. Despite their dominance in the regular season for over a decade, the Dodgers once again stumbled in the playoffs, getting swept in the National League Division Series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2251,"featured_media":2065801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2065800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2251"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2065800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2065801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2065800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2065800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2065800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}