The Los Angeles Dodgers have endured a battle-tested season, now the team is on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2012 season— Although L.A. has a flare for the dramatics, the Dodgers will ultimately make the playoffs.
It definitely won’t be a walk in the park for this team to achieve postseason status, but the Dodgers have proven to be the best team in the National League-West Division, clinching the No. 1 seed the past five seasons.
It’s a three team race vying for two playoff spots, between the Dodgers, Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Cardinals.
The Dodgers can clinch the NL West by ending with more wins than the Rockies, as either team will earn that notch.
Although the Dodgers who recently held a lead for the No. 1 seed, are now playing catch-up to the Rockies who took a one-game advantage.
The team that places second will have to jockey with the Cardinals for the second and final NL Wild Card slot.
By this time, last season, the Dodgers had already clinched the best record in all of MLB and clinched the NL West Division by 10 games.
The Dodgers were hit with the injury bug this season, which is one reason for the sudden decline.
As stated in a previous edition of Shmackem, the Dodgers magic number was 100 wins to have better odds of returning to the World Series, now the team will be happy to just qualify for the playoffs at this point.
Dodgers’ star right fielder Yasiel Puig, nicknamed The Wild Horse, said “I’m ready for more baseball, I’ll see you in October,” asking fans “Are you ready?” via Instagram on Sept. 27.
The Wild Horse is obviously confident the team will make the postseason, he posted that statement a day before the series against the San Francisco Giants even started.
With less than a handful of games remaining, there’s so many different scenarios that can occur. It will definitely be an interesting finish to find out what teams complete the postseason bracket and the seeding in which those teams will place.
Unless the Rockies lose a game versus the Washington Nationals, it will be unlikely that the Dodgers will clinch the top seed. However, the Dodgers will make the playoffs even if it has to be as a wild card.
Once the playoffs start, anything is possible. All the Dodgers need to do is make it first.
It’s fitting that the Dodgers’ rivals, the Giants, is the team standing in the way of the Dodgers securing a playoff berth.
The Dodgers will take on the Giants in a three game series on Sept. 28-30. If the Dodgers win out versus the Giants then the team will be guaranteed at least a wild card postseason berth.
It will be one of the defining moments in the Dodgers-Giants rivalry, with a playoff appearance on the line. As for the Giants, all the team has to lose is bragging rights, after being eliminated from playoff contention.
Although, it’s been a tough season, it’s hard to believe that this Dodgers team that made it to Game 7 in the World Series last season would not make the 2018 playoffs.
There’s too much talent and winning experience for this team not to be playoff participants.
