A Bully in Baseball

Remember that childhood bully, the one who unreservedly exercised their ability to torment those who were smaller, weaker and more vulnerable than Meg in Family Guy? Who never picked on anybody the size of them – not to mention somebody bigger and stronger – because that would ultimately convey their true character and competence?

If you need to refresh your memory, perhaps the 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers can provide some assistance.

Sure the Boys in Blue are tied for the top record in the National League and third-best in all of baseball, and sure they’re likely to eclipse the 90-win mark for just the sixth time in the last 22 seasons, but the Dodgers’ accomplishments thus far are as deceiving as Ferris Bueller.

After their June 25 triumph against the Marlins, the Dodgers were a season-high 27 games over .500. At that time, they had nine more victories than the Cardinals. At that time, Manny Ramirez had played in less than half of Los Angeles’ games (45 of 97) with mere totals of 11 home runs and 37 RBI – which was a good sign. At that time, the Blue Crew appeared as the favorite to represent the National League in the Fall Classic.

Fast-forward seven weeks later and the pretty picture that was once the dreaded Dodgers has been steadily smeared, looking more and more like a kindergarten collage, far from the Picasso painting that it previously portrayed.

Now, Los Angeles is only 16 games above .500. Now, those very same Cardinals have equaled the Dodgers in the win column. Now, Ramirez is still sobering up from his early-season suspension. (In 88 games, he’s belted just 18 homers and knocked in 55 runs.) Now, the Dodgers are barely in the same breath with every other World Series contender.

So what caused the Blue Crew’s blunder?

Was it injuries? To an extent, but then again almost every team gets bit by the injury bug at some point. Was it an overwhelming amount of away games? Considering the Dodgers have played once more on the road than they have at home since the aforementioned date, that would be as poor an excuse as turning down a date because “the man on TV told me to stay tuned.”

You see, Los Angeles has beaten up on mediocre teams – teams it is supposed to beat. Within the NL West, the Dodgers have taken care of business for the most part (41-21). But when they have been challenged by better ball-clubs, Los Doyers have typically succumbed to the pressure that resides with their inconsistent offense and lack of a true number-one starting pitcher. Against teams in the other NL divisions – both of which are debatably deeper – they are a combined 34-28. In particular, the Dodgers have struggled with the Cardinals and Phillies – whom are leading their respective divisions and have reliable number-one starters – which is evidenced by their 6-8 mark versus these two teams. To add insult to injury, the Dodgers posted almost two fewer runs per game than their regular season average in those 14 contests.

Sounds like that childhood bully, doesn’t it?

Josh Hoffman is a college junior working to become a sports journalist. You can contact him at jhoffmedia@gmail.com.