The 2020 National League Champion Series is set, and for all the concern of a watered-down postseason field this year, we’ll see two of the league’s top three records square off when the 43-17 Dodgers take on the 35-25 Braves.
Atlanta and Los Angeles both feature powerhouse offenses, as the two were separated by just one run during regular season play atop the National League leaderboard; the Dodgers scored an NL-best 349 runs to the Braves’ 348. The Dodgers posted a team 122 wRC+ to the Braves’ 121.
It’s a different story on the pitching front, where an injury-plagued Atlanta club saw its rotation post an NL-worst 5.51 ERA to the Dodgers’ NL-best 3.29 mark. The Braves, however, have a pair of high-end arms fronting a top-heavy rotation: Cy Young candidate Max Fried and breakout rookie Ian Anderson. Former No. 5 overall pick Kyle Wright dominated in his postseason debut yesterday when he blanked the Marlins over six innings and piled up seven strikeouts. As for the bullpens? These are the National League’s two best in terms of both ERA and FIP.
Both teams swept a division rival in the NLDS. The Dodgers ended a breakout 2020 showing for the upstart Padres, while the Braves cut short a Cinderella season for a Marlins club that very few pegged as a playoff contender. The end result is a star-studded NLCS that will pit Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw, Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager and the rest of the Dodgers against Ronald Acuna Jr., Freddie Freeman, Marcell Ozuna, Fried and the Braves. We’ve yet to see these clubs square off in 2020, but this best-of-seven series should pack plenty of intrigue.
We’re three days out from Game 1, which will take place on Monday evening. MLBTR readers, who are you taking? (Link to poll for Trade Rumors mobile app users)
Go Braves! Dodgers have been trying to buy a title for years, and fail miserably each time. Hope the Rays take out the Yanks too.
Of the eight stars listed above, only two are not homegrown. Your narrative is false.
And if they didn’t have that massive payroll, they wouldn’t be able to keep them all on the roster. See how that works?
8ManLineupNoPitcherNoDH.
I hate the Dodgers, but if there was no such thing as free agency they’d still be the best team in baseball. It’s insane to say the Dodgers have bought their team.
Wrong again. Massive payroll? You might want to do some research. More than half the playoff roster is homegrown. The Dodgers are good because of drafting, scouting, the best player development in the game, and shrewd trades. They also have the best payroll management in the game with very little money committed beyond 2021.
So tell us why you think they have been trying to “buy” a championship. Where is your proof?
Sure, but the connotation associated with “buying” a title hearkens back to the big-money clubs just signing away the top stars of the A’s, Rays, Twins, etc. when they got to the market. I think for most people, the implication is that “buying” a roster implies an inability to develop one.
Doesn’t seem that was your intention, but I’m still interested to hear why you feel that paying to retain their homegrown stars is a negative thing? I mean that not to be combative but from a genuine point of curiosity, as we rarely see teams vilified for this. Are you simply pro salary cap? Nothing against you if that’s the case, of course, just trying to see where you’re coming from.
@Cey Hey Player retention, regardless of source, seems to be concept too difficult for you to grasp.
@Steve Adams I never said retaining players was a negative, you did.
I’m pointing out that they would not be able to retain all their talent, regardless of origin, without that massive checkbook.
And yes, I am pro salary-cap.
I remember having this discussion in 2018 when a Giants fan accused the Dodgers of trying to “buy” a title…. despite the fact that the Giants had a HIGHER payroll that year.
“And if they didn’t have that massive payroll, they wouldn’t be able to keep them all on the roster. See how that works?”
This argument doesn’t hold up because most of the Dodgers’ core hasn’t even hit free agency eligibility yet. Bellinger, Buehler, May, Gonsolin, Urias, Graterol, Baez, Smith, Muncy, Hernandez, Taylor, Seager, Pederson, Barnes.
They did give Betts a huge extension but 1. they’re hardly the first team to give this kind of contract and 2. that doesn’t go into effect until next season. The 2020 Dodgers got Betts because they had the prospect capital to do so. Did they buy all their prospects?
Your narrative is what the other billionaire owners like to sell their fanbases as the excuse for why they don’t win consistently. They smile when they see you carrying their water.
Player retention? What are you talking about? Most of the Dodgers homegrown players have several years of team control in their future. All teams have the same opportunity to retain players under that system. Year after year, the Dodgers pick near the end of every round. Yet they do the best job of turning prospects into Major League players. That is a credit to the organization and their commitment to player development. They get it right while nearly everybody else gets it wrong.
I’ll also add you’re conveniently ignoring the fact that the Dodgers have lost Ryu, Grandal, Darvish, and Machado to free agency (the last two, again, where acquired because of prospect capital). It’s not like they just automatically give every star they have a lifetime contract. They’ve lost more stars to free agency than they’ve retained.
Whenever a team with a big payroll wins the entire ball of wax, some will claim that they bought the title. If they fail to win, just as many will say it proves that you can’t buy a title. Seems to me the “buying a title” argument cancels itself out. The arguments for and against are equally unconvincing.
Their advantage isn’t buying free agents. It’s scouting and development. If anything they’ve smartly placed their large financial resources in those areas along with short term deals with high AAVs than just big long term deals other major markets dole out.
I’m saying they don’t have more money than most (or all teams not in the Bronx) because they do. But they invest it in the right places which is going to allow them to compete for a long period of time.
Wrong
Aren’t the Braves trying to buy their way to a title as well? They’ve signed some of their homegrown talent to large extensions and they’ve brought in expensive 1year FA’s.
The two big advantages that teams like the Yankees and Dodgers have are that they can take on expensive contracts in trades to conserve their young talent, and they can jettison an albatross less painfully than less affluent teams.
Salary Caps are stupid. They’re a means to tamp down player wages, not create competitive balance. If you want proof, the NBA and NFL have perennially bad teams as well as dynasties, too. Success or failure is about the competency of the club’s management.
I applaud any teams that spend. I wish more did. I think paying to retain homegrown stars is admirable.
8man, I strongly disagree with you on every point.
Yes market size has zero to do with it. Weird that teams are run as actual businesses. And yes their payroll being double that of a average team has no impact whatsoever don’t get butt hurt about it.
Mookie. All the proof you need. If the rest of the division would spend some money the Dodgers couldn’t walk through the division. Padres will be the team to beat in a year or two
You keep claiming this
But aside from kershaw and Kenley, none of the homegrown stars are even making 15M a year
You’re using a 2013 narrative in 2020 and getting ripped apart for it
Even mookie was acquired using assets from the farm
You’re just complaining to complain
@8manlineup salary caps. Do. Not. Work. Teams will still tank to get better draft picks. Star players will take less money to play for all star teams and make up for it with endorsements. If salary caps worked, the Warriors wouldn’t have gone to 5 straight finals, 4 of which against the same team, and the patriots wouldn’t have ruled the NFL for literally 20 years. You have to be an absolute moron to think salary caps fix anything
You sound like a Padre fan kicking rocks
@Cey Hey, I like you. Your comments are usually spot on. On this one, though, I would point out the Dodgers spent 107MM this year to create their team. The Braves created a comparable one for a little over half of that (63MM). Seems to me the Braves are the ones doing it right. They’ve created similar value for half the investment.
Dude, the dodgers were on pace for like 115 wins
They were on pace to challenge the all time record for best run differential, if a full year. They had the 4th largest run gap per win in HISTORY
I get they’re both in the LCS, but they weren’t on the same level as LA in the regular season
We’ll see if the Braves kids step up
“Their advantage isn’t buying free agents. It’s scouting and development. If anything they’ve smartly placed their large financial resources in those areas along with short term deals with high AAVs than just big long term deals other major markets dole out.”
Right, and in the grand scheme of things, that really isn’t that expensive to do. Most mid-small market teams can make similar investments (and some do)
“Buy a title”
Andrew Friedman’s biggest FA signing has been AJ Pollock (4 years, $55M). Everything else has been keeping talent and extensions, just like every other team in baseball does
That’s a technically correct but very misleading stat, given that they just extended Betts for a zillion dollars. I’m a Dodger fan, but let’s be honest: you can count the number of teams who could have afforded that extension on one hand. Even though Betts was acquired through a trade and controlled through the end of the season, the Dodgers have definitely benefitted even this year from their deep pockets, without which Betts would have almost certainly been a one-year rental. Now, as they chase the title in 2020, they have stability instead of questions about where Betts will be next year.
The Dodgers’ payroll is quite high, but that’s largely due to their efforts to extend the stars they’ve developed themselves. Mookie Betts is an obvious exception, although even he was acquired by trading away some homegrown talent.
The two biggest free-agent signings made under the Andrew Friedman regime have been Kenley Jansen and Justin Turner — both of which were re-signing their own guys. After that it’s AJ Pollock at $55MM in total guarantees.
“Buying” includes the ability to spend money, regardless of where the player came from. They had stock pile of talent but they have the ability to spend more money than most teams and have done so. Spending money doesn’t = championships as the dodgers,yanks and now astros have demonstrated but it does provide an advantage
Meatloaf rulz
If there was no such think as free agency would the Dodgers have the best team in baseball?
Extending players is not buying.
Every team in baseball can afford to spend money on scouting and player development, with the Tampa Bay Rays being Exhibit A. The Dodgers have no advantage in that area. They’re good because they’re a well-run organization. Other teams will be overspending this winter looking for starting pitchers and a catcher. The Dodgers are fully homegrown in those areas. If anything, they might move a veteran or two for prospects as they did in the Reds trade involving Kemp, Puig, and Wood. That one netted them another potential starter in JoJo Gray and a middle infielder in Jeter Downs who was used to acquire Betts. Smart roster management. And they already have two prospects coming back for Ross Stripling.
Alex Verdugo was homegrown but Jeter Downs was not … Downs came from the Reds’ farm .. i get your point totally and the Dodgers dumped a ton of payroll to acquire Downs but when I think homegrown I think players drafted by the team or amateur signings … right?
LOL!!!! It’s not 2016 anymore. Most of the Dodgers current talent was either home-grown or other team’s cast-offs whom they made into something. They’ve not had the highest payroll in three years, but even if they did, they do play in market #2, so why not?
This just sounds like mid-market jealousy, but is also
ironic, since the Braves carried top-5 payrolls throughout almost all of of their 14-year reign as division champs in the NL East. And while their run was extraordinary, applying your Dodgers comment would seem appropriate, given that they only got the trophy once in that time, despite boatloads of money spent.
mookie betts has something to say
Betts is making just $3 million more per year than he made in Boston. The Dodgers acquired him because they had prospects the Red Sox wanted. The Braves would love to have a player like Alex Verdugo.
Not only is this incorrect, but it’s irrelevant. Why do we act like spending money is a bad thing? This isn’t the 90s when only 1 team was spending. Owners willing to spend to compete should be applauded, not insulted.
Love your opinion on this. So spot on.
Take a look at the Dodgers 2016 draft and how they got Bellinger/Seager before you go spewing off fake narratives.
You’re accusing the Dodgers of buying championships because they have the cash to RETAIN the players they chose and developed?
Hey everyone..can we start a FAN trade system? We have some bad contracts we would like to get rid of. If 8manlineup is a Braves fan, we would like to include him with that divisiontitlesmattermorethanWSRINGS guy. =D
In the past, the Dodgers were trying to buy titles, much like the Phillies are currently, with similar results. Now, however, the Braves and Dodgers are built similarly. Largely homegrown with a few additional pieces.
Built similarly, but at much different cost. LA paid $107MM for their team, Braves paid 63MM for theirs. I’m a Braves fan and I’m OK with those numbers, but Dodger fans should acknowledge the ability/willingness to spend is a big factor in their success. Subtract Mookie and Justin from the Dodger lineup and the LA and ATL salaries are equal. That tells you the Braves have done some really nice work to build what they have at the price they’re paying.
As a BRaves fan even I admit BRaves ripped off Albies and Acuna because they wanted security
What you’re forgetting is that the Dodgers have been fielding a winning team for years and the Braves are just starting to do so. In eight years we will see how much money the Braves are spending on retaining stars.
I see about 60% of people in this poll favor the Dodgers. This is a pretty good Braves team and I wouldn’t bet against them.
Oh I think everybody knows that. It should be a great series. Two solid lineups and some really exciting young pitchers. Dodgers lack of definition at the end of the game could very well decide this series.
@8ManLineupNoPitcherNoDH
Buying a title? You’re clueless. Really shows how you don’t follow baseball. Half of the Dodgers’ playoff roster were drafted by the Dodgers and another handful turnaround guys like Turner, Muncy, Taylor. Friedman recently gave out his first $100mm plus contract in Mookie Betts.
Pretty sure la has the most home grown roster still in the playoffs, maybe sans TB
What a bs narrative made up by east coast writers scared of a powerhouse that wasn’t on the eastern seaboard
LA’s salary is almost twice Atlanta’s. LA does a great job of drafting and developing players, but don’t pretend the extra $45MM they spend above average teams isn’t a huge factor in their success. No one’s saying they are unethical or immoral, just that they spend more than anyone but the Yankees and that’s part of why they win.
The payroll complaint. So overblown
In a year freeman will make 30 M not 13
Congrats, Acuna and Albies got screwed over. Well done. We all know that. Yay for early career extensions!
As for the rest. Your complaint is the dodgers pay to keep their talent, when they didn’t sign ridiculous team friendly deals. Something every owner can do but chooses not to. The Braves just rip their players off. What an argument bud
I’m sorry, did you mistake my comment for a complaint? Check it again. The Dodgers are free to spend whatever they wish, just like any other team. My point is that the money matters. LA has the best team in the NL, partly because they’re really smart and partly because they spend. That’s not a complaint, just a fact. (I’m a little surprised you’re so defensive about it.) If Freeman is making $30MM in a year or two, he’ll be making it for some team other than the Braves. That, too, is a fact. I can live with facts related to my team. I assume you can live with the facts related to yours?
Yea there’s a gap. But let’s put the 40 M in context is all I’m saying. That gap is Freeman’s new contract Jump, real market value For Acuña and Albies, and maybe no Joe Kelly for us?
It has nothing to do with the dodgers “buying their rosters”. That’s the ridiculous claim I’m replying to. If that’s wasn’t your point then sure that’s my bad
Freeman is getting at least 25M. 30M is probably about right for his market value. So you tell me, do the Braves refuse to pay their face of the franchise even after getting hundreds of millions in future excess value from Acuña and Albies? I think they pony up. And he already took one discount. I don’t think he takes a massive 2nd one
I was a reply to the subthread. Yeah I took your comment to be “groupable” with the other Braves fans claiming LA is trying to buy a title. But I easily could have scanned it too quickly and grouped it. It was a 190+ comment thread at the time lol. So again if you weren’t going there, sure my bad
It’s all good. Every team who ever won a title bought it with their payroll. Some teams can spend more, some can spend less. I remember the 90’s when the Braves paid for top talent and were consistent winners. That was a lot of fun. Oddly, though, I’m enjoying this year more, watching what the org has done to build a really exciting team with nothing but its smarts and a league average payroll. Giving Acuna and Albies big money 4-5 years before they’d have had to is the kind of risk a mid-market team has to take. Neither of those guys are complaining, and it’s still too early to tell who was wise and who was foolish. As for Freeman, he’ll have to take another cut or go somewhere else. A team with a $60MM payroll can’t give $30MM of it to one guy every year for the next half-a-decade. Will I hate to see him go? You bet. But that’s the reality in our tier of the payroll pileup. As for your Dodgers? My advice is to enjoy all that talent your ability to spend provides. They’re a heck of a team.
The Braves are a team run by a public corporation that has already stated it must be profitable. If it does lose money in a year, that would be compensated by years where they make greater profit. It’s a business. The Dodgers are very much the same except with more revenue. Would you rather your owners pocket the money or spend it. I’m in favor of spending.
Whatever meat
Go Braves, I hope they win, but the Dodgers are the best team in baseball.
This is why we play the games. Beat ATL and prove it. LAD looks great playing only West teams and pitiful MIL with sad Yelich and without Corbin Burnes & Devin Williams (whew!)
Ha. The Braves feasted on a weak NL East, then played two putrid offenses in the first two rounds.
.I wouldn’t talk about weak competition. The Marlins finished 2nd in your division
NL East was trash. Braves cleaned up against it, while playing slightly better than break-even ball (11-9) against the AL East only 12-9 against teams over .500 overall.
They’re gonna get rolled in the NLCS.
I cited actual numbers, and you make it personal? Real rich.
I’d argue the NL East was tougher than the NL West.
I’m with you, I’m anxious to see how good ATL is outside of the East/Central stank. LAD/ATL had some of the best run differentials in the land (good offenses or bad opponent pitching or both/neither?), that’s why I’m anxious to see how it all plays out.
To be fair, saying the Braves are going to be “rolled” in the NLCS is practically asking for an argument, regardless of the intent of your comment.
That said, they might get suckerpunched or the Dodgers might have that coming. We’ll all have to see what happens in the coming days, regardless what the numbers say.
@VonPurpleHayes You would be wrong. The Dodgers, Padres, and Giants all had top 5 offenses. The Rockies were competitive until the 40 game mark or so. The Giants were a playoff team until they collapsed the last week and a half. Again, the Marlins finished 2nd in that division.
He didn’t respond with an argument, he simply called me trash. My skin is thick enough to withstand the weak insults of a Braves fanboi on the internet, but his bad takes bring nothing to the discussion.
I will drink his tears a week from Sunday.
Whatever floats your boat I suppose. I honestly have nothing left to add to this conversation, so I’m checking out.
The NL East face stiffer competition in the AL East. Also please remember the Phillies had an epic late season collapse. All the Braves games against the Phillies came when the Phillies were a good team.
@rundmc Braves has 4th best run differential dodgers have the 1st best run differential by a wide margin and just beat the 2nd place best run differential team in padres according to espn.
Dodgers +136
Padres +84
Rays +60
Whitesox+60
Braves +60
Didn’t the Central go 0-7 in the first round? The Central was awful.
There is no way to know how good teams are if they keep playing the same team.
The Phillies couldn’t even beat out the Marlins for a playoff spot. The same Marlins team that had like 2 off days for the last month of the season. The Braves played a tougher inter league schedule, but they only went 11-9 against the AL East. They also played 2 games against the Yankees without Judge and Stanton
Thanks for the stats. I’d love to play in a division without deGrom, Scherzer, Strasburg (when he’s not injured), Corbin, Nola, Wheeler and the MIA arms that continue to get better under the radar.
My point is, I’d love to see how LAD does against a healthy team clicking on all cylinders, like ATL — even without Soroka. Lamet handled LAD in 2 GS to the tune of keeping the best offense on the planet to a .119 AVG. Clevinger was injured. Don’t know what happened to Paddack.
Make no mistake, LAD is the best-looking team and a reason why most experts have LAD/NYY as preseason favorites. Just interested in seeing a fair fight because it looks like it’s been awhile since they’ve had one. It’s like in Rocky IV when the Russian is facing everyone except for Rocky (…and yes, ATL would be Rocky and Dolph Lundgren would be LAD).
Maybe the dodgers do win. But I’ll very much enjoy seeing blue choke in the world series.
You rather have the Astros win than the Dodgers?
Right now my four least favorite teams are the Astros, Dodgers, Yankees and Red Sox… in that order.
@rundmc you have played marlins and reds your first 2 series….arguably the worst offenses in nl. We just beat the 2nd best offensive team and held them to 10 runs in 3 games no offense but your offense doesn’t come close to pads. Outside of freeman no one scares me on that roster. Acuna is a strike out artist. (The better analogy is The dodgers are Apollo creed Braves are rocky.) Dodgers are heavily favored and for good reason. Despite being the best offensive team and one of the best pitching everyone bets against us and we come through I like our chances against Braves. Dodgers in 5.
Halo11Fan, The person on here who predicted the NL Central would win all four wildcard series has magically disappeared 🙂
@RunDMC yes, those are some great starters, but all those teams had major flaws. Buehler’s as good as everyone you listed besides deGrom but with an offense to back him. Same with Kershaw, who has historically done very well against Atlanta.
True, but remember there’s been a lot of turnover and not a lot of stats vs. key ATL members. Kershaw has never faced d’Arnaud, Riley, Acuña, Swanson, Albies (only 8 ABs). Ozuna hasn’t done well vs. him in 14 ABs, while Freeman/Kakes hit him well in 22/12 ABs, respectively. Remember, Acuña becoming the youngest ever to hit a GS in the playoffs when homering off of Buehler?
@imindless – The fact that you’re not scared about anyone but Freeman should speak volumes about the offense considering ATL is up there with LAD in runs, and facing better SPs throughout the year. And if you think there are better SPs in West divisions than East — I’d love for you to list them for me. 🙂
See, you’re cherry picking again. You used Buehler’s start in the playoffs (his 1st career playoff start and he actually settled down and pitched well after that), but not Kershaw’s start from that same series? 2018-2019 was also when Kershaw’s fastball velocity was in decline
@rundmc dodgers have had the exact same lineup for 3/4 years last year there run differential was +274 leading majors playing against everyone. This year in a shortened season they had +136 adding mookie betts, including having down years from bellinger and muncy. I think it would be hard to deny dodgers have owned Braves last 2/3 years with the same lineup. Adding Ozuna on a small sample size season adds very little in context. Again we just held the second best offense in the nl to 10 runs in 3 games. You beat the marlins and reds… I like the enthusiasm but it’s not close. Let’s see if Braves bullpen can hold up as well as padres didn’t until game 3
You could say this about any of the divisions…. Many teams would love to play in a division without Darvish, Hendricks, Gray, Bauer, Castillo, Burnes, Woodruff (and then this season, Bieber, Plesac, Carrasco, Keuchel, Maeda, Keller).
West had Senzatella, Freeland, Marquez, Gallen, Lamet, Davies, and then Lynn, Bassitt, Bundy, Gonzales, etc
Every division has their fair share of dangerous arms they have to go up against, The Central definitely seemed the strongest in terms of starters and bullpens, but for the east and west, they seemed pretty interchangeable.
Dbacks were still there through mid August
Rockies where their early and the Giants fought till the end.
Nl west is a good spot the al central is always the weakest division
Give the playoff results, it might be fair to say the Central teams were less-balanced than those in the other divisions. Some nice arms facing less-than-stellar lineups. Let’s hope we get something of a normal schedule in 2021.
The Dodgers averaged more than 100 wins-per-season from 2017-19 and went to two World Series. Their current team is better than any of those three. Your attempts to disparage them are laughable.
As for starting pitchers, a rotation of Buehler, Kershaw, May, Urias, and Gonsolin is hands-down better than any the Braves have faced. The Dodgers lineup is also better than any the Braves have seen, as is the defense. The Braves might win the series, but it will take a monumental effort for them to do so. The Dodgers have the deepest team in baseball and can beat you in a number of ways. Generally speaking, a seven-game series favors the deeper team. That is even more true in 2020 with the lack of days off.
The fact that you say nobody on the Braves offense scares you but Freeman shows either A. How much of a fan boy you really are or B. How little you know about baseball…..or maybe both who knows
The Dodgers also got to play western foes where a combined 3 teams finished above .500 in both leagues. Of course they’d have a better record than Atlanta.
The full season run differential is fair, but rather misleading. The Braves starting rotation for most of the season was terrible. It is not representative of their current staff. In the postseason, the Braves and Dodgers both have a +19 differential.
Mindless, living up to your name. The Dodgers literally scored 1 more run than the Braves. The only reason the Dodgers would be “heavily favored” is laziness; the Braves have different pitchers, now. With the Braves CURRENT starting rotation, this is an even matchup.
@questionable_source the main difference is padres are > than marlins and reds and it’s not close. Dodgers in 5
Paddack is the dodgers btch that’s what happened to him
Nlds would have went 5 if starters were there and not broken. It happens. Braves have healthy starters and a decent pen. Their bats are not as good as San Diego but their pitching with their bats should give them the edge
Um, we just swept a really good up and coming Padres, but sure what you think is right
I didn’t mean to disparage LAD who has had ATL’s number for years and beat a better SD club than MIA. ATL has an uphill battle that they’re in as great a position as any to beat the Dodger beast. Looking forward to a great series.
Ahh yes, the team that won 106 games last year and then added Mookie Betts is only good because it played bad teams this year.
Says the guy who’s team beat up the cubs and marlins to be here Hahahaha
Actually it was the Reds and the Marlins, as if it makes a difference.
Haha yea. By the time I got half way thru the thread I realized, and I was still too late to edit
Amazingly, subbing reds for Cubs helps my point more about horrible offenses. But good call
This is all hilarious considering the recent history of playoff mediocrity between both teams. Like ATL of the golden years, LAD knows how to get there in style, only to watch someone else take their trophy. Maybe that changes this year – in this weird, weird year – or does ATL break a long line of ATL pro sports history and not blow a lead?
…or do both teams watch the Astros not apologize for winning – or another scenario? Would be fun.
Recent history of mediocrity?
The dodgers have been the LCS in 4 of the last 5 years and WS 2 of last 3
The Braves are the ones who haven’t gotten out of the first round in 14 years before taking advantage of the marlins lol
Atlanta has a good team this year. It should be a good series.
These polls are pointless. Who cares who people think will win? Opinions don’t effect the outcome.
Shoot. Here I thought that creating this poll would have a meaningful impact on the result of the series, and instead you’re telling me all it does is give our readers and commenters a natural avenue to enjoy discussing and debating which club they believe is better positioned to do so?
Boy is my face red.
That’s an awesome response.
it really is
Well said, Steve.
Steve from the top rope!!!
And I thought your face was red because the link is not working on the app
It’s not? I just checked in iOS, and it worked for me. Are you on Android? I can look into the issue, but I’m not able to replicate it at the moment.
working for me
Yes, on Android. Just checked again when clicking the link and “webpage not available”. No other issues.
I also have an Android and it won’t load for me either
These comments are pointless. Who cares what people think of polls? Comments don’t *affect* the outcome.
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud reading that response Steve … Very well put sarcasm .. nicely done
Steve for the win!
I also thought that I was guaranteeing a Dodger win with my vote. So disappointed
the polls are for fans
@Steve Adams. It always makes me happy to see the writers defend themselves. Especially when the response is THAT good. >=}
I’m torn here. I think the Braves offense can easily neutralize the Dodgers pitching staff, and the Dodgers offense seems like they’re having a hard time to roll together. The Braves top 3 arms are good in the rotation, but young and inexperienced and not a lot of depth after those two in case the series goes long (which I think we can all agree it will likely go to 6 or probably 7 between these two).
I picked the Braves only because of past history tells us that when the Dodgers play a team they haven’t seen a lot, they stumble early. And with that Braves offense, an early 2-0 series hole might be too hard to overcome. Feel free to blast me.
LAD have had Braves’ number in past years. Great that ATL SPs are too young to remember or care. Hope Cali kids Fried and Freeman show-out vs. LAD.
” the Dodgers offense seems like they’re having a hard time to roll together” …but somehow still managed to score 12 runs last night.
12 runs against heavily used arms that pitched a lot the past 2 series isn’t saying much.
Unlike the Padres, the Braves haven’t had to rely too much on their pen to carry the pitching staff. They breezed through the Marlins without taxing the pen.
The Braves will also have to deal with the Dodgers’ pitching, which once again was the best in the league. The names change but the results are the same. Five homegrown starters, for of whom have years of club control.
As for the just-completed series. Jayce Tingler is a joke. Take away Davies’ six innings and 24 pitchers were needed to get 57 outs. I realize he lost a couple of starters, but at some point, you have to show your pitchers that you have confidence in them to get more than three or four outs. Terrible management of a pitching staff. Richards is a legit starter who was misused. Paddack was on the roster and wasn’t used at all. Pods were a nice little story, but their next task is proving they can fashion a winning record over a full season. Their entire off-season will revolve around Clevinger’s health and what they think of Paddack. If Clevinger misses 2021, they’ll be hunting for a starter or two over the winter unless they think Paddack and one of the kids is ready.
Ya, you get a blast for that “the Dodgers offense seems like they’re having a hard time to roll together” comment. Seriously? Feel free to come back and apologize when the Dodgers dismantle the Braves in 5 games.
“the Dodgers offense seems like they’re having a hard time to roll together”
Pretty good analysis of a team that scored *checks notes* 23 runs in three games, and only one home run.
The bullpen worries me a lot more than the offense. Dodgers almost blew Game 2 – who knows what happens if the Padres win that game?
Link to poll via app not loading.
Can you reload the app and try again now? I edited the link to a new form. If that works out, I’ll use that as the standard moving forward.
When clicking the link, it doesn’t automatically load – yet when copying/pasting the url it works, so it may be something on my end that I haven’t seen before. Sorry.
Strange. We’ve had multiple people mention it now, so maybe not just you. I’ll have a developer look at it. Could be something with how the Android app launches a new browser window. Thanks for pointing it out.
it is working for me now and I have an Android … it wasn’t working around 45 mins ago so I think it has been fixed
Not going to take anything away from the Braves’ pitching performances in the first two rounds, as all of those shutouts are no small feat, but lets keep some perspective here: They had the good fortune of facing a historically bad Reds offense and a bottom-tier Marlins line-up to do it.
They’re going to have their hands full with the Dodgers, as they would have with the Padres, too.
The magic carpet ride ends here, so Dodgers in 6.
That’s fine. We all know the dodgers will choke, and this time it will be in the world series, making it that much worse.
Hard to respect an opinion that uses the word choke. Someone wins. Someone loses. Pro athletes are the best in the world at what they do. They work hard for the money. If they “choke,” then what does that say about ordinary people who don’t work one-tenth as hard?
CeyHey, his position is respected by very few.
You could ask 1,000 baseball fans if extending your home grown talent is the equivalent of buying your team. I’m not sure one would answer in the affirmative.
You’d have to try and find someone who shares that opinion, and it might take awhile.
Hell, I’m terrified he’s actually a Braves fan and not just a Dodgers hater.
I hope the braves win of course but I think the Dodgers are the best team in baseball. Either way I’m looking forward to the series and I’m just glad the braves won a playoff series lol. Anything can happen of course
Funny how people get mad at teams for spending money, and actually giving a damn about the product on the field. “Stop trying so hard !” Derp.
And yet they’re perfectly ok with teams building winners by tanking first. Because that’s so much better for baseball.
Yep. The Mets and Angels are in the same markets as the Yankees and Dodgers, yet don’t show nearly the commitment to winning. Then there are teams like the Pirates who are happy just to get their shiny new ballparks.
Leave my Angels out of this.
They Angels are committed to winning, they are just not that good at it.
Yes and the Phillies
they will get better since they are in process of installing a baseball op president. that should filter arte’s meddling just tiny bit. i am hopeful.
Halo11Fan, they’re committed to winning but have a philosophy that isn’t working. As a Dodgers fan, I grew up with the Angels as my favorite team with Jim Fregosi being one of my all-time favorite players. That division will soon be for the taking. The fear is that they attack by making the same old mistakes. Even though the preference would be developing talent, the picture would be a lot rosier if they didn’t have to work around the Pujols and Upton commitments. The expanded playoffs should work in their favor, but they need to make the absolute correct signings/trades to work around Albert and Justin. There’s not much margin for error. I have no problem at all with them getting it done. This GM hire is obviously crucial.
I believe the division is up for grabs, and based on the last ten years, the Angels will reach for the pole with grease on their hands instead of rosin.
I grew up watching Jim Fregosi. He was so darn good. Few people understand how good.
According to WAR, top five AL players from 1964 to 1970
1) Yaz
2) Brooks Robinson
3) Jim Fregosi.
4) Harman Killebrew
5 Tony Oliva
This is my favorite comment so far. Thank you for pointing out the truth.
…and in the process are making excuses for the billionaire who owns their team for not spending.
I’m glad there weren’t any upsets in the NLDS. These two teams are clearly the cream of the crop in the NL. This is the match people deserve to see. In a 7 game series it’s foolish to bet against the Dodgers, especially because of the Braves pitching injury woes. That being said, I just have a feeling about Atlanta this year. I’m going Braves in 6, even though the Dodgers have the edge on paper.
Fortunately, the Dodgers don’t play on paper .
Great post, my thoughts exactly in such a weird year-
Woulda been semi cool to see like the Marlins win the WS but in the end this is the matchup you want to see from the NL at the start of the year
Dodgers just whooped the padres the second best team in nl. Braves just beat 2 teams with zero offense, the choice is prettt clear. Dodgers in 5
Is it as clear as who the Dodgers closer is?
Nope, but they have a lot of good options.
Outside of fried is it clear who Braves rotation is? The problem is dodgers have 4 closers so it doesn’t really matter who gets the job done.
Rotation = dodgers
Lineup = dodgers
Bullpen = dodgers
The Braves are very good. As a Dodgers fan, they were my biggest concern heading into the post-season. I think the Dodgers are better than the Braves, with the depth of pitching being the main difference. Re closer, it wouldn’t surprise me if Buehler got the final couple outs in a mid-series game. His stuff would play well there. I also liked the opener strategy last night, which enabled a legit starter in Urias to be in the game in the late innings. I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw that strategy employed with other Dodger starters. Having Gonzalez pitch the first inning or two of a game wouldn’t be a terrible idea.
Weirdest stat of the season for me:
Walker Buehler: starts – 10; w/l record: 1-0
His Game 1 performance might define this series.
I like the idea of May becoming a Hader (2 inn guy) to close games the entire series if possible- Game 4 or 5 could be a mix of Gonzo and Victor Gonzo lol –
Imo id just give Urias te ball game 3 and say go as long as ya can- I am a big Urias fan though- Never seen a guy get hated on so much from Dodger fans and non Dodger fans that pitched to a tune of a sub 3.5 era in a year-
This kids got an extra gear its just a matter of letting him work himself to get there – Lets take off the baby gloves with him the next (2) possible series and see whats under the hood
Atlanta’s offense is every bit as good as the Dodgers, so that’s a push. The Dodgers easily have the better rotation, I’ll give you. The Braves, as it stands, don’t have a gm 4 starter they probably fully trust. I’d sooner have the Braves bullpen, though.
This series will come down to if Atlanta’s young arms can weather the Dodgers or not. Both teams are going to score.
100% agree App on your 2nd paragraph -If its squaw thru 6 theres no advantage for anyone- Roberts will also have to be (re) tested again with his bullpen ? prowess….
Your lineup seems to be in its best form it has been all year. Our starters def have their work cut out from them here
Funny part. You haven’t even seen the best rookie statistically for the dodgers pitching wise this year
But you know everything!
This is by far the dumbest argument I have ever heard. So just because you beat a better team means you are better? I mean you could use that argument if Braves played the Padres and lost and then the DOdgers turned around and destroyed them, but thats not how playoffs work and one doesnt make the other true or false.
Here’s why it’s important. You’re missing the point
It’s not just that SD>Miami. It’s that some here are drawing future conclusions For Braves SP against LA’s offense based on success vs much lesser competition
The Braves pitching in the regular season, starting wise, was suspect at best. The article above talks about this fact. Worst rotation vs best rotation era wise
However, they have thrown 4 shutouts vs two laughably bad offenses in the last 10 days, and now many here are implying that success means they will have the same degree of success vs LA’s lineup
If the Braves pitching was great all season and then great against those two teams. Fine. No comment about competition would be made
But they weren’t. And the Braves will need their starters to make this a 7 game series
Does shutting down the marlins mean their SP’s all took a turn for the best at the same time? Maybe.
Or is it a young+talented but middle of the pack group of starters, stat wise, feasted on an even younger team, and that means nothing going against LA? That’s the main argument in this whole thread. Repeated over and over
you also have to remember that 1, Fried and Anderson have been as advertised, if not better for Anderson, all season. (and while the Marlins and Reds aren’t the Dodgers, they are still MLB hitters, and both lineups had capable, proven talent that did nothing outside of game 1)
2, wright and wilson pitched extremely horrible their first few starts of the season and were both sent down. they came back and pitched 2 or 3 starts each of dominant baseball at the end of the year. no, they aren’t Kershaw, but they did what anyone who wants to be successful in MLB does, they grew, learned, and came back and applied what they learned to improve. wright also hadnt pitched in i think 12 days before his game 3 start, so to not give up a run and also K 8(?) in 5/6 innings …that’s pretty good I dont care who you’re pitching against.
Im not implying the Braves are going to come in and throw 4 straight shut outs and sweep the series, and yes, their starters are much less proven and have no where near the experience as the dodgers, but this whole section likes to focus on Braves starters/pitching #’s during the season, but those numbers don’t reflect the people they have now.
Ynoa’s #’s obviously made the starters numbers look terrible. Milone. Then they had those 2 other goons pitching 4 and 5 who aren’t even on the roster
Braves are going to find out quickly they aint playing the Reds or Marlins anymore.
Exactly. The Dodgers played the second-best team in the NL and completely rolled them. And if you believe in SRS and SOS, the Dodgers had a tougher schedule during the irregular season than the Braves and ended up with a significantly better record. In the postseason a lot of that can be thrown out the window of course, but you might want to peek out that window to have a look just the same.
“Second best” team playing a condensed schedule against 2 of only 6 divisions? How does that prove anything? LAD played a good SD team without their best SP (Lamet, who held LAD in 2 starts to a .119 AVG), along with Clevinger and almost nothing from Paddack. This isn’t the same SD team. This will be more of a fair fight, even without Soroka.
Braves are no pushover, but the Dodgers have more of everything. Fine, send in your fired up Acuna. It’s not like the Dodgers have limited experience with squashing fired up guys. Maybe this will be more fair, even without Price.
It feels kind of strange to have to explain this to you, but everybody played a condensed schedule only within their divisions this year. I also didn’t say anything was proven, only that the SRS and SOS scores suggest that the Dodgers had the more difficult schedule in this shortened season and came out of it with the better record. You can look up those numbers if you like. I already have.
I agree as a Dodgers fans the Braves are a WAAYYYY better team than Sd-
Padres might have an attitude problem brewing and it stems directly from that POS Machado- The looks on their faces when down is like somebody stole their ball. Then when they take the lead they have to prance around, yell obsenities, act a fool, and try and rub it in their opponent as if this is the way it should be
Braves are a much more talented respectful team with a real leader in Freeman
I don’t know that the Braves are better than the Padres. If you look at straight up run differential the Padres were actually better and according to SRS they did it with a tougher schedule. That said, I expected the Dodgers to win the NLDS, but I also expected Padres to put up more of a fight than they did. My expectations in the CS are the same: edge Dodgers, but it won’t be easy. As for the Padres and their ‘tude, yeah, sure they turned their swagger up to 11 sometimes and it didn’t always play well, but in the end only the score of the games matter, and it won’t be terrible for the division for this to become the new rivalry.
I got Braves.
Padres had their chances. They didnt capitalize.
Dodgers load the bases against the Braves as many times as they did against the Padres I see the Braves capturing better with that lineup.
Will be a fun series either way.
But I thought padres would easily win maga? So far every team you picked against dodgers loses so expecting more of the same when dodgers win in 4/5
Never said Padres would win. Without a healthy Clevinger and Lamet? People were dreaming.
I’ve said Dodgers aren’t winning the world series. Big difference. Doesn’t matter if they win the WC, NLDS, NLCS. Ive always stipulated they won’t win the WS.
I did said if the Padres want to win they’d need to be aggressive on the base paths and be perfect on defense.
I also said Kershaw would be his usual self in the playoffs. 6 inning, 3 runs. Right in line with his career NLDS production.
Starting think you and commonsense are the same account. You both have the same types of argument strategies: make stuff up and base your comment off that.
Usual self with a 22;1 k/bb ratio gtfo
Kershaw has been outta this world this postseason Mr troll
The pitch to Mary Machado was a good pitch, credit the hitter
He made 2 bad pitches that game, 1 to Meyers and 1 to Hos…
“I also said Kershaw would be his usual self in the playoffs. 6 inning, 3 runs. Right in line with his career NLDS production.”
NLDS- 4.50 ERA this year
NLDS – 3.99 ERA during his career.
But yes, please include his WC numbers when talking about his “usual self” given the fact this is the first time ever we’ve had that round in his 13 year career. Please explain the logic behind that decision. Id love to hear it.
Right in line with his career production.
Kershaw throwing bad pitches and getting burned in the post season…..
Back to the future “Hey wait I’ve seen this one before”. gif
In all honesty, if its fixed it’ll be Dodgers and Astros. Tv ratings will love the drama and story line.
Will the dodgers win? idk. Itd be one heck of a story if the Astros after all their cheating and decimated lineup and pitching staff rallied to win it all to prove everyone wrong.
Would certainly make for an interesting WS.
If the Astros win it all it wont prove everyone wrong. They will still be the guys that CHEATED to win a World Series. They will still be the arrogant asses that think winning now will validate their 2017 season. It wont.
I’ve said the same about you and the many padres troll accounts that have seemingly vanished just like the padres chances of winning a ws. Again you have been wrong up until this point so it will be nice to see dodgers prove you wrong again. We can go back and look at the comments but I’m sure you javia and others were calling kershaw chokeshaw and saying padres are better offensively over dodgers and whelp padres scored 10 runs in 3 games. More like “sham” Diego
Me: Dodgers aren’t winning the world series.
You:” ProVeD yOu WrOnG wE WoN tHe WiLd CaRd AnD NlDs!”
Lmao. Whatever helps you sleep better at night man. Convince yourself of whatever you need to.
Dodgers aren’t winning the world serious.
Lost Angeles Dudgers. K we done with the childish names making fun of stuff now?
*world series
Nah it would be La vs NY
But its not fixed so it will be the best 2 teams that win their respective series
Omg you went against the dodgers
I may faint. Someone, catch me
Marvel,
You could be Brewer88, Javia and yourself
Most of my opinions prove to be correct when the games get played though, unlike your little 3 musketeers bunch here
If only Soroka made a triumphant return.
If only the dodgers also had David Price
If only the dodgers knew their most likely starting DH would make the roster
See how this works? Everyone is hurt or not 100% in Oct
You seem like either an unhappy person or an unpleasant person. Why do you have to constantly attack or antagonize?
I’m pointing out a simple fact
Everyone is hurt. No one is 100%
No one cares Hanley had a broken rib in 13. Seager missed 2 full seasons and was a partial player of himself last year. Kershaws had back problems. Kenley had a heart scare just before the playoffs a few years ago
No one cares after the fact. Play the games
Sorry you don’t like when people are called out for wrong or biased opinions. No one asked you to read my comments. Carry on if you don’t like it
I’m not talking about just this comment. It seems like most of your replies are unnecessarily abrasive. I’m glad I don’t know you in person.
Says the guy who I’ve never talked to, yet you’re calling me abrasive, unhappy and unpleasant person
You are the one being the ahole currently
I haven’t said a freakin word to you
Don’t pretend you know me.
Don’t pretend you know what it’s like to have 3 padre trolls jump at you in unison. Don’t pretend even your own team fans call you foolish saying you believe in Pollock and Seager coming into the year, or Kershaw isn’t declining. Seriously, I don’t know you. Who tf you think you are?
Need a tissue?
How many accounts do you have, Brewers88?
You have said nothing of substance now in 3 comments after coming at me
Cry me a River. you don’t like me. I’ll sleep just fine
You’re the dk calling people you’ve never spoken to some ahole things. So good on you. You’re a dk pretending to care about me. Cool!
Boy. I’m glad I’m not you. Go jump on another bandwagon. But don’t get run over by the others you just jumped off though
Dodgers in5. only to lose to a.l. champ rays.
It is October, Dodger fans. Sorry about your luck . Braves in 6.
Wait… October for the Dodgers looks a whole lot better for the Dodgers than it has for the Braves in recent memory. Sorry about your blind spot. Dodgers in 5.
Right. Because it’s only a Braves fan that would predict the Dodgers to disappoint in the playoffs.
Beat LA, they literally copied the Padres chop
It’s funny how two of the absolute best teams in player drafting & development are meeting in the NLCS. It seems like every year, both of these teams are bringing up at least 1 if not 2 players who not only become starters but key contributors to their team. Couple that with a few smart trades and/or free agency moves and presto, they are in the NLCS. So many teams are trying to emulate this formula. Toronto is showing signs of promise as are the Padres & White Sox. Cleveland has the development side down (mostly pitchers) but they can’t retain their stars due to financial constraints. Boston is finally trying to adopt the Dodgers/Braves model but they are only in the infancy stages. I’d expect we see the Dodgers, Braves & Padres in the playoffs for years to come and which ever team gets hot will win it. Toronto needs another year but they should be regulars in the AL playoffs along with Tampa, Chi Sox and of course the antithesis to this model in the free spending Yankees. It is good to see the free agency model of the 90’s and early 2000’s starting to fade and more time and effort going into drafting well and developing players. The teams who do this well will be perennial winners. Flip a coin for the Dodgers vs Braves NLCS; it should be a really close series.
Disagree on Yankees – They have made radical changes in the last 5 yrs and I dont think this is anything like the George Sr days-
This team has a lot of homegrown talent now and has made some great small trades (Voit) just like the Dodgers – I dont even think Sr would recognize this model if he were still around
Dodgers in 5. The Braves won’t be a challenge
If the Braves are able to fire on all cylinders, they can do this. However… Dodgers in 6.
A longer series favors the Braves because of the potential to run Fried and Anderson out there twice. Every game is always important, but in this case if the Braves fall behind 2-0 or even 2-1, their outlook for Games 4 and 5 are bleak even if Fried comes back on three days rest for Game 5. This is where missing Soroka and not adding a legitimate starter at the deadline could finally catch up with the Braves.
I would love nothing more than to see my Braves play in the World Series, and I think I will soon. If it were a normal year with built-in off days, I’d like their chances a little better. However, adding the second best player in baseball without subtracting any other significant piece is enough for me to say it’s the Dodger’s time.
Dodgers in a very competitive 6. Go Braves.
Dodgers have smoked Fried historically and the Dodgers are a terrible matchup for Ian Anderson who has walk issues.
do you have a source for this? because I know one game he had to leave after getting hit, and another he pitched 5 innings with 3 runs and 8ks. that isnt too bad for a guy who hasn’t pitched that much up until recently, and even better considering that was before he became the pitcher he is today.
I’d say that Price opting out was a pretty significant subtraction…..
But he wasn’t really a loss from last year, just an addition they didn’t get to use.
I think the Longer series favors the Dodgers – Games 4/5 the options will be a lot stronger and the pen will probably be used a lot less as we got guys who can go mult inns with ease whereas Atl has more traditional 1 inn guys-
Saying all that both teams are completely fresh and healthy with arms and ready to roll…..I do wish they woulda built in 2 off days after game 2 and 5 like they did the WS but no excuses; we going 1930’s style 7 days in row
Have appreciated your posts all year Mr Sans
Planning to run multiple pitchers multiple times in a short series vs LA is.. risky
Unless they have 5 ways to get each guy out. This offense isn’t the Marlins. You’re not just getting them to fish at the change up all game for 2 starts
See what I did there?
Indians! Oh wait, wrong politically incorrect team.
Braves in seven.
Dodgers just ran through the second best team in nl. Dodgers in 5.
Happy Gilmore accomplished that feat no more than an hour ago.
Actually, imindless, the Braves are the second-best team in the NL. We’ll find out next week how big the gap is.
Mindless did the second best thing he could do, not respond. Pressure is all on you.
Congrats to the Braves- That lineup is really scary when everyone finally got healthy and clicking- Seems they are peaking right now as well as an offensive unit
I think the whole series comes down to how ATLS young starters perform. I certainly dont expect any Folty losing his soul on the mound moments but they will be tested like never before-
If Atl can keep it square thru 6 inns most games they have a great shot with that offence and pen
These are the 2 best teams in the NL and Im glad in such a strange year they both got a crack at the NLCS – This rivalry is just begining if it hasnt already- Had a lotta good convos here with Braves fans this year. You guys seem to have a lot more insight and respect than the teams fan base we just ran thru in SD. If you guys win I will def be rooting for yall in the Ws over the Al
One thing that I haven’t seen posted is this will be the first look for the Dodgers for Anderson and most likely for Wright as well (Wright hasn’t pitched against the Dodgers, but some of the hitters may have faced him on a previous team).
Usually the advantage goes to the pitcher in the first match up, so maybe Wright and Anderson can steal a couple of games. There’s not much room for error in this series.
Marlins: scoreless in 40 of 45 innings (literally averaged 1 scoring inning a game)
Reds: horrible offense all year that didn’t manage a single postseason run
Dodgers: have trailed a total of *TWO* innings this entire postseason
Padres take the lead, then dodgers, next half inning, immediately took it back. Two times. That’s THE ONLY TIME this team trailed AT ALL this postseason
The Braves have a very good offense. But their pitching better be ready. This team is going to grind you down to the bone then explode when you’re tired and making mistake pitches. Atl is going to be at risk of leaving these young guys in too long.. that’s when LA is at its best.
But using your pen heavily against LAD all 7 games, 7 days in a row is Extremely dangerous. Ask the Padres. That was only 3 days! See why LA is so good?
Could end up like the padre series, where games are closer than final series numbers. I could also see this going 6 or 7, if ATL pitchers step up
Dodgers only lost 2 games in a row 4x this year, and never 3 straight. One last thing, the dodgers were beating opponents by 2.25 Runs/ game
That was the 4th largest run differential per win EVER. Going along side historic yankee teams. This offense won 106+ Then added Mookie. It’s going to be a helluva effort to defeat them. They learned from 13-15. You can’t beat LA just by controlling one Or even 2 players. Should be good baseball though
I can’t see the Braves winning a 7-game series against any playoff team with their lack of healthy starting pitching.
Dodgers will choke like always whether it’s in the LDS, LCS or WS they’ll screw It up, they must think they’re the LA LAKERS when in reality they’re just like the LA clippers
My heart wants the Braves to win, but my brain says the Dodgers will probably win.
I mean, Braves split their series with both the Rays and the Yankees so there isn’t any reason they couldn’t handle the dodgers
I think the Braves are a year away. Their starting pitching is still unproven. They could get lucky, but I don’t think they will.
The Braves are better than the Padres if Lamet, Clevinger and Soroka are out injured as was the case.
I still predict the Dodgers will win this series. For this year, I would take Urias, May or Gonsolin over Kyle.
ABJ will do just fine as the Dodgers’ closer. Who is ABJ? Anybody but Jansen.
I would take Freeman over Betts and Machado as the regular season MVP. All three overtook Tatis, Ozuna, Seager and Soto at the end of the season. Bauer or Darvish for Cy Young.
Betts and Machado didnt even overtake Trea Turner let alone Ozuna. Freeman and Ozuna were the two best players in all of baseball not just he NL this season
Freeman had a high average and obp.
Machado hit more home runs and carried a high average and obp.
Betts had a good year as well.
Freeman could take the award based on what happens in the NLCS.
all awards are voted on at end of regular season, just not announced till after the playoffs
Playoffs have zero impact on any voting
freeman also ranks high, if not highest, in several offensive categories, and is a clutch hitter. and fwiw he doesn’t play dirty like machado
Padres fan here. The Dodgers outplayed the Padres. The Dodgers have adequate pitching, timely hitting, and above average defense.
Dodgers will win the NLCS.
The secret to beating LA is to wear down their relief pitching.
Reality is, the Dodgers are better on paper, mainly because they are more proven.
If Soroka and Hamels were in the rotation with Fried and Anderson, then you can argue the Braves are just as good or better.
Dodgers are the obvious pick. I believe Anderson is the guy to watch for. He might get 2 appearances and will be the difference between a WS appearance or another postseason loss to the Dodgers.
I’m not sold on Fried, His game one start against Marlins proves he is not an ace (yet). His 2 starts against the Dodgers will further dictate who he is and will be.
Man, I wish Soroka was available.
Ha, Hamels is the key huh!
Fried has been dominant since last year. you cant expect him to always go out and pitch lights out. and if you are going by his marlins outing you could also go by his reds outing which was pretty good
If Braves pitching continues to be this good, then the Braves. But realistically I think Braves bats are gonna have to be unreal to win this series and overall we have overall underperformed at the plate so far. Freddie’s been slow, Duvall and NM are non-existing, Riley and Ozzie are a little rough… even Ozuna rough. pretty much 3 guys atm….
Apparently I like to say overall …. lol
I’m a huge Braves fan and would nothing more than to see them win this series and move on. I’m also a realist and it’s not only foolish and unfair to think that these kids will outplay the high powered Dodgers. Could it happen sure…I won’t be surprised if they lose all 4 though and go home. Realistically I’m hoping for 1 win somewhere in there and if all the baseball moons align two or three. To think the Braves can win 4 games in 7 attempts against the LA D. Me thinks something has to go seriously wrong for the Cali squad. With all that said though….Go Braves!!!!! Loving this team and it’s future they will win a WS soon enough. The real question is will the Braves extend Freddie a d at what cost. He would have to take a hometown discount to continue the build. Ozuna needs to be extended and bring in one bonafide starter with an ERA under 8…lol (sarcasm at its beat there) GO BRAVES!!! Show the world what your made of boys.