There is no denying that the next five days are going to be brutally unbearable for Dodger fans. The mere thought of having to go five days without a Dodger game – especially a postseason Dodger game – is… well… unbearable. That is, of course, unless your name happens to be Corey Seager, or Justin Turner, or Austin Barnes, or even a spry 22-year-old Cody Bellinger; or any one of the other Dodgers who have been dealing with lingering injuries, bumps or bruises after a grueling but extremely successful 162-game season that the Dodgers just completed with the best overall record in Los Angeles Dodgers history.

Granted, a five-day layoff most certainly has its inherent risks, the least of which is returning to action for game-1 of the best-of-five National League Division Series on Friday evening at Dodger Stadium against either the Colorado Rockies or the Arizona Diamondbacks a bit rusty and, of course, a starting rotation that will have to rely on simulated games instead of actual live-game action to remain sharp. But the absolute bottom line is that every man on what will soon once again be a 25-man roster can flat out use the rest – none more so than Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, who has been dealing with an ailing left elbow for most of the second half of the season.

“It was great for all of us, obviously, but I think even for [Seager’s] psyche, just to have the ball hit some outfield grass and to log some hits, I think that’s good for any player,” Dodgers manager Dave Robert – the man affectionately known as “Doc” – said, after his team’s 6-3 win over the Rockies on Sunday afternoon at Coors Field. “So as we approach Friday, having guys healthy – in a good state of mind – so I think that we couldn’t have scripted it any better.”

Seager, the Dodgers 23-year-old former 2012 first-round draft pick out of Northwest Cabarrus High School in Concord, North Carolina and reigning 2016 National League Rookie of the Year, did indeed hit some outfield grass on Sunday … three times, in fact.

With his 3-for-3 day on Sunday, including this first-inning double that was absolutely smoked down the right field line, and with five days rest, Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager figures to be healthy physically and mentally when the NLDS begins at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. (Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

Seager had been mired in a horrible 5-for-37 (.135) slump with eight strikeouts over his last 10 games prior to Sunday’s much-needed 3-for-3, two run, one RBI day in game number 162 of the season. And while there are some – perhaps many – who considered the 6′-4″ / 220-pound left-handed hitting and throwing Dodgers shortstop’s struggles nothing more than a rough patch, the simple truth is that he has not been healthy with a sore left elbow that very well may require surgery during the off-season.

And then there’s Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, who was hit on the left hand by a 91-mph fastball thrown by Phillies right-hander Mark Leiter in the top of the first inning on September 21, forcing him out of the game. Turner would miss the next four games due to what was diagnosed as a right thumb contusion. On top of that, the 32-year-old Long Beach, California native and unofficial team captain was dealing with a stomach virus that was making its way through the Dodgers clubhouse over the past month. Although Turner has since returned to the Dodgers lineup and went 1-for-2 at the plate as one of 24 players to see action in the 2017 regular season finale, he most certainly can use the five days off before the Division Series opener on Friday.

And then there’s Dodgers catcher / utility infielder Austin Barnes who, to the surprise of everybody, replaced starting catcher Yasmani Grandal in the bottom of the sixth inning on Sunday after having taken a foul ball in the … well, you know where, on Saturday night that forced him out of the game. And while there certainly isn’t much a guy can do for such an ‘injury’ that doesn’t involve a bag of frozen peas, Barnes still somehow managed to catch four innings and hit a sharp single to center field and come around to score. You will get an argument from no one – especially Austin Barnes – that he can use a few days off to get his voice to return to normal.

And even though Dodgers rookie phenom and likely 2017 NL Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger is not physically injured per se, he recently told ThinkBlueLA “I’m just tired,” after having played in 132 of the Dodgers 162 games.

Whereas five days off is unquestionably a good thing when it comes to mending such physical injuries and ailments, the best mental health medicine – or that ‘psyche’ thing that Doc referred to – were the 10 hits that the Dodgers collected on Sunday afternoon. In fact, the only two starting eight who failed to get a hit were Logan Forsythe and Grandal, and the only (position player) substitutes who did not collect a hit were Charlie Culberson, Kyle Farmer, Chase Utley, Tim Locastro, Alex Verdugo and Rob Segedin.

When you put all of this together, a 10-hit mental health season finale coupled with a five-day layoff to mend the aching bodies is just what the Doc(tor) ordered.