September 12th, 2018 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Remember back in April and May when the Dodgers lost 16 of their first 28 games, including losing six of 10 to the lowly San Francisco Giants?
After nearly every one of those early season Dodgers losses, you couldn’t pick up a sports page, turn on a sports radio or television talk show, or even log onto Twitter without some self-proclaimed baseball expert saying “It’s still early.”
But for those who know me – even if only slightly – they know that there isn’t a baseball phrase that frosts my flakes more than “It’s still early.” Not one.
In fact, whenever I hear this absolutely ridiculous phrase, my textbook response is always: “A loss in April or May is just as important as a loss in August or September,” – without exception. Or as former Dodger great and current Dodgers radio broadcaster Rick Monday likes to put it: “It gets late early.”
For whatever reason, my (and Rick Monday’s) logic tends to incite ill will from the ‘It’s still early’ pundits who, amazingly, have disappeared into the woodwork, with the Dodgers now in second place in the National League West 1.5 games behind the first place Colorado Rockies and a mere one game ahead of the third place Arizona Diamondbacks with exactly 17 games remaining in the regular season.
There is no disputing that the Dodgers losing all six games of their games to the NL Central last place Cincinnati Reds (with one game left to play on Wednesday morning) has been a nightmare for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. But regardless of much Roberts tries to paint the proverbial turd gold by fluffing up how well the ball came out of Alex Wood‘s or Hyun-Jin Ryu‘s hand, or regardless of how great Pedro Baez or Scott Alexander or any of his other relievers were during his team’s first two – and now six consecutive – loses to the third worst team in the National League, that proverbial gold turd is still a turd.
When things go bad for the Dodgers, they tend to go exceptionally bad. Like when Alex Verdugo grounded to Reds second baseman Brandon Dixon just as Dodgers pinch-runner Tim Locastro was running by for a unique tag and throw 4-3 double play to end Tuesday night’s 3-1 loss to Cincinnati at Great American Ballpark.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)
With the Dodgers heading to St. Louis immediately following Wednesday’s series finale against the lowly Reds for a crucial four-game series with the NL East third place Cardinals (who currently have a 3.0-game lead over the Dodgers for the National League Wild Card), Roberts decision to push Clayton Kershaw‘s regularly scheduled start from Wednesday to Thursday is certainly a sound one.
However, with the Dodgers complete power failure at the plate and with less-than-stellar starts by Wood and Ryu, Dodger fans have been left with the impression that the Dodgers expected to cakewalk their way through Cincinnati en route to St. Louis; this in spite of the fact that those same lowly Reds swept the Dodgers in four games at Dodger Stadium back in May … when it was ‘still early.’ The Dodgers sure could have used a couple of those ‘still early’ wins back then, wouldn’t you say?
The Dodgers will send right-hander Ross Stripling to the mound in place of left-hander Clayton Kershaw for Wednesday’s series finale against the Reds. Kershaw’s regularly scheduled start was pushed back to Thursday, when the Dodgers open a crucial four-game series with the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
The silver lining to Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the lowly Reds is that while Roberts’ team was being humiliated for the sixth consecutive time, the third place Dbacks beat the first place Rockies to keep the Dodgers a game and a half behind Colorado and Arizona a game back of LA, so there’s that.
That being said, the Dodgers might want to try a different approach in Wednesday’s morning finale against the lowly Reds … say, like, maybe showing up for a change.
Because anyway you slice it, it is not ‘still early.’
…and quite frankly, it never is.
Posted in 
1000% SPOT ON! Dodgers did not stay above .500 until June 10 (33-32) — laid back approach to ST then “it is only April…only May”
I’ve been dreading this 4 game series with the Cardinals for some time now and only hoping the Dodgers can make it through it still clinging to some hope they’ve still got a chance to win the division.
Here’s hoping they can avoid being swept by the Reds this afternoon.
Sad commentary on this season that Dodgers’ fans are clinging to hope for a chance at the NL West and not be swept, again, by the Reds. Who woulda thunk?
It started with the country club Roberts ran while calling it spring training and continues to this day with Roberts sugar coating every loss with his spin on the good things that happened instead of just saying the truth, but if he did that he might have to start with himself and that won’t happen.
I agree, but believe it started even earlier when Dodgers FO was cavalier during the Winter thinking it could easily replace Brandon Morrow and Tony Watson while paying Logan Forsythe $9MM
I was really surprised when they picked up Forsythe’s option. It made no sense to me.
A also agree with you regarding Watson. BMo was a different story though. He wanted something the Dodgers couldn’t give him, the closer’s job, along with the corresponding pay. I wanted him to stay, as I’m sure the Dodgers did too, but that job was filled.
A game won in April is a game that doesn’t have to be won in September.
As I write this the Dodgers have already beaten the Reds on Wednesday.
The Dodgers actually outscored the Reds for the series, 15-14, yet lost 2 of 3. So which of those stats actually counts for anything? We all know the answer to that.
As I see it they now need to win at least five of the next seven games, which they did in the last seven against the Snakes and Rocks. The Cardinals have been historically tough on the Dodgers, so that’s a big challenge.
Then they still have the Friars, Snakes, and Giants. That last one: we all know standings don’t count for much in a Dodgers-Giants series.
They can still do it, but as for me, my confidence is somewhat less than high.
My other thought is: If the do make it what is this team going to look like in the post-season?
I said it earlier, a few posts back: stick a fork in them, they are done. When they can’t beat the Mets or the Reds… teams they should beat mercilessly… this isn’t a World Series contender, much less a playoff team.
Was it as soon as games One and Two, those consecutive 1-0 losses? To the f’in Giants! The pattern was (probably) set for the rest of the season to come.
As much as I like to pick on Austin Barnes, he wasn’t the only one to stink up the joint. Chris Taylor. Cody Bellinger. Logan Forsythe. Even Chase Utley, as much as everyone respects him. There was a magic in 2017 that completely dissipated in 2018. Because baseball.
I think the season is over. If the Dodgers make the playoffs, that’s great of course –if not a miracle– but I wouldn’t be surprised if they finished third. I watched the last few innings of the middle Reds game ‘knowing’ they weren’t going to come back, not because I’m Nostradamus, but because I’ve watched this team all season. (Funny, in Hawaii I can watch more Dodger games than people in LA.) They just don’t have it in them, the occasional Matt Kemp walk-offs notwithstanding. Those two games were the exceptions to the rule.
I don’t know what Friedman/Zaidi will do to ‘fix’ this team. Maybe they do nothing except nibble around the edges of the roster and the magical 2017 team reappears. Maybe they sign, besides Kershaw, a big-name free agent and the team still hits .200 with RISP. Maybe the World Series window has closed? Is it still open with this roster?
I know it’s getting wordy but I seriously think about a semi-rebuild. I would make Don Mattingly’s day by trading Puig to the Marlins. I don’t think his mind was fully engaged all season, thus the slightly diminished defense. Need to make room for Verdugo. Lots of Cubans in Miami, Puig ought to sell a few more tickets.
Austin Barnes is gone. Chase? Would he consider being the manager of this team? I know he wants to be a Daddy, but would running the ship appeal to him? Yasmani is gone, since we have to free up money somewhere, plus we’ve got all these catchers in the system. Dozier’s done nothing, must we keep him? Manny’s going to the Phillies, probably. There’s more, but I gots to go…