This was supposed to be an article discussing the pros and cons of adding Albert Pujols to the Dodgers roster, but that will have to wait for another day. I was distracted from my Pujols notes when Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager was picked off second base for the final out in the first inning of the May 7 game against the LA Angels. “Seager was out from me to you!” as Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully would say. For a team desperately looking for ways to score runs, it was a boneheaded mistake.

Then, the Angels hitters made Dodgers’ left-hander Julio Urias look like a batting practice chucker scoring four runs in the bottom of the second inning, including two home runs. The Dodgers continue to be snake-bitten, a losing pattern now in its third week with no visible signs of changing. The same grimacing glances as lazy fly balls easily nestle into outfielders’ gloves; forlorn walks back to the dugout after another strikeout and hanging heads as the team heads to the clubhouse after yet another loss.

After being swept earlier this week by the Chicago Cubs, first baseman Max Muncy said, “We’re absolutely frustrated; we’re way better than this – period.”

Dodgers fans hope so, Max. They hope that the bullpen blowing 12-saves in the first six weeks of the season is an aberration, not a season-long trend. They are hopeful that the return of Cody Bellinger and Zach McKinstry will improve the offense, and Joe Kelly, Tony Gonsolin, and David Price will bolster the pitching staff. They want to believe that Corey Seager’s shortstop defense will climb from abysmal to at least Major League average, that Mookie Betts will be more than just another good ballplayer, and Gavin Lux will reach his potential.

But, there is a disquieting possibility that “You are what your record says you are,” as Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells once said.

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