This oft-uttered quote has long been attributed to the great Mark Twain dating back to 1913, although this too may not be entirely true. It is often associated with political campaign promises and wheelers and dealers (a redundancy).

But try as they may, this quote is generally not associated with Major League Baseball, as MLB statistics are, for the most part, etched in stone (so to speak) and indisputable.

Here are some indisputable ‘figures’ as of 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 18, 2021:

• The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently in second place in the National League West Division with a 74-46 (.617) record.
• The San Francisco Giants are currently in first place in the NL West with a 78-42 (.650) record – exactly 4.0 games ahead of the Dodgers.
• The Dodgers and Giants both have 42 games remaining in the 2021 regular season, including three against each other at Oracle (formerly AT&T, formerly SBC, formerly Pacific Bell) Park September 3-5.
• The two teams are 8-8 against one another in their 16 head-to-head meetings thus far this season.
• The Dodgers are currently enjoying a five-game winning streak – their longest of the season – and have won nine of their last 10 games.
• The Giants currently have a modest three-game winning streak and have also won nine of their last 10 games.
• The Dodgers currently have a combibned .247 batting average – tied for ninth in MLB with the San Diego Padres and (wait for it…) the San Francisco Giants.
• The Dodgers have hit a combined 167 home runs thus far in 2021 – tied for sixth in MLB.
• The Giants have hit a combined 181 home runs thus far in 2021 – tops in the Majors.
• Dodgers pitchers currently have a combined 3.09 ERA – best in MLB.
• Giants pitchers currently have a combined 3.11 ERA – third-best in MLB.
• The Dodgers have committed 71 errors thus far in 2021 – tied for fourth most in MLB with the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies.
• The Giants have committed 55 errors thus far in 2021 – 24th in MLB.

The point to all of this is that for those ‘it’s still early’ types who think that the Dodgers still have “plenty of time” to catch – and pass – the NL West first-place Giants before Fan Appreciation Day on October 3 (i.e., the final game of the 2021 regular season for the Dodgers), you may want to consider these ‘figures’:

• To date, the Giants longest losing streak of 2021 has been four games, which they have done once and included losing two games to the Dodgers.
• To date, the Dodgers longest losing streak of 2021 has been four games, which they have done twice.

In other words, there is not “plenty of time” left.

To be clear, it is absolutely positively 100 percent possible for the Dodgers to overcome their current four-game deficit to ‘The Hated Ones.’ But it will require the Dodgers to win four of their remaining 42 games on the same day that the Giants lose four of their remaining 42 games – and this hasn’t happened very often this season.

…and that is not a lie.

Play Ball!

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