October 18th, 2023 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka There was nothing good about how the Dodgers 2033 season and postseason ended.
Nothing.
Oh, sure, going 100-62 during the regular season to win their 10th National League West Division title in 11 seasons is a very good thing. But going three and out in the first round of the postseason means that instead of being in the playoffs, the Dodgers will be watching the NLCS and the World Series on TV along with the rest of us.
On Tuesday morning, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and General Manager Brandon Gomes held their annual end-of-season press conference at Dodger Stadium. And though this was done more out of obligation than desire, the Dodgers’ top exec owned up to his team’s shortcomings … again.
“Our goal each and every year is to win a championship. In our opinion, putting ourselves in the best position to do that in the regular season is to win the division, which then puts us in the best position to win a championship. And when we don’t do that, I think it’s fair to say it’s an organizational failure,” Friedman admitted.
“It doesn’t mean there weren’t a lot of successes in a lot of things to grab on to. There were a lot of special memories that were created throughout this summer that I think are real and happened and are meaningful. That being said, our goal is to win 11 games in October and we didn’t win one.
(SportsNet LA)
“So, we need to figure out what we can do differently and how to go about it, and we’re at that fork in the road. We get to, can we just lay down or do we keep fighting? And, you know, this weekend I didn’t feel like the ‘keep fighting’ was the right answer, but we certainly gotten there and we’ve got meetings starting tomorrow to really get into things and try to put ourselves in the best position so that on October 17th next year, this situation is very different. We’re talking about preparing for Game-2 of the NLCS,” Friedman concluded.
In the famous words of author Doris Kearns Goodwin:
“Wait till next year!”
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
It seems to me the players get paid for the regular season. The teams that win in the playoffs are the ones that WANT it the most. Enough to stop being damn “nice guys”. Where is the fire on the Dodgers? Dave Roberts, Mookie, Freddie, all too damn nice. No Tommy LaSorda. No Kirk Gibson. If they sign Ohtani, I hope he can help light a fire under their asses. He WANTs to WIN. Padres last year and Diamondbacks this season both game out breathing fire, ready to stomp the Dodgers throats. And LA rolled over like my hound dog expecting a belly rub…
The stuff between their ears is where they have failed in the playoffs…
Did I write this comment in my sleep??? Lol. I feel the EXACT same way. I’m not mad at Dave Roberts or the starting pitching, I’m PISSED at the constant lack of competitive fire from our stars. I said to a buddy at the trade deadline that we needed Tommy Pham because this team was too nice. We need some dudes that aren’t afraid to make enemies. I was at Game 1 and almost lost my mind when I saw Mookie hugging Ketel Marte at second base in the 7th or 8th inning. You’re down 11-0 and you’re hugging the opponent?! That’s just insane to me and speaks to the lack of competitive fire our guys have. This is a competition, not a popularity contest. I laughed when I saw “experts” predicting the Dbacks to even win a game vs the Phillies. The Dbacks are not that good, they got lucky that they went up against a bunch of mentally weak boys. Now they’re facing a team full of grown ass men in the Phillies and they’re getting smacked in the face. I hope the front office goes out and gets some dogs this offseason. The Dodgers desperately need to find a way to become mentally tougher.
It absolutely is an organizational failure. And in my mind it’s a philosophical failure. In 9 of the last 11 Postseasons the Dodger offense has completely pooped the bed. That’s the issue that keeps coming up every single year. With that said, if this team is still platooning and playing matchups in the Postseason next year they deserve the early exit that will be coming their way. Show me the last team to win a World Series by platooning? You won’t be able to. Even the 2020 Dodgers had a set lineup! The top 6 guys in that lineup were set in stone and they faced whoever was pitching, no platooning. Every remaining Postseason team does not platoon the way the Dodgers do. They have guys that play everyday, that’s what works in October. If the Dodgers can’t see that by now I have no idea how they’re even employed.
I have been staying away for the last couple of weeks with a virus called “being sick to my stomach”. All three replies are spot on, we all follow our beloved Dodgers during the course of the season, we hope that they get things figured out going into the playoffs and THEY DON’T. Kirk Gibson would have called the team out as being soft (only much more harshly). Other than the starting pitching, the pitching was outstanding! Our hitters were shrinking violets, lack of aggression at the plate and on the basepaths, not generating runs out of this line-up is a debacle! And I agree, the platooning thing is a travesty, a mockery and a sham. Put your best players in and let them perform. They have to get used to the splits during the season so they are ready for the playoffs. I hope they can sign some Gibsonesque players this offseason, no one will ever forget how pissed off he got when Jesse Orosco put eye black in his hat; that was pure fire and led to the last legitimate world championship. Love Mookie and love Freddie, but maybe they need to be a little meaner and mentally tougher. But make no mistake, they are great players.
You know Competitive Fire or not?!
If you knew going in to the series that Freddie and Mookie would get 1 hit, Kershaw would get bombed for 6 runs and Lynn would give up 4 homers in an inning
What result would you expect????