The 2021 Dodgers Are Suffering From A World Series Hangover
It’s all too real and common. The success of the previous season goes straight to your head. Unfortunately, the 2020 World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are currently in the dreaded category of suffering from a massive hangover. At the moment, there seems to be little wind in their sails and an overall inability to simply win a baseball game.
It didn’t start off this way. The team started the 2021 season going 13-2. They had by far the best record in all of baseball and it seemed the Dodgers were unstoppable. Then it all stopped. They’re on a stretch at the moment where they’ve only won four of their last 17 games. In fact, they were just swept by a Chicago Cubs team with the worst starting pitching in the Majors.
A big reason why is Dodger players dealing with aliments. Mookie Betts injured his back a few weeks ago and hasn’t really been the same. He could be still injured and pushing through it. His stats throughout haven’t been Mookie-like either. He’s only batting .248 with three home runs.
Star Outfielder Cody Bellinger has been out since the fifth game of the season after being spiked in the ankle. This resulted in a hairline fracture. He still isn’t at full strength, and there’s no real timeline when he’ll be back. Despite a down 2020, he remains an offensive cog for the Dodgers for when he comes back.
Kenley Jansen’s safety net, also known as Corey Knebel, may be out until August or September. On April 23rd, the hard-throwing right-hander suffered a right lat strain. Other pitchers joining him on the IL are Brusdar Graterol, Tony Gonsolin, and David Price.
Another injuring mightily affecting the Dodgers is utilityman Zach McKinstry. He started the season batting .296 and an OBP of .883 with 13 runs batted in. He went down with a right oblique strain on April 22nd. They’re being really cautious with his recovery, and don’t exactly know when he’ll be back.
Oh and let’s not forget about Dustin May going down with season-ending Tommy John surgery on his damaged ulnar collateral ligament two days ago. Before going down he had a 2.74 earned run average in five starts. He had a dazzling 98 mph fastball with movement. This is a huge blow to the Dodgers pitching staff.
Will things get better for the team? Yes. Despite these difficulties, the Dodgers have a 17-15 record and are only 1.5 games out of first. The team they’re fielding now is more than capable to win games. Once Corey Seager and Mookie Betts start hitting as they’re known to do so, that will most likely rub off on the rest of the team. The offense and the bullpen are struggling, but It’s still early in the season. Their team ERA is second in the National League with 3.11 which is definitely a cause for some optimism. There is time for a turnaround, and the Dodgers are more than capable of doing it.
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