The defending World Series champion, Los Angeles Dodgers, have by all accounts had a disappointing year. It seems odd to say as they lead their division by 5 games and are still second overall in MLB (just a few days ago they held the best record in MLB), but I think most keen baseball followers expected much more. Prior to the season I thought this juggernaut of a team might make a run at the all time single season win record of 116. That is definitely not going to happen as they are only on pace to win 97. 97 wins is nothing to scoff at. That's an incredible year for most mortal teams but seems pretty tame for what could be considered a super team that features a handful of future hall of famers.

So what has gone wrong?

One word: Pitching.

The Dodgers are not having any problems scoring runs. They lead MLB with 502 runs scored. However, they have been giving up a boatload of runs as well. Ranking a dismal 23rd out of 30 teams in runs allowed. They have allowed 435 runs so far. Just the other day they lost 18-1. Ouch.

Why has the pitching been so bad?

One word: Injuries

The Dodgers at one point had 14 pitchers on the injured list (15 if you count Ohtani who was hitting but not pitching and has since returned to the mound, albeit in a limited capacity).

For most of the season they have been missing 4/5 of their projected starting rotation and a number of top relievers as well. The Dodgers have a lot of depth but that is quite the hurdle to overcome.

They have had some success recently with guys like Ohtani, Kershaw and May returning from the IL and contributing but all these guys are working their way back from major injuries and will need time to return to peak form. Plus, let's face it, Kershaw is old. He will give you some great Kershawesque games but he is going to get hit around some times as well.

There is some good news on the horizon. It looks like stud SP Tyler Glasnow will return this week and former Cy Young winner Blake Snell might not be too far behind. One can also expect the Dodgers to be active at the trade deadline to bolster their bullpen and starting rotation.

I won't be selling my mountain of Dodgers shares on Predyx just yet, but so far @realBitcoinDog's Dodgers have been a minor disappointment. However, maybe not when you consider how decimated by injury they have been. As long as they are relatively healthy heading into the playoffs, I am still taking the Dodgers, but based on how this season has gone that is not a foregone conclusion.

Sats for all, GR