Dodgers Dugout: Are 100 wins in the Dodgers’ future?

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and Adrian Gonzalez and the rest of the Dodgers paid tribute to Prince on the team bus Thursday. 

Will the Dodgers win 100 games?

I continue to get emails from Dodgers fans convinced this team is doomed to finish last. That is ridiculous. I still think they will end up in second place behind the Giants, but they have looked really good so far this season and I would be pleased to be wrong and watch them win the division. They defeated the Braves two out of three, and won twice in extra innings. As much as I rip the bullpen, they have been pretty good the last few games, and Kenley Jansen continues to be lights-out as closer. Dodger relievers have allowed one earned run over their last 26 1/3 innings (0.34 ERA).

The Dodgers are 10-6 now, which doesn’t seem that impressive until you realize that pace means they would win 101 games. Of course, there are still 146 games left, so don’t start camping out for playoff tickets yet.

The bullpen is sixth in the NL with a 3.19 ERA, second with four victories and tied for first with seven saves. The bullpen is also one of only two NL bullpens with a WHIP below 1.0, the other team being the Cubs.

So, what is the point of all of this? The point is to enjoy it. We get so caught up in “haven’t won a World Series since 1988” that we forget to enjoy the games. The disappointing endings to the last three seasons have made a lot of fans jittery. Don’t get too high or too low based on any one game. Look at the big picture. The Dodgers are in first place. They are getting key hits late in games. They are doing a lot of things they weren’t doing last season. They aren’t perfect. No team is.

Now if only Alex Wood and Scott Kazmir could start getting some guys out.

Another good sign

Remember how people complained the last few seasons that the Dodgers didn't really seem to have a lot of team chemistry? Well, after Thursday's early victory over Atlanta, they had a team dinner to celebrate Joc Pederson's 24th birthday.

Justin credible

Since Justin Turner Chia Pet night is just around the corner, I wanted to take a closer look at the Dodgers third baseman, another member of the team who is woefully underrated by most. Turner has been with the Dodgers since 2014. Let’s see where he ranks among the 31 who have played at least 150 games at third base since the start of the 2014 season.

Batting average: 1^st (.309)

On-base percentage: 1^st (.380)

Slugging: 4^th (.483, Nolan Arenado leads at .548)

WAR: 7^th (8.3, Josh Donaldson leads at 17.3)

So, he has been pretty good. He also comes up with a key hit when needed, like he did in Wednesday’s extra-inning victory. The problem: His contract expires after this season. He is making $5.1 million and is in line for a hefty raise. We’ll talk more about that as the season progresses.

Too soon?

Just wanted to point out that Pederson is hitting .277 and slugging .468 while Corey Seager is hitting .226 and slugging .339. Of course, I can also point out that Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .355, Kiké Hernandez is hitting .361 and Yasmani Grandal is hitting .438. The joy of early-season stats.

Ask Ross Porter

Former Dodgers announcer Ross Porter will be answering select reader questions for the rest of the season. Email me a question for Ross, and I will pass it on. His latest response:

Jack Evans asks: Ross, what kind of pitch counts did Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale have back in the 60s? Koufax, with all his complete games and strikeouts, must have had pitch counts higher than what is allowed today. Pitchers back then worked every four days and threw complete games. How would the present-day pitchers hold up?

Ross: In his final two seasons, 1965 and 1966, Sandy averaged 149 and 151 pitches per nine innings. He threw 27 complete games both years. In 1961, Koufax used 205 pitches in a 13-inning CG against the Cubs and won. The year before, he tossed 198 pitches in 13-plus innings, again versus Chicago, and lost.  

In the 1962, 1963, and 1964 campaigns, Don averaged 152, 151, and 147 pitches per nine innings. He recorded 21 and 20 complete games in 1964 and 1965. Drysdale once told me, “Today’s starting pitchers are wimps. They’re looking over their shoulder to see if a reliever is getting ready. And, they are afraid to jam hitters because they don’t feel the inside of the plate belongs to them. If an opposing pitcher hit one of my teammates, I would hit two of theirs.”

A third Dodger Hall of Fame pitcher, Don Sutton, once said to me, “Pitch counts are overrated. I’ve had games where I had to work harder throwing 80 pitches than games when I needed 110.”

The most complete games in the majors last season was four, done by six pitchers.

What Vin Scully means to me

I asked you to tell me your best Vin Scully memory, and I got a lot of responses. I will respond to selected ones in each newsletter. And keep emailing them to me.

Paul Goodwin: “I am one of those baby boomers who grew up with the transistor radio under my covers, listening to Vin call games when my parents thought I was asleep.  I remember sitting in the floor in my parents’ bedroom in front of their nightstand, listing to the Koufax perfect game on the plastic clock radio. Like most of us of a certain age I remember where I was (in Somerville, Mass.) listening to his call of the Gibson home run.

“But for me, Vin is so much more than a baseball announcer.  My dad got sick and then passed away when I was in my early teens.  After that, Vin became my most important teacher.  I learned a lot of baseball from him, and also a lot about life. About what is and is not important.  About character and values.  About respect and effort.  Also a lot about history, D-Day, musicals, and Toulouse-Lautrec, if you recall that phrase he used to use.  It is hard to explain to people who did not grow up with this experience, but he means a lot more to this city than just being an announcer.  He is not just the voice of the Dodgers.  There will be a huge hole in my heart and in the heart of the city when he retires.

“As an example of things I have learned from Vin recently, on opening day I brought my radio to the game (like in the old days) so I could listen to him call innings 1-3.  He spent most of the top of the first talking not about the just-completed ceremony honoring him.  No, he talked about Socrates.  Yes a bit about Socrates Brito the player, but mostly about Socrates the philosopher.  And about hemlock.  I mean, no one will ever do that again.

And finally

Some people say Scully could make the reading of a grocery list interesting. They are right. Click here to listen.

Have a comment or something you'd like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me and follow me on Twitter: @latimeshouston