Newsletter: Dodgers Dugout: Who should win the Cy Young? Greinke, Kershaw or Arrieta?

Hi, welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, reminding you that the Dodgers’ magic number to win the NL West is 15.

Still in control

Sure, I could sit here and complain about the Dodgers’ bullpen losing another game, but let’s face it: The Dodgers are playing really well right now, having won 13 of their last 16, including five in a row until Wednesday’s loss to the Angels. Will Dodgers fans ever be comfortable with this bullpen? Doubtful. The seventh and eighth innings of every game will always cause the heart to race, the stomach acid to build, the nails to be chewed. But the Dodgers have an 8 ½-game lead with 23 games to play. If they go 11-12 the rest of the way, the Giants would have to go 19-3 just to force a tie.

Who’s the best?

There are only three candidates for the NL Cy Young Award this season: Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and Chicago’s Jake Arrieta. It seems like a no-brainer for Greinke, but there is a groundswell of support out there for Kershaw. And it’s possible that Greinke and Kershaw split the vote, allowing Arrieta to sneak through (not to discount Arrieta, who is having a great season). But it seems right now to be coming down to Kershaw and Greinke. I have set up a new poll in which you can rank the three candidates in order. You can do that here. But first, take a look at the stats for all three:

Kershaw: 13-6, 2.15 ERA, 201 IP, 144 hits, 36 walks, 259 strikeouts, 0.896 WHIP

Greinke: 16-3, 1.68 ERA, 192.2 IP, 133 hits, 32 walks, 174 strikeouts, 0.856 WHIP

Arrieta: 18-6, 2.03 ERA, 191 IP, 132 hits, 44 walks, 197 strikeouts, 0.921 WHIP

Kershaw leads the NL in innings and strikeouts.

Greinke leads the NL in ERA and WHIP.

Arrieta leads the NL in wins and has pitched a no-hitter this season.

I think Greinke still deserves it, but Kershaw has been better since the All-Star break and still has some starts left to make it really interesting.

Unwelcome Mat

Everyone’s favorite new Dodger, Mat Latos, was in a bit of a grumpy mood after learning he had been scratched from Wednesday’s start because of a sore neck (probably injured whipping his head around to watch all the balls rocket to the outfield). "I'm not talking," he said, when asked about it. Latos is 0-2 with a 6.56 earned-run average in five starts with the Dodgers, and hopefully will not start again until after the Dodgers have clinched a playoff spot.

Ruggiano rises

Justin Ruggiano appears to be quickly becoming a fan favorite. A lot of people were puzzled when the Dodgers acquired him from Seattle right at the trade deadline, but here’s the reason: He owns left-handed pitchers. He has a career slugging average of .522 against left-handers. In 446 at-bats against them (basically a full season), he is hitting .271 with 36 doubles and 24 home runs. He is hitting .455 with two homers for the Dodgers, and if he keeps producing numbers like that, the Dodgers will have to find a spot for him on the postseason roster.

Speaking of the postseason

A lot of people have emailed me to ask which players are eligible for the postseason? The answer: anyone in the organization before Sept. 1. So Corey Seager, hitting .360 with four doubles in 25 at-bats, is eligible for the postseason. Everyone on the team right now is eligible to be on the playoff roster. We will talk more about who the Dodgers should choose when we get closer to the playoffs.

Playoffs?

In case you are wondering, below is the playoff schedule for this year. If the season had ended Thursday morning, Chicago would play at Pittsburgh in the one-game wild-card playoff, with the winner traveling to St. Louis to play the five-game NL Division Series. The Dodgers would host New York in the other NLDS.

NLDS

Friday, Oct. 9

Saturday, Oct. 10

Monday, Oct. 12

Tuesday, Oct. 13*

Thursday, Oct. 15*

NLCS

Saturday, Oct. 17

Sunday, Oct. 18

Tuesday, Oct. 20

Wednesday, Oct. 21

Thursday, Oct. 22*

Saturday, Oct. 24*

Sunday, Oct. 25*

World Series

Tuesday, Oct. 27

Wednesday, Oct. 28

Friday, Oct. 30

Saturday, Oct. 31

Sunday, Nov. 1*

Tuesday, Nov. 3*

Wednesday, Nov. 4*

*-if necessary

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 to him. Here’s his latest response:

Rey O'Connor asks: Ross, do you think Dodger fans, especially the 70% who do not have access to Dodger telecasts, are entitled to a firm and honest explanation as to why Dodger owners are letting this completely ridiculous failure to communicate go into two seasons?

Ross: I am astonished, Rey, that this calamity has existed for so long. This has been a public-relations disaster. Houston's poll this week showed almost 47% of the fans blame the Dodgers and nearly 40%  Time Warner Cable. This was a 25-year deal for over $8 billion. (That's  right, 8 BILLION). How in the world could the two sides afford NOT to reach a settlement? Has TWC paid the Dodgers a cent yet? Time Warner Cable demands TV providers like Direct TV, AT&T, Cox, Dish and Verizon pay more money for broadcast rights. And, a major sticking point is the providers don't want to charge their customers $4.50 more a month for the Dodger games, feeling it would offend a nice lady in Pasadena who never heard of an infield fly rule, and she would cancel her commitment. In May, Charter Communications announced it wants to buy Time Warner for $55 billion, but that needs Federal Communications Commission approval. So, is Time Warner waiting for that to happen before it decides to complete the Dodger deal? Yes, the Dodgers need to give their fans an update. "Completely ridiculous failure" may not be a strong enough expression.

And finally

Times Dodgers blogger Steve Dilbeck takes a look at whether you can thank Ron Roenicke for the fact that the Dodgers have suddenly learned how to run the bases and have 20 steals in their last 12 games. You can read it here.

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