Dodgers Dugout: Dodgers will beat the Mets in four games

Hi and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and the best thing about making the playoffs is we can finally see them on TV, even if it is without Vin Scully.

Settle down, everyone

Some people were wondering why there wasn’t a special edition of Dodgers Dugout the day after the team clinched the West division title and a playoff spot. Here’s why: It’s nothing to get overly excited over. The goal of the Dodgers every season should be to win the World Series. After all, they won the division the last two seasons, and what did that get them? Heartache. Winning the division is something to be happy about. Something to be proud of. Have a team dinner and celebrate. But to run on the field and mob everyone, and spray champagne all over each other in the clubhouse? No. Because unless you get to the World Series, what’s the big deal? And it’s not just the Dodgers. Every team does the same thing, whether they win the division or clinch a wild-card spot (which only guarantees them one extra game). And baseball is the only sport where this happens. Do the Lakers spray champagne and mob the court after winning the division (back when they won divisions)? No. Do they do it after winning the first round of the playoffs? No. Do the Pittsburgh Steelers do it, the Kings do it? No. Only in baseball. Be happy you won, be proud, but save the over-the-top celebrating for when you win the World Series.

Now all you kids get off my lawn.

The Mets

Let’s look at how the Mets and Dodgers compare as teams. We’ll look at individual matchups in the next newsletters.

Runs per game

Mets, 4.31 (5th in NL)

Dodgers, 4.11 (9th)

Home runs

Dodgers, 183 (1st)

Mets, 176 (3rd)

Batting average

Dodgers, .250 (10th)

Mets, .247 (13th)

OB%

Dodgers, .326 (1st)

Mets, .314 (10th)

SLG%

Dodgers, .414 (2nd)

Mets, .404 (6th)

ERA

Mets, 3.47 (4th)

Dodgers, 3.48 (5th)

Strikeouts

Dodgers, 1,364 (2nd)

Mets, 1,287 (7th)

WHIP

Mets, 1.192 (2nd)

Dodgers, 1.195 (3rd)

Starters’ ERA

Dodgers, 3.28 (2nd)

Mets, 3.49 (4th)

Relief ERA

Mets, 3.50 (7th)

Dodgers, 3.93 (11th)

Blown saves

Dodgers, 21 (T4th most)

Mets, 21 (T4th most)

So who will win?

The Dodgers’ chances in the playoffs will come down to three things:

1. How well Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke pitch. If they pitch up to their capabilities, the Dodgers have a great chance to win every playoff series, but only if.
2. The offense has to score.  The team can’t afford one of those scoring droughts that would hit them at times during the season.
3. The bullpen -- the team’s Achilles’ heel. They have actually pitched better the last couple of weeks, but a consistent, reliable setup man is a must for the playoffs.

The Dodgers figure to pitch Kershaw and Greinke in Games 1 and 2, with the chance to bring Kershaw back on short rest in Game 4 and Greinke back at full rest in Game 5, if needed. Game 3 will be “throw Wood or Anderson out there and cross your fingers.”

I think Kershaw knows he has something to prove this postseason and will be locked in. My prediction: Dodgers in 4.

What’s next?

We will talk more about the Mets/Dodgers matchup in the next newsletter, which will come out the morning of Game 1. The playoff plan is to send a newsletter out every game morning while the Dodgers are still alive. Until Game 1 though, I want to know how you would size up the NL playoffs. I used our ranker tool to create a place for you to rank the five NL teams in order. So please go here and rank them, with your first pick being the team you feel is most likely to reach the World Series, and your fifth pick the team you feel is least likely to reach the World Series.

Seager wins the job?

Don Mattingly is playing it coy, but it appears Corey Seager has won the shortstop job from Jimmy Rollins. He started against the Giants in both games before they clinched, including starting against Madison Bumgarner, a tough left-hander, when Rollins would usually get the start. I won’t rehash the entire Rollins or Seager argument, but I wanted to point out one thing. Seager has gone out of his way to praise Rollins for the help he has given him. When Seager makes an error, Rollins is the first one to talk to him and work with him on what happened, whether it be poor footwork, a rushed throw, etc. He also praises Rollins for making sure Seager doesn’t feel awkward as the new guy who could (and maybe has) taken Rollins’ job. It’s easy to knock Rollins for his poor offense this year, but in an era when athletes seem to be more selfish that ever, it’s important to notice and applaud Rollins for being a pro and giving back like he has. It would be great if Dodgers fans gave him an extra loud ovation every time they see him from now on, because he has earned it.

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 is his latest response:

Greg Potenza asks: Ross, when you did play-by-play for the Dodgers, TV games were formatted where Vinny would call the beginning and the end of the game with the middle innings being handled by you or Jerry Doggett. If the game went into extra innings, I think each inning would flip back and forth between announcers. Now that Vin has reached his late 80s, why has his workload per televised game gone up to all innings of the game? It would seem to reason as he advances in age, his innings per game should be decreased rather than increased as they have.

Ross: When Vin was not on television, Greg, he was on radio, doing the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, usually in the next door broadcast booth, and I was on TV those three innings. Once Vin went back to television, he stayed there for the rest of the game regardless of how many innings it went. Now, Vin does a simulcast (that is radio and TV at the same) for the first three innings. He does it from the TV booth, never leaving there, and is on television only from the fourth inning on. Vin loves play-by-play, and the sponsors, fans, and Dodgers want him on the air as much as he can be. Recently, his throat was sore for a few days, so he announced  on TV only and not on radio where he would have needed to talk more.

Vin has been told by Dodger management that he can do what he wants as far as his schedule is concerned. If, on the way to Dodger Stadium for a game, he decides for any reason that he doesn’t want to work that night, he can make a phone call, turn around and go home. He has earned that privilege over the last 66 seasons. Vin has not told me this, but it won’t surprise me a bit if he announces just home games in 2016.

And finally

Is Kiké Hernandez the Dodgers’ secret weapon? You can read all about 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.