Philadelphia Phillies: With your Team out of the Playoffs, Who to Root for?
By Chuck Booth
National League: The Los Angeles Dodgers
Who are they: The evil empire has shifted from New York to Los Angeles. backed by a star-studded ownership group the Dodgers were able to accrue the highest payroll in baseball. But due to numerous injuries in their rotation, they were lucky to win the National League West with a 91-71 record which was worst among all division winners.
What the Dodgers do have is a pair of electric youngsters in their lineup in the form of Joc Pederson and Corey Seager. Both of them are 24 and under and look to be foundations for the Dodgers for years to come. They also have pitching phenom Julio Urias who at 19 logged 77 innings for the team going 5-2.
Why root for them: For Philadelphia Phillies fans, this is another easy one. The Dodgers have Cole Hamels, Carlos Ruiz, and Joe Blanton contributing to the team and all three were part of the Phillies 2008 World Series core. Every Philadelphia Phillies fan would love to see them get another ring even if it happens with another team.
Surprisingly the Dodgers have a pretty long World Series drought having not won one since 1988. They have made the playoffs in four straight years but have crashed out before making the World Series. Clayton Kershaw also will need to get over his personal playoff hump if the Dodgers want this to be their year.
Will they make good on their expectations?