L.A. Dodgers 2023

The 2023 Dodgers are underdogs in the NL West? Image by Nick M.W.

By Nick M. W.

There’s been a disturbance in the Force as the perennial NL West powerhouse Dodgers start this season in San Diego’s shadow.

Let the games begin! The new MLB season gets going today with new rules, new faces in new places, and renewed hope for baseball teams to bring home all the glory. Who will it be in 2023?

I approach this question with unrestrained bias. I think my Dodgers—my beloved bums who left the Brooklyn streetcars and stickball games behind 65 years ago for the flashy convertibles and top-notch boob jobs in LA—I think they have a legit shot at winning it all this season. They won 111 games last season and had Dodger fans dreaming of another World Series title not so long after the 32-year drought ended. But nah, they crapped the bed against none other than the (once) lowly San Diego Padres.

Love hurts, right Mike?

It was a glorious moment for Friar fans, and it was another pathetic postseason display by the “Boys in Blue”. If there was any silver lining, it was that the Padres proceeded to choke on a Philly cheesesteak in the NLCS, and all was right again in the baseball world.

On to the 2023 MLB season, which gets swinging today, and the expectations for the Dodgers feel a bit more tempered than previous years. I want to believe that this is a good thing. That it’s beneficial for a lineup with young talent to fly under the radar and not under the weight of the pressure that comes with being a favorite to win it all. I’m not sure if I believe that’s the reason why there isn’t the same level of excitement among the Dodger fans I know as there’s been before.

With Tre Turner—one of the best hitters on the team—dipping for the Phillies and the inconsistent slugger Cody Bellinger signing with the Cubs, the Dodgers lineup lost a bit of proven firepower during the off-season. The Padres, on the other hand, doubled down on big names and star power by signing Xander Bogarts, after they traded for Juan Soto last season, adding those two studs to slug it out with Machado and Tatis Jr. They also still have all their best pitchers. They didn’t lose an All-Star pitcher to free agency and another to injury.

“Stop making excuses, Nick!”

I’m just building a case against the Dodgers winning the NL West this season. I think we’re in a strange spot. Call it the “Scary Season” if you want, but it’s a moment in time when the Padres are most people’s pick as the team to beat in the National League. At least they are right now, on paper. It’s a long season, and wild stuff will happen.

Gary Gooseneck knows all about wild shit. See you in Flocktober, G.

The competition will be tough throughout the National League this season. We know the Padres aren’t messing around. The Braves, who also choked big time last postseason, could very well represent the NL in the Fall Classic. The Mets (they choked too) could live up to their own hype. The Phillies, the Cardinals, or the Brewers could put it all together for a run at the pennant. Maybe the Diamondbacks or the Cubs do the impossible this season and rise from their graves to claim baseball lives indiscriminately. Whoever comes out of the NL will likely have the pleasure of facing the Astros, yet again, in the World Series.

My Dodgers are a bit younger and a bit thinner (in their roster depth) than they’ve been in a while, so they are going to lean on good health and quite a bit of luck. The front office has to hope that they’re lucky enough to nail their draft picks and projections for the rookies they’re rolling out onto the field as everyday starters. I’m excited to see them play and hopeful they’ll live up to the expectations, but that type of development takes time, and this season’s version of the Dodgers isn’t built to succeed without at least a couple of those rookies—Vargas, Outman, or Pepiot—playing at a high level all season long. This might be a tall order, or it might be just what Doc ordered.

I think Max Muncy will bounce back from an underwhelming 2022 campaign. He was recovering from an elbow injury that kept him out of the 2021 postseason, and it affected his swing.

I think Freddie and Mookie are going to be themselves and walk that walk. Fingers-crossed that J.D. Martinez and Jason Heyward make nothing but positive contributions to the lineup.

Julio is underrated, and he’ll once again show us that.

Kershaw still has enough gas in the tank to be a solid starter, but I’m hoping Dustin May is good enough to be the second starter in the rotation to make it easier for Kersh as third in the rotation.

We’ll need a bunch of Big Willy Style this season, so we’ll see what kind of damage the Fresh Prince of Home Plate can do.

There are more question marks in the lineup for the 2023 Dodgers than in times before, but there should be less pressure on them, too. They don’t need to win 111 games. They just need to get into the playoffs healthy and let it ride from there.

So, here’s to a kick ass 2023 MLB season, and a victory parade at Dodger Stadium!