How the Dodgers lost the NL West

I mean, besides going 27-28 since the All-Star break and the middle of their lineup fading at exactly the wrong time and losing Chad Billingsley and Kenley Jansen’s heart sidelining him and Matt Kempinjuring his shoulder and Jupiter aligning with Mars.

You can’t win your division if you can’t beat teams within your division.

It’s a rule. I forget what page it’s in in the Major League Baseball official rule book, but certain it’s in there. Comes right after, “teams with the second-lowest slugging percentage in baseball will never be allowed to hoist a division flag.” Think of the embarrassment factor.

And for a team with pennant aspirations, the Dodgers have been somewhat less than woeful against other teams in the National League West.

On the season, they are 28-34 against teams within their division. Teams they need to beat if they actually wanted the season’s end to find them atop the West standings.

Instead, here they are a season-high six games back of the Giants with just 20 to play, a division title all but officially gone.

The Dodgers will thankfully end their season series Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, a sub-.500 team they are 6-11 against. The Dodgers actually have a winning record against only one team within their division. They are 9-6 against the Padres, but still have three more to play in San Diego. Otherwise, it’s 7-8 against the 57-84 Rockies, 6-9 vs. the Giants and that 6-11 against the Diamondbacks.

Of such records, are division titles lost. And it ain’t doing anything for their pursuit of a wild-card berth, either.

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