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“Dodgers Baseball-Going Downhill Fast”

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Things are not going well at Dodgers Stadium.

You remember Dodgers baseball last year? The amazing (43-7) run during the season. The playoff drive. The World Series appearance.

It was more than just winning the division again, it was how far they went into the Fall Classic.

Boy that seems like ages ago, not just six months ago.

The Dodgers, with all that money, the big payroll, the huge TV contract, and the fabulous tradition, are in trouble.

Ripped apart by injuries, questionable team chemistry, and strange off season roster decisions, leadership decimated the roster we saw, and rooted for last year.

The starting lineups right now looks like something from a spring training game.

The Blue have a better team on the DL than they have on the field.

This is not just about the loss of Clayton Kershaw (bicep) and Hyun Ji-Ryu (groin), and those are significant losses, it’s much deeper than that.

The devastating knee injury has ended Corey Seager’s system. A broken wrist in the spring has prevented slugger and leader Justin Turner from even starting his rehab assignment.

Andrew Toles, coming off a surprise season a year ago, got hurt, and has yet to back to the major leagues.

Logan Forsythe and Yasiel Puig have logged time on the DL too.

All those setbacks, 7-key guys out, in just the first 7-weeks of the season, an amazing toll.

The losses in the lineup have been devastating. The off season losses to the roster may have also have had a stinging effect.

In efforts to get below the MLB luxury tax, the LA brain trust rid the team of the final year of Adrian Gonzalez’s contract, shipped to Atlanta, then onto the Mets. Veteran outfielder Andre Ether retired after struggling with nagging injuries two years in a row.

They rented Yu Darvish in a trade deadline deal, and he helped get them to the Series, but he is gone too, a club unwilling to fork over big money to keep him.\

Brandon McCarthy’s contract and talent was included in the Matt Kemp multiplayer package with Atlanta.

The once deep bullpen has exited. Key setup guy Brandon Morrow wasn’t offered a deal, and headed to the Cubs. Left-handed setup man Tony Watson took over for the Giants. Luis Avilan went to Kansas City.

Even bench guys are gone or not producing. There are no cameo appearances from past contributors like Trayce Thompson nor Scott Van Slyke. Both are gone to other clubs.

Joc Pederson, a former rookie of the year, has been up and down to Oklahoma City two seasons in a row, and seemingly has forgotten to hit. And promising hurler Julio Urias won’t pitch at all this year, still recovering from shoulder capsule surgery.

If you are keeping score at home, that’s 16-players, who were contributors one way or another to a roster that went to the World Series, no longer around.

You can provide manager Dave Roberts all the analytics you want, but if you don’t provide him enough players, you don’t win.

Equal parts bad luck-bad baseball decisions.

And that’s where the Dodgers are today. Closer to the last place Padres than they are to first place Arizona.

.Dodgers baseball, it’s messy, and it’s only the month of May.

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