Dodgers transferring up in energy rankings
Here are the latest power rankings for all sockets:
MLB.com
This week: 1 | Last week: 3
The Dodgers benefited from a simpler segment of their schedule with 10 wins in their last 12 games, all against the Pirates, Rangers, Phillies and D-Backs. Now it’s getting harder – for the next week and a half they’ll be playing against all of the 500+ teams: the Padres, Cubs and Giants. The Dodgers are 1 1/2 games behind the Giants, but have the best running differential in NL West with +103. For those secretly (or openly) excited about a rematch between the Dodgers and Astros 2017 Fall Classic, the past few weeks have been a reminder that it could very well happen.
The athlete
This week: 1 | Last week: 3
Though not really leading their division, the Dodgers are back on top. And I know what most of you – especially the Giants fans – think. It’s the same thing on your mind when you’ve been watching Los Angeles spin rates lately.
Yeah, I know they swept the diamondbacks, and who hasn’t done that lately. Yeah, I know they didn’t overtake San Francisco in the overall standings. What do our voters think? Maybe they look at how the Dodgers have a better barrel differential and Pythagorean record than their rivals in the north. Perhaps check out how they survived the absence of Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, and Corey Seager with contributions from Albert Pujols and the Steven Souza Jr. reclamation project. And maybe they know that all those good, injured players will come back.
As for spin rates, if the team’s overall drop in rotations per minute indicates a sudden lack of tack, it doesn’t seem to stop the Dodgers from scoring outs.
Sports illustrated
This week: 3 | Last week: 5
We didn’t include Walker Buehler among the Dodgers’ potential all-stars a few weeks ago. This was not a sign of disrespect, but an acknowledgment of the extremely high standards of the NL pitchers. Still, it seems to have been a mistake. Buehler, who scored a no-hitter in the eighth inning against Arizona on Saturday, has only allowed six runs in his last seven starts and has the MLB’s third-best ERA (1.36).
CBS Sports
This week: 2 | Last week: 4
You won 10 out of 12 even though the competition wasn’t too tough. That is changing right now. The Dodgers’ next nine games are against the Padres, Cubs and Giants.
