Comparing the 2017 Dodgers to the 2016 Cubs

The Dodgers are the best team in baseball, but just how similar are they to last season’s Cubs team that won the World Series?

Mario Kalo
Jul 20, 2017 · 6 min read
(Image courtesy of Chicago Tribune)

An old, storied ballpark. A fan base yearning for success in October. A manager respected by his peers and liked throughout the organization. A young team spewing with talent and a dominant pitching staff.

The 2017 Dodgers resemble the 2016 Cubs in more ways than one and if this season’s Dodgers can win the World Series, they may go down as one of the best teams in Major League Baseball history, just like last season’s Cubs squad that won 103 games in the regular season and eventually ended the franchise’s 108-year championship drought.

But exactly how does the 2017 version of the Dodgers compare to last season’s Cubs team?

Positional Depth

Part of what made the 2016 Cubs a juggernaut was the plethora of options manager Joe Maddon could choose to pencil in his lineup card daily. The Cubs never missed a beat, even when outfielder Kyle Schwarber missed most of last season after tearing his ACL and LCL in his left knee in the third game of the regular season. The likes of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Dexter Fowler, Addison Russel, Ben Zobrist and Javier Baez all contributed in major ways, with Bryant winning the NL MVP award. Furthermore, much of the Cubs’ core was young and the team rode that youth movement all the way to a World Series championship.

Meanwhile, this season’s Dodgers mirror the young depth the Cubs employed last season. The biggest offseason splash LA made was acquiring second baseman Logan Forsythe in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in January. Forsythe has only played in 62 of the team’s 94 games this season and while he hasn’t had a great season, it’s not a knock on his ability. Rather, it illustrates just how much talent manager Dave Roberts has at his disposal. One of LA’s best players has been wunderkind Cody Bellinger, who is slashing .268/.348/.632 since being called up on April 25. In addition to Bellinger, the Dodgers’ roster includes names like Justin Turner, who leads the league with his .370 batting average, reigning Rookie of the Year award winner Corey Seager, the switch-hitting Yasmani Grandal, Yasiel Puig, and utility man Chris Taylor. The Dodgers have gone a whopping 31–4 in their last 35 games — the best 35-game stretch in the franchise’s prestigious history — and a massive reason to their success should be credited to the roster’s depth.

Edge: Even

Pitching

Last season, the Cubs’ pitching staff was phenomenal, particularly the starting rotation. Even though reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta regressed from his historical 2015 season, the Cubs rotation posted an impressive 2.96 ERA. Kyle Hendricks led the majors with a 2.15 ERA, by far his career best mark, and was a Cy Young award finalist. The starters were fantastic, but the bullpen was the team’s biggest question mark. It was no surprise that the front office acquired Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman at the trade deadline to solidify the position. In addition, the Cubs also acquired Mike Montgomery to further solidify the back end of the bullpen. Montgomery would end up securing the final out in Game 7 of the World Series, so it’s safe to say that was one of the most important acquisitions the Cubs made last season.

(Video courtesy of MLB)

This season’s Dodgers have a similarly dominant starting staff, led by perennial Cy Young award contender Clayton Kershaw, who leads the NL with 15 wins. It’s almost a given that Kershaw dominates when he steps on the mound, but raise your hand if you thought Alex Wood would be undefeated this far into the season? That is exactly where Wood finds himself in mid-July, with an 11–0 record and a 1.56 ERA (albeit in only 14 starts). The Dodgers certainly did not expect Wood to have such standout numbers and if his stats resemble these numbers at season’s end, LA should find itself in prime position to make a World Series run. The Dodgers’ bullpen is another reason the team has played such remarkable baseball over their past 35 games and is perhaps the strongest aspect of the team. Led by closer Kenley Jansen, who has 24 saves and a 0.88 ERA, the Dodgers bullpen has the second-best ERA in the majors at 2.92. Because of how sharp Jansen and Pedro Baez have been, the Dodgers do not need to trade prospects for a rental player to solidify their bullpen, so they ultimately get the edge in overall pitching over last season’s Cubs.

Edge: Dodgers

Offense

The Dodgers have scored 489 runs on the season (5.14 runs per game), good for fifth in the majors. Cody Bellinger leads the team with 26 home runs and his 62 RBI are also tops on the team. It’s not ideal for a World Series contending team to be led by a rookie in most of its major statistical hitting categories, but there is nothing ideal about Bellinger. He has been fantastic thus far, but it remains to be seen how he will adjust to the pressure and pitchers in the postseason. Here’s how the Dodgers’ lineup looked during the team’s most recent game Thursday at the White Sox:

There is no shortage of talent throughout that lineup.

When analyzing the lefty-righty splits, the Dodgers are batting a combined .255 against right-handed pitchers and .261 versus left-handed pitchers. On any given day, the Dodgers can assemble their lineup to expose the opposing starting pitcher’s weaknesses, as evidenced by their nearly identical splits against both lefties and righties.

Last season’s Cubs were led offensively by MVP Kris Bryant — who had an MLB-best 7.7 WAR — and Anthony Rizzo. At the end of the regular season, the team averaged 4.98 runs per game, good for third in the majors. The offensive wasn’t always explosive, but it found ways to score runs in timely situations, as evidenced by Games 6 and 7 of the World Series, when the Cubs scored a combined 17 runs to secure their comeback from a 3–1 series deficit. The middle of the order often looked something like this: Bryant, Rizzo and either utility man Ben Zobrist or Addision Russell. From top to bottom, the Cubs lineup included young, raw talent that came to fruition at the right time, while also featuring veteran bats like Rizzo and Zobrist to neutralize the plethora of inexperienced hitters.

Edge: Cubs

Manager

(image courtesy of Chicago Tribune)

Dave Roberts in only in his second year as a Major League manager, yet he already has a Manager of the Year award under his belt, has led the Dodgers to the NLCS and is currently managing a Dodgers team on pace for the best regular season in team history. The 63-year-old Joe Maddon began his managerial career with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2006 after spending 31 years in the Angels organization as a scout, bench coach and minor league manager. Maddon has a unique way of preaching patience and positivity when his team is struggling. He also loves to keep a relaxed mojo in the locker-room and believes doing so breeds a culture winning. It’s hard to argue against Maddon’s philosophies. He led the Cubs to their first World Series title in 108 years and led the Rays to their first and only World Series appearance in 2008. Maddon is a veteran who knows when to push the right buttons at the right time. Maybe Roberts’ managerial accolades eventually equal Maddon’s but until then, the 2016 Cubs manager has the edge over this season’s Dodgers skipper.

Edge: Cubs

Ultimately, this season’s Dodgers team will be judged by whether they win a World Series or not. If they do, they will secure their place in baseball glory. But if not, the season will be considered a failure. And even though the Dodgers are undoubtedly the best team in baseball, the road to a long-awaited World Series championship will be difficult and stressful. Just ask the 2016 Cubs.

The Great Zamboni

Modern Sports Commentary From Everyday Fans, For Everyday Fans

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Mario Kalo

Written by

Editor and writer — The Great Zamboni.

The Great Zamboni

Modern Sports Commentary From Everyday Fans, For Everyday Fans

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