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Bill Plaschke: Greatest team or biggest flop? The 2024 Dodgers will decide their place in history

Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times on

Published in Baseball

It could — and should — be the best season in the franchise’s 141-year history.

It could — and might — be the greatest sporting disaster in the annals of Western civilization.

They added nearly $1.2 billion of the best talent available to a team that last year won 100 games and another National League West title.

They also added overwhelming worldwide media attention, outsized fan expectations, and what is surely a record for pure, unadulterated pressure.

They have three former most valuable players at the top of the lineup, 30-homer hitters deeper in the lineup, and a guy who once hit three home runs in a playoff game coming off the bench.

They also have a left side of an infield that includes an inconsistent third baseman and a Gold Glove outfielder who was hastily moved to shortstop in a sudden spring-training decision that can be best described as dumb.

 

Their starting rotation is led by a guy who was Japan’s best pitcher for three consecutive years, followed by a heat creator from Tampa Bay and a veteran grinder from Boston.

They also have a bevy of starters who appeared to be either injured, recovering from injury or injury prone.

They are managed by the new Tom Lasorda, a sunny survivor with the best winning percentage in baseball history for managers with 1,000 games.

Yet if they don’t at least advance to the World Series, here’s guessing that guy is going to be fired.

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©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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