Dodgers 11, Padres 2

I don't know about Musgrove anymore, but ever since he's gotten paid, he has stopped pitching. 9 and 7 after starting 8 and 0, including an All-Star berth. Musgrove was our ace, he was dependable and could always give you quality innings. Now he is hanging pitch after pitch over the plate, usually a bad idea in the majors, and even more so against the Dodgers, the primus in our division. 

Throughout the series, Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner have absolutely destroyed us. That trio at the start of the lineup, Betts-Turner-Freeman, is simply devastating. Those guys can do everything: hit, run, power, average, steal a bag. Anyone of those guys could win the MVP award, whereas we have Manny and Manny alone now to bail us out of jams. Even with Bell and Soto around, it's still Manny's team. Crone has chipped in with some more key hits, so his numbers are up, but that's all we have at the moment.

But back to the pitching. With Musgrove decidedly average, I have no idea who would be pitching in a playoff series for us. Darvish, yes, but what then? Snell is hot and cold, Clevy average, Manaea is downright garbage. We just don't have the pieces yet, the players don't complement each other, nor do they pick each other up. The Dodgers could care less what our troubles are. They will be the one seed in the league, and the pennant will be theirs to lose. They have Urias and Gonsolin and Kershaw and God knows who else. They are a machine during the regular season, now they need to prove they can do it in the postseason. They certainly have the horses, so it will be hard to bet against them. I just wish we had a steady rotation, which was a given in the first half.

The way things stand now: we have just lost two of three against the Dodgers, we are at 77-64 and traveling to Seattle next, who are on fire. As the number six seed, which we will more than likely be, we would have to play the weakest division, in this case the NL Central leading Cardinals, who would like to make one more run at it with their dinosaur trio of Wainwright, Pujols, and Molina. I feel we match up well against them, so the emphasis is more on getting there. 

At 77-64, I'm sorry to say, we are still underachieving. We're going to need to win a pennant to save the GM's job, because he just gave away the whole farm for a few more big guns who have underachieved. I can't see him staying here, not with his lack of teambuilding skill. He showed guts, no doubt, when he pulled the trigger for trades and free agents alike, but they are not panning out. Again, here's to a long playoff run to prove me wrong.