The sky’s the limit as 2014 begins

By Jon Weisman

I really can’t recall a time the Dodgers faced such high expectations.

They have been division favorites, but I can’t remember them being division favorites the way the Showtime Lakers were.

As far as a World Series title goes, expectations are tempered, but hardly crushed. Washington and St. Louis are among the top threats from the NL, though the list doesn’t seem to run much deeper. As guarded as people might be on the Dodgers’ World Series chances, few if any teams draw more enthusiasm.

This latest bit from Baseball Prospectus is striking, but not the least bit surprising given what we’ve seen this offseason. A total of 39 contributors to the site predicted who would win the National League West, and 38 picked the Dodgers. Twice as many picked the Dodgers to go all the way as any other team.

And yet, at the same time …

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen people question the Dodgers’ bench, their dilemma at second base, the perils of their outfield – too much talent one day, too little the next – the ability of Juan Uribe to maintain his 2013 performance, and so on. Look around the comment sections of national sites, and it’ll take you about three seconds to find someone snickering about the Dodgers’ Opening Day lineup relative to the team payroll.

It’s easy to find potential weaknesses among the strengths in the Dodgers. It’s only after you step back and compare them to the strengths and weaknesses of the other 29 teams that you realize, yeah, maybe the high expectations are justified.

The Dodgers won’t have one outfielder play 162 games, but they could easily get quality outfield play for 162 games, times three.

They don’t figure to have an All-Star at second base, but one position won’t sink a team. And the chance to play matchups there could yield surprising results.

Then there’s the pitching. Knock on wood, the pitching really could be great and squash a lot of trouble elsewhere. The best pitcher in baseball at the front of the rotation, strong veterans behind him, competition at the back of the rotation and identifiable reinforcements from Chad Billingsley to Zach Lee materializing as the season progresses. You’ll find a similar story in the bullpen from Kenley Jansen down to Jose Dominguez.

In Major League Baseball, the very best teams typically lose at least 60 games. They’ll trail in, what, 100 or more? That’s a lot of time to grit your teeth and pull your hair out. As I wrote in the first Dodger Insider post in January …

There are no straight lines between January and October, no steady-as-she-goes escalators. It’s a zig-zag journey, the longest of heavyweight fights where the best you can hope is you’re still standing after absorbing every imaginable face and body blow. You try to win every moment, knowing that you can’t possibly win every moment. And you try to smell the roses, win or lose. (It’s a game, after all, however much it means to us.)

At the start of the season, you just want as much hope as possible. And with the 2014 Los Angeles Dodgers, you’ve got as much hope as you’ve had in some time.

I suppose one could look at that as the greatest potential for disappointment as you’ve had in some time, but you’ve spent the past 25 seasons getting used to that. You’re prepared. So instead, amid all the inevitable ups and downs, enjoy the possibility of greatness.