This season was a disappointment for the Dodgers. Sure they reached the National League Championship Series and they swept the Cardinals but if you break down the season they weren't really a Championship caliber team. At the All-Star break, the Dodgers looked unstoppable. With the best record in baseball and the Yankees heating up, the Dodgers began to decline. But they made some key acquisitions down the stretch including picking up Jon Garland, Ronnie Belliard, Vincente Padilla, Jim Thome, and George Sherril. At one point the Dodgers slipped to wildcard contender. The worst blow was when the O-Dog started slumping and the unreliable Belliard was penciled in on Joe Torre's lineup card to fill in for him. After they put the Cardinals away for the winter with a sweep, they moved on to play Philadelphia and there is not a way to sugar coat it- they got clobbered. The last game was like watching a horror film. Vincente Padilla pitched great against the Cardinals, but this time he failed to even finish the fourth inning. On the other hand, Cole Hamels wasn't much better he only pitched 4 1/3. In the end, Hamels's atrocious start did not play any role in changing the outcome, with the Phillies moving on to the World Series. At the end of the day, the Dodgers were able to have a good season and but there team just was not championship caliber, which is why Manny is on the putting green at the moment.
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