2026 MLB Thread

[GB Warrior]

You are completely missing the long standing narrative in sports that if you amass enough talent, you will win. The Dodgers are the definition of that. DP and most everyone thinks the Brewers did it by smart roster building and a cohesive team, not individual talent.

I don't think Sultan is arguing against having a talented roster, but I don't know what evidence there is that LA wasn't an effective team. Mookie, Freeman, Hernandez and Muncy are top notch teammates and people. The Brewers won as a unit this year but they won this series so handily because they put the ball in the seats. Could they have done it with more singles and doubles? Sure. But they did it with bombs.

[The Sultan]

I don't think Sultan is arguing against having a talented roster, but I don't know what evidence there is that LA wasn't an effective team. Mookie, Freeman, Hernandez and Muncy are top notch teammates and people. The Brewers won as a unit this year but they won this series so handily because they put the ball in the seats. Could they have done it with more singles and doubles? Sure. But they did it with bombs.

Exactly. They won the same way the Dodgers won last year.

[Jockey]

I think the point DP was trying to make is that Milwaukee built a team that can beat you many ways.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, went out and signed all of the stars, but there was no emphasis on building a well rounded team. Get Skubal cuz he's a big name star. Meanwhile, JoJo was a much bigger factor cuz that's how you build a team. Once your a good team, it's all about building around the edges. But LA doesn't do that. They just try to bludgeon you to death. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

LA has a top minor league system every year, but how many guys have come up and established themselves over the last 5 years?

[Shaka Shart]

Could they have done it with more singles and doubles? Sure. But they did it with bombs.

Brewers 🤝 IDF

[GB Warrior]

Brewers 🤝 IDF

That'd work if Dodger Stadium weren't so empty

[The Sultan]

I think the point DP was trying to make is that Milwaukee built a team that can beat you many ways.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, went out and signed all of the stars, but there was no emphasis on building a well rounded team. Get Skubal cuz he's a big name star. Meanwhile, JoJo was a much bigger factor cuz that's how you build a team. Once your a good team, it's all about building around the edges. But LA doesn't do that. They just try to bludgeon you to death. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

LA has a top minor league system every year, but how many guys have come up and established themselves over the last 5 years?

Claiming that the two-time defending champion, who won 100 games this year, isn't a well rounded team is...something.

[wadesworld]

So the Dodgers team that won back to back titles with much of the same core was suddenly too incohesive, not well rounded, and not worried about the right things anymore? What a dumb narrative.

[cheebs09]

I don't think you can say Jojo was a bigger impact than Skubal. Skubal pitched great for them. Their bats just ran into Brewers pitching, which was the opposite of last year.

[The Sultan]

I don't think you can say Jojo was a bigger impact than Skubal. Skubal pitched great for them. Their bats just ran into Brewers pitching, which was the opposite of last year.

Right. The Brewers just did baseball things better than the Dodgers this year. There is no reason to make it more than that.

[MU82]

Making a big trade at the deadline was a big part of getting to the WS. Rather than settling for Skubal, we went out and got the guy who could really help is - Jo Jo Romero.

I was big on "the Brewers should go for it and get Skubal, both to have him and to keep the Dodgers from getting him."

Obviously I was wrong ... in that the Brewers simply didn't need him - especially if the price was gonna be Henderson, as some reports indicated.

[Jockey]

So the Dodgers team that won back to back titles with much of the same core was suddenly too incohesive, not well rounded, and not worried about the right things anymore? What a dumb narrative.

Well. They were older and slower. Freeman is not the same player. Tucker is terrible. Smith, Muncie? Their best years are behind them.

Most winning teams - not just the Dodgers - think that if they win that all you need to do is run it back the next year when that is the time you need to slowly make changes. Get younger. Get faster.

Old = slow. Defense suffers and opposing pitchers don't have to worry about base runners. The Dodgers winning is based 100% on buying future HoFers.

 

[Uncle Rico]

Right. The Brewers just did baseball things better than the Dodgers this year. There is no reason to make it more than that.

White Trash thought he had a "gotcha" about spending big money on free agents.  He'll deny it like the Ditka post, but he's just wrong again.

[GB Warrior]

Well. They were older and slower. Freeman is not the same player. Tucker is terrible. Smith, Muncie? Their best years are behind them.

Most winning teams - not just the Dodgers - think that if they win that all you need to do is run it back the next year when that is the time you need to slowly make changes. Get younger. Get faster.

Old = slow. Defense suffers and opposing pitchers don't have to worry about base runners. The Dodgers winning is based 100% on buying future HoFers.

 

They had a top 10 defense this year (in some metrics better than MKE) and at no point in the series did I think it was their defense that cost them. Where I'll concede is that the Brewers proved to be more versatile. They were more effective in scaling to Dodger ball than LA was to playing Brewers ball