Will Manny Machado be the missing piece for a Dodgers World Championship?
By Amy Kaplan
Will Manny Machado be the missing piece for a Dodgers World Series Championship — or are we asking too much of one man?
It’s hard being a Los Angeles Dodgers fan — especially after last season. We all watched our dreams slip through our fingers as our boys in blue took a dive in Game Seven of the World Series. Things didn’t get much better this season as the team sunk lower and lower in the standings with postseason hopes growing darker by the day.
Then everything changed.
They started winning again (thanks in part to Matt Kemp), and our playoff hopes came back to life…but like any true Dodgers fan, we’re waiting for the ball to drop.
Will Claton Kershaw slump? Will Kemp get injured? Or, God forbid, will we enter another losing streak we won’t be able to work our way out of?
Will we ever be able to relax?
Now, maybe we can.
Manny Machado has been officially signed by the Dodgers, and I hear a collective sigh of relief from all over LA. Don’t get me wrong — we had a phenomenal team before Machado, but we had a phenomenal team last season and we somehow still lost the World Series.
So is Machado going to be that missing piece? Perhaps.
The major thing the Dodgers are lacking this season (and always) are power hitters who can earn those insurance runs to back up our bullpen. The All-Star shortstop is exactly that. Machado’s half-season with the Orioles was already a career-high including 23 home runs, 64 RBIs and an OBP (.384) and OPS (.950). Machado is a Platinum Glove Award winner and three-time All-Star at third base (he now plays at shortstop).
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But, is it fair to place all our dreams in the hands of one man?
No — and we’re not. Machado won’t be the saving grace of a dying team, he’ll just be the missing piece of a nearly completed puzzle.
On to October!