LOS ANGELES_Thirty years separate the Dodgers from their last World Series championship, and how they trudged into the postseason this year made a particularly unconvincing case about their wherewithal to end the run of futility.
On the bright side, the World Series typically isn't won by the best team, something the Dodgers are definitely not.
And who says I'm a downer?
Conveniently ignored in this column will be the reality that the best team actually won each of the last two or three World Series, depending on whether you think the 2015 Kansas City Royals shared that distinction with the 2016 Chicago Cubs and 2017 Houston Astros.
As the kids running front offices these days like to say, small sample size, right?
I know, it's a strange argument to make, that the Dodgers might have a chance because they're not as good as they were last year when they were clearly the best team in the National League.
But this was a strange season for the Dodgers, starting with how they had to return from a loss to the Astros in Game 7 of the World Series. They came back as the franchise's most accomplished team since 1988, but also as a team that failed to realize its ultimate ambition.
They started the season looking emotionally drained. By mid-May, they were 10 games under .500.
How the Dodgers played in the first six weeks of the season remained a part of their identity. Sure, they played well enough to force their way back into contention in a mediocre division. And, sure, they could take down a fellow contender when necessary. But they were also capable of dropping series to bottom dwellers such as the Miami Marlins and Cincinnati Reds.
In short, they were as awful at times as they were dominant in others.
"It's not like we just turn the switch on," closer Kenley Jansen said. "It's just that we find it at the right time (to play well)."
The Dodgers were like this until the very end. They moved into first place by sweeping Colorado in the penultimate week of the season, only to blow their 2{-game lead over the Rockies.
None of this inspires confidence.
At no point did the Dodgers show they could sustain their form. At no point did they display the kind of ruthlessness generally required to win championships.
But for what it's worth, September was their best month of the season, as they compiled an 18-9 record.
The Dodgers didn't play meaningful games late in the regular season last year, as they entered the final month with a substantial lead. Jansen said he thinks they could be better prepared for the postseason this year because they have already experienced atmospheres similar to what they'll encounter in the playoffs.
"I really do like this, us being in this situation instead of being seven, eight games up right now and chilling and waiting until the playoffs come," Jansen said.
In their three previous seasons with Andrew Friedman as their president of baseball operations, the Dodgers developed a reputation for being rich and smart. Determined to stay under the luxury-tax threshold of $197 million this season, the Dodgers decided they wouldn't spend as lavishly as they did in their first five years under Guggenheim Baseball Management. And now that they're working with a budget, there are legitimate questions if they were ever actually smarter than other teams or if they simply covered up their mistakes by outspending the competition.
These Dodgers aren't as good as the 2017 Dodgers and they certainly aren't as good as the 2013 Dodgers. But none of the other teams in the NL are, either.
Clayton Kershaw has adjusted to pitching with diminished fastball velocity. Hyun-Jin Ryu has recovered from the health problems that slowed him in recent years to re-establish himself as a big-game pitcher. Walker Buehler is their most talented pitcher.
The bullpen isn't nearly as volatile as it was for most of the season. Jansen has rediscovered his form. Former starters Kenta Maeda, Alex Wood and Ross Stripling give manager Dave Roberts some relief options to complement Dylan Floro and Scott Alexander.
Manny Machado and Justin Turner have been the only everyday players in the lineup and there's a reason for that. The others are too inconsistent. The emergence of Enrique Hernandez could provide the Dodgers with another regular threat. Hernandez was batting only .214 through July but hit .350 over his next 45 games. One scout who followed Hernandez complimented him for shortening his swing and making the kind of adjustments that Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger have failed to make.
There's enough here to reach the World Series again.
And if the Dodgers get there, anything can happen. But however much some fans want to blame Roberts or Yu Darvish for the team's failure to win the Series last season, the reality was the Astros were the best team in baseball. And whichever team emerges from the American League this year, whether it is the Astros or the Boston Red Sox, will again be the overwhelming favorite.
But if the Dodgers could push the Astros to seven games last year, why couldn't they beat them in a seven-game series this year? Heck, if the Dodgers could beat the Oakland Athletics in 1988, why couldn't they win the championship this year?
Remember, the best team usually doesn't win.
