High Expectations for Joe Torre and the Dodgers
After a dozen years in New York there is one thing that Joe Torre is accustomed to being in and that is first place. From 1996 till leaving after the 2007 season he had the Yankees in first every year but his last. Five times the season ended in the ALDS; five times it ended in the World Series.
When he left New York he was not exactly leaving for greener pastures. In the ten years prior to his arrival the team had only finished first in the National League West twice. The year before he took over the team barely finished above .500 with a record of 82-80, good enough for their second 4th place finish in 3 years. The last time they progressed past the NLDS was in 1988 when they won the World Series against the Oakland Athletics.
However, there is a tradition of winning in Los Angeles that Torre will likely find comparable to what he had in New York. Over the life of the club they have won 10,023 games; only the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs have won more. The Dodgers are also the proud owners of 21 National League Pennants, second only to Torre’s former team, the New York Yankees.
A new home and a new start
It did not take long for Torre to take the Dodgers back to first. In 2008 with only 2 more victories than the fourth place season of 2007 the Dodgers finished first in the division. They swept the Cubs in the NLDS, but fell to the eventual World Series champions, the Philadelphia Phillies, in the NLCS.
The Torre difference began to show in the 2009 season, more so than it did in 2008. The team won 90+ games (95) for the first time since the 2004 season (93), and once again finished the season on top of the division. They met a different NL Central opponent in the NLDS (the Cardinals), but the result was the same as when they met the Cubs there in 2008 (swept the series). Once again they fell to the Phillies in the NLCS.
High Expectations for the Dodgers
At the end of his third season in New York Torre had led the Yankees to two World Series titles and a 114 win season. As Torre takes the Dodgers into their third season expectations are high, especially since the Dodgers have been knocking on the door making it to the NLCS two years in a row. If they want to make it this season they will likely have to win the division (competition for the NL Wildcard is shaping up to be very stiff this season).
With fifty games down and a 102 to go, the Dodgers have found themselves in second place. A slow start to the season coupled with a strong start for the San Diego Padres (30-20) have the Dodgers (28-22) sitting two games behind the Padres.
Torre and the Dodgers can’t just count on overtaking the Padres either. Tim Lincecum and the San Francisco Giants are looking to get back the post season for the first time since 2003. Through 49 games they are 29-22, a half game behind the Dodgers and only 2 ½ out of first. Colorado is not too far behind them; through 50 games their record is 26-24 (two games behind the Dodgers and 4 out of first).
The coming week may be the right time for the Dodgers to make their move on San Diego. Starting Monday they have a three game series against a pitching staff with an ERA close to 6.0 (5.94). Atlanta will be tougher competition later in the week though. San Diego has a tough week ahead with the surging New York Mets up first for a three game series in San Diego before they travel to Philadelphia for a weekend series with the Phillies.
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