Dodgers strengths and one weakness ahead of the NLDS

Dodger fans aren’t the only ones with high confidence in a World Series win.

ESPN’s baseball experts — Bradford Doolittle, Alden Gonzalez, and David Schoenfield — call them the team to beat. The Dodgers’ depth leaves little to be desired, Doolittle writes, with so much star power that you’d have to try pretty hard to find a bad backup option if a usual starter is down for the count.

Speaking of stars: Mookie Betts, Trea Turner, and Freddie Freeman get high marks for holding down the top of the lineup. Each one has impressive power, baserunning, and hitting skills, but combined, they’re a sight to behold.

The only thing that could stand in the Dodgers’ way of a championship title is, of course, the closer situation. Doolittle finds it surprising that an organization of this caliber can have such an issue, but at this rate, it’s safe to say that Dodgers fans are unsurprised and ready to move on.

One thing they may not be ready to let go, though, is the 2017 World Series. This year could prove to be a rematch of the Dodgers-Astros debacle, and the possibility of revenge, Gonzalez writes, could be the best motivation yet to reach November.

Dodgers Links

The Dodgers don’t seem too concerned about facing the Padres, but Mike DiGiovanna at the Los Angeles Times has some words of warning for L.A.

Jim Alexander at the OC Register reminds Dodger fans to savor the team’s success — after all, remember what life was like at the Ravine in the bad old days of Frank McCourt?

Brusdar Graterol walked every step of the road to the MLB alongside his family, writes Juan Toribio of MLB.com, and it’s thanks to them that he’s enjoyed such success.