Los Angeles Dodgers: Five steps to return to the World Series next season
By Jason Reed
5. Take it slow — one game at a time
This one is a bit trivial, I will admit. However, the biggest kryptonite to the Los Angeles Dodgers next season is themselves. We have seen World Series hangovers, we have seen Super Bowl hangovers and it does not always have to be the winning team that is affected. This year, the Cubs started slowly after winning it all, in the NFL, the Atlanta Falcons seemingly cannot get over their loss.
The biggest thing the Dodgers can focus on next season is taking it one step at a time. Los Angeles plays in arguably the toughest division in all of baseball, so the last thing to do is get ahead of themselves.
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The second the team starts to assume October is theirs and the World Series is guaranteed they will begin to struggle, look how they played in early September this past season. For the Dodgers, it is important to play each game how it is; just one of 162 games.
One thing that it is hard to realize for fans as well is the difficulty in a long regular season after making it all the way to game seven of the World Series. Try going from game seven, where every pitch matters more than the last, to a Sunday afternoon game with 10,000 in attendance in Cincinnati.
Los Angeles needs to get off the blocks fast in 2018. If they don’t, the entire season will be the story of how the Dodgers cannot recover from their loss. Cody Bellinger and the offense needs to rebound, Kershaw and the staff needs to rebound.
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Overall, it is hard to even think of the Dodgers in the 2018 World Series after the heartbreak this year. I have made it my personal oath to not get excited again until they actually win it all. However, if they follow these five steps, they can follow in the 2014-2015 Royals and accomplish just that.