Why the Dodgers Won the West

After 157 hard fought games, the Los Angeles Dodgers are officially the National League West Champions for 2015.

I’ll just pause while that sinks in….

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Ok we good? Lets get back to it. For the third year in a row the Dodgers have outpaced the rival Giants to capture the Western Division and earn a ticket to the National League Division Series. It certainly wasn’t pretty as the Dodgers limped across the line (both literally and figuratively) having won just 2 of their last 10 coming into last nights game. Injuries certainly took their toll on the squad with Carl Crawford, Yasiel Puig, Howie Kendrick, Hyun Jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy, Chris Hatcher, Joel Peralta and Kenley Jansen all missing significant time with injuries. However, none of that mattered on Tuesday night as the Dodgers proved too much for Madison Bumgarner, even at AT&T park, winning by a convincing 8-0 margin after knocking out the Giants ace in the 6th.

Winning a division takes much more than throwing a lot of money around, or being able to put the best names on paper – Just ask the Nationals. To be successful over a 162 game season it takes a balanced, deep roster, smart in season moves, good management (hold your critiques), veteran leadership… I could go on for ever. There are any number of factors that can create a winning team, let’s look at what did it for the Dodgers in 2015.

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