The Josh Suchon Initiative: Dodgers better off losing out
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That’s right, boys and girls, the Dodgers would be better served getting swept by the Diamondbacks in these final three games of the season.
How so?
Well, this is admittedly a bit of a stretch given what it requires, but it’s still out there: A team that signs a Type A free agent in the off-season -– you know, like Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder –- has to forfeit a first-round draft pick.
But if that teams finishes in the second half of all Major League Baseball teams, then it falls to a second-round pick. So if you finish with one of the top 15 records and sign a Type A, there goes your first-round pick.
And as Josh Suchon pointed out on the Dodgers postgame show on KABC-AM (790) on Sunday, the Dodgers’ surge the last two months actually has them in the first half of all teams.
At 80-78, the Dodgers have the 13th best record in baseball. I’ll pause here while that sinks in. A half-game behind them are the Blue Jays and Indians, and two back are the Washington Nationals.
So Suchon understandably argues the Dodgers would be better off losing their final three games of the season and hope to slip behind the three teams trailing them.
Otherwise, if –- yeah, I know, world’s biggest IF -- they sign a significant free agent, they could possibly lose their next Clayton Kershaw.
All the motivation is there. To lose.
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-- Steve Dilbeck