Bad luck returns for Doomsday Dodgers

Aladdin was granted three wishes and he didn’t get it right until the third one.

The Dodgers made three trips in four years to the World Series and didn’t get it right until their third one.

This Dodgers team is playing like Aladdin without any more wishes. They are victims of chance, bad luck and circumstance.

After rattling off eight wins in a row and climbing back into contention for the National League West title, the Dodger lost four of six games last week and fell back solidly in third place behind the pesky San Diego Padres and surprising San Francisco Giants.

It was another rough week for a Dodgers team that has already gone through a 5-15 stretch this season.

They have shown signs of life -- their recent eight-game winning streak a great example -- but they also have a habit of going into slumps, blowing leads late in games, losing in extra innings and relying on home runs instead of timely hits to score runs.

Instead of riding a hot streak after making some moves to add Albert Pujols to the roster and taking Cody Bellinger off the injured list, the Dodgers slipped into another losing funk.

The bullpen continues to be a problem.

Injuries continue to be a problem.

Timely hitting continues to be a problem.

It’s not one thing, but a trio of troubles that plague this Dodgers team.

This Dodgers team plays more like the cursed Little Mermaid than Aladdin. It’s a team that made an unfortunate deal, like the Little Mermaid who traded her beautiful singing voice for a pair of legs so she could pursue the love of her life.

It’s like the Dodgers traded winning a World Series title for a bullpen full of minor league arms and a roster full of injured All Stars.

The good news is The Little Mermaid had a happy ending, once Ariel figured out how to escape from the horrible bargain she made with Ursula.

And Aladdin did the right thing by using his third wish to release the Genie.

But what will it take for the Dodgers to break the curse of 2021? 

(Bring back Farmer John Dodger Dogs)

Perhaps it will be the result of an earth-shattering trade. Or maybe the baseball gods will smile on the Dodgers and grant them a healthy roster before the season ends.

Whatever it is, it can’t come soon enough.

One Dodger who has escaped the team’s curse is Max Muncy. Is it too early to start talking about his case for MVP?

After Saturday’s game against the Giants, Muncy was the Dodgers leader in batting average (.282), home runs (12) and on-base percentage (.445). Those are impressive numbers from a team perspective. He hit the 100th home run of his career, and 13th of the season, in a losing effort against the Giants on Sunday. 

His .282 batting average is 14th in the National League. His 13 home runs are tied for third in the National League. His .445 on-base percentage leads the National League.

That should be enough to put him in the conversation for MVP.

This is where he goes over the top.

His OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) is .998, fourth best in the National League.

His .552 slugging percentage is fifth in the National League.

His WAR (wins above replacement, a new fangled stat all the kids are using to evaluate a player’s true worth) is 3.3, not only the best in the National League, but the best in the majors.

Even by sabremetric measures, Muncy is the best player in the National League, the most valuable to his team and the most valuable player for winning games.

But like all Dodgers in 2021, he just needs to stay healthy.

Dodgers starting pitchers power rankings:

1. Clayton Kershaw
2. David Price
3. Trevor Bauer
4. Walker Buehler
5. Julio Urias

The Dodgers (31-22) start a four-game series at home against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday and head out to Atlanta for a weekend series against the Braves, who are going through some things with their All-Star outfielder Marcell Ozuna.