“What If?” is a new Marvel Universe TV series on Disney+. It is about what would happen if different people were the superheroes in some of the Marvel stories.
What if Peggy Carter became Captain America instead of Steve Rogers?
What if T’Challa from Black Panther became Star Lord in the Guardians of the Galaxy instead of Peter Quill?
The outcomes of some of those stories turn out much differently than what’s expected.
The timeline of the Marvel Universe is altered, and sometimes not for the better.
In keeping with that theme, what if the pesky San Diego Padres had traded for Max Scherzer instead of the Dodgers? How would the season have changed?
First of all, Trevor Bauer would never have been suspended and would still be pitching for the Dodgers. The Dodgers probably wouldn’t be in a desperate position for starting pitching if Bauer was still in the rotation. In a way, it’s probably a good thing that Bauer was benched. The Dodgers are a better team with Scherzer in the rotation instead of Bauer.
But how good would the Padres be with Scherzer?
The Padres probably wouldn’t be in a fight for a wild-card spot, like they are now. They probably wouldn’t be going through a 2-9 stretch, like they were over the past two weeks. They might even be back in the hunt for the National League West title instead of 12.5 games out of first place.
Not only did the Scherzer trade make the Dodgers better, it made the Padres more pathetic than a third-place team in the National League West.
With Scherzer, the Dodgers rattled off nine wins in a row. The Dodgers trimmed the surprising San Francisco Giants’ lead in the NL West standing to 1.5 games. The Dodgers have a good shot at catching the Giants, winning the NL West pennant for the ninth time in a row and avoiding the wild-card round of the playoffs.
The Dodgers with Scherzer are 15-3 in August.
The Padres without Scherzer are 8-11 in August.
The Scherzer trade hasn't turned the Dodgers into invincible superheroes. The Dodgers lost to the spiraling New York Mets on Sunday and snapped their nine-game winning streak. It also dropped the Dodgers to 2.5 games behind the first-place Giants. But the Dodgers have shown they can take the best shots from any team in the league.
Maybe a more important element of the Scherzer trade was the Dodgers acquiring Trea Turner in the deal.
What if the Giants traded for Turner? Or what if the Atlanta Braves traded for Turner? Or perhaps the worst-case scenario, what if the cheating, stinking Houston Astros traded for Turner?
If Bauer is in the rotation for the Dodgers, there is no need to make a deal with the Washington Nationals. There is no need to ask: What is it going to take for the Nationals to deal Turner?
While the Dodgers were desperate for a starting pitcher, they might have been more desperate for an offensive spark plug.
The Dodgers have three weaknesses: poor defense, a shaky, overworked bullpen and lack of timely hitting.
Turner seems to have solved the third problem for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers are winning one-run games. They are winning extra-inning games. They are manufacturing runs instead of waiting for three-run home runs.
The offense is much better with Turner in the lineup.
The last thing the Dodgers and their fans wanted to see was an ignited and energized Astros offense or Giants offense.
In the What If universe of the Dodgers, the best scenario was what if Bauer was suspended for a good chunk of the season and the Dodgers needed to find a pitcher to replace him.
Now the Dodgers need to live in a What If world where Clayton Kershaw and Mookie Betts make miraculous recoveries from injuries in time for the playoffs to start.
That is the best way for Dodger fans to realize what if the Dodgers win back-to-back World Series championships.
Dodger starting pitchers power rankings:
- Walker Buehler
- Max Scherzer
- Corey Knebel
- Mitch White (He technically came in relief and pitched 7 ⅓ brilliant innings in a 9-0 win over the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates)
- David Price
The Dodgers (78-47) start a three-game series against the Padres in San Diego on Tuesday, then come home for a weekend series against the Colorado Rockies on Friday.
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