Baseball’s most expensive payroll couldn’t buy the Dodgers another title.
And some of the major acquisitions stayed inside the cave at the peak of its time.
The defending World Series champion Dodgers were unable to revalidate. They fell 4-2 to the Atlanta Braves in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on Saturday.
Thus was cut a streak of seven consecutive victories for Los Angeles in games where he ran the risk of being eliminated.
Max Scherzer was a mere spectator from the dugout, unable to enter Game 6 as planned due to persistent fatigue in his powerful right arm.
Clayton Kershaw, Max Muncy and Justin Turner were also unable to participate due to injuries.
Among those players they accumulate 12 All-Star Games.
When the elimination of a team that had won 106 games in the regular season came, it was particularly painful. Expectations were high for the large expense.
It was believed that the squad had enough variations to overcome injuries that would spell the ruin of any other team.
“I’ve said it before: I know we have a high payroll, but that’s what you get when you pay to become players,” second baseman Trea Turner said before Saturday’s game. “You have talent and variants.”
Scherzer, a candidate to win his fourth Cy Young trophy, was to be the base of the rotation in the playoffs. Instead, he started Game 2 of the Championship Series with just two days off, after serving a 13-pitch save in the game that secured the division series win.
His arm was never recovered.
The Dodgers, who advanced to the playoffs on the wild-card ticket, expected Scherzer to start Game 7 on Sunday.
Instead, it is not known if the pitcher will ever appear with the team again. A free agent will be declared.
A payroll that exceeded 198 million dollars could not overcome several blows. (AP)