NBC L.A. | The Dodgers Will Be Better Off Because Of Slump

Back on June 3, the Dodgers were 15.5 games ahead of Colorado. However, since the All Star game the Dodgers are a pedestrian 18-19, while the Rockies have been red hot. The result is the Dodgers with a three game division lead heading into a three game series in the thin air of Denver.

It may not feel like it, but this is a good thing.

To see why, turn back the clock a year and look down to Orange County. You’d see an Angels team that, like the Dodgers in June, had built up a seemingly insurmountable lead. The difference is that the Angels continued to play fairly well,  and nobody in their division made a run at them. The Angels coasted to 21-game division win.

Then they coasted into the playoffs and were ousted in the first round by the Boston Red Sox three games to one.

Coasting can lead to a flat team not ready to rise to a challenge—and a couple months back that looked like the Dodgers. But their mediocre play has closed their lead and forced them to focus.

Now they have to be sharp. That will carry over into the playoffs (which the Dodgers almost certainly will still make).

somewhere, Willie McCovey reads in admiration…