Phoenix – Los Angeles Dodgers Clubhouse on Tuesday did not have a bathtub of champagne bottles or beer.
There was no confetti visible.
And no one got the finger size for the 2025 World Series Championship ring.
The Dodgers continue to try and tell everyone they heard it was last year, and guarantees 2025 anxiety, even after spending another $471.5 million on free agents and contract extensions over the winter It’s not something you do.
“We didn’t win last year by talking about the World Series every day,” said Dodgers All-Star Mookie Betts. “Last year, we talked about the task at hand, so we won. I think we have to keep talking about the task at hand and we have to worry about the ultimate goal. …
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“We can’t compete for the finish line.”
The problem is that no one outside the Dodgers clubhouse has bought it. It’s not the time to look around future Hall of Fame inductees, MVPs, CY Young Award winners and the deepest and most talented teams in all lands.
MLB Winter Winners and Losers: Dodgers ready to repeat, Cardinals look ignorant
“It was crazy to exercise in Miami with a variety of players this winter,” said infielder Miguel Rojas. You’re signing everyone. Enough is enough. ”
Rojas laughed at the sight of the Dodgers’ pack of talent. They could not only be the first National League team to be repeated as World Series champions since the Cincinnati Reds from 1975-76, but also stolen a regular season record of 116 victories by the 2001 Seattle Mariners. It is set.
“You have to put some goals in your life, do you know? Especially in this kind of team,” Rojas said. “So why not shoot for the best? This team is pretty set to win a lot of baseball games. Obviously, it’s not our goal of winning 116. It’s about winning the last game in October or November, like last year.
“The message our front office sent to everyone this winter was that we’re not just happy about winning one championship. We always remember and last. I want to create something special that can be done.”
Yes, Rojas talks about the potential of the dynasty, just like the Yankees, who won four World Series titles and six American League pennants between 1996 and 2003.
“Last year, we finally crossed the team the hump, so I felt a bit relieved about that aspect,” said Dodgers’ three-base hand Max Muncie. “We know we won in 2020, but you want to get that full season one. And now we want to win more. There are more teams to win. So it’s like we’re more hungry than ever.”
The evidence is that while the Dodgers won’t do their first full training until Saturday, Muncie, Betts and Rojas have been working out together at the Camelback Ranch for nearly two weeks. Cy Young’s three-time winner Clayton Kershaw has not yet officially signed the contract, but was already campaigning with the Dodgers on Tuesday.
The Dodgers have reached 12 consecutive postseasons, winning 11 division titles, four pennants and two World Series, so they’re nothing more than one of the game’s top powers.
But this year it’s different.
This year, they have the largest salary in franchise history.
This year they have nine starting pitchers and a deep bullpen that can call four relievers to save the game after Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates signing.
This year, they have a starting lineup that owns five MVP awards and 27 All-Star selections.
And this year, they have DH who attacked 54 Homers last year and stole 59 bases.
“We really felt like we had a target on our back all the time,” Muncie said. “Part of that was when they played at Dodger Stadium, they sold out on Tuesday in July. All (opposite) pitchers seem to find a few miles per hour, and it always feels like that. People tend to find extra edges against us.
“But now, it’s probably even more so, especially when it comes to comments from other players.”
The Dodgers won’t be undefeated. They probably won’t win more than 116 regular season games. There’s no guarantee they’ll even win the division.
The Dodgers really couldn’t care much, they said, they punched their tickets in October, where they would take their chances.
“The most important thing is to make the postseason,” Muncie said. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve got 90 or 121 wins. It doesn’t matter where you are. It really doesn’t matter. We don’t list the numbers you need to win a certain amount of games. October When it comes, you just want to make sure you’re in the best place to win.
“So you can’t see what we’ve already done. You can’t see what we’re trying to do. We’re just focusing on what we can do in this moment.”
One day, perhaps after a few more titles, they can look back at everything, look back at the time together, and perhaps after establishing a dynasty, they can play in the most illustrious era in Dodgers history.
“Hopefully in a few years,” Muncie said, “I get the chance to look back and think about it, but not now. We know the people here. Honestly, these It is a joy and a blessing to appear to work with people.
“It never happened,” I’m here. We made it. We are fine. ”
What’s more, Dodgers players will tell you, how can they sit in their glory when the front office and ownership were certainly not? They even brought Enrique Hernandez back on a one-year, $6.5 million deal with Kershaw, whether it’s two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell or Japanese sense or Roki Sasaki .
“What the ownership did,” Rojas said, “They sent us a message. It was, “We don’t just win one championship. We want to do more. We I put pressure on you all, because we are giving you the pieces you need to keep going and do another great run.
“We’re hungry. We want to get out there now and prove that we’re still the best team in baseball.”
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