Dodgers still dealing with the same first-world problem

Dodgers still dealing with the same first-world problem originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Los Angeles Dodgers' "problems" are different from everyone else's in MLB.

The reality is that the Dodgers are doing just fine, regardless of the way you frame their issues.

But hey, even the best team in the world can have things less than perfect, and there's one way that's true in L.A. In fact, it's the same thing that it was last year.

The Dodgers still have a struggling bullpen.

This season, it's in part because the guy they signed to fix it, Edwin Diaz, is hurt. But hey, that's how problems show up for the teams at the top of the mountain.

"In most ways, the Dodgers' early metrics paint the picture of yet another L.A. powerhouse," ESPN's Bradford Doolittle wrote as part of a new article on Wednesday. "Sure, the offense has been tepid of late, and because the Dodgers have baseball's oldest position group, that gives you pause. But insofar as the Dodgers have anything at all to worry about, it's the relief staff that is facing months without anchor Edwin Diaz. Tanner Scott and  have been terrific, but beyond those two, it's been hit-or-miss for a middle-of-the-pack bullpen. This has contributed to a slow start in close games (6-9 in one- and two-run affairs) and a 12-win discrepancy between the Dodgers' win pace (99) and their Pythagorean-based pace (113). Of course, 99 wins is really good, so it's hard to get too worked up about any present Dodgers issue."