One pitch is all it took to ruin the Dodgers' season in Game 4.
One pitch is all it took to ruin the Dodgers' season in Game 4. (USATSI)

The Los Angeles Dodgers were again bounced from the postseason by the St. Louis Cardinals, only this time it was the NLDS round and it only took St. Louis four games. With the Dodgers season having some to an end, it's time for us to eulogize.

What went right

They won the NL West by six games, going 94-68. They were second in the NL in runs scored and fourth in ERA. 

Individually, the Dodgers got good seasons from Adrian Gonzalez, Yasiel Puig, Juan Uribe, Hanley Ramirez and unlikely excellent production from Justin Turner and Scott Van Slyke. Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp had monster second halves, too.

Zack Greinke was great, again, while Hyun-Jin Ryu was mostly good and Josh Beckett put together several very good starts. In the bullpen, Kenley Jansen had some rocky times, mostly toward the start of the year, but overall was one of the better closers in baseball.

And then, there's Clayton Kershaw. He could well win the NL MVP, despite only having made 27 starts. He had one of the most dominant pitching seasons in the last 50 years, so there's no reason to go on and on here. We'll have time for that when the MVP voting is revealed. Also, keep in mind voting is conducted immediately after the regular season, so any arguments about him not being MVP due to postseason performance are worthless.

What went wrong

Once Beckett was lost for the season, there were issues at the back of the rotation. They ended up trading for both Roberto Hernandez and Kevin Correia. Paul Maholm was a disaster out of the 'pen and couldn't be trusted in a starting role even when healthy. Several other members of the bullpen had issues, such as Brian Wilson and Chris Perez.

And, of course, there were the injury issues. Uribe only played 103 games and while Ramirez got in 128, it seems like he was questionable for every single day of the season. Crawford only managed 105 games. Only Greinke and Dan Haren made at least 30 starts in the rotation.

Mostly, though, the important stuff that went wrong happened in the postseason. Much of the blame will fall on Kershaw, as he went 0-2 with a 7.82 ERA in his two starts. He was spotted a lead in both games he pitched, too. Gonzalez, Gordon and Uribe didn't hit too well, either, and the bullpen was poor in a few important spots.

MVP: Kershaw in the regular season.

LVP: Kershaw in the postseason. He's your money pitcher and they lost his two starts in a five-game series. It wasn't all his fault, but the blame falls with the star when he doesn't perform up to his potential. And while he wasn't terrible in Game 4, he was in Game 1 in the seventh inning. Really, though, I'd accept votes for general manager Ned Colletti for the terrible bullpen he put together on a quarter of a billon dollar budget.

Free agents to be: SS Hanley Ramirez, SP Josh Beckett, SP Chad Billingsley ($15M club option), SP Dan Haren ($10M player option), SP Kevin Correia, RP Brian Wilson ($9M player option), SP Roberto Hernandez, RP Chris Perez, RP Jamey Wright, P Paul Maholm

Gameplan heading into the offseason

The bullpen needs to be beefed up and it couldn't hurt to stop wasting money on former closers and instead focus on lower-priced guys who are still effective. Luke Hochevar (coming off Tommy John surger), Luke Gregerson, Pat Neshek and Andrew Miller are available and could be nice fits. They'll probably do something like overpay for David Robertson, though. It wouldn't be a disaster, but it's unnecessary.

Past that, it'll be interesting to see how negotiations with Hanley Ramirez go. He's been a nice fit for them and played very well when healthy, but he's unable to stay on the field consistently. So do the Dodgers pay full asking price? Will Ramirez get more elsewhere?

There's also the outfield logjam, as Joc Pederson clearly needs to be given a chance at the big-league level, whether with the Dodgers or someone else. In order to justify regular playing time, though, the Dodgers would have to clear two from the group of Crawford, Kemp and Andre Ethier. Ethier's a great trade candidate and I'd be surprised if he wasn't moved this offseason, even if the Dodgers eat most of his remaining contract (he's still owed $53.5 million over the next three seasons). Past that, though, both Kemp and Crawford have gigantic contracts and played very well down the stretch. Yasiel Puig obviously isn't going anywhere either, so do the Dodgers deal Pederson for pitching help? You know who might be a fit? Call Billy Beane and the A's about Jeff Samardzija. How about the Tigers with David Price? It never hurts to ask.

Basically, the Dodgers will reload. They'll probably look to get Ramirez's deal done, add one starting pitcher, resolve the outfield situation and get some bullpen help. They're very well set up, too, in terms of trading chips and financial flexibility.

It also must be noted that with how much money ownership is spending on players, it's possible that general manager Ned Colletti gets fired. And it's also possible that Colletti fires manager Don Mattingly. They didn't put this team together with the goal to simply make the playoffs. Losing in the first round is unacceptable.

Ridiculously premature prediction for 2015

They'll again win the NL West with relative ease and next time around, Kershaw is ace-like in the postseason.