The Dodgers finally cashed one in last year. Credit where it’s due. They built the Avengers roster, spent like a Saudi soccer team, and for once, it actually worked.

But here’s the part nobody wants to talk about: that win didn’t prove money works in October. It just proved everything has to go perfectly for it to work. And if you’ve watched a single inning of this year’s postseason, you already know the same old cracks are showing again.

Half a billion in payroll and tax bills later, the Dodgers still look like the richest team in the league that could fall apart at any second. They didn’t fix the system, they just got lucky it didn’t blow up last time.

You can stack Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glasnow, Freeman, Betts, Muncy, all on the same roster and still not fix baseball’s biggest problem: you can’t buy chemistry, hunger, or timing.

The Dodgers won last year because everything lined up. The pitching held. The stars stayed healthy. The role players actually showed up. But that was a perfect storm, not a sustainable formula.

This team lives on the edge of disaster every postseason. They build like billionaires who think failure is something you can refund. When things go bad, they have no Plan B. No scrappy kid who came up hungry in July. No cheap bullpen arm who found lightning in his slider. Just more high-priced contracts that can’t move without a luxury tax penalty.

And that’s the trap. When you spend that much money, you don’t just buy players. You buy chains.

You lock yourself into a structure where one injury, one bad series, or one cold bat makes your whole empire crumble. That’s not team-building. That’s gambling with better lighting.

The luxury tax is supposed to punish overspenders, and the Dodgers keep acting like it’s Monopoly money. You can’t drop half a billion on payroll and taxes and still pretend you’re the underdog. You are the system. You’re playing in God Mode and still almost glitching out.

Meanwhile, the so-called “poor” teams keep doing what the Dodgers can’t: survive chaos.

Look at the Rays, the Guardians, even the Orioles. They build rosters that can bend without breaking. They don’t need superstars at every position because they have options. The Dodgers? Every time they try to make a midseason move, they have to check with their accountant before their GM.

And yeah, the Dodgers are still a monster. If everything clicks, they can bulldoze anyone. But in October, everything never clicks. You need margin for error. You need flexibility. You need guys who can step in and deliver without a private jet waiting outside.

Here’s the thing about being the biggest spender: it’s great until the game turns small. When the innings get short and the pressure gets high, it’s not about money. It’s about moments.

The Dodgers’ front office is addicted to comfort. They pay to avoid risk, and that’s exactly why they can’t handle it when things get ugly. They’ve confused payroll with strategy. Throwing 500 million dollars at a problem doesn’t make it go away. It just makes it more expensive when it comes back.

Winning last year bought them time, not immunity. You can’t just keep outspending mistakes forever. At some point, the check bounces in October.

If they don’t find a way to build smarter, not richer, they’ll be the Yankees of the West. Always loaded, always talented, and always explaining why they should’ve gone farther.

Money buys you a regular season. October still belongs to the teams that grind.

So yeah, congrats to the Dodgers for finally proving they can buy a ring. But don’t kid yourself. The tax man is still coming. The roster is still top-heavy. The flexibility is gone.

And if this postseason starts to go sideways again, don’t say nobody warned them.

Because when you live on a half-billion payroll, every loss costs double.