Here is reason No. 23 the Dodgers will win the 2018 World Series:

No More Yu

Yes, this one trends more toward petty and bitterness. But, face it, Yu Darvish deserves some shade thrown his way.

The Dodgers traded for Yu Darvish late in 2017 with the intent that he would provide a huge boost to the playoff rotation and pitch quality starts in the biggest moments. He received two opportunities to directly effect the outcome of the 2017 World Series, including Game 7. It didn’t go very well.

Darvish was woeful in his two World Series starts. His astronomical 21.6 ERA in 3 and 1/3 innings pitched left Los Angeles reeling with long relief.

Game 7 was one of the more painful pitching performances to watch in Dodgers history. Darvish couldn’t get out of the second inning, and allowed five earned runs. All five Houston Astros runs in the deciding game, to be exact.

The 31-year-old Japanese international is now a Cub, and will be Chicago’s problem in the postseason.

L.A.’s rotation will absorb the loss of Darvish and use the failures of 2017 to fuel a 2018 World Series title run.

A little over three weeks til the San Francisco Giants come to town for Opening Day. Tune in to KHTS Radio FM 98.1 and AM 1220 throughout the 2018 season for your Dodgers coverage.

It’s been 30 years since the Dodgers last World Series triumph in 1988. In honor of the ’88 team and respect for the championship-caliber 2018 club, we present our “30 IN 30” Spring Training series: 30 reasons why the Dodgers can win the World Series in 2018. We’ll count down from No. 30 to No. 1 every day up to Opening Day against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium.