How did the 1950's Dodgers ever manage to lose?
 

Take for Example the 1953 Dodgers.

Their starting lineup by OBP

Jackie Robinson .425
Duke Snider .419
Roy Campanella .395
Gil Hodges .393
Carl Furillo .393
Jim Gilliam .383
Pee Wee Reese .374
Bobby Morgan/Billy Cox .370/.363

The WORST was the 3b platoon at a % that would've led some teams.

OPS is more of the same they had 5 guys with a higher OPS than the leader of the Yankees.

Of course I'm being a little facetious, their starting pitcher was pretty lackluster, but their offense while not the 1927 Yankees, was one of the best of any team that didn't have Ruth or Gehrig!

For example, the 1995 Cleveland Indians...

Tony Pena/Sandy Alomar: .262/.302 & .300/.332 BA/OBP respectively
Paul Sorrento: .235/.336/.511 BA/OBP/SLG
Carlos Baerga: .314/.355 BA/OBP
Omar Vizquel: .266/.333 BA/OBP
Jim Thome: .314/.438/.558/.996 BA/OBP/SLG/OPS
Albert Belle: .317/.401/.690/1.091 BA/OBP/SLG/OPS
Kenny Lofton: .310/.362 BA/OBP
Manny Ramirez: .308/.402/.558/.960 BA/OBP/SLG/OPS
Eddie Murray: .323/.375 BA/OBP

Yet they ran into the buzz saw that was the '95 Braves pitching staff. Pitching dominates. Heck, the '96 Indians might have been even better, with two players (Thome & Belle) over 1 in the OPS category.

The '53 Dodgers ran into the Yankees, with Ford, Lopat, Reynolds, etc. Their entire staff was solid, not to mention their lineup included the likes of...

Mantle: .295/.398 BA/OBP
Woodling: .306/.429 BA/OBP
Bauer: .304/.394 BA/OBP
McDougald: .285/.361 BA/OBP
Rizzuto: .271/.383 BA/OBP
Collins: .269/365 BA/OBP
Berra: .296/.363 BA/OBP

You can have a great left hook, but if your opponent boasts an equal or greater left hook with a nice right hook to compliment, it's possible to lose.

The Big Red Machine had some outrageous lineups, and they certainly were winners, but would have won a lot more with better starting pitching.

The Red Sox from the same era had the same problem; a prolific offense with no pitching to back it up. The year they scored over 1,000 runs (1950) they had one pitcher with an ERA below 4.00 (Mel Parnell at 3.61; next closest was Joe Dobson at 4.18. Curiously, that was Dobson’s only All-Star season, despite putting up better numbers other years). The other posters hit it on the head: pitching dominates, and they didn’t have it.