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

[KMayUSA6060]

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.

[Peter_Spaeth]

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

[egri]

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.