Clayton Kershaw did not have his best stuff yesterday, but it was good enough to throw 7 shutout innings. I think he could have pitched another inning, but why wear him out. He threw a very efficient 90 pitches and his ERA now sits at 2.09. Those of you who wanted to anoint Walker Buehler the Ace will have to wait a while. Dodgers Starting Pitcher ERA & WHIP: Clayton…
Last night, Noisy was quiet, Raley was hitless in two AB’s and Rios continues to look lost. With just four hits in twenty-nine (29) at-bats, Rios is in danger of being optioned. There’s no room for underperformers. That is just one of the cold, hard facts. The Dodgers will still give him some time, but Edwin is going to have to earn it, just like Zach McKinstry has earned it. Zach just continues to do the little things well. He is 4th on the team in AB’s, so one would have to conclude that his is now a “regular starter.” He is actually hitting .381 against LH pitching so there’s no platoon here.
We are only 10 games into the season, so everything we are seeing is a small sampling, but right about now, everything we are seeing is “spot on” to what we believed this team could achieve. The Dodgers could have believed all their press clippings and came out of the gate slowly, but they came out snarling and ready to defend their title. They are now 8-2 and very well…
With eight more days left in Spring Training, all thirteen (13) of the position players are set (barring injury). There is nothing left to decide. Here’s the list: Will Smith Max Muncy Gavin Lux Corey Seager Justin Turner AJ Pollock Cody Bellinger Mookie Betts Chris Taylor Austin Barnes Edwin Rios Zach McKinstry Matt Beaty Noisy and Peters may be back in the heat of summer when a fan (I mean…
CT3 has earned the 2B starting job… so has Gavin Lux. It may be a platoon in the beginning, but we shall see how it plays out. McKinstry and Taylor will get a lot of playing time.
If this is who Gavin Lux is (from what he has shown this Spring), then the Dodgers are going to have an incredible offense. If he keeps hitting (and I can’t see why he won’t) he is going to be very difficult to keep at the bottom of the lineup. With his speed and baserunning ability, he is a perfect #2 hitter behind Mookie Betts. Speed Kills! That moves Seager to #3 and the trickle-down starts. I doubt that Gavin begins the season as the #2 hitter, but if he earns that spot, look out! This 2021 Dodger Offense is once again going to be the Big Blue Wrecking Crew!
At some point, I could see Will Smith hitting #3 with Bellinger #4 and Muncy #6, but make no mistake about it – the Dodgers have been very good with JT hitting #3 and Mad Max at #4. I just think that Bellinger and Will Smith have the speed to hit towards the top of the lineup.
LA DODGER TALK is not your normal Dodger blog site. Even Ray Charles can see that no other Dodger site has a Dodger historian like Michael Norris. Michael or “Bear” as we know him, is a National Dodger Treasure! What he lays down is not available anywhere else! Then we have 2Demeter2, who has committed to trying to write one blog a week wherein he will give his “opinion from…
don’t think it makes much sense to have Matt Beaty on the roster, as the Dodgers have plenty of LH hitters. I would think that Noisy makes it as he can play all over the infield and LF as well. He has logged significant innings at SS, as well as 1B, 2B, and 3B. If the Dodgers carry 14 position players, Sheldon makes it. In not, both Noisy and Beaty are not on the team.
It looks like there will be Butts in Seats as the season starts – the only question is how many? I think it will ramp up pretty quickly… especially as the vaccination process gains traction. I still have not taken the vaccine… still debating!