Andrew Friedman Believes Dodgers ‘Every Bit as Talented’ as Past World Series Teams

This first month of baseball has been a pretty wild rollercoaster ride for your Los Angeles Dodgers to say the least.

Coming into the season, it was clear with guys like Miguel Vargas and James Outman being inserted to the lineup that a youth movement was going to dominate the clubhouse. The veteran presence of other stars such as Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Clayton Kershaw was going to serve to be more important than ever. LA did not have the luxury of starting 2023 with a ton of seasoned talent like in years prior.

And unfortunately, it has showed in these first 27 games for the Boys in Blue. The pitching staff is what has been the most concerning for fans so far and with LA ranking number 23 in ERA with a 4.65, it’s not a mystery as to why the start has been so mediocre.

It is pretty concerning to think that Kershaw, at 35-years-old and possibly in his final season, is still the best pitcher on the roster as of now. He is 4-1 when he takes the mound and is posting a 2.32 ERA with a 0.87 WHIP. Julio Urias was supposed to be handed over the torch this season but his own 3-3 record with seven home runs given up was not expected.

Nonetheless, President of the Dodgers Andrew Friedman has reassured that the organization believes in the roster they have compiled to still contend. He is the man every fan looks to for answers when things so South and he detailed a lot of similarities between this current squad and those that made the World Series in 2017 and 2018.

“We got off to an uneven start in 2017 and 2018 and I think this team, talent-wise, is every bit as talented as those teams,” Friedman said. “I think it’s having the mentality of doing what we can to help each guy get back either to where they were or what our thoughts are in terms of expectations. We’ve gone through this exercise in the past. We’ve got a staff full of really talented people that are on it and I’ll bet on the talent in that room when we get to the end of the year.”

(Via OC Register)

Friedman has been happy with the guys he’s seen take a jump this early into the 2023 campaign and also believes things will be different with Will Smith back.

“I think we have a really talented offensive team,” Friedman said. “Some nights it has shown more than others. I think some of that is the game of baseball. And some of it are things that we can help to improve on that. We’ve had some guys really emerge. We’ve also played a large percentage of this year without Will.

(Via OC Register)

We sure hope they can finish out the season like those old squads.

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