Dodgers News: Mattingly Remains Confident In Struggling Offense
Heading into the 2014 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers were expected to have one of the better offenses in the entire league. The projections were justified in the fact that the team had a lineup with Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez, Yasiel Puig and a recovering Matt Kemp.
Well, after dropping five of their last seven and failing to score more than three runs in four of those games, many have already begun questioning the offense.
According to Anthony Witrado of ESPN LA, manager Don Mattingly has not yet hit the panic button and remains confident in his group:
We’ll go through periods like this, but as long as we continue to work and not be satisfied with what’s going on, I feel like we’ll be OK,” manager Don Mattingly said. “I’m not willing to think this is the way it’s going to be all year long after [26] games.”
Currently, the Dodger offense ranks 17th and 18th in runs scored and team batting average, respectively. The lack of offense has left many deserving starting pitchers with no-decisions and caused the bullpen to pitch under tough circumstances on a nightly basis. While Gonzalez, Dee Gordon and Juan Uribe have all gotten off to a great start, the rest of the lineup has struggled with their consistency. Some of that may be credited to a lack of consistent playing time for the outfielders, where the Dodgers have shuffled the lineup daily.
Also, the Dodgers have not gotten much production from the catcher position this season, receiving just 13 hits from three catchers in 26 games. Ramirez has been dealing with a sore thumb since being hit by a pitch and has yet to regain his stroke, and Puig is starting to heat up in recent weeks. If the starting pitching can keep up their work, the offense should come around and reach the potential that was expected.
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