Dodgers News: Mookie Betts Should Be Activated in San Diego This Week
The Dodgers offense is humming along over the last few weeks. They haven’t put up a ton of runs each time out, but the pitching has been good enough to ensure that they have won 9 consecutive games.
But the good news is that the offense is one step closer to getting back a very good bat. The Dodgers have been without Mookie Betts since the beginning of the month with his lingering hip issue. The superstar outfielder has been turning up the workouts this week though, and he’s progressing towards a return.
As it turns out, Mookie is VERY close to making his return to the Dodgers lineup. Dave Roberts said prior to the game on Sunday that he will take part in simulated games on Monday and Tuesday. If those go as planned, he could be activated in San Diego this week.
Tomorrow he’s going to be part of a simulated game here at Dodger Stadium, he’ll take some at-bats. My assumption is he’ll do it again on Tuesday, he’ll be off Wednesday, and if all goes well, activate him on Thursday.
The Dodgers getting Mookie back in the lineup for the final game against the Padres is great timing. Obviously, you always want to win games, but taking them from other teams in the NL West is huge.
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Mookie was also on a bit of a hot streak when he hit the injured list. Through 5 games in August, Betts was slashing .381/.435/.810 with an absurd 1.244 OPS.
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I know that they have been struggling lately, but the Padres are still a big threat. They swept us last time we faced them. It’s time for us to sweep them. We need all of the help that we can get.
We? Us? It’s THEM. Baseball fanatics don’t own any part of a team, they do one thing only.
Pay for the Product. That’s it.
The Pads free fall, their recent crash and burn, will only give them more incentive to get back on track against the Dodgers.
The Dodgers cannot afford to stub their toe against the Pads, especially with the hugely important series against the Giants being just around the corner.
This series with the Pads and the Labor Day Weekend series against S.F. shouldn’t necessarily be the end all, be all, but those series will likely be an accurate barometer of how the rest of the regular season is going to go. Let’s hope that the only team the Pads can beat right now is not the Dodgers.
Dodgers need to put forth max effort, match and exceed the energy of S.D. and not try too hard to be “too cool for school”. Exhibiting just the right amount of enthusiasm without getting too caught up in the College Vibe of the Pads is key.
Great to get Mookie (.277 & 17 HR) back in right. Keep Pollock (.305 & 15 HR) in left and Chris Taylor (.280 & 18 HR) in center. Sit Bellinger for a week or so. Poor Belli’s been worthless (.174). Getting Julio Urias back, plus Joe Kelly back in the pen… Reminds me of the old Beatles tune, “It’s Getting Better All the Time”…