Dodgers Remain Encouraged With Help on the Way
The Dodgers are in what we all hope will be their worst stretch of games all year. The offense isn’t getting the job done, the bullpen isn’t holding leads, and the defense often looks lost. Overall, they don’t look like a World Series-winning team.
But there are reasons to be hopeful. After all, the Dodgers are just 2 games back of the best record in baseball as of Thursday night. You might expect them to be at the bottom of the National League standings the way they’ve played over the last few weeks.
The Dodgers are also expecting back more of their regular players soon. President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman spoke with the LA Times a little bit about how things have been going for the team. In his eyes, the coming return of some big names should change the tide.
Other than Dustin, all the other injuries are situations where the guys are going to come back relatively soon. So we just need to weather the storm. As tough as these last couple of weeks have been, it doesn’t change what we think about the true talent level of the group.
Friedman said this right before the Dodgers activated Joe Kelly off of the injured list. And while he might not be the elite reliever everyone is hoping for, he’s certainly an upgrade in leverage situations over guys the team has used.
It doesn’t change the fact that this has been a really frustrating run for all of us. Those losses are in the bank. But I feel very confident we’re going to start playing a much better brand of baseball and, fortunately, our strong start allowed us not to dig too deep a hole in these last couple of weeks.
Kelly being back means that the Dodgers just have a few more key pieces left to get back. Tony Gonsolin will likely hit a rehab assignment before joining the team’s starting rotation. David Price is throwing off of a mound and could return relatively soon. Brusdar Graterol might be a little ways away from throwing, but they will get him back eventually.
And on the offensive side of things, Cody Bellinger has yet to run at full strength. He will likely join Zach McKinstry on a rehab assignment before returning to the big league club. But the good news is that the Dodgers are trending towards healthy, and that is huge news.
They will be back to their winning ways, but it’s going to take some perseverance.
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On the plus side, Bellinger is rested and hungry. On July 4th the Dodgers will have a big lead and this slump will be as forgotten as the many others over the last 10 years. The team is managed very well and will just keep improving.
Injuries are part of the game so stop crying. Dodgers are not the only team with injuries. Dodgers fans say suck it up to other teams injuries but when their team is injured it’s excusable. Stop being a hypocrite!
What about Rio’s, the player who makes anyone hitting at the Mendoza line look like a HOFer.
I have been a fan of the Dodgers for a long time. I just want to say to them that they don’t need to panic. Just be patient. Things will fall in place.
I’ve heard it said that no team is as good as it looks when things are going well or as bad as it looks when things are going poorly. Probably true, we just need to stay within striking range of first place while the key players heal. That would require the established players who are not hurt to play quality baseball.
A little small-ball and figuring out a counter to the shift wouldn’t hurt. We still need a reliable RH bat off the bench and most likely anther proven relief pitcher as well. But, let’s not sell the farm to get them. We’re probably not a team that is going to cake-wake into the post-season or win the World Series either. This is going to be more of a dog fight year.
Nothing to worry about players returning. Can the field general put all them back together?
Maybe a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner or stolen base here and there Hit and Run you know some old school baseball that Mister Roberts doesn’t really play.