Dodgers: Biggest takeaways from the first weekend of Spring Training
By Jason Reed
The offense will have the same pros/cons as last season
The Los Angeles Dodgers have some of the best hitters in baseball at their respective positions. Justin Turner is a top-ten third baseman, top-five depending who you ask. Corey Seager is a top-three shortstop, Cody Bellinger, at his best, is a top-five first baseman. Yasmani Grandal can be the best power-hitting catcher in the game and Chris Taylor is all-star worthy.
However, the problem with the Los Angeles Dodgers is how inconsistent that offense can be. Every MLB team has games where they simply can’t hit, period. Sometimes it takes one player carrying the offense on a particular day to lead to an ugly 2-1 victory.
The problem with the Dodgers, though, is that when one thrives they all thrive. When one fails, they all fail. The offensive production is too contagious in Los Angeles.
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We have already seen that twice during Spring Training. The Dodgers scored 13 runs in their first contest against the White Sox behind four home runs. Two days later, the Dodgers were shutout with the team’s only two hits coming from minor leaguer Max Muncy.
Obviously, the lineup was not the same and was missing Logan Forsythe, Cody Bellinger and Yasiel Puig. However, notable bats such as Chase Utley, Corey Seager, Justin Turner, Matt Kemp, Yasmani Grandal, Joc Pederson and Andrew Toles all went 0-for.
We saw this last year. During the summer, when everything was clicking, the Dodgers offense played like the best in baseball. We then saw in late August and early September what happens when the bats aren’t hot. They lost 11 straight.
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And ultimately, although I hate harping on the past, it was this inconsistency that led to the Dodgers losing the World Series. The Dodger bats went cold during the Fall Classic and the pitching had to carry the team to three wins. The Dodgers arguably had just one good offensive game. Too inconsistent.