“I miss Jansen so much” How long will Robertson go on the Dodgers mound?
The Los Angeles Dodgers are in third place in the National League West with a record of 40-33 (.548) as of Sept. 21. They are 3.5 games back of first-place Arizona and 1 game back of second-place San Francisco.
There are two ways to look at this. 메이저사이트 Many expected the Dodgers to be weakened by the departure of key players in the offseason, without much success. However, the Dodgers are not as weak as we thought. They’re consistently winning over .500 and are right in the thick of the division race. Considering the number of games left to play, 3.5 games is not an insurmountable distance. The Dodgers have had their moments.
You can also look at it from the opposite point of view. The Dodgers were leading the division, but their weakness on the mound was evident, allowing them to be overtaken by Arizona and then San Francisco. The 347 runs allowed is actually not a very positive metric. Of the 15 teams in the National League, nine have given up fewer runs than the Dodgers.
While the offense has maintained its firepower, the mound strength is cause for concern. In 2022, the Dodgers had a team ERA of 2.80, the best among the 30 major league clubs, but this year it’s 4.60, 24th in the majors. The bullpen, in particular, has reached a point where there is an absolute consensus that it can’t be ignored. The Dodgers bullpen has a 5.01 ERA, which ranks 29th in the majors.
They don’t even have a solid bullpen rotation with most of their players struggling. They don’t have a clear-cut closer, and they don’t have a clear-cut setup man. It’s not uncommon for a late-game blowout to put the game out of reach.
The starting rotation has been riddled with injuries, and there’s some hope that when they return, they’ll be able to put something together with the new, younger players. The bullpen, however, is not. As a result, many observers expect the Dodgers to try to trade the bullpen before the trade deadline. However, LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts continues to defend his current players.
A week ago today, on the 15th, Roberts told the LA Times about the possibility of a bullpen trade, “We can always get better. The answer to our bullpen problems right now is in our bullpen.” “Our guys are going to get opportunities to get out,” Roberts said. If they don’t perform up to expectations, we can make decisions as an organization. But we’re minimizing our concerns. We’re too far away (from a trade) right now.” 메이저도메인
For now, the organization will rely on its current bullpen. Some believe the return of Daniel Hudson could stabilize the bullpen, but Bill Plaske, the Dodgers beat writer for the Los Angeles Times, said, “I already miss (former closer) Jansen,” suggesting that Hudson, who is coming off knee surgery, could be the answer. But how much faith can you put in a guy who hasn’t pitched in a year?” he said cynically.
Despite Roberts’ hopes, Plaske believes the Dodgers will eventually be in the trade market. “The question is entirely valid given the history of president Andrew Friedman. He’s an expert in roster overhauls, having made in-season trades for pitchers like Max Scherzer, Darvish Yu, and Rich Hill. He has the guts to make this kind of deal, and he has the tools (meaning prospects) to make it happen.
The Dodgers saved money last year in order to make a run at Shohei Ohtani (29, Los Angeles Angels) in free agency, which is an obvious fact whether Dodger officials want to admit it or not. But that doesn’t mean they’ve given up on the season. The goal is still first place in the division and a good showing in the postseason. It’s slowly becoming apparent that it’s impossible to accomplish that without a solid finish. There’s room to hope that Friedman can pull it off once again.