The boys in Pantone 294 played their greatest hits of the new season against the New York Mets. The offense had a superb game but slumped in the others. In game two of the series, the Dodgers relied on Clayton Kershaw. In game three, the offense fell asleep, and woke up late into the game to drop the rubber match.
Starting the season 9-10 isn’t the start I had in mind for the team Friedman constructed. I was lying to myself. The hopelessly devoted Dodger-fan boy that I am had me thinking this team was meant for more.
Without Will Smith in the lineup, the offense is slimmed down, exposing the weaknesses of the team. Mookie is about to become a daddy for the second time and missed the second and third game of the series. His bat and presence made the hole left behind by Smith even more evident.
I’m not sure if my level of anger is higher because I’m projecting my frustration with Frank Ocean after he dropped out of Coachella onto the Dodgers. My emotions are warranted. The Dodgers are playing subpar baseball, and I don’t see what can be changed to improve this team.
All this fanboy can do is wait for their offense to wake up. After all, it's only April.
But for now, let’s dive into the good, the bad and the ugly of the series.
The Good
I became an avid Dodgers fan when I was 17, around the same time Clayton Kershaw started his career. Since then, Kershaw has been the player I root for the most. I even wrote about how his emotion on display after getting the last out of the 7th during his game should function as a spark for this team.
Kershaw pitched a hell of a game against the Mets. His start was much-needed after dropping the first game of the series, and losing the series against the Cubs. It's starting to look like this pitching staff will have to rely on both Julio Urias and Clayton Kershaw to be themselves more than they rely on their offense.
The Bad
Twitter user @GonsolinRBW tweets a picture of Alex Vesia with KSI and Logan Paul anytime the Dodgers look bad. In my opinion, this kind of reasoning is completely plausible. This kind of season seemed to be doomed from the moment they brought Logan Paul to throw out the first pitch.
Alex Vesia hasn’t been the same since.
The Ugly
The bottom half of the line up got seven hits during the three game series. Muncy got two hits during game one. Players are always saying hitting is contagious but the bottom half of the offense is a bunch of rotten fruits stinking up the rest.
The Dodgers will not go far with the bottom half of the lineup resembling a donut shop.