Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — On Memorial Day, it’s common for families to get together for backyard barbecues, and for grateful Americans to say a prayer for those who gave their lives to preserve liberty. However, it is equally common for baseball fans to take a good hard look at their team and try to figure out exactly what they have on their hands here. There have been some surprises, to be sure. Nobody had the Twins getting off to such a good start in the AL Central, and the Yankees’ dominance thus far is a bit of a jolt to the system. Other teams have been disappointments; the Blue Jays are underperforming, and definitely the train wreck in Philadelphia is a little surprising.
It is no different with fans of our beloved LA Dodgers. So where are we exactly as we head into summer? Well, to paraphrase the late great NFL coach Dennis Green, “the Dodgers are who we thought they were.” Which is, simply one of the best teams in baseball, and an early favorite to get back to the World Series.
At 33-14, the Boys in Blue have the best record in baseball at the end of play on Sunday. However, this strong start has not been without its share of disappointments and pleasant surprises. In the next two posts, we’ll take a look, piece by piece and see where we stand. Let’s start with best offense on the planet:
Offense: Big Three lead the way
We knew this lineup was stacked going into the season, and though its not quite hitting on all cylinders yet, there is plenty of firepower under the hood. As of May 29th, the Dodgers have scored 262 runs, the best in baseball, almost ten percent better than the second place Mets with 243. In addition, their .767 team OPS is tops in the game as well. But perhaps the most telling stat is the Dodgers’ run differential (runs scored minus runs allowed). The Dodgers differential of +117 is far and away an MLB best, and is close to historic levels. The 1939 Yankees had a best-ever differential of +411, and if we do the math, the Dodgers are on a pace to come close to that in 2022. I doubt that this is sustainable, but it is a very encouraging start.
On an individual side, let’s look at some of the ovations and frustrations of the season so far.
Ovations…
- Definitely, the 1-2-3 punch of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Trea Turner have to be high on the list of good things about this team. Finally healthy, Mookie has caught fire in May, and raised his OPS to .971 going into Memorial Day. Freeman is not far behind, with an .878 OPS and team-leading 18 doubles. And Trea? All he has done is hit; he’s currently riding a 21-game hitting streak that has raised his average to .297. Stack these three at the top of the lineup and its lethal.
- Definitely, the pleasant surprise of the year has to be the strong comeback of Edwin Rios, on the shelf almost all of 2021 with an injury. That sweet lefty swing has already accounted for six home runs in just 76 at-bats. That’s some production right there. Hopefully, he’s playing himself into a bigger role as the season progresses.
- Gavin Lux is a few years removed from his “can’t-miss prospect” days, but he continues to show better plate discipline and get big hits for the team. In the first couple weeks of the season, you could argue that Luxy was carrying the load while Betts and the Turners were still trying to get on track. Not sure if he’ll ever be an All-Star, but his career is on the right trajectory. At last.
- Justin Turner, a notoriously slow starter, seems to have finally gotten his swing where it needs to be. He’s looked very good in the last couple of weeks, including a 4-for-4 performance in Arizona last weekend.
- Chris Taylor‘s been streaky and there’s still too much swing-and-miss in his game, but I like that he’s starting to drive the ball the other way lately. With all his ups and downs, he is still fourth on the team in OPS, just behind Trea Turner.
- And, what the heck, Hanser Alberto, has been fun on the bench.
Frustrations…
- Of course, the biggest frustration of 2022 is the perplexing performance of Max Muncy. Maybe it’s lingering problems from the end-of-season-injury, but hejust hasn’t been himself all year. In fact, his batting average is one of the lowest in all of baseball. He’s still getting his share of walks, but that just doesn’t cut it in the middle of the lineup. We need him to get back to bashing. His current IL stint may give him a chance to hit the reset button on his season. Let’s hope so.
- Cody Bellinger has been a little better than he was last season, but he is still a far cry from his MVP-level of offensive production. I’d love it if he came around over the summer, but with him, the bar is pretty low right now. I’d take a .250 average with a .700 OPS at this point.
- I hesitate to put Will Smith in the “frustrations” section, because truth be told, he’s been fine. But we’ve come to expect more than “fine” from our talented backstop. His OPS, a respectable .764, is nearly 100 points below his mark from last year, and his five home runs is a bit disappointing as well. Hopefully, as the ball starts to fly better in the summer, those numbers will come up.
Conclusion
Look, when a team is leading major league baseball in almost every offensive category, it is hard to complain much. However, I think most fans have the feeling that this team still hasn’t quite hit its stride offensively. It’s close, to be sure. Averaging nearly 5.5 runs a game is nothing to sneeze at. But once the whole batting order is contributing, this team looks unstoppable.
NEXT: We look at the Dodgers’ pitching, and what we can expect over the summer from the biggest question mark on the team.
