Comments on: Matt Kemp homers in first minor league rehab game

By: dodger88

dodger88 — Mon, 28 May 2012 21:19:32 +0000

I’ll cop to being at least a little crazy and on paper this line-up should be bad beyond Kemp and Ethier. For some reason it is working and my hope is the likes of Hairston and Ellis play over the heads for a few months, an Abreu / Rivera platoon takes advantage of some LH/RH splits, Loney hits his weight and Goron continues to develop.

Too many if scenarios to put money on them but as a fan they are giving me more than I had any right to expect coming into the season. They are fortunate that the NL is lacking a powerhouse this year and I agree that they would be in tough to crack the top five in the AL but outside of a few interleague games the AL teams won’t be a factor until late October and I’ll take whatever odds available if the Dodgers are playing that late.

By: big35hurt

big35hurt — Mon, 28 May 2012 19:05:36 +0000

LOL Are you crazy? That lineup literally has TWO, solid bats. The rest of that lineup is disgraceful.

Hairston- are you kidding me?
Herrara- see Hairston comment
Kemp and Either – obvious studs (although Ethier is slump prone)
Abreu/Rivera- ok platoon if you are batting them 7th, NOT 5th!
Loney- a true liability. No power. Hurts the team.
Ellis- can he sustain this? if so, it’s a nice boost.
Gordon-overmatched very often.

This team needs offensive help VERY badly. Their pitching is solid. If they don’t add on, they have no chance to win the world series. They may sustain a nice year in the very subpar National League, but they would get swept by any of the top 6 AL teams.

By: dodger88

dodger88 — Mon, 28 May 2012 14:33:18 +0000

I’ll admit the Dodgers are out playing their staff on paper but the more I watch the more I am thinking this team is for real. While there most certainly will be a slump sometime this summer, the increasing health of position players and the somewhat improved play of the likes of Loney & Gordon of late, a line up something like this could prove to be strong enough to keep up the winning ways:

1. Hairston – 3B
2. Herrara – 2B
3. Kemp – CF
4. Ethier – RF
5. Abreu / Rivera – LF
6. Loney – 1B
7. Ellis – C
8. Gordon – SS

Continued pitching success is key and there are rumblings Lilly may be hurt (here comes Nathan Eovaldi) but this team has a chance for a very successful season.