Thursday, March 28, 2024
Home > Opinion > The Dodgers Can’t Hit Lefties Again

The Dodgers Can’t Hit Lefties Again

The Dodgers have been running in place for over a month now. Since the all-star break the Dodgers have an 11-12 record and hold no advantage in the National League West. We focus primarily on the poor pitching staff for the Dodger’s lackluster play lately. Granted the bullpen sucks, and is the main reason for the losing. But let’s not overlook the bats as well. Because once again the Dodgers can’t hit left handers.

If you remember back in 2016 a season in which the Dodgers somehow won the NL West and made it all the way to the NLCS (losing to the Cubs) completely without a pitching staff, also were a team that were unable to hit left handed pitching. It was easy to beat the Dodgers that season. All you had to do was throw any southpaw out there against them and it resulted in an easy shutout. Late inning relievers had the drop on the Dodgers too. If the opposing pitcher was a left hander, the Dodgers flailed and couldn’t score.

In 2017 the Dodgers fixed this problem and it was a big reason for their success. They weren’t the best in the bigs at hitting lefties, but they were at least respectable. The increased production against left handers led them to a National League pennant.

 

http://gty.im/1015772634

This season the story has reverted right back to the same old song and dance. The Dodgers suck against left handers again and the word is out amongst the other clubs in the National League. The inflexibility in the lineup has hurt them throughout the season. Sure the Dodgers crush right handers, but the lefties still flummox them.

Even with newcomers Manny Machado and Brian Dozier in the lineup the Dodgers still can’t hit lefties. How bad are the Dodgers against lefties this season? Oh they’re pretty bad all right. According to the numbers the Dodgers are one of the least productive clubs against southpaws in the Majors. Not just in the National League mind you, but in all of baseball.

The Dodgers are slashing .226/.309/.382 with a .692 OPS against lefties. They ranks 28 out of the 30 teams in batting, 22 out of the 30 teams in OPS, 22 out of the 30 teams in OBP, and tenth in home runs (39). They also rank third with 324 strikeouts. Nobody strikes out more against left handed pitching than the Dodgers.

In 2017 the Dodgers batted .253 with a .789 OPS against left handers. I’m not sure why the big drop in batting, OBP and contact against left handers, but it’s something that could sink them. Guess who the Dodgers have to face on Monday night when the Giants come into town? Yeah it’s Madison Bumgarner all right. Here’s hoping Clayton Kershaw pitches a complete game shutout. Otherwise it will be another pathetic loss in a long line of pathetic losses since the all-star break.

Scott Andes

Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
Twitter

Scott Andes
Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic
https://ladodgerreport.com

38 thoughts on “The Dodgers Can’t Hit Lefties Again

  1. Turner and Machado hit them. Taylor, Puig and Dozier don’t. Kemp isn’t hitting anybody.

    Still no recognition on my iPad. The “save” box is there and checked but it isn’t working.

    1. Then how are you posting? What exactly is there? Software appears different on every type of browser and operating system.

      1. I’m on my phone now. On my iPad I still have to fill in name and address box, even though the save box is there and checked.

  2. Taylor is our strike out king. In the old days he would have been sent down to the farm. But we still keep playing him. Modern baseball.

  3. Roberts suffering from dementia. Kike hitting in the 4 hole again. He is 6-42 in that spot in the order. Only move that makes sense is Machado hitting 3rd where he is way over .300.

      1. No, it is me. Just had trouble with the log in on here and when I tried using my twitter account, that’s what showed up. Yeah..Dummy is dumber than a bag of hammers. Kemp siting out when he is one of the few guys who hits lefty’s. Weird, except I am not sure of his career numbers against the Mad Bum.

    1. Michael
      How do they expect Kemp to hit? They play him a game and then sit him a game. No rhythm at all, especially fighting a slump but it doesn’t matter what Kike does, PLAY HIM. Sucks!!

      1. Kike is playing because of his past history not because of what he has done lately. But he has crushed the Mad Bum before. Kemp is in a slump and I get that, but as normal, Dummy does not put his 8 best position players out there every night. Grandal is the better hitting catcher of the two, but he sucks vs lefty’s. Me, I would love to see Farmer up here, I think he is a more complete player than Barnes. He also has more power than Barnes from the right side. Lots of people on Twitter think that Verdugo and Toles should be up here because they are hitting .349 and .330 respectively at AAA. But trying to make those idiots realize that AAA stats rarely translate to the majors is a losing battle.

        1. Michael

          Toles has hit with every chance he has been given, at the major league level, unlike a couple players on this team, so your point doesn’t make sense at all!

          You are obviously worried, that one of these guys will come up, and do the job!

          Because you are constantly saying Farmer should come up.

          And you also said Farmer was doing great at AAA, even though, his numbers are not even close, to Toles’ or Verdugo’s numbers.

          The Dodgers don’t consider him, as a major league catcher!

          And that is quite obvious, and if you were that smart like you think, you would already know that.

          1. Not going to argue with you MJ. You have your opinion and me mine. I think Toles is a good AAAA player. He has obviously had some success at the big league level and if he came up and actually helped the team why would I be worried. I think Farmer is a better hitter than Barnes. He has had success too. But he also has not played much. But he has pretty much the same skills as Barnes with more power. But you and I both know they are not going to just sit Kemp on the bench and play Verdugo and Toles everyday. They will most likely both be called up in September and if you were as smart as you think you are, you would know that this team only has 25 roster spots, and Verdugo and Toles are lower on the depth chart than the guys who are already on the team, so yeah, my argument does make sense. Now if Kike or any of the other guys gets hurt, you will see Verdugo first, then Toles.

        2. And if you were as smart as you thought, you would know this team’s biggest weakness, was getting key hits, when runners are in scoring position.

          But again you didn’t even know the Dodgers think of Farmer, as more of a utility player, not a major league catcher!

          So I wouldn’t talk about anyone’s intelligence, anymore!

          And our hottest hitter did play last night, you better check the August numbers!

          1. I damn well know what this teams biggest weakness is and right now it is a bullpen with no closer and no replacement in sight, and if blind as you are to logic, you had been reading my posts most of this year I have stated time after time that they have not been hitting with men in scoring position. Wow, so Turner played, big deal, Bellinger has been the one on a tear. Turner has as of tonight an 8 game hitting streak. As for DR’s intelligence, well he plays what he is given, but his lineups boggle the mind and Kike hitting 4th is very stupid, but he keeps doing it.

      2. Package

        I agree with you about Kemp.

        He is use to being an everyday player, so you can’t play him one night, and not the next night, and expect him, to start hitting again!

        And I also agree there are certain favorites on this team, that get unlimited chances.

  4. Blah, blah, blah. It’s not working, Scott. I need to enter name and email each time even with save my name, etc. checked.

    1. Try clearing browser cache and possibly resetting your browser. Or try a different browser. Not sure what else to do here. It seems to be fixed for some users but not for others, which tells me it’s not a site issue. But I’ll keep looking. In the meantime just keep logging in, I know it’s annoying. Sorry

  5. There was absolutely no reason to take out Dozier and move Taylor and then put Cody in the outfield and Muncy to 3rd base. Alexander should have been pulled before the last 2 runs scored. Kershaw really was screwed this time. Dummy is really stupid. He should be fired and by the way Badger, it is Dummy’s fault, not the players.

    1. Roberts did not throw one pitch in the 9th.

      Alexander needed one out to get the win. He couldn’t get it. And don’t tell me you wanted Baez in there.

      I’ve never seen this before. Is this who we are now?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Optionally add an image (JPEG only)