Editorials

Patience With Crawford Wearing Thin While Thompson Shines

Dodgers reporter David Vassegh sounded off on the Crawford-vs-all-other-outfielders debate earlier this week on Dodger Talk, stating simply that “It is time for Crawford to have a seat. He should not be the starter right now.” This remark coming off the heels of young Trayce Thompson’s walk-off dinger earlier that Tuesday night vs The Mets.

And if you are anything like me, you can’t help but agree with him, wholeheartedly.



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Since coming over in the trade that brought Adrian González, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto, Crawford has only been able to muster flashes of his former all-star self when he was in Tampa. In his time with the Dodgers, he has fueled the somewhat fiery debate as to who should be the starting three outfielders. However, his performance has made it difficult for C.C. sympathizers to argue his case for a starting spot. Now that his presence in the lineup means the relegation of the very talented Kiké Hernández and Trayce Thompson to the bench, his poor performance has been the source of a lot of frustration for many Dodger fans.

Los Angeles Dodgers Trayce Thompson and Corey Seager during game against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, March 3, 2016 at Camelback Ranch-Glendale in Phoenix, Arizona.
Los Angeles Dodgers Trayce Thompson and Corey Seager during game against the Chicago White Sox Thursday, March 3, 2016 at Camelback Ranch-Glendale in Phoenix, Arizona.

So far this year, Crawford is batting a very meager .200 and hasn’t shown a consistent ability to hit the ball very hard. In the meantime, Kiké has spent a lot of time out of the lineup. While his current batting average is only a few ticks better than Crawford’s, (.212) he has demonstrated the ability to force pitchers to throw more pitches in at-bats against him and has two home runs so far this year, both off of the tough lefty Madison Bumgarner.

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The easiest starting argument can be made for Thompson. So far this year, he is batting .273 with 4 homers. All of this achieved without a regular starting position.

The one burning question that I can’t help but ask whenever Crawford is starting in the lineup is – how many runs are the Dodgers costing themselves by starting C.C. over all other starters? My other final question remains – how much longer can we expect to see Crawford in the start lineup while we can only wonder how great Thompson can be?

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JD Miller

JD is a lifelong California native and currently writes for a subsidiary newspaper under the umbrella of The Madera Tribune. A passionate sports fan, JD loves the Dodgers along with the L.A. Kings, Lakers and Green Bay Packers.

3 Comments

  1. I would like to ask Roberts how does he justify starting CC over Thompson. The theory within any team sport is that you win through  competition. With that said, what has CC done to win his starting job? Every time he comes back from his monthly hiatus from the DL, Roberts just pencils him in regularly until his next hiatus, which is at the most about three weeks to a month. What does Trace give us that CC does’nt? How about speed, athleticism, better defense, clutch hitting, and the hope that with playing time, he could be special. If CC wasn’t being paid so much, would he be with this team? Or is Roberts playing him to appease this FO. What bothers me most is this FO is always bragging about their talented youth but wasting their time. On Baseball  tonight it was mentioned how Kershaw came up so young and has accomplished so much, because he said a pitcher has only so much he can get from his arm, so why waste it in triple A. Kershaw ajusted each year until he is a finished product. Why not our other young studs? How can Trace improve without playing.

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