Dodgers: Max Muncy Strangely Held Out of the Lineup Friday Night Against the Giants
Max Muncy has been having some kind of month. The Dodgers first baseman got away from watching pitches and taking walks and started mashing in May. He’s combined for a slash line of .357/.478/.679 and has crushed 5 home runs.
So when Muncy did not appear in the Dodgers lineup on Friday night in San Francisco, there were some questions. Muncy has not hit well against left-handed pitchers, but Giants southpaw Alex Wood has had very odd reversed splits early on in the year.
Dave Roberts later cleared the air to say that he was resting Muncy and that it was not injury-related. The Dodgers will go with Albert Pujols at first base and Sheldon Neuse over at second. Muncy has played a lot more second base with the Pujols signing this week.
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It does seem like an odd move considering that Muncy could have been rested on Thursday against Arizona. The Dodgers also have an off-day coming on Monday before heading to Houston for 2 games. Regardless, Muncy will be available to hit off of the bench should the need arise tonight.
Trevor Bauer gets the ball tonight for Los Angeles taking on former Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood. The hope is that Bauer can go very deep into the game considering that LA burned through a number of bullpen members on Thursday.
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This is what gripes me about how Roberts manages at times. Muncy had another multiple hit game last night but it won’t matter as I am not expecting too much from Dodgers against Giant’s pitching anyway. Should there be a save situation for Dodgers, I wonder who would close since Jansen pitched in 3 of last 4 games including back to back games.
I was wondering the same thing. Muncy is hot, and he gets a lot of walks even when he isn’t hot. He should have been in the line up today, regardless of who was starting. If DR is doing his unneeded rest and relaxation thing, I suggest at least waiting until you’re playing someone other than the Giants or Padres. These games count double.
muncy does not need a rest he has time to rest after the season
I don’t think players need regular rest as much players who you depend on need regular AB’s and action. So maybe we’ve got it backwards. Of course we’ve also seen a slumping bench player go 0 for 4 too many times this season already. Go figure!
Dave Roberts is a terrible manager ! Always giving time off to players that is not needed or wanted in most cases, especially with important games.
Resting would be staying home and watching on TV. Each game Muncy comes to the stadium: he stretches, works out in the weight room/gym, takes batting and infield practice. Then he sits on the bench 1 1/2 hrs of a 3 hour game. If he plays, he stands on the field 1 1/2 hours. The only extra rest he gets is not batting 4 or 5 times, and maybe sprinting 90 ft several times if he’s lucky. Muncy gets to walk to first usually twice a game, or trot 360 ft again if he’s lucky. So if the player needs a rest, let him watch the game on his sofa at home. Roberts is only saving him standing in the infield for 1 1/2 hours.