Editorials

Dodgers News: Zack Greinke Praises Offense’s Power Production

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

With the many moves made to the Los Angeles Dodgers roster this offseason, the team’s defense was upgraded with the additions of Howie Kendrick and four-time Gold Glove winner Jimmy Rollins. Although with the departures of Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez, many questioned whether the Dodgers offense would be able to maintain its’ effectiveness.

In both of their wins against the San Francisco Giants this week, the Los Angeles Dodgers scored a total of 15 runs and hit six home runs. Joc Pederson is responsible for two of those homers, and Justin Turner, Adrian Gonzalez, Andre Ethier and Jimmy Rollins contributed the rest.



The Dodgers offense seems to be just fine without Kemp and Ramirez, and Zack Greinke agrees via Mark Saxon of ESPN LA:

I thought we traded away a lot of our power and our offense has been as good as ever, so far,” said Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke. “I know Howie’s been terrific and Joc’s better than, probably, anyone imagined, so that’s pretty good taking over for Matt and Hanley right there, those two guys.”

Pederson, who hit leadoff for the Dodgers on Wednesday for his very first time, has been hitting .348 in his past ten games including three home runs and six RBIs. The young center fielder struggled a bit in his first Major League action last September, but those days seem behind him as he has continually proved himself at the plate.

Although the player who has arguably made the biggest impact on the Dodgers lineup of the new additions is recent runner-up for NL Player of Week, Howie Kendrick. The second baseman is hitting .295 on the season thus far with three homers in 21 games. Last season, the former Angel hit just seven home runs over the entire season.

Greinke, who gave up an uncharacteristic seven hits and three runs in his first four innings on the mound on Wednesday’s win against the Giants, must be especially thankful for his teammates who have really stepped up in the Dodgers lineup.

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5 Comments

  1. Very true Zack…except one thing…..the two main parts of the Matt Kemp trade are playing like crap, while Kemp, Gordon and Han Ram are all doing great with their respective teams……

    1. True, Michael, but the more the season goes on, the more I believe that it was addition by subtraction.

      1. Quality wise, it was a bad trade. But it is over and done, cannot be changed now.

    2. I’ll never miss Hanley. I don’t care if he hits 100 homers in Boston. He wasn’t going to do it in LA after he switched to lazy primadonna mode. Plus, we don’t have to worry about our SS needing Tommy John after sustaining an injury brushing his teeth or getting a concussion from a stray bubble in a home run celebration….

      We don’t have room for kemp anymore and we don’t really need him…all of our outfielders are stepping up. Plus, losing his attitude is a good thing for the team. I think a change of scenery is good for him also. One more thing…Joc is putting up similar numbers as Kemp and playing better D.

      I do miss Dee in the leadoff spot worrying pitchers to death. To me, that is the biggest loss in all these deals, but Howie beats him in every other category and it’s yet to be seen whether dee can keep it going for an entire season. Howie is proven to not be a flash in the pan.

      In hindsight, (which isn’t really fair because the jury is still out on the final results) the only thing I would have liked to see different is to trade Kemp for a solid SP. That being said…and I know you hate this topic…yes, Grandal is stinking it up at the dish right now. It’s hard to quantify his worth behind the plate, if we are valuing pitch framing. Yeah, I inow its not an old school stat, yadda yadda yadda…but we can’t tell if he’s stealing a strike that ends an inning with the bases loaded. Give Kersh or Greinke 5 extra strikes a game when they’re nibbling the corners and tell me honestly that’s not a good thing. It may not be a stat you like, but it’s a real game changing talent. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’ve always believed that offense from a catcher is not as important as his D. He’s got a couple passed balls, but overall doing well behind the plate. While we wait for his bat to (hopefully) come along, there are plenty of other guys that are able to carry the load.

      Before you say it….no, I’m not a big grandal fan and I know it’s ok to disagree…I just try to see things as a big picture instead of judging him super harshly just because of who he was traded for. We are winning, even in spite of our challenges so far this season. There’s not much to complain about now.

      1. That’s cool, I totally understand where you are coming from and I also respect your opinion. Kendrick is the one acquisition we can agree on. He is a pro in every sense of the word. I know Kemp was the easiest OF to move, and I think that more than his so called bad attitude is why he was dealt. Hanley is a very frustrating player. Yeah, I can do without the injury’s and his lack of motivation. Gordon, well I liked his enthusiasm and the excitement he brought to a game. But again, I understand why they traded him. I think personally that they over rated Hatcher, but that’s me. I like Hernandez and think the big part of the deal is going to be Barnes. Grandal……well first off, the guy could not throw out my grandmother and she is dead. He has 10 steals against him already and has thrown out 3. Ellis on the other hand has thrown out 4 and only has 2 against him. Plus no passed balls or errors. He also is terrible at blocking pitches in the dirt. But to say more would be nit picking and I am not going to do that. Suffice it to say, I do not think he is a very good catcher, he is an even worse hitter. I have nicknamed him The Rally Killer. As for who he was traded for, well, that is the gauge of all trades. What you get in return for your player. Remember, they crucified the front office when Pedro became a star and Deshields was such a huge bust. I’ll give you another one. Konerko, for a used up reief pitcher in Jeff Shaw…..that worked out well. ..Joc is doing great, and that’s good. We agree to disagree Grandal…..I doubt I will ever like that guy..

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