I'm not sure if there was any debate about this, but Joe Torre has officially announced that Manny Ramirez will remain in the #3 spot in the order for this season. That's the place where he found the most success last season, so if it ain't broke, Torre won't fix it.
Not that that's settled, the bigger question will be about who is hitting cleanup. Torre seemed to think that it will depend on the opposing pitcher. In other words, against righties, Andre Ethier will be the man. Against lefties, it's a bit more of a toss up.
Based on last season, Russell Martin got the call once Jeff Kent went down with injury. Obviously, Kent is retired now, so that may place Martin in the lead. But, there's also Casey Blake and Matt Kemp to consider. Most people who aren't Dodger fans would probably think it should be Kemp, but we Dodger fans know that his free-swinging ways may not be ready for that yet.
I hope it's Kemp at some point. That would mean he's maturing at the plate and being more selective, and not just trying to jack one out every time. He's talent is way up there, as we all know, but his decision making isn't. The good news is that we're talking about a 24-year-old player, so I think we all need to remind ourselves to stay patient with him.
Ethier has proven that he can hit around Manny, now it's time for Kemp to do the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment