Don’t get too excited about spring training statistics

It’s not a good idea to put much stock in spring training numbers. After all, it’s just practice. The games don’t count, and the players know that.

For some players, spring training does matter. There are players fighting for the last spot on the bench, the lost slot in the bullpen. 

But for the most part, spring training has little consequence on how a team is going to perform in the regular season.

With that in mind, here’s a look at who’s hot and who’s not for the Dodgers in spring training.

The Dodgers, on a whole, are not very hot so far. They have a 1-3-4 record as of Friday. One win in spring training is not a good sign. But it is not as alarming as the four ties. If that is any indication how meaningless spring training games are, it’s that column.

The three losses, however, do reveal a glaring hole on this Dodgers team as Opening Day approaches.

It has no bullpen.

Kenley Jansen is gone. The Dodgers have no closer as a result. And the rest of the bullpen is scrambling to figure out what each pitcher’s role is.

There are plenty of questions about the bullpen. Who is the closer? Who’s the set-up guy? Who will come in for long-relief stretches? And how much are the Dodgers going to rely on the bullpen to start the season? This is a team that loves to use bullpen games to keep the starters fresh and in their routines. Which pitchers are going to be in the rotation and which ones are going to be relegated to bullpen starts? 

The pitching staff needs work. That much is clear.

The hitters? Well, it’s kind of a mixed bag at this point.

Newcomer Freddie Freeman is settling in comfortably. He is hitting .375, hit his first home run for the Dodgers in Friday’s game against the San Diego Padres, and is 3-for-8 in the first week of spring training.

Mookie Betts, on the other hand, is not having a productive spring training. He has yet to get a hit, has only played one game, and is 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. It’s probably nothing to worry about though.

Trea Turner is turning in a nice spring training, batting .333 and is 5-for-15 as of Friday.

Justin Turner has yet to turn the corner on spring training. He is hitting .154 and is 2-for-13 as of Friday.

Other Dodgers who are struggling in spring training are Max Muncy, 1-for-6 and batting .167, and Cody Bellinger, 3-for-15 and batting .200.

Edwin Rios and Jake Lamb are making strong spring training statements to be on the Opening Day roster. Rios is hitting .625 with a home run and four RBIs in four games. Lamb is hitting .375 (6-for-16) with a home run and a 1.063 OPS in six games.

If they stay hot, they will be on the big league roster when the season starts.

Dave Roberts

The Dodgers made another move to extend manager Dave Roberts’ tenure with the team. He and the team agreed to a three-year extension.

Roberts has his share of critics. There is a certain sector of fans who call for him to be fired every year. 

Roberts has been the manager of the Dodgers since 2016 when he took over for Don Mattingly. Roberts has a 542-329 record, a .622 winning percentage. He has the best record in baseball over the last six seasons. Dodgers fans are not going to find a better manager than that.

He has led the Dodgers to five National League West titles, won a franchise record 106 games and finished in second place in the NL West last year, won three National League pennants and a World Series.

And he recently said he expects the 2022 Dodgers to win the World Series again this year.

It’s hard to argue with that kind of record and confidence.

Who’s in and who’s out for the Dodgers

The Dodgers landed one of the biggest free agents on the market with Freddie Freeman. 

They lost another big name in Kenley Jansen.

It looks like the Dodgers might score 10 runs a game, and give up 11.

With the addition of Freeman, the 2020 National League MVP, the Dodgers have one of the most potent lineups ever assembled. This is a team that led the National League with 5.1 runs scored per game last year. Let’s just call the new Dodges lineup the produce section, well, for obvious reasons. They are going to get more hits and score more runs than the grocery store has in bananas, apples and onions. 

The Dodgers signed Freeman to a six-year, $162 million deal, the third $100 million deal in three years for the Dodgers. He hit .300 with 31 home runs and 83 RBIs last season. He also led the National League in runs scored with 120 for the Atlanta Braves.

The Dodgers have three of the top 20 hitters (Freeman, Trea Turner, and Justin Turner) and three of the top 20 home runs hitters (Max Muncy, Trea Turner and Freeman) from 2021. 

It looks like the Dodgers offense is going to be fresh and bountiful.

Bullpen

The Dodgers lost Jansen, who fell out of favor with fans over the past two years. He didn’t come through in the playoffs. He blew some big games against the Giants. There were times he was the most unreliable pitcher in the bullpen.

But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts never gave up on him, kept throwing him out there in crucial situations.

And looking at his numbers, Jansen didn’t have an awful season. He had 38 saves and a 2.22 ERA, well below his career ERA of 2.37. He recorded 350 saves in his 12 seasons with the Dodgers and leaves with 1,022 strikeouts. The Atlanta Braves signed him to a one-year deal.

But the Dodgers do have a pitching problem. Now they need a closer. Blake Treinen looks like the leader in the clubhouse, but Brusdar Graterol and Victor Gonzalez will probably get their chances too.

Starters

The Dodgers rotation needs some work too.

Clayton Kershaw, the ace of the Dodgers for more than a decade, is coming back for at least one more season. He is at best a No. 3 starter on the Dodgers now, and that is when he is healthy, which has been about a 50-50 proposition the past couple of seasons.

The new ace of the Dodgers staff is Walker Buehler. Julio Urias is the best No. 2 starter in MLB. But there are gaping holes in the No. 4 and No. 5 spots.

The Dodgers recently added Tyler Anderson to the mix. He spent 2021 with the Pirates and Mariners and went 7-11 with a 4.53 ERA. 

The Dodgers have Andrew Heaney, a rebuild project from the Angels. 

They have Tony Gonsolin, who is full of potential, but lacks experience.

They have David Price, who is overflowing with experience, but lacks a decent fastball these days.

They also have Danny Duffy, a free-agent addition last season who won’t be ready to pitch again until June at the earliest.

Surely the Dodgers can put together a decent rotation with those arms. But they most certainly need to lead MLB in runs with those arms too. 

And they have Dustin May, who is on the 60-day injured list and will probably miss the entire 2022 season. At best, he might come out of the bullpen late in the season.

And for those thinking Trevor Bauer will be in the Dodgers rotation in 2022, just don’t. The Dodgers don’t want him. MLB doesn’t want him. And about half the fans don’t want him. Let him go, and hope he doesn’t post any revenge porn of you.

By most accounts, the Dodgers are favored again to win the National League West, the National League pennant and the World Series. But first things first. Let’s see them win some spring training games before getting too excited.

Leave the masks, take the Korean corn dog

Universal Studios Hollywood was full of surprises last weekend.

It was the first weekend without mask mandates.

It was the first time I tried a Korean corn dog.

It was the first time I had a pumpkin cake from Honeydukes.

All were pleasant surprises.

First the masks

Even though Universal Studios doesn’t require visitors to wear masks in the park anymore, plenty of people were still wearing them. People working at the park, from the tour guides to the Honekydukes cashiers were wearing them. About half the people in the park are still wearing them. Clearly some people are comfortable not wearing masks in public, but there are still those who are not ready to ditch their masks altogether.

The park isn’t checking for proof of vaccination anymore either. 

It’s nice to think the pandemic is over, but it’s not. 

But Universal Studios is throwing caution to the wind. It might not be the smartest move, but it’s the one Universal Studios is making.

Korean corn dogs

I didn’t know what to expect when I ordered a Korean corn dog from Mummy Eats. All I knew was that it is highly recommended.

It wasn’t exactly love at first sight. It was lumpy and crusty, looked more like a hot dog covered in corn flakes. I had to look up what exactly a Korean corn dog was, mainly because my friends were asking and I didn’t have a good answer.

It is deep fried and covered in a panko batter with mozzarella cheese. It’s supposed to be crunchy and gooey, and in this regard, the Mummy Eats Korean corn dog did not disappoint.

Finding food fusion choices in LA is not hard, but I did not expect to find one at Universal Studios. I might have found my new favorite food in the park.

Pumpkin cakes

FInding pumpkin pasties in Hogsmeade has become harder than finding Number 12 Grimmauld Place. (For those not familiar with the Harry Potter stories, it is the hidden headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix.)

Every time I go to Honeydukes for pumpkin pasties, they are out. One of these days I will unlock the chamber of pumpkin pasties secrets.

I chose the pumpkin cake instead, this time. While it wasn’t what I wanted, it was surprisingly satisfying.

First, it is cream-filled. There is literally a sweet surprise inside the cake. It reminded me of my favorite First Lady, Dolly Madison, who not only saved the Constitution and Bill of Rights during the War of 1812, but invented the cream-filled cupcake. 

Second, it has a licorice stem. Another nice surprise. It not only creates a pleasant aesthetic, it gives the cake an unexpected flavor. Kind of like an elf finding a sock in a cursed diary. 

My hunt for pumpkin pasties is far from over, but the pumpkin cakes turned out to be a delightful delicacy.