Los Angeles Dodgers put old adage 'you can never have enough pitching' to real test
It is one of those axioms in baseball, carved in stone where Ebbets Field once sat.
“You can never have enough pitching”
Well, the Los Angeles Dodgers will test that this year.
They have an abundance of starting pitchers – some available now, some available later (hopefully). Juggling those who are here with those who are expected is up to Dave Roberts, the manager who will have the highest expectations on his shoulders this summer.
He’ll start with nine candidates. Let’s take a look:
Walker Buehler: Once the staff ace, he’s basically missed the entire last two seasons after shoulder surgery. He’s only 29 so he may be able to come back. Maybe later this spring.
Tyler Glasnow: Injury prone lefty. Has never thrown a complete game.
Tony Gonsolin: Brilliant in 2022 (16-1) but out last season after surgery. May not pitch this year.
Clayton Kershaw: Hall of Fame bound lefty is 36 now and will not be available (injury, of course) until August at the earliest. Has not pitched a complete game in six years!
Dustin May: Another big talent who will open the season on the injured list. Return date is unknown.
Bobby Miller: Had a terrific rookie season going 11-4, but did not complete any game. He will be heavily counted on to carry a major load in ’24.
John Paxton: Veteran has 64 career wins, but only eight in last three years. He’s 35 and should not be counted on for much.
Emmet Sheehan: In rookie season last year, he went 4-1 and is considered a temporary rotation starter until someone like Buehler gets healthy.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto: The shining new star in the rotation is a three-time Most Valuable Player in the Japanese League, but has yet to throw his first pitch in the major leagues. And he has never pitched in a five-man rotation.
So bottom line the rotation is choc full of question marks. The Dodgers will open the season with a rotation of Yamamoto, Glasnow, Paxton, Miller and Sheehan.
By the end of the season, look for the rotation to be completely different.
******
Al Rosen would have been 100 this Thursday.
Yep, he’s a Leap Year Baby, born back in 1924 when baseball was a far different game.
But Al Rosen would live long enough – he died at age 91 here in Rancho Mirage – to see the game blossom and boom.
He was the best player in the world in 1953 when he was the MVP of the American League and the stalwart of the old Cleveland Indians He then ran franchises in San Francisco, New York (with the Yankees) and Houston before retiring.
Al Rosen was a dear friend, among the most cherished I have ever been fortunate to have.
We met at a baseball luncheon (what else) in 2000. “Let’s have lunch sometime,” he said to me. “I’ll call you,” I said. “Better hurry, he said. I’m 86.”
And so it began a six-year baseball dream for me, a friendship of monthly lunches where we both were able to talk baseball, more baseball and even more baseball.
But Al was more than one of the most knowledgeable baseball men in history, he was one of the great gentlemen of his time.
He would pick up his mail at the front desk of his club where we often dined. In it there were always some pictures and baseball cards of young Al. He would sign each and return it – at his own expense. “How much do you get for your autograph” I asked him, knowing that the autograph of a former MVP had a certain value. Al would just look at me and laugh as if I had just swallowed some pine tar.
“I’d never do that to any fan, especially one who remembers me all these years later,” he’d say.
Let me tell you, I still remember you Al, a world class human being. My dear, dear friend. Happy 100, RIP.
Pete Donovan is a Palm Desert resident and former Los Angeles Times sports reporter. He can be reached at pwdonovan22@yahoo.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto headline Dodgers pitching staff
