Dodgers Dugout: Some random thoughts after an amazing start

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. The Dodgers are on pace to finish 162-0! I don’t have access to the info right now, but I believe that would be a record.

Random thoughts

—The Dodgers look great after five games. But remember, there will be losses during the season. Don’t get too high, don’t get too low.

—Some doofus who writes a Dodgers newsletter for the Los Angeles Times said that Mookie Betts would probably get off to a slow start because of his illness. Betts is hitting .500 with two homers. Shows what that guy knows. Oh wait, that was me.

—That’s the beauty of baseball. When you think you’ve figured out all the answers, they change the questions. (hat tip to “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.)

—Don’t worry about Roki Sasaki. He had a tough outing Saturday, giving up two runs, three hits and four walks against Detroit, striking out two. It will take him at least a couple of starts to adjust to the majors. Pitch clock, different baseballs, new country. But he’s going to be fine. The Dodgers have pitching depth for just this reason.

—When I see guys such as Sasaki, who have all the tools to be a dominant major leaguer, understandable struggle, it just makes what Fernando Valenzuela did all the more remarkable. Five shutouts in his first seven starts, 7-0 with an 0.29 ERA. Only 20 years old. It was incredible.

—And there’s no reason to worry yet about any other players who are off to a slow start. Batting averages fluctuate wildly early in the season. One hit can increase an average by 50 points. Max Muncy only has one hit in 18 at-bats, but Teoscar Hernández has only three hits this season and is being praised because his hits have been timely. We won’t know who is truly slumping until the middle of April at the earliest.

—Five games into the season and Chris Taylor is the only position player not to appear in a game.

—The bullpen ERA is 2.05 while the rotation ERA is 3.66. They have used only three starting pitchers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Sasaki) while Tyler Glasnow and Dustin May wait in the wings.

—Luis Garcia has given up half the runs the bullpen has given up (four of eight), but has a win and a hold. Baseball stats can be crazy sometimes.

—Don’t look now, but while the Dodgers are 5-0, the Padres are 4-0.

—Did anyone else get a little misty-eyed when Kirk Gibson came out before the home opener and threw out the first pitch to Freddie Freeman? I was chopping onions, which explains why I was, but anyone else? And Gibson, who has Parkinson’s disease, looked really good. I was worried when I heard he wouldn’t be part of the Tigers broadcast crew this season. But he looked good.

—ESPN announcers are just as bad this year as last year.

—What a wacky schedule. Two games in Japan. A week off. Home opener against an American League team. And then off on Sunday.

The roster

Here was your roster for the home opener as the season really begins. I list them as the Dodgers list them:

Pitchers (13)
*Anthony Banda
Ben Casparius
*Jack Dreyer
Tyler Glasnow
Luis Garcia
Dustin May
Roki Sasaki
*Tanner Scott
*Blake Snell
Blake Treinen
*Alex Vesia
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Kirby Yates

*-left-handed

Catchers (2)
Austin Barnes
Will Smith

Two-way player (1)
Shohei Ohtani

Infielders (3)
Freddie Freeman
Max Muncy
Miguel Rojas

Outfielders (3)
Michael Conforto
Teoscar Hernández
Andy Pages

Infielders/Outfielders (4)
Mookie Betts
Tommy Edman
Kiké Hernández
Chris Taylor

Injured List (11)
Tony Gonsolin, RHP (15-day IL)
Brusdar Graterol, RHP (60-day IL)
Michael Grove, RHP (60-day IL)
Edgardo Henriquez, RHP (15-day IL)
Kyle Hurt, RHP (15-Day IL)
Clayton Kershaw, LHP (60-day IL)
Michael Kopech, RHP (15-day IL)
Evan Phillips, RHP (15-day IL)
River Ryan, RHP (60-day IL)
Emmet Sheehan, RHP (60-day IL)
Gavin Stone, RHP (60-day IL)

Gee, the guys on the injured list would make for a nice staff for almost any team.

The elephant in the room

Fair warning: This item is going to discuss the Dodgers visiting the White House. If you’d like to avoid that talk, please skip to the next item. Thanks.

My inbox was flooded after the last newsletter with readers disappointed that I didn’t mention the Dodgers accepting a trip to the White House to celebrate their World Series victory. There were a couple of reasons. First, there was no clarity as to who officially accepted the trip, and second, we didn’t know whether it would be mandatory for the players to attend. Also, the last time I broached a political topic, back in 2023, I got hate mail and death threats. I wasn’t looking forward to anything like that again. But, here we go anyway.

Yes, the Dodgers have accepted an invitation to visit President Trump and the White House in early April. Our own Dylan Hernández wrote about it here. I pretty much agree with everything he wrote.

But I want to focus in on one thing that Stan Kasten said in Dylan’s column:

“This was something we discussed with all the players, all of whom wanted to go,” Kasten said. “Remember, everyone in here grew up wanting to be a world champion and all the things that come with it, and it comes with a champagne toast, silliness in the locker room, a parade, rings, an invitation to the White House. It’s what they all come to associate with being world champions. Everyone wanted to go, and so we did.

“This [has] nothing to do with politics. For everyone in this room, this is about what they get as their reward for being world champions, getting to the White House. I think there are probably people in this room who have different points of view on politics. No one thought this trip is about politics, it’s about celebrating their world championship.”

Well Stan, I think you might be the only one who thinks this has nothing to do with politics. I mean, look at the world around you. And the Dodgers might be the most political of all sports organizations. This is the team that broke the color barrier with Jackie Robinson. That was a very political move. This is a team that probably has the largest Latino fan base in all of American sports. So, announcing that you have accepted this visit is a slap in the face to many of them. That has to be recognized and dealt with by saying more than just “No one thought this trip is about politics.”

Readers asked me what I would have done. Well, as always, my caveat is it is much easier to make decisions from my couch than from the front office of a multi-billion dollar, global organization, here is what I would have tried to do:

Not accept or decline the invitation. Thank the White House, and tell them “We’ll get you a list of players and team members who will go as soon as possible.” Leave it up to the individual person as to whether they want to go or not. Announce to the fans “The White House has asked the Dodgers to visit to celebrate our World Series title. As an organization who supports free speech and freedom of choice, we will leave it up to each person as to whether they want to go or not.” Further announcements might need to made after you see how the White House responds to that. But let’s not go too far down the rabbit hole there.

Because there are players on the team who are supporters of the current administration who will want to go, and there are players who are not who are deciding whether to go or not. I find it hard to believe when Kasten said: “This was something we discussed with all the players, all of whom wanted to go.” Because not long after it was announced the Dodgers accepted, Mookie Betts said he was still undecided. He didn’t go in 2019 to celebrate his title with the Red Sox. Dave Roberts and Shohei Ohtani have said they will go.

And part of what is supposed to make this country great is freedom. So let each Dodger choose for themselves what they want to do. As for me? I wouldn’t go.

That concludes the political discussion. Hopefully for the season.

Sad news

Nancy Bea Hefley, longtime organist at Dodgers games, died Saturday. She was 89.

Hefley took over from Helen Dell in 1988 and and retired after the 2015 season. This was back in the day when organ music was pretty much all the music you heard in Dodger Stadium. She was great at picking out what songs to play and when to play them. “Master of the House” for Orel Hershiser was always nice to hear.

I was a Facebook friend of hers, and she was always posting about her family, especially her late husband, and about the Dodgers. She will be missed.

Just a couple of cool things

First, a look at the Dodgers’ World Series rings:

Second, a look at Dodger Stadium laid bare while construction was going on during the season. What they were working on was almost entirely underground, making improvements to the clubhouse facilities. But this is a neat picture:

Construction on the field at Dodger Stadium in January.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Up next

Monday: Atlanta (Grant Holmes) at Dodgers (Tyler Glasnow), 7:10 p.m. PT, Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Tuesday: Atlanta (*Chris Sale) at Dodgers (Dustin May), 7:10 p.m. PT, Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Wednesday: Atlanta (TBD) at Dodgers (*Blake Snell), 5:38 p.m. PT, Sportsnet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Nancy Bea Hefley, Dodgers organist who entertained fans for 27 years, dies at 89

Hernández: Roki Sasaki isn’t an instant star. But the Dodgers don’t need him to be one

Shaikin: Will Dodgers win a record 117 games? Orel Hershiser would like to see it

The Dodgers received their World Series rings. Here’s what they look like

Shaikin: Jack Flaherty grateful for L.A. World Series moment even though it didn’t last

Wins, White House and World Series bound again? | Dodgers Debate

And finally

The Dodgers receive their World Series rings. Watch and listen here.