The Dodgers' slump keeps getting worse, and now they've decided to sit Ohtani on purpose. So, yeah, welcome to the patience test. This is Dodgers Daily. We've got a team in a funk, a rest decision that's going to make people lose their minds, and Mookie Betts back off the IL. Sitting Shohei during a slump is exactly the kind of thing that keeps me up at night. I don't care how smart the analytics are. Devin, they won the World Series eighteen months ago. Let's hear the reasoning before we start throwing chairs. I've watched this franchise blow leads in October before. I'm allowed to spiral a little. Here's Scott Gearman at DodgerBlue:
It's exactly that. It's a bad brand of baseball. Uh it's it's the boogeyman, Bruce. It is the conversation that we don't like having with the Dodgers and how talented this roster is and can be when they're playing even half of their game.
Giants, six to two. I don't even want to talk about it, and yet here we are. Yamamoto actually had stuff last night and still gave up meatballs to Eric Hosmer and Harrison Bader. Harrison. Bader. It's a rough stretch, no question. But the part everyone is chewing on is Roberts pulling Ohtani's bat from the lineup — benching him as a hitter on a day he's not pitching, right when he was finding a rhythm. That's the part that's got me actually losing my mind. You finally see Shohei locked back in and Dave just yanks the plug. That's the kind of move that comes back to haunt you in October. I get the instinct to manage his workload. But Orel Hershiser basically said it on the broadcast: if you're resting him, do it the day after he pitches, not when he's heating up as a hitter. Hard to argue with that. r/Dodgers (18 upvotes), weighing in:
This is the dumbest decision Dave has ever made. Shohei just now is gaining his momentum back and now Dave is voluntarily going to ice him. Taking Ohtani out when he was hot was the reason for Ohtani's slump in the first place. This team is going to struggle to score at all the next two games and now Shohei will go ice cold again. DUMBEST decision hands down. Shohei needs to quit being so respectful and just tell Dave to shove it.
Somebody on Reddit said Shohei needs to tell Dave to shove it, and honestly, I respect the energy. You do not ice the best hitter on the planet when he's finally rolling. It's May thirteenth. Let's pump the brakes on 'dumbest decision Dave has ever made.' Roberts has earned more runway than one lineup card. From r/Dodgers (47 upvotes):
Hilarious I opened this thread and AS Soon as I started reading, Ohtani hit a HR
And then there's the guy who opened the Reddit thread complaining about Ohtani being benched, and Ohtani immediately hit a home run. The universe has a sense of humor. From r/Dodgers (26 pts, 43 comments):
The Dodgers lost, 6-2. They are 24-18.
They have lost: \- four in a row \- seven of their 11 games in May \- 14 of their last 23 games
Shohei Ohtani hit a home run, but the Dodgers offense scored three or less for the 10th time in 13 games.
So that cold-bats story we flagged last time has only gotten worse. Four straight losses now, three runs or fewer in ten of the last thirteen games. And look, twenty-four and eighteen is still a winning record, people. I don't care about the record, Cassidy. This offense looks broken. Shohei hits a solo shot and somehow that's the highlight reel — that's depressing. You want depressing? Go look up the 2011 roster. Frank McCourt was literally borrowing money to make payroll. This is a slump, not a crisis. I know, I know — but seven of eleven in May? Padres fans are absolutely feasting on this right now, and I cannot stand it. Yahoo Sports writes:
Mookie Betts, who has been out since April 4 with a right oblique strain, has been activated from the 10-day injured list and will start at shortstop and bat second in the order in the series opener against the San Francisco Giants on Monday, May 11, the Dodgers announced.
Mookie Betts is back. Activated from the IL Monday and slotted straight into the two-hole at short against the Giants — about five weeks after that right oblique strain took him out in early April. Against the Giants, Cassidy. The Giants! Could not have scripted a better homecoming. Mookie walking back into the lineup against our most insufferable rivals — I am fully locked in. He went 2-for-5 with a walk over two rehab games in Triple-A, played eleven innings in the field, and Dave Roberts said he just needed to come through the weekend feeling clean. Apparently he did. Pretty measured return, by the book. Mookie himself was almost zen about it — 'I don't know if there's gonna be a jolt of energy' — but come on, that is the jolt of energy. The guy doesn't need to say anything, he just needs to step in the box. From Josh Davis at ClutchPoints:
The Los Angeles Dodgers received an encouraging development Wednesday as top pitching prospect River Ryan moved closer to returning to game action after missing more than a month with a hamstring injury. The latest injury update on Ryan provides another encouraging sign for a Dodgers pitching staff that has carefully managed several recovering arms throughout the early portion of the season.
River Ryan is back, or close to it. The Dodgers' top pitching prospect is scheduled to start Friday for Triple-A OKC, his first game action since April 11th after a hamstring injury knocked him out for over a month. A month down, only seven innings on the season — not ideal. But hamstring, not arm, so I'm not panicking. Get him back healthy and let him build. This org has been carefully managing arms all year, so the fact they're letting him go Friday tells you they're comfortable with where he is. That's the right read on it. bsky.app via r/baseball (163 pts, 28 comments) writes:
Jason Heyward is joining the Dodgers front office as a special assistant. LAT was on it. Not much of a surprise given how beloved he was in his time in Los Angeles. Dave Roberts said he will be going around to different affiliates to observe. He’s here today.
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