SVS watches the Dodger offense do nothing

Phil Gurnee ♦ June 13, 2016 ♦ 3 Comments

A rookie manager not only has to learn about his team and their strengths, the fans of the team get to learn the same about the rookie manager.

The one thing I’ve learned so far this year, is that David Roberts has a strange affinity for Howie Kendrick in LF. With Carl Crawford finally being purged from the LAD roster, Howie Kendrick is by far the worst defensive outfielder on the team. It is also very possible that Howie Kendrick is also the worst offensive outfielder on the team.

Howie Kendrick should still give the LAD plenty of value as someone who can spell Chase or Turner, or even take over for Chase when he suffers some type of injury, but it is hard to see how he offers any value in LF with SVS back on the roster.

Puig will be back sometime this week if he does not suffer any setbacks during his rehab outings, but until then,  this team could probably use Scott Van Slyke in the lineup. Not because SVS will change the offense, but he probably gives the team at the minimum the same offense in LF while providing much better defense. Yesterday Howie made a fine play going to his right and reaching as high as he could to snag a drive that appeared headed over his head. It made a nice highlight shot, but if SVS had been in the game, he would have aptly ambled over, and with his big paw simply snatched that shot without having to extend his arm over his head.

I could understand all this love for Howie if he was banging at the plate, but when you look at what Howie is doing you don’t see nothing. Nothing.  In April Howie probably had the worst month of his career, putting up an OPS of .333 in 55 plate appearances playing sparingly.  May saw some revitalization of his bat but it was short-lived. In June Howie has four singles. And that is it for the month.

Scott Van Slyke came back to the team on June 3rd. Since June 3rd SVS has garnered two starts and ten plate appearances. Yes, I’ll grant you he is hitless in those ten plate appearances but I’d rather see if he can get his bat going instead of watching to much of Howie Kendrick. Howie has started five games in LF since SVS came back, and Howie has all of one single in those five games.

I don’t get it.  He’s a life time infielder playing LF, and he can’t hit at all right now. You would think that when the team is struggling to score, you might try the big guy on the bench who is the only real left fielder on the team.