It’s time to face the facts, Dodger fans - James Loney and Andre Ethier are both “platoon players.” 
Now, wait! Before you get all bent out of shape, this is not a slam on either player – it is just stating the obvious. Last year, both players hit .220 or below against LH pitching and well over .300 against RH pitching.
I discount what weak power numbers Andre put up last year and mark it down to injury. In 2012, he will be playing for a new contract and motivated to play.
I will go out on a limb and predict that if Andre and James are platooned with Rivera and Sands, 1B and RF will produce 65 home runs combined. There, I said it (wrote it).
It is what it is – face it and make the best of it. Loney and Ethier play against righthanders only and Sands and Rivera play against lefties.
Here’s what the lineup could look like against right-handed pitching:
- Gordon SS
- Gwynn LF
- Ethier RF
- Kemp CF
- Loney 1B
- Uribe 3B
- Ellis 2B
- Catcher
Against lefties, here’s the lineup:
- Gordon SS
- Hariston LF (yeah, I know he didn’t hit lefties well last year)
- Kemp CF
- Rivera 1B
- Sands RF
- Uribe 3B
- Ellis 2B
- Catcher
I can see Alex Castellanos (even Silverio or Van Slyke) getting a shot as another RH outfield bat.
What is scary is that the Dodgers need BOTH Uribe and Ellis to have good offensive seasons. Is that too much to hope for?
Well said and kudos for calling it like it is. Ethier is very overrated. The Ethier Kool-Aid is very potent however, as most fans get very upset when anything even remotely negative is said about him.
Neither Ethier or Loney are players to build around going forward at their current salary levels.
I agree with Wally – well said. It looks so bad when you list it out though; makes you wonder where the runs will come from (minus Kemp).
Even worse, Fielder and Boras met with the Rangers on Friday.
Sigh.
So much for Prince coming to Dodger town. Matt Kemp, if you read this please, please, please call your buddy again and convince him that the Dodgers are the fit for him !!!
The Dodgers need to improve their player development at the MLB level and need to hire a left handed batting practice coach. Loney and Ethier had the ability to hit left handed pitchers in 2006 and 2007. For the money they are being paid they should put in the time to practice against Left handed pitchers for a month during the off season and go back to hiting against both R and L pitchers during spring training.
A short answer to your question is YES, it is too much to ask that Uribe and Ellis to have good offensive seasons. It is actually too much much to ask for either one to have a good offensive season.
If the lineups (both left and right days) you propose are really what we are going with, I see major problems in the 2 slot and in slots 5 thru 8. My math tells me that having offensive production in the 1 slot and the 3 and 4 slots is beyond a major problem. If we thought we had offensive problems last season, just wait for this season. Last seasons lineup will look like Murderer’s Row, compared to this years Murdered Row.
This is going to be a very long season, that can only be topped with an extremely low entertainment value.
AND…. the scary part is that Mattingly thinks they will be good! …
“When we talk about the club, it’s a lot like last year,” said Mattingly. “We have to stay healthy and have the guys doing what they’re capable of doing. If they do, we’re going to look like a pretty good offensive club.”
Ya these lineups don’t look like they’re gonna scare too many teams. I would never pitch to Kemp if I was the other team. Throw Fielder in there and the whole thing changes.
Can Uribe be benched even though he’s making $8/million for the next 2 years? Another one of the worst contracts just because he was a world series hero. Lesson learned.
He can be benched if he’s making $20 mil a year! Juan will get an opportunity and if he doesn’t deliver, I would no be surprised to see him cut.