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Dodgers Drop Spring Opener As Rosin Impresses In First Appearance

Noah Sachartoff |
February 27, 2014 | 4:25 p.m. PST

Staff Writer
Clayton Kershaw pitches to Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt during the first inning of Wednesday's spring opener. (Twitter/@dylanohernandez)
Clayton Kershaw pitches to Arizona's Paul Goldschmidt during the first inning of Wednesday's spring opener. (Twitter/@dylanohernandez)
After two and a half weeks of workouts, ping-pong tournaments, promo-filming and new teammates getting acquainted, it's finally time for [slightly] competitve baseball. Before the start of every season, we get treated to baseball games that are so fundamentally lacking, experimental, quirky and counterintuitive that they tread the line between entertaining and comedic. On this front, the first game of 2014 did not disappoint.
Clayton Kershaw was rocked for three runs in two innings, while Carl Crawford misplayed and overran fly balls. Both teams played with a designated hitter, while Vin Scully got back into form by theorizing why the "Indians" named the area around the stadium "Talking Stick." Yasiel Puig increased his lifetime Spring Training batting average to a modest .533 with a single and a double. 
The Diamondbacks' home radio station spent their pregame show polling fans on whether Puig should be hit by the first pitch he gets, a feature that surely filled Arizona GM Kevin Towers with pride.
I guess I should mention that the Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers on Wednesday 4-1. But it's March, and these games aren't really about wins and losses, so that's not really a story to report on, is it?
Yes, welcome to Spring Training.
Despite the rust yet to be shaken off and the mechanics yet to be regained, these Dodgers, along with the Diamondbacks, are faced with a shortened exhibition season that will see both teams fly to Australia after only 19 exhibition games, opening their regular season on March 22nd in Sydney, Australia. The teams fly down under in 17 days, at which point they are each only allowed to bring 30 players on the team plane.
That means roster decisions will be made swiftly, and players on the outside looking in trying to make the roster are feeling the pressure to impress manager Don Mattingly early and often.
The Dodgers' top position prospect, outfielder Joc Pederson, started in center field between Crawford and Puig. While he is a long-shot to make the roster with the team's crowded outfield, Mattingly wants to get him as much work as he can during the exhibition season, trying to polish a swing he has compared to that of Robinson Cano, who he coached during his days with the Yankees.
Also fighting for a spot is Rule 5 Draft pick Seth Rosin, who struck out five of Arizona's best hitters in two scoreless innings. Again, it's spring, so there's no more reason to get too excited about Rosin as there is to get worked up about Kershaw's shaky outing. That being said, these games are all about impressions. These 19 games will provide a whole lot of those, both good and bad. As for what surprises will come of them, we'll just have to wait and see.
Follow Staff Writer Noah Sachartoff on Twitter.


 

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