Preview, #8: 4/5 vs. Red Sox

There are some strangely upside-down standings after the first week of the season. The Angels prop up the AL West. The Cubs are in the basement of the NL Central. But perhaps the biggest shock is looking at the AL East and seeing the reigning champion Boston Red Sox occupying last place. I mean, they’re two and a half games back of the Orioles, f’heavens sake. Of course, there’s a LONG way to go. At this point last year, the Dodgers were 2-5, and their season ended up going okay, I suppose. But this is already the furthest the Red Sox have been below .500 since the end of the 2015 season. They tend not to tolerate failure very well in Boston, so be interesting to see what happens if this continues.

In the first day of the “Jake Lamb on the DL” era, we find Christian Walker getting his first start of the season against a right-handed starter. Wilmer Flores is also on the bench, with Ketel Marte playing second, and Jarrod Dyson taking over in center, flanked by David Peralta and Adam Jones. Alex Avila catches Godley, which is the same battery-mate as in Zack’s first start. So far, Godley and Zack Greinke have been matched with the same catcher, while Robbie Ray switched from Avila to Caleb Joseph Carson Kelly. Be interesting to see if Godley ends up with Avila as a “personal catcher” Mind you, if he struggles with his mechanics as badly as in his first start, who’s behind the plate might not matter,

His final line wasn’t helped by Matt Koch allowing both inherited runners to score. But Godley also had one of his trademark meltdowns in third, after his failed attempt to field a bunt by the opposing pitcher seemed to cause a loss of focus. We seemed to see that a lot last season, so it cropping up in the first start this year wasn’t a good sign. With Jon Duplantier now having got his feet wet in the big leagues, I wonder how long of a leash the team will give Godley? Swapping roles for the two men, and making Godley a long reliever, could be something we see down the road. But rather than being forced into making Duplantier a starter, I’d much prefer Godley to sort himself out.