Post-Game 1 Thread: Dodgers On Pace For 1,296 HR This Season

DODGERS 12, D'BACKS 5

.@Dodgers are on pace for 1,296 homers. #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/cCY6MXt5L0

— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2019

What a magical Opening Day game. I was so excited to have attended today's game, which was incredible. Will have to write more later, but for now, I'm basking in the glory of such a monstrous start to the 2019 campaign.

Let me upload the Dodgers starting lineup introductions from today, though. It sends chills up my spine. I remember thinking to myself, if Cody Bellinger is batting sixth, how strong is this lineup? Man, I had no idea... our seven- and eight-holes contributed three of the eight HR!

Let's go, Dodgers!

Game 1 Thread: March 28 vs. D'backs, 1p

Does that bunting look jagged to you, too?

Zack Greinke vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu.

All right, we're back.

After a second straight offseason spent licking our deep wounds after another heartbreaking World Series loss, the Dodgers are back to start a new season, with largely the same cast of characters, just a little bit older now. Oh yeah, and this time, there's no Manny Machado to saunter his way up the first base line on an infield grounder; no, we have Corey Seager back, after a preseason batting .182 across five games. And Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp are gone, too; with our outfield regimen now welcoming Bryce Harper A.J. Pollock, who batted .286 this spring with three HR. And finally, Yasmani Grandal--whose 9 passed balls last year fell one short of what would have been his second consecutive year with the league PB title--won't be allowing through balls behind the plate for the Dodgers this season (good luck with that, Milwuakee!), thanks to our exhumation of Russell Martin from an old-folks home (dome?) in Toronto.

Not to mention Clayton Kershaw isn't ready, Rich Hill has a MCL strain, and Kenley Jansen needs to recover from a tough 2018.

So why wouldn't we be psyched for Opening Day 2019? The fourth-place power-ranked Dodgers are the team most predicted by ESPN pundits to win the NL West, not to mention the National League, before succumbing to the Astros again in the 2019 World Series.

At the very least, the sun will be shining, the flyover will be magnificent, and once again, SoSG Sax will be in the house for Opening Day.

The 2019 campaign starts now, injuries and uncertain pieces notwithstanding. Let's go, Dodgers!

(P.S. This post may serve as the series thread, depending on how sober I am Thursday evening.)

Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dodgers Opening Day Pitcher By Default

With Clayton Kershaw injured, and Rich Hill hobbled by a strained knee, Hyun-Jin Ryu gets the nod to start Dodgers Opening Day 2019.

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Injuries to Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and now Rich Hill have left Hyun-Jin Ryu to start Opening Day for the Dodgers, manager Dave Roberts announced on Friday. Ryu's start will come against the D-backs next Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

"At least we have clarity with that," said Roberts.

Hill suffered a medial collateral ligament strain in his left knee in Sunday's start, and he is expected to miss two weeks, Roberts said, joining Kershaw on the injured list to open the season.

Hill said he felt the injury four pitches from the end of his outing while dropping down to throw a sidearm pitch. He tried to throw a bullpen session on Tuesday, but he experienced discomfort. An MRI showed a Grade 1 strain.

"Right now, it's more optimistic than anything," Hill said. "Two weeks will save you three months of rehab and recovery. I don't want to go down the road of surgery. This is just the smart way to approach it and not derail the season."

Hill had planned to pitch on Saturday as a final tuneup for Opening Day. He compared the discomfort to a turned ankle, only in his knee.

"We kept hoping he would avoid the injured list," said Roberts. "He threw a bullpen [session] and felt it with the 33rd or 34th pitch, and we felt we had to take a step back. I know there's no structural damage from the test [MRI], I've heard. A couple weeks is fair."

Roberts, who originally gave Kershaw a ninth consecutive Opening Day start until his left shoulder came up sore, had been coy about naming an Opening Day replacement, it turns out, because of Hill’s injury. Kershaw is also expected to be sidelined several weeks.

I'll be there on Thursday.

Who knows, I might be asked to start the game.