Join Jacob Burch and I as we discuss various topics, some more baseball related than others in episode four of the True Blue LA podcast.
As always, be sure to send any and all questions to tblapodcast@gmail.com. Keith from Arkansas took advantage of this and asked a two-part question that spawned some fun yet gruesome research, as well as provided a title for the episode.
Keith asked how many third baseman would start a game for the Dodgers in 2013, and looking back at the post Adrian Beltre era, third base has been a wasteland outside of the Casey Blake era. Over the last eight seasons the Dodgers have averaged 6.75 starters per season. Here are the players to start at least 20 games each year:
- 2005: seven starters; M.Edwards 34 starts, A.Perez 33, Robles 32, Valentin 26, Aybar 20
- 2006: nine starters; Betemit 45, Mueller 30, Izturis 28, Aybar 25
- 2007: seven starters; Nomar 41, Betemit 39, LaRoche 28, Abreu 23
- 2008: five starters; DeWitt 86, Blake 56
- 2009: seven starters; Blake 131
- 2010: four starters; Blake 134
- 2011: six starters; Uribe 58, Miles 57, Blake 45
- 2012: nine starters; Cruz 48, Uribe 41, Kennedy 27, Hairston 27
We talked about third baseman of the last eight years (including new Giants infielder Tony Abreu, who was claimed by San Francisco on Monday), whom to expect in the starting rotation come opening day, and the high expectations on the team. Specifically we discussed Bill Shaikin's article in the Los Angeles Times on Magic Johnson's World Series hopes and Don Mattingly's job security, and we each recounted memories of former manager Tommy Lasorda, after Craig Minami's profile from Monday morning.
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