Sometimes having surplus outfielders can be more of a curse than an advantage, at least as far as Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is concerned. The Dodgers skipper said that he has dealt with some stress over rotating his four outfielders through the first month of the season.
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With four solid outfielders, Mattingly has kept to his plan of rotating them in as Yasiel Puig and Andre Ethier have each started 17 games and Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp have each started 14, but it hasn't exactly been easy on the manager.
ESPN reports that Mattingly is worried because Puig (.254) is the only one of the four batting over .250 as Ethier (.194) Crawford (.222) and Kemp (.211) are all under that mark.
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Mattingly is worried that shifting his outfielders in and out of the lineup may be contributing to their struggles as the manager hasn't had to deal with rotating his outfielders in the past due to injuries but now that the four are healthy, the skipper admitted it is waning on him.
"I hadn't had to deal with it, really, until now," Mattingly said via ESPN. "It does cause you [stress] a little bit. It's not so much hurt feelings as that you want everybody in the mix. It's that understanding that we're talking about four guys who have had, to this point, quality careers. You can't just throw those aside. I assume every time their name's not in the lineup, they're not necessarily happy about it."
Mattingly tries to keep lefty-hitting Crawford and Ethier in the lineup against righties and to use Kemp and Puig in when they face left-handed pitchers, however the manager feels a little uneasy when he has to sit one of his outfielders every day.
Los Angeles is currently 13-10 and first in the National League West while looking for their second consecutive division title. While Mattingly has an outfield situation on his hands, the manager will be happy rotating them if the team can stay in front of the pack in the NL West.
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