Dave Roberts made no attempt to conceal his grand plan for the Dodgers this season. “Our expectations among ourselves,” the second-year manager said on Thursday, “are to get to the World Series and win it.”
The Dodgers have an ace who is capable of leading them there in Clayton Kershaw and another potentially dominant left-hander in Rich Hill. Whether they have a championship-caliber rotation will hinge on the middle and back of their starting group, spots currently held by Kenta Maeda, Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu.
If his abbreviated outing in Thursday night’s 3-2 exhibition loss in Angel Stadium in any indication, Maeda, the Japanese right-hander in his second season with the Dodgers, could be a difference-maker in 2017.