March 5th, 2015 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka As most baseball fans know, spring training games are often referred to as “meaningless” games – especially by the media. Yet if one were to ask the players themselves just how meaningless these games really are, they would probably get an entirely different take on them.
Take Erik Bedard, for instance. For a guy who is celebrating his 35th birthday today (March 5) and fighting for his very MLB life, and for one of very few remaining spots in the Dodgers’ bullpen, Wednesday’s spring training opener was anything but meaningless. In his two innings of work, Bedard allowed one run on two hits. And but for the generosity of the official scorer who credited Alexei Ramirez with a single on a fly ball that went into and out of the glove of Dodgers center fielder Andre Ethier that should have been ruled an error, Bedard would have allowed no earned runs and only one hit. But hey, it was just a meaningless spring training game, right?
How meaningless is a spring training game for a 35-year-old non-roster invitee like Erik Bedard, who is fighting for his very MLB career? (Photo credit – John Locher)
And then there’s Joc Pederson. For a guy who has the entire weight of his team on his shoulders in expectations of replacing Matt Kemp, the 22-year-old Palo Alto, CA native only went 2 for 2 with a double and a single. He also showed off his 30/30 speed when he went from first to third on a single up the middle by Jimmy Rollins – with two outs. Pederson would then score the Dodgers first run of the spring on a single to right by Carl Crawford. Talk about a much-needed confidence builder for young Joc. Yep… meaningless.
Joc Pederson is not only expected to fill the shoes of Matt Kemp, but he is expected to do so in his rookie season. How meaningless were his two hits in Wednesday’s spring training opener for him? (Photo credit – Lisa Blumenfeld)
And how about 25-year-old O’Koyea Dickson, who replaced Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in the top of the fifth inning and then hit the first Dodgers home run of the spring in the bottom of the inning – a towering fly balls to deep left-center field. How meaningless was that for the former 12th-round draft pick?
O’Koyea Dickson is no stranger to hitting monster home runs. He hit 15 with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in 2013 and 17 with the Chattanooga Lookouts in 2014. But it’s probably safe to say that the meaningless one that he hit on Wednesday was the biggest of his professional career.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
The point here is that while the final scores themselves may be meaningless since even the worst team in spring training will begin the regular season tied for first place with an 0-0 record, these so-called meaningless games will determine who will make the Opening Day rosters and who will not.
Meaningless?
I think not.
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I didn’t get to watch the game until 9:00PM ET on MLBN. I agree these games are not meaningless to most of the guys on the field and that Andre should’ve caught that ball but he does most of the time anyway.
@Think_BlueLA Thanks for the insight beyond the scoreline. Don’t know about the other 2 but I do disagree about the importance of ST to Érik
@Think_BlueLA He’s not making the team out of ST. He’s not at top of depth chart either. For him, it’s more to get in form, and wait and see
Agree that it’s an uphill battle all the way for Erik, but he looked very impressive yesterday.
I think he has a very good chance to be a number six or number seven and, as we all know, pitchers break – so he may make it to Dodger Stadium at some point in 2015… if he doesn’t opt-out (which he has already said that he won’t).
Gotta love his attitude.
I was at the game, and agree with everything you say, EXCEPT, I think Karros made a tremendous effort on the ball and that the official scorer was right to award the batter a hit. Bedard looked very good but that ball was smoked.
Now let’s talk about how Kershaw looked today. He was in midseason form. I went behind the plate in the third row just to watch him, and it was unbelievable! I videoed the first batter, Micah Johnson, strike out on three pitches in, get this, 26 seconds. For those of you who are on Facebook, I posted it there. Usually CK doesn’t roll into form until late in spring training. If This is any indication of what’s to come, I think we’re in for another great year from the lefty!
Obviously I had the benefit of television replays and the ball was in Ethier’s (not Karros’s) glove and rolled out. Even Rick Monday said that it should have been caught.
I have no idea where “Karros” came from, that’s scary! But it still looked like a tremendous effort to even get to the ball.
Karros?
Spring training games are never meaningless. There is meaning all over the place, just not wrapped up in the result. For the casual fan, it all looks very light but the devil is in the detail. Everybody is working on something and young players are trying to get attention. Established players are working on details and getting back into form but you can see what they are focused on if you know what you are looking for. I loved that Puig hit to 2B in his first at bat yesterday to get in the run. It seemed like nothing important but he did it on purpose and it is a big step in becoming a strategic hitter. Early in his career he would have tried to pull that pitch but in the end a simple opposite field ground ball gets in the run. I have a feeling he is going to progress this year on details just like that one and take another step towards becoming an MVP caliber player.
I am really looking forward to see Urias today. Can’t wait!