Mike MacDougal impresses the Los Angeles Dodgers with his quality pitching – MLB Spring Season
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been recently quite impressed with the performance of relief pitcher Mike MacDougal. His recent performance has gotten the respect of many in the club.
With pitchers Jon Garland and Vincente Padilla out with injuries, the Dodgers are taking a close look at MacDougal and his relief pitching. So far it seems that the Dodgers are impressed by his pitching.
In just over four innings that MacDougal has pitched during the spring session, he has not given up a walk or an earned run. This aspect is what the Dodgers are excited about. MacDougal has recently come back into form after hip labrum surgery.
The Dodgers’ manager Don Mattingly was pleasantly surprised by MacDougal’s recent performance.
"He's been good," manager Don Mattingly said last week. "In the past, he's always had tremendous stuff. I saw him in Kansas City; he's got that kind of stuff you like. Power stuff. [Pitching coaches Rick Honeycutt] and Kenny [Howell] are working to keep
him on line and command the ball better."
MacDougal has had his fair share of injuries during his career in Major League Baseball. In 2001 he suffered a cracked skull as the bat of Carlos Beltran slipped and hit him in the side of his head. This injury forced him from pitching full-time to becoming
a relief pitcher.
Mike has had a relatively productive career in MLB. With the Kansas City Royals in 2005 he managed to save 21 games as in 2009 he saved 20 games for the Washington Nationals.
The Chicago White Sox released MacDougal in 2008 and then he joined the Florida Marlins in 2010. However, he dropped out of their spring session and is currently with the St. Louis Cardinals.
It is interesting that the Dodgers are noticing him during the spring session. During this time, it is very difficult to assess the performance of many pitchers and batters due to the lighter competitive atmosphere that exists. Whether or not the Dodgers
try to acquire him from the Cardinals is something that may happen, if their pitchers continue to get injured and stay out of the work-out sessions for extended periods. The Dodgers know all too well that a powerful pitching line-up is required as the regular
season is right around the corner.
If the Dodgers are to have any chance of a successful season, they will be needing to improve their pitching line-up and get players that have the experience and the talent to get the job done in the regular season. It will be interesting to see if the Dodgers
approach MacDougal and try to acquire his services as a relief pitcher for their squad.
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