Project Bauer

 Eight years ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers slotted in a known statistical 'geek', famous for being methodical about his pitching, behind their ace, Clayton Kershaw. It worked out for them- over three seasons, Zack Greinke notched 51 wins, 555 strikeouts, and 600 innings, with an cumulative ERA of 2.30,  including his damn-near-perfect Cy Young-caliber year in 2015, leading the league in wins and ERA [despite losing to Jake Arrieta]. 

Now, what happens when the Dodgers slot in another self-described geek behind Kershaw in the rotation? I'm expecting similar results, but how soon can we expect them?

Trevor Bauer, despite his incredible ability when he's on target, has become known for his needed learning curve. It took Bauer 4 full seasons of work in Cleveland before he could get his ERA down below 4. In 2016, while he was a reliable arm, he was a lower-tier starter, behind Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, and only really came up in conversation during the playoffs when a cut opened up on his finger during a start. 

In 2018, Bauer switched into overdrive, mastering the science behind throwing, going full into his methodical persona, and becoming a major threat in Cleveland, with an ERA and a strikeout total that both include the figure 222, just with the decimal in different places [that's pretty cerebral]. And while Bauer's goodwill as an Indian continued into 2019, once he was traded to Cincinnati, rather unceremoniously, his numbers took a dive, and his ERA rose to 6.39. The mindset, and the control, had been tampered with, and Bauer had to ride out the rest of that season and pray for a reset in 2020.

Which happened. Bauer was refreshed, rejuvenated, and completely at ease with pitching for the Reds. So he won a Cy Young and reclaimed the attention of the entire league, while also being allowed to be himself and use his unconventional arm-conditioning devices. And then he was able to pick anywhere in the league to go and pitch, and despite fielding offers from Toronto, Houston and the Mets, Bauer chose to pitch for the most stacked team in the game, for the sole purpose of getting that ring he nearly won with Cleveland. 

It makes sense. It makes a lot of sense. 

But we have to wonder if Trevor Bauer is gonna need another one of his seasons to recuperate and gain back his numbers. We have to wonder if knowing who he's suiting up for since early February has affected his psyche in any way so he can immediately get back to mowing 'em down in LA. And I think that's what we're dealing with. He's got a pristine defense, he's part of a great rotation, and he's had some time to really think about pitching for the Dodgers. So I don't think the 'learning curve' bit will be too substantial. 

I also don't think that we're at the point that we were in 2013 where Greinke and Kershaw were trying to overshadow each other. Kershaw has basically nothing left to prove, other than, like, he can still throw fire, which he can. He's not gonna be competing with Trevor Bauer for the spotlight or anything, there's a vast age difference there, and while he's gonna do pretty well this year, he's not gonna get antsy if Bauer gets more press than he does. 

I'm expecting the Dodgers to repeat in 2021. If Bauer pitches like himself, that's bound to happen.

Coming Tonight- Just coming off a ring with the 2020 Dodgers, he brings his flexible defensive ability to a team whose hero 2nd baseman just retired.