In addition to death and taxes, there are a couple of other absolutes in life.

First: Despite what we have been told by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, there really is no such thing as a ‘long man’ in the Dodgers bullpen – at least not in the traditional sense of the word. In fact, the Dodgers haven’t had a long man for quite some time. While we have been told that right-hander Ross Stripling and/or left-hander Alex Wood will be the long men in the Dodgers bullpen, at least to begin the season, the truth of the mater is that when a so-called long man is needed, the team is usually already down by several runs and when that long man is due to bat, he will – more often than not – be pinch-hit for in an attempt to get back into the game. So much for the long man.

Second: Perhaps even more so than a long man, the Dodgers have not had a true, pure leadoff hitter for quite some time. Oh sure, you can argue that there have been a few guys over the past several years that were labeled as the Dodgers leadoff hitter – guys like Jimmy Rollins, Carl Crawford and even current Dodgers Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig. But a quick glance at the list of guys who have dabbled in the leadoff role for the Dodgers over the last few seasons reveals that it is both a long list and, for the most part, a relatively unsuccessful one.

…until now.

“I started doing it last year, I did it all of last year with Tampa,” said new Dodgers second baseman Logan Forsythe, who will fill the role as the Dodgers leadoff hitter this season. “It was new at first but afterwhile, kind of getting through about a month or so of the season, I was kind of used to it and it kind of became my routine to do certain things.

“The biggest thing for me was that first at-bat of the game when I’m running off of the field when we’re the home team and then getting ready with my on-deck routine,” added the extremely polite 30-year-old Memphis, Tennessee native in his warm southern accent. “But then after that, I just treat it like any other at-bat.”

Forsythe had been very effective as the Dodgers leadoff hitter this spring, posting a .333 batting average and even more importantly a .391 on-base percentage in his first at-bat of the 37 games in which he has played.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

In the 37 spring training games in which Forsythe has played (with one game remaining), he is 7-for-21 (.333) when leading off the game, with a double, two walks and two strikeouts. This equates to an on-base percentage of .391. Any way you slice it, this is exactly what a leadoff hitter is supposed to do and Forsythe is doing it exceptionally well. He also acknowledges that during that first at-bat of each game, he tries to help his teammates by being patient at the plate in an effort to give them a good look at the opposing pitcher – although it doesn’t always work out this way.

“You want to help your guys, you want to look and see some pitches,” Forsythe said. “But I mean by all means if you’re looking for one location and you get the pitch, don’t hesitate and you’ve got to commit to it. But after that, approach doesn’t really change, mind-set doesn’t change – get on base, see some pitches – but that’s kind of always been part of my game.”

Speaking of his game, Roberts has utilized the 6′-1’/205-pound right-handed hitting and throwing Forsythe – who was acquired to be the Dodgers primary second baseman – at third base three times this spring (in the leadoff role, of course) in an attempt to familiarize him with the position so that he can spell Dodgers regular everyday third baseman Justin Turner when needed. Apparently Roberts needn’t have bothered, as Forsythe is very familiar with the hot corner.

“I came up as a third baseman, it’s just that I haven’t played there in a very long time,” Forsythe said. “Like anything, it’s kind of new, especially when it gets into game speed. It’s nothing too uncomfortable. I played there the other day when Kersh was pitching [on March 23]. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any ground balls [Kershaw struck out 11 that day], but we’ll see what happens today [March 27]. I just need a couple and last time that this happened, it was a couple games here and there, just kind of get some situations and once that happens I’m good to go.”

Even though Forsythe has played only three of the Dodgers 37 spring training games at third base, he has looked very comfortable at the position. In fact, of the 31 total defensive chances Forsythe has had this spring (four at third base), he has not committed a single error.

Comfortable indeed.