Greinke May Not Start, But Everyone Else Will Probably Make Flight To Australia

Zack Greinke may not pitch in the upcoming opening series in Sydney Australia. Clayton Kershaw may not pitch either, and Hyun-jin Ryu shouldn’t be pitching. Josh Beckett won’t pitch, and neither will Paul Maholm, or Stephen Fife, or anyone really. Greinke might stay home, Kershaw shouldn’t make the flight! Nobody show up or pitch in Australia! Danger Will Robinson danger! Sound familiar?

Don’t Count out Greinke from pitching in Australia just yet-Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

That’s what everyone is yelling about of late. Nobody wants anyone to play or pitch in the two game opening series in Australia against the Snakes. Well now just hold on a minute there. Don’t start freaking out just yet.

Somebody has to pitch in Australia, and I doubt the powers that be want Paul Maholm throwing the opener in Sydney. I doubt the Australians want that either. Theyre spending good money to see the best. I think the Dbacks would be the only people happy about Kershaw and Greinke not pitching in the land down under of course. But again, somebody has to pitch.

Guys have to play too. I know, I know, it’s a pain. And let’s not start jumping to conclusions about who is going to pitch or not pitch down there. We just don’t know yet. Let’s not start speculating until we hear all of the facts and the spring develops a bit more. Yes Zack Greinke will miss his next scheduled start because of his minor right calf strain. Yet he still is not officially ruled out for Australia. It’s just too early to be making those kind of assumptions. Greinke had an elbow problem last spring, and was able to start on opening week until that tool Quentin ruined things for a while.

Now we can assume the Dodgers will want to be cautious. Which goes without saying. Greinke has resumed playing catch and throwing, and I don’t think he’ll miss much time with this.

Some people still think Kershaw shouldn’t even make the flight. Unfortunately the games have to be played. Greinke may not pitch because of his injury, but everyone is flying to Australia. Sorry guys, but this is the cookie crumbles. I understand everyone’s worry about extended travel time, and the risk for injury. Heck, I’ve been concerned all winter.

But, it’s not like Major League Baseball is just going to cancel the two games, and let everyone stay home. Things don’t work like that. We’re just going to have to suck it up, and hope nobody else gets hurt. The Dodgers have to play, and the Aussie’s have never seen MLB games this close. They want their money’s worth.

Zack Greinke-Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

And they should get their money’s worth. They deserve it. The Aussies want to see stars, not a lineup from Albuquerque. My guess is Kershaw opens the series, and Ryu pitches game two. But we’ll wait ad see.

As our commenter Quasimodo said, this is more about being an ambassador for the game, and building a good relationship down there with the fans. We want to turn all of those little crocodile Dundee’s into rabid Blue Dodger fans. There is more behind this than just standard Baseball stuff, and spring injuries. Of course to us, all that matters is who’s healthy and who isn’t, since we don’t want any of our guys getting hurt before the club comes back to the states.

Like I said before, the games can’t be canceled, no matter how big our worries are. The fans coming out are paying big money to see star names on an international showcase. Everybody is getting on that plane, no matter how much Greinke complains about flying. Nobody is going to be sitting at home with their feet kicked up on the coffee table, unless they are seriously injured.

Let’s give those foster guzzling kangaroo riding, koala bear watching Australians a great show. These games still do count, and they are against a division rival as well. Let’s stop making crazy speculations and assumptions until more than four exhibition games have been played. It’s not like the club doesn’t have like a week of off-days before and after the series. So don’t freak out. Calm down and enjoy the ride, the journey has only just begun.