New first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has only been with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 10 games, but manager Don Mattingly already likes what he sees.
"I know he's got a great feel for what he's doing. Talking hitting with him, he knows exactly what he's doing up there, what he's trying to do, the reasons he's trying to do something," Gonzalez said. "He's just solid. He's a joy really for me."
Gonzalez homered in his first at-bat as a Dodger, and delivered the walk-off winner with a two-run double on Sunday, but has otherwise struggled. He is hitting just .214/.283/.333 with Los Angeles, but again we are talking about just 10 games.
"I like talking hitting with him because he thinks differently than a lot of guys," Mattingly said of Gonzalez.
The Dodgers got Gonzalez in a nine-player blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox on August 25, and they nearly made a trade for him in 2009, when he was with the San Diego Padres.
"Three years ago at the trade deadline, we thought we had him," Mattingly said. "We didn't end up getting him, and I'm not sure what held it up."
Gonzalez went 1-for-4 with a walk Monday night against the Padres, and is hitting .500 (9-for-18) in four games against his old team.
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