With a $216 million payroll to start the Major League Baseball season, the Los Angeles Dodgers rolled into this season with extremely high expectations. For most of the season the Dodgers did not live up to those lofty expectations. After losing 5-2 to the San Diego Padres on June 21, the Dodgers found themselves with a record of 30-42 as they were occupying the cellar in the National League West and they were 9.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for first place in the division. Everyday, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was forced to answer questions about his job status. Since that time the Dodgers have looked in the mirror and they realize exactly who they are and now the results can be seen on the baseball diamond.
Since then the Dodgers are sporting a record of 24-6 and the deficit in the NL West has been completely erased as they entered play today .5 game ahead of the Diamondbacks for first place. Since the All-Star break, Los Angeles is 7-1 including road series sweeps over the Washington Nationals and Toronto Blue Jays. The Dodgers have not lost a series since their June 14-16 encounter with the Pittsburgh Pirates when they lost two-of-three.
With a .266 team batting average, the Dodgers have the second best team batting average in the NL coming into play today. First baseman Adrian Gonzalez has been a steady influence in the Dodgers lineup as he leads the team in batting average (.300), home runs (15), runs batted in (64), on-base percentage (.354), and hits (112). Third baseman Hanley Ramirez has missed significant time this year due to injuries. First, Ramirez suffered a thumb injury while playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic and then he sustained a hamstring injury once he initially returned to the Dodgers lineup. Now Ramirez is a key cog in the Dodgers lineup with a .387 batting average and 11 homers. Outfielder Carl Crawford has missed time with injuries as well, but he is now back as the Dodgers lead-off hitter and he is sporting a .341 on-base percentage.
The main spark for the Dodgers ball club this season has come in the form of rookie outfielder Yasiel Puig. Puig made his MLB debut on June 3 as he went 2-for-4 against the Padres. In his first month with the Dodgers, Puig hit 7 home runs and “Puigmania” was born. Overall, Puig has a .370 batting average with 9 home runs and 22 runs batted in as he is a logical candidate to be the National League Rookie of The Year.
All of this recent success for the Dodgers has come as two of their big guns in outfielders Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp have had subpar seasons. Ethier is only batting .270 with 7 home runs and 36 runs batted in while Kemp has been slowed by injuries as he has only appeared in 62 games.
The Dodgers pitching staff has the fifth best team earned run average in the NL at 3.60 as they are led by three-time All-Star starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw’s 10 victories on the season are fifth in the National League while his 1.96 earned run average leads the Senior Circuit. Kershaw delivered an 8-inning performance last night against the Cincinnati Reds as he struck out 8 batters while only surrendering one run in the Dodgers 2-1 victory. South Korean native Hyun-Jin Ryu has enjoyed his indoctrination to Major League Baseball. In his first season with the Dodgers, Ryu is 8-3 with a 3.25 earned run average. After sustaining a freak collarbone injury during a brawl with the Padres earlier this season, starting pitcher Zack Grienke has returned to provide depth in the rotation behind Kershaw as he is 8-3 with a 3.49 earned average.
Mattingly and Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti were expected to be in the market for a closer after relief pitcher Brandon League and his 5.45 earned run average struggled in that role for most of the season, but relief pitcher Kenley Jansen has asserted himself with 13 saves, 72 strikeouts and a 2.28 earned run average.
Colletti could look to make a tweak to the Dodgers roster as the MLB trade deadline approaches this Wednesday, but this team is rolling. Kemp will return from the disabled list soon and he will only add more depth to an already potent offense. Depending on what arms are on the market, Colletti could look to bolster the rotation and the bullpen as well. A mediocre National League West has allowed the Dodgers to hang around while they found their sea legs. The Padres and Diamondbacks both know that the Dodgers can box which was illustrated by two bench-clearing brawls earlier this year and now the rest of the NL is seeing first hand the kind of talent that the Dodgers have.
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