When the Guggenheim Baseball Management group purchased the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012 it was the dawn of a new day of Major League Baseball in Southern California. The Guggenheim group purchased the Dodgers for a record $2.1 billion and they immediately changed the expectations for the team. The vault has been opened for Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti to spend at will and that is exactly what he has done as Los Angeles now has the highest payroll in MLB. The Dodgers were able to make the postseason last year, but they fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. The Dodgers came into this season with high aspirations as far as winning their first World Series Championship since 1988, but so far they have stuck in neutral.
The Dodgers began play today with a record of 33-31 as they are 9.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants for first place in the NL West while they’re .5 game behind the Miami Marlins for the final Wild Card spot on the Senior Circuit. The Dodgers are 4-7 in their last 11 games as they just have been unable to get out of their own way.
Offensively the Dodgers are the near the top of most major offensive categories in the National League as they are fifth in runs (274), hits (557), home runs (60), and fourth in on-base percentage (.323). In spite of all of this the Dodgers lineup has consistently come up short in clutch situations as they have been unable rise to the occasion.
On May 31 the Dodgers scored 12 runs in a victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. In their next four games the Dodgers only combined to score 10 runs and their record over that stretch was 1-3. The Dodgers lack of consistency on offense has hurt their pitching staff that has a 3.42 team earned run average which is sixth in the NL. The Dodgers have not had a winning streak longer than three games all season and they have the feel of a mediocre team. Last week Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said that his team “lacks cohesion”. But with 98 games remaining in the regular season where is the cohesion going to come from for the Dodgers?
Last season through 72 games the Dodgers were 30-42 before outfielder Yasiel Puig was inserted into the starting lineup. Puig ignited a renaissance for the Dodgers as he had a .319 batting average with 19 home runs and 42 runs batted in. The Dodgers would go on to win the NL West going away. This season Puig has been the Dodgers everyday right fielder and he is leading the Dodgers in batting average (.335), runs batted in (40), on-base percentage (.430), and hits (72). But part of the Dodgers offensive problems could be their logjam in the outfield.
The Dodgers currently have four outfielders for just three spots. Puig has cemented himself as the everyday right fielder for the Dodgers. Mattingly appears to be going with Andre Ethier as his everyday center fielder and Matt Kemp is battling with Carl Crawford for time in left field. Because of this Mattingly has been mixing and matching his lineup all season which is part of the reason why the Dodgers are lacking some cohesion. Players such as Kemp come to the park everyday unsure if they will be in the starting lineup. Dodger players are consistently being asked questions about Kemp and his affect on the team. Like I said before, the Dodgers need to trade Kemp due to the fact that the team has four starting outfielders and none of them want to be on the bench.
Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw is the reigning Cy Young Award winner in the National League. A shoulder injury kept Kershaw out of action for six weeks, but he has returned to a strong Dodgers starting rotation that features Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Dan Haren, and Josh Beckett who threw a no-hitter on May 25 versus the Philadelphia Phillies. Aside from their team earned average, the Dodgers are also fifth in the NL in quality starts with 39, but it is time for the offense to pick it up behind them.
Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is tied for 8th in the National League in home runs with 12 while second baseman Dee Gordon leads the league in stolen bases with 36, but as a team the Dodgers have played down to their opponents which falls at the feet of Mattingly.
Since May 16 the Dodgers have not played one game against a team that currently has a winning record and over that stretch their record is 11-11. One month ago the Dodgers were only 4.5 games behind the Giants for first place in the NL West, but unlike Los Angeles, San Francisco has taken care of business against the bottom feeders which is why they currently have the best record in Major League Baseball.
In spite of missing the World Series by just two victories last season, Dodgers management left Mattingly out in the cold before he received a contract extension from them last off-season. Mattingly is under contract with the Dodgers through 2016, but if this team continues to underachieve then he will more than likely become the scapegoat.
If the Dodgers are going to take the bull by the horns, now is the time for them to get started. The Dodgers are set to begin a four-game road series tonight against the Cincinnati Reds. But overall the Dodgers will not play another team that currently has a winning record until they meet the Cardinals at the end of the month. For teams that have postseason aspirations this is the time when you want to fatten up in the win column against the cupcakes. If the Dodgers are unable to get it going now, they will look back in August and September at some of these games that they are currently losing and scratch their heads; which could be the difference as far as whether or not this team will even be able to make the postseason in 2014.
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