Through nearly seven weeks of the 2013 MLB season, the Los Angeles Dodgers are dead last in the NL West.
Having played a mere 39 games and a consistently injury-plagued roster notwithstanding, things aren’t looking so auspicious for Dodger Blue.
The same team whose ownership group shelled out over $220 million in payroll (No. 2 in MLB) is rocking a 17-22 record and sits six games out of first place.
Let’s begin with the rather dismal outlook.
Only the miserable 11-30 Miami Marlins have scored fewer runs and hit fewer home runs than the Dodgers’ 134 and 26, respectively. If it weren’t for Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford’s combined nine home runs, 37 RBI and .330 average, this offense would certainly be as anemic as Miami’s.
Team leader Matt Kemp has just one home run and 15 RBI. No. 5 hitter Andre Ethier isn’t much of an improvement with his three big-flies and 13 runs driven in.
And shortstop Hanley Ramirez, whose rightful place is in a protective role batting behind Gonzalez, has logged a grand total of 11 at-bats. He’s found himself on the disabled list yet again and is out until June with a left hamstring strain.
His replacement Dee Gordon has been awful at the plate, to boot.
Even the Dodgers’ pitching is flawed. Their collective 3.89 ERA doesn’t nearly do justice to the team’s dire straits.
Outside of a dominant one-two in the rotation with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, the starting contingent is a mess.
Hyun-Jin Ryu, despite his 4-2 record and 3.40 ERA, is a relative unknown. We cannot fully predict how the first-year South Korean will fair throughout an entire season.
Then things start getting really ugly.
Chad Billingsley resides on the 60-Day DL with a ravaged elbow. Josh Beckett was 0-5 with a 5.19 ERA before recently landing on the disabled list himself. Ted Lilly is set to return, but he was winless with a plus-five ERA before going down.
Worse yet, fill-ins Chris Capuano, Matt Magill and Stephen Fife have a combined 1-2 mark with an unsightly 7.08 ERA.
The bullpen has thankfully held itself together for the most part with Kenley Jansen and Paco Rodriguez anchoring the staff. That said, even this corps of Dodger pitching isn’t exempt from a severe liability.
Closer Brandon League has allowed the opponent to cross home plate in more than half of his 15 appearances. He has converted nine save opportunities, but also sports a 0-2 record with one blown save and a 5.87 ERA.
Those are unacceptable numbers for any closer on any team.
Strictly record speaking, LA is a ghastly 5-16 against its supposedly inferior NL West foes. It’s fair to say that a .238 winning percentage won’t be keeping the Dodgers out of the dregs of National League standings anytime soon.
Oh, and have we mentioned that these same Dodgers rank No. 25 in the league with 28 errors committed and a .981 fielding percentage?
What else can go wrong?
So, with this unmitigated disaster, and an unproven Don Mattingly in charge of fixing it, prospects for postseason baseball in Chavez Ravine appear mighty bleak.
The San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks will keep themselves perched atop the division for the foreseeable future. Only the overachieving Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres are vulnerable to a Dodger comeback.
Are the Dodgers out of it already, you ask?
It would be very difficult arguing for the contrary at this point in time.
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