On top of being sick, I've had some crappy stuff going on. So, I haven't posted anything in a few days. I am going to touch on a bunch of things.
Chad Billingsley is a stud... The guy just keeps dealing. He leads the league in swings and misses against. We already know he has absolutely filthy stuff and even with just three strikeouts on Sunday.
Jonathan Broxton is a stud... Broxton just keeps coming in, throwing gas with a filthy slider and he keeps shutting the door. This guy has to be an All-Star.
The offense is lethargic... The team has scored 26 runs in the last 10 games. That's 2.6 runs per game. Somehow, the team has gone 6-4 over that stretch. This team is scrappy and the pitching has been good.
Offense... The team is still seventh in baseball in runs scored, and second in the NL. They have the third best batting average in the game. They are just in a small slump, at the moment.
Slumps... Juan Pierre, Rafael Furcal, Russell Martin, James Loney and Orlando Hudson are currently slumping a bit.
Pitching... Speaking of pitching, the Dodgers lead the Majors with a 3.59 ERA. The starting pitching is third with a 3.75 and the bullpen has a 3.34 ERA. Ramon Troncoso should be thrown into the stud discussion.
Clayton Kershaw... Speaking more of pitching. Kershaw seems to have taken a small step back. He's not throwing strikes. I didn't like that they pushed him to eight days between starts, just a couple of weeks ago and I think that disrupted the solid momentum he had built.
Without Manny... The team is 21-14 without Manny Ramirez. That's .600 ball and that is great. Just 15 more games and he returns. Taking two out of three against the Rangers was huge, especially with just nine runs in the series. This team finds a way to win.
Bills-all-star and hands down ace of the staff
Johnny Cakes-
Offense-slumping a bit but several guys are showing they are breaking out of it including Ethier, Kemp and ODawg. Martin and Furcal are frustrating watching them continue to do the same thing...However watching the Dodgers bunt back to back demonstrated the speed and capabilities this team has when they play small ball. Only a few years ago the Dodgers couldnt manufacture runs to save thier lives!
Slumps-Martin/Furcal/Pierre/Loney/Hudson
Pitching-good enough to be tops in the league but could be even better, with four quality starters (although Kershaw sways back and forth) one more would seal the deal in a five/seven game series, and the bullpen now has three top quality guys but could be even more dominating...Mota is a waste of space, however Leach is showing some promise and Wade might yet be useful.
Kershaw-lots of support and growth has been given to the top prospect who was called up a little early in his career. He has a years worth of expierience now and needs to show more consistency and take another step forward. Bills had the exact same problem in his first year and took steps forward, however realistically we werent contending for a WS title at the time...this year has a real shot! Getting a quality fifth guy and having Milton and Weaver as bullpen options will help with Kershaw...Trade talk should heat up come July and seeing where the Dodgers are at when Manny "I didnt kill nobody" Ramirez returns.