The All-Star break affords the opportunity to look back at the first half to see what went right and wrong for the thirty MLB teams. The Los Angeles Dodgers are up next, and here is the pre-season post on the NL West.
| Statistic | LA Dodgers | NL Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Runs per Game | 5.03 | 2nd |
| Batting Averge | .275 | 1st |
| On-Base Average | .354 | 1st |
| Slugging Percentage | .413 | 4th |
| ERA | 3.58 | 2nd |
| Strikeouts per 9 IP | 7.5 | 3rd-T |
| Walks per 9 ip | 3.85 | 13th |
| HR per 200 IP | 16.8 | 2nd |
Note the Dodgers pitchers can get away with a relatively high walk rate because they keep the ball in the park, and they prevent hits with a high strikeout rate.
What Went Right
Pretty much everything went right for the Dodgers. Orlando Hudson and Casey Blake turned out to be a great pickups. Matt Kemp developed into a complete hitter. Juan Pierre got his stroke back, just in time to fill in for Manny Ramirez. Billingsley and Kershaw became a great 1-2 punch in the rotation.
The Dodgers, like Torre’s Yankees teams, are great at getting on base up and down the lineup. They don’t hit for much power, but there’s so many runners on that any hit has a chance to score a run. A very strong bullpen means that Torre can pull his second line starters early and turn the ball over to a reliever corps that shuts down the opposition.
What Went Wrong
Obviously, Manny Ramirez’s suspension didn’t help the Dodgers, although it didn’t hurt them that much. The Dodgers played so well without Manny it almost seems like they wasted their money signing him. Of course, I suspect if they played the whole year with Juan Pierre instead of Manny, I’d think differently.
Rafael Furcal’s back in the lineup this season, but his offense returned to 2007 levels. That’s not bad for a shortstop, but he got off to such a good start in 2008 the Dodgers might have expected more. Russell Martin’s power left him, but he’s still doing a great job getting on base.
The Dodgers have been mixing and matching with their fourth and fifth starters. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them try to acquire one more arm for the rotation.
Other teams in this series:
- Oakland Athletics
- Seattle Mariners
- Texas Rangers
- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Cincinnati Reds
- Houston Astros
- Chicago Cubs
- Milwaukee Brewers
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Baltimore Orioles
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Tampa Bay Rays
- New York Yankees
- Boston Red Sox
- San Diego Padres
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Colorado Rockies
- San Francisco Giants