The Dodgers seem to be stuck in the middle. They are just over .500. They are still in 2nd place in the NL West, but they cannot seem to make a move. Of course Joe Torre managed a Yankee team last year who was in last place around this time of year, and ended up making the playoffs. Luckily the Dodgers despite so many flaws are only 3.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers hitting is extremely inconsistent. They are trying to mix veterans with really young guys. Their young guys seem to be developing well and Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Russell Martin look like future stars.
However, the veterans that are being paid to make plays simply are not doing that. The Dodgers five highest paid position players are Andrew Jones, Jeff Kent, Rafael Furcal, Juan Pierre, and Nomar Garciaparra. Furcal was having a great year before being sidelined with an injury and his return should spark the Dodgers some. However Andrew Jones just went on the DL, but before going there he was batting .167 with 2 homeruns, not the type of power the Dodgers wanted from him. Nomar has barely played the last couple years, and is chronically injured. Kent is batting .234 with 4 homeruns, not what you want from your middle of the order bats. Juan Pierre is doing what he normally does, but he is not the big bat the Dodgers need.
The Starting pitching of the Dodgers has been decent, nothing spectacular. Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley, and Hiroki Kuroda form a solid rotation that has somewhat underperformed so far. However they have been without the services of their big investment Jason Schmidt. So they have been without a fifth starter for most of the year. That is why the Dodgers have called up Clayton Kershaw. Hopefully Kershaw can ignite some excitement in the Dodgers organization. With the Lakers drawing so much attention across town, the Dodgers could do with some excitement. They need some sort of buzz to turn this season along. If they continue at this pace they will win 84 games which is only 2 more then last year.
The Dodgers were supposed to make a huge jump and they have not shown that they can do that yet. Clayton Kershaw has the ability to turn the team around, and give them a boost. He is 20 years old, and was a first round draft pick two years ago. He has flown through the minor league system and is a top five prospect in all of baseball. This left hander throws a mid 90’s fastball and has a ridiculous curveball. Kershaw is supposed to be a top of the rotation starter, right now the Dodgers could do with a dependable arm who could get them a couple wins. So, I will be tuned in watching this 20 year old Texan make his major league debut on Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Dodgers future is extremely bright with players such as Kershaw, Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, James Loney, Chad Billingsley, Jonathan Broxton, Chin-lung Hu, Blake DeWitt, Andy LaRoche, Jonathan Meloan, James McDonald, and many other young players. The Dodgers veterans are not performing up to par, so they need to get those kids consistent playing time, so that they can develop and be competitive down the road. Kershaw is the first step in this transition for the organization. Their farm system is one of the best in the league. The future is coming to Dodger stadium soon, in fact on Sunday, May 25, we will get the first glimpse of the extreme potential of this team as Kershaw takes the mound. Go Blue!
Keywords: Andrew Jones, Blue, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers, farm system, future, James Loney, Jeff Kent, Los Angeles, Matt Kemp, Nomar Garciaparra, potential, Rafael Furcal
