Dodgers currently are exactly what they appear to be -- mediocre

Here it is, cold and cruel:

The Dodgers just aren’t very good.

That’s not intended as a season-long indictment. Not a prediction of things to come. Not even a moment of creeping cynicism.

Just simple reality based upon the season’s first 20 games. The Dodgers are currently 8-12. It’s not a deceptive record. It is a harbinger that ought to get their attention.

Right now, the Dodgers don’t do anything particularly well. Starting pitching, relief, offense, defense, the bench. Nothing that is remotely spectacular.

They certainly were hitting remarkably well, but no one assumed for a moment they would continue to hit .311 as a team as they were on Friday. Now their team average is at .278, and still falling.

Their rotation is far from impressive. Hiroki Kuroda has been their best starter. He’s 2-1 with a 2.36 ERA, but it’s not like he’s been dominating. Opening-day starter Vicente Padilla is on the disabled list. Charlie Haeger is starting to look like a failed experiment. Clayton Kershaw is still growing. Chad Billingsley is … what exactly?

Jonathan Broxton is still golden, I think, but it’s not like the rest of the bullpen can get him a lead to save for anyone to be sure.

The defense continues to disappoint. And it’s not just the major-league worst .973 fielding percentage and 21 errors in 20 games. It’s the plays they don’t make, the balls they don’t get to, the double plays they don’t turn.

They look a lot more like a .500 team right now than the one that went to the National League Championship Series the last two years.

It is, of course, still April. Still a ridiculous amount of time to turn things around. Maybe they will. Maybe the pitching staff will find itself, the defense will settle down, the offense will be more consistent, the bench won’t look completely overmatched and misplaced.

But 20 games in doesn’t offer that promise. Just a cold chill, that if they don’t get it turned around, it could be one very disappointing season.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Comments

[paul]

Given the lack of off-season activity, I guess we shouldn't be surprised. When you looked at the roster before the season, you might have thought "if everything goes perfectly (i.e., all players playing up to their potential, no injuries), the Dodgers could contend." However, in a 6-month season, it is impossible for everything to go perfectly. About the best we can hope for is that no one runs away with the division so the Dodgers will at least stay in the race mathematically.

[Polomoche]

They didn't need a 5th starter, they needed an ace. And Blake Dewitt is no Orlando Hudson... Doing essentially nothing to upgrade the team in the off-season has produced predictable results.

[johnnie b. baker]

i didn't get my hopes up for this year, and that seems to have been the right decision. mediocre is the best way to describe this team right now.

[bigunit]

this is dead wrong, as "mediocre" rating is FAR too lofty for this horrid bunch!!!
their winning percentage of 40% equates to a paltry 65 wins & 97 losses over a 162-game schedule, a near-complete reversal from last season's "misleading" record, & say misleading 'cuz they barely hung on to win the west div. title, struggling mightily during the 2nd half of '09 season, after all-star break.....a once-proud franchise/organization, that now-a-daze is merely a collec-shun of "pretenders" & certainly NOT contenders....
p.s. "hey-girl" (i.e., haeger) is NOTHING but a career-minor-leaguer, who is quite fortunate to have ever even reached AAA level!!!.........what a joke!!!!!!

[Victor]

What's cold hard facts and reality is that management didn't addressed our biggest concern: STARTING PITCHING! When you best free agent acquistion is Vicente Padilla, you know it's going to be a long year. I stopped attending Dodger games so I can stop wasting my hard earned money to an organization that doesn't have the committiment to win. Thanks McCheap! And come on blog writers stop drinking the Dodger kool aid and write what's really ailing the team instead of throwing hyperbole's on the failed Dodger organization.

[Paul DePodesta]

Walmart purchased pitching will turn any 2 time defending divison champ into Walter Matthau and the Bad News Bears every time.

[C.J.]

At this point, a .500 record would be optimistic for the Dodgers.

We saw this problem coming in the off season. The Dodgers failed to acquire a first-class starting pitcher to beef up their rotation -- namely Roy Halladay. Dodger brass continued to believe that Billingsley and Kershaw will come around and lead the team. Only Kershaw has shown some improvement, but he's still not going deep enough into games, and he's among the NL worst in walks allowed. Worse yet is the Dodger bullpen, who are showing complete incompetence in holding leads. Strange that these are also many of the same group we saw last year. What is the problem? Same guys, wholly different results.

Add to that the fact that this is a contract year for Russell Martin, and I suspect he'll be worked too hard once again.

And their defense? Jeez, I can't believe these are many of the same guys who had one of the best three defenses in the NL last year. Guys like Matt Kemp and Casey Blake are making uncharacteristic errors we never saw last season.

I hope Blake DeWitt will grow into the 2nd base job. He's a good kid with good skills, but he needs to be smoother on the diamond.

I really miss Orlando Hudson. He was the glue in the Dodger infield last season, and I suspect his leadership will help the Twins win the AL Central title this year. He was pure class for us last year, as was Juan Pierre.

This is going to be a long summer, I fear.

[A Different Parking Lot Attendant]

$15 parking
.
a Walmart team charging Tiffany prices
.
a parking lot from hell
.
mediocre stadium food at best
.
ego and greed driven ownership
.
a manager that likes to sit and sleep with his eyes open
.
pitching---what pitching?
.
.
What is not to love?
.
.
Instead it seems the proper time to thoroughly enjoy Vin on TV at home for possibly the last year...
.
...and save some money watching REAL Dodgers from the O'Malley ownership days lead the Angels at Angel Stadium with their $8 parking and a much better fan friendly organization---and with some real pitching, too.

[BRETT SHEPHERD]

Why exactly did they get rid of Juan Pierre and O-DOG?
Pierre was pure class when that idiot Ramirez was out due to his female problems. The Dodgers should have kept Pierre because he earned it...unlike manny.
O-DOG--HOW IN THE HELL DO YOU BENCH HIM FOR THAT FAT BELLIARD? THE DODGERS FRONT OFFICE IS AS COMPETENT AS THE LA RAMS FRONT OFFICE AFTER THE WICKED WITCH GEORGIA TOOK OVER. PEOPLE I HAVE SAID IT TO PEOPLE ON LOCAL RADIO HERE IN ATLANTA, AND TO ROGER LODGE OUT THERE IN SO CAL---THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS WILL LOSE 105 GAMES THIS YEAR.
TORRE SHOULD LEAVE NOW TO SAVE HIMSELF THE WEAR AND TEAR.
BRING IN FOR MANAGER....REGGIE SMITH OR EVEN, READY FOR THIS...KENNY LANDREAUX!

[Strom09]

Find a way to rescue Peavy from the AL before SF or the Padres do.

[Digitalral]

Pitching is key, in order to win another NL west title. We need and ace, a mam whom can be the face of the dodgers during the regular season as well as the post season. The dodgers offense is good but hey no one is perfect. There can be times were players may hit slumps, but year in and year out pitching has been in the dodgers to do list. And to this point it still is, without Padilla, amd kuroda's pitching, its all sumed up. Might I add thar Kershaw and Broxton aré also in the mix as both are sting pitchers but we need more than thar. Joe Torre see that the future is in Kershaw, in which I agree but there needs to more than the future. It's more of a experienced pitcher whom can take the dodgers along with the bullpen to great heights. In thus case the post season. And more importantly, to the fall classic. Can the dodgers get and ace to cone pitch at Chavez revine, maybe only time as well as a nasty divorce, people on the front office. Will tell......Come on Dodgers let's get our act together and playball. Lots of tine between now and the allstar break to improve.
Digitalral

[jimishelter]

Yeah, if only we had Juan Pierre's current .211 batting average, everything would be better.

[Geoffrey]

Dodger fans have every right and reason to be very concerned about this terrrible start to the 2010 season. It's hard to believe that they wouldn't be more "aggressive" (in the off season) improving the starting rotation and the overall team. But right now I believe the bigger issue (for the players, and maybe Dodger fans moreso) is overcoming the disappointment of the way last season ended in losing to Philadelphia and entering this season with a feeling that they didn't do anything significant to improve the team and prevent the same thing from happening if the two would face again in October. And with the real concern that this is likely to be the final season for Manny Ramirez in Los Angeles, this only magnifies the difficult start and the apparent limitations of this team.

Having said that, this is a proud team that came a few games from the World Series, and they are still very capable of turning this trouble around and putting themselves in a position where by mid-season, with a trade or two (like last year in adding George Sherril, Jim Thome, etc.), they can very much have the same chance to get into the postseason and have success.

I believe some good things are going to happen, they will start to play much better, and as the confidence and feeling of excellence returns, this team will show us all that they are indeed still a contender. The Dodgers (and Dodger fans) will have to wait till August (I believe) before they face the Phillies. Hopefully they will be in high gear by then and maybe the bad taste of the end of last season will be gone by the time September rolls through. This team is not finished. Great patience is needed. In the long run, I feel confident that they will get their game back, hang in the division, and finish very strong. Despite the real concerns, it's way too soon to give up on this group. This team has too much character ane Joe Torre is too good of a manager for this not to turn around despite it's imperfections. As Manny would say, "Keep the faith!"

[jay]

Couldn't happen to a better organization. Dodger team is always about No team chemistry. Its each player for himself and his own stats. Every year its the same thing. Manny will implode and not want to play after june. Fans are losers

[Bart Anderson]

Well, when four million fans show up every year, lining the pockets of an owner who pays no income taxes and still refuses to re-sign a valuable member of the starting staff (Wolf), isn't it clear where to point the finger here?