Say it ain't so: Now even starting pitching is letting Dodgers down

No, not that. Not the last vestige of team respectability. The one thing that is supposed to be a Dodgers’ strength.

So sorry, right now, it’s true. In addition to their woeful hitting and cover-the-eyes bullpen, now the Dodgers must add -- lousy starting pitching.

Coming next: Dodger Stadium swallowed by earthquake!

There are only so many struggling elements to the game that one team can squeeze into a season, though the Dodgers keep trying to add to their unattractive resume.

From the very beginning of the season, starting pitching was the one area in which the Dodgers had confidence. Their rotation of Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly and Jon Garland was expected to give them a chance to win every night.

Early on, they were pretty much as solid as advertised. Since June rolled around, though, they have been going in the wrong direction. And not coincidentally, so has the team.

In their first 15 starts in June before Saturday, the Dodgers' rotation had combined to go 4-8 with a 5.47 earned-run average. In those 15 starts, only one starter went as many as seven innings.

"We’re having a little stretch," Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said. "Our [starting] pitching and defense have really been our strengths. This small portion of time, we really haven’t pitched as good as we can. I think you’re concerned to the point where you don’t expect it."

The starters have not been helped by a beleaguered bullpen. Relievers entering games with runners on base have hardly proven a team asset.

"Then unfortunately whoever we’ve had come in, haven’t been able to put the fire out," said pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. "It always seems worse than maybe it should have been."

The only member of the rotation with an ERA under 3.00 in June is Kuroda, and he’s 0-3. Run support is another issue.

Lilly is 1-2 with a 4.41 ERA in June, Kershaw 0-0 with a 5.95 ERA, Garland 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA (and he’s now on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation) and Billingsley 1-2 with a whopping 11.20 ERA. Rookie Rubby De La Rosa, replacing Garland in the rotation, entered Saturday’s start 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA for the month. And he didn't make it out of the fifth inning, giving up five runs in the process.

That has left the Dodgers with a 5-10 record halfway through June.

"Realistically, after a hard stretch in April and May there may just be a little bit of fatigue," Honeycutt said. "You run through different points, where there is usually going to be a couple stretches where you run through that.

"It still breaks down to being a little bit inconsistent with stuff. You’re seeing where we’re decent, and then where we have one inning where we really struggle."

The ERAs are partially inflated by a four-game stop in Colorado, but the struggles have continued at Dodger Stadium.

Billingsley is of particular concern. Mattingly and Honeycutt met with him Friday in an attempt to get the right-hander back on track. Mattingly said Billingsley felt he just wasn’t hitting his spots.

"My thought was, if you’re not quite hitting your spots, don’t be a freight train," Mattingly said. "At that point try something different."

The troubled month for the rotation has pushed its overall ERA to 3.94 for the season, 11th in the National League.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Photo: Dodgers starting pitcher Chad Billingsley during a 6-5 loss in Colorado to the Rockies on June 10. Credit: Jack Dempsey / Associated Press

Comments

[HI Dodger Fan]

This is embarrassing. Dodgers getting absolutely blown out by the worst team in the league. There is no excuse for this. Just a bad, bad team. Ned, you really out-did yourself this time.

[Kelly Dean]

Oh, and Frank said no matter what financial situation he was in he would field the same team, he thinks this team can contend, we cant even contend with the worst team in Baseball.

Frank can you please sell the team, if you really love the Dodgers and us fans and want to do whats best you will sell the team and never be heard from!!

[Ushindi]

The Dodgers are just amazing - there's no other word for it. Tonight the Astros had 11 hits and scored 7 runs (with NO homers, BTW). The Dodgers had 10 hits and zero runs - guess which team hit when it was needed.

[Higgins]

HI Dodger Fan-
I agree with you that this team is embarrassing, but it's hardly Ned's fault. We know what he's had to work with thanks to a broke owner who is more invested in his personal life than in his baseball team.

The organization has been a disaster since the moment Jimmy Rollins took a Broxton fastball into the gap in Game 4 in 2009.

To me it's no surprise that they're this bad. The Dodgers opened the year with no left fielder, bullpen concerns, aging, oft-injured 3B and SS, and the worst hitting 1B in the league. The only signing was an overweight, moronic ex-Giant who just happened to come off a career year. What did we expect? At this point I hope they end up with the worst record in baseball just to get the #1 draft pick in 2012.

Can't wait for the fire sale.

[FormerLifelongDodgerFan]

Yeah, Higgins, I'm not surprised that they're as bad as they are, either. It's just gonna keep getting worse....far worse before it gets better until a myriad of changes happen from top to bottom.

[Dodger Blues]

Can't believe anyone would actually go watch this team. I went and watched Green Lantern tonight and with snacks only spent 40 dollars. That was way more entertaining then anything this pitiful team can do and a lot cheaper. I wouldn't pay attention to this team until a new owner is in place cause as long as McJoker is in charge this team goes nowhere.

[16blows]

"Our (starting) pitching"

- nod to Queen - "And another one bites the dust"... rub-by de la rosa done got RUBBED OUT tonight - by the lowly Astros, even - the latest rookie to discover that even MLB's worst team (well, next to the dudgers themselves of course) is still better than the best senor de la saw in the bush leagues.

_______

"and defense have really been our strengths."

- such myopia; if you go by a small number of errors, perhaps... if you go by the visual impressions night after night/day after day, huh uh. Moreso, it's a matter soft hands, lack of range & sloth's feet dudger defenders, generally.

My personal favorite butchers to watch:

* A plodding dh the dudgers try hide in rf who runs as if he's towing a barge - but the scatter-arm makes up for it by short-arming throws (where & when the ball will stop rolling, nobody knows.)

* A catcher who must have been signed for his defense (if we ignore his lack of agility) because he's hitting only .156 (dee gordon's weight if not his own - and at $1 mill per, the bin if not a bargain.)

*A chest thumpin/sky pointin miscast rf'r 'lost in space' center (his fielding % has plummeted from .995 '09 to .985 '10 to .974 now 2011.) Yup, I know the party line - 'Yeah but he gets to balls other of's can't!' Which isn't much help if he doesn't catch the ball when he gets there (already4 errors less than half as many chances as he had all 2010 when he made 5); the Bermuda Triangle comes to mind.)

The prosecution as the defense, rests.

_______

"We’re having a little stretch," Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly said."

- just a little 'spell' as it were. Not to worry donnie baseball - we'll just enlist Granny to mix up a batch of her 'spring tonic' to fix what ails 'em...

I wish the dudgers rookie Manager was more like former USC football coach John McKay, who even as a rookie NFL Head Coach didn't sugar-coat things.

Q: 'What do you think of your team's execution?' a reporter asked.

A: "I'm all for it", he said.

Tantamount to looking for a silver lining dudger season. If we consider them a junk-ball pitcher (apropos), an apologist might say, "he keeps the ball in the park" (but gives up all the rest singles, doubles, triples- the works.)

_______

Diary for June 18, 2011: after the 31-41 dudgers were beaten/shutout tonight by a 27-45 club, they now rest comfortably 10 games south of mediocrity.

[Falling into the pit]

Can anyone see the bottom yet?

[McCourt blows]

The McCourt virus doesn't love the team or it's fans, only himself and his wallet! Case in point, what kind of an idiot says that this is a very good team. Ya hear me Frank?

[Joe Chorneau]

This is not really the Dodgers. It's a top secret-area 51 experiment gone wrong. There was a series of solar flares that have suddenly cropped up and these scientists accidentlally exchanged some of the entities from this universe to another pararllel one. I fear this a Dodger team from another parallel universe.

[West Coast]

"There is only so many struggling elements..."

Seriously, where have all the copy editors gone?

[Dmartinez]

Higgins how can you say that it's hardly Ned's fault. When every deal Ned has done back fired him. I can't think of any other long term deal outside of Andre for Milton that worked for the Dodgers.
Every long term deal have been a waste of millons of dollars with not a whole lot in return. He's been paying top dollards for has-been over the hill players, but i guess no player on it's prime will take IOU for his services.

Let's hope this come to an end soon. Can't wait for the offseason!!!!