TOUCHSTONE PAINTING • PLASTERING Page 6 June 2, 2016 HANDYMAN Reasonably Priced – Referrals Upon Request 310-517-9677 30 Year Business and Resident in the South Bay ROOFING REPAIRS Small jobs OK! 35 Years Experience • Local 310-375-0251 CAL License # 500433 OVER 40 THOUSAND PAPERS DELIVERED WITHIN MILES OF YOUR HOME OR BUSINESS. Dodgers Failing Early Season Report Card By Adam Serrao It seemed like only yesterday that Dodgers fans were clamoring for the beginning of a new baseball season, with hopes of more success for their hometown team in Los Angeles. After all, the Dodgers had won the NL West division for three straight years heading into this season. Nothing was going to stop that from becoming a fourth, right? Well, Don Mattingly hit the road and so did Zach Greinke and with that, a change to the structure of the team took place. The Dodgers, who were once front-runners, winning division titles only to stumble in the playoffs, have now seemingly become a team constantly rallying from behind. A recent winning streak over the Cincinnati Reds and partly, the New York Mets, has padded the teams current standing in the division, but at almost one third of the way through the season, it looks as if getting back to the division winning team that they were only one year ago will be much more than just a struggle for these Los Angeles Dodgers. The first thing that most people think about when they think about the Los Angeles Dodgers is Clayton Kershaw. A perennial beast on the mound, Kershaw may just be the greatest pitcher the game of baseball has ever seen when all is said and done. This year, he is currently sporting (stats as of last weekend) a 1.56 ERA to lead the league, 1,055 strikeouts, to lead the league, and a 0.65 WHIP, also to lead the league. There certainly looks to be another Cy Young Award in the lefties career and maybe even another Triple Crown this year, but Kershaw alone will not make for a great pitching staff. Subtract him from the roster, and you’d struggle to come up with a name who would be the new Dodgers ace. Kenta Maeda had a nice start to the regular season, but teams have quickly begun to figure him out. Scott Kazmir was signed to be the Dodgers No. 2, a role recently relinquished by the aforementioned Greinke, but he has the highest ERA of any pitcher in the rotation. Alex Wood and Ross Stripling have come through for the team at times, but behind Kershaw, this team’s rotation is certainly not of the caliber that is going to win you games in the postseason, let alone get you there in the first place. The Dodgers bullpen has been another area of concern early in the season. If the starters do, in fact, get the team into the later innings with a lead, the bullpen, aside from Kenley Jansen, almost always gives that lead away. While Jansen is dominant, the trouble has been getting the ball in his hands. Only Cincinnati has blown more saves than the Dodgers and Jansen has only blown two all season. The problem really lies in manager Dave Roberts love affair with reliever Chris Hatcher. Every single time Hatcher takes the mound, he gives away a run, yet he still gets the call from the bullpen, time and time again. Hatchers ERA is a stifling 6.05. Only Luis Avilan is worse. J.P. Howell is almost just as bad, sporting a 5.28 ERA. Adam Liberatore and Joe Blanton have been the best in relief, yet seemingly see the least amount of innings. Maybe they should move into the starting rotation, or maybe more people should turn their eyes to Roberts and the way that he is managing, or mismanaging his pitching. As bad as the pitching has been, the offense has been almost just as bad. “Inconsistent” is the main word that accompanies the Dodgers offense, wherever they go. While some of the youngsters, like Joc Pederson, Corey Seager and Trayce Thompson have been better than expected, it’s the middle of the order that has had the biggest problem striking fear into opposing pitchers. Justin Turner, Howie Kendrick, Yasmani Grandal and Yasiel Puig have all severely underachieved to this point. Not one player on the Dodgers roster is batting over .300. Adrian Gonzalez is the closest, batting in the .299 range, while Chase Utley, who just stuck it to the Mets, has also hovered around the .290’s. Pitcher Alex Wood has a better batting average than Puig, Kendrick, Turner, Crawford and any catcher on the team whether it be Grandal or A.J. Ellis. The pitching can be the best in the league, but if your team can’t put runs up on the scoreboard, they aren’t going to make the playoffs. The Dodgers will get Andre Ethier back at the midway point of the season, but even Ethier isn’t enough to get this stagnant offense turned around. If the Dodgers want to compete offensively, they need to acquire another big bat before they drop too far behind the San Francisco Giants the standings. The Dodgers currently sit in a battle for second place with the Rockies in the NL West, hanging around five games behind the suddenly revived Giants. The team’s record is lingering right around the .500 mark, which after all has been said, seems to be about exactly what the team is. Average. Dodger fans don’t want to hear it, mostly because they are some of the most loyal fans in all of baseball, but the team that is taking the field right now is not a playoff team. The season is still young and changes could and should be made to the roster, but those changes better happen soon, before the team falls even farther out of the divisional standings and wild-card playoff chase. • YOUR AD HERE Email to reserve your space class@heraldpublications.com YOUR AD HERE Email to reserve your space class@heraldpublications.com RICH’S PAINTING Specializing in exterior Quality interior work Reliable • Reasonable Rates 310-640-9465 Over 40 thousand papers delivered within 20 miles of your home or business. C E R T I F I E D A N D L I C E N S E D P R O F E S S I O N A L S KEEP IT LOCAL NEW LOWER RATES! 26 weeks (6 months) is only $400 52 weeks (1 year) is only $750 If you have any questions call us at 310-322-1830. HOW TO PAY: CHECKS, CASH OR CREDIT CARDS. Include Visa or M/C number along with billing address, security code, expiration date, email address and phone number. PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED BEFORE AD IS PUBLISHED! 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