Dodgers closing in on October

The Dodgers, seeking their third straight NL West title, head into the final weeks of the season with a 7.5 game lead in the division.

Barring a Giants miracle, the Dodgers are on track to meet the New York Mets in the opening round of the playoffs in October.

The Mets have a stable of young pitching arms and have been vitalized by the late-season acquisition of Yeonis Cespedes.

On the other side of the NL bracket, the Cardinals await the winner of the one-game Wild Card showdown, which figures to feature Pittsburgh and Chicago. The Cubs are getting close to the promised land with a lineup full of young talent. Theo Epstein apparently does know what he is doing.

On the American League side, Kansas City will play the winner of the Wild Card game, which figures to be the Yankees and the Astros. New York and Alex Rodriguez have defied Father Time and the Astros are the feel-good story of 2015.

Toronto and Texas are lined up to meet for the other spot in the Final Eight.

The Dodgers have been boosted by the arrival of Corey Seager, who stormed into the majors with a splash. Seager has 20 hits in his first 13 games with six doubles and dinger while playing a decent shortstop.

Jimmy Rollins is down with a finger injury but Don Mattingly has to be considering leaving the aging veteran on the pine and letting Seager finish the season at short.

Like most teams, the Dodgers have had their share of injuries. Fortunately, a deep payroll and roster has allowed the Dodgers to have a strong "next man up" solution to the injury problem.

Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig have been hampered with injuries, but Andre Ethier and Scott Van Slyke have filled in nicely.

Howie Kendrick was sidelined with a hamstring so the Dodgers acquired Chase Utley and Jose Peraza to handle second base.

Starting pitchers Hyun Jin-Ryu and Brendan McCarthy were lost to injury so the Dodgers obtained Matt Latos and Alex Wood. Both have been inconsistent but Wood may have found his groove last night against the Rockies, tossing a one-hitter through eight innings to get the win.

The Dodgers' hopes for a ring rest with Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. Both are deservedly in the discussion for a Cy Young.

Greinke (17-3, 1.61) is having a stellar season and Kershaw (14-6, 2.12) has overcome a slow start and is in top form.

The big question mark for Los Angeles comes in the No. 3-4 slots in the rotation and middle relief, which was a sore spot a year ago.

Brett Anderson (9-8, 3.35) has earned the No. 3 spot and Wood, Latos and Mike Bolsinger will get consideration for the No. 4 slot if Mattingly uses four starters. Bringing Kershaw back on three days rest did not go well last year and both Kershaw and Mattingly must have doubts.

Luis Avilan and Jim Johnson were acquired to bolster the pen to get to closer Kenley Jansen with mixed results. J.P. Howell, Pedro Baez, Chris Hatcher, Yimi Garcia and Juan Nicasio figure to get most of the work in middle relief.

Justin Ruggiano, Chris Heisey and Scott Schebler have been getting playing time in the outfield down the stretch and will continue to play spot roles. Yasmani Grandal's aching shoulder could mean more A.J. Ellis behind the plate.

LA's core offensive players, Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Turner, Ethier and the spotty Joc Pederson, will need to produce if the Dodgers want to advance. Kendrick, Puig and Crawford are down with injuries and will be needed in the playoffs.

The marathon that is baseball

A baseball season can seem endless – but only if your team is losing and more so if they are miserably out of the race before the All Star break.

That is not the case with the Dodgers, who take a 2.5 game lead in the NL West into this weekend’s series against the Giants, who have dominated the Dodgers so far this season.

A glance around the standings reveals some interesting pennant races going on.

In the AL East, the Yankees are only a game behind Tampa Bay. Alex Rodriguez, written off after health and suspension woes, has found new life at 39.

In the AL Central, the Kansas City Royals are trying to get back to the promised land and have a 3.5 game lead on the Twins. The Tigers are a striking distance 5.5 games back.

The big surprise is in the AL West where the Astros are up 3.5 games on the Rangers in an all-Texas battle with the Angels trailing by 5.5 games.

In the National League, St. Louis leads the NL Central by 4 games over the Pirates and the amazing Cubs are seven games off the pace. Chicago has a lot of young talent so don’t count them out.

In the NL East, the Mets are up 1.5 games on the favored Washington Nationals and baseball is now back in style in the Big Apple with both the Yanks and the Metropolitans sniffing at post-season play.

In the NL West, the Dodgers are trying to make it three straight division titles but the defending World Series champion Giants are staying close. Arizona and San Diego are still in striking distance though the Padres have already jettisoned their manager.

If the season were to end today, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Houston would be division winners in the AL with the Yankees, Twins, Rangers and possibly Blue Jays fighting for Wild Card berths.

In the NL, the Dodgers, Cardinals and Mets would win division crowns and the Pirates, Giants, Nationals and Cubs would be fighting for the Wild Card.

It’s going to be a long, hot summer.

Dodgers on a historical mission to win the NL West

Historians will tell you that the California cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego were all founded as part of the California mission chain started in 1769 by Father Juniper Serra under the direction of King Charles III of Spain.

The missions were built near the coast to establish towns, trade with sea faring ships and convert the native Indians to Christianity.

There were 21 missions in the chain but the missions in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego produced the largest modern-day cities.

They didn’t play baseball in the 1700s but today’s San Diego Padres get their name from the Franciscan friars who pioneered the state.

Rather than battle for souls, today’s battle between the three cities is for supremacy in the National League West division of major league baseball.

The Dodgers have won the last two division championships but San Francisco owns the biggest prizes, having won three of the last five World Series titles.

Going into Sunday’s games, the Dodgers hold a 2.5 game lead over the Giants and a six-game bulge over the Padres, who they defeated 4-3 on Friday night.

San Diego opened the checkbook to upgrade their squad this season and figure to give the Dodgers and the Giants a run for their money in 2015.

Kershaw has righted his ship

Like Mark Twain, the reports of Clayton Kershaw’s demise were greatly exaggerated.

After winning the NL MVP and Cy Young awards last year, the Dodger southpaw struggled out of the gates in 2015, posting a high ERA and a losing record.

In his last three starts, Kershaw has looked like, well, Kershaw.

On May 26 he beat the Braves, giving up four hits through seven innings and striking out 10.

On June 1 he beat the Rockies in Colorado, no small feat, holding the Rocks to five hits through seven frames and striking out seven.

On June 6, Kershaw exorcised some of the demons from last year’s playoffs, tossing a one-hitter against the Cardinals through eight innings and striking out 11.

Now 5-3, his ERA is still higher than he would like (3.36) but he pitched shutout innings against the Braves and the Cards, surrendering two runs against the Rockies. That’s two runs in 22 innings.

His 101 strikeouts are third in the major leagues behind Cleveland’s Corey Kluber and Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer.

Teammate Zack Greinke is having a strong year and Brett Anderson, Mike Bolsinger and Carlos Frias have put in solid work in the 3-5 spots in the rotation.

The Dodgers go into tonight’s game against Arizona with one game lead in the NL West.

Dodgers hanging on to slim lead in NL West

June is nearly here and the Dodgers, winners of the NL West the last two years, are right in the thick of it. Going into tonight’s game against the Braves, LA held a slim 1.5 game lead on the Giants, who have been on a tear.

Dodger fans are wondering if the deep pocket owners will go get another pitcher to replace Hyun Jin-Ryu and Brandon McCarthy, out for the season with injuries.

Zack Greinke (5-1, 1.48 ERA) has been the ace of the staff while Clayton Kershaw has been slow out of the gates, posting a 3-3 record and 3.86 ERA. Kershaw tossed seven innings of scoreless ball and struck out 10 against the Braves on Tuesday. If he keeps that up, fans in Chavez Ravine may call off the death watch.

The Dodger rotation is a little shaky with Brett Anderson (2-2, 3.47 ERA), Mike Bolsinger (3-0, 0.71 ERA) and Carlos Frias (3-2, 5.34 ERA) trying to shore up the gap caused by injuries.

Kenley Jansen is back in the pen as the closer, which has stabilized the young reliever corps. 

Offensively, the Dodgers are leading the National League in homers and other than when they are playing in San Francisco they are swinging hot bats. The Giants have swept all six games at AT&T Park this season with the last three shutouts.

Adrian Gonzalez is having another torrid year, hitting at a .344 clip with 10 homers and 35 RBI. Alex Guerrero (.313, 8 HR), Andre Ethier (.311, 6 HR), Justin Turner (.287, 5 HR) Howie Kendrick (.298, 4 HR) and Joc Pederson (.257, 12 HR) have pushed the Dodgers to the top of the home run list in the National League. Turner and Guerrero made Juan Uribe expendable and the third sacker was traded to the Braves today.

Ethier is the feel good story of the year. After losing a starting position to Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford, the veteran outfielder stepped into the batting order and is raking while Puig and Crawford have been on the DL. The Dodgers are deep this year and having a player of Ethier’s ability step into the starting lineup is a luxury for Don Mattingly.

Rainy days and Thursdays in LA

It rained in Southern California last night, so when they rolled out the tarp (which had to be dusty) and the Dodgers leading 4-2, I went to bed.

What I missed was Carlos Gonzalez jacking a three-run homer off of Yimi Garcia in the ninth as the Rockies took a 5-4 win and snapped an eight-game losing streak against Los Angeles.

Combined with San Diego’s win against Washington, LA’s lead in the NL West shrunk to four games. Still, the Dodgers have been on a tear, putting together a 22-12 record built on a 15-4 record at home.  Away from Chavez Ravine, the Dodgers are struggling at 7-8.

San Diego, two games above .500, figures to stay with the Dodgers all season.  San Francisco, Arizona and Colorado shouldn’t, but you can never count out a team that has three rings in five years.

Clayton Kershaw (1-2, 4.26) takes the hill tonight. He has struggled but not as bad as those numbers indicate.

Kershaw will right the ship and have a decent season, if not another Cy Young season.

Closer Kenley Jansen comes off the DL today but Mattingly won’t rush him into a closing role. He will ease the big righty back into the bullpen rotation, which will make a good pen even better.

On the injury front, Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford are still healing but frankly the trio of Andre Ethier, Scott Van Slyke and Alex Guerrero has it covered. Take the time to heal guys.

An interesting dynamic is happening at third base where Juan Uribe’s grip on the hot corner is starting to slip. Guerrero and Justin Turner are earning more playing time with their bats and Uribe may soon find himself in pre-injury Ethierville, the odd man out.

Howie Kendrick is solid at second but Jimmy Rollins is looking more and more like a stopgap measure at short until Cory Seager is ready to come up from the minors. Joc Pederson is still earning his stripes in center but his 10 dingers and 21 RBI show he can hit at this level, even handling the leadoff role.

The glue holding it all together is first sacker Adrian Gonzalez, off to another phenomenal year. Gonzo is hitting .367 with 32 RBI and nine dingers. Steady as Swiss watch.

Then there’s Zack Grienke. Greinke is 5-0 with a 1.52 ERA and is currently the ace of the staff. He becomes a free agent at the end of the season and if he continues to pitch like this he will seriously inflate his asking price.

Starting pitching, with Hyun Jin-Ryu still on the DL and Brendan McCarthy out for the season, remains the Dodgers’ biggest hole.  Carlos Frias and Mike Bolsinger are serviceable but expect the wheelers and dealers to go out and get another arm before the trade deadline.

Bench depth is as deep as the Grand Canyon

Some years ago we took a family vacation to Arizona and made our way to the Grand Canyon. 

Though I had grown up in California and lived for a time in Utah, I had never made the trip.

A big hole in the ground, I told myself. But getting to the Grand Canyon and taking in the width and breadth of the place was a different story. It is deep and amazing.

Which brings me to the bench Don Mattingly has sitting behind him.

It’s nothing short of amazing.

First closer Kenley Jansen and No. 3 starter Hyun -Jin Ryu start the season on the DL, and Brendan McCarthy and Joel Peralta soon join them. No problem, Carlos Frias and Mike Bolsinger emerge as viable starters. The pen? No problem. Yimi Garcia, Pedro Baez, Adam Liberatore, Paco Rodriguez, Juan Nicasio, J.P. Howell and Chris Hatcher step into the breach.

Then comes the outfield. Stars Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford go down with injuries. No problem, Andre Ethier, Scott Van Slyke and Alex Guerrero are inserted into the lineup and hit like they were starters all along.

Toss in Justin Turner, who can hit while getting out of bed, and the Dodgers are hitting with power and average.

Turner, Ethier and Van Slyke have led the team in their last three wins and are all swinging hot bats. 

Turner hit a critical pinch-hit homer to lead one victory, Van Slyke hit a walk-off three-run dinger the next night and Ethier went 5-for-5 with a solo shot to center in last night’s 11-1, 21-hit explosion over the Marlins.

Adrian Gonzalez and Howie Kendrick are hitting, Jimmy Rollins has yet to heat up and Yasmani Grandal has found his stroke six weeks into the season.

All this has happened while Clayton Kershaw has sputtered to a 1-2 record and 4.26 ERA. The reigning Cy Young and MVP winner will eventually get his bearings but until he does, Zack Greinke is making his own bid for hardware, posting a 5-0 record and 1.52 ERA.

Aside from the starting rotation, this team is as deep as that big hole in the ground in Arizona.

Pederson coming into his own

Last season, the Dodgers brought up rookie Joc Pederson for his proverbial “cup of coffee” at the Show.

He was over matched.

In 28 plate appearances he hit a dismal .143 with no homers and no RBI.

The kid who turned in a 30/30 year in AAA was definitely not ready to make the leap to the major leagues.

Yet, Pederson went into spring training as the heir apparent in centerfield and made Matt Kemp expendable for a trade to San Diego.

Maybe those analytic masterminds knew what they were doing.

Pederson has been on tear the past several weeks and now has nine dingers and 19 RBI and is hitting a respectable .264 while playing a ball-gobbling centerfield.

The Dodgers are up four games in the NL West and they have done it with a surprising show of power (considering the loss of Kemp and Hanley Ramirez) and have showcased a deep bench.

For example, Yasiel Puig and Carl Crawford have been sidelined with nagging injuries and Andre Ethier (.288) and Alex Guerrero (.350) have stepped in. Guerrero has gone yard six times and Ethier four times.

Another case in point is Justin Turner, who has hit four homers and is hitting at a .314 clip coming off the bench.

The bullpen has been strong and Zack Greinke (5-0, 1.56) is off to a hot start. Clayton Kershaw is uncharacteristically struggling at 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA. Brett Anderson (2-1, 3.52) and Carlos Frias (3-0, 2.13) are holding down the fort until Hyun Jin-Ryu comes off the disabled list.

Catcher Yasmani Grandal, acquired from the Padres, is also heating up. Grandal was hitting .179 on May 1 then took Don Mattingly’s advice to stop pressing. In a week, Grandal lifted his batting average to .307, sparked by a two-homerun, eight RBI game on Thursday.

Dodgers flex muscle; visit the DL

One month into the Los Angeles Dodgers 2015 campaign and two things stand out: LA has some pop in their bats and they are having a hard time staying off the disabled list.

The Dodgers have smacked 32 homers this season, tops in the National League and one ahead of Cincinnati.

Third starter Hyun Jin-Ryu and closer Kenley Jansen started the season on the DL and hope to return in May. Starting pitcher Brendan McCarthy started the season with a deceiving 3-0 record but is out for the rest of the year with an arm injury. Mr. Everything Clayton Kershaw is struggling with a 1-2 record and 3.73 ERA in five starts.

Zack Greinke, on the other hand, looks like a Cy Young winner with a 4-0 record and 1.93 ERA to start the season.

Outfielders Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig are on the 15-day DL, which has allowed Andre Ethier and Scott Van Slyke some playing time. Ethier, once thought to be on the trading block as the odd man out, is hitting .304 and Van Slyke is hitting .393. Depth in the outfield is proving to be a strength.

Rookie Joc Pederson is starting to demonstrate why he is getting the start in center. Pederson is hitting .298 with four dingers and 10 RBI and has demonstrated great range in the outfield.

Adrian Gonzalez started the season on fire, hitting .383 in April with eight homers and 19 RBI.

Howie Kendrick (.295) and Juan Uribe (.278) are holding their own while shortstop Jimmy Rollins (.185) is 15 points below the Mendoza Line.

Subs Alex Guerrero (.423) and Justin Turner (.273) are providing punch off the bench. Guerrero has gone yard five times and is making it hard to keep him out of the lineup.

A definite liability last year, a young bullpen is holding its own with relievers Yimi Garcia, Adam Liberatore, J.P. Howell, Pedro Baez, Juan Nicasio and Joel Peralta holding their own.

Catcher Yasmani Grandal is contributing behind the plate but is hitting a paltry .189.

The Dodgers are using several young starters until Ryu gets back to fill out the starting rotation.

The Dodgers go into May with a three-game set against Arizona on Friday night.

In April, the Dodgers played seven three-game series and won five of them. San Francisco took a three-game sweep April 21-23 and Arizona took a 2-1 series in Phoenix April 10-12.

The Dodgers swept Seattle and Colorado and took two of three against the Giants in LA this past week. LA also won two series against San Diego, which figures to challenge the Dodgers in the NL West.

San Diego, Colorado, Arizona and San Francisco are all within striking distance of the first-place Dodgers as the pack has yet to see any team take a commanding lead in the standings.

Guerrero’s hot bat may force Mattingly’s hand

Alex Guerrero is a man without a position.

But if the 28-year old Cuban import from Las Tunas keeps hitting the way he has lately, Dodger skipper Don Mattingly will have to find a place for him in the lineup.

Guerrero hit two homers in the series against the Giants and is hitting at a .474 clip in limited playing time this year. Guerrero is 9-for-19 with four homers and 12 RBI. His slugging percentage is a crazy 1.211.

The knock on Guerrero is his defense and limited range. He was an All-Star shortstop in Cuba but does not seem destined to play that position for the Dodgers. Conventional wisdom says 36-year-old Jimmy Rollins is a stopgap measure at short until Cory Seager is ready to come up from the minors. Guerrero’s most likely position is at third base where 37-year-old Juan Uribe is entrenched as the starter and Justin Turner is the backup.

Uribe has been the mainstay for the Dodgers at the hot corner for years but has started slow (.250) with the bat this season. If Guerrero’s bat stays hot, Mattingly will have to find more frequent plate appearances for him.

Guerrero went yard against Madison Bumgarner in Wednesday’s loss and then went yard Thursday in LA’s 3-2 loss to San Francisco. 

Guerrero defected from Cuba in 2013, then established residency in Haiti in order to become a free agent. He signed a four-year, $28 million deal to play for the Dodgers. 

Dodgers-Giants rivalry renewed tonight

The Dodgers and Giants renew their blood feud tonight at AT&T Park and the feelings still run high.

I have been a Dodgers fan for as long as I can remember. It was a family tradition primarily because by Mom liked to go out to Dodger Stadium whenever she could and allowed me to tag along and bring a few friends at 75 cents a pop to sit in the left field pavilion.

The Giants have always been the enemy. Willie Mays, Will McCovey, Gaylord Perry, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Hal Lanier and later Barry Bonds, Matt Williiams, Will Clark, Jeff Kent and others have played the role of villain against the Dodgers.

But let’s give credit where it is due. The Giants have won three World Series titles in the last five years. That’s as close to a dynasty that baseball has seen for decades.

San Francisco has proven that all that matters is getting to October and then anything can happen. The Giants won the one-game Wild Card play-in last year then marched all the way to the title.

I caught the Dodgers against the Giants for a couple of games last year at AT&T and the fans were friendly and playfully giving me and others a hard time for being decked out in Dodger gear. I never felt it was anything more than friendly competition.

The funniest moment came on the Muni train after the game when a decidedly inebriated young lady starting berating a group of us wearing Dodger gear.

“LA, everything about LA is phony. Even the women with their boob jobs. Everything there is fake,” she said. Then (pointing at her own chest) she proclaimed, “these are real.”

The guy sitting next to me then earned a high five when he said, “Prove it.”

You gotta love baseball.

Dodgers off to quick start

It’s only April and the sample size is pretty small – only 12 games.

But the first impression being made by the 2015 Dodgers is a good one. The baseball minds now running the Dodgers, they of the sabermetrics and analytics, could have a strong team on their hands.

The Dodgers swept Seattle and Colorado this week and have rattled off seven straight wins to post a 9-3 record and a 1.5 game early lead in the NL West.

The acquisitions have shown well early. Jimmy Rollins at short and Howie Kendrick at second have been impressive – especially Kendrick’s bat.

The rookie in center, Joc Pederson, is still a little green but we can already see why he tore up the Pacific Coast League last year and earned a shot to win the job in center.

Yasmani Grandal at catcher is struggling at the plate but should provide an upgrade at catcher.

Though Yasiel Puig, Pederson and Carl Crawford will get the nod in the outfield most nights, Scott Van Slyke and Andre Ethier give Mattingly a deep bench and the ability to exploit lefty/righty matchups.

Then there’s the pitchers. Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson have been holding down the fort until Hyun Jin-Ryu returns to the rotation and relievers Yimi Garcia, Juan Nicasio, Joel Peralta, Pedro Baez, J.P. Howell, Paco Rodriguez, Chris Hatcher and Adam Liberatore are keeping the pen producing while Kenley Jansen recovers from foot surgery.

The pen was LA’s weak link last year but appears to be stronger in 2015.

Clayton Kershaw (1-1) has yet to return to Cy Young and MVP form but Zack Greinke (2-0) is pitching like an ace.

Then there’s the power. The Dodgers are third in homers in the major leagues out of the gate and lead the majors with 36 doubles through the first 12 games. The Dodgers have the best team batting average (.288) in the National League and the third-best in the majors.

Gonzalez leads the club with five dingers but Kendrick, Alex Guerrero, Pederson, and Puig each have a pair.

I like the bench where Van Slyke, Ethier, Guerrero and Justin Turner are capable of winning a game with their bats.

It’s April. It’s early. But the Dodgers are off to a good start.

Dodgers are must-see tv

Two-hundred dollars.

Some would say that's a bit much to watch the Dodgers play on television.Of course, if you live in Los Angeles it doesn't matter.

Seventy percent of Los Angelenos can't get the team on local cable or satellite because of the ongoing dispute with Time Warner Cable and other carriers.

But living here in Carson City, Nevada, I can get the Dodgers on MLB Extra Innings for $200 for the whole season.

That comes to about a buck and a quarter per game.

I don't drink coffee but I'm guessing you can't get a cup of coffee for $1.25, unless you go to McDonalds.

So when the Dodgers spotted Seattle 4-0 and 3-0 leads on long balls the past two nights and then stormed back for 6-5 wins in the bottom of the tenth and ninth innings, I was there, nestled on the recliner.

And on those nights when I can't watch live, I record the game and do a speed watch on fast forward. You can speed watch a game in 30 minutes and never miss a big play.

To my boyhood friends from Bell Gardens who post pictures from Chavez Ravine, I salute you and wish I was in the seat next to you.

But here in Carson City, at the foot of the Sierras and down the mountain from shining Lake Tahoe, Dodger fever runs high.

Gonzalez overshadows Kemp's return

It was odd seeing Matt Kemp in the other team’s dugout.

Kemp, now the right fielder for the Padres, was cheered loudly in the season opener but more and more boos surfaced as he wielded a hot bat against the Dodgers in the season-opening series that wound up last night with a 7-4 Dodgers’ victory fueled by three home runs by Adrian Gonzalez.

Kemp, who was traded to San Diego to solve an overcrowded outfield situation, demonstrated his 2014 second half was no fluke, giving Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke and Brandon McCarthy fits.

But it was Gonzalez who earned national attention, clubbing five dingers in the first three games, punctuated with his three-homer night on Wednesday.

Neither Kershaw nor Greinke earned victories in their openers, though they pitched well enough to win. McCarthy, the former Diamondback and Yankee, tossed a strong five innings before running out of gas in the sixth.

Paco Rodriguez, Pedro Baez, J.P. Howell and the ancient Joel Peralta finished up for McCarthy, who got the win. The Dodgers are without closer Kenley Jansen but hope to have him back in May.

With the loss of Kemp, Hanley Ramirez and Dee Gordon in the batting order, the Dodgers are looking to veterans Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick and rookie Joc Pederson to deliver this season. Rollins hit a game-winning homer in the season opener and Kendrick and Pederson have had promising at bats.

Lefty Brett Anderson will make his Los Angeles debut Friday against Arizona. Anderson has been slowed by injuries the past several seasons.