Dodgers a little slow out of the gate

Going into tonight's game at San Francisco, the Dodgers were 10-11 and four games behind the Rockies and the Diamondbacks in the National League West.

Not something to worry too much about, but all who root for the Blue would have liked to see a stronger start.

Twenty-one games in, here's some initial impressions:

• Clayton Kershaw deserves to get a ring. Much like when I lived in Miami and rooted for Dan Marino you have to hope an athlete that good gets to taste the champagne before he is through.
• Corey Seager, last year's NL Rookie of the Year, does not appear to believe in the idea of a sophomore jinx. He is raking.
• Justin Turner is aging like a fine wine. He also plays a mean third base, where I played in Little League in Bell Gardens, California a lifetime ago.
• Yasiel Puig is growing up, and that's a good thing. As he matures as a man and a ball player he is turning into a solid bat and extraordinary fielder. Look for him to have a bust out season.
• Logan Forsyth at second looks to be a good addition via trade and Franklin Gutierrez should help in the right-handed hitting deficiency, as soon as they both get off the DL.
• Hyu Jin-Ryu, despite an awful record, looks like he could return to the form that saw him win 14 games two years ago.
• Brandon McCarthy is starting strong but Kenta Maeda is struggling. Jose Urias will start this week and may not go back to Oklahoma City for a while.

It will be interesting to see if the young bucks in Colorado and Arizona can keep this up. I think the Dodgers will run them down by the All Star break. But then again, I am an optimist.