Blue Views

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Today I'm going to start a new feature here on Inside Dodger Baseball. It's called "Blue Views," and it's basically a running list of thoughts about anything to do with the Dodgers, or about baseball in general.

Quite often I have some opinions that don't exactly warrant a whole blog post, so this is my way of getting my views out there at once. Enjoy!

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* It was good to see the bats get going last night against the Marlins. More specifically, the regular bats like Manny Ramirez and Rafael Furcal. It's not like the starting pitching has been that much to write about, but the bats were seemingly blowing chance after chance with runners on. That got pretty frustrating to watch.

* A guy who seems a little bit in limbo right now is Matt Kemp. It's not like he's having a bad year or anything, but he just doesn't seem all that comfortable to me. Remember during his breakout season in '09, the spot he appeared the most in the order was seventh (46 times). He also had 14 appearances in the #2 hole. Point being, he wasn't expected to do anything spectacular in those spots. Just getting on base was the goal.

In looking at his numbers hitting in the heart of the order from last year, they tell an interesting story: #4 - .216, #5 - .271, #6 - .240. Not exactly great numbers. Now look at these numbers: #1 - .400 (2-for-5 in one game), #2 - .291, #7 - .328, #8 - .421. I think it's safe to see why Joe Torre was so comfortable hitting Kemp up or down in the order. They won 95 games, so he must have figured that if it wasn't broke, don't fix it.

Going back to my original point, Kemp seems like he's still trying to adjust to hitting in an RBI spot. He has five strikeouts through four games, which is something he needs to address. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before he gets going, but I think we need to show some patience with him. He's still getting used to hitting in the heart of the order.

* Let's be thankful that Ramon Troncoso only missed the first game of the season. With Hong-Chih Kuo and Ronald Belisario out, and with George Sherrill getting lit up on Opening Day, Troncoso has been the only steady option to get to Jonathan Broxton. Troncoso's only gone two innings and no runs, but he just looks like the best pitcher of the bunch. Once Kuo and Belisario are back and the Ortiz's are more than likely gone, the 'pen should be as strong as ever.

* Based on the handful of games I've watched from the other NL West teams, it's hard not to think the Giants are the team to beat. They swept the Astros in Houston, then got a huge comeback win over the Braves in their home opener. The knock on them coming into the season was their lack of production at the plate, but they've scored five or more runs in three of their four wins. It's early, but they have to like what they've seen thus far.

The Diamondbacks have had an easy schedule to start (Padres and Pirates), but they too have hit well. Like I said in my season preview, so much depends on the health of Brandon Webb. I still don't see them doing much without him, but they've more than played steady ball in his absence. They'll need to keep that up to stay competitive in this division.

I haven't caught as much of the Rockies for whatever reason, but I did see Jorge De La Rosa look fantastic against the Padres the other day. This is a team that scares me because they have their same team back from last year that went on that incredible run. They're a scary team.

* Vicente Padilla gets another start today, and the Dodgers really need him to turn it around. It's never good to overreact after one start, but he was so bad, you couldn't help but to be concerned. Still, I really think he can get it going at some point. Hopefully tonight.