As a life-long Dodger fan, I can tell you that the opening month of the 2012 season was as much fun watching baseball as I've felt in a quite awhile. With a 16-7 record and a lead in the NL West nearly the entire month, it's about as good a start as you can ask for.
There's many reasons this has been an awesome month of baseball, so let's take a look at 10 of them:
1) MATT KEMP. It's good to hear the "baseball guys" on TV finally refer to him as being the best player in the game. Because, well, he is. He could not have possibly played any better when you look at these ridiculous numbers: .417 AVG, .490 OBP, 24 R, 35 H, 4 2B, 12 HR, 25 RBI, 2 SB. Holy crap!
He's currently leading the Triple Crown in the NL, and in all of baseball as well (Josh Hamilton is tied with him at 25 RBIs). If that wasn't enough, he's also leading in runs, hits, slugging %, and OPS. In addition to playing his usual great D, it's been a pleasure to watch him very night. Each at-bat I get the same feeling that I got when Manny Ramirez came on the scene at the end of '08 - every time he's up, something big is going to happen. He is far and away the best player in the bigs now.
2) Clayton Kershaw. Ho hum, ho hum.... 2-0, 1.78 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 28 K's in 30 1/3 innings. Seriously, it's pretty amazing when you come to expect such minuscule numbers from him and not even be surprised when he delivers anymore. What might be most amazing is that he gutted it out on Opening Day by pitching three scoreless innings with the flu. We knew he was good, now we know he's tough too.
3) The other three starting pitchers: Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Chris Capuano. We knew Kershaw would be Kershaw, but there was a bit of unknown about the rest of the rotation. And to their credit, they have more than been on the money. Billingsley is the most satisfying to watch thus far. He's 2-1 with a 2.64 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. His low WHIP is fantastic, which shows he's pounding the strike zone and not beating himself with walks. Is he finally the #2 starter we've been waiting to see? I sure hope so.
Lilly has picked up right where he left off last season, as he's 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. Can it possibly get any better than that? I though for sure he was washed up last year, but boy was I wrong. He's keeping hitters off balance and getting the results.
Capuano was sort of like a wild card, as he throws hard, but the numbers didn't always look pretty. But with numbers of 3-0, 2.73 ERA, and 1.21 WHIP, he's been a great addition. It's especially sweet considering he's the #4 starter, and pitching like an ace.
Sorry to Aaron Harang, who did strikeout nine straight Padres in one game, but has an ugly 5.72 ERA. So no love to you yet.
4) Josh Lindblom. Javy Guerra, Kenley Jansen, Matt Guerrier, Todd Coffey, Scott Elbert and Mike MacDougal have all gone through their share of ups and downs, which makes it even more remarkable that the Dodgers have played so well. But, if there's one rock in the bullpen, it's been young Lindblom. Here's a guy who looked like he was going to be sent back to Triple-A early in the month when Lilly came off the DL, and now he has an 0.68 ERA and four holds. If he keeps pitching like that, I'm sure fans will start clamoring for him to be the closer in no time.
5) Andre Ethier. Ethier probably has to laugh at how little attention he gets with the numbers he has. He can thank Mr. Kemp for that. But for a guy who has gone through a roller coaster ride in LA for the most part, he's now playing like a guy who deserves a fat contract extension. His .276 AVG isn't too high, but he's right behind Kemp for the RBI lead with 24, which shows he's getting timely hits again. The middle of the order is as good as it gets in baseball.
6) A.J. Ellis. I'm as proud of this guy as I am of anyone else on the team. Ellis been sent up and down like an elevator so many times, I'm sure he couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever get a true chance at starting. Well, he's starting now, and he looks great. His .291 AVG is great, but what sticks out is his .443 OBP, thanks to 15 walks he's drawn in the #8 hole. Plus, he plays very good defense behind the plate. Good for him.
7) Jerry Hairston, Jr. Yes, Hairston has been a big part of the huge start. Where else can you find guys who can play nearly every position in the field, make spectacular plays, and hold his own at the plate? And all in a reserve roll? He has already made some highlight reel diving grabs, and is hitting .300 with a .417 OBP. The Dodgers lost Jamey Carroll and Aaron Miles from last season, two guys who filled the same type of roll. But Hairston looks even better, and will continue to earn more playing time going forward because of it.
8) Don Mattingly. Who knows how much or how little managers really affect their team's play, but I really do believe that Mattingly's calm, business-like approach has rubbed off very well on his team. He's gotten these guys to embrace finding ways to get on base with a .333 OBP, third in the NL. They are also hitting .267 with runners in scoring position, also good for third. Then there's the defensive side of the field, as they have a .985 fielding %, fourth in the NL.
Considering Donny Ballgame has a career .358 OBP and an incredible .996 fielding % at first base, it's no surprise that he's gotten his club to excel in these two areas. Yes, it helps to have one guy alone smack 14 homers, but all of the wins are because of a team effort. And that's the mark Mattingly has been leaving.
9) New ownership. With the team of Magic Johnson, Stan Kasten, Mark Walter, and a few others behind the scenes, it's nice to not have this drama hanging like a black cloud over Dodger Stadium anymore. Time will tell what kind of a mark they will leave, but it's safe to say that playing with the Dodgers can become a cool thing again, thanks to their wallets.
10) No Frank McCourt. Sorry, Frank... but I couldn't resist.
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