Dodgers by the numbers

Let's take a look at how the Dodgers are doing in the batting order, 1-9. (Note, the ranking is based on batting average.)

#1 - .328 AVG, .377 OBP, 1 HR, 2 RBI (7th place)

#2 - .316 AVG, .394 OBP, 0 HR, 4 RBI (7th place)

#3 - .217 AVG, .273 OBP, 0 HR, 4 RBI (24th place)

#4 - .400 AVG, .479 OBP, 2 HR, 12 RBI (1st place)

#5 - .280 AVG, .429 OBP, 1 HR, 5 RBI (11th place)

#6 - .218 AVG, .274 OBP, 1 HR, 4 RBI (23rd place)

#7 - .127 AVG, .186 OBP, 1 HR, 3 RBI (30th place - dead last)

#8 - .220 AVG, .328 OBP, 1 HR, 2 RBI (18th place)

#9 - .222 AVG, .300 OBP, 2 HR, 2 RBI (16th place)

The biggest stat that jumps out is obviously the #3 hole, occupied for all but one start by Matt Kemp.  The 1-2 spots in the order are each in 7th place (Carl Crawford and mostly Mark Ellis), the cleanup hitter is in 1st (Adrian Gonzalez), yet the biggest reason the Dodgers have the second fewest runs scored in the majors at 41 is because the #3 hole is just abysmal. 

Think about this: the top two spots in the order have each reached base 26 times for 52 total.  Out of 52 times on base, Kemp has four RBIs taking nearly every at-bat in the third spot.  Ouch.  That's almost hard to believe, but that's the reality.

Gonzalez has been huge hitting cleanup, yet it's been pretty quiet because Kemp has been so bad.  Gonzalez still has 12 RBIs, which is tied with a few others for 15th place.  That's pretty good, but it could be so much better if Kemp was even decent to start the season.

From #6 on, it ranges from just OK to flat out awful.  That's when you start to see the names of guyls like A.J. Ellis, Luis Cruz, Juan Uribe, and Justin Sellers.  Ellis is hitting .311 on the season, but the next highest is Uribe at .200 in very limited action.  And we can all only hope that limited action soon becomes no action.

The last stat sums everything up:

Team OBP: .339 (7th place)
Team AVG w/RISP: .171 (28th place)

It's no surprise they can barely score a run with a stat like that.