Left field has become the Black Hole of production

Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier.

Yuck and yuck.

That's exactly what I think of them as this season has worn on, as time and time again, these two have not gotten it done at the plate.  Somehow the Dodgers are about middle of the pack in terms of AVG, OPS, and runs scored in the National League from that position.  But you wouldn't know it from watching lately.

Crawford looks completely washed up.  He's being paid $21 million this year to hit .234 with four homers, 23 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases.  His defense is just OK, but his arm is about as weak as can be.  There's very little reason to play him, especially since he's hitting .172 this month after hitting .163 in July.

Ethier might be the better of the two options, but that's barely saying anything.  He's earning $15.5 million, and is hitting .247 with four homers, 39 RBIs, and one steal.  His bat continues to show little to no life in it, not unlike Crawford.  He hit .221 in June, .239 in July, and .250 this month.  Hardly numbers worthy of what he's making.

For those of you clamoring for Scott Van Slyke, well, he's only hitting .247, and has clearly struggled since the end of June.  So it's not like he's a much better option for an everyday starter.  He should play more, but I'm not sure that's really solving the problem at all.

The most frustrating thing is that Yasiel Puig is an All-Star this season, and Matt Kemp has turned things around both at the plate and in finding a comfort spot in right field.  And then there's left field featuring two guys making over a combined $35 million this season giving the team absolutely nothing.

In a perfect world, Ned Colletti would designate one or two of them for assignment, call up Joc Pederson, and give him plenty of time to get adjusted for the playoffs.  But, those ridiculous contracts just handcuff everyone so much.  Getting rid of them without getting anything in return would be admitting a huge mistake, and because they still have the name value, that's not going to happen.

About all the Dodgers can do now is hope one of them gets hot like Kemp did and at least somewhat justify all of the playing time they receive.  Do I think that will happen?  Hell no.  But then again, I don't think anyone saw Kemp figuring things out, so at least it's possible.

The Dodgers may have the best record in the NL still, but they still have an inconsistent offense.  Getting something... ANYTHING, out of left field will only help them going forward.

Hey, I can dream at least, right?