Should The Dodgers Be Happy With Their Performance So Far?

As we reach the halfway mark of the 2015 MLB season, the Dodgers are sitting pretty on top of the NL West, leading the second place San Francisco Giants by 4.5 games.

NL West Standings

LA Dodgers  51-39

SF Giants  46-43   4.5 GB

AZ Diamondbacks  42-45   7.5 GB

SD Padres  41-49   10 GB

CO Rockies  39-49   11 GB

As the Dodgers continue their journey for their third consecutive NL West title and a chance to get deep into the month of October.

The Dodgers’ season so far hasn’t gone quite the way they thought, or as dominant as they usually have been in past years.

This year the Dodgers started the season on a good start as they won 13 games out of the first 21 games of the season.

With half of their loses (4 out of 8) coming from the Giants.

The Dodgers have only won 3 games out of the 12 twelve games they played against the Giants, which isn’t something you want to do if you want to win the NL West.

Why?

Because, as everyone knows, the Giants always start the season off slow and cold, but end up getting hot at the end of the season and find themselves in the playoffs — but this year will be a little different.

Just like last year, the Dodgers and Giants will mostly likely be neck in neck in the NL West, but this year it could go down  to the wire, as the last 14 games for the Dodgers, and the last 13 games of the 16 games for the Giants, will be against divisional opponents.

So, don’t be worried if the NL West Champ isn’t settled until the end of the season.

For the Dodgers, their season has gone up and down like a roller coaster.

The Dodgers have been plagued with injuries that has dismantled their roster, but have  also dealt with a wrecked up starting rotation, and bullpen.

It’s what has cost the Dodgers many games, but it doesn’t stop there.

Dodgers bullpen has blown 12 games this year

When the Dodgers were winning games earlier in the season, it was due to their bats and stellar defense, but since then.

The Dodgers offense has dramatically struggled, which has got many people to wonder if this team even has what it takes to win a World Series thanks to their offense in the near future.

The funny thing about the Dodgers hitting halfway through the season is that even though the Dodgers offense has wreaked at some points, LA ranks 3rd in the league in OBP and 4th in the league in SLG.

This means that the Dodgers OPS equals out to be 3rd in the league.

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On the positive side, the Dodgers defense has been the strong characteristic of this team, as they have the fewest errors in the league with 35.

When the season started the Dodgers schedule looked intriguing, as the Dodgers were going to play the bulk of their divisional games before the All-Star break as they’ve played 49 of the 77 divisional games.

As of right now, the Dodgers schedule hasn’t got the better of them, and are sitting comfortable at top of the division.

But still have more games to play to increase their division lead or lose the division.

Notable Stats

29-20 vs. NL West

Longest Winning Streak – 7 games

Longest Losing Streak – 3 games

Walk-off Wins – 9

13 Shutouts; Shutout 7  times

Overall, the Dodgers play hasn’t been pretty this season, but the Dodgers have got the job done no matter what has gotten in their way.

I see the Dodgers winning their division for the third consecutive year, but having more difficulty winning it this year then the last two years.

I as well believe that the Dodgers as a whole will do better in the second half of the season, but the Dodgers do need to trade for another starting pitcher, to plug into the number three spot in the rotation, and add another arm in the bullpen because the Dodgers need as many pitchers as they could get.

I personally think the Dodgers should go after the Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamel because he’ll bring in a winning mentality as well as playoff experience than any pitcher that will be available for the Dodgers to get.