1. Trevor Story is better than Mike Trout and Bryce Harper combined.
2. The Orioles are going 162-0.
3. The Twins are going 0-162.
4. Its apparently still cold in April. Who knew?
5. The Giants will still beat you even if you no hit them.
6. Robinson Cano is still pretty good.
7. As is the Blue Jays offense.
8. Zach Greinke and Shelby Miller are clearly going to go a combined 0-42 this year with an ERA above 10.
9. Kyle Schwarber probably never has to worry about catching again…
10. The Padres should file paperwork to move to Colorado. The Denver Padres? Eh.

AL Wild Card:

Yankees @ Rangers: The Rangers will ride their high powered offense to a home game in the one game playoff against the New York Yankees. Through three games so far this season the Yankees have been opposite of what most predicted. It has actually been their old and brittle offense leading the way while their pitching has been roughed up. Throughout the year things will even out for them and they will be good enough to snag the second Wild Card spot and even win it this year. The Yankees would more than likely see Cole Hamels in this game who is not the Cole of 4 years ago. He is hittable enough for the Yankees to squeak by the Rangers with a 5-4 win in Texas.

AL Divisional:

Yankees @ Astros: A Yankees/Astros match-up means I am saying the Astros will finish with the best record in the American League in 2016. I feel there is just too much talent in that organization not too. The Astros will ride their plethora of talent into a series against the worn out Yankees who have their age catch up to them this late in October. Keuchel will dominate the Yankees in Games 1 and 4 leading to a 3-1 series win.

Blue Jays @ Royals: In this rematch of the 2015 AL Championship series, two strong offenses come face to face. Jays strong with power, Royals strong with the ability to claw and scratch their way to get guys across the plate. Both teams come in with less than stellar rotations as the Royals do not have Johnny Cueto this time around. The Blue Jays however have Marcus Stroman. Stroman pitches strong in both games 1 and 5 and turns the tables on KC as they are the team being bounced this time around. Blue Jays head back to the ALCS win a 3-2 series win.

AL Championsip Series:

Blue Jays @ Astros: You have heard it a million times and I have said it a million times; pitching wins championships. When it comes to post season play, teams that rely on the home run ball fail more times than not. Once again, this becomes Toronto’s demise. With the inability to manufacture runs like the Astros can, and a shaky rotation at best behind Stroman, Canada’s World Series drought will roll on. It is an exciting series all the way through to a game 7, but the Astros have too much talent for the Blue Jays to handle, and they are left standing tall at the end of Game 7. Blue Jays force the series to go all the way, but the Astros force the Blue Jays home as Kuechel holds down the Blue Jays bats in a “Bumgarner-esque” Game 7 performance on short rest.

NL Wild Card:

Mets @ Cubs: Wow. Arrieta vs. Harvey. Reigning CY Young award winner vs the Dark Knight. This game plays exactly as one would think. Pitching rules the night in this one game playoff as both teams head to the ninth tied at zero. Arrieta takes his performance through the ninth while Terry Collins decides to hand the ball over to his bullpen in the bottom of the ninth. With Wrigley Field whipped into a friendzy, Anthony Rizzo drives a walk off home run deep into the Chicago night sending the Cubs onto the Divisional Round with the 1-0 win.

NL Divisional:

Cubs @ Nationals: Nationals finishing with the best record sure sounds like an excellent opportunity for them to choke once again. Will it happen this time around? Of course! Washington will the NL East and finish with the best record in the NL, being lead by their pitching and Bryce Harper putting up MVP numbers once again. However, once the postseason starts, s strong Cubs team will expose that Bryce Harper is virtually the entire offense for this team. Also, this late in the year, what will a guy like Stephen Strasburg have left in the tank if he is in fact still healthy? A lot like me not being able to pick against St. Louis to win their division until they don’t, I cannot pick Washington in October to win, until they do. Cubs take the series in 6.

Cardinals @ Giants: Is anyone else getting sick and tired of seeing these two teams in October? Seems to be them almost every year. Especially the even years for San Fran… Welp, it is an even year again and between their strong rotation and timely hitting the Giants move a step closer to ANOTHER World Series Title. I think the Cardinals will wear down and only salvage one game from the Giants. San Francisco in 5.

NL Championship Series:

Cubs @ Giants: I hate the Giants. I want to pick against them so bad. I just can’t though. I don’t need to tell you about the Cubs and their shortcomings. That topic has been beat to death over the last 100 years. Lets just say nothing changes in 2016. The Cubs have a bright future, but are just not quite there yet. They are so close though, they literally come within a game. Giants edge out the series in 7 games, in walk-off fashion at home. It wouldn’t be the Cubs if it wasn’t heartbreak…

World Series:

Astros @ Giants: Keuchel vs Bumgarner. I want it vs I’ve been there done that. This will match-up to be an epic World Series. I think the Astros have more talent, but the Giants have more experience. Here is my issue picking the winner in this match up. Who has home field? Unfortunately we will not know until July 12th. And this may be a cop out, but I don’t care. If Houston gains the home field, they win. Why? Keuchel pitching at home is lights out. Matter of fact in 2015 he never lost a single game at Minute Maid Park. Keuchel went 15-0 with a 1.46 ERA. On the road last year? 5-8 with a 3.77 ERA. More than a 2 run difference. If Houston is able to send Keuchel out on Game 1 he gives Houston a series lead where they never look back. If they need to start out by the Bay however, where a Game 1 and even a Game 7, where I think this series goes too, the Giants will prove to be too much. So here it is, Houston home field. they take the World Series, but if the Giants have it, they take it home with the even year magic paying off again.

 

Now off to the races!

AL West

1. Houston Astros – Last year, a lot of people expected the Astros to be competitive, but not quite ready for the big stage. They ended up proving a lot of people wrong by clinching the second AL Wild Card where they dispelled the Yankees and moved onto the AL Divisonal Round. The Astros seasoned ended there to the eventual World Series Champions, but if it wasn’t for their brutal Game 4 collapse, who knows where the Astros may have ended up. Now a year later this team has gained valuable experience, talent, and most of all, health. Astros look to get a full healthy season out of outfielders Carlos Gomez and George Springer. They have their star shortstop Carlos Correa for a full season. They have the reigning AL CY Young award winner in Dallas Keuchel and arguably the best bullpen in baseball. Houston will continue to grow this year into a Division Champ, and possibly more…
2. Texas Rangers – I am not sure why I doubted this team so much last year (picked them to finish last…). The Rangers continue to just be flat out good. Playing in the Texas heat allows this team to always be a sound offensive team. Adrian Beltre will turn 37 years old but continues to be one of the top third baseman’s in baseball. Prince Fielder had a huge bounce back year and comes into 2016 having a completely healthy off season. The addition of Ian Desmond will make this team be even stronger offensively this season. The pitching staff looks to be stronger in 2016 even with the health issues surrounding Yu Darvish. Darvish is still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery but all signs point to him being healthy and ready to join the rotation in May. He will be joining new team ace Cole Hamels and finally a healthy (for now) Derek Holland. The one pitfall this team could see could come from their bullpen. In 2015 Shawn Tolleson proved to be more than just a serviceable closer, but the issue this year surrounds the Rangers middle relievers. Will they be successful enough to hand the ball over to Tolleson will a lead? I think they do it just enough to allow the Rangers to grab a Wild Card spot.
3. Seattle Mariners – A lot of people saw the Mariners doing big things in 2015, with me being one of them. Unfortunately, like past years, the Mariners just could not put it all together. In 2016, the Mariners will be good. They will be tough to beat in any ball game, especially every fifth day when King Felix toes the rubber. I personally feel Robinson Cano builds on his blistering second half numbers (.331 and 15 home runs) from a year ago, and proves why he is still one the best hitters in the league. However, the Astros and Rangers are just more complete teams. Once again, the Mariners will be on the outside looking in come October.
4. Los Angeles Angels – The Angels continue to waste the prime years of baseballs best player, Mike Trout. The Angels just have not been able to surround Trout with the talent he deserves to be competitive. Albert Pujols, Jered Weaver,  and CJ Wilson just continue to age and wear down. With arguably the worst farm system in baseball, this team won’t be getting any younger any time sooner either. Trout will turn in another MVP caliber season while being the sole reason this team does not finish in the AL West basement.
5. Oakland Athletics – Besides constant rumors of a potential trade for All Star Pitcher Sonny Gray, the A’s were very quiet this winter. That quiet was not a good thing. This team needs offensive, defensive and pitching. Besides Gray, there is little upside on this team. The A’s are heading into this season with Rich Hill and Chris Bassitt in their rotation. That’s not a good thing. Its a last place finish for the 2016 A’s.

AL Central

1. Kansas City Royals – The Royals return with basically their entire World Series roster intact, besides Johnny Cueto. That does not seem to be a terrible loss as the Royals were winning the division without him, and Cueto was not exactly the same pitcher in Kansas City (4-7 with a 4.76 ERA) as he was in Cincinnati. The Royals will once again be the cream of the crop in the AL Central as Lorenzo Cain will turn into a borderline star, expect Eric Hosmer’s power numbers to go up, and we’ll see Jarrod Dyson bring a new speed dynamic to the team. If the Royal’s can once again pull of a trade deadline deal for a starter, you could see a repeat as World Series Champions.
2. Detroit Tigers – I will start out by saying this, I think 2-5 in this AL Central could play out in any order. I think these 4 spots will be separated by less than 10 games. For now, I give the edge to the Tigers who are looking to rebound after a wildly disappointing season.  The addition of Justin Upton will make their potent offense even better, giving them enough extra runs to squeak out some victories to overshadow the lack of pitching and bullpen depth. I expect Just Verlander to have a bounce back year and Justin Zimmerman to be just good enough in his transition to the AL. I am not sure if I am ready to say they will be able to grab a Wild Card spot, but I will give them the second place finish…for now.
3. Chicago White Sox – I got burned by the White Sox last year as I actually picked them to go to the World Series. I know, terrible. However, I still stand by the fact that this team is not that bad. There is a lot of talent on this roster, with All-Star Jose Abreu leading the way. They brought in Todd Frazier, who along with Abreu put together a strong 1-2 punch. As for the rotation, Chris Sale will once again be Chris Sale, Carlos Rodon will reign in the walks and become a solid number 2, and Jose Quintana is much better than his 2015 record of 9-10 suggests. With Dave Robertson sealing the deal in the ninth, Chicago could be your surprise 2016 playoff team.
4. Cleveland Indians – Its beginning to sound like a broken record, and that is the hype train running through Cleveland carrying Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Danny Salazar. They continue to gain momentum as potentially leading the best rotation in baseball, and that could be true. But, I am also a guy who wants to see performance before I go crowning anyone. Kluber took a large step back last year from his 2014 Cy Young season by being very inconsistent. Carrasco and Salazar have offered very small sample sizes. With that said, even if these 3 live up to the hype, I just don’t see this team providing enough offense to win games. Michael Brantley is still being slowed by shoulder surgery and without him healthy, Cleveland could potentially score the least amount of runs in the AL in 2016.
5. Minnesota Twins – In 2015 the Minnesota Twins surprised the American League when they stayed into the postseason hunt up until the last week of the year. Low on talent, but high on grit under new skipper Paul Molitor, the Twins showed tons of fight. Power hitting phenom Miguel Sano came up and immediately made an impact. Moving forward into 2016 however, Sano is going to have to show a lot of growth fast to cut down on his strikeout rate and improve his defense. The Twins will be relying on that and virtually the same pitching staff as a year ago. I find it very surprising that the Twins did not fast track top pitching prospect Jose Berrios to be on the Opening Day roster. With that said, I do think they call him up sooner rather than later and that could provide a needed boost. Regardless, I see the Twins finishing in last place, but still not that far behind second place.

AL EAST

1. Toronto Blue Jays – Toronto wins the AL East because their offense is stupid. It is obscene. It is uncalled for. Tulo, Bautista, Donaldson, Encarnarcion. Toronto does not win the World Series because for the 20th straight year they ignored the old cliche of pitching wins championships. Sorry Canada. Blame your GM, I will just flat out blame Canada.
2. New York Yankees – 2016 is the same exact story as 2015 for the Yankees. IF everything goes right, this is a playoff team. If Alex Rodridguez hits 30+ home runs again, and Mark Teixeira shows he is still a premier first baseman, and Tanaka’s elbow doesn’t explode, there is really no reason the Yankees do not squeak into the post season again. The bullpen which was supposed to take the league by storm has already taken two major blows with Aroldis Chapman’s 30 game suspension and Andrew Miller fracturing his non throwing wrist. If the Yankees can just stay afloat while the two of them get back to full strength, they will grab the second Wild Card. Or, father time catches up with the entire team and they lose 85 games.
3. Boston Red Sox – The Red Sox went out and made the splash of the free agent period by bringing in David Price. The Red Sox once again ignored the entire rest of their rotation. The Red Sox clearly learned nothing from last year when their rotation of number 3 and 4 starters were beaten and battered. Signing David Price does not do much as he can only toe the rubber every 5 days. On the offensive side, Pablo Sandoval and his 17 million dollar salary were just told to ride the pine while Travis Shaw won the third baseman spot. Was this the right move by manager John Farrell? Yes. I have always hated the ‘you pay him, you play him motto.” Play the guy who is better, and right now that is Travis Shaw. However, I feel Pablo becomes a clubhouse problem because he isn’t playing. Unless the Red Sox can find a team stupid enough willing to take on Pablo and his giant contract (and stomach..) this team will finish at .500. Oh yea, and Hanley Ramirez is playing first base. HA.
4. Tampa Bay Rays – How is this team competitive every single year? They do it with barely any offensive, what appears to be a regressing Evan Longoria, and the youngest manager in the league. For starters, they have Chris Archer who I am calling a dark horse to win the AL CY Young award winner this season. Behind him comes Jake Odorizzi who is on the verge of a breakout year and top pitching prospect Blake Snell waiting in the wings. The issue with the Rays will sound awfully familiar to what I wrote about the Cleveland Indians. Just not enough offensive production. Unless Tampa can bring in a big bat, which would vault them into a Wild Card spot in my opinion, this team just will not score enough to be there to play in October.
5.  Baltimore Orioles – Why does this team think every single year they can compete and win without a pitching staff? They brought in Yovani Gallardo to be their team ace. The one problem with that is, he is no longer an ace. Maybe a third starter at best. They have a terrific back end of the bullpen with Darren O’Day and Zach Britton, but how many times will they be able to hand the ball over in the 8th to O’Day with the lead? They have a team that can score some runs which will bail them out here and there, but they also have a team that can strike out A LOT. Trumbo, Chris Davis, I am looking at you guys. The Orioles are the 2016 AL East Cellar Dwellers.

NL WEST

1. San Francisco Giants – It is an even year. Do I really need to explain further why this team will be good in 2016? Fine. Giants lured Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto back into the National League after both starters realized the American League was not their cup of tea. In a much spacious ballpark and the National League, both starters will have solid bounce back seasons backing up Madison Bumgarner. Pair that with their always scrappy offense lead by star catcher Buster Posey, the Giants will be celebrating their first NL West Title since 2012.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers –  For the first time in team history the Dodgers will try to win their 4th straight NL WEST Title. They make this attempt with rookie manager Dave Roberts and without Zach Greinke. The Dodgers looked to fill Greinke’s shoes with multiple additions like Scott Kazmir and Korean import Kenta Maeda. Will that be possible? Only time will tell. On the offensive side I think Dave Roberts will have his team far more active on the base paths then they ever were under Mattingly’s tutelage and will find ways to scratch and claw their way to victories. An awful lot of pressure has been put on stars Clayton Kershaw, and Corey Seager, who has labeled the greatest thing since slice bread. I think Kershaw welcomes the weight on his shoulders on route to another NL Cy Young award while Seager cracks under the pressure and only turns in a year in the ballpark of .270/15HR/71RBIs. Not what Dodger’s fans had in mind as it will leave them just short of a Wild Card spot.
3. Arizona Diamondbacks –  Remember in the 2014/2015 off season when the San Diego Padre’s went wild with acquisitions? They traded for Wil Myers, signed James Shields, traded for Matt Kemp and Justin Upton. Remember where the Padres finished in the standings last year? Don’t go looking it up, it was fourth place. Winning the off season does not necessarily mean winning the season. The Diamondbacks will find that out the hard way. Zach Greinke will turn in his worst season in recent memories as he posts an ERA of 3 in the launching pad that is Chase Field. They will also quickly realize they strapped themselves financially for the foreseeable future while giving their future away when they traded the number one overall pick Dansby Swanson to Atlanta for Shelby Miller. Who will probably post an ERA around 4 in Arizona. Offensively, besides potential MVP Paul Goldschmidt and All Star AJ Pollock, there is very little other pop. Now with AJ Pollock fracturing his elbow, the offense looks even more bleak. The Diamondbacks will crack .500, but that won’t be enough to get to play Fall Ball.
4. San Diego Padres – Justin Upton is gone. Closer Craig Kimbrel is gone. There is also talk about moving James Shields. The Padres tried for it all and failed a year ago and already appear to be looking to start over. Take notes Arizona, this will be you next year. On a positive note, look for Matt Kemp to crack the 30 home run plateau for the first time since 2011.
5. Colorado Rockies – Nolan Arenado will win the 2016 NL MVP and Trevor Story will be the story of the summer. Bold prediction, Jose Reyes never plays another game in Colorado. Other than that, at least they have a beautiful ballpark.

NL Central

1. St. Louis Cardinals – I have said it before and I will say it again, I will pick the Cardinals to win their division every year until they finally don’t. Some people think this team is too old. I don’t. Randal Grichuck will push 30 home runs and Stephen Piscotty will mold into a 5 tool player. Both are young players who will become the core of this team. Matt Holliday may be another year older, but the man still knows how to get on base. Matt Carpenter is an All Star and Kolten Wong is about to become one the best second basemen in the league. Mix that with another solid starting rotation, the Cardinals will edge out the Cubs when Chicago falters down the stretch.
2. Chicago Cubs – There is just far too much hype surrounding this team this year. And with such a young roster that hype may get to this club. Now, that doesn’t mean I think they fall flat on their face, but I do think it costs them the division. I feel Kyle Schwarber’s defense and his knack of striking out will cost this team a handful of wins. On the bright side, look for Anthony Rizzo to really contest Nolan Arenado for the NL MVP and for the legend of Kris Bryant to continue to grow. Matter of fact, it will be a go ahead home run by Bryant in the final series of the year in Cincinnati that locks up a Wild Card berth.
3. Pittsburgh Pirates – The Pirates have now played in the dreaded one game Wild Card for 3 straight years in a row. Thankfully this year they avoid it. Unfortunately its at the cost of missing the post season all together. The Cardinals and Cubs are just better teams. Behind Gerrit Cole is a very weak rotation and offensively there is very little power. They will break .500 once again, but in a division loaded with talent at the top, it is not going to be good enough. The post season hiatus begins once again for the Steel City.
4. Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman is gone. Brandon Phillips is still there. Why he wanted to stay is beyond me. They also tried to trade Jay Bruce all off season to no avail. The Reds pitching staff is in shambles and the bullpen is not much better. This team is in full rebuilding mode. One positive, Joey Votto finds his power again and breaks 30 home runs for the first time since 2010.
5. Milwaukee Brewers – I am not sure what was harder for the NL Central. Picking who would win it, or who would finish last. I settled on the Brewers because of one reason. Wily Peralta is their “ace.” Stop laughing. That isn’t a joke…

NL East

1. Washington Nationals – I am going to be very blunt about this. The Nationals just have way too much talent to fall flat on their faces for the second straight year. They have the reigning MVP in Bryce Harper, a new legitimate lead off hitter in Ben Revere, and a healthy Anthony Rendon finally. They have a rotation lead by Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg who WILL BE healthy this season. In the minors they have the speedy future star shortstop in Trea Turner and soon to be stud starter, Lucas Giolito. The Mets have pitching, but the Nationals have pitching and hitting. I give the nod to our nations capital.
2. New York Mets – Holy starting rotation. What the Mets starters did last year will be child’s play to what they do this year as they get a full season of Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. They also get the long lost prospect, Zach Wheeler back mid-season. A team having a series against the Mets will be having a series against 3 straight aces. This team will win night in and night out because of their pitching. Most of the time that is. The Nationals will win just a few more. The Mets still get in as a Wild Card and we all get the one game treat of Jake Arrieta vs Matt Harvey.
3. Florida Marlins – I kind of feel bad for the Marlins. They are really putting together a soldi team, but have to face the Nationals and Mets 38 times this year. On the other hand they get to face the Phillies and Braves 38 times this year. Never mind, I don’t feel bad. Enough of feelings. The Marlins enter 2016 with a new manager and no facial hair. A full year of a healthy Jose Fernandez paired with new comer Wei-Yin Chin will help rack up the wins for Miami. I see Giancarlo Stanton turning in a healthy year and a 50 home run season. But I see Dee Gordon looking more like the Dee Gordon from Los Angeles and not the Dee Gordon that won last years batting title. You take that regression and pair it with those 38 games against New York and Washington and Miami is the odd man out come October.
4. / 5. Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves – Yes this is a cop out, but if it means copping out of the last place finisher, does it really matter? No. This is an all out argument of who is worse, and right now, the race is neck and neck.

The Dodgers dropped the finale of a 4 game series out in Denver last night to split the series, and end their road trip with a disappointing 3-4 record. The Dodgers are just 9-12 in their last 12 games, but still sit atop the NL West Standings. Their road trip began out in St. Louis, which is beginning to get the feeling of a rivalry with the continued playoff meetings. The Dodgers once again struggled to score runs as the got shut out in Game 1 against the Cardinals and only scored one in the third game. The Dodgers did find their way to 5 runs and a Game 2 victory in the St. Louis series, but only after being no hit for the first 5 innings.

Thankfully, after leaving St. Louis, the Dodgers had a stop out at the friendly confines of Coors Field.  The Dodgers were only able to earn a split in the four games because they had to piece together a starter in Game 1 of a double header on Tuesday leading to a loss, and a ninth inning bullpen implosion in the final game last night. Last night’s ninth inning debacle was not because of All-Star closer Kenley Jansen however, as he was deemed “unavailable” with no rhyme or reason to that.

The positive though, was that the Dodgers actually hit. Joc Pederson is on another level right now as he has homered in 5 straight games, including both games of the double-header on Tuesday. The Dodgers were able to post 29 runs in the four games at Coors. Of course, all offensive numbers get inflated when playing at Coors Field, but baseball is 90% mental, and hopefully the Dodgers leave with confidence as they head home to another showdown with the St. Louis Cardinals.

After trade rumors of Juan Uribe to the Braves died Tuesday afternoon, they picked back up late in the evening. Nothing has been made official as of now, but Uribe was not seen on the Dodgers bench last night and his locker has been cleaned out. It appears a trade has been finalized with Atlanta that will send Uribe along with RP Chris Withrow to the Braves and in return, the Dodgers will receive IF utility man Alberto Callaspo, left-handed pitchers Eric Stults and Ian Thomas and right-handed pitcher Jaun Jamie.

Uribe was signed away from the then World Series Champions San Francisco Giants back in 2010. Uribe truly only had two good years in Dodgers’ blue which was the 2013 and 14 seasons. This year he struggled mightily from the get go and saw his playing time diminish.

In the immediate scope of things, this allows hot hitting Justin Turner to remain in the lineup playing third base and also allows Alex Guerrero to play the hot corner occasionally if and when Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig return from injury to man their outfield positions.

In the bigger scope of things, this shows the Dodgers are getting ready to pave the way for highly touted prospect, Corey Seager, to reach the Major League’s sooner than later. Seager continues to play shortstop in Triple-A Oklahoma City, but is slated to be a third baseman in the majors because of his size and lack of footwork. Seager appears poised to bring a combination of power and batting average to the Dodgers lineup for years to come.

Fresh off of a stretch of historical proportions, a stretch that saw the Los Angeles Dodgers get shutout 4 of 5 games, the Dodgers bats, and wins for that matter, have returned. It appears all it took was a little home cooking. The Dodgers continue to roll at home, and after last nights 8-0 win over the Braves, they now sit with a 21-6 when playing in their own backyard.

The Dodgers had returned home last Friday after being swept out of San Francisco without ever putting a run on the board to take 2 of 3 from San Diego, and now have taken the first 2 in a 3 game series against Atlanta. The Dodgers will go for the sweep tonight.

In the San Diego series, the bats awoke slowly with a 2-1 win, followed by a 2-0 win before dropping the series finally 11-3. However, then the Braves came in where they saw the Dodgers offense that teams had been seeing through the first month and a half of the season. The Dodgers have outscored Atlanta 14-3 in the first two games of the series.

In Monday’s game, the Dodgers won with power as Andre Ethier, Jimmy Rollins, and then Alex Guerrero via the pinch hit variety, all went deep. LA, even after that terrible stretch in San Francisco, leads the league in home runs with 61. As we all remember, there was so much talk of where would that power come from after Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp left town, but the Dodgers have found it, and then some.

The Dodgers showed in last nights match-up, that they can win in other ways too. That will be something to keep an eye on because historically, teams that rely solely on the home run ball, fall fast in post season play the moment they see good pitching. In last night’s game however, they put up 6 runs on the board even before seeing a ball leave the yard.

The Dodger’s battered Braves starter Julio Tehran in the fourth inning that started with a lead-off single by Joc Pederson. Two batters later, Howie Kendrick hit an RBI double. Two batters after him, this time following an intentional walk to Adrian Gonzalez, Justin Turner singled home Kendrick. That was then followed up by a double by Andre Ethier, scoring both Gonzalez and Turner. Later in the inning AJ Ellis joined in on the fun with a double also, this one plating Ethier. Then last, but certainty not least, Clayton Kershaw decided to join in on the hit parade, singling home Ellis.

Speaking of Clayton Kershaw, he quieted all the whispers and doubters for a night as he cruised for 7 innings, while walking none, and striking out 10, including Freddie Freeman 3 times. It was a good night for the reigning CY Young and NL MVP as he dropped his ERA from 4.32 to 3.86.

Its a lowly feeling to be a Dodgers’ fan right now. For the third consecutive game, to their bitterest of rivals, the Dodgers were shut out by the San Francisco Giants. That was also the fourth time they have been shut out in five games. As for the one game they were not shut out? One run scored. One, measly, run. In that span the Dodgers have seen their NL West lead shrink from 5.5 games down to 1.5 games. The red lights are flashing and panic buttons are being hit and its only May.

Jimmy Rollins was brought over to LA for his veteran leadership, solid defense, and the hope that there was still a little pop left in that bat of his. His Opening Day heroics are long gone in the rear view mirror as he currently posts a .197 batting average to go along with sub-par defense by his standards. Joc Pederson came out of Spring Training firing on all cylinders, quickly blasted 10 home runs, and now has not hit one in over a week and his batting average has plummeted all the way down to .234. Yasiel Puig has not seen a Major League game in weeks as a balky hamstring is keeping him off the field. Yasmani Grandal’s hot streak cooled off as quickly as it showed up. Ryu has been shut down for the year with shoulder surgery. Brandon McCarthy has already been lost to Tommy John Surgery. Clayton Kershaw has already lost more games this year then he did all of last year.

Baseball seasons are long and grueling. 162 games is half of an entire year. Slumps are going to happen, but being shut out 3 straight games is more than a slump, its a problem. Losing a large chunk of your roster to the DL is not a slump, its a huge problem. So is it time for the Dodgers to panic? May seem panic is exactly what we are all doing considering the Dodgers actually still sit in first place in the NL West. Why is there this much concern over a first place team? May I point you right back to the paragraphs above? That’s why.

The San Francisco Giants continue to win World Series Titles. 3 in 5 years to be exact. The San Francisco Giants continue to own the Los Angeles Dodgers. After last night’s 2-0 victory over the Dodgers, they sit pretty with a 5-2 record in head to head play this year. The Los Angeles Dodgers continue to hit skids, year after year year, where their bats just completely disappear. After being shut out last night, the Dodgers have now scored a grand total of 1 run, in 3 games. Inexcusable.

The Dodgers started the year guns bats blazing. Home runs where leaving Dodger Stadium at record pace, but what seems like in a blink of an eye, the bats are no where to be found. This has been a recurring issue with the Dodgers through the years where runs just become impossible to find. Everyone continues to talk about Joc Pederson’s power, and his 10 home runs are nothing to ignore, but his .235 batting average is unacceptable. Its home run of bust for Joc and that needs to change. And if it does not change, Mattingly needs to remove him from the lead off spot immediately. There is zero reason to ever have a .235 hitting player atop your lineup. Especially when that player, that when he does get a hit, hits it out of the park, which means his home runs continue to be of the solo variety.

With the lineup struggling this bad, Mattingly may want to consider bumping Howie Kendrick to the lead off spot. Something he has not done in his career, but the Dodgers need to shake something up. They continue to lose. They have now dropped 4 of the last 6 games. They have watched there NL West lead shrink to just 3.5 games over the Giants with two more games head to head still to be played this week. Those game get no easier either as the Giants will send Lincecum in a resurgence year to the mound tonight, and Madison Bumgarner on Thursday.

The season is still young, but with no offensive power and injuries piling up, the Dodgers may be running out energy to keep treading water…

Andre Ethier has gone from a repeated walkoff hero to bench warmer. He has gone from an 85 million dollar man, to begging for a trade. Andre Ethier has had a lot highs and a lot of lows in his career. He was once my favorite player on the Dodgers.

In what seemed to be Andre Ethier’s prime from 2008-2010, he was the last man an opponent wanted to see at the plate with the game on the line. In that time span, Andre walked the Dodgers off as winners 11 times! His biggest hit came May 6, 2010 when he launched a grand slam deep into the LA night to send the Dodgers home as 7-3 winners over the Brewers. Those days went into Ethier’s rear view mirror rather quickly.

In 2014, Ethier hit a career low .249, while only hitting 4 home-runs. His playing time diminished. The Dodgers had a plethora of outfielders with Matt Kemp, new fan favorite Yasiel Puig, and Carl Crawford. Playing time was hard to come by. Heading into 2015, Ethier told Dodgers’ brass to either play him, or trade him. The Dodgers had brought up highly touted prospect Joc Pederson to man Center Field after shipping Matt Kemp to the Padres. There was no doubt that Right Field belonged to Yasiel Puig, and left appeared to be a platoon between Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke. On top of it, Alex Guerrero was kept on the Major League roster this year and all he has done is hit. Playing time looked bleak for a guy who gave the team the ultimatum of play me, or trade me. As a fan, I sat here and said, its simple, if you want to play, perform. That’s it. I doubt Andre heard me, but he answered me regardless.

With injuries to Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig, Ethier found himself in the everyday lineup by default. However, he has not disappointed.

Following last night’s 5 for 5 performance against Miami, Ethier now has a slash line of .329/.423/.598. He has hit 5 home runs, already surpassing last year’s total for the entire year, and batted in 13. Andre Ethier has answered the call when his team needed him most. He has the Dodgers on a 5 game win streak and sitting atop the NL West Division. How I ever doubted Dre is beyond me. I should have trusted him, he is a doctor after-all…

The Los Angeles Dodgers had to start the year without their All Star closer Kenley Jansen after undergoing foot surgery early in Spring Training. This left a massive hole to fill in their bullpen. Hyun-Jin Ryu has yet to throw a pitch this year and was just transferred to the 60 day DL with no timetable for a return. They lost newly signed Brandon McCarthy after just a handful of starts to Tommy John Surgery. Clayton Kershaw has been a shell of himself. Both corner outfielders have found themselves on the shelf with Carl Crawford sustaining a bad oblique injury and Yasiel Puig a nagging hamstring injury that he just re-aggravated. Jimmy Rollins is starting to see more time on the bench than ever in his career as he’s hitting a lowly .171.

In spite of all this, the Los Angeles Dodgers currently sit atop the NL West by 5 games and have the second best record in all of baseball at 21-10 and .677 winning percentage. As shocking as that seems, it is the truth, and we should all expect the Dodgers to only go up from here. But how in the world have they done this well to this point in the season?

The biggest question circulating the Dodgers after letting Hanley Ramirez walk and trading Matt Kemp was, where will the power come from? Behind the 9 home runs each by Adrian Gonzalez and star rookie outfielder Joc Pederson, the Dodgers are LEADING the league in home runs. Another surprising stat is the Dodgers .830 team OPS leads all other Major League teams by 50 points!

Now, as the Dodgers sit atop the NL West, they are slated to get Kenley Jensen back closing games this weekend. At some point Yasiel Puig will return, and we all know Clayton Kershaw will hit a groove. If this is what the Dodgers have done so far without the main cogs of their roster going on all cylinders, the rest of the league should be afraid. Very, very, afraid.