Dodgers searching for the right kind of funk

By Jon Weisman

Dodger fans bring on the noise, and the Dodgers bring on the funk. But I suppose this isn’t the funk everyone had in mind.

Since a 9-4 start, the Dodgers are 12-13 in their past 25 games, which isn’t awful, exactly. In fact, if that’s the worst they do in a 25-game stretch, they’re probably going to end up having a great season. But as the pregame meeting held Thursday indicated, it’s not just the fans who might be getting impatient.

However frustrating a loss like Thursday’s 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Giants was, it was something of an anomaly for 2014. Before Thursday, the Dodgers were 18-1 when leading after six innings, until the 1-0 lead that Josh Beckett and the Dodgers took into the seventh inning didn’t hold up.

Nevertheless, it’s hard to deny that the loss had a familiar, surly feel. There was the struggle in the late innings of a tie game — Los Angeles is now 1-5 when tied after eight innings and 3-6 in extra-innings. In those games that the Dodgers have held opponents to two or three runs, games you’d think the team would dominate, Los Angeles has gone 6-6. Beckett, who could be the sad-eyed child in the holiday appeal, has now pitched 14 games with a 4.12 ERA and 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings since his last victory.

Just the fact that there was another extra-inning game is remarkable. One-fourth of the Dodgers’ games this year have gone into overtime.

Ninth extra-inning game in 2014 for the Dodgers. In 2011, Dodgers played their ninth extra-inning game on September 3.

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) May 9, 2014

Then there’s the daily injury report. Juan Uribe is the latest, and stunningly important, not only because of the Dodgers’ depth at that position but also the fact that he’s been statistically a top-20 player in the NL.

The pregame meeting was a pretty good sign that we’ve entered the land of If Its Not One Thing, It’s Another. With three walks in the 10th inning, Dodger relievers continue to fight the strike zone. The offense, which is averaging 4.5 runs per game on the road, is down to 3.6 runs per game at home — this despite the fact that the pitching staff and defense are allowing fewer runs per game on the road (3.4) than at home (4.6). And that’s how you get a team that’s 13-7 while living out of their suitcases but only 6-10 with their clothes nestled away. Broadly speaking, the Dodgers aren’t in sync.

Extra infield practice now becoming nearly a full-squad early workout.

— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) May 9, 2014

There’s something kind of nonsensical in those numbers — maybe there’s a reason the Dodgers would score more runs on the road and allow more at home, but I suspect that we’re still in the midst of some early season quirk. The Dodgers are 3-6 in one-run games — turn that around, and you have a 22-14 first-place team on pace to win 99 games.

It’s easier to say “turn that around” than to do, but it’s not as if you can’t put your finger on something specific and tangible that the Dodgers are capable of to make it happen. Whatever their limitations, the Dodgers have not played at their full potential. If we’re going to dwell on why that is, we should at least welcome the thought that this isn’t the best they can be.

Photo: Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers