For more photo highlights from Thursday, visit the LA Photog Blog.
Kershaw CCVIII: Kershawsm Buddies
Dee Gordon, 2B
Yasiel Puig, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Matt Kemp, RF
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Carl Crawford, LF
Juan Uribe, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P
By Jon Weisman
I wouldn’t say I’m afraid of jinxing the Dodgers by what I’m write, but I’m certainly aware what I write can look shaky a few hours later. Zack Greinke certainly did me no favors Thursday, struggling through five innings before the Dodgers came back for their 8-4 victory.
The victory shocked those fixated on what was the Dodgers’ 1-54 record when trailing after six innings, as well as those who view the Dodgers as constantly scuffling and struggling to score runs.
My sense is that most people perceive the Dodger offense as a massive underachiever, the George Costanza of platesmen, characterized by singular bumbling and a laughable parade of opportunities wasted.
But at the risk of Edwin Jackson shutting them out over seven innings this afternoon at Wrigley, let me just point out again: The Dodgers just about have the best offense in the National League.
Here’s where the Dodgers rank, according to Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference.com:
- WAR: first
- Offense: second, behind Pittsburgh
- Weighted runs created plus (wRC+): tied for first with Pittsburgh
- Runs per game: fourth, behind Colorado, Pittsburgh and Washington
- Adjusted OPS: tied for first with Pittsburgh
- OBP and OPS with runners in scoring position: first
Take a moment to digest that. They are near the top in almost every major category. In runs per game, where they rank fourth, they are 0.04 runs per game (six runs in 153 games, or about one run per month) out of second place, behind only Coors Field-enhanced Colorado.
How is this possible, you ask? Well, the Dodgers are getting above-average production at nearly every position, as Fangraphs’ Offense stat shows: (Note: the list below was updated from earlier this morning to correct an error.)
- First base: sixth in the NL
- Second base: first
- Shortstop: third
- Third base: second
- Outfield: second
- Catcher: 15th
- Pitcher: first
One thing you might notice is that for all the drama that surrounded it, much of it media-generated, the Dodger outfield has been an enormous success offensively.
[mlbvideo id=”36384109″ width=”550″ height=”308″ /]
Matt Kemp has a .926 OPS since the All-Star Break, and Carl Crawford and Scott Van Slyke are both above .800. You might downgrade Yasiel Puig, who had a big second-half slump after a superb first half, but now Puig is heating up again, going 12 for 30 (.400) with two walks, two doubles and a home run in his past seven games.
You also have an infield that is strong across the board offensively. Dee Gordon’s baserunning provides value even when his bat is suffering — which isn’t the case right now, given that he is hitting .366/.377/.442/.819 in his past 10 games (53 plate appearances). And while people keep wondering when Hanley Ramirez is going to get hot (staying healthy is another issue), he just happens to be hitting .439/.489/.537/1.086 in his past 12 games (45 plate appearances).
Then there’s the Dodgers increasingly not-so-secret weapon, Justin Turner, who with Van Slyke and Andre Ethier — who has quietly put together a .420 on-base percentage as a reserve — has given the Dodgers one of their best benches in recent memory.
Catcher has been a season-long disappointment offensively, and no one on the team will win a Silver Slugger award. But overall offensively, they simply excel.
Tonight, the #Dodgers had eight players with exactly one RBI for the first time since June 28, 1973. http://t.co/jr7fF0EqNf
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 19, 2014
I get accused of being too positive about the Dodgers. But I find myself astounded sometimes by the negativity online toward a first-place team, a team that is one game away from the best record in the NL. With the stakes so high for a team that hasn’t been to the World Series in 25 years and 11 months, I know how vexing it is when the Dodger offense doesn’t come through. The fact remains that nearly without exception, this offense comes through more often than any other offense in the NL.
The Dodgers’ weaknesses aren’t lost on me at all, but I refuse to let them define a team that has so many strengths to consider. I know this won’t matter to anyone the next time the Dodgers strike out with the bases loaded, but this team wouldn’t be where it is today, with a magic number of two for a postseason berth and eight for a division title, if it were only a Clayton Kershaw solo act.
leekfink
But they’re 0 for 369 with the Bases Loaded, which literally happens three times every game!!!!
(Is there a rule about sarcasm on this new site?)
Mr. Beachcat (@thebeachcatz)
After reading this, I read the “5 things we learned…” feature on the Sweetspot blog. Among the things we “learned” was that the “Dodgers’ offense showed some life” yesterday. This is written despite the fact that the Dodgers are averaging over 5.5 runs per game this month.
I’m not really sure where this perception that the offense is merely mediocre comes from. Perhaps it’s the lack of a standout, 30+ homerun hitter. I expect to hear a lot more about the disappointing offense from the national media coverage in the playoffs.
Michael Green
As for the negativity, etc., Jon, we can use WAR and every other possible stat, but, when you get right down to it, this is what baseball fans are like:
In 1990, I was in my second year of graduate school in New York City. On Opening Day, the Mets lost to the Pirates. On the call-in post-game show, most of the Mets fans demanded that the team fire Davey Johnson as manager for losing on opening day.
Mr. Rickey used to say that you can’t judge a team until it has played every other team. Thomas Boswell refined it to this: Judge slowly. And judge even more slowly than that.
artieboy
I thought the pitching was the reason we were in first place? Is wRC+ the reason? That sounds funny!
Ace Riker
The problem is consistency. Just look at the scores in this month alone. The numbers are all over the place.