April Report Card - "B"

Nice win last night. They managed 2 hits against Peavy and Kershaw pitched a gem against Adiran Gonzalez and a bunch of minor leaguers. Tells me nothing.

The Dodgers are 8 games over .500 on May 2nd and 3 1/2 games ahead of their nearest competitor in the West, the archrival Giants. Their hitting, save Russell Martin and Casey Blake, who has 5 HRs in the 8 hole, has been stellar. An "A." And their starting pitching hasn't been terrible either. I give the pen a "C -." But, as I've been saying, don't expect their winning ways last much longer. They have to finish against the Dads, then 2 games with the struggling Snakes before hosting the awful Washington Nationals. So, in spite of all the games they've played on the road, the schedule has been kind to them at the season's outset. But soon, the real teams, as I call them, outside the West are going to pound them with solid pitching and hitting and the Dodgers won't have the arms to combat them. I'd have given them an "A" if Kuroda was uninjured and effective, if Kershaw had been more consistent and if McDonald didn't look god awful. Their bullpen gets a "C." Their bench gets an "A +."

I don't feel Eric Milton or Sean Estes will be the answer. I'll say it again. Unless the education of Clayton Kershaw is accelerated to the point where hebecomes Koufax, a deal of some kind for an arm will HAVE to happen if the Dodgers are to be serious contenders in the Fall.