I Don't Know if You Noticed This, But. . .

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

As one of the Bleacher Report Los Angeles Dodgers Featured Columnists—a title that is so humbling that I almost feel unworthy to carry it!—I am going to concentrate a large portion of my time on two things:

                             • The ridiculously rich history of the Dodgers’ organization

and

                             • Some of the little things that get overlooked day-to-day

So I’m introducing the recurring series, “I Don’t Know if You Noticed This, But. . .”

For other up to the minute Dodger highlights, browse the profiles of my fellow Dodger Featured Columnists: J. C. Ayvazi—who actually visits the Dodger clubhouse when the team is playing home games—and P. J. Ross of Seattle, who visits L. A. at least once a year to take in our beloved Dodgers.

When I get my ESPN contract, I will be joining them frequently! Until them, like I have continuously since 1978, I will root for my beloved Dodgers from afar.

Okay, it’s almost impossible to ignore the elephant in the room, so I will address it, briefly.

Just about everyone on Earth—including some alleged Los Angeles Dodger fans—felt that the team was going to collapse when Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games.

I will admit that I was extremely anxious, myself. The Dodgers, who were the consensus favorite to win the West once Ramirez signed, had bolted out to a 21-8 mark.

Had the team kept winning at that rate, they would have set a new MLB record for team wins in a single season, with 117.

The team cooled somewhat without ManRam; of course, they probably would have cooled even with him. The team with 29-21 in his absence, and have the distinction of being the first major league team to 50 wins, at 50-29.

However, there have been chinks in the armor, and cracks in the foundation. . .

I don’t know if you noticed this, but the team is getting healthy and whole. This is a great thing.

The bullpen, one of the best in either league, has logged a fairly high number of innings pitched per game: roughly three and one-third innings per contest.

That leaves just five and two-third innings a night for the starters. That’s close to the major league average, but am I the only one who is a bit alarmed by the number?

The biggest problem has been the back end of the rotation. Once we get past Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, and Clayton Kershaw, things get rather dicey.

Kuroda himself has only recently returned from injury, and is just now getting his legs under him. This allows the team to move Randy Wolf further down in the rotation, which is just what the doctor ordered.

Wolf has been okay, sometimes spectacular, but inconsistent. Ideally, he should be the third or fourth starter; at times, he has functioned as the de facto ace.

With his long history of injury problems, Joe Torre will have to monitor his pitch counts. . . and have a “Plan B” on tap.

Eric Milton, who is in the bullpen for the time being as the All-Star break approaches, should really only be relied on for spot starts and long relief, yet he has been in the rotation for the majority of the year.

Kershaw should be the fifth starter, leaving Torre the option of pushing his starts back at times and limiting the crafty young lefty’s innings.

Instead, the number five slot in the rotation has been a black hole.

So, let me shine a light on the likely fifth starter very soon: Eric Stults.

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