Los Angeles Dodgers: Report Card from San Diego Series

The Los Angeles Dodgers opened the 2012 season on the road for a four-game series against the San Diego Padres.

Los Angeles won three out of four and now heads home to open Dodger Stadium against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Let's take a look at the Dodgers' report card following their completed series in San Diego.

Starting Pitchers

GRADE: D+

Clayton Kershaw started the season by throwing three flu-plagued innings. He didn't allow a run and managed to strike out three Padres before exiting the game early due to his illness.

New acquisitions Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang did not give Dodger fans a great first impression.

Capuano walked five and gave up four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings in his start while Harang had an even less impressive start by allowing three earned runs to go along with seven hits and five walks.

The lone bright spot for the starting rotation was Chad Billingsley. Bills worked a masterful game on Friday night, tossing 8 1/3 innings of shutout ball in which he only allowed three hits and struck out 11.

It's hard to envision Billingsley having more than a few of these types of starts throughout the season, but what we saw in his first start was nothing short of sensational.

Relief Pitchers

GRADE: C+

We're going to be talking about this group all season. Be prepared to see the makeup of the Dodger bullpen change numerous times throughout the season.

Kenley Jansen looked shaky on Thursday in allowing two earned runs on two hits. He rebounded two days later by striking out two of the three batters he faced.

Javy Guerra continued to solidify his closer status by converting both of his save opportunities. He did so in 14 pitches on Thursday, and 17 pitches on Saturday night.

Josh Lindblom had a nice outing in relief on Thursday night and finished the four-game series with four innings of no-hit ball. Lindblom may well be the most relied-upon pitcher out of the bullpen this year.

Catchers

GRADE: B-

A.J. Ellis got off to a good 2012 campaign start by getting on base in seven of his 13 plate appearances. The most encouraging aspect at the plate was his discipline.

Ellis managed to walk four times, and if he can become a hitter with a consistently high on-base percentage, he would be able to settle into the starting job for a few seasons.

Ellis' backup, Matt Treanor, looked awful behind the plate. Treanor allowed three Padres to steal in Sunday's game and at least two of the throws were nowhere near the bag. This complemented his 0-for-3 performance at the plate.

First Basemen

Grade: D-

James Loney played his normal error-free defense, but he is going to have to hit to hang on to his job. Loney went 0-for-12 with three strikeouts against the Padres.

Loney was replaced in the starting lineup on Friday night in favor of Juan Rivera. Manager Don Mattingly wanted the right-handed hitter to face San Diego's left-handed pitcher, Cory Luebke.

Rivera produced by going 2-for-3 with a walk, RBI and two runs scored.

If it weren't for Rivera's production, the first-base position would have received an "F."

Second Basemen

GRADE: C

Mark Ellis performed the way fans expected him to in the opening series. He played a very average game of second base.

Ellis is a very good defensive player and a very below-average hitter. He can fill in at various positions on the field when needed, but Dodger fans shouldn't expect much from him. At the very least, he will make smart decisions on the field and play with a lot of effort.

Over the first four games, Ellis managed to score five runs even though he was only 3-for-15 at the plate.

Ellis' backup, Justin Sellers, started on Sunday but didn't get a hit in three plate appearances.

Shortstop

GRADE: B-

Dodger fans need to be prepared for a roller coaster when it comes to Dee Gordon this season. What he did against San Diego is a very good template of what to expect throughout the 2012 campaign.

On Saturday, Gordon rebounded from a 1-for-10 start by going 3-for-4 with three stolen bases. He finished the series 5-for-18.

In addition to the sporadic offense, Gordon is going to make quite a few errors this season.

Give this kid a chance to become comfortable and reserve judgment on him until next year. He will be 24 years old later this month and has the makings of something very special.

Third Basemen

GRADE: F

Whoever thinks Juan Uribe is going to have a bounce-back year in 2012 is somehow related to him. 

Uribe's swing is so bad it rivals Charles Barkley's golf swing. Uribe is off balance on nearly every attempt, and it's evident he has not made any improvements since his horrible 2011 season.

He wrapped up the series with a .083 batting average. Granted, we don't normally put too much stock in batting average until around the third week of the season, but be prepared to see Uribe hovering around the .150 mark until he inevitably winds up on the DL.

Adam Kennedy did fill in for Uribe for one game and went 0-for-2.

Left Fielders

GRADE: C+

Juan Rivera figures to be the primary left fielder this year for the Dodgers. Over the four-game series in San Diego, Rivera was 5-for-14 (.357) with four runs scored and no strikeouts.

Should the Dodgers see Loney falter at first base, it is entirely possible Rivera could see more games there, especially against left handed hitters. For now, however, they need him to be a cornerstone in the outfield. 

Rivera's backup, Tony Gwynn Jr, was 0-for-4 in limited play.

Center Fielder

GRADE: A

Matt Kemp has said he wants to have a 50-50 season. Well, just for the fun of it, let's take a look at what he is projected to do following the first four games:

AVG: .412

HR: 81

RBI: 324

SB: 41

It looks like he'll be just shy of becoming the first player ever to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in one season.

Back to reality...

There's not much else to say about Kemp. He is as dependable as they come and looks to have picked up where he left off from his monstrous 2011 season.

Right Fielder

GRADE: A-

The questions surrounding Andre Ethier are regarding his health (knee) and passion to stay in Los Angeles. It appeared a few times last season that Andre was set on moving on from Los Angeles. In addition to that, he was battling injuries throughout the season.

Ethier appears to be happy with the pending ownership change, and his knee has looked great throughout spring training.

If he is healthy, we will see those power numbers we saw in 2009 (31 home runs) and 2010 (23 home runs) return to accompany his .290+ batting average.

Hitting cleanup, Ethier racked up eight RBI through the first four games of the season.

Follow Joe Chacon on Twitter to discuss this and all things Dodgers.