10 Surprises of the Los Angeles Dodgers' Season so Far

The Major League Baseball season is nothing short of a marathon. With 162 games spanning over seven months, there are bound to be a number of events that pop up unexpectedly for each team.

We are not even through two weeks of the season, and already there have been at least 10 surprises for the Dodgers and their fans.

Let's take a look at them.

Josh Lindblom's Emergence

Josh Lindblom has been nothing short of a rock coming out of the bullpen for Don Mattingly.

Lindblom was expected to be sent down to the minors to make room for Ted Lilly's return from the disabled list. An injury to Todd Coffey paved he way for Lindblom to stay with the squad, and he hasn't disappointed.

Lindblom has appeared in six games for a total of 8.2 innings. In those 8.2 innings, he has struck out seven, allowed three hits and has not allowed a run.

It will be interesting to see what happens when Coffey returns from his injury.

Andre Ethier's Run Production

The biggest question facing Andre Ethier heading into the season was the health of his right knee. The answer lies within his production.

Ethier has 13 hits through 12 games, and nine of those 13 hits have been for extra bases. He has also racked up 17 RBI hitting cleanup behind Matt Kemp.

Should Andre stay healthy and motivated, there is no reason why he can't close in on 120 RBI this season.

Chad Billingsley's Control

We've come to know Chad Billingsley as a number two pitcher who will perform at an average level. Without looking up his numbers historically, one would assume he'd give us another 12-11 record with an ERA right around 4.00.

Billingsley has come out on fire this season. In three starts, he is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.33. In addition, he has only allowed one walk in 20.1 innings.

Could this be the year Billingsley breaks out and becomes an elite pitcher? Or will he become inconsistent once again and turn in another average year?

James Loney's Batting Average

It's a shame James Loney is such a nice guy. You want to pull for him, but at the same time it is getting so frustrating to see him continue to rack up an 0-for-4 seemingly every game.

Loney's average now sits at .171 (6-35) on the young season. It's surprising to see just how bad he has become over the last couple of years.

It's hard to imagine Loney recapturing the form he had in 2007 when he hit .331 with 15 home runs in only 96 games.

Javy Guerra's 5 Saves

There were some grumblings around Dodgertown when it was announced Javy Guerra would maintain his role as the closer to begin the season. Many people believed this would be Kenley Jansen's year to take over.

Guerra has been solid. He already has five saves, and with the exception of his last two games, fans couldn't be happier.

He does have a short leash, however. If he strings together a few bad outings, he may lose his job to Jansen rather quickly.

Aaron Harang Striking out 9 Consecutive Hitters

If you were to pick a player in the Dodgers' rotation who would break the franchise record for consecutive strikeouts, how many would have chosen Aaron Harang? If your hand is up, I'll never believe anything you say.

Harang did just that when he struck out nine San Diego Padres on Friday, April 13, at Dodger Stadium.

Dodger Stadium Attendance

As soon as word got around that the Dodgers were being sold to Magic Johnson and his investment group, the media gave off the impression that fans were jamming the box office and buying tickets.

Opening Day was sold out, but that sells out every year. Through six home games, the Dodgers rank 17th in baseball with an average capacity of 68.6 percent. By comparison, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are playing in front of an 81.4 percent filled stadium.

There are some very important factors involved. First, the homestand was against Pittsburgh and San Diego. Second, the weather throughout the week was horrible. High winds and the threat of rain for many of the games no doubt deterred some fans from heading to the stadium.

It was still surprising to see an empty stadium during the first week of the season.

Vin Scully Missing Opening Day

If you've never lived in Los Angeles then it may be hard to comprehend how loved Vin Scully is in and around the city.

For the better part of the last decade, the Dodgers haven't been very good. The most common thing you'll hear from fans is, "at least we have Vin." People who don't even like baseball love to hear Vin Scully.

I don't recall who said it, although I'm sure it's been said quite a few times over the years, but the person said, "Vin Scully could make watching paint dry sound interesting."

Thankfully, after missing Opening Day and the next few games due to a severe cold, Vin is back. He no longer travels outside of California to call the games (with the exception of Arizona), but as long as he is calling even one game a week, I'm happy.

Starting the Season 9-1

Even the most optimistic Dodgers fan couldn't predict the team going 9-1 through their first 10 games of the season.

Much of the talk regarding the Dodgers' fast start centered around the teams they played. Yes, they played against San Diego and Pittsburgh, but how many teams are able to win nine out of 10 games regardless of the opponent?

Credit should be given to Don Mattingly, the front end of the Dodgers rotation, the bullpen, as well as the middle of the batting order for this terrific start.

Matt Kemp Hitting Nearly .500

Are you a fan of projections? Matt Kemp, through 12 games, is projected to finish with these numbers should he continue on this pace:

AVG: .457

HR: 81

RBI: 230

Granted, through 12 games projections are meaningless, but are still fun to look at. Regardless, to see somebody hit nearly .500 against major league pitching through 46 at-bats is phenomenal.

Steve Lyons said in the broadcast the other night that whenever Kemp doesn't do something spectacular, fans are disappointed. That's exactly what it feels like. Kemp has become so good that we are more surprised when he gets out than when he gets on base.

It's reminiscent of the way we felt when Barry Bonds came up to the plate. We knew he was going to get on base, but we weren't sure how.

We knew Kemp was going to be good this year, but the only person who would say they weren't surprised at this start would be Matt Kemp himself.