4 Reasons Why the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets Will Continue Hot Starts

The 2012 season has gotten off to a good start for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets.

Neither team was really picked to do much this season, but up to this point, they have defied expectations. The two teams do share some traits that could help them to continue to fair well as the season continues.

The Dodgers are currently 17-8 and have a four game lead in the NL West, while the Mets are 13-12 and 2.5 games back of the 1st place Nationals.

In order for each team to continue their hot start, they will need to continue to fair well in the aspects that have done well for them so far. Neither team is really playing above what they are capable of, so they just need to stay within themselves and they could be in contention all year long.

1. Solid Pitching

Solid pitching has been a key for both teams so far.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are fifth in the NL as a team with a 3.25 team ERA. This has been thanks to solid contributions up and down the rotation. Only one starter on the Dodgers has an ERA over 3.00, and that's Aaron Harang.

Reigning Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw picked up right where he left off and Ted Lilly has gotten out of the gates extremely fast. If the Dodgers can continue to get this kind of pitching, they will be in the race all year.

Things are a little bit different for the Mets. If you just looked at the statistics, you might think the pitching hasn't been that good, but that's really just skewed by a few games.

If you've actually watched all of the Mets games, you'd know that the starting pitching has, for the most part, been great all year.

Johan Santana has been the old Johan Santana, posting a 2.25 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 24 innings. Except for his start two days ago, Jon Niese has been fantastic, and looks like he's well on his way to a breakout year.

R.A. Dickey has also been great, and his stats are only average at this point because of the one bad start in Atlanta.

Mike Pelfrey getting hurt does affect the Mets negatively and they will need to find someone to fill that hole before it's too late. Chris Schwinden obviously isn't going to be that guy. Chris Young can definitely be, if he stays healthy. Young is scheduled to be ready in a few weeks.

2. Power in the Middle

If you look at both teams' lineups, one thing is clear; they have run producers in the middle of their lineup.

When you look for the run production in the Dodgers lineup, it smacks you right in the face. Through the first month, Matt Kemp has 12 home runs and 25 RBI and Andre Ethier has six home runs and 27 RBI. Two teammates with as many RBI as games played—that's a recipe for success.

Kemp hasn't shown any signs of slowing down and Ethier is pretty much doing what's expected of him. Ethier is hitting just .287 and six home runs is certainly not out of the ordinary for him. The number of Ethier's RBI is coming from the fact that Matt Kemp is reaching base in front of him at a 50% clip.

If the top of the order keeps setting the table for Ethier, there's no reason he can't continue to pile up those RBI.

As far as the Mets, their main middle of the lineup contributions are coming from a man who has rediscovered himself. David Wright worked on his approach over the winter and is off to a great start for the Mets. So far this season, Wright is hitting .392 with 14 RBI. He's also getting on base at a .495 clip.

The two other guys that are going to be mainstays in the middle of the lineup didn't start out so well, but are coming around recently. Lucas Duda started out with a bang, hitting two home runs in the second game of the season. He cooled off for a while after that, but has hit well over the past week and a half.

Ike Davis got off to a horrible start, but has turned it on over the past week. In the two series in Colorado and Houston, he raised his batting average over 60 points. It was so low that even with that raise, it still is bad, but he's definitely coming around. He has a ton of power and should get it together and contribute largely to any success the Mets have this season.

3. Good Divisional Play

Two things that the Mets and Dodgers have in common as far as scheduling is that they both played a fair amount of divisional games in April and they both fared very well.

The Dodgers went 7-3 against their divisional rivals in April, playing the Padres twice and Rockies once.

Winning within your division is a crucial part to any season, because you're controlling your own fate. If you win against teams not in your division, the other teams in your division can obviously still win. Teams also play their divisional opponents so much that it makes up a huge chunk of their schedule.

The Mets went 10-5 in April against division foes, and they played every team. The Mets swept the Atlanta Braves to open the season, and took the first game of the series vs. Washington before dropping the last two. They then took two out of three in Philly before dropping two out of three in Atlanta.

The Mets finished the month strongly, though, sweeping a three game set from Miami.

The Mets have done a good job handling divisional opponents and it benefits them that they have played each team in April. Now they can get a good game plan for upcoming series and really have a feel for what they are up against.

The Mets have struggled so far out of division, which has hurt them. If they can just stay around .500 out of division, but have good success within the NL East, they will compete this year.

4. Good Defense

Defense is something that becomes very important over a full season. It can sometimes win you games or cost you games.

The Dodgers are currently 4th in the NL with only 13 errors on the season and have a team .986 fielding percentage. Matt Kemp is great defensively in center and covers a whole lot of ground out there.

The Dodgers' fielding has been a big reason to why their pitchers have been so successful. The best part about playing good defense is that you then don't have to devote much time to it. Teams obviously still work on it, but they can focus and other things first, because they're already playing good defense.

The Mets saw defense both win and lose them games in Colorado.

For the Mets, the statistics are again skewed by one or two games, their six-error debacle in Colorado last Friday being the main one. Without that one game, the Mets are near the top of the league in fielding stats.

There's really just two weak spots on the field for the Mets defensively, and that's Daniel Murphy at second and Lucas Duda in right, as they are both playing relatively new positions, so there is an adjustment period. Murphy already looks more comfortable at second base.

As far as everyone else goes, Andres Torres is a very quality center fielder and Kirk Neiuwenhuis has been stellar in the outfield since coming to the big leagues. David Wright has only one error so far, Ruben Tejada is actually a defensive upgrade over Jose Reyes and Ike Davis can pick it with the best of them at first. Josh Thole was always an offensive catcher and is still developing behind the plate, but he is definitely coming along.

Over the course of 162 games, the Mets' fielding stats will adjust and I guarantee they will be near the top of the league in defense.