Week In Review – Hot & Cold, Opening Day, Series Notes, More.

Hot & Cold:

HOT – Kemp named NL Player of the Week. In four games Kemp has a .412 AVG, 8 RBI, 2 HR, and only 2 K.

COLD – Juan Uribe has 1 hit in 13 at bats (.083 AVG), while striking out 30.8% of the time. Some might consider this HOT for Uribe.

HOT – Chad Billingsley pitched 8 1/3 shutout innings for the Dodgers. He allowed 3 hits, while striking out 11.

Cold – Scott Elbert gave up a grand slam to Chase Headley. He was only charged with 2 runs from it, but I still hold him accountable for my feelings.

Series Notes:

Opening Day in San Diego Clayton Kershaw battled the flu during his first start of the season against the Padres. Don Mattingly planned on scratching him from the start, however Kershaw refused to sit. He was only able to complete 3 innings of work, while striking out 3, with no runs allowed.

The second game of the series Chad Billingsley was very sharp, pitching 8 1/3 innings to give the bullpen a much needed break. Andre Ethier was able to spark the offense early, giving Billingsley a little breathing room.

The third game of the series belongs to Dee Gordon. He had 3 hits, 3 stolen bases, walked twice, and decided to knock in the game winning run in the 11th inning.

The fourth and final game of the series was a pitching disaster. Our pitching staff gave up 12 hits, 8 runs, 8 walks. The only positives from this game was Matt Kemp & Andre Ethier, both hitting 2 run home runs.

All said and done the Dodgers hold a 3-1 record and have shown some great strengths in all areas. Obvious improvements are needed from the pitching staff and a handful of hitters, but we’re off to a great start!

Other News:

• Kershaw over flu, will start Home Opener
• Ticket prices down 24% this year compared to 2011
• Kemp has a 16 game hit streak going (dating back to last year)