Injuries and inconsistency have Dodgers in a first half hole

Though technically we're 11 games into the second half of the season, the All-Star break is considered the halfway point of the Major League season and it is a great time to evaluate your team as it's pretty obvious what the team's strengths and weaknesses are. But we don't know really what the fourth-place Dodgers (41-51) are at this point. Have we ever really seen the Dodger lineup that Don Mattingly envisioned throwing out there everyday? Does anybody even remember what that lineup was? To refresh our memories, here is the projected starting lineup way back in April: Rafael Furcal ss Casey Blake 3b Andre Ethier rf Matt Kemp cf Juan Uribe 2b James Loney 1b Marcus ThamesJay Gibbons lf Rod Barajas c Injuries have taken it's toll on this Dodgers team. Blake and Gibbons started the season on the DL along with the Dodgers No. 5 starter Jon Garland and their swing manspot starter Vicente Padilla. The Dodgers left side of the infield, most of their bullpen and their free agent acquisition Uribe have all spent time out due to injury and that opened the flood gates to a ridiculous number of new faces and revolving roster spots. Seven different rookies have made their debut this season and the Dodgers have used 35 different players at the major league level. They have utilized the DL more than 28 of the other 30 MLB teams. All totaled, 13 players have spent at least one stint on the DL - including six starters. At one point, four different pitchers that had been used in the closer's role all were on the DL. That being said, I'm not even sure if that spring projected lineup was a division-winning team, but I do know that Mattingly has had to deal with a lot of adversity in his first four months as a Major League manager. Injuries aside, the Dodgers biggest problem is that they can't score runs. The Dodgers rank in the middle of the pack when it comes to team batting AVG., but right at the bottom of the league when it comes to hitting with runners in scoring position. In fact, the big joke most of the season has been: when do you stop calling them runners in scoring position if they don't ever score?Watch almost any game and it's the same old story - a scoreless tie after 6 innings and when the game goes final, the Dodgers manage 6 hits, one run and another close loss. Let me give you some ugly details and you can rank their importance for yourself: - Blake is currently on the DL and has 140 AB's this season, hitting just .243. - Ethier has just 9 HRs and hit two of them the game before the break. - Loney has just 31 RBI. - Gibbons (.255) and Thames(.197) are no longer with the team as Tony Gwynn Jr. (.256) is now the every day rightfielder. Though during the AS break, the Dodgers did pick up a veteran outfielder in Juan Rivera from the Blue Jays. He's averaged 17 HRs per season since 2006 but that was hitting in parks like Anaheim and Toronto. Cut those numbers in half hitting in Dodger Stadium. Even so, Rivera gives the Dodgers a right-handed hitting outfield option in left field and he has more power than any other bench player on the team. - Uribe has been downright awful battling injuries and inconsistency with just 4 HRs and hitting .207. - Furcal has less than 100 ABs and is hitting .185. - Garland is out for the year after winning just one game. - Top closer and 2010 All-Star Jonathan Broxton is looking at a possible elbow surgery and may not pitch again this season. He had just seven saves and an ERA close to 6.00. - Padilla is out yet again and has appeared in just nine games. - Another 2010 All-Star Hong-Chih Kuo spent significant time on the DL with anxiety issues further depleting the Dodgers bullpen. He has an 8.71 ERA in just 10 innings. - Ted Lilly, though healthy, has been up and down and can't stop the opposition from running wild on the basepaths. He's 6-9 with an ERA close to 5.00. That's a lengthy list of injuries and ineffectiveness. But there have been some bright spots. All-Star Clayton Kershaw is definitely worth the price of admission whenever he is on the mound. He's 9-4 with a 147 Ks and a 3.03 ERA. Kemp has been brilliant and is in the MVP discussion, despite the Dodgers being 10 games under .500. He is on pace for the fifth 40-40 season in MLB history, and with his speed and his work on the basepaths with Davey Lopes, he is a lock to steal more than 40 bases this year. But getting the extra 18 HRs to be a 4040 guy may be tough as opposing teams will try to get him to chase more and more pitches out of the zone because he has so little protection in the lineup. (It may have already started, as he has gone 2 for his last 18 entering the break.) Hiroki Kuroda has been a bright spot, but can't get the Dodgers to give him any support. He has a 3.06 ERA on the season but is just 6-10. Jamey Carroll (.297) and Aaron Miles (.318) have been great in their role. They have hit at the top of the order and they catch the ball anywhere they play whether it be 2b, SS or 3B. Chad Billingsley (8-7, 3.87) might finally live up to his potential and even finish with numbers similar to Kershaw when all is said and done at the end of the season. He still flounders at times, and doesn't dominate games the way he should, but I still think he has Ace-type stuff and will show it more in the second half. Rubby De La Rosa (3-4, 3.74) is fun to watch and he keeps getting better. The kid has only pitched for a few years but he has a 100 MPH fastball and a breaking pitch that keeps getting better. He may go through a little dead arm period somewhere in the second half, but how many teams can boast a No. 5 start that hits triple digits on the radar gun? Ethier isn't hitting for power the way he did two seasons ago but he is hitting for a high average and he still plays stellar defense in RF. Wild second-half prediction: look for the All-Star to get upset about something soon (perhaps trade speculation at the deadline?), which is great since he plays better with a chip on his shoulder. Dee Gordon will be back. At the end of the day he was overmatched (.232) at the plate and he still loses concentration defensively, but it's just a matter of time before Furcal breaks down again and Gordon will be the everyday SS. I just want to see the kid run again, he can change games with his legs. Injuries and inconsistency has created the Dodgers' enormous 11-game hole, but if the Dodgers can get healthy and get some support for the Dodgers' trio of all stars, perhaps the Blue crew can climb out.