Russell Martin has been outstanding so far this season as he’s turning into a force with the bat in his hands.  He’s played in 19 games so far this season and he’s 23 for 68 (.338 avg, .915 OPS) and he’s scored 15 runs, whacked 2 homers, driven in 15 runs and had stole 4 bases.  Martin is a good defensive catcher to as he’s looking like an All-Star so far this season.

Rafael Furcal started the season on the disabled list and he’s not played too well so far this season.  In 10 games this season Furcal is only 7 for 43 (.163 avg) with 6 runs scored and 3 RBIs so far.  I have no doubt that Furcal will snap out of his current funk, but the Dodgers need it to happen pretty soon so they can get the offense really going.

The Dodgers were 5-2 last week as they outscored their opponents 43-25.  Everything is clicking for the Dodgers right now as they are playing great baseball this season.  The Dodgers are currently in 1st place in the National League West with a 13-6 record, 2 games ahead of the Padres.

Wilson Betemit has been absolutely awful so far this season for the Dodgers.  He’s played in 13 games and he’s only hitting .097 with a .397 OPS this season!  He’s 3 for 31 with 2 runs scored, 4 RBIs and he’s whiffed 9 times already this season.  He’s playing time is going to drop off big time if he doesn’t start hitting soon for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers have placed Jason Schmidt on the 15-day disabled list due to some shoulder inflammation.  He started 3 games for the Dodgers and the results were not pretty.  He is 1-2 with a 7.36 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP so far this season.  Schmidt has allowed 17 hits and 3 homers in 11 innings while whiffing 13 batters.  Mark Hendrickson will likely step into the rotation until Schmidt is ready to return.  Hendrickson has an 0-0 record with a 1.64 ERA and a 0.45 WHIP in 3 games this season.  He has only allowed 4 hits and 1 walk in 11 innings this season while whiffing 13 batters.