The Los Angeles Dodgers finished the first half of the season with a 49-39 record which has them tied with the Rockies for 2nd place in the N.L. West, 2 games behind the Padres. Here is a closer look at both the surprises and disappointments so far this season for the Dodgers:

Surprises: Personally, I’m surprised at the run production of James Loney despite him lacking power. He has played in 88 games for the Dodgers this year and he is 104 of 337 (.309 avg, .803 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 6 homers, 63 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Rafael Furcal is having a big bounceback year in 2010 for the Dodgers. He has played in 58 games for the Dodgers this year and he is 81 of 243 (.333 avg, .898 OPS) with 51 runs scored, 6 homers, 35 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Injuries have caused the Dodgers to rely on 36-year old utility man Jamey Carroll more than they planned to. He has responded well playing in 76 games in which he is 52 of 179 (.291 avg, .720 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 11 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. 24-year old righty Carlos Monasterios was a Rule 5 Draft Picks over the winter and he has really pitched well for the Dodgers when called upon. He has pitched in 18 games (6 starts) for the Dodgers this year and he is 3-2 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

Disappointments: 26-year old knuckleballer Charlie Haeger started this season in the Dodgers’ rotation but he was awful. Haeger pitched in 9 games (6 starts) for the Dodgers this year and he was 0-4 with a 8.40 ERA and a 2.07 WHIP. He was walked an amazing 26 batters in only 30 innings this year. 33-year old lefty reliever George Sherrill has been just as awful for the Dodgers as Haeger has this year. Sherrill has pitched in 34 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers this year and he is 0-1 with a 7.32 ERA and a 2.24 WHIP. 38-year old backup outfielder Garret Anderson has been awful with the bat this season. Anderson has played in 67 games for the Dodgers this year and he is 24 of 134 (.179 avg, .470 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 11 RBIs. Starting catcher Russell Martin’s slide has continued in 2010 with the bat. Martin has played in 81 games for the Dodgers this year and he is 69 of 283 (.244 avg, .679 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 5 homers, 22 RBIs and 6 stolen bases.

The Dodgers are 6-6 on the season as they have scored 70 runs and allowed 70 runs. You can’t get more average than that. The Dodgers are wasting some good hitting as the pitching has been pretty bad so far this year. The Dodgers hit the road this week to play 3 games against the Reds and 3 games against the Nationals. This seems like a good week to start winning more than they are losing.

The Dodgers are off to a 2-4 start this season despite outscoring the oppostion 36-33. The pitching just isn’t there right now for the Dodgers and they better get back on track soon. The Dodgers host the D-Backs and Giants this week so they need to get motivated and get back to .500 by the end of the week.

The Dodgers have started the season 2-2 as they have outscored their opponents 25-20. The Dodgers are hurting a bit right now as Andre Ethier has a nagging injury that just won’t seem to go away. The Dodgers are lucky they signed Garret Anderson in the off-season as he can handle RF while Ethier is out of action. The Dodgers got a outstanding start last night out of Hiroki Kuroda in Florida last night as he earned the win by throwing 8 shutout innings while whiffing 7 batters. That is good news for the Dodgers now they just need to find a way to keep him healthy.

The Dodgers moved Chad Billingsley into the starting rotation right before the All Star Break and he has been outstanding.  In 14 starts after the All-Star Break, Billingsley is 6-5 with a 2.85 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP.  In 85.1 innings in the 2nd half, Billingsley has allowed 76 hits, walked 35 batters and whiffed 76.  He has now pitched in 41 games this season for the Dodgers (18 starts) and he is 11-5 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.  In 140 innings, Billingsley has allowed 120 hits, walked 57 batters and whiffed 134.  The Dodgers are now 79-72 which has them tied for 3rd place with the Colorado Rockies, 5.5 games behind the D-Backs.  The Dodgers are also 4.5 games behind the Padres for the N.L. Wild Card, but time is running out for them.