The Los Angeles Dodgers finished the first half of the 2011 season with a 41-51 record which has them in 4th place in the N.L. West, 11 games behind the Giants. They are also 13 games behind the Braves for the N.L. Wild Card spot. The Dodgers are in a rough spot financially because of the owner’s divorce case so don’t be shocked if they start parting off players at the trade deadline unless they get on a hot streak right after the All-Star break. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact for the Dodgers in the first half:

Team MVP: 26-year old righty swinging CF Matt Kemp is having a league MVP type season for the Dodgers. Kemp has played in 92 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 103 for 329 (.313 avg, .982 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 22 homers, 67 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Kemp’s numbers would be even better if he had some help in the lineup.

Biggest Surprise: Not in their wildest dreams could the Dodgers have seen 34-year old switch-hitting infielder Aaron Miles getting as much playing time as he already has in 2011. Miles has played in 75 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 75 for 236 (.318 avg, .719 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 1 homer, 23 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Miles could actually be a decent trade chip for the Dodgers at the end of this month.

Biggest Disappointment: 33-year old switch-hitting shortstop Rafael Furcal has missed most of this year due to injuries and when he has played, he has been awful. Furcal has played in 24 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 17 for 92 (.185 avg, .455 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 1 homer, 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were outscored 19-13 by the Giants but they still won three out of four games. The Dodgers got blasted in the one loss but they were solid pitching wise in the other games outdueling the Giants at their own game. The Dodgers and Giants are probably the biggest rivals in all of baseball and a ugly incident happened in the parking lot after Opening Day when a Giants’ fan got the hell beat out of him in the parking lot. The guy is now in a coma! Come on people, it’s just a game! Be happy the Dodgers won and be done with it. Back to the field, it was a very nice start to 2011 over the weekend as Don Mattingly looks up to the task at hand.

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.