Here's a look at the Dodger outfielders since the All-Star break, sorted by most plate appearances
Player | OF Starts | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | HR | RBI | BB | K | BA/OBP/SLG | OPS |
Ethier | 46 | 200 | 180 | 18 | 42 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 18 | 55 | .233/.305/.389 | .694 |
Kemp | 46 | 197 | 176 | 12 | 41 | 5 | 6 | 23 | 16 | 49 | .233/.299/.364 | .663 |
Podsednik | 33 | 152 | 142 | 17 | 38 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 23 | .268/.316/.338 | .654 |
Paul | 8 | 39 | 36 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | .167/.205/.205 | .455 |
Gibbons | 4 | 34 | 31 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 4 | .323/.382/.613 | .995 |
Johnson | 3 | 26 | 26 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | .269/.269/.423 | .692 |
Anderson | 3 | 23 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .190/.261/.238 | .499 |
Manny | 5 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | .154/.313/.308 | .620 |
Totals | 51 gms | 687 | 625 | 60 | 150 | 27 | 17 | 66 | 54 | 146 | .240/.301/.368 | .669 |
These stats include all at-bats, not just those as outfielders. Jamey Carroll also started five games in left field, but I didn't include him because he has basically been the starting shortstop for most of the time. In those five starts, Carroll is 5-for-15 with a .722 OPS, which would make him a star out of this group.
What a truly awful performance from the outfield. The two media guide coverboys, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, have led the charge to mediocrity, which has been a major reason the Dodgers are 20-31 since the All-Star break. For all the criticism Kemp gets for striking out, Ethier has been even worse in the second half in that regard. Ethier, in 68 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers in the second half is hitting .148/.221/.279, while Kemp is hitting .199/.258/.331 against right-handers in 151 plate appearances during the same period.
All the energy Scott Podsednik has apparently brought to the team hasn't translated into his own performance, as the Dodger leadoff hitter has a .316 on-base percentage. Everyone in the outfield is a slap hitter, save for a small sample stretch from a journeyman who has been out of baseball since 2007.
Heading into this season, I expected to write about what might have been the greatest outfield in Dodger history. Instead, this is one of the most disappointing.