When David Young did the community preview of Hiroki Kuroda last spring, he also delved into how Kuroda became a Dodger, and he did it so well that I don't feel any need to rewrite what he did.

What Kuroda has turned out to be is a solid middle of the rotation starter that has avoided a serious arm issue over the course of his first contract. According to his fangraphs statistics page, Kuroda has averaged 92.2 MPH (about the midpoint of the range White stated) with his fastball, has thrown the slider 28.2% of the time as his secondary pitch, and has mixed in that hard "forkball" (or split-finger fastball) at 87.3 MPH. That adds up to a pitcher who creates his fair share of ground balls (1.64 career GB/FB ratio) and has increased his strikeout rate by a significant amount each season.

Stats

Given how solid Kuroda's peripherals are, I'm guessing most of us would be shocked to find out that Kuroda will end his Dodger career with five more losses then wins. Given that the Dodgers went to the NLCS in his first two years I find this even more amazing. So I decided to see how many other Los Angeles Dodger starters managed to win at least 40 games and be sub .500 pitchers. Not many.

                                                   
Rk            Player  W  L From   To   Age  GS ERA+
17       Bill Singer 69 76 1964 1972 20-28 179  106
23     Tom Candiotti 52 64 1992 1997 34-39 159  106
24   Darren Dreifort 48 60 1994 2004 22-32 113   95
28     Hiroki Kuroda 41 46 2008 2011 33-36 114  113
29       Kevin Gross 40 44 1991 1994 30-33  95  103

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/16/2012.

I'd say Kuroda was better then any of the pitchers on that list. Whenever Kuroda took the mound during his four years you could always count on him keeping you in the game. While Kuroda did not delve deep into games, you knew he'd be around come the sixth inning. Rarely did he implode, and even if the wins did not pile up, he was an excellent second banana to Clayton. In his last three years he gave up five runs or more only eight times. Some called him a warrior but that is probably being gracious. He was a pitcher though, through and through.

One final Dodger note. among pitchers who have started at least 100 games, Kuroda ranks number 12 using ERA+ as the metric.

                                                             
Rk                Player ERA+  GS From   To   W   L W-L%  OPS
1            Kevin Brown  148 129 1999 2003  58  32 .644 .619
2           Sandy Koufax  135 286 1958 1966 156  77 .670 .581
3        Clayton Kershaw  135 116 2008 2011  47  28 .627 .612
4       Andy Messersmith  129 123 1973 1979  55  34 .618 .603
5             Derek Lowe  120 135 2005 2008  54  48 .529 .679
6             Tommy John  118 174 1972 1978  87  42 .674 .647
7            Tim Belcher  118 119 1987 1991  50  38 .568 .618
8           Don Drysdale  118 424 1958 1969 187 152 .552 .643
9         Orel Hershiser  116 309 1983 2000 135 107 .558 .642
10         Ismael Valdez  115 158 1994 2000  61  57 .517 .689
11             Bob Welch  114 267 1978 1987 115  86 .572 .649
12         Hiroki Kuroda  113 114 2008 2011  41  46 .471 .673
13           Jerry Reuss  113 201 1979 1987  86  69 .555 .649
14           Burt Hooton  113 265 1975 1984 112  84 .571 .635
15      Chad Billingsley  110 163 2006 2011  70  52 .574 .704
16            Don Sutton  110 533 1966 1988 233 181 .563 .626
17        Ramon Martinez  109 262 1988 1998 123  77 .615 .669
18          Chan Ho Park  109 181 1994 2008  84  58 .592 .700
19   Fernando Valenzuela  107 320 1980 1990 141 116 .549 .655
20            Al Downing  107 120 1971 1977  46  37 .554 .652

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/16/2012.

Kuroda is probably the second best free agent staring pitcher the Dodgers have ever signed, trailing only Derek Lowe.

While the rest of baseball has struggled with failed Japanese imports at exorbitant salaries the Los Angeles Dodgers have been blessed with three of the best in Nomo, Saito, and Kuroda. They were always classy. 'm going to miss him, the Dodgers are going to miss him, the fans are going to miss him.

I may even find myself rooting for a Yankee every fifth game for the first time in a long time.

I don't really have anything substantive to say regarding the Dodgers right now, so I will begin 2012 with a question: Which player will lead the 2012 Dodgers in triples?

The Dodgers' yearly triple leaders for the past few years:

• 2011: Jamey Carroll and Tony Gwynn Jr. each had six three-baggers
• 2010: Rafael Furcal had seven
• 2009: Juan Pierre had eight
• 2008: James Loney (!!) had six
• 2007: Pierre had eight
• 2006: Kenny Lofton had 12
• 2005: Jason Repko had three
• 2004: Cesar Izturis had nine
• 2003: Izturis had six
• 2002: Dave Roberts had seven
• 2001: Tom Goodwin had five
• 2000: Mark Grudzielanek and Alex Cora each had six
• 1999: Adrian Beltre, Raul Mondesi, and Grudzielanek each had five

In the last 13 years, 14 different players have led or tied for the team lead in triples, with only three multiple leaders during that span.

I'll guess Dee Gordon to lead the Dodgers in triples in 2012. He only had two in 56 games in 2011 but with his speed he might bunt into one or two. What's your guess?

When Matt Kemp rocketed 39 home runs this past season he springboarded himself onto an impressive list. Since time began only 81 players 26 and younger have blasted at least 125 home runs. Matt Kemp is now one of them.

Yesterday while looking over Matt Kemp's season I noticed that he had increased his home run output every single season.

This made me curious. How many players have increased their home run output six straight years? I was not about to check every single player, but I felt if I narrowed the criteria I could do this. So I looked for every player who had hit at least 125 home runs by the age of 26. Eighty-one players showed, and as you can see from the list, this is a virtual who's who of the home run world.

As I checked each players history, it seemed that Matt Kemp might stand alone in this endeavor as each great slugger went down one by one. Vlady Guerrero checked in having done it five times. As did one-time wonder-kid Cesar Cedeno. Another player lost to the past came so close I almost have to give him credit: Johnny Callison did not increase six straight years because he got stuck on 9 for two of them but 1, 3, 9, 9, 23, 26, 31, 32 is still the trend I was looking for.

Just when I thought Matt Kemp had the hill to himself, Jim Thome said, "not so fast." Thome not only did it six straight years, he did it one better by doing it seven straight years.

1, 2, 7, 20, 25, 38, 40

The key to this, is that you have to have been a part time player early in your career and then as you develop into a full time player, your percolating power kicks in gradually, not all at once like many of the sluggers on this list.

These kinds of anomalies are probably only interesting to myself but the research is fun, and as you peruse through the 81 sluggers on this list you are reminded of greatness at some point in all their careers. Ralph Kiner's time was short but for seven years he was Albert Pujols. Ernie Banks seems to be remembered more for being the nicest guy in baseball then for being the all time slugging shortstop during his prime years.

Just the fact Matt Kemp is even on this list, should make current Dodger fans anticipate the future. For every Jesse Barfield that might give you pause, there are so many successes that you can't help but be excited about 2014.

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Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers had an outstanding season in 2011, but it wasn't quite enough to win the National League Most Valuable Player award. Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers was named the 2011 National League MVP, capturing 20 of 32 first-place votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America. Kemp finished second, garnering 10 first-place votes.

Clayton Kershaw got one fifth place vote and was named on 11 of 32 ballots, finishing 12th, notably three spots behind Roy Halladay, who finished well behind Kershaw in the Cy Young balloting (by different voters).

Kemp had a season for the ages in 2011. He flirted with the first Triple Crown in the National League in 64 years, within .003 of the batting average lead with six games remaining in the season, and came up just one home run shy of becoming the fifth member of the 40/40 club. Kemp tied for 11th fastest to join the 30/30 club, joining Raul Mondesi as the only Dodger members of that club.

Kemp did lead the league in home runs (39), runs batted in (126), runs scored (115), total bases (353), adjusted OPS+ (171), and both versions of Wins Above Replacement (10.0 or 8.7, whichever you prefer).

He also hit three walk-off home runs on the season.

Kemp hit .324/.399/.586, becoming the first Dodgers center fielder to slug .500 since Duke Snider. Kemp was also the first player to finish in the top two in his league in both home runs and stolen bases since Hank Aaron in 1963.

Kemp has already been honored this season with the National League Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the top offensive performer in each league, the Baseball America Major League Player of the Year, and the Players Choice Award for Outstanding Player in the National League. Kemp was named to the Sporting News NL All-Star team, and won both a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove, something he also did in 2009.

For his efforts, Kemp was rewarded with the largest contract in National League history, an eight-year, $160 million pact designed to keep him in Los Angeles through 2019.

I thought I was being optimistic in March when I wrote that Kemp was due for a bounce back in 2011:

No matter the reason, Kemp seems primed for a rebound this season. I can't help but note that even in a down year, Kemp hit 28 home runs. I am fully on board the Kemp comeback train, and I think he surpasses those projections above. I'll guess .286/.349/.509 for Kemp with 35 home runs.

Kemp blew past those projections with ease, but it wasn't quite enough to win the MVP.

The National League Most Valuable Player award will be awarded at 11 a.m. PST on Tuesday, and Matt Kemp has a tall order against Ryan Braun of the playoff-bound Milwaukee Brewers. Thanks to a late-season push, the 2011 Dodgers don't carry the moniker of "losing team," but it is unclear if their 82-79 record was enough to boost Kemp's candidacy.

Since the divisional era began in 1995 (it was really 1994, but the World Series was canceled that year so let us never speak of this again), there have been 33 MVPs awarded, including Justin Verlander taking home the American League honors on Monday. Of those 33 MVP winners, 27 came from playoff teams, and all but one came from a winning team.

The teams of the 33 MVP winners since 1995 have a cumulative winning percentage of .573, a 93-win pace over a full season. Here is a look at the six MVP winners in the last 16 years to come from a team that watched the playoffs in October.

Larry Walker, 1997 Colorado Rockies (83-79)

For the second straight season, Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza lost his MVP to a divisional foe, but unlike Ken Caminiti in 1996 Walker didn't see the playoffs. Piazza had likely the greatest offensive season ever by a catcher, hitting .362 with 40 home runs but only managed three first place votes as Walker hit .366/.452/.720 on the moon and got 22 first place votes.

The Dodgers were 88-74 in 1997, finishing two games behind the San Francisco Giants. The highest MVP finishers from a playoff team were Jeff Bagwell (third, including three first place votes) and Craig Biggio (fourth) for the 84-78, NL Central-winning Houston Astros.

Barry Bonds, 2001 San Francisco Giants (90-72)

San Francisco was no slouch 10 years ago with 90 wins, finishing two games behind the division-winning Arizona Diamondbacks. But this was an easy choice, as Bonds set major league records with 73 home runs and an .863 slugging percentage, and his then-record 177 walks helped fuel his .515 on-base percentage. Bonds got 30 of 32 first-place votes, with Sammy Sosa and his 64 home runs for the 88-win Chicago Cubs getting the other two first-place votes.

The highest NL MVP finisher on a playoff team in 2001 was Luis Gonzalez, who had the quietest 57-home runs season in history yet had the last laugh with his season-ending bloop single in Game 7 of the World Series.

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Clayton Kershaw had a fine season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the best pitching seasons in the last two decades for the franchise. On Thursday the Baseball Writers Association of America named Kershaw the 2011 National League Cy Young Award Winner, capturing a stunning 27 of 32 first-place votes, easily outpacing Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies, who won the award in 2010 (and 2003, too).

Kershaw is the eighth Dodger to win the Cy Young Award, and the first since Eric Gagne in 2003.

Kershaw led the major leagues with a 2.28 ERA, led the National League with 248 strikeouts, and tied with Ian Kennedy of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the NL lead with 21 wins. Kershaw became the third Dodgers pitcher ever to win the pitching triple crown, joining Sandy Koufax (who did it three times: 1963, 1965, and 1966) and Dazzy Vance (1924).

The 23-year old Kershaw became the first Dodger to win 20 games since Ramon Martinez in 1990, and with 21 wins had the most victories by a Dodger since Orel Hershiser in 1988, the last Dodgers starting pitcher to capture the Cy Young Award.

Kershaw was the youngest pitcher in baseball to win more than 20 games in a season since 20-year old Dwight Gooden went 24-4 for the 1985 New York Mets, and was the youngest Dodger to win 20 games in as season since 21-year old Ralph Branca went 21-12 in Brooklyn in 1947.

Kershaw also led the NL in WHIP (0.977) batting average allowed (.207), on-base percentage allowed (.256), slugging percentage allowed (.298), and subsequently opponents' OPS (.554). He was in the top four in FIP (2.47, 2nd), xFIP (2.84, 4th), ERA+ (163, 2nd), rWAR (7.0, 2nd), fWAR (6.8, 2nd), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.59, 3rd).

Even when runners did reach base against Kershaw, he found a way to get them out, as his 10 pickoffs were second in baseball to James Shields of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Like teammate Matt Kemp, Kershaw has had a busy offseason. Kershaw's peers voted him Outstanding Pitcher in the National League, he was named a Sporting News NL All-Star, he won his first Gold Glove Award, and he even won the Warren Spahn Award, given annually to the top left-handed pitcher in MLB.

There were many memorable performances for Kershaw in 2011. He was 5-0 with a 1.07 ERA against the rival San Francisco Giants, including four wins in four epic battles against two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum. There were the back-to-back 11-strikeout complete games in June, two of his career-high five complete games. Nobody in baseball had more starts allowing zero earned runs than the 12 such starts by Kershaw.

Kershaw and his wife Ellen pledged to donate $100 for every strikeout this season to raise money to build an orphanage in Zambia, and the way Kershaw pitched all season it looked like Kershaw's Challenge might just find a home for every single child in the African country.

At 23 years old, 12 days, Kershaw was the fifth-youngest opening day starter in Dodgers history.

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The National League Cy Young Award will get announced at 11 a.m. PST today, and we will find out whether or not Clayton Kershaw takes home top honors. A lot has been written through the years about the Dodgers who have won the Cy Young Award — Don Newcombe (1956), Don Drysdale (1962), Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965, 1966), Mike Marshall (1974), Fernando Valenzuela (1981), Orel Hershiser (1988), and Eric Gagne (2003) — but not much has been said about those who have come up just short.

Here is a look at the Dodgers who finished second in the Cy Young balloting.

Sal Maglie, 1956

This was the very first year of the Cy Young Award, and there was only one award for all the major leagues. Don Newcombe won this award with 27 wins and a 3.06 ERA for the pennant-winning Dodgers, and his teammate Maglie finished second.

Maglie was a long-time Giant and might have won the Cy Young Award had there been one in 1952 (he finished fourth in NL MVP voting, the highest pitcher on the ballot). In 1956, Maglie was 39 years old and was purchased from the Cleveland Indians in May. Maglie with the Dodgers went 13-5 with a 2.87 ERA and pitched a no-hitter in his second-to-last start of the season, against the Philadelphia Phillies, while the Dodgers were in the middle of a tight pennant race with both the Milwaukee Braves and Cincinnati Reds.

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Since Cy Young became an award in 1956, there have been 13 pitchers to win the traditional pitching triple crown: that is, leading the league or tying for the league lead in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average. All have one particular trait in common:

I see a trend here that bodes well for Clayton Kershaw when the Baseball Writers Association of America announces the 2011 National League Cy Young Award winner on Thursday at 11 a.m. PST. All 12 triple crown winners aside from Kershaw have taken home the Cy Young Award, and all but Roger Clemens with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1997 won unanimously. 309 of 312 first-place votes isn't bad.

This is not to say that Roy Halladay of the Philadelphia Phillies wouldn't be a worthy choice for this year's award; in fact, quite the contrary. In many ways, it can easily be argued that Halladay should be the favorite. But the difference between Kershaw and Halladay, or even Cliff Lee, was fairly negligible this year, and a close vote wouldn't surprise me.

But if I were a betting man — and I am — I would wager a fair amount of money on Kershaw winning this year's award. We shall find out Thursday.