The Dodgers are in a bit of a funk here. They have gone 18-21 over their last 39 games, despite giving up more than four runs only nine times during that span. No, the problem hasn't been the pitching, with a 3.31 ERA over those last 39 games. In fact, the Dodgers have outscored their opponents 162-144 over this stretch of games. Their expected record should be something like 22-17, so part of this slump is luck. But, if there is one area to fix, its the offense.
The Bobbleslam game is the turning point for the offense. The team finished a sweep of the Reds, and were riding a five-game winning streak. Since then, the offense has slowed to a crawl, averaging just 4.15 runs per game, hitting .270/.334/.408 over that time. As it stands now, the offense is basically Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, with only occasional contributions from everyone else.
A main reason for the offensive downturn has been the lack of walking. There was a sharp decline in bases on balls after the Manny Ramirez suspension, which was to be expected, but since his return I expected a return to the patient ways of the early part of the season. That just hasn't happened:
| Dates | Games | BB/Gm | Runs/Gm | BA/OBP/SLG |
| April 6- May 6 | 29 | 4.86 | 5.55 | .283/.376/.426 |
| May 7 - July 1 | 50 | 3.34 | 4.40 | .265/.333/.385 |
| July 3 - present | 55 | 3.40 | 4.71 | .276/.344/.430 |
| Walks As A Percentage of Plate Appearances | |||
| Player | Apr 6 - May 6 | May 7 - Jul 1 | Jul 3 - present |
| Martin | 11.9% | 16.1% | 6.6% |
| Loney | 13.1% | 7.1% | 12.3% |
| Hudson | 12.7% | 8.1% | 7.8% |
| Furcal | 9.8% | 9.2% | 7.8% |
| Blake | 10.5% | 8.1% | 12.7% |
| Manny | 21.7% | ----- | 11.8% |
| Kemp | 10.3% | 7.8% | 8.3% |
| Ethier | 15.6% | 8.1% | 9.7% |
| Team Totals | 12.3% | 8.5% | 8.6% |
The Dodgers are 12th in the National League with 118 home runs this season. Their run scoring relies a lot on sequential hitting, bunching hits and walks together, essentially avoiding outs (novel concept, I know). For the Dodgers to get back to scoring runs, its time to be a little more patient at the plate.