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Last week, Ted Green took a look at why the Dodgers are performing below expectations. I’ll take the other tack and explain why they could be the National League’s best team in the second half of the season.

1. When everyone talks about how the kids are not performing, they neglect to mention the pitchers. So let us take a look at what the young pitchers have been doing for the Dodgers. Most Dodger fans didn’t notice but 23-year-old Chad Billingsley was the ace of the Dodgers in the 2nd half of the 2007 season, out pitching everyone in the rotation. After some initial struggles in April, he has again put his stamp on the rotation and quietly has become the de-facto ace. The only thing lacking in his repertoire is wins and that has hardly been his fault. Before Tuesdsay night’s rough outing, Billingsley carried a 141 ERA+ good for seventh in the league among starters. Importantly, he is the youngest of anyone in the top 10.

Next up is 26 year old Hong-Chih Kuo whose ERA+ of 236 is fourth among relievers. Kuo has become one of the most dominant middle relief pitchers in baseball, striking out 58 in only 48 innings.

Corey Wade, at age 25, is making his first foray into the Major League mix and when it comes to results, Wade has them in spades. His ERA+ clocks in at 186, good for eighth in the league. 24 year old Jonathan Broxton isn’t pitching up to the standards he set in 2006 and 2007, but he did just come out of June without allowing a run.

Before he was sent back to the Minors, 20 year old Clayton Kershaw did not “wow” but he more then held his own, posting an ERA+ of 99 in his eight starts. Basically he was average, and for a 20-year-old to be average against big league competition? I’m pretty giddy. Right now Tim Lincecum has earned the right to be called the best young pitcher in the NL. He’s 24, in his first full season. The knock from some was that Kershaw couldn’t get a win. Whatever. By the time Clayton is Tim Lincecum’s age he will have more career wins than only a handful of 24 year old pitchers in Dodger history.

As a group, the young Dodger pitchers have been excellent and give fans plenty of reason for optimism in the second half. As Kershaw works on his command he should be ready to help out even more come September. (By the way, if you want an update on how the prospects are performing, check out my Blue Sparks reports every Sunday over at TrueBlueLA.)

2. The kids with the sticks (Ethier, Kemp, Loney, DeWitt, and LaRoche) have been deemed ordinary because of their mixed bag first halves. One quick point- it’s unfair to write about this group while excluding the contributions of 25 year old Russell Martin while including those of the 26 year old Ethier. Martin was a key member of the Jacksonville Five and his contributions should count when you are discussing the kids.

Green wrote his column before Ethier went on his recent tear but it doesn’t matter. Ethier was never expected to be anything more then a solid contributor at the Major League level. Everything suggests that Andre is a going to hit 280-300 with 15-20 home runs while providing above average defense at either corner outfield spot. There’s no shame in that, and it’s a pace Ethier is currently meeting.

Matt Kemp is another kettle of fish, with expectations reaching far higher than any other young position player in the organization. But before writing him off, remember a few things: First off Matt Kemp is still only 23 years old, and still needs to learn quite a bit about baseball. It has been disappointing to watch Kemp lead the team in strikeouts without providing the power that should accompany a more free-swinging approach. But writing off Matt Kemp because he hasn’t blown the doors off over the first half of ‘08 isn’t a good bet.

Green mentioned Jay Bruce when discussing the fact that the Dodgers just have not developed someone of that caliber. Not a fair comparison. First of all, a team has to be far worse than the Blue have been over the years to even get a crack at a player of Bruce’s caliber. Cincinnati, on the other hand, has had many attempts to get someone like Bruce and only once have they hit gold. The Dodgers have had only one recent pick in the top 10 of the amateur draft, and turned it into Clayton Kershaw. If Green thinks Kershaw is going to be ordinary… he’s the only one.

James Loney is a better player then Casey Kotchman, who is well regarded down the 5 Freeway. Loney is also a full year younger then Kotchman, will likely finish the year with a higher average, more homers, and an equally solid body of work with the glove. This from a guy who thinks the world of Kotchman as a player. At age 24, Loney doing exactly what one would expect. He gets compared to 3 time All Star Mark Grace, but has the potential to be a better player. I think he will be.

Blake DeWitt should not even be in this conversation. He gave the club far more than they could have hoped for in April and May, but evidently Joe Torre and the media haven’t noticed that since June 1st he’s been just about the worst regular in baseball. Andy LaRoche on the other hand only needs opportunity. If Torre were to give LaRoche the same number of at bats bestowed upon Blake DeWitt, he’d would find that his search for power would have already come to an end.

Has anyone who has displayed the minor league pedigree of power, patience, and contact that Andy LaRoche possesses ever not succeeded at the Major League level? Good luck finding that person because despite some digging, we haven’t been able to at TrueBlueLA.

3. Nomar Garciaparra! For a while now I’ve ranted about Nomar being more of the problem then a solution, but you have to look at it in context. In 2007 Nomar was re-signed to play first base, stalling a ready James Loney. In 2008 Nomar was going to block a better player in LaRoche, before the kid hurt his thumb. However, now the Blue desperately need a healthy Nomar to produce at short to make a mark down the stretch. As a SS, Nomar’s declining offensive skills are still a plus, instead of a minus at first or third. His range, well, it blows, but the arm is still strong.

If he can just make the normal plays for two months his offense might make up the defensive deficiency. Somehow bridge that gap until Furcal could be ready in early September, or until Chin-lung Hu has corrected his vision issues and returned to form with the bat. Hu is a better hitter than he showed for the Dodgers earlier this season. If all else fails, maybe Futures All Star Ivan DeJesus could be ready to kick in and contribute over the final weeks of the season.

(The Dodgers had better hope one of these approaches pan out, because a look at all the possible shortstop solutions doesn’t inspire.)

4. The Juan Pierre situation. Green writes that without Furcal that the Dodgers are done, but doesn’t account for the fact that with Pierre on the DL, the Dodgers no longer have a sinkhole at the leadoff spot. Since Furcal went down, Joe Torre had used Juan Pierre as his lead off man because he can run fast and history says Juan Pierre is a leadoff hitter. Forget the fact he never gets on base. Whenever I hear Torre praising Pierre I cringe, because if he really thinks Pierre does more to help the Dodgers win than Ethier or Kemp, the ship is already sunk.

I hope it is merely a ploy to boost Juan’s confidence.

As a lead off hitter, Juan Pierre has an OBP of .294. That is not just bad, it’s terrible. That is in 220 plate appearances, so we’re not talking about some tiny sample size. I think a couple weeks of having anyone other than Pierre lead off will ignite the Dodgers offense. Torre will have no choice but to stick someone else in there, and just about every option, whether Kemp (who has been holding down the fort) would get on more frequently than Pierre.

5. Andruw Jones is going to help this team in the second half. It is a fool’s bet, perhaps, but it is my bet that he is not done.

6. When they are finally forced to play Andy LaRoche he will make them wonder why they took so long.

7. Reclamation project Chan Ho Park has proven to me that he’s back. Initially, it seemed luck was on his side and once it wore out, reality would rear its ugly head. But at this point, Park is pitching great, and all the peripherals point to his renaissance being for real.

8. Jeff Kent has one last shot at a World Series and you can be sure the future HOFer will lay it all out on the line one more time. His bat has slowly started trending the right way, heating up and maybe, just maybe, he can become the rallying point for this young team and help them through the growing pains. Maybe it’s just my imagination run wild again, but it even seems like lately he’s been going out of his way to show support for the kids on the field.

9. The bullpen, which on most days is the best in baseball at keeping a lead. With Beimel, Kuo, Wade, Park, Broxton, and Smiling Sammy Saito, if the Blue can manage to get ahead, the pen will keep them there.

There you go. Even though the Dodgers haven’t spent a day alone in first place this year, they’ll see plenty of time atop the division as the season goes on, thanks to a combination of youth and veterans coming together at the right time.

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