Published: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 Scanning the Majors: 5/17/06 Edition

The first quarter of the season is just about done and it’s time to send out some first quarter report cards to the local teams.

Offense Dodgers: A- The Dodgers are tied for first (with Cincinnati) in the NL in runs scored with 196 through Sunday. A big reason is they are first in OBP with a .350 mark (further proof that BA is overrated, they are 8th at .264). Leading the way are 1B Nomar Garciaparra with a .416 OBP and J.D. Drew at .381 to go with his 7 HR and 27 RBI. SS Rafael Furcal and 2B Jeff Kent struggled mightily out of the gate and have started to hit like their former selves lately. There really hasn’t been a weak spot in the lineup thus far and when an injury has cropped up, they’ve have compensated with someone from the farm system or the bench. Angels: D The Angels are twelfth in the AL in runs scored with 164, which comes out to a little over 4 runs per game. They are dead last in OBP with a .301 mark and twelfth in slugging with a .385 mark, barely ahead of powerhouses Tampa Bay (.384) and Kansas City (.383). Vlad Guerrero is holding up his end of the deal (.356 OBP, 9 HR, 32 RBI), but nobody else on the team is having a season that even resembles anything close to good. Orlando Cabrera has a .325 OBP in the 2nd year of a regrettable 4-year, 32 million dollar deal. Starting Pitching Dodgers: B The Dodger starters lead the NL in ERA at 3.70 and has a good WHIP of 1.28. The staff has been anchored by Brad Penny (3-1, 2.66 ERA), Derek Lowe (1-2, 2.98) and the surprising Brett Tomko (5-1, 2.88). Jae Seo and Odalis Perez has struggled, with Perez being replaced by the non-biodegradable Aaron Sele (2-0, 1.98). Super-prospect Chad Billingsley is just a phone call away at Vegas, so the Dodgers have some options should there be any further slip-ups. Angels: D- The Angel starters are tenth in ERA at a gruesome 5.12, but a decent WHIP of 1.33. Reigning Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon has been injured and unproductive (0-2. 7.07) and his replacements haven’t been much better. Free agent pickup Jeff Weaver has been terrible (1-6, 7.40) and there has been talk of his brother Jered taking his spot in the rotation. Kelvim Escobar (5-2, 3.46) and John Lackey (3-3, 3.61) have held their own, but the starters as a whole have been hurt by the home run ball (34 in 212 IP) and an inability to go deep into games (less than 6 IP per start). Bullpen Dodgers: F Dodger fans cringe like Torosian listening to a Hillary Rodham Clinton speech when they see the bullpen gates swing open this season. The pen ERA is 4.80 and an ugly WHIP of 1.53. Danys Baez (2-2, 8 SV, 3.38) blew 4 straight save opportunities before manager Grady Little passed him over for Takashi Saito (3-2, 2.86) Monday night. Eric Gagne is slated to return later this month or early next month, but it still remains to be seen in what incarnation he’ll return. Will he be dominant or a shell of his former self? The Dodgers better pray for the former. Angels: A- Perhaps the Angels only saving grace this season has been their bullpen, which has an ERA of 3.28 and a terrific WHIP of 1.19. The reason manager Mike Scioscia has been so quick to yank his starters is that he knows the bullpen has been the only thing keeping them in games. Anchored by Frankie Rodriguez (10 SV, 2.25) and Scott Shields (1-2, 0.61), they have also received a significant contribution from Brendan Donnelly (2.95 ERA in 18 IP). There is some concern about Rodriguez holding up over the course of a season, but so far so good. J.C. Romero will be better than he has been (1-2, 6.60). If they could get any type of performance from their starters, the team could stand a chance with their anemic offense. Defense Dodgers: D Furcal has struggled with the glove thus far (9 errors) and 3B Bill Mueller has had his own issues, making 8 before hitting the DL last week. The pitching staff has done a terrible job holding runners, having only caught 2 of 31 runners attempting to steal. Angels: C Cabrera has made 5 errors thus far and 3B Chone Figgins has committed 7. The OF has been stellar, only making 2 errors, both by Guerrero (I think they’ll forgive him). The running game has been held in check, allowing 17 steals in 27 chances. In spite of their imperfections, the two local teams are still in contention due to their weak divisions. Time will tell if they’ll improve their grades and go to the head of the class or flunk out of their division races.

By John Scanlan