From Gary Sheffield's spring training histrionics to general manager Kevin Malone's early-season forced resignation to a rash of injuries that have swept through the lineup like wildfire, the Dodgers have endured off-field distractions and adversity and, remarkably, are only 3½ games back of first-place Arizona in the NL West. Rookie manager Jim Tracy deserves credit for uniting the formerly fractured clubhouse and taking steps to restore a winning tradition at Chavez Ravine.
First-half MVP: Shawn Green (.289, 20, 64) has proven last year was an aberration, and Chan Ho Park (8-5, 2.80) and Jeff Shaw (24 saves in 27 opportunities) are All-Stars, but Paul Lo Duca has been nothing short of amazing. A career minor leaguer before this season, he is hitting .346 with as many home runs (14) as strikeouts and a slugging percentage of .615. In the field, the versatile Lo Duca has played catcher, first base and right field, committing only three errors in 390 chances. Beyond the tangibles, he is a sparkplug, the ultimate underdog whose intensity has helped infuse life into an organization that had grown stale.
Biggest Surprise: A few. Kevin Brown is only 7-4 with a 3.02 ERA. Injuries forced him to miss a couple of turns in the rotation, and the Dodgers have been shut out three times when he has started. Thirty-one-year-old Matt Herges has been a workhorse, appearing in 37 games and following up his stellar rookie campaign (11-3, 3.17 ERA in 2000) with solid relief (7-6, 3.43 ERA). He is the glue of the bullpen. Luke Prokopec is a good story as well. The Australian native started the season 6-1, and even though he has lost his last three decisions, he has a respectable 4.18 ERA and will be counted on in the second half. Another pleasant surprise has been Marquis Grissom, who has shown some pop at the plate (15 HR and 43 RBI) and emerged as a clubhouse leader in his brief time with the team.
Biggest disappointment: Injuries, injuries, injuries. Key position players, including Eric Karros (.252, 8, 36), Sheffield, Mark Grudzielanek (.300, 8, 35) and Adrian Beltre (.242, 7, 24), have spent time on the DL, accounting for some of their low power numbers. The good news is that they are all healthy and back in the lineup. The same cannot be said for the Dodgers' starting rotation. Andy Ashby's season ended after only two starts with a torn flexor muscle in his right elbow, and Darren Dreifort needs reconstructive elbow surgery for the second time in his career and is out for at least a year. Dreifort has 20-win stuff, but he has never put together a full season, winning no more than 13 games in 1999. After signing a five-year, $55-million deal over the winter, the Wichita State product did not earn his keep (again), going 4-7 with a 5.13 ERA.
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Dodgers first-half comparison
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2000
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2001
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W-L
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44-42
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48-40
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HR leader
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Sheffield, 27
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Green, 20
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BA leader
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Sheffield, .334
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Grudziel., .300
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ERA
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Brown, 2.38
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Park, 2.80
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Second-half goals: The goal is to make the playoffs -- something the Dodgers have not done since 1996 -- and win a playoff game -- something the club has not done since winning the World Series in 1988. For those two things to happen, Los Angeles is going to need play better defense. Through 88 games, the team has committed 71 errors and turned 62 double plays, one more than the major-league low. Since returning from an appendectomy, Beltre is yet to find his swing, but he must pick up the slack at the plate.
Minor-leaguer to watch: The Dodgers' reputation for having one of the game's best farm systems has taken a step backwards in recent years. Still, Eric Gagne (1-4, 5.42), who started the year in Los Angeles but was sent to Triple-A Las Vegas after struggling, could pay dividends. He pitched six scoreless innings in an emergency start against the Giants on July 4 and is expected to be recalled in mid-July.
Grade:  -- It has been anything but a smooth ride so far. If the Dodgers can stay healthy and avoid their annual second-half mediocrity, the Blue Crew could make a serious run down the stretch and, for a change, live up to great expectations.
(Scale: 1 to 4 baseballs; 1 = worst, 4 = best)
Here's what you had to say about the Dodgers' first half.
Eric Ortiz is an assistant editor at ESPN.com
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