The All-Star Break

The Dodgers staggered into the All-Star break like Otis Campbell staggers into the Mayberry Jail on a Saturday night. I had to throw in a Andy Griffith Show reference. RIP Andy Griffith, a fellow Tarheel thru and thru. The surprising thing is that they are still in first place in the National League West with a 47-40 record, a 1/2 game over the rival San Francisco Giants. There have been a lot of positives in the first half of the season. Matt Kemp's great start, Chris Capuano's 9-4 record, contributions from a bunch of call ups from the minors and a ragtag bench, AJ Ellis emerging as an everyday catcher, and Kenley Jansen emerging as the closer out of the bullpen. The negatives can pretty much be summed up with one word. Injuries. Then there were more injuries. Then I think a player may have got hurt. There are a lot of things to look forward to in the second half. Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier's return, Clayton Kershaw getting on a roll like he did last year, and Nathan Eovaldi getting some run support.