Dodgers Dugout: Nice start, except for the bullpen

Assistant Sports Editor

April 5, 2019 8 AM PT

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell and I’ll take a 5-2 homestand any time (even if it could have been 7-0).

Random thoughts

--It has only been seven games, but the Dodgers remind me a lot of the 2017 team. Good starting pitching, strong offense and shaky bullpen.

--It is far too soon to give up on Joe Kelly. He’s not as bad as his first two games. The problem is, as I wrote when they signed him, he has never been a consistently solid reliever. While low relief pitcher ERA’s aren’t always illuminating, a high one is, and here are Kelly’s ERA’s since 2015 (which includes some time as a starter):

2015: 4.82

2016: 5.18

2017: 2.70

2018: 4.39

2019: 18.00

Yikes.

--If you told me that after seven games, Max Muncy would be hitting .100, Corey Seager .130, Justin Turner .200 and Chris Taylor .150, but the Dodgers would be 5-2, I would have a hard time believing you.

--This shows how meaningless spring training stats are. Turner hit .450 with power this spring, but is hitting .200 with no extra-base hits in the season. However, he is tied for second on the team with six RBIs.

--Cody Bellinger is on pace to hit 116 home runs this season. I don’t have time to look it up, but I believe that would be a record.

--Please tell me that the old Pedro Baez isn’t back.

--Am I the only one who wishes the Dodgers would not display the stadium ad for Forest Lawn when the team is trying to rally? Do we really need to be reminded about death or loss at a time like that?

--Kiké Hernandez is trying to prove to everyone how much he deserves to be the starting second baseman.

--Corey Seager looks a bit rusty to me. But he’ll turn it around.

--It’s great to see Austin Barnes and Russell Martin cheer each other on. Martin really seems happy when Barnes hits well, and vice versa. The position most of us were worried about could be a bright spot.

--Let’s hope everything goes well with Kenley Jansen in Denver, which triggered his heart problem last season.

--Of course, it has been only seven games. Far too early to reach any real conclusions.

Ask Ross Porter

Ross Porter will once again answer reader questions this season. All you have to do is email me your question at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. I will forward the email on to Ross, and he will answer two or three each week. Take it away, Ross.

It’s a pleasure to return to Dodgers Dugout and I look forward to answering your questions.

Brad Memberto asks: Who holds the record for the most opening day starts for a Dodger pitcher and non-pitcher?

Ross: Clayton Kershaw with eight. In Los Angeles, Willie Davis, 11 and Mike Scioscia, 10. In Brooklyn, Zack Wheat with 16 and Pee Wee Reese with 14.

Rob Bryant of Huntington Beach asks: Brad Miller had a good spring training but didn’t make the Dodgers’ 25-man roster. Why?

Ross: It came down to Miller or Alex Verdugo. Verdugo, who will be 23 next month, has hit .321 the last two years in triple A and has nothing to prove in the minors. The Dodgers are worried about hurting Alex’s morale. The 29-year-old Miller hit .385 this spring (10 for 26), saw he was not going to make the Dodgers, opted out of his minor league contract and signed with the Cleveland Indians three days later. Brad is starting at second base now for Cleveland with Jason Kipnis injured.

Scott Walden asks: Ross, help me make sense of the Dodgers-Reds trade. Does it make sense to you?

Ross: My first thought was the Dodgers had finalized a deal with Bryce Harper and wanted to trade the two outfielders, Puig and Kemp, before they announced it. Rockies manager Bud Black told me recently that he had the same assumption. I was sorry to see Alex Wood go. To take Homer Bailey, who was 1-14 last season and immediately release him was baffling. Scott, it had to be that the Dodgers wanted to slash the payroll and have $64 million to spend on free agents and trade targets next winter.

Michael Gorecki asks: Hi Ross, what year did the late, great Frank Robinson play for the Dodgers?

Ross: In 1972 after being traded by the Orioles, the 36-year-old Robinson started 94 games for the Dodgers, 89 in right field, and hit .251 with 19 home runs and 59 RBIs. His salary was $147,000. After that season, Frank was traded to the Angels as part of a seven-player transaction that brought Andy Messersmith to the Dodgers.

You can follow Ross on Twitter: @therossporter

These names seem familiar

What recently departed Dodgers are doing around the league (through Thursday):

Kyle Farmer, Reds, .000 (0 for 5)

Yasmani Grandal, Brewers, .211 (4 for 19)

Matt Kemp, Reds, .077 (1 for 13)

Yasiel Puig, Reds, .150 (3 for 20)

Alex Wood, Reds, on IL with sore back

TV schedule

KTLA will televise nine more Dodger games during the season. They are:

Friday, April 12, vs. Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Thursday, April 18, at Milwaukee, 5 p.m.