The Dodger Injuries, Player by Player

You can run through the list of Dodger players position by position and just about everyone has suffered some sort of malady.  Take a look and judge for yourself.  Do you ever remember a Dodger team with so many injuries?  Remember, the season is only 31 games old.

Carl Crawford - Started the season sitting out a few games, a late addition to the 25 man roster due to recovery from Tommy John surgery.  This was followed by missing three games with a tight hamstring in May.

Matt Kemp - recovery from off-season surgery has sapped his power and forced him to revert to bad habits as a hitter.  Will he ever return to his former form?  Only time will tell.

Luis Cruz - I know, we're wishing he had some sort of injury to get him off the roster.  Maybe it would explain his awful production, but I believe we are coming to realize that 2012 was a fluke run for him.  More on Cruz later.

Hanley Ramirez - tears ligament in his right thumb in the WBC championship game.  The injury sidelines him until April 30th.  Six days after his return, while playing extremely well, he pulls a hamstring against San Francisco and he'll be out for several more weeks.

Chad Billingsley - undergoes Tommy John surgery after his second start of the season.  Out for the year.  This injury lingered from 2012 when he was shut down in August, due to a partial elbow ligament tear.  This was no surprise, and the loss of Billingsley is huge.

Zack Greinke - in his second start of the year,  his collarbone is broken by Carlos Quentin of San Diego, who brawls with the pitcher after being hit by a pitch.  Greinke is expected back in mid-June.  This loss is looming very large as Dodger starting pitching continues to struggle.

Mark Ellis - at age 36, he was off to a torrid start only to pull a quad muscle on April 27th.  The Dodgers kept him on the 25 man roster for nine more days, playing shorthanded the whole time with hopes that he could return in less than 15 days.  It wasn't to be.  The earliest he can return is May 14th.

Adrian Gonzalez - suffers a fluke injury on defense when he collides with an umpire.  He wakes up with a stiff neck the next day and his condition worsens, knocking him out of key series at San Francisco.  His return to the lineup tonight is a promising development.

Ted Lilly - first it was the flu in spring training that got him behind other pitchers.  Then when he was placed on the starting staff, it was his back, now it's a rib cage, possibly oblique.  Who knows?  Maybe he's done.

Scott Elbert could really help a depleted Dodger bullpen about now (photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Scott Elbert - starts year on D.L. due to elbow problems.  Expected back by June.  His return could be a big addition, as the Dodger bullpen has had its problems.

Stephen Fife - he caught a break and was called up to join the starting rotation only to suffer shoulder inflammation and land on the D.L.

Jerry Hairston Jr. - strains groin muscle during San Francisco series.  Not placed on D.L. yet but he can't run.

Chris Capuano - suffers calf injury in his first start of the year and is removed from the starting rotation and placed on the D.L. for 15 days.  Is ineffective in his return start with the Dodgers on May 6th.

Shawn Tolleson - called up from Triple A, he is ineffective in his outings and reveals that his back is not right.  After a visit to the doctor, he goes under the knife with back surgery and will probably be out for the year.

Who's next?

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Have you ever wondered what kind of hole Luis Cruz has dug himself into?

Let’s imagine that he goes on a tear and collects hits in record numbers.

A 4 for 4 night will raise his batting average to .135.  That’s right, .135.   A full eleven points below Don Sutton’s lifetime batting average.

(photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/US Presswire)

Here is what Cruz will be hitting if he were to continue on a perfect hitting run

5 for 5 = .147

6 for 6 = .158

7 for 7 = .169

8 for 8 = . 179

9 for 9 = .190

10 for 10 = .200

That's right, 10 for his next 10 to be hitting a pitiful .200.

Realistically we can’t expect this kind of miraculous production out of the free swinging Cruz.  So let's say he finds his hitting stroke and goes on a good run.  If he hits on a torrid pace and hits .350 over the next 100 at bats, he’ll raise his average to .241, about where his lifetime batting average sits, six points shy of .247.

I like Cruz and I feel bad that things haven't worked out.  He was a great "feel good" story last year.  But enough's enough.  There are better options in Albuquerque.  Players that can contribute more than an .090 average.