The calendar turns to May and if you look at the Baseball Standings, you see what you expected.

1st place-Dodgers..(20-11)

2nd place-Padres…(19-11)

But you have to dig deeper to feel like I feel, that neither of these teams looks right, feels right.  And it is no longer a ‘Small Sample Size’ of baseball.

DODGERS…Great starting pitching staff but a bullpen fraught with problems.

A team that hit a bunch of home runs to start the season, 42-bombs in 22-games, but has suddenly stopped hitting, 3-homers and just 3-runs per game, in the last nine outings.

Did you know Shohei Ohtani has 1-home run in 15-games.

Freddie Freeman is in a (4-29) slump.

Mookie Betts has more discomfort in his oblique while on the DL.

Teoscar Hernandez has a (.231) average

Roki Sasaski is still in the rotation with a (6.11-ERA)

There is no trusted closer now with Edwin Diaz out 3-months with elbow surgery

Do you know the Dodgers have lost 7-of-their last 12 games.

PADRES..A starting rotation full of refugee rentals, and some of them living on borrowed time.  The bullpen seems to be slipping maybe because of over usage.

The Walker Buehler-German Marquez signings continue to be a start-by-start experiment-some good outings, a bunch of struggling innings.

Next on the horizon might be Griff Canning-the ex Angel, and then Lucas Giolito, let go by the Red Sox, and not the pitcher he used to be years ago with Chicago.

No one is talking about the rehab process or the extent of new damage to Nick Pivetta nor Joe Musgrove.

And then there is the batting order malaise.

Fernando Tatis-homer less in 30-games with a (.250) average.

Manny Machado (.222) and starting to not hustle on the bases.

Jackson Merrill’s bat (.200) -not equal to his glove.

Jake Cronenworth’s mystery plunge now at (.146)

Nick Castellanos-all of (.164)

Freddie Fermin (.170)

The collective batting average of leadoff hitters (.125)

You tell me.  Does this feel strange to you?

The 1st and 2nd place teams with a bunch of issues

Will the Dodgers hit their way out of it?  Will Blake Snell be vintage Blake Snell within a month?  Is there a trustworthy closer who surfaces?  What is the future role for Sasaki?

For the Padres, where has Tatis’ offensive game gone?  Why are we seeing signs of ‘I’m not Johnny Hustle’ from Machado?  Has the musical chairs batting order impacted Jackson Merrill or Jake Cronenworth?  Is Castellanos struggling not being an everyday player? 

And with (130) games left on this schedule, do you really believe this is playoff team type starting rotation?

Why does this first month of baseball not feel right to me?  Dodgers-Padres look strange.  How about you?

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