Anyone who was at Dodger Stadium on Friday night or Sunday afternoon undoubtedly felt it whether they want to admit it or not – the feeling that the Dodgers were going to lose because Dan Haren and Josh Beckett were pitching on those days. Oh sure, Dodger fans were hoping their team would win, but the painful truth is that when Haren and Beckett are slated to pitch, fan confidence goes right out the window.

To his credit, Josh Beckett didn’t pitch all that bad on Sunday but his pitch count got very high very quickly, thus putting pressure on the Dodgers less-than-stellar bullpen, which failed miserably. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

It is the polar opposite when Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke or Hyun-jin Ryu are slated to pitch – and the results over the past two months bear this out. Whereas Kershaw, Greinke and Ryu are 18-7 in their combined last 10 starts with an outstanding combined ERA of 2.32, Haren and Beckett are 6-9 in their combined last 10 starts with a dismal 4.88 ERA. Additionally, Kershaw, Greinke and Ryu are averaging a combined 6.85 innings per outing whereas Haren and Beckett are averaging a combined 5.35 innings per outing.

But the troublesome back of the rotation and perennial struggling bullpen are not the only problems facing the Dodgers, they’re just the ones receiving most of the attention. The other very significant problem facing Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti and manager Don Mattingly involve the so-called four outfielder problem that the team has had to endure the entire season; you know, the problem that we have been told time and again is “a good problem to have.”

The reality is that the Dodgers currently have only two good outfielders. The other two are anything but – especially offensively. No one will argue that Yasiel Puig and his MVP-caliber triple slash of .323 / .407 / .551 for a great OPS of .959 has basically carried the team all season long; or that the remarkable resurgence of Matt Kemp who is only hitting .377 with five home runs and 14 RBIs since the All-Star break have helped the Dodgers to a 9-6 (.599) post All-Star Game record. The problem is with the other two outfielders – Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier. Since the All-Star break Crawford is 6 for 47 (.128) with zero home runs and four RBIs and Ethier 3 for 23 (.130) with zero home runs and 3 RBIs. During this time Crawford has struck out 11 times and Ethier 10. It’s safe to say that this is not “a good problem to have.”

Andre Ethier has been absolutely horrible since the All-Star break with 10 strikeouts in 23 at bats – including two more on Sunday afternoon. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The problem is compounded by the insanely large contracts held by Crawford and Ethier, contracts that no sane team is willing to take on in exchange for either of these sub-par outfielders. The Dodgers owe Crawford $20.50 million for 2015, $20.75 million for 2016 and $21 million for 2017 – and that’s not even counting the balance of the $20.25 million owed to him this season. As for Ethier, he is owed $18 million for 2015, 18 million for 2016 and $17.5 million for each of 2017 and 2018 – again, this not including the balance of the $15.5 million still owed to him this season.

And don’t look for this “good problem to have” to go away anytime soon. There is no way that Colletti or Guggenheim Baseball Management group are about to eat crow by eating Crawford’s or Ethier’s insane contracts to unload them. They will instead keep running these guys out there even if it costs them a shot at a World Championship. If Colletti has taught us anything, he has taught us that lofty contracts trump poor play every time.

The good news is that there is every indication that Dodgers top outfield prospect Joc Pederson will receive a September 1 call-up to the Dodgers. Pederson is currently hitting .323 with 23 home runs and 56 RBIs for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. The problem, of course, is: will the Dodgers still be in first place in the NL West come September 1?