Dodger fans, cue up the violins. A scan of this week's "Unlucky Pitchers" column tells a sad story about your beloved team. Each of the Dodgers' top three starters has an H/BIP of at least 33 percent, and each has an ERA that is at least 0.30 higher than ERC says it should be. Even Jonathan Broxton, setup man extraordinaire, is sporting an unseemly 5.29 ERA and 1.35 WHIP, thanks to an outrageous 37 percent H/BIP. This quartet has yielded 176 hits in just 166 1/3 combined innings. If they can try to turn Coors Field into Dodger Stadium, then why can't these guys turn Dodger Stadium into Coors Field?

Could this possibly be a coincidence or is something rotten going on in Chavez Ravine? The Dodgers are not a particularly poor defensive team, failing to reach its share of hit balls. Even if they were, it would hard to explain the favorable H/BIP rates compiled by Chan Ho Park (24 percent), Esteban Loaiza (26 percent) and Hiroki Kuroda (28 percent). Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley and Broxton appear to be truly snakebit, and therefore, should rebound soon.

The Dodgers pitchers have something in common with Angels' catcher Mike Napoli. Despite the bad luck befalling their key performers, the Dodgers' pitching staff is fifth in the National League in ERA and batting average against (through Saturday). With his measly 23 percent H/BIP, Napoli has still emerged as one of the better Fantasy catchers in the American League. He leads all AL backstops in home runs, RBI and steals. With a H/BIP rate more befitting someone with his power, Napoli would likely be higher in the rankings for batting average and runs. As with the Dodger pitchers, better things should be in store for Napoli.

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In case anyone is wondering what Greg Maddux is doing on the "Good Stats, Good Skills" list when his ERA is barely below 4.00, note that his ERC suggests that his ERA could be in the mid-3.00s. His 30 percent H/BIP rate and 3.4 K/BB ratio also show that a sub-4.00 ERA for Maddux is not a fluke, and that he could still be a relevant option for owners in mixed leagues.

All statistics are for season-to-date performances through Saturday, May 17.

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'Lucky' Hitters H/BIP RC/27 'Lucky' Pitchers H/BIP ERC
Dioner Navarro, C, Tampa Bay 42% 6.4 Tyler Yates, RP, Pittsburgh 21% 4.56
Justin Upton, OF, Arizona 41% 8.0 Erik Bedard, SP, Seattle 23% 3.64
Aaron Rowand, OF, San Francisco 41% 8.0 Francisco Cordero, RP, Cincinnati 23% 2.95
Ryan Ludwick, OF, St. Louis 40% 11.5 Juan Cruz, RP, Arizona 24% 3.79
Gregor Blanco, OF, Atlanta 40% 6.3 Chan Ho Park, SP, L.A. Dodgers 24% 3.94
Geovany Soto, C, Chicago Cubs 39% 11.1 Ryan Franklin, RP, St. Louis 24% 2.44
Ramon Vazquez, 3B, Texas 39% 7.9 Brian Bass, RP, Minnesota 24% 5.17
Clint Barmes, SS, Colorado 39% 7.9 Tim Wakefield, SP, Boston 26% 4.71
Brandon Boggs, OF, Texas 39% 5.1 Fausto Carmona, SP, Cleveland 27% 3.99
Mark Grudzielanek, 2B, Kansas City 37% 5.9 Aaron Cook, SP, Colorado 28% 3.31
'Unlucky' Hitters H/BIP RC/27 'Unlucky' Pitchers H/BIP ERC
J.R. Towles, C, Houston 13% 2.6 Jimmy Gobble, RP, Kansas City 40% 4.14
Jason Giambi, DH, N.Y. Yankees 15% 5.5 Jonathan Broxton, RP, L.A. Dodgers 37% 3.75
Mike Cameron, OF, Milwaukee 21% 3.5 C.C. Sabathia, SP, Cleveland 36% 5.01
Rickie Weeks, 2B, Milwaukee 21% 3.9 Javier Vazquez, SP, Chicago White Sox 34% 3.31
Bill Hall, 3B, Milwaukee 21% 3.1 Ross Ohlendorf, RP, N.Y. Yankees 34% 4.02
Robinson Cano, 2B, N.Y. Yankees 21% 2.4 Chad Billingsley, SP, L.A. Dodgers 34% 4.03
Adam Dunn, OF, Cincinnati 21% 5.8 Derek Lowe, SP, L.A. Dodgers 34% 4.24
Paul Konerko, 1B, Chicago White Sox 23% 4.2 Randy Wolf, SP, San Diego 33% 4.14
Mike Napoli, C, L.A. Angels 23% 5.7 Brad Penny, SP, L.A. Dodgers 33% 4.53
Jhonny Peralta, SS, Cleveland 24% 3.6 Brett Tomko, SP, Kansas City 33% 4.29
Good stats, good skills - hitters H/BIP RC/27 Good stats, good skills - pitchers H/BIP ERC
Nate McLouth, OF, Pittsburgh 30% 9.0 James Shields, SP, Tampa Bay 29% 2.63
Carlos Quentin, OF, Chicago White Sox 30% 8.7 John Danks, SP, Chicago White Sox 29% 2.68
Jayson Werth, OF, Philadelphia 30% 8.2 Edinson Volquez, SP, Cincinnati 30% 2.69
Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Boston 29% 7.0 Dana Eveland, SP, Oakland 29% 3.18
Stephen Drew, SS, Arizona 31% 6.5 Greg Maddux, SP, San Diego 30% 3.64
Poor stats, poor skills - hitters H/BIP RC/27 Poor stats, poor skills - pitchers H/BIP ERC
Wily Mo Pena, OF, Washington 30% 2.0 Brandon Backe, SP, Houston 31% 5.86
Jason Bartlett, SS, Tampa Bay 32% 2.6 Odalis Perez, SP, Washington 31% 5.61
Matt Diaz, OF, Atlanta 33% 3.0 Gil Meche, SP, Kansas City 31% 5.06
Felipe Lopez, SS, Washington 31% 3.7 Matt Garza, SP, Tampa Bay 30% 5.06
Ivan Rodriguez, C, Detroit 32% 3.9 Oliver Perez, SP, N.Y. Mets 30% 4.90
Runs Created per 27 Outs (RC/27) -- An estimate of how many runs a lineup would produce per 27 outs if a particular player occupied each spot in the order; ex. the RC/27 for Miguel Cabrera would predict the productivity of a lineup where Cabrera (or his statistical equal) batted in all nine spots; created by Bill James
Component ERA (ERC) -- An estimate of a what a pitcher's ERA would be if it were based solely on actual pitching performance; created by Bill James
Base Hits per Balls in Play (H/BIP) -- The percentage of balls in play (at bats minus strikeouts and home runs) that are base hits; research by Voros McCracken and others has established that this rate is largely random and has a norm of approximately 30%
Isolated Power -- The difference between slugging percentage and batting average; created by Branch Rickey and Allan Roth
Walk Rate -- Walks / (at bats + walks)
Whiff Rate -- Strikeouts / at bats

Al Melchior was recently a Fantasy columnist and data analyst for Baseball HQ and will be providing advice columns for CBSSports.com. Click here to send him a question. Please put "Melchior" in the subject field.