Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers started the year well but then the injury bug hit and they spiralled to a 71-91 record, their worst record since '93 and a long way off the 93-69 record of '04.

Pitching

We could go on about the Dodger Stadium’s ground crew’s reputation for manipulating the field and maybe making the height of the mound closer to the legal limits pre-Bob Gibson but such things are just speculation and the bullpen that has been built by the Dodgers won’t need much help. Eric Gagne should return from injury with his filthy assortment of pitchers that make him the top closer in the NL and behind him Danys Baez and Yhency Brazoban should get him the lead more often the not.

Derek Lowe deserved better than a 12-15 record after posting a 3.61 ERA over 222 innings. He settled nicely into LA and with Brad Penny finally showing he knows how to pitch the Dodgers have a good 1-2 punch. It could be even better if Odalis Perez can return to his ‘04 form. He really struggled to get going last year but certainly has it in him to be a significant contributor.

Defence

Dioner Navarro and Sandy Alomar are solid citizens but basically they’re just holding down the fort till Russ Martin is ready in about a years time and they can do that.

The infield is an interesting bunch with Rafael Furcal with his tremendous range, nitro-glycerine in rocket fuel arm and over-exhuberence at short firing shells at Nomar Garciaparra at first where he has never played before (at least until he gets injured) and turning double plays with the moody statue that is Jeff Kent in the field. Thank God for Bill Mueller and his steady as they come defence at third.

Now assuming that J.D. Drew stays healthy and plays centre with Jose Cruz in right then the Dodgers have two very good fielders to build an outfield on and a platoon of Jayson Werth and Ricky Ledee in left wouldn’t leave them with too many problems. However, we all know Drew will fall into problems some time in the year and then comes the problems as Kenny Lofton is the only natural option in centerfield and he is way past his prime. Cruz could be moved to centre but he is nowhere near as good there as he is at the corners. They’ve even thought about playing Garciaparra in the outfield but who do you think will be injured first, him or Drew?

Offence

Rafael Furcal is a quality lead-off man with bucket loads of speed and knows how to use it. He should revel in the wide open spaces of Dodger Stadium. With Bill Mueller in the second spot the two should give the side a strong and consistent base to score a lot of runs. The only problem being that the club needs Garciaparra and Drew to be around to drive them in but its been a long while since either has lasted a full year. When healthy both consistently hit the ball hard to all fields and could win batting titles.

If the line-up stays healthy then they could be a potent force with Jeff Kent providing his usual 100 runs and 100 RBI and Jose Cruz always plays better when the pressure is off him.

Rookie Watch

Its an interesting time for the Dodgers with a number of their vaunted prospects on the verge of making the big club. The most likely to make it first is Andy LaRoche who is a solid defender and good hitter with power and with the power deficient Mueller ahead of him he should be plugged in as soon as he can prove his ready.

Joel Guzman will join the big club when he shows he can play a position other than shortstop where he plays now. With LaRoche ahead of him on the organisations pecking order at third, he is likely moving to the outfield. He is already a vicious, although sometimes erratic, hitter.

On the fast track to the rotation is Chad Billingsley and it awaits to be seen how the club handles him. Billingsley has a good fastball that sets up his curveball and slider which are both tough pitches that allows him to change plains on hitters and if he gets more consistency with his change then he could be at the front of the Dodger rotation soon.

The most interesting player will be Russell Martin who is the future of the Dodger franchise. He could probably use another year in the minors but with little ahead of him at catcher in the organisation and his array of strong defensive talents, leadership skills and general baseball savvy he could find himself as the here and now of the Dodger organisation very soon.

Management

The Dodgers had a strong team and then Paul DePodestra decided to change things for no reason and the team declined due to the reliance on players who already had a bad history in terms of injuries. Now DePodestra is gone Ned Colletti has been brought in and has already started by acquiring players who fit a more classic Dodgers style i.e. speed and defence. Many are sitting back to see what he does, especially with a lot of great young players just on the cusp.

Grady Little made one real mistake in Boston and it cost him his job even though he took the Sox to consecutive 90+ win seasons. This will be a chance for Little to prove that he is actually a better manager than people remember him as.

Outlook

Its all about health. They have solid pitching and a potentially great offence but too many brittle players in too many key positions and that could be the difference to being contenders for a World Series and being also rans in a sub-par NL West.