Pete J Proclaims : After a patchy start, the Dodgers looked very strong for a long time till the Mets juggernaut rolled over them in the playoffs but they are back with that experience still fresh in their minds.
Once again they will roll out a formidable pitching staff from the rotation of Lowe, Schmidt, Penny, Billingsley and possibly Randy Wolf to a deep bullpen anchored by the impressive Takashi Saito. Quite simply it doesn't let up and they will be marshalled by one of the top young catchers in baseball in Russ Martin who will be eager to establish himself as one of baseballs elite recievers.
The line-up has plenty of options to fill the slots behind table setter Raffy Furcal but doesn't have a dominant hitter for the heart of the order. The outfield in particular is quite limp after the departure of JD Drew. Andre Ethier is primed for a sophomore slump after struggling down the stretch, Luis Gonzalez can still be productive but you can't expect more than 15 homers from him and Juan Pierre still has gas to burn but is an impatient hitter who lacks the qualities to top the order and is only a passable defensive player with nowhere near the amount of power to justify batting down the order. He is the most expensive pinch runner in baseball.
It will be interesting to see if Andy LaRoche cracks the lineup and gives the side a boost. He plays a decent third base and has good power potential and could push Betemit to another position. Either way this is still a side with lots of depth even if they lack the big bat.
Its hard to really write anything substantial about this team because its just as solid as it gets with depth in hitting and pitching and even though they are very average defensively, there is not another team in the NL with the same amount of options at their disposal and no one in the West can compete with their standard of pitching over the season and they should match up well come the post-season. The youngsters of last year have added experience now and can take the next step. This team is a serious contender to win it all.
Fan Boy Conor Says : It's a very exciting time to be a Dodger fan with a farm system bursting with players around the Major League level. There truly is a squad here that could dominate the NL for a number of years.
The rotation is the crown jewel of this franchise with so many pitchers competing for a starting slot that quite simply there isn't enough room. Lowe, Schmidt, Penny, Wolfe are probably certs for four of the five jobs, but the fifth spot is anything but certain. Brett Tomko is back looking mean sporting a new delivery which hides the ball much better than last season. His velocity is perhaps his biggest weapon and he is certainly a very good fifth starter.
Chad Billingsley is up against it for a starting role and will likely start in the bullpen along with Mark Hendrickson, the extremely exciting Hong Chi Kuo and possibly Eric Stults. One option the Dodgers do have if Kuo, Tomko and Billingsley all excel in spring is to look for a suitor for Brad Penny who has ruffled some feathers in the organisation. Elmer Dessens is also a red hot favourtie to be traded.
Penny and Dessens could seriously tempt some teams to release that big bat the Dogder's line up is missing. However the problem for the Dodgers (and it is a nice problem) is what position a big bat would take up. $44 million has been spent on centrefield, two blue chip prospects are poised to platoon at third (Wilson Betemit right handed and Andy LaRoche lefty), James Loney can't even find an everyday position, and the Dodgers are certainly not going to give up on Andre Ethier who revealed in the last week that he played from the All Star break with an injury, apparently explaining his slump.
In short the Dodgers at the close of Spring will porbably have to trade away, release, or send down enough quality position players to make another Major League team, and that says something about their strength and depth. The back end of the bullpen will be cemented as Pete said by Takashi Saito who I have to say is far more likely to suffer the sophomore slump than left fielder Ethier. Honestly the Dodgers' biggest issue this year will be closing games and while they may not blow enough saves to lose out on a third post season in four years, it may come back to haunt them in the playoffs should they reach there.
Pete J Says : If Billingsley doesn't go the full year in the rotation I will eat my proverbial hat.
In a nutshell the Dodgers have a very deep roster and enough to be considered in the running for honours this year. If they are able to trade away some of their excess baggage for a big time bat then this becomes a red hot favourite to do it all.
Ned Colletti has a job to do.
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