The Los Angeles Dodgers are a proud franchise with historic ties to Jackie Robinson and Kirk Gibson. They have a talented group of young players about to hit their prime and an owner who may cost his team championships as he goes through a messy divorce and fails to provide adequate funds to both keep his young stars and surround them with serviceable role players. Frank McCourt’s inflexibility in payroll cost them last summer as they were unable to trade for legitimate replacement players for the injured Andre Ethier and disinterested Manny Ramirez. This season holds much promise for the Dodgers as their core of star players return healthy and excited for a new season.
This is my favorite moment in baseball history... Hey, that'd be a good blog
Projected Lineup:
- Rafael Furcal (SS)
- Matt Kemp (CF)
- Andre Ethier (RF)
- James Loney (1B)
- Juan Uribe (2B)
- Casey Blake (3B)
- Jay Gibbons (LF)
- Rod Barajas (C)
Projected Rotation:
- Clayton Kershaw
- Chad Billingsly
- Ted Lilly
- Hiroki Kuroda
- Jon Garland
Strengths:
Again the NL West’s top teams have very good starting pitching depth. Their top five projected starters all threw over 183 innings last year and the highest ERA of the group belonged to Jon Garland, whose 4.06 is more than acceptable for a fifth starter in the Majors. Kershaw (13-10, 2.91 ERA, 212 K) grew significantly in 2010 and looks to make that jump to legitimate No. 1 starter. He lowered his walks in the second half and he went 7 or more innings in 15 of his 32 starts. 2010’s Opening Day starter Vicente Padilla (6-5, 4.07 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) may be out of the rotation and have to learn to live in the bullpen. This may be a good thing as Padilla has struggled to stay healthy since 2006 with the Rangers and has recently been diagnosed with a pinched nerve in his throwing elbow. They plan to do surgery but, this is the same surgery that precursed Eric Gagne and Brad Penny’s downfall. Hong-Chih Kuo (1.20 ERA, .78 WHIP, 56 GP) looks to build off a strong 2010 in the bullpen.
Another big strength of the Dodgers is their apparent top of the order talent. With Furcal (career .351 OBP and 293 SBs), Kemp (.249, 28 HR, 19 SBs), triple crown candidate Andre Ethier and James Loney (career .285, .808 OPS) likely occupying the top four spots in the order, the Dodgers have run producing possibilities.
Weaknesses:
Order Depth: The order significantly drops off after Loney. Uribe and Blake are average Major Leaguers at this stage in their careers. Additionally, question marks in Left Field and behind the plate arise as Jay Gibbons has not had over 300 at bats since 2006 and Rod Barajas is well past his prime, and could use the Pablo Sandoval diet plan.
Bullpen: The bullpen has potential to be very good but, Jonothan Broxton needs to do more than just throw hard. He had only 22 saves a year ago and may find himself out of the closer role if his apparent struggles continue. A question also surrounds this role as Broxton’s heir apparent, Kuo, has career numbers that indicate that he may not fit the closer’s role.
Storylines:
The Dodgers underperformed last year. Kemp cannot afford to hit .249 again and expect to remain in the top of the order. Loney needs to assert himself as a run producing First Baseman and Ethier needs to stay healthy.
McCourt’s Pocketbook… uh, I mean wallet: Its sad when a team’s owner serves as another hindrance to the teams success. His uncertain financial stockpile may handicap the club as it looks to make a midseason move. Frank McCourt needs to be careful not to let his
Here's McCourt with ex-Dodger Manny Ramirez. The Dodgers were rather quiet this offseason as McCourt divorced his wife
talented nucleus of young Dodgers fall short of expectations by surrounding them with mediocre veteran players as he goes through his public divorce that promises to leave his fortune substantially smaller. Reason #415 to hate women: they find a way to make your favorite baseball team worse. (How do they always ruin everything??)
Mattingly: When former Cub and Hall-of-Famer Ryne Sandberg decided in 2006 that he wanted to be a major league manager, the Cubs, the team he would presumably manage for, told him he would need to learn the ropes in the minors, much like a young ball player. Sandberg started his managerial career with the Class-A Peoria Chiefs. After two years, he graduated to the Double-A Tennessee Smokies then to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, after he proved his managerial acumen. Of course, Sandberg was snubbed by the Cubs this past off season and will spend 2011 as the manger of the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, but his approach was the right one. When Don Mattingly went to the Yankees expressing his desire to follow Joe Torre as the manager in the Bronx, the Yanks told him the same thing the Cubs told “Ryno.” However, instead of riding the bus for a couple years learning how to manage in the minors, Mattingly elected to stay in the Pros and be the Yankees’ batting coach under Torre. When he followed Torre to the Dodgers in 2008, it was under the assumption he would inherit the job. Now his time has come, Mattingly is at the helm of the 2011 Dodgers with exactly no managerial experience outside of a couple games here and there due to ejection or suspension. He’s bound to make mistakes, any rookie manager is, the only difference is the Peoria Chiefs don’t play in America’s second largest city in front of 40,000 people a night. They don’t risk millions of dollars if they have a bad year and they don’t get national media coverage. The Dodgers, especially this year considering their owner’s legal and financial difficulties, have a lot on the line and Don Mattingly will cost them games. The only question is how many. This is a slightly above average team which, with a talented manager like Torre or Tony La Russa or Bruce Bochy running the show, could contend for the division. With Mattingly, whose pride and stubbornness prevented him from honing is craft in the minors, the Dodgers have a real chance of disappointing a lot of people.
Mattingly when introduced as manager this winter
Prediction:
85-77, The Dodgers went 80-82 last year despite major injuries to Ethier and Kemp’s disappointing summer. I look for them to rebound but they need some spark to create excitement around the team. Otherwise, I see them occupying the same place they did a year ago: a talent-laden, high payroll, promising team who gets stuck in mediocrity. How long does McCourt stay with Mattingly as his quality team treads water for another year while his young stars climb the salary ladder?
Bold Prediction:
- Clayton Kershaw will be the NL All-Star game starter with an ERA under 1.78.
- A silver backed gorilla named George gets lose from Los Angeles Zoo and holds Mattingly in a headlock until Mattingly agrees to start him in Left Field. George goes 3 for 5 with two home runs. Mattingly doesn’t start him again.
- NY Yankees prospect Jesus Montero, and some prospect we’ve never heard of but who turns into Greg Maddux, to the Dodgers for Vicente Padilla and Ron Mahay by May 15th.
And Now for Something Completely Different:
Carmelo got what he wanted last night in the trade to the Big Apple. He put in a trade request 5 months ago and demand he be dealt to exactly one team, even though he would be a free agent at season’s end and could sign with that one team. So, he REALLY wanted to play for the Knicks RIGHT NOW. So why would the Knicks give up four of their five starters for an all star they were likely to get at season’s end? The Knicks got the raw end of the stick here. Sure, they got a legitimate all-star and a player who can combine with Amare Stoudemire to create a formidable front line but, I don’t get the motivation here. Why give up some good young pieces and most of your future in the form of 3 draft picks, a 21 year old averaging 15.9 ppg, and a 26 year old point guard averaging 17 ppg for a player you were likely to get in three months anyway? This deal should have been completed when we first heard the buzz in September before the Knicks asserted themselves as the most talked about 28-26 team in the League. Madison Square Garden is a huge lure for free agents and young players but, with dumb people in the front office we will long see mediocre basketball on display in the most famous of sports arenas (unless the Spurs are in town).
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-Sean Morash
