2009 Record: 95-67
Key Transactions
Acquired Pos.
Reed Johnson OF
Jamey Carroll IF
Alfredo Amezaga IF/OF
Luis Ayala RP
Russ Ortiz SP
Angel Berroa SS
Brian Giles OF
Josh Towers SP
Departed Pos.
Jon Garland SP
Randy Wolf SP
Orlando Hudson 2B
Juan Pierre CF
Eric Milton SP
Guillermo Mota RP
Will Ohman RP
Juan Castro SS
Jason Schmidt SP
Jim Thome PH
Hitting:
C - Martin
1st - Loney
2nd - Belliard/Carroll
3rd - Blake/DeWitt
SS - Furcal
LF - Manny
CF - Kemp
RF - Ethier
Say what you want about Juan Pierre and Orlando Hudson, but they did make this offense better. I am not impressed by this lineup, and though I have faith in Torre I don't see this team being able to put up a lot of run. Unless...Manny starts playing like he did when he first came to the Dodgers. After Manny got back from his steroid suspense he has not been the same player. Whether it is age, lack of steroids, or something is amiss in Manny's little world, the Dodgers have to figure it out and get him back on track. Casey Blake and Ronnie Belliard are getting old, Martin and Loney are terrible, so this offense is really banking on guys like Either, Manny and Kemp to carry them. Still, the biggest problem with this team is depth, if one of their stars goes down this team will fall apart fast.
Pitching:
SP - Billingsley
SP - Kershaw
SP - Kuroda
SP - Padilla
SP - Stults/McDonald
CL - Broxton
Billingsley and Kershaw are two good young pitchers, but after that Kuroda is probably the only guy I trust. Padilla's engine has to be running on fumes, plus he is always a drink away from disappearing or killing someone, so I don't put much stock in him. Overall it isn't a bad rotation, but they are going to need to be stellar to carry this lineup. Their bullpen is very solid, and is actually one of their main strengths.
Overall:
I thought the Dodgers had a terrible offseason, and they will pay for it this year. Manny isn't going to be the player he once was, and for the Dodgers to do anything this year they need him step up. I don't think he does, and I think a couple injuries sends this team into a tailspin.
2010 Predicted Record: 81-81
No comments:
Post a Comment