NL West preview: Dodgers ready for rebound
Los Angeles is a city that confuses me. For all intents and purposes, this is the West Coast’s answer to New York City. Why is it that they have two hockey teams, two basketball teams, and two baseball teams, but no football? Seems to me like Los Angeles is a city that would love their sports. I also don’t understand why they are now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The California Angels made much more sense. They also decided to continue living on an earthquake fault. This only makes sense if you’re a seismologist. What else do they do that confuses me? It seems to me that in an attempt to create a team that can bring home a Championship, they pick up the leftovers of other teams. Maybe they see something I don’t. I’ll show you what I mean though . . .
By Mile High Mouth
BaseballBigMouth.com baseball news
While the Dodgers are celebrating their 50th season in the City of the Angels, they have another milestone they are not celebrating. 20 years without a World Series title. Granted, this isn’t the longest stretch. The Giants haven’t won the World Series since they were in New York, and the Padres and Rockies (sigh) have never won a World Series title. So what are the Dodgers doing to improve their chances this year?
Of course one of the first things they did is they hired former Yankees manager, Joe Torre. I am a big Red Sox fan, and by default, a Yankee hater, but I have always respected Joe Torre. He put the Yankees back on the map as far as World Series titles go (much to my chagrin), and he did it with class and manners (not to my chagrin). However, there can be no denying that the Yankees are starting to slump in the AL East, and their arch-rival Sox are picking up the slack. New York offered Torre a new contract, but he felt the terms weren’t what he was looking for. So in November of last year, he signed with the Dodgers.
Good managers are good, but they can only do so much from the dugout. After years of watching Bobby Cox, I’ve learned they can do a lot from the dugout. However, a manager is only as good as the team he manages. So what do the Dodgers have in store? Some of the new blood on the team includes former Atlanta Brave, Andruw Jones. Jones has been one of the big names out at Turner Field for a while, but last year he had not a great season. When the Braves didn’t seek to re-sign him, the Dodgers decided to sign him. Andruw Jones will be their center-fielder and has said he is looking for his luck to change out West. We’ll see how he does there.
The good news is that the Dodgers have some pretty good batters from the previous season. The highest batting average (.342 for the 2007 season) belongs to Matthew Kemp. Kemp also has pretty good numbers with 10 home runs and 42 RBIs. The Dodgers seem to recognize this talent as well since they have him listed as playing Right Field, but as a back up for Center Field and Left Field. Needless to say, they want him playing. As you look at the rest of the line-up, you see the same sort of trend. Big numbers. Although they aren’t always necessarily in the same place, but that could bode well for the Dodgers as well. Perhaps strengths and weaknesses blending together as united front against pitching could be what they need. Kinda makes them sound like the Justice League.
There are six men listed in the starting rotation, and it seems to me only three or four of them might be starter material. Brad Penny seems to be the pick of the litter, and is definitely worthy of the Dodgers rotation. Derek Lowe, maybe not. Lowe has some mixed numbers. A losing record, but has put up a lot of strikeouts. Although it seems most pitchers dream of an opening slot (except for maybe Jonathan Papelbon), maybe Lowe should return to his duties as a closer. He did alarming well in his capacity for Boston. Hiroki Kuroda (more new blood) will have to prove himself this year. We’ll wait and see before we make a call on him. Chad Billingsley also has a good record and ERA, but he’s the last man in the rotation who should be in the rotation. Loaiza and Schmidt have more going against them than with them. While they have a lot of talent on the mound, a lot of the winning will need to be shouldered by a few. That could weaken the team in the long run.
The Dodgers have a lot going for them, but they have a lot of question marks. What some call new blood in the clubhouse, I call leftovers from other clubs. It’s always tricky to tell what will happen when you take something from one environment and throw it into another one. It’ll be a little tricky for Joe Torre switching from the AL to the NL, but I’m sure he can handle it. Where do I think the Dodgers will land this year? I don’t think they’ve got a shot at the top spot. All they seem to have is the same club they had last year, and some warmed over talent. And after all…who really likes leftover night?
- Mile High Mouth
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