Southern Cali Sports

From: Dodgers Apparel

The most unfortunate thing for LA Dodgers fans this off-season has been the sad state of affairs that is the Los Angeles Dodgers…

The biggest piece of news coming out of the Los Angeles Dodgers camp this off-season has been that Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp is dating Rihanna… The LA Dodgers have basically signed nobody, literally, and they’ve let go of some talented players.

Let’s first look at who’s gone…

Randy Wolf is gone and not that I expect him to repeat what he did last year but he was the closest thing to an ace the Dodgers had last year and they’re not picking up anybody to replace him.

The Dodgers haven’t had an ace since they let Derek Lowe walk to Atlanta and neither Chad Billingsley or Clayton Kershaw will be ready to be an ace this year. So the most Dodger fans can hope for this year is a National League West division title because they won’t have the pitching to win the playoffs.

The Los Angeles Dodgers also let Orlando Hudson walk and this guy was a great catalyst at the top of the lineup for them this past season. Anytime you lose a .300 hitting second baseman you’re going to shorten your lineup. Dodger fans can look forward to Blake DeWitt hitting in the 8th spot and batting .250 this season. I have nothing against DeWitt but I’d like to see the guy produce in the minors before he’s given a starting jobs at the major league level…

The Dodgers also traded back up outfielder Juan Pierre away and while that doesn’t seem like much remember what Pierre did for the Dodgers the past couple of season when Manny Ramirez and Rafael Furcal went down.

In particular remember what he did when Furcal went down because Furcal is getting older and when he goes down again (and he will) the Dodgers won’t have anybody to get on base and wreak havoc at the top of the lineup meaning they won’t be able to score runs and that’s going to be a problem with this team.

The Dodgers still have their young core of talent but they are thin and won’t be able to withstand many injuries this year because the talent behind the starters is unproven.

The biggest question mark the Dodgers will have to answer this season are:

Is catcher Russell Martin done? This will be a big season for Russell Martin as he’ll have to prove that all of his offensive production in the past wasn’t a result of steroids.

Can Blake DeWitt hit enough to start at second base? DeWitt came up as a third baseman and the Dodgers are hoping he can start at second for them this year.

Can Rafael Furcal stay healthy?

The rest of the lineup is pretty steady but the question is who on the bench will allow them to take time off? The Dodgers had a talented and deep bench last season and this year they have a bunch of unproven guys and another question they’ll have to answer is who is going to be delivering the clutch pinch hits late in the game?

Pitching wise the Dodgers need someone out of the trio of Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda and Clayton Kershaw to become their ace this season.

Kuroda is a proven #2 and possible #1 in the post-season but he’s getting older and his health may be a concern during the long season. Billingsley has ace “stuff” but mentally hasn’t been able to deliver in big situations and he needs to overcome that hurdle this season or he might be the second-coming of Jeff Weaver… Clayton Kershaw is the wildcard because this guy has great stuff but is this his year?

The bullpen is going to get killed this season. None of the Dodgers starters are known for pitching deep into games and you’re going to have inexperienced guys in the 4th nd 5th spots int he rotation, The Dodgers are fine at the back of the bullpen with Jonanthan Broxton, Hong Chi-Kuo and George Sherill but getting the ball to them could be a problem.

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