Regular Season Record: 71-91
Fourth
in the NL West, 11 games out of first
Home Park: Dodgers Stadium
New Dodgers:
RHP Danys Baez – Trade from the Devil Rays
RHP Lance Carter – Trade from the Devil Rays
RHP Jae Seo – Trade from the Mets
RHP Brett Tomko – Signed as a free agent
CF Kenny Lofton – Signed as a free agent
SS Rafael Furcal – Signed as a free agent
1B Nomar Garciaparra – Signed as a free agent
3B Bill Mueller – Signed as a free agent
C Sandy Alomar Jr. – Signed as a free agent
Ex-Dodgers:
CF Milton Bradley – Traded to the Athletics
RHP Jeff Weaver – Left as a free agent
1B Lee-Seop Choi – Claimed off waivers by the Red Sox
3B Jose Valentin – Left as a free agent
The
Skinny: Hopes were high in the City of Angels last spring.
Billy “Moneyball” Beane’s own former assistant
General Manager Paul DePodesta had just made
some controversial off-season moves, e.g. letting Adrian
Beltre leave via free agency and signing injury-prone
J.D. Drew to a long term contract. Still, a lot
of people picked LA to win the weak NL West. But in a division
where 82 wins were enough to take the title, the Dodgers were
hit hard by injuries and finished a distant forth.
This year, most things have changed. DePodesta was run out of
town, Grady Little has taken over as the manager,
troublemaker Milton Bradley was shipped to Oakland
and the front office addressed some major needs. The biggest coup
was snagging lead-off man Rafael Furcal from
the Braves and the Cubs, who also wanted him. The Dodgers probably
overpaid for Furcal, but he represents a huge upgrade over Cesar
Izturis. Then the Dodgers signed Bill Mueller
to a reasonable two-year-contract so that prospect Andy
LaRoche won’t be blocked long term. Nomar
Garciaparra also was a bargain at six millions for one
year. He won’t play shortstop any more and will man first
base or left field instead. This decreases his overall value,
but doesn’t change the fact that this was a good signing.
Kenny Lofton had a great season last year with
a .392 OBP and 22 stolen bases and he will provide some outfield
depth and get his share of at-bats, too.
The biggest question mark might be pitcher Brad Tomko,
who was signed to replace Jeff Weaver. But the
Dodgers have alternatives. If his showing at the WBC was any indication,
Jae Seo should be a formidable #5 starter. And
the Dodgers still have Chad Billingsley and Jonathan Broxton
in the minors waiting for their chances.
While I was writing this preview, Hee-Seop Choi
was claimed off waivers by Boston. Good move by the Red Sox, but
why the Dodgers let him go for nothing is anybody’s guess.
If nothing more, he would have been a useful left-handed pinch
hitter. Now, the only bat on the bench is Ricky Ledee.
Last but not least, young catcher Dioner Navarro
should benefit from the experience and tutelage of Sandy
Alomar Jr., which is probably why he was brought to LA
in the first place.
Strengths:
- Experience: If you count experience as a team’s strength,
it probably hasn’t many other. That’s not true for
the Dodgers. Neither Brad Penny nor Derek
Lowe can be considered a true ace, but both have pitched
for World Series winners and know how to rise to the occasion.
Mueller, Lofton, Furcal and Kent all have played
for perennial winners. This should count for something.
- Closer: When healthy, Eric Gagne is “Game
Over”. The Problem is, he wasn’t healthy for an extended
period since his record save streak ended.
- Balanced pitching: The rotation lacks an ace, but is solid from
#1 to #5. If you ask five people to rank LA’s pitchers,
you probably get five different rankings. With Baez and
Carter, the bullpen behind Gagne should be adequate,
too.
- Balanced lineup: There isn’t a real hole in the lineup
(except the pitcher’s spot, of course), although some more
pop on the bench would be nice.
Weaknesses:
- Age & Injury: Lofton, Kent, Garciaparra, Mueller,
Izturis, Gagne, Drew are all either old, injury prone
or both. The team is deep enough to compensate an injury here
and there, but there’s only so much even the deepest team
can take.
- Manager: Grady Little may be a manager who
can motivate his players and keep the atmosphere in the clubhouse
light and loose, but he is just plain awful in playing the numbers
and managing late in the games. I’m not just talking about
leaving Pedro in, there have been a lot of games back in his Boston
days when his decision were, lets say, questionable. His blunders
may cost the Dodgers a few games and will most likely hurt them
in the playoffs.
- Defense: Kent was never known for his defense
at second, Garciaparra and Drew probably have
lost a step or two after their injuries and Lofton
is not getting better defensively at age 38.
Potential Lineup
C: Dioner Navarro
1B: Nomar Garciaparra
2B: Jeff Kent
SS: Rafael Furcal
3B: Bill Mueller
LF: Jose Cruz Fr.
CF: Kenny Lofton
RF: J.D. Drew
Rotation:
RHP Derek Lowe
RHP Brad Penny
LHP Odalis Perez
RHP Brett Tomko
RHP Jae Seo
Closer:
RHP Eric Gagne
Keys to Success: Keeping everyone reasonable
healthy, especially Eric Gagne. Get an average season out of everyone.
As sad as it is, that should be enough.
Prediction: The division is so weak that unless
Barry Bonds somehow plays 150+ games, 85 wins will probably be
enough to win it. The Dodgers were unlucky last year and they
got stronger in the off-season, while none of the other teams
has improved significantly, if at all. Bonds is the X-factor in
the division, but I don’t see him playing like 2003 or 2004.
Anything else and the division is the Dodgers’ to lose.
