Los Angeles Dodgers 2008 Preview

It’s that time of year again. Spring training is in full swing, and the baseball season is just around the corner. Over the next month, The Sports Lounge will run a season preview for each team in the majors, leading up to the season opener in Japan on March 25th. Today we continue the season preview with a look at the Los Angeles Dodgers.




Manager: Joe Torre
2007: 82-80, 4th NL West

Projected Batting Order:

1. Rafael Furcal, ss (.270, 6 hr, 47 rbi)
2. Russell Martin, c (.293, 19 hr, 87 rbi)
3. Matt Kemp, rf (.342, 10 hr, 42 rbi)
4. Andruw Jones, cf (.222, 26 hr, 94 rbi)
5. James Loney, 1b (.331, 15 hr, 67 rbi)
6. Jeff Kent, 2b (.302, 20 hr, 79 rbi)
7. Nomar Garciaparra, 3b (.283, 7 hr, 59 rbi)
8. Juan Pierre, lf (.293, 0 hr, 43 rbi, 64 sb)


Projected Starting Rotation:

1. Brad Penny (16-4, 3.03 ERA)
2. Derek Lowe (12-14, 3.88 ERA)
3. Chad Billingsley (12-5, 3.31 ERA)
4. Hiroki Kuroda (rookie, 103-89, 3.69 ERA in Japan)
5. Esteban Loaiza (2-4, 5.79 ERA)


Setup: Johnathan Broxton
Closer: Takashi Saito


The Dodgers faded in the last two months of the season, falling from first to fourth as the entire division (except for the Giants) surged past them down the stretch. An underachieving season spelled the end for Grady Little, and LA responded by landing Joe Torre, the game’s biggest manager. Torre’s streak of 10 consecutive playoff appearances is impeccable, but its easy to forget he had three stints with the Mets, Braves, and Cardinals, managing for 14 years while leading only one of those teams to the playoffs. The intense pressure of New York will no longer be an issue in Dodgertown, but this team still expects to be in the playoff hunt each and every year.

Signing Andruw Jones to a short and relatively cheap deal (2 years, $35 million) was the biggest addition to the lineup, with Japanese import Hiroki Kuroda (3 years, $35 million) the biggest acquisition to the pitching staff. Jones was awful a year ago, but the guy has been a staple of consistency in his career and should rebound. The Dodgers could have really used Johan Santana or Erik Bedard, but the prospects they would have had to part with were too much for GM Ned Colletti to deal with. It’s time for Brad Penny to show up in the second half of the season, and for youngsters like James Loney, Matt Kemp (right), and Chad Billingsley to join Russell Martin as stars in this league. The Dodgers have some great speed at the top of their lineup with Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre setting the table. Both were average at getting on base last year, and will need to improve so that sluggers like Martin and Jones can be productive. Aging veterans Jeff Kent and Nomar Garciaparra will continue to receive big at-bats playing second and third respectively, but Nomar better watch over his shoulder for youngster Andy LaRoche. Torre will start Garciaparra to begin the season, but if he continues to struggle like he did last year, it would be wise to let LaRoche grow into his role as the future third basemen.

The Dodgers had an above average pitching staff, finishing 6th in the league with a 4.20 ERA, but were the only third best team in their own division in that category. The unit got progressively worse as the season wore on, and Brad Penny served as the epitome of that flameout. He was 10-1 with an ERA hovering around 2.00 as July approached, but finished the season 6-3 with an ERA of 4.25. A similar, but less dramatic deterioration also occurred in 2006 for Penny. He must be better after the All-Star break in 2008. Derek Lowe will be the second starter, but Billingsley at the third spot looks ready to make a bigger impact as a full-time starter for the first in his career. Kuroda, who went 103-89 in his career in Japan, is slated to be the Dodgers fourth starter. He throws a great fastball in the mid-90’s and backs it with a slider and forkball to go along with a shuuto. The fifth spot in the rotation is a battle between Esteban Loaiza, and Jason Schmidt, both of whom struggled mightily in a Dodger uniform last year. Schmidt made only six starts, which is unpleasant for someone who was paid

A solid trio anchors the bullpen, with setup men Johnathan Broxton and Joe Beimel giving way to closer Takashi Saito. Saito was downright nasty last year, converting 39 of 43 saves to go with a microscopic 1.40 ERA. Broxton is a strikeout machine, with 99 in only 82 innings. Beimel provided great production as the team’s best left-handed reliever, holding lefties to only a .188 avg. Scott Proctor, who’s played for Toree on the Yankees, and Yhency Brazoban will give the bullpen a little depth in the middle relief department.

Statistically, the Dodgers matched up very well with Arizona last year, but still finished eight games behind the Diamondbacks. There’s not a whole lot of new faces, other than Torre and Jones, so the Dodgers are capable of matching last year’s great numbers in the pitching staff and lineup. Their youngsters will be key in rejuvenating the aging veterans (Lowe, Kent, Garciaparra, Saito) during the dog days of summer where the Dodgers fell apart last year. Jones finally gives LA a power-hitting outfielder, and if he can bounce back from last year’s disaster, the Dodgers should be much a lot more dangerous on offense. I expect Loney and Kemp to make the turn in a similar way that Martin did last year, and lead the Dodgers to a wild card spot, finishing second in the NL West with 89 wins.