2008 Los Angeles Dodgers

February 25, 2008

The Dodgers are coming into 2008 with the mindset that they can do something this year that they have only done once since 1988, win a playoff game. The team is coming off a disappointing season in which they finished 4th in the NL West at 82-80. The team brought former Yankee manger Joe Torre to try and fix the feud that has been on going between the veterans and the young kids. They also think Torre will be the guy to bring them a World Series ring, but in his first year might be asking a little much. The team also went out and got Gold Glove center fielder Andruw Jones and top pitching prospect from Japan in Hiroki Kuroda from free agency. So while the Dodgers still have a lot of young talent they will put a pretty old lineup on the field in 2008.

Pitching:

The team has a very solid ace in Brad Penny who went 16-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 2007. Behind him they have the very experienced Derek Lowe who you can count on for 12-15 wins. Newly acquired Kuroda will fall into the three spot and the team will hope he can have as much success in the U.S. as he did in Japan. Up and coming Chad Billingsley will be the forth starter, as he was 12-5 with a 3.31 ERA in 20 starts last year. Finally once a proven ace Jason Schimidt will wind up the rotation. Schimidt has been troubled by shoulder problem, and if he is unable to return to form the team will likely turn to Esteban Loaiza. The bullpen has big-time closer Takashi Saito to shut down the opposing team in the ninth inning. Saito had 39 saves while posting a 1.40 ERA. The team has two very solid late inning setup men in Jonathan Broxton and Scott Proctor.

Offense:

It’s hard to find a real big weakness on the offensive end of things. While most of the team has decent power they all hit for a pretty solid average. The addition of Andruw Jones will add some more power to the lineup, as he has 40 HR potential. RF Matt Kemp was pretty impressive hitting .342 in just 292 at bats, and the team can’t wait to see what he will do in a full season. The team also has very solid hitters in second year 1B James Loney who hit .331 with 15 HR and a very solid hitting catcher in Russell Martin who hit .293 with 19 HR. The team also has some great speed in SS Rafael Furcal and LF Juan Pierre, who can get in scoring position in no time. They will hope that veterans 2B Jeff Kent and Nomar Garciaparra can stay healthy as they are getting up in age, and put up another year of solid offensive numbers.

Defense:

The team has one of the best defense catchers in Gold Glove winning Russell Martin. Martin does it all for the Dodgers, without him they would lose more games than you might think. They will have one of the best defense outfields this year as they brought in Gold Glove CF Jones, to go along with solid defenders Pierre and Kemp. The infield isn’t much worse as this unit as a whole should be among the best in the league in 2008.

Prediction:

While we really like the Dodgers and what Torre will do for this team, we just couldn’t pull the trigger and make them NL West winners just yet. We do have them finishing close behind the Diamondbacks for 2nd in the division. They have all the tools to prove us wrong, but we like their chances a lot more in 2009.

2008 Los Angeles Dodgers Odds to Win World Series 25-1

For every team’s odds head over to Sportsbook.com and check them out. You can also go to Sportsbook.com to look at the odds for teams to win their division or league pennant. Feel free to leave any comments in the comment section.

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2008 Los Angeles Dodgers

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