Before Frank McCourt acquired the Dodgers it was a proud franchise. They were one of the first teams to scour the Dominican market for talent. They brought up Jackie Robinson. They had a home grown infield of Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Davey Lopes and Steve Garvey that consistenly won championships. Now they are bankrupt. How could such a vibrant franchise turn stale so quickly?
General Overview: You rarely hear of the Dodgers competing with other teams for talent in the Central and South American market. What players they do acquire they buy for cheap. They are also near the bottom in signing bonuses after the draft, Zach Lee being one of those rare exceptions. In a division that was ripe for domination because of the revenue Los Angeles generates they stumbled, spending their money instead on supporting lavish lifestyles while the core of the team rotted. There doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of hope for this team in the near future, even after they get a new ownership group.
Why They Will Win: They still have the MVP of the National League in Matt Kemp. They were also able to get him to sign a contract extension. As long as he stays away from dating celebrities he should have a good season. They also have the Cy Young winner in Clayton Kershaw. Dee Gordon will provide a lot of excitement from the lead off position, similar to what Rafael Furcal used to do but without the power. Andre Ethier is a solid player that had an off year in 2011. He has too much talent not to rebound. Kenley Jensen throws hard and gets another year of experience to develop some consistency in the closer role.
Why They Won’t Win: The rotation after Kershaw is unimpressive. Signing Hiroki Kuroda could help, but the Dodgers show no interest. They chose instead to sign Chris Capuano. They will rely on youth for the back end of the rotation with Rubby de la Rosa and Nathan Eovoldi responsible for 40 percent of their starts. They have to hope that Ronald Belasario comes back to solidify their bullpen. He has major maturity issues and will have to serve a 25 game suspension for drug issues to begin the season. It is rare when Belasario can even complete a season without enduring at least one suspension. They lack a real impact palyer at catcher, third base and leftfield. James Loney is an atypical firstbaseman. Don’t expect 100 RBIs from him or major homerun production. Mark Ellis and Adam Kennedy will have a hard time holding back Ivan Dejesus for the second base spot.
Prospects to Make the Roster: Nate Eovoldi should not have any problem making the starting rotation based on his success towards the end of the season. The only thing that would hold him back is a poor spring. A good spring by Ivan DeJesus could get him the second base job over Mark Ellis, but by mid season, as the Dodgers try to get younger, the second base job should be his. Tim Federowicz is a noted defensive catcher. He doesn’t have a lot in front of him to prevent him from winning the starting spot, but he needs to show that he can hit.
Long Range Prospects: Zach Lee is their biggest jewel but 2013 may be the earliest Dodger fans will see him. They will give opportunities first to Chris Withrow, Ethan Martin or Allan Webster if injuries or ineffectiveness opens a spot in the rotation. Jerry Sands could be given another opportunity to win the left field job. Only Juan Rivera stands in front of him. If he fails look for Scott Van Slyke to be knocking. If Van Slyke and DeJesus can make the roster that would give them three sons of ex-major leaguers, counting Dee Gordon. They also have Jerry Hairston and Tony Gwynn on the 40 man roster and James Baldwin and Brian Cavazos-Galvez who also have dads who are ex-major leaguers. If genes meant anything this team would be World Series bound.
Significant Transactions: They resigned Juan Rivera to patrol left field and Mark Ellis to be their starting second baseman. Adam Kennedy was also signed and could see a lot of time at third and Matt Treanor was signed as a back up catcher. None of these players are particularly overwhelming. Chris Capuano was signed to be a mid rotation starter and Jerry Hairson was signed to see utility action. The Dodgers have been very active in the free agent market, but among that group are no impact players. There was more discount shpping to fill holes in the lineup rather than spending the dollars to find an impact player. Prince Fielder could add some pop to this team and C.J. Wilson could have bolstered the rotation, but they went for quantity instead of quality. They traded Dana Eveland, a pitcher who could have provided depth for the starting rotation for a couple minor leaguers who appear to lack talent to make the show as starters.
Expected Finish: The Padres obtained Carlos Quentin to bolster their roster, leaving the Dodgers with a very real chance to finish at the basement. They will stay above the last place fray and finish fourth.
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