Don Mattingly takes over for Joe Torre as the manager of the 2011 Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers finished 4th place in a very competitive NL West last season with a record of 80-82. The team struggled offensively in 2010. Center fielder Matt Kemp hit a career-high 28 homeruns but hit a career-worst .249. Andre Ethier and James Loney each drove in over 80 runs last year and will need to do the same in 2011 for the Dodgers to return to the playoffs. Juan Uribe is a new addition to the Dodgers, coming over to play second base after playing shortstop for the world champion San Francisco Giants last season. Uribe and fellow newcomer Marcus Thames will provide more power for the 2011 Dodgers.
The Dodgers have a solid starting rotation. Clayton Kershaw is a potential Cy Young Award candidate. He has ranked 1st and 4th over the past two seasons in hits per 9 innings pitched and also had over 200 strikeouts last season. He will only be 23 years old this season and will only get better as he learns more and becomes more comfortable. Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, and Hiroki Kuroda pitched well in 2010, all with ERAs near 3.50. The Dodgers' bullpen needs to be better in 2011. A big storyline so far this spring is whether or not closer Jonathan Broxton will revert to the Broxton of 2009, a season in which he had 36 saves. If he struggles, Hong-Chih Kuo and Kenley Jansen are in line to take over.
The NL West will once again be a very competitive division and I see the Dodgers winning 82-85 games this season.
Projected starters:
C Rod Barajas
1B James Loney
2B Juan Uribe
3B Casey Blake
SS Rafael Furcal
LF Marcus Thames
CF Matt Kemp
RF Andre Ethier
P Clayton Kershaw
P Chad Billingsley
P Ted Lilly
P Hiroki Kuroda
P Jon Garland
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