I was very excited for Easter Sunday this year. Yes, I love Easter egg hunts just as much as the next 25-year-old kid. But, I was just itching for baseball season to start. Listen quietly and just off the horizon you can hear the pop of a baseball off a wooden bat and the snap of a ball into a stiff leather glove. Sunday, April 4 was the beginning of the 2010 baseball season, and since it is never too early to debate lineups or discuss starting rotations, I give you, my loyal readers, my take on the 2010 Los Angeles Dodgers.

The 2009 season held visions of déjà vu for Dodger fans. Again, the Dodgers had high expectations. Again, the Dodgers won the National League West. Again, the Dodgers swept their opponent in the National League Division Series. Again, the Dodgers seemed destined to achieve great things. But, again Jonathon Broxton couldn’t get Matt Stairs out, and again the Dodgers lost to the Phillies four games to one in the National League Championship Series.

In 2010, the Dodgers will practically field the same team. However, this year Matt Stairs is now a San Diego Padre! But, for the Dodgers to advance further in the playoffs this season, they will have to do it just like they did last year, with a patient and deep offense, solid starting pitching, and a lights-out bullpen.

Offensively, the Dodgers will have the same lineup as they did last year. Fortunately, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp are a year older, and fans hope they will build on last year’s success. Conversely, Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, and Manny Ramirez are another year older, and fans hope they can delay their entrance into the twilight of their stellar careers.

The Dodgers lineup will likely feature Furcal leading off, and then some combination of Kemp, Ethier, and Ramirez. Following them will be James Loney, Blake, Russell Martin and whoever plays second base. Yes, sorry Vin Scully, your favorite “O-Dawg” (Orlando Hudson) won’t be in Dodger Blue this year. Assuming Ronnie Belliard weighs in at 209 pounds during spring training (future contracts exam hypo?), his contract becomes guaranteed, and he will share playing time with youngster Blake Dewitt at second base. The only minor changes from 2009 will be Dewitt and Belliard platooning at second base; also, look for Ramirez, Furcal, and Blake to be treated like they are made out of tissue paper — lots of days off – to rest them for the pennant race and playoffs.

In the offseason, the Dodgers signed Reed Johnson. Johnson is known for his ability to crush left-handed pitching, his defensive ability in the outfield, and his studly goatee. Look for Johnson to play frequently when Ramirez sits and occasionally for Ethier when the Dodgers face a tough left-handed pitcher. In the offseason the Dodgers also signed utility player Jamey Carroll. Carroll is known for his pleasant personality (awarded the “Good Guy Award” the last two years while in Cleveland), his ability to play every infield position, and his ability to get on base. When Carroll isn’t baking cookies for road trips, look for him to get a few starts in place of Furcal and Blake.

Pitching-wise, the Dodgers will miss Randy Wolf and his 200 innings and 3.23 ERA. Otherwise, the guys who received the majority of the starts last year, Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Hiroki Kuroda and playoff hero Vicente Padilla, are coming back to the take the hill in 2010. The fifth starter’s spot will likely look like a revolving door, with many arms taking a turn for the team.

The Dodgers desperately need Billingsley and Kershaw to put on their “man pants” and lead this staff. Kuroda has shown an ability to pitch well but is frequently injured. Padilla’s track record reminds me of what the women looked like at my undergrad Cornell; pretty average but at times, and in the right light, can have exceptional performances.

Like 2009, when the Dodgers had the lowest bullpen ERA in all of baseball, the bullpen should again be a real asset for the Dodgers in 2010. Every key reliever is returning, meaning Joe Torre needs only 5 to 6 innings from his starting pitcher. After that Torre can use Ramon Troncoso, Ronald Belisario, Hung-Chih Kuo, and George Sherrill to bridge the gap to the big horse, Jonathan Broxton.

It is a well known fact that every rose has its thorn. While the 2010 Dodgers are far from perfect, they are still a very talented and experienced team. In addition, none of their divisional opponents made significant off-season moves which could make them the favorite. Therefore, the Dodgers start the season as the early favorites to win the National League West. However, again the Dodgers will see a lot of Matt Stairs. “Play Ball!”

Matt Kemp, Courtesy of dizbuster319 via Flickr

By Matthew McConnell

So the 2009 Dodgers’ season did not have a happy ending. That means it’s back to the drawing board as the front office start starts laying the ground work for next season. However, the Dodgers are in a unique position because they have very few holes to fill. The Dodgers have a young nucleus of talented players in which GM Ned Colletti should build around by adding a couple of starting pitchers and a second baseman. These are the top five guys from 2009 who will play pivotal roles in the 2010 Dodgers’ quest for a World Series.

1. Andre Ethier

Before the season began, manager Joe Torre compared Ethier to his former All-Star Paul O’Neil. For my non-baseball savy readers, O’Neil was Torre’s right fielder during the Yankees’ Championships in ’96 and ‘98-2000. Like Ethier, he was left-handed, could hit, and was never afraid to show frustration (see record for most water coolers thrown onto field.) While Ethier has always carried himself like O’Neil, most Dodger fans figured we would have to wait a few years until he produced like him. However, in 2009 Ethier did his best O’Neil impression and led the Dodgers in homeruns (31) and runs batted in (106) while also serving up six electrifying walk-off hits. Ethier hasn’t even turned 28 yet and is entering the prime of what has the potential to be a stellar career. Just to compare, O’Neil never hit 30 homeruns in a season and didn’t drive in 100 or more runs until he was 34.

2. Clayton Kershaw

When most of us were 21, we were clowning around our college campus celebrating the fact we could finally drink legally. What was Clayton Kershaw doing when he was 21? Oh nothing special. I mean he only led ALL National League pitchers in opponents batting average against (.200), had the fifth lowest earned-run average (2.78), the fifth highest strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (9.74), and second lowest homeruns per 9 innings pitched (.37). Case in point, Kershaw went toe-to-toe with Cardinal’s ace Adam Wainright in game 2 of the NLCS and only allowed 1 run over his first 6 innings pitched. Days later in game 1 of the NLDCS, he held the Phillies to zero runs through the first 4 innings. Last year Kershaw was simply one of the best pitchers in the National League, despite the fact he was the third-youngest player in the league! Once Kershaw conquers his control problems (third in walks allowed and sixth in wild pitches) and pitches into the seventh inning of games, he will be a true “ace.”

3. Matt Kemp

Kemp’s nickname is appropriately “The Bison.” No, not because he went to SW, silly. It is because he is big, fast, and strong. In 2009, Kemp slugged 26 homeruns and drove in 101 runs while playing stellar defense in centerfield. Centerfielders are supposed to be scrawny guys who steal bases. While the Bison is not scrawny, he was third in the National League in stolen bases (34). Once Kemp develops better plate discipline, he will become one of the elite players in the game and form a dynamic duo with Ethier in the outfield. Also, Kemp is only 25 and still entering the prime of his career.

4. Jonathon Broxton

Big Jon (6-feet-4-inches and 290 pounds) is an intimidating closer. In 2009 he ranked sixth in the National League in saves and led all relief pitchers with 114 strikeouts. To cap off his remarkable season, he allowed less than 1 base runner per inning pitched. Because Broxton has blown two straight NLCS game 4s to the Phillies, some critics focus on Broxton’s failures as a closer. That isn’t fair, nor accurate, because more often than not Broxton is one of the premier closers in the game and strikes fear into the hearts of opposing hitters. If Broxton ever conquers his fear of Matt Stairs, or the Canadian slugger gets deported, Broxton has the potential to lead the Dodgers to the World Series. He is also only 25 and should only become more dominating.

5. Chad Billingsley

It was a tale of two seasons for Billingsley. At the All-Star break, he was the Dodgers’ “Ace” and arguably one of the top three pitchers in the National League (3.34 earned-run average and was selected to the All-Star team). However, Billingsley fell apart in the second-half of the season (5.20 earned run average) and wasn’t even given a chance to start in the postseason. Have no fear Dodger fans. In 2007, a left-handed pitcher on the Indians had a 5.38 earned-run average through his first 16 starts, was optioned down to the minor leagues, and eventually left off the Indians’ postseason roster. This lefty came back in 2008 and had an amazing season as he won the American League Cy-Young Award. That pitcher is the Phillies’ Cliff Lee, who pitched an absolute gem against the Dodgers in game 3 of the NLCS. Moral of the story is you do not give up on young talented pitchers too early. Billingsley is only 25, has a career earned-run average of 3.55 and throws hard with a good breaking ball.

By Matt McConnell

The beginning of law school season is among us. But, more importantly, with more than half of the baseball season over, the Dodgers have an 8-game lead in the National League West. That means our boys in blue should just coast into the playoffs, right? That way we can all just focus on school and not stress about our favorite baseball team, correct?

At the time of this writing, the website coolstandings.com projected the Dodgers likelihood of making the playoffs at 92 percent, by far the highest of any Major League Baseball team. Ask any law school veteran, and they can tell you how stressful law school can be; the long hours, moments of confusion, sprouting gray hair and more, etc. The last thing we need is to worry about the Dodgers during our already long nights in the library. Therefore, the baseball gods have done us all a favor this year, and no matter how well the Giants or Rockies play the rest of the way, it looks like the Dodgers will easily make the playoffs. As a direct consequence, I predict that SW students will have the highest test scores in the school’s history.

However, making the playoffs is only winning one battle. Every baseball fan knows that if you want to win the war, you win the World Series! Seeing that the Cardinals traded for Matt Holliday and the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee, it looks like the Dodgers will have serious competition for the National League Championship. In the American League, as always, the Yankees and Red Sox look like real contenders. Therefore, Dodger fans must prepare for an intense and stressful October as we juggle our scholastic duties with questioning every umpires’ call, gasping at each long fly ball, and second-guessing all of Joe Torre’s unsuccessful decisions. Dodger fans get excited for October because after baseball season, it turns into finals season.

St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel was quoted earlier this season: “You always hear baseball is a marathon, not a sprint.”  Remarkably, after this marathon-like 162-game season, the Dodgers found themselves in first place ahead of their National League West rivals. Seeing that last year the National League West was extremely competitive, with four of the five teams having winning records and the Colorado Rockies representing the National League in the World Series, it was widely believed that the National League West would be baseball’s toughest division this year.  However, it was as if all five teams forgot to stretch, hydrate, and load up on carbohydrates.  This allowed the Dodgers to suffer injuries, make unwise lineup decisions, and eventually catch a second wind to capture the division title.

Throughout 2008, the Dodgers experienced injuries to several key players, including second baseman Jeff Kent, closer Takashi Saito, and starting pitcher Brad Penny.  However, none were as critical as when All-Star shortstop Rafael Furcal strained his back in the beginning of May. At the time, Furcal was the Dodgers most valuable player as he led the team in on-base (.448 OBP) and slugging percentages (.597 SLG).  Granted, it was highly unlikely that Furcal would keep producing these superstar statistics, his unique skill combination of getting on base, hitting for power, and running at high speed was surely missed. Making matters worse, Furcal’s replacements were an offensive black hole in his absence.  Angel Berroa (.314 OBP, .335 SLG), Nomar Garciappara (.306 OBP, .419 SLG) and Chin-lung Hu (.231 OBP, .207 SLG) spent most of the season being automatic outs in the Dodgers lineup.  While Furcal’s injury was a serious setback (no pun intended), the Dodgers were able to stay with the pack and eventually win the division. Read the full story