Okay, so we got the living tar kicked out of us on Monday. The good news we have 161 more..No need to panic..We are now sending our Ace, Clayton Kershaw. I have faith that he has matured and will trust his stuff and repeat his delivery and become more efficient. As for Monday’s game..Monasteros was good and Dewitt and lets move on. It hurt not having Bellarsarios or Troncoso to relieve Padilla. That put Ramon Ortiz in a bad spot, but he is a big boy and will bounce back.

I look for the Dodgers to bounce back in a good way and get us in the win column.

Well, my buddy Busty the manager of the Loons has gotten his roster. It is not quite loaded as last years team was, but he has a solid roster. He has 6 of the top 30 prospects in the Dodgers organization.

The one that I hope develops is the 1st baseman..Chris Jacobs. He was drafted out of HS in the 17th round and I saw him in Vero that year taking batting practice. He puts on a show. He hits moon shots. He is 6 ft 5 and an easy 260. He spent 2 years in extended ST and last year at Ogden. He will strike out alot but he had a .371 OBP last year, so he has a decent eye. Busty, also has Jeremy Wise, 5th rd pick out of Oklahoma and he adjusted very well to wooden bats in Ogden last year. Also he has Brian Galvez (his dad pitched for the Dodgers) and he was the MVP of the Rookie league last year. He will be sharing the outfield with Angelo Songco and Jerry Sands. Both players showed great promise and power with Ogden last year. Blake Smith, a second round pick who could have also been a pitcher according to draft reports, but the Dodgers love his lefty swing and power potential. Hopefully, he will adjust and show the big upside that Logan White envisioned.

On the infield it will probably be Sands and Jacobs sharing 1b and it will have 3b Brian Ruggiano. He also tore it up for Ogden last year. I do not know much about the middle infielders…The Loons also have Austin Yount, nephew of Robin Yount. Hopefully he got some of his uncles skills…It looks as if the loons may not have alot of speed but the power potential looks promising.

As for the pitching staff. it should be led by Justin Miller, returning to the Loons for the 3rd time. This kid can pitch, but is inconsistent. He throws a low 90s fastball with sink. If he will believe in himself and repeat his mechanics he will not be in Great Lakes long. The Loons also have Brett Wallach, brother of Matt who played last year in Great Lakes and the son of Tim, long time ML player and current Manager of the AAA Isotopes. He was the 3rd round pick of the Dodgers last year. Hopefully Josh Wall, second rd pick in 05 will finally develop. Another intriguing prospect is Allen Webster, an 18th round pick who has cracked the top 10 prospects for the Dodgers.

If the veteran kids pitch to their capabilities and the young arms respond well to their first shot at a full season league, the staff will be an asset. I assume Garrett Gould, the 2nd rounder last year, who got a 1st round bonus and has a power arm is still in extended ST. If he develops to the Dodgers liking he should make his debut with the Loons this year.

I know Busty will have his troops ready, but this team has alot to follow after the great effort the Loons gave their fans last year. Good luck to the Loons and Busty, take them to a cahmpionship, while showing them what it takes to be a ML player. It has to be tough at that level where you want to win, but ultimately it is more about development…

 

 

This is the best time of the year, opening day in baseball..Too bad it is the Yankees and the Red Sox and not the Dodgers, but I am excited about this year. I know our achilles heel is potentially our pitching, but I may be an eternal optimist, it will be one of our strengths. If everyone stays healthy, I really believe that it has the opportunity to be the deepest staff in the NL West. Giants and Dbacks have better top 2s, but with Kershaw, Billz, Kuroda, Padilla and our wildcard Haeger, we have a very balanced top 5. Kershaw will continue to develop into the top lefty in the league…Hopefully he and Billz will pitch to contact and become more efficient with their pitch count. This will help to save the BP and not have to overwork them..Kuroda, again this year if healthy will be a stabilizing force. Padilla, has outstanding stuff..can hit the mid 90s with sinking action. His talent has never been questioned, but his and work ethic has been questiond, but the work that he put in when he was signed last year and the fact that he is pitching for a contract can only be a positive in my mind.

Now the wildcard in the rotation is Haeger. . I liked how he pitched last year and he may be our best number 5 in years. I have always been intrigued by the knuckleball pitcher and I have always wondered why more pitchers have not tried to throw it. I remember the Neikro brothers and Charlie Hough. The Dodgers gave up on Hough too soon and he went on to a stellar career. Now in todays game Tim Wakefield has made a great career out of throwing it and will go down in Red Sox history as one of their top pitchers. I am not saying Haeger will match the great accomplishments that the others have, but I am saying that is in the realm of possibility. In the 5th spot of the rotation you need someone to give you the oppotunity to compete and eat up innings and I think Haeger will. I anticipate him pitching 170  to 180 innings and ERA in the mid 4′s..winning 10 plus. If we get this we will rule the division again.

I am penciling in our rotation to win 70 plus games. Here is the breakdown:

Kerhsaw 16, Billz 17 (big comeback with new mechanics and better efficiency), Kuroda 15 and Padilla 15 and Haeger will win 10..73.

Now, my question is the BP. I hope that the drop in velocity by Broxton is not a warning sign. I had his back last year and he turned in a great year. I realize that he had the big blown save in the Phillies series, but he was dominant from day one last year and without the big guy we would not have been where we were. If he stays healthy I expect another dominant performance. My biggest concern is Sherrill and the lack of another lefty on the staff. Hopefully, his spring troubles are all mechanical and have been fixed and not physical. He was great last year and without him and Kuo we will be in trouble. Kuo, I admire his tenacity and heart and hope he is able to get his arm right. He is so nasty when he is healthy.

As for the Ortiz boys. I am more excited about Ramon than Russ. I have seen Russ take too many whackings over the last 3 years. Ramon in a middle relief and possibly developing into the 8th inning guy I can see. Hopefully Bellasario will get into shape and reclaim his spot on the staff and be as effective as he was last year. I am also intrigued by Monsterios. Hopefully he will be eased into the league as a mop up guy and become a ML pitcher by June/July. I remember Fernando, Welch, and Hershiser starting in the BP and they went on to pretty good careers. Weaver, if he can match last year, that will be acceptable and a valuable member of the staff. As for Russ hopefully will only be on the staff until Bellasario or Kuo gets healthy.

As for the lineup, it is the best in the NL West.The key will be Furcal and Manny. They both need to have big years. Raffy finaly looked comfortable last September. I know I was disappointed with him, but he was coming off major surgery to his back and realistically it takes a year to get your timing back and your confidence. So I am hoping he starts to show the pop and the spring in his step that he had when we first signed him. As for Manny I think last year was such a wear on him that he lost his confidence. He started to overcompensate on the inside fastball. I think he will have a big year. Look for 25 hrs and 100 RBI. He is going to have so many runners on base in front of him he will get a 100 by accident. As for Kemp and Ethier they will continue to develop and become superstar. Kemp will go 30-30 this year and play GG defense again, Ethier will hit .280 with 30 hrs and 100 RBI and be the leader on the team and in the community, The wildcards are going to be Loney and Martin. We know what Blake brings, Loney will hit .300 and develop more gap power and go for 35 plus doubles and 15 plus hrs and 100 RBI…Martin, will have a bounce back year, I have no great predictions for him, but he will bounce back.

Now Dewitt is one of my favorites. I love the way he plays and I believe he will be a great asset at 2b. He has a great work ethic and knows how to play the game. If Joe is patient we will have a potential all star. He has gap power and will develop into an a bove average defender. We need complimentary players like Dewitt. think he will eventually become a great 2 hitter, next year when Kemp takes over the 4th spot for Manny,

 I know the sexy pick by all the experts is the Rockies, but do not believe the hype. They have a good lineup but I think Street being out is going to really handcuff them. This is the way I see the division breaking down.

Dodgers 95 wins

Rockies 92

Giants 90

Padres 77

We play the Phillies for the Championship again and we beat them….Then we play the hated Yankees and beat them in Game 7…Can the dream begin!!!