So the Dodgers finally signed Manny. It's about time! We all knew it was going to happen sometime because no other team wanted to give him the deal that he wanted. So with that being done, the Dodgers do have a legitimate/dangerous lineup. With a healthy Rafael Furcal and a career .282 hitter in Orlando Hudson or the Arizona State product Andre Ethier at the top of the lineup, Manny will have plenty of base runners to drive in. James Loney will most likely bat cleanup, with Russell Martin, Matt Kemp, and Casey Blake making up the rest of the lineup in some order. That's not a bad offense at all. Plenty of power and plenty of speed, and not to mention plenty of veteran leadership with the addition of some guys who have a lot of experience. Despite losing Nomar Garciaparra to the A's, the Dodgers picked up veterans Mark Loretta, Brad Ausmus, and Doug Mientkiewicz. Also they have nifty outfielder Juan Pierre to fill in nicely when Manny needs a day off.
As far as pitching goes, the Dodgers have some good healthy arms. Hiroki Kuroda is back after a 9-10 season last year and so is Chad Billingsley after winning 16 games last season. They also picked up former Pepperdine Wave Randy Wolf, and have veteran Jason Schmidt back and ready to go. 20 year old lefty Clayton Kershaw will also get some starts in there and will make his case to be a regular. Jonathan Broxton will step in as the closer this year and will back a pretty decent bullpen featuring Cory Wade, Guillermo Mota, and Eric Stults. If the Dodgers can stay healthy, and continue to play like they did towards the end of the season last year, they will be just fine. They have the potential to be an elite team in the NL and could even challenge the Angels for the best team in Los Angeles!
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