Thursday, January 25, 2007

AROUND THE HORN...

The Los Angeles Dodgers enter the 2007 campaign with a lot of questions surrounding the infield. Will Nomar Garciaparra hold up at first base for a full season?, can Jeff Kent rebound from a down year?, and will Andy LaRoche breakthrough at third?. These are just some of the doubts that besiege the Dodgers. The only sure thing appears to be Russell Martin at Catcher, and Rafael Furcal at Shortstop. Russell will enter his sophomore season looking to build on a successful rookie year. Martin appears ready to take the reigns as team leader. As for Furcal, he was stellar all season long. The one thing he will need to avoid is another slow start. At first base, Nomar will be there. That is if he can stay healthy. Nomar had a tremendous bounce back year. On the way he won the comeback player of the year award, and appeared in the all-star game. Nomar's health will be the biggest key to the Dodgers offensive attack. At Second base, Jeff Kent will start. But, for how long? There is already talk that he, and Nomar might switch places. Kent is 38 years old, and coming off a injury plagued year. Kent will need to prove he still has gas left in the tank. At Third base, it's a crap shoot. At this moment, Wilson Betemit has the job. But, Andy LaRoche seems to be ready to take over. This spot will come down to who performs better in the spring. A platoon could also be in order at third. There are several Dodger bench players who will be key contributors in the infield. Olmedo Saenz, Ramon Martinez, James Loney, Marlon Anderson, and Mike Lieberthal all will get some time at these spots. The bench will need to deliver like they did this past season if the Dodgers hope to be playing in October.


BELIEVE IN BLUE!

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