THE SAVING GRACE...

The Dodgers rotation figures to be the saving grace of the team this year. They have quality, and depth. The rotation will be anchored by newcomer Jason Schmidt. Who was pried away from the San Francisco Giants during the offseason. Despite the fact that Schmidt is on the downward slope of his career, he is still a top 10 pitcher. The Dodgers will rely heavily on him to be the stablelizing force, and ace they have needed for some time. Next in line is Derek Lowe. Lowe is coming off a good year. Last years ace will slide over to the second spot. Lowe needs to continue his success of the past two years. The thing he needs to work on is keeping his head in the game. Many times we have seen Derek go about the game in such a casual manner that drives me crazy. He needs to stay in the game, and don't get down on himself when a batter reaches base. Brad Penny is the enigma of the staff. Penny was the All-Star starter last season. At that point he was having the best season of his career. He still finished with the best season of his career, but Penny limped to the end. A better conditioning program might help him. Last year he barley made it past the 5th inning, and that is just not acceptable. Penny should go at least 7 every night. If Penny gets off to a bad start, expect him to be traded away. Chad Billingsley needs to build on his exceptional finish last year. Towards the end of the season, he seemed to have his control issues in order. He cannot revert to when he first came up in June, and walk 5 batters a game. Randy Wolf was brought in to provide depth, and if healthy he should be a solid addition. Randy, an All-Star in the past signed a one year deal to come home, and play for his hometown team. If Randy falters, Hong Chih Kuo, Mark Hendrickson, Brett Tomko, and Elmer Dessens are waiting in the wings. Also, look out for Scott Elbert. Elbert who reminds me of Chad Billingsley in a lot of ways, might come up this year and follow in Chad's footsteps.


There are still spots left on my Fantasy Baseball League, so if anyone is interested just let me know.


BELIEVE IN BLUE!