The Dodgers are coming off their second season in a row having appeared in the National League Championship Series but have not been able to get to the World Series. They have won over 95 games the past two years and have the same core of players back for another shot at the pennant. The emergence over the past few years of Matt Kemp, James Loney, Clayton Kershaw, and Andre Either as true stars in the league should have the Dodgers repeating its past success. These key contributors have gained valuable experience as youngsters and as they mature even more this year they look to get the Dodgers over the hump and pass the Phillies atop the National League. With one July deadline trade for a starting pitcher the Dodgers would easily have a better overall team than the Phillies, if they do not already. The Dodgers and Phillies both have monster American League type lineups and the Dodgers have one of the deepest bullpens in the game. The Dodgers rely on older veterans with Manny Rameriz, Casey Blake, and Rafael Furcal playing important roles on the team and this leaves the Dodgers with some questions. To try and solve the problem, the Dodgers have made minor acquisitions to try and help keep these veterans fresh by rotating fresh bodies in throughout the long season. This way the veterans will have enough left in the tank for the final push down the stretch. The off season acquisitions include signing Jamey Carroll as a utility infielder. Ronnie Belliard is back again on the bench after his strong performance in the postseason. He could possibly be starting to if Blake DeWitt has any problems. Reed Johnson, former outfielder from the Cubs also signed as he will be the utility outfielder now that Juan Pierre has been traded to the White Sox. The Dodgers signed former Padre, Brian Giles to a minor league contract as well so maybe he has something left in his tank and can add to the Dodgers depth. Joe Torre should be able to keep his team fresh for their playoff run with the options he has to field the team. In order for the Dodgers to go out and get a big-name player in July however the McCourt divorce must be settled or have better implication as to what is going to happen. This divorce has huge financial implication on the team for this season and the seasons to come. If it is a clearer picture and Mr. McCourt thinks he can go out and get a player then look for them to pull the string. Either way the Dodgers still have a monstrous line-up with lots of talent and enough pitching to have them competing for the championship. If Chad Billingsley, Russell Martin, and Manny Rameriz can produce like they did in 2008, along with what the youngsters doing what they did last year then this team must be considered a front runner in the National League. Manny might not have a lot left in him or he could have worked out really hard during the off season and be in great shape ready to play. Manny will be Manny though and the Dodgers will see what they get from him as the season progresses. No matter what the man can still hit and with the emergence of other players on the team he will not need to hit 40 home runs like he once did. He hitting for an average and 15 to 20 homeruns would do the team wonders. Here is a look as to what I project the starting lineup to be for the Dodgers on opening day, as well as the starting pitching staff.

L.A Dodgers 2010 Projected Starting Line-Up 1. Rafael Furcal-SS 2. Matt Kemp- CF 3. Andre Either- RF 4. Manny Rameriz- LF 5. James Loney- 1B 6. Casey Blake- 3B 7. Russell Martin- C 8. Blake DeWitt- 2B 9. Pitcher
Pitching Rotation 1. Clayton Kershaw- LH 2. Chad Billingsley- RH 3. Hiroki Kuroda- RH 4. Vicente Padilla- RH 5. James McDonald- RH / Scott Elbert- LH/ Jeff Weaver-RH / Russ Ortiz-RH (best performer in Spring Training, lots of options)

Bullpen Closer- Jonathan Broxton- RH Set-Up Man- George Sherrill-
LH