MLB Season Preview: 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers

You can't talk about the Los Angeles Dodgers without talking about that big trade.

The guy came in, hit homers, hustled, played good defense, and dragged the former lacklusteer Dodgers into October, and almost to the World Series.

And now he's back...

So, can Casey Blake continue to lead the Dodgers to success, him and that guy in left field?

OFFENSE: A-

All kidding aside, when you bring in someone that hits .396, blasts 17 homers, and drives in 53 runs in 53 games, he'll grab some attention.

When he's Manny Ramirez, he'll dominate all airtime.

Blake, indeed, did hold his own at third base (.251, 10 and 23 with the Dodgers, .274, 24 and 81 overall), and young lions RF Andre Ethier (.305, 20, 77), 1B James Loney (.289, 13, 90), C Russell Martin (.280, 13, 69) and CF Matt Kemp (.290, 18, 76) can only improve.

Plus (especially if healthy), there are two great tablesetters in SS Rafael Furcal and 2B Orlando Hudson at the top.

Get the dreadlocks ready, it's time to roll.

PROJECTED LINEUP: 1 Furcal SS 2 Hudson 2B 3 Ramirez LF 4 Ethier RF 5 Loney 1B 6 Blake 3B 7 Martin C 8 Kemp CF 9 Pitcher's spot

STARTING PITCHING: C-

If there are questions about this team, they are in the rotation, and they are sizable ones.

Opening Day starter Hideki Kuroda went 9-10 last year with a 3.73 ERA, so the question may be a lack of run support. Chad Billingsley went 16-10 with a 3.14 ERA, but he's coming back from a broken leg thanks to icy steps at home in Pennsylvania. Randy Wolf returns to Chavez Ravine after spending time with San Diego and Houston last year, and his record (12-12, 4.30) didn't exactly blow anyone out of the water.

Number four will be Clayton Kershaw (5-5, 4.30), who just got his feet wet last season, and has many putting the franchise on his back. And the fifth starter looks to be Jason Schmidt, if he doesn't break into seven easy pieces.

Get the Rolaids ready, it's time to pitch.

PROJECTED ROTATION: Kuroda, Billingsley, Wolf, Kershaw, Schmidt

BULLPEN: C-

The bullpen may find themselves in similar straits this season.

Jonathan Broxton has the closer's role all to himself this year with Takashi Saito trading Dodger blue for Nation red. He closed 14 of 22 games in his audition. Setting him up are two decent arms in Hong-Chih Kuo and Guillermo Mota, taking up the fight in the middle is Cory Wade. All of them did pretty good jobs last year.

Now, the grey area is, well, everyone else, with the mercurial Jeff Weaver trying to hang on to a major league career for dear life, a little used Ramon Troncoso, quasi-rookie James McDonald (six innings in '08), and highly touted Scott Elbert, who came up and got two things handed to him: six innings and his rear end.

Get the buckles ready, things could get bumpy.

CONCLUSION

The race in the National League West is a comparison of photo negatives.

The Dodgers have the offense, the Arizona Diamondbacks, eh, not so much.

The D-backs have Webb, Haren, Garland and others. The Dodgers have Billingsley, Kuroda, and a song in their hearts.

But, as always, the laughing joker be the wild card, and he's in left, wearing 99, and hitting homers.

Get your tickets ready, it's time to board the crazy train.

PREDICTION: 86-76, National League West champions