Season 20
Won/Loss (place in division) & Playoffs: 87-75 (2nd), missed playoffs
Offense: 627 runs (14th)
Pitching: 3.53 ERA (4th)
Major ChangesFA Departures: RP Carson Moreno, OF Napoleon Davis
FA Signees: OF Fred Leary
Promoted: OF Willie Pinzon (Sea 15 IFA), RP Colvin Hume (Sea 17 #30 overall), RP Trenidad James (Sea 16 IFA), RP Kirt Murphy (Sea 16 #52 overall), RP Keith Phelps (Sea 17 #51 overall),
Season 21 OutlookGiven their home park, you might expect that the Dodgers would struggle to score runs, and that is indeed the case. They only reached base at a .307 clip last year - 1B Pascual Moreno is the most reliable base-reacher (.366 last year, above his career norm). They hit 162 HR's (2B Carlos Melendez tops with 33). They will definitely try to take the extra base on you and have a stable of base-stealers (CF Jim Davenport the best with 50-for-59 last year). I don't see their m/o - or their output - changing much this year, although OF Pinzon adds some pop.
Pitching is where LA wins it's games, and they've added another big crop of young arms this off-season. Del Redondo is one of the top young SP's in the NL, when he can stay healthy. There's nothing about him that suggests any great injury risk, but he missed big chunks of Seasons 17 and 19 with elbow injuries. The 2-5 starters - Pascual Rosario, Enos Campbell, P.J. Hamilton and Preston Collins - were all terrific last year; the Dodgers need repeats of those performances.
Javier Calderone and Roy Tipton will likely get the save chances...they'll be joined by 4 rookies in the Kiddie Corps that is the Dodger 'pen.
LA improved by 20 wins last year; it's hard to see that happening again, but contention is within reach. Add a bat, get a bust-out, CY year from Redondo and you never know.
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