Questions abound as Dodgers prepare for first full-squad workout

The Dodgers’ first full-squad workout of the spring is scheduled Tuesday, the first time the new/old gang will get together and focus on turning around last year’s disappointing season.

Whatta ya think?

All new and improved? Ready for a real title run? Same ol’, same ol’? Mediocrity on display? A team ready to blossom?

Listen, if things fall right, they could win the division. Really. They could also easily come in third.

The thing about year’s Dodgers is that they have a question at every single position. Uncertainty at each one.

If you give them that their rotation is solid, after that it’s all questions, with a first-time manager, a revamped bullpen, a struggling closer.

Now, some are of more concern than others, but there is nothing with reasonable certainty you can write in and expect out of any spot on the field.

At catcher, gone is Russell Martin, now in is 35-year-old Rod Barajas, Dioner Navarro, fresh off his .l94 season, and A.J. Ellis.

New is second baseman Juan Uribe, having to prove his fairly modest career year in 2010 (.248, 24 homers, 85 RBI) wasn’t a one-season fluke.

There are several spots where players are coming off poor second halves: first baseman James Loney (.211, .285 on-base, .331 slugging); third baseman Casey Blake (.234, .298, .383); shortstop Rafael Furcal (.243, .338, .364).

In the outfield, Andre Ethier has to prove his injuries are behind him, Matt Kemp that last year’s disappointment was a one-year drop-off, and that the aged platoon of Jay Gibbons and Marcus Thames can be productive.

And then there is Furcal having to simply stay healthy, Blake proving the years haven’t caught up with him, Barajas that his brief offensive outburst when acquired last year can at least be approached.

"If you go by history, and not just last year’s history, there’s more out of Matt and Andre that we saw last year, because we saw it in ’09," said General Manager Ned Colletti. "I think you could say the same thing about James.

"Second base, we should have more productivity with Juan. Not a high on-base percentage, but more of a run-producing bat. Raffy’s health is always tied to his performance and confidence. The catching, defensively I assume should be a plus, and the offense anything you can get out of that position is a plus.

"Casey, if he plays a little bit less, which is against his nature, will probably be as productive production-wise. Left field we have questions, there’s no doubt. We have a platoon there that could work. But just because you start February with an idea doesn’t mean you’ll be there in March or April or July either."

A few questions might be answered over the next six weeks, but most take the start of the season.

If, by some chance, all are answered in the positive, then the Dodgers could be pretty good. That, of course, is up to question.

-- Steve Dilbeck

Comments

[calmlikeabomb]

Raffy's health is key. He's needed at the top of the line up to set the table. If he suffers another injury there is no one to fill the lead off role. Hopefully, Ethier can get off to a hot start like he did last year and get over the ankle & pinky injuries. Another hope is that Gwynn Jr. can hit a little bit so he can be the 3rd outfielder. Thames/Gibbons could be ugly in left field.

http://truetotheblue81.blogspot.com/

[KoufaxFan]

McCrap's Disgraced Dodgers, full of bargain bin bums, are headed for another 4th place finish.

[aaron d.]

THE MAIN QUESTIONS

1.) Back end of the Bullpen - Can Brox rebound? Can Kuo stay healthy? Can Jansen be effective through the adjustments? Can Padilla or Jansen close if needed?

2.) DEFENSE - if it's like it was last year - fughedaboutit.

3.) FURCAL - Need this guy to be high octane All-star form and HEALTHY

[Jim McVeigh]

Don`t fall for it. The best they are ever going to do under mccourts ,jamey or frankie and sons is the second round of the playoffs. they love money too much to ever invest in anything but personal greed. the absolute best player they had under frankie and jamey was Manny. We all know how he got him and how little, in todays market, it cost him. Why improve a team that draws three million a year. he draws this many people with second and third rate players and over the hill past their prime players. So if you had a turkey and passed it off as filet mignon and someone would buy it, you would certainly sell it to him. As long as we keep filling up that stadium, we are telling this bum that it is ok to rip us off. When the yankees were owned by cbs they languished in the second division and their attendance plumetted(sic). In other words Don`t pay for a trple a team with major league money otherwise they are laughing all the way to the bank or real estate office...

[SmackSaw]

Sell the team, Frank. Dodger fans deserve better!!

[Joe the Plumber]

Ned has to say those things to justify his moves. Its rationalization... just what a white-collar criminal does... Ned's player decisions have a 5% chance of producing a winner... Same Old Dodgers... 22 years in the wilderness! Once again, I hope I'm wrong and we get very, very lucky!

[Zen]

Thank goodness I'm a White Sox fan, as well.

While I prefer the Blue's starting pitching staff, those hurlers can't hit like Konerko, Dunn, and others. (Or even Drysdale, remember?)

I like the financial commitment the Sox made to be competitive, NOW, according to owner Reinsdorf. He deserves the fan support he asked for, in turn.

Unlike you-know...

[OldBrooklyn Fan]

As the old saying goes, (on paper) this looks like a pretty good team. The starting lineup will be fun to watch, especially the first 6 hitters.
We have to feel it's a good starting rotation and the only place, an important place, the bullpen, with all the new faces we just have to wait and see, as it could make or break this team,

[16blows]

148 words re: the dudgers put to 10 sentences courtesy Ned - highlights as follows courtesy these condensed installments from his baseball opus:

"if"... "just"..."because"... "I think"... "you could say" ~

"we should"... "but"... "I assume"... "should"... "anything you can get" ~

"if"... "we have questions, there's no doubt"... "could work"... "but"... "just because" ~

Yes Ned, we're getting the gist the flowery picture you paint; might we suggest a working title: 'Whistling In The Dark"

[Hollywood Dodger Mark]

What a mess.

[StanL]

Jim McVeigh,
The CBS Yankees didn't have a Mexican band playing on Sundays. The NYC people back then weren't as gullible as the present day LA fans.

[Chumpy Kemp]

There is really only one key question: At what point in the season will Chumpy Matt Kemp quit on the team?

[skyharbor]

The Q's will win over the A's by a landslide in the 2011 Dodger season.

[Ebbets from Connecticut]

I'm hoping gthat by the time I get there for the game against Houston on June 19, all these questions are answered. Either that or Jamie McCourt is living in Somalia, abducted by Pirates, and not the Pittsburgh kind...that Frank found a few extra square feet on the Maine-side of Back Bay to park cars and is reading a papper while listeningto the Red Sox on radiio...and I don;t have to mortgage the House of Ebbets here just to park for the damned game on June 19.
At least I know the Dodger dogs will be grilled...In and Out is on the way home, Don Amigo's mexican food in Inglewood has the BEST burritos, and I get to meet J.W. at Martha's for breakfast on Friday morning. After that, I'm sure of nothing here.

[k]

The good thing about having very low expectations is that you can't be disappointed when you don't get much. That's my philosophy for the 2011 Dodgers. I'll be shocked if they're even competitive. Matter of fact, I look for them to fight with the Pads to stay out of the cellar.