Team Snapshot - Los Angeles Dodgers

When the Dodgers eventually sign Manny Ramirez - they still won't be a team built to win the NL West. The pitching is too thin and too inexperienced. Ned Colleti is a bad GM and under him the farm system has become depleted.

C - Russell Martin is one of the top offensive catchers in baseball and is backed up by one of the worst offensive catchers in baseball - Brad Ausmus.

1st - James Loney is a 30 HR guy. Too bad that's a career mark (32 career HR) - not a potential for him to hit for a season. Loney for all the hype is a just a young Sean Casey.

2nd - Blake DeWitt is the starter but I'd almost prefer his back-up - Mark Loretta.

SS - I like Rafael Furcal but if we are honest with ourselves then you have to admit that he parlayed a small sample size 36 games of hitting .357 into a 3-year $30 million contract. Furcal has been in the bigs since 2000 and has never had a full season batting over .300. I think you are looking at a .285 season out of Furcal - that is if he can stay healthy.

3rd - If the Dodgers don't sign Manny Ramirez - then Casey Blake is probably the likely leader in HR for this team. Let that sink in and then think about the chances of the Dodgers offense leading the team to the NL West title. This fact alone is why I'm sure Manny will eventually sign with the Dodgers.

LF - OK - here's how I see this playing out. The Dodgers sign Manny to a 3-year $75 million contract and then they trade Juan Pierre to the Yankees for flotsam and jetsam to save on Pierre's $8 million contract.

CF - Matt Kemp budding star.

RF - Andre Ethier is my favorite Dodger because I play poker with his second cousin. Ethier could be a real sleeper in many fantasy baseball leagues.

Starters - The Dodgers season in large part rests on the shoulders of 25-year old Chad Billingsley and 21-year old Clayton Kershaw. If one or both of these guys don't have stellar seasons - then the Dodgers could be sunk. Can you imagine how intimidating the Dodgers young rotation could have been if they managed to sign David Price out of high school when they drafted him in 2004? The Dodgers still haven't answer the major question of how they will replace Derek Lowe's 200 plus innings. Are they counting on Jason Schmidt to bounce back from his shoulder problems? Ned Colleti is a lousy GM.

Bullpen - Does closer Jonathan Broxton really weigh over 300 pounds?