2007 Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball
The 2007 Los Angeles Dodgers Have Great Pitching But Light Hitting.
The 2007 Los Angeles Dodgers have an abundance of starting and relief pitching. Their offensive pop is a little bit lacking, but they will still win the NL West.
Dodger Blue is back in full force. After winning the Wild Card in 2006, the Dodgers lost their top outfielder, but picked up two veteran starters who will give them one of the best starting rotations in baseball. Here is your 2007 MLB Preview for the next National League West champions.
Starting Pitching
These Los Angeles Dodger look a whole lot like the pitching-rich teams of the 1960’s. While there is no Sandy Koufax or Don Drysdale in the rotation, Big Blue does have 16-game winners Derek Lowe and Brad Penny returning this season. They also signed twelve-year veteran Jason Schmidt to a three year, $48 million contract this winter. With double digit victories in nine of the last ten years (and a career high of 18 in ’04), Schmidt is worth the investment. Los Angeles also picked up former Phillies standout Randy Wolf. Wolf has had brief stretches of dominance in his career, but injuries have limited his starts and his effectiveness over the past three seasons. The last time he made more than 23 starts was in 2003, when he went 16-9. Wolf will need to stay healthy this year to justify the Dodgers’ big investment in him. Overall, this rotation is one of the best in baseball.
Relief Pitching
In addition to their tough starting pitching, the 2007 Los Angeles Dodgers have an electric bullpen. Their top middle reliever is the Big Jonathan Broxton. Just 22 years old, the six-foot three-inch, 290 pound Broxton went 4-1 with a 2.59 ERA in 2006. Veteran Joe Beimel had the best year of his career, making 62 appearances with 2-1 record and a 2.96 ERA. Youngster Chad Billingsley put together a solid rookie season in 2006, when the Dodgers used him primarily as a starter. With the arrival of Schmidt and Wolf, Los Angeles will move him to middle relief, giving them at least three very tough pitchers to bridge the gap to their fantastic reliever. Closer Takashi Saito had an absolutely brilliant 2006 season. Saito had a 6-2 record, 24 saves in 26 opportunities, and an ERA of 2.07. These three will lead the best relief corps in the National League.
Offense
The 2007 Los Angeles Dodgers offense will rise and fall with the fortunes of two players: Juan Pierre and Nomar Garciaparra. Pierre had a good season for the Cubs last year, leading the NL in hits with 204. He also had 13 triples and stole 58 bases. However, Pierre must reach base a lot more this season. His .330 On Base Percentage was the lowest for all leadoff hitters in the National League. It’s hard to argue that Pierre should be more patient at the plate, because his aggressiveness is his greatest strength. But 32 walks and 87 runs is simply not enough for a top-of-the-order guy.
Without J.D. Drew, who drove in 100 runs last year but left this winter for Boston, the run-producing burden will fall on Nomar Garciaparra. In 2006, Nomar played in over 120 games for the first time in four years. The 2007 edition of the Los Angeles Dodgers will need him to play in at least 140 games. Nomar proved last year that he is still a great player. Now he needs to prove that he can be a consistently healthy player. The Dodgers should also get strong production from Rafael Furcal (.300 Avg., 113 Runs, 37 SB in ‘06) and last year’s rookie sensation Andre Ethier (.308, 11 HR and 55 RBI).
Keys to Success
Nomar and Wolf need to stay healthy, Ethier needs to continue to develop in order to replace Drew’s lost production, and closer Takashi Saito must continue his dominance.
Prediction: 92-70 (1st in NL West).
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