(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
West: Los Angeles Dodgers (48-26)
Strengths: offense, defense, starting pitching, bullpen
Weaknesses: Rafael Furcal, Russell Martin, pitching depth
Top competition: San Francisco Giants (39-33), 8.0 GB
Last, but not least, we have this year's best team in baseball. After a late season surge with the acquisition of Manny Ramirez at the trade deadline, the Dodgers were favored heavily to win the NL West this year. The Giants were also speculated to contend, but the Dodgers are just running away with it.
Even with Ramirez on a 50-game suspension, the Dodgers aren't having any trouble scoring runs or winning games. Juan Pierre has been a catalyst at the top of the lineup, batting .329 and stealing 18 bags. Orlando Hudson has been another nameless hero, as he has scored 48 runs and driven in 41 while playing great defense at second.
Matt Kemp has been all that's advertised, as he's hitting .313, with nine homers, 40 RBI, and he has also stolen 18 bases. Casey Blake has added 11 homers and 48 RBI more, but perhaps the glue of this team has been Andre Ethier.
After a stellar three home-run performance last night, Ethier is hitting .268, with 14 home runs and 49 driven in. He has been one of the best run producers on the team, and should only continue to flourish with the return of Mannywood on July 3.
As if the offense hasn't been great, the pitching for this Dodgers team has been as good if not better. Chad Billingsley, just 24 years old, is among the league's best with nine wins and a 3.10 ERA.
Wonder kid Clayton Kershaw is right behind him, going 5-5 with a 3.70 ERA. Kershaw has a knee buckling curveball, which he uses to rack up the K's, but he still gets into his share of issues regarding walks.
However, the tandem of Billingsley and Kershaw has combined for a whopping 182 strikeouts, Billingsley with 99 of them.
The Dodgers have one of the most complete rotations in the league, as they are getting quality outings up and down the list. Randy Wolf has provided a 3.64 ERA, Hiroki Kuroda has contributed a 3.44, and in a handful of starts, Eric Milton has gone 2-0 with a 2.89 ERA.
The bullpen has been equally solid. Spot starter and long reliever Jeff Weaver is 4-2 with a 3.68 ERA, making a comeback from obscurity and ineptitude on the mound. Ronald Belisario has been great, posting a 2.03 ERA through 44 innings.
Ramon Troncoso, setting up for Jonathan Broxton, has been just as good. In 47 innings of work, Troncoso has a 2.11 ERA, while also recording four saves during off-days for Broxton.
Broxton, 25, already looks like one of the best young closers in the game. Broxton is 18-for-20 in save opportunities, and has notched a 2.27 ERA while striking out 57 hitters in 35 innings.
There is weak depth among this rotation, though, and the Dodgers know it. Nobody expected Wolf or Milton to be as sharp as they have been, and if an injury befalls anyone in the rotation there isn't much to replace them. Eric Stults and Jason Schmidt are both on the disabled list, with Schmidt rehabbing currently in AAA.
The Dodgers have had so few problems this year that the problems they have had can be pinpointed to certain players. One of them has been Rafael Furcal. To say Furcal has been mediocre this year would be generous, as he is hitting .238, with three homers, 16 RBI, and four stolen bases.
His offensive stats are nothing to write home about, and his defense isn't making up for it. In 66 games at shortstop, Furcal is sporting a Lugo-like .970 fielding percentage, while also having committed eight errors.
Another issue the team has had is Russell Martin. Once viewed as one of the best catchers in the National League, Martin has been on the decline since his breakout 2007 season. Having played in 66 games, Martin has hit .249, with one home run, 21 RBI, and seven steals.
With the league's best record and one of the most complete teams around the league, look for the Dodgers to make another deep post season run, likely getting farther than the NLCS this go around. As of now, it will take an epic collapse for the Dodgers to lose this division, as they are running away with it.
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