Los Angeles Dodgers 2012: 5 Positive Takeaways from Spring Training

The Dodgers ended the Cactus League with a 14-14 record but enter the 2012 season on a high note.

The offseason started with securing Kemp and Kershaw with long-term contracts and ended with finally having a reputable group of owners who will sign those paychecks.

While predicted by almost nobody to win the NL West, Dodgers fans still have a lot to smile about and not just because Friday fireworks nights are back. 

Andre Ethier

Andre Ethier is fully recovered from knee surgery and looks like he did in the summer of 2010, when people were mentioning him and “triple crown” in the same breath.

Ethier has come out of the gates in the past few seasons strong, with great stats in April and May. Ironically, he struggled those years during spring training, never topping 300. This spring Ethier hit 396 and showed flashes of brilliance.  

With Ethier healthy, the Dodgers indisputably have the best 1-2 offensive combination in the NL West.

New Ownership Ends the Uncertainty

Uncertainty. Instability. Being the laughingstock of baseball. All things the Dodgers were in 2011.

There is no question that the ownership situation had an effect on the clubhouse last season. The players faced an uncertain future, and often joked that they were not sure if they would even receive their upcoming paycheck. The fans stopped showing up to games engaging in what can only be described as an en masse protest of the McCourt dictatorship.

That protest is over, and there is finally the feeling of a fresh start in L.A. The fans feel it, and so do the players. No longer do the players have to answer questions about the McCourt divorce, or the latest hair dresser spending binge.  No longer do the players have to listen to Jay Leno making fun of the team on late night TV; the title of laughingstock now belongs to the Mets. The team can just go out and do what they do best—play baseball. 

The fans will return, and will undoubtedly enjoy all the certain attributes of Dodger games: listening to Nancy Bea play the seventh inning stretch and Deuce dancing to “Don't Stop Believing”  before the bottom of the eighth.  

Health

Love or hate the Dodgers Opening Day roster, there will be no finger pointing that we got off to a slow start because one of our best players was injured.

Aside from Ted Lilly who hopefully will not be able to give up any homers or stolen bases while spending time on the 15-day DL, the core unit that finished so strong last season return in tact and ready to make a run at the division. Even their offseason acquisitions of Harang and Capuano who have battled arm issues in the past, had a promising spring.

Comparing our health to last year where we started with injuries to Casey Blake, Padilla, Jon Garland and Dioner Navarro and we are in a much better place than in 2011 where we had a slow start. 

Easy April Schedule

Coming off a great end to the 2011 season the Dodgers catch a break from the schedule makers. The Dodgers avoid the Giants and Diamondbacks in April while drawing two of the three last place teams from the National League in 2011. (Padres and Astros). In fact seven of their first 10 games are against the last place Padres. If there was ever a time for a hot start out of the gates it is this April.

Adding a little fuel to the fire is the fact that there is one extra playoff spot up for grabs this season. So if the Dodgers ride a hot start, look for the new ownership to reward the city with a big acquisition around July. 

No Pressure

Combine one of the best NBA seasons in L.A. where both the Clippers and Lakers are heading to the playoffs with USC starting next year as the favorites to win the BCS championship and the pressure is completely off of the Dodgers to win anything next year. If the Dodgers get only 70 wins, Angelinos will be calling into talk radio saying how the team is in good hands and will win it all by 2015. All the pressure will be on management next winter to sign big time free agents like Cole Hamels or David Wright.

With no pressure to perform on the field I expect this team to come together like the Indians from Major League with Dee Gordon playing the part of Willy Mayes Hayes, fans can expect to see a ton of steals and a lot of hit and run baseball and the wins will come from shutting the opposition down late with the best bullpen in baseball.