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|  | San Francisco Giants NewsNews » Five things more important than Manny in L.A. |
| Five things more important than Manny in L.A. | |
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 For all the moaning and groaning about the world of Manny Ramirez, the rise and fall of the Dodgers in the NL West does not hinge on Mannymania. For all the hype about the way the Dodgers turned their season around when Ramirez joined them last August, what seems to be overlooked in that in Ramirez's first month on the job, the Dodgers were a basic, underachieving embarrassment. They lost 16 of the first 27 games after the arrival of the boorish superstar. It was when Jeff Kent got hurt, left the team and had his poisonous personality removed from the clubhouse that the Dodgers' season turned around. The day after Kent's departure, the Dodgers not only broke a season-worst eight-game losing streak, but embarked on a season-ending stretch in which they won 19 of their final 27 games. Fact is, in the list of the keys for Dodger success, the presence of Ramirez, the man who orchestrated his own way out of Boston by quitting on a team so it wouldn't force him to live on $20 million this year, doesn't even make the top five. He isn't as crucial as: The Kiddie Korps: The Dodgers flushed the veterans from the pitching staff, deciding it was time for youth to be served, and while the headaches caused by Brad Penny won't be missed, the loss of the consistency of the under-the-radar Derek Lowe in the No. 1 slot is a concern. Chad Billingsley has proven he can win at the big leagues, but now, at the age of 24 he is being asked to assume the responsibility — mentally and physically — of being the ace, the starter who more often than not is matched up with the likes of a Brandon Webb, Jake Peavy, Tim Lincecum and Aaron Cook, and is expected to keep the team from long losing streaks. And then there is the need for lefty Clayton Kershaw, who becomes of legal drinking age on March 19, to turn the potential that prompted the Dodgers to take him as a first-round draft choice into results. He has a take-a-seat curveball but the command isn't there yet. He walked 52 and struck out 100 in 108-2/3 innings as a rookie. The sleeper would be the healthy return of Jason Schmidt, who supposedly is fit after being limited to six appearances in the first two years of his three-year contract by a pair of shoulder surgeries. | NL Worst: Two years ago, this was supposed to be the division on the rise, but last year it fell and it fell hard. The Dodgers won the division with 84 victories last year, and that came after the Padres won the division in 2005 with 82 victories, fewest ever for a postseason participant. The only team that made a major addition in the off-season was the Giants, who signed free agent Randy Johnson to fill out the back end of its rotation, but did nothing to address an offense so woeful that Bengie Molina is still hitting third. This is a division that was a combined 375-435 in 2008 (.463) and a composite 164-241 on the road (.405). The Dodgers were the division's best road team and they were 36-45 outside Dodger Stadium. Trust in Torre: Manager Joe Torre became an icon with the Yankees, where he took the team to 12 consecutive postseasons and four world championships. The championships, however, came in Torre's first five years on the job. The Yankees failed to advance out of the first round of the postseason in five of his last six years. And while he was 1,173-767 as the Yankees manager, his composite record as manager of the Mets, Braves, Cardinals and Dodgers is sub-.500 (978-1,081). A key to Torre's success with the Yankees was seemingly calming influence, where nothing became an issue, but with the release of his book about the Yankees years during the off-season and the shots he took at life with the Yankees, players are beginning to wonder how sincere Torre is. Hustle of Russell: The heart and soul of the Dodgers is Russell Martin, 26, a two-time All-Star and the 2007 NL Gold Glove catcher. He is a workhorse behind the plate -- 281 starts the last two years -- which led Torre to try and buy some time off without losing the impact of Martin in the lineup by starting the native Canadian at third base 11 times. Only a catcher would think that is a breather. He goes about his business in a much-less public fashion than the flamboyant Ramirez, but does it in a way that gets the attention of his teammates, making him the unquestioned leader on a team that is built around a home-grown nucleus. Closing Statement: Jonathan Broxton assumed the ninth-inning role in the midst of last season when injuries sidelined Takashi Saito. Now he's being counted on from the start. There's no time off for bad behavior for the closer on a team that wants to be a contender. Broxton's failures that were written off a year ago to inexperience and assuming a role he might not have been ready for cannot be so easily overlooked this time around. There's no safety net if he fails. He is only 19-for-38 in saves during his career and the bulky 24-year-old (he claims to carry 290 pounds on his 6-foot-3 frame) was 14-for-22 last year.Play FOX Fantasy Baseball today
Author:Fox Sports
Author's Website:http://www.foxsports.com
Added: March 5, 2009
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