Dodgers Need A Pair

The Dodgers play in Los Angeles, so being so close to Hollywood it's perfectly natural for them to get a facelift, right? I'm not saying they need to get nipped and tucked as much as Mickey Rourke, but a couple of procedures is necessary.

In lieu of Botox and liposuction, the Dodgers just need to sign a couple of players. They might be only two guys, but man what a difference they would make. Continue Reading

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One major operation and another medium one is still plastic surgery.

Check out these potential lineups:

Rafael Fucal                                Rafael Furcal          

Russell Martin                             Orland Hudson

Matt Kemp                                  Manny Ramirez

Andre Ethier                                Andre Ethier

James Loney              v.              Matt Kemp

Casey Blake                               James Loney

Blake DeWitt                              Russell Martin 

Juan Pierre                                 Casey Blake

The latter has Russell Martin batting seventh and Casey Blake batting eighth! How many teams could boast a lineup with your No. 7 guy batting close to .300, hitting 15-20 homers and stealing 15-20 bases and your No. 8 guy hitting 20+ home runs? Not many.
You have two dynamic players at the top of the lineup. Guys in Furcal and Hudson that can pop one out of the yard, get on base a lot and wreak havoc on the base path's. With Ramirez cleaning up right behind them, you're talking about a lot of first-inning rallies.

You also put Ethier, Kemp and Loney in positions with runners on base where they are getting pitches to hit instead of pressure positions where they have to produce all of the offense.

Ethier coming up with Manny on second after doubling home Furcal and Hudson is better than Ethier leading off the second with a double and Kemp and Loney feeling like it's their job to drive in 100 runs. Instead, just let it happen.

It's also a case of addition by subtraction.

By taking DeWitt and Pierre out of the lineup, you take out a couple of guys who would be question marks as far as everyday production and you strengthen a bench that no longer has Jeff Kent and Nomar Garciaparra sitting on it.

The lineup also becomes very interchangeable. Martin is a guy that can bat anywhere from 1-8, Loney can bat anywhere from 2-7, Kemp and Ethier likewise. Blake can slide up and Hudson can slide down. Lineup shifts become a thing of convenience for Joe Torre instead of struggling to find the right combination because the team is struggling to produce.

Matt covers the Dodgers on his blog, Feeling Dodger Blue.