One of these guys will start the season in LA, the others go to AAA

I have been here for 7 days now and have enjoyed no game as much as today when we won it in the bottom of the 9th.  Martin and Loney got hits to start the inning and Kemp nearly won it with a shot to the wall, but Bigbee drove in both runners (OK, the CF did bobble the ball) to win it much to the consternation of vocal Cleveland fans.  With Spring Training coming rapidly to a conclusion, I only have 3 more games to watch, but I can name the 25 man roster now.  That is, unless Ned Coletti goes and makes some trade (which he just might).  Here it, along with my rationale for justifying the roster spot.Starting Pitchers:

1.  Lowe2.  Wolf

3.  Schmidt

4.  Penny

5.  Tomko - No other potential starter pitched any better than Tomko (no C-Bill is not a starter - he arguably makes us much better in the pen, unless we trade Hendrickson and Tomko) and Kuo will start the season on the DL.

Relief Pitchers:6.  Saito7.  Broxton

8.  Beimel

9.  Billingsley (the Killer B’s)

10.Hendrickson

11.Seanez (over Dessens)-I think Dessens will be traded or released even though we have a financial obligation with him.

It’s possible we will keep 12 pitchers, with Penny’s shoulder somewhat in question, but I think 11 should suffice.  If we keep 12, Dessens has a spot.  I do believe that by mid-season, Greg Miller may be in the rotation - his stuff is awesome, and regular pitching should reduce his wildness.

Starting Position Players:12.  Furcal  SS  - he’ll be ready for opening day.13.  Pierre  CF - he will be a huge player for us this year - I keep hearing about how weak his arm is and frankly, whoever said that is not watching the same player I watched - he has no cannon, but it ain’t bad!

14.  Garciaparra - 1B - hopefully he won’t break anytime soon, but Loney is ready if it happens.

15.  Kent  2B - he’ll homer on opening day.

16.  Gonzalez - LF - pencil him in for .280/18/85

17.  Martin  C  - the heart and soul of the Dodgers

18.  Ethier  RF - he looks like the same player we saw May - August - hopefully he can add 2 more months.

19.  Betemit 3B - the past few days he has started to come around.  Could he be the best #8 hitter in baseball?

Bench:20.  Saenz - because he can21.  Anderson - LH version of #20

22.  Martinez - Utility man who gets the nod over Valdez because of (a) guaranteed contract; and (b) experience.

23.  Lieberthal - C  You have to have a backup, even if Martin is your starter.

24.  Loney  - Nothing more for him in Vegas

25.  Bigbee - today cemented his role.

That means that Valdez will be lost - Kemp would be valuable as the only RH bat in the OF, but he needs more time to play everyday, as do La Roche and Abreu.

Finally, Loney is ready.  He’s not an outfielder now, nor will he ever be.  Kemp is close, maybe he’ll be ready by mid-season - he just needs to work on his hitting for another 1/2 season.  He has “mad skills” and he’s a great kid.  La Roche and Abreu are also close - I wonder if La Roche might go to LF?

Schmidt pitched “ugly” but 1 run is all he gave up.  I will pass judgement on him once the season starts.  With guys like Kent, Schmidt, Gonzo and Nomar, Spring Training doesn’t mean much, although Nomar looks very healthy.

Well, the first two games I saw resulted in the Dodgers getting beat like rented mules.  A few observations:

1.  I shook hands with Frank McCourt and had a brief chat with him.  The Vero Beach locals hate him with a passion for obvious reasons.  He doesn’t care…

2.  Roger (Anew Blue day) and I chatted with Fay Vincent for about 15 minutes, mostly about Pete Rose.  I can sum it all up in one simple sentence - Fay thinks Rose is a liar and stupid and not necessarily in that order.  No, let me change that to “real stupid!”

4.  Jeff Kent took BP by himself after everyone else had stopped and mush have hit 125-150 balls.  At the end of the session, he was depositing them over the fence with regularity!

5.  I can out run Saenz!  Man, is he slow!

6.  C-Bill looked good in relief.

7.  La Roche his the ball hard every time and looked OK in LF.

8.  Kuo looked well, BAD!

9.  Repko was back and running well.

10.More tomorrow…

Well, the first two games I saw resulted in the Dodgers getting beat like rented mules.  A few observations:

1.  I shook hands with Frank McCourt and had a brief chat with him.  The Vero Beach locals hate him with a passion for obvious reasons.  He doesn’t care…

2.  Roger (Anew Blue day) and I chatted with Fay Vincent for about 15 minutes, mostly about Pete Rose.  I can sum it all up in one simple sentence - Fay thinks Rose is a liar and stupid and not necessarily in that order.  No, let me change that to “real stupid!” 3.  Tony Abreu looks 100% healthy, he was throwing, fielding, running and hitting at what looked to be full speed.  I also saw him crush 2 back-to-back HR in BP.

4.  Jeff Kent took BP by himself after everyone else had stopped and mush have hit 125-150 balls.  At the end of the session, he was depositing them over the fence with regularity!

5.  I can out run Saenz!  Man, is he slow!

6.  C-Bill looked good in relief.

7.  La Roche his the ball hard every time and looked OK in LF.

8.  Kuo looked well, BAD!

9.  Repko was back and running well.

10.More tomorrow…

This is our next to last year.

Come back and check us out on March 20th or 21st