Clayton Kershaw

Well, there are thousands of new skeptics-turned-experts out there. The controversy surrounding Torre's decision to tab Vicente Padilla as the Dodgers' Opening Day starter over the youngster Clayton Kershaw culminated in the struggle of Padilla to hit his spots in the early innings.

The Los Angeles Dodgers certainly have weapons on their roster and thus far this Spring, those weapons have been on display. The Dodgers arsenal gives them an edge entering the regular season and a foundation to campaign for a playoff spot. Five essential strengths have to be met in order for a major league club to succeed:

Effective pitching is key. Pitching that keeps the other team from scoring provides an easy-street to wins.

A productive 3-4-5 in the line-up to drive in runs ensures plenty of offense to back up effective pitching.

DEFENSE.

The days of waiting for a Dodgers ace may be over.

As much as Stephen Strasburg is dominating the headlines, Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers deserves our attention. In Clayton's case, it won't make much difference if he receives it now or later, but he will receive it.

The Dodgers as an organization have groomed this 2006 first-round draft pick perfectly. Easing his way into the majors, Joe Torre saw fit to keep the work load strictly within his current ability.

Every season a handful of young players take the next step in their career. Something clicks, and they go from good ballplayers, to All Stars.

In 2008, it was Dustin Pedroia, Nate McLouth, and Ryan Ludwick who made that step.

Last year it was Felix Hernandez, Aaron Hill, and of course, Zack Greinke.

Who will it be on 2010? Well, I have compiled a list of the top ten most likely players to have breakout seasons, in my opinion of course.

You'll agree with some, disagree with others perhaps, but what is the fun if everybody agrees with everything?

Enjoy.

Prior to the winter meetings next week in the Indianapolis Convention Center, the Los Angeles Dodgers need to decide what moves the team needs to make that will lead towards their next winning season. 

Ned Colletti continues business as usual and makes it a priority to put the Dodgers back in the playoffs for the 2010 season.

So apparently the Dodgers are in the mix for an ace named Roy Halladay.

Bloggers, writers, panelists, and commentators across the country are all leaning towards a "no deal" mentality especially if it means trading Chad Billingsley or Clayton Kershaw.

Why?

POTENTIAL.

–adjective
1. possible, as opposed to actual: the potential uses of nuclear energy. 
2. capable of being or becoming: a potential danger to safety.

via www.Dictionary.com

Joe Torre is a Hall of Fame manager.

Take that to the bank. Play the Lottery with it. Bet the mortgage. Use your wife and kids as collateral, if you like. It’s as sure a thing as the Earth being a spheroid (a trifle flat at the poles), our Sun being ridiculously hot, divorce rates being on the rise, and our President’s approval ratings being on the decrease.

A wise man once said that age is nothing but a number.

The Los Angeles Dodgers certainly hope that is the case on Thursday evening when 21-year old Clayton Kershaw steps to the bump against the defending World Series Champions.

Manager Joe Torre announced late on Wednesday afternoon that the southpaw would get the call in Game One as the Dodgers look to get revenge for a loss in last season’s NLCS to the Philadelphia Phillies.

As the Los Angeles Dodgers finished their three-game sweep of the Cardinals, it occurred to me that this is one club whose success has seemed to be taken for granted.

Last year, as the Dodgers did the same to my Cubbies, most everything that was talked about and written seemed to focus on how poorly the Cubs played and very little, if any, respect was accorded the Dodgers for winning the series.

The Los Angeles Dodgers (56-32) played their final game before breaking for the All-Star game. They took two out of three from the Milwaukee Brewers (45-43) over the weekend and capped off the first half with a 7-4 win on Sunday afternoon.

The offense kept on rolling for the Blue Crew as James Loney went 2-for-4 with two RBI, Brad Ausmus hit his first home run of the season, and All-Star second baseman Orlando Hudson homered from both sides of the plate.

Some guy named Manny Ramirez also went 3-for-3 with two doubles.