Matt Kemp

With their most recent acquisition of outfielder Marcus Thames, the Los Angeles Dodgers not only achieved an addition of power to the roster, but they also balanced the bats in the process. Thames will join a solid corps of outfielders who individually feature power, speed, and reliable defense.

With spring training quickly approaching, several questions continue to linger in terms of how the Los Angeles Dodgers' 25-man roster will shape up once the players arrive at Camelback Ranch to prepare themselves for the long journey ahead.

Although general manager Ned Colletti has been very active this winter with numerous new additions to the club, there are still players on the free agent market available who may have the skills or abilities to complete a roster with a few holes.

Just about every single fan across Dodgertown is elated the 2010 campaign is now in the past, yet Matt Kemp, although his season was not a total bust, holds both higher hopes and expectations for the journey ahead.

Although he led the Dodgers in RBI, extra-base hits, runs scored and home runs (setting a career high in the process), it was a tough year in many other ways—his batting average dropped dramatically over last season, he was caught stealing 15 times on the basepaths, he set a club record for strikeouts and at times his defense was much less than stellar.

My buddy Vinnie over at Talking Giants Baseball contacted me and told me he would like me to do a guest blog entry about the Dodgers. He wants me to throw a preview at him. Well...he's not going to like what I'm about to write, because the Dodgers are coming back full force next year for a 100 win season and that NL West title.

As we start another offseason of Dodger baseball, this one seems to have a much bigger impact on the landscape of the franchise than most.

With the McCourt’s fighting over the control of the team, free agency questions looming, and deciding on weather to hold on to or cut ties with some of the young faces that have helped mold the franchise. And all this while the Dodgers are breaking in a new manager, Don Mattingly.

Joe Torre has made it official: he will be stepping down as the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers at the end of the 2010 season, and thus comes to a close one of the great managerial careers in baseball history.

It is a bitter-sweet end, though, as after 12 brilliant season with the New York Yankees, Torre leaves the Dodgers without having brought a championship to L.A. in his three seasons there.

To make matters all the more wrenching, Torre's Dodgers reached the NLCS in each of his first two years at Chavez Ravine, but could never get over the hump.

What a difference a year makes.

After two consecutive trips to the NLCS in 2008 and 2009, Dodgers fans had even higher hopes for the 2010 season.

Folks in Dodgertown knew that the divorce between Frank and Jamie McCourt would have some type of effect on the organization, but nobody guessed the 2010 campaign would turn into a struggle on the field.

Matt Kemp has had a poor season for the lofty expectations that were set for him. I projected the Los Angeles centerfielder at .301 BA/25 HR/111 RBI/28 SB. He was ranked as the second best fantasy outfielder by most, but just hasn’t been that good. He is currently at .255/22/74/18.

For the 62nd spring, Vin Scully will pull up a chair and call games for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Scully announced Sunday that he will return for the 2011 season on a one-year contract and keep his normal schedule with the Dodgers, which consists of calling all home games plus road games against National League West opponents.

“I’m just honored and humbled to continue my association with the Dodgers, which has been a major part of my life,” Scully said in a statement.

Preface: This article is not just the best players at each position, no matter the circumstances (payroll, player preferences, owners, etc). The criteria used for the article includes all of the before mentioned attributes and they are factored in to each position.

The 2010 season is over for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Faithful fans are still watching, but the Boys in Blue are really only mathematically in it, not realistically.