The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t do much this off-season due to the expected ramifications of a pending divorce between the owners of the team but the good news is they have enough talent on hand from the previous season to seriously compete for yet another National League West Crown.

While the Dodgers don’t have a dominant ace in their starting rotation, what they do have is four very good, top of the rotation quality pitchers in Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda and Vicente Padilla. Those four pitchers will be more then enough to keep the Dodgers in most games in the National League.

Kershaw and Billingsley are the young guys in the rotation and they both have huge upside but along with that youth comes a lot of mistakes. Unfortunately for the Dodgers those “mistakes” usually result in a lot more work for the bullpen. Padilla pitched extremely well for the Dodgers after they acquired him late in the season and he should do well again this season pitching at Dodgers Stadium with his sinker. Hiroki Kuroda is probably the best pitcher on the Dodgers staff right now when healthy. If he can stay healthy he will give the team a big boost and maybe even teach the younger guys a thing or two…

The bullpen is pretty good with a lot of veterans that can also start if needed. The teams closer, Jonathan Broxton, is one of the best in baseball. George Sherill returns this year to set up Broxton. The rest of the bullpen is made up of veterans that at one time were starters. Guys like Jeff Weaver, Russ Ortiz and Ramon Ortiz. It’s good to have veterans like these on your staff because they know how to pitch, they now how to get out of jams and they give the team versatility because they can also start.

The Dodgers offensively are pretty potent for a National League team. A lot of their prized prospects like Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, James Loney and Russell Martin have come into their own and are now carrying the club. A big question for the Dodgers this season is how perennial all-star Manny Ramirez will play now that he is 38 years old and under tighter steroid testing. The Dodgers need Manny Ramirez to be the Manny Ramirez of old if they expect to contend in the playoffs this season but the chances of that happening are not likely.

The Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal is in the same boat as Ramirez… he’s an aging player that the Dodgers need a lot of production out of and again there’s a lot of doubt as to whether or not Furcal can do it. Outside of Furcal the Dodgers don’t have a lot of speed so it’s critical that Furcal have a good season if the Dodgers are to do well.

With the owners of the Dodgers going through a divorce it’s pretty surprising that the Dodgers will still be able to field a team that should be able to compete for the National League West. That’s unfortunate for longtime Dodger fans who usually expect the Dodgers to compete for a World Series title and not just to squeak into the playoffs.