Los Angeles Dodgers (71-91, .438, 4th in NL West)

One of the funniest things I saw on ESPN this week was one of the baseball shows posing the question of whether or not Nomar Garciaparra will return to the numbers he saw in his Boston days. My dog - who had been napping on the couch - perked up his ears when he heard that question, snorted and shook his head disapprovingly.

There's no way Garciaparra returns to his old numbers after injuries, age and bullheaded refusals to work a count or even see three pitches in an at-bat are taking their toll. Is that part of his little OCD handjive he does? Does he think if he stands in for three pitches he'll need to go home that night and bathe in orange Fanta to scrub the failure away?

Here's the thing with Nomar, other than the fact that he's a first-ball hitter with injury issues. When he was younger and a bit quicker with his bat, he could afford to get up and react to the pitches he saw. He's lost a half step up there (watch how many first pitches he fouls off this spring) and for whatever reason he won't show patience and try to adapt his style. This will continue to baffle me until his retirement in four years.

Garciaparra is the first baseman on an aging infield that was imported this season. Around the horn, it's Garciaparra, Jeff Kent, Raffy Furcal and Bill Mueller. This looks like a mid-level fantasy team, doesn't it?

I have better than average odds that Furcal doesn't live up to his massive contract and have serious concerns about the outfield, but the NL West is really, really weak. When the Dodgers pitchers are healthy, they're fine but with Derek Lowe, Brad Penny and Odalis Perez that's not a realistic expectation, now is it?

Eric Gagne is back and while he hasn't been lights out up to now, it's still spring and he's still Eric Gagne. From 2002 though last year, Gagne racked up 52, 55, and 45 saves before injuries shut him down last year. Those numbers are pretty stunning when you see them laid out like that. Name another closer in the past five years you'd rather have on your team.

The bullpen is another story. Yikes. Still, despite that hole, I think the NL West is so up for grabs enough this year that even a non-existen bullpen and Grady Little can't keep the Dodgers from the post-season.

Yeah, and that's saying something.

Los Angeles Dodgers
C: Navarro; Alomar
1B: Garciaparra; Choi; Saenz; Kent
2B: Kent; Robles
SS: Furcal; Robles; Izturis
3B: Mueller; Aybar; Robles; Saenz
LF: Cruz; Werth; Repko; Ledee
CF: Lofton; Drew; Repko; Werth; Ledee
RF: Drew; Cruz; Repko; Ledee; Werth

SP: Lowe; Penny; Perez; Tomko; Seo
CP: Gagne
RP: Brazoban; Baez; Osoria; Kuo; Broxton; Carter; Hamulack; Houlton