The over/under on wins for the Los Angeles Dodgers is 87.5 in Las Vegas. I am siding with the under because Joe Torre has never been a good National League manager. The Dodgers have the talent in the field to win 88 games or more but I just don’t feel that Torre is the right manager for this team. Take the under.

23-year old righty swinging Matt Kemp will likely get the full-time job in RF in 2008 for the Dodgers based on his outstanding performance last season. Kemp played in 98 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 100 for 292 (.342 avg, .894 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 10 homers, 42 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He played in 88 games last season in RF and he made 4 errors while showing below average range.

Andre Ethier will also get some P.T. in RF this season. He played in 102 games in RF last season for the Dodgers and he made 4 errors while showing above average range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

31-year old righty swinging Andruw Jones was given a nice two-year contract in the off-season by the Dodgers. He played in 154 games for the Braves last season and he was 127 for 572 (.222 avg, .724 OPS) with 83 runs scored, 26 homers, 94 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Dodgers are banking on Jones hitting more like his career norms as he has a career .263 batting average with a .839 OPS. In his 11-year major league career, Jones has averaged 94.0 runs, 33.0 homers and 100.4 RBIs per season. Jones made only 2 errors in 154 games in CF for the Braves last season but he only showed league average range.

28-year old righty swinging Nook Logan was brought in as a free agent to back up Jones. He played in 118 games for the Nationals last season and he was 86 for 325 (.265 avg, .649 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 0 homers, 21 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. He has only made 2 errors in 111 games while showing above average range.

Juan Pierre also could get some P.T. in CF for the Dodgers this season. He played in 162 games there for the Dodgers last season and he made 5 errors while showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

30-year old lefty swinging Juan Pierre is moving to LF to make room for Andruw Jones. Pierre played in 162 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 196 for 668 (.293 avg, .684 OPS) with 96 runs scored, 0 homers, 41 RBIs and 64 stolen bases. His weak arm will probably play a lot better in LF than it did in CF when runners had no problem taking the extra base on him. He played in 162 games in CF for the Dodgers last season and he showed poor range while making 5 errors. Look for his range to improve in LF. Pierre has 200+ hits in 4 of his last 7 years and he has average 54.6 steals per season over those same years. He has never stolen less than 46 steals in a season over the last 7 years.

26-year old lefty Andre Ethier will take away some of Pierre’s playing time this season. He played in 153 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 127 for 447 (.284 avg, .802 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 13 homers and 64 RBIs. He is also a better defender than Pierre as he only made 1 error in LF in 60 games while showing above average range.

38-year old Mark Sweeney could also get a tad of playing time in LF but his main job is as a pinch hitter. He played in 106 games for the Giants & Dodgers last season and he was 32 for 123 (.260 avg, .732 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 2 homers and 13 RBIs.

26-year old switch hitting Delwyn Young is a player on the rise. He played in 19 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 13 for 34 (.382 avg, 1.064 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs. He played in 121 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 165 for 490 (.337 avg, .955 OPS) with 107 runs scored, 17 homers and 98 RBIs. The Dodgers must either find a spot for Young or do him a favor and trade him so he can play in the majors.

27-year old righty swinging Jason Repko missed all of last season due to injury. He has now played in 198 games in his major league career and he is 94 for 406 (.232 avg, .684 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 11 homers, 46 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.

28-year old lefty swinging John-Ford Griffin appears to be buried on the depth chart just like he was in Toronto. Griffin played in 6 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 3 for 10 (.300 avg) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. He also played in 133 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 122 for 484 (.252 avg, .818 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 26 homers and 83 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C

The Dodgers were prepared to give 24-year old Andy LaRoche a chance to compete for the starting job with 34-year old Nomar Garciaparra but it didn’t work out as LaRoche injured himself this spring and he will miss a big chunk of time. That means that Garciaparra will be the starting 3B when the 2008 season begins. He played in 121 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 122 for 431 (.283 avg, .699 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 7 homers and 59 RBIs. The Dodgers will be in trouble if Garciaparra doesn’t improve his power numbers in 2008. Garciaparra also isn’t that good on defense at 3B as he made 6 errors in 43 games while showing below average range.

24-year old righty swinging Andy LaRoche could bump Garciaparra at some point this season if he can stay healthy. LaRoche played in 35 games last season for the Dodgers and he was 21 for 93 (.226 avg, .677 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs. He showed average range in the field while making 3 errors in 30 games at 3B. LaRoche tore it up in AAA last season as he played in 73 games and he was 82 for 265 (.309 avg, .988 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 18 homers and 48 RBIs.

Tony Abreu could sneak in at 3B and steal playing time from Garciaparra early in the season. He played in 28 games at 3B this season for the Dodgers and he made 4 errors while showing off outstanding range.

Ramon Martinez also could see some time at 3B this season. He played in 17 games there and he only made 1 error while showing off impressive range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C-