49-year old Don Mattingly has been coaching under Joe Torre for quite some time and now he will be replacing him as the manager in 2011. I don’t see things changing too much for the Dodgers in 2011 with Mattingly calling the shots. I do think that Mattingly might get a better year out of Matt Kemp, who was squarely in Torre’s Dog House in 2011. Kemp is a huge key to the Dodgers’ success in 2011. Mattingly will have a great pitching staff in front of him from top to bottom. So, it will be up to him and his coaching staff to get the most out of the position players if the Dodgers are going to get back to the playoffs in 2011.

The Dodgers hope that 26-year old righty Jonathan Broxton will rebound from a rough 2010 in 2011. He pitched in 64 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 5-6 with 22 saves, a 4.04 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Broxton has now pitched in 372 games (0 stars) in his first six years with the Dodgers and he is 24-18 with 77 saves, a 3.11 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Broxton has only allowed 305 hits in his first 379 1/3 innings for the Dodgers and he has whiffed 493 batters which shows how nasty he can be when he is on. Broxton will have to pitch his butt off to win the closer’s job in 2011.

29-year old lefty Hong-Chih Kuo replaced Broxton as the Dodgers’ closer in the second half of 2010 and he was flat out amazing. Kuo pitched in 56 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 3-2 with 12 saves, a 1.20 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. He whiffed 73 batters in only 60 innings last year which showed how nasty he was. Kuo has now pitched in 178 games (14 starts) in his first six years with the Dodgers and he is 12-15 with 13 saves, a 3.19 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. No matter what role Kuo has in the Dodgers’ pen in 2011, he’s going to dominate.

23-year old righty Kenley Jansen comes into this year as the Dodgers’ #8 prospect according to Baseball America. Jansen pitched in 25 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 1-0 with 4 saves, a 0.67 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He only gave up 12 hits while whiffing 41 batters in only 27 innings with the Dodgers last year! But, the converted catcher also walked 15 batters which is too many. Jansen also pitched in 33 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball last year and he was 5-1 with 8 saves, a 1.60 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Jansen will likely open this season as a set-up man for the Dodgers but he might be the closer by the end of the year.

32-year old righty Matt Guerrier is not a flame thrower like most of the other Dodgers’ relievers, but he really knows how to pitch. Guerrier pitched in 74 games (0 starts) for the Twins last year and he was 5-7 with 1 save, a 3.17 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. He has now pitched in 393 games (3 starts) in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 19-25 with 5 saves, a 3.38 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

28-year old righty Ramon Troncoso stepped back a tad in 2010 for the Dodgers. He pitched in 52 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 2-3 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Troncoso has now pitched in 157 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Dodgers and he is 8-8 with 6 saves, a 3.56 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. I think he’s going to be a lot better in 2011 then he was last year.

28-year old righty Blake Hawksworth came over to the Dodgers over the winter in a deal with the Cardinals. He pitched in 45 games (8 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he was 4-8 with a 4.98 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. Hawksworth has now pitched in 75 games (8 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 8-8 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.

30-year old righty Lance Cormier might be a long man in the pen for the Dodgers in 2011. Cormier pitched in 60 games (0 starts) for the Rays last year and he was 4-3 with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. He has now pitched in 281 games (24 starts) in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 24-27 with 3 saves, a 4.93 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP.

34-year old righty Mike MacDougal also might get the chance to revive his major league career in 2011. He pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he was 1-1 with a 7.23 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP. MacDougal has now pitched in 331 games (3 starts) in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 15-22 with 70 saves, a 4.26 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP.

31-year old righty Roman Colon only pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Royals last year and he was 0-0 with a 18.00 ERA and a 3.50 WHIP. He has now pitched in 121 games (8 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 8-10 with 1 save, a 5.12 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. Colon has always had a good arm but he just has never learned how to pitch.

25-year old lefty Scott Elbert comes into this year as the Dodgers’ #7 prospect according to Baseball America. He pitched in 1 game (0 starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA and a 6.00 WHIP. He also pitched in 9 games (all starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 1-1 with a 4.98 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. Elbert has now pitched in 30 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Dodgers and he is 2-1 with a 6.84 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. Maybe this will be the year it all comes together for Elbert.

28-year old righty Ronald Belisario is having visa issues which could cause him to miss the whole 2011 season and that is a shame. Belisario pitched in 59 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 3-1 with 2 saves, a 5.04 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has now pitched in 128 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Dodgers and he is 7-4 with 2 saves, a 3.36 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DODGERS BULLPEN IN 2011: A+

The Dodgers have released veteran lefty reliever Ron Mahay. Mahay pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers this spring and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 9.82 ERA and a 2.05 WHIP. He gave up a stunning 3 homers in only 7 1/3 innings this spring as he got hit hard. Mahay appears to be running out of gas, so the Dodgers made the right move in cutting him loose.

22-year old Clayton Kershaw has been elevated to #1 starter status by Dodgers’ manager Don Mattingly. Kershaw started 32 games for the Dodgers last year and he was 13-10 with a 2.91 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has now pitched in 85 games (83 starts) in his first three years with the Dodgers and he is 26-23 with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. In 483 career innings with the Dodgers, Kershaw has only given up 388 hits while whiffing 497 batters which shows just how nasty Kershaw is. But, Kershaw likes to nibble a bit too much as he has walked 224 batters so far in his career. If Kershaw ever tightens up his control while getting aggressive, the rest of the N.L. will be helpless against him with the bats.

26-year old righty Chad Billingsley is also a young pitcher with great stuff. He started 31 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 12-11 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has now pitched in 160 games (131 starts) in his first five years with the Dodgers and he is 59-41 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Billingsley has the ability to be even better and it will be up to him to take his game to the next level.

35-year old lefty Ted Lilly will likely be slotted #3 in the Dodgers’ starting rotation in 2011. Lilly started 12 games for the Dodgers last season after coming over in a deadline deal with the Cubs and he was 7-4 with a 3.52 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He started 30 games overall last year for the Cubs & Dodgers and he was 10-12 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Lilly has now pitched in 310 games (285 starts) in his first 12 years in the majors and he is 113-96 with a 4.18 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Look for him to win around 15-17 games for the Dodgers in 2011 if he pitches as well as he did last year.

36-year old righty Hiroki Kuroda doesn’t get the headlines for the Dodgers but he is very consistently good. He started 31 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 11-13 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. In his first three years with the Dodgers, Kuroda is 28-30 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Kuroda has good stuff and he really knows how to use it. I think he can win 15 or more games for the Dodgers in 2011 if the bats and bullpen support him.

31-year old righty Jon Garland is going to miss a while due to injury. When he comes back, he will be one of the very best #5 starters in all of baseball. Garland started 33 games for the Padres last season and he was 14-12 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. He pitched for the Dodgers back in 2009 when he started 6 games down the stretch for them in which he was 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Garland has now pitched in 344 games (321 starts) in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 131-114 with 1 save, a 4.32 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has won 10+ games in a season 9 years in a row.

24-year old righty John Ely might replace Garland while he is out of action. Ely started 18 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 4-10 with a 5.49 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He also started 13 games in AAA-ball last year in which he was 5-4 with a 6.22 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Ely would have to pitch a lot better than last season if he wants to stick with the Dodgers out of spring training.

33-year old righty Tim Redding is a darkhorse to start the year in the Dodgers’ starting rotation. He pitched in 18 games (17 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 8-5 with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Redding last pitched in the majors back in 2009 with the Mets. Redding has pitched in 179 games (144 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 37-57 with a 4.95 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP.

24-year old righty Carlos Monasterios was pretty solid as a rookie for the Dodgers last year. He was a Rule 5 Draft Pick in the winter of 2009. Monasterios pitched in 32 games (13 starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 3-5 with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. It will be interesting to see of Monasterios makes the pitching staff on opening day as the Dodgers now have the right to send him to the minors if they want to.

33-year old righty Vicente Padilla will likely miss at least the first half of the 2011 season due to right elbow surgery. Padilla started 16 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 6-5 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has now pitched in 24 games (23 starts) in parts of two years with the Dodgers and he is 10-5 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. The Dodgers might want to ease him back in the bullpen when he’s ready to return to action.

PROJECTED GRADE OF THE DODGERS STARTING ROTATION IN 2011: A

28-year old lefty swinging Andre Ethier is back as the Dodgers’ starting RF in 2011. Ethier played in 139 games for the Dodgers last season and he is 151 of 517 (.292 avg, .857 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 23 homers, 82 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has averaged 84.3 runs scored, 24.7 homers and 88.3 RBIs per year in his last three seasons and the Dodgers would be happy with those numbers out of Ethier in 2011. Ethier only had 1 error in 132 games in RF for the Dodgers last season and he showed poor range. Ethier does have a decent throwing arm as he had 6 assists in RF last year.

35-year old righty swinging Gabe Kapler could win a job with the Dodgers this spring. Kapler played in 59 games for the Tampa Bay Rays last season and he was 26 of 124 (.210 avg, .578 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 2 homers, 14 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has a .268 career batting average with a .749 OPS in his first 12 years in the majors. Kapler didn’t have any errors in 39 games in RF last season while showing poor range. He is going to have a hard time making the Dodgers out of spring training.

26-year old lefty swinging Xavier Paul could also get some P.T. in LF for the Dodgers in 2011. Paul played in 15 games in RF for the Dodgers last season and he had 1 error while showing poor range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE DODGERS RF IN 2011: B