25-year old righty swinging CF Matt Kemp finished 10th in the voting for the N.L. MVP Award. Kemp played in 159 games last season for the Dodgers and he was 180 for 606 (.297 avg, .842 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 26 homers, 101 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. Kemp has now played in 464 games in his four years with the Dodgers and he is 495 for 1,658 (.299 avg, .826 OPS) with 267 runs scored, 61 homers, 242 RBIs and 85 stolen bases. Kemp & Ethier give the Dodgers a couple of really good building blocks for the future.

27-year old lefty swinging RF Andre Ethier finished 6th in the voting for the N.L. MVP Award. Ethier played in 160 games for the Dodgers last season and he was 162 for 596 (.272 avg, .869 OPS) with 92 runs scored, 31 homers, 106 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. He has now played in 580 games in his four years with the Dodgers and he is 571 for 1,964 (.291 avg, .853 OPS) with 282 runs scored, 75 homers, 302 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. Ethier really stepped up last season especially when Manny Ramirez was suspended and the Dodgers need him to keep playing at that level in 2010 and beyond.

Joe Torre of the L.A. Dodgers finished 3rd in the voting for the National League Manager of the Year Award. Torre led the Dodgers to a 95-67 (58.6%) record last season winning the N.L. West. Torre has now compiled a 179-145 (55.2%) record in his two years with the Dodgers. Look for Torre to be in the running for this award next season to as the Dodgers will be a playoff contender again in 2010.