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.

Sure, the Dodgers got solid starting pitching against the Cardinals but the Phillies are a different animal as they are strong 1-8 in the batting order. With that in mind the Dodgers will need to score a lot of runs to win this series. At the top of the lineup Rafael Furcal will need to have another series like the one he had against the Cardinals. In 36 career post season games, Furcal is 38 for 149 (.255 avg, .717 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 3 homers, 12 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Matt Kemp often looks lost when the games get big and that can’t happen again in this series. In 11 post season games in his career, Kemp is 9 for 42 (.214 avg, .640 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. Kemp also has whiffed 17 times in the post season in his career and that is awful. Andre Ethier was outstanding against the Cardinals and he will need to do it again against the Phillies. He has played in 13 games in his post season career and he is 12 for 45 (.267 avg, .876 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs. Manny Ramirez is the whole key to the offense as the Dodgers need him big time to step up in this series. He has played in 106 games in his post season career in which he is 112 for 391 (.286 avg, .947 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 28 homers and 76 RBIs. James Loney doesn’t have a lot of power for a 1B but he is great at hitting the ball hard putting up a solid average. He has played in 12 games in his post season career and he is 16 for 46 (.348 avg, .890 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 11 RBIs. The Dodgers need Loney to give ManRam protection in the lineup. Casey Blake is a gamer so the Dodgers expect him to play well with the games getting bigger. Blake has played in 22 games in his post season career and he is 22 for 84 (.262 avg, .680 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Russell Martin might be starting to wear down for the Dodgers as he has played in a lot of games this season. He has played in 14 games in his post season career and he is 11 for 51 (.216 avg, .688 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Ronnie Belliard has bumped Orlando Hudson from the starting lineup a few weeks ago and he has played well ever since. Belliard has now played in 17 games in his post season career and he is 15 for 61 (.246 avg, .575 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Dodgers better be able to score a lot of runs in this series if they are going to prevail over the Phillies.

Rafael Furcal has been a thorn in the Cardinals’ side so far in the playoffs. He is 4 for 7 (.571 avg, 1.143 OPS) with a triple, run scored and a RBI. He has been a pest at the top of the lineup which is just the way the Dodgers like it. Andre Ethier has been the best hitter for the Dodgers so far in this series. He is 3 for 7 (.429 avg, 1.556 OPS) with a double, homer, 3 runs scored and 1 RBI against the Cardinals. The Dodgers could use some more help in the lineup but still they are doing just fine as they are up 2-0 over the Cardinals in this series.

36-year old righty swinging 3B Casey Blake has been a solid baseball player since coming over from the Indians last season. He has played in 136 games this season for the Dodgers and he is 133 for 475 (.280 avg, .837 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 18 homers and 77 RBIs. Blake also plays a decent 3B for the Dodgers. He does the little things that help you win ballgames and he’s a player that likes to get dirty.

Ronnie Belliard has been on fire since coming to the Dodgers and he’s eating into Orlando Hudson’s playing time. Belliard has played in 18 games for the Dodgers and he is 17 for 56 (.304 avg, .928 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 4 homers and 14 RBIs. It will be hard for manager Joe Torre to take Belliard out of the lineup if he keeps hitting like he is right now.