Kudos to rookie manager Don Mattingly as he somehow led the Dodgers to a 3rd place finish in the N.L. West despite suffering widespread injuries. They finished up with a 82-79 record, which had them 11.5 games behind the Diamondbacks. Here is a look at what really stood out to me about the Dodgers in 2011:

TEAM MVP: 27-year old righty swinging Matt Kemp should be the MVP in the N.L. Think of just how bad the Dodgers would have been without him in 2011! Kemp played in 161 games for the Dodgers last year and he was 195 for 602 (.324 avg, .986 OPS) with 115 runs scored, 39 homers, 126 RBIs and 40 stolen bases.

BEST PITCHER: 23-year old lefty starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw might just win the Cy Young Award in the N.L. He pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Dodgers in 2011 and he was 21-5 with a 2.28 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. He only gave up 174 hits while whiffing 248 batters in his 233 1/3 innings last year. The best thing about Kershaw last year was his very improved control as he only walked 54 batters.

PLEASANT SURPRISE: The closers were pretty awful for the Dodgers in the first half of the season. But, then the Dodgers called up 25-year old righty reliever Javy Guerra and he took over the role with gusto. Guerra pitched in 47 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers in 2011 and he was 2-2 with 21 saves, a 2.31 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: 30-year old lefty reliever Hong-Chih Kuo had a lost season in 2011. He pitched in 40 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers in 2011 and he was 1-2 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. Kuo only gave up 24 hits while whiffing 36 batters in only 27 innings, and that’s not too shabby. But Kuo also walked 23 batters and he gave up 4 homers!