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Los Angeles Dodgers: Think Blue (MVP 08)


SHaynes23

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This dynasty will be played using MVP 08, played on All-Star difficulty. I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible, so there won't be eight trades to get an entire new lineup by the end of April. It's my first dynasty here at MVPMods, but I've had some elsewhere. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I will.

[align=center]LogoAlt.jpg

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

THINK BLUE

HISTORY

2008 marks the fiftieth year of Dodgers baseball in the City of Angels, Los Angeles, California. Before moving to the Pacific Coast in Major League Baseball's attempt to expand the game westward the Dodgers home was in Brooklyn, New York. In Brooklyn they had a very dedicated following of fans, and with players like Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella and Pee Wee Reese, they were contenders for the World Series every single year, and in 1955 they were able to beat one of their cross-town rivals, the New York Yankees. They followed that great triumph up with another appearance in the World Series in 1956, but this time they were defeated by the Yankees. With all this great success, there was something on the horizon that nobody saw coming. In 1957 the Dodgers played their last game at Ebbets Field, and in 1958 they were settled in their new home of Los Angeles, and business was about to pick up.

Once the Dodgers moved to LA they wasted no time in earning their second World Series trophy as they were able to beat the White Sox in 1959. They would also develop two of the greatest pitchers to ever step foot between the white lines, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. They lacked a strong offense, but were anchored by the blazing speed of Maury Wills. The trio would lead the team to two more World Championships, one in 1963, and another in 1965. Drysdale would go down in the books as one of the most intimidating pitchers ever, while Sandy Koufax would be recognized as one of the greatest pitchers of all time, even though he retired in the prime of his career, having won three of the last four Cy Young Awards.

The next few years proved to be slower for the Dodgers, who were seeing the core of their championship team retiring one-by-one. This forced them to start to build up very impressive players in their farm system, and they hired a new manager by the name of Tommy Lasorda. They built a strong team around their infield which was anchored at the corners by Steve Garvey and Ron Cey. They also had impressive pitching headed by Don Sutton and Tommy John. They came close to winning it all on several occasions, but came up short every time. In 1981 though they turned a corner with electric rookie pitcher Fernando Valenzuela and young power hitting Pedro Guerrero. They won the 1981 World Series over the hated Yankees. The team would find success over the next few years, but another title looked doubtful as Valenzuela was injured for the 1988 season, but the slack was picked up by Orel Hershiser, and he lead the team to their sixth World Championship.

The sixth World Title would be the last for the Dodgers to date, but in the nineties things looked very promising as the Dodgers had five straight rookies of the year: Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raul Mondesi, Hideo Nomo and Todd Hollandsworth. They would find individual success, but couldn't bring a championship banner home to Dodger Stadium. In the early 2000s things looked up for the Dodgers again with the emergence of the most dominating closer baseball had ever seen, Eric Gagne, and the additions of players like Derek Lowe, Shawn Green and JD Drew. The Dodgers were always contenders, but were unable to get it done when it counted, as 1988 remains their last trip to the World Series.

2008 PREVIEW

The fiftieth season in Los Angeles looks to be one that could provide the seventh championship for this storied franchise. They are anchored by their strong pitching staff, which is anchored by staff ace Derek Lowe. Lowe is backed by great pitchers like Brad Penny and Jason Schmidt. The rotation also has two relative newcomers in twenty-three year old Chad Billingsley, and Japanese import Hiroki Kuroda. The Dodgers bullpen is strong as usual, as they have dominant closer Takashi Saito ready for another great season, and Jonathan Broxton provides a very solid bridge between the starters and Saito.

The offense is improved over past seasons, but it is still the thing people point to when it comes to what the Dodgers need to improve. They have solid speed at the beginning of the lineup, as they have two viable options to lead off games, Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre. Pierre's playing time will be cut down though with the emergence of solid outfield play from Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and the addition of Andruw Jones, who is looking to recapture his perennial All-Star ability that he showed in Atlanta. The Dodgers are anchored in the middle of their lineup by former MVP Jeff Kent, and All-Star catcher Russell Martin. They are supported by talented first baseman James Loney, and Nomar Garciaparra, who if healthy could provide the Dodgers with a huge plus.

All signs are pointing to a great 2008 season for the Dodgers, causing everybody in Los Angeles to, Think Blue.

Coming up, the 2008 Los Angeles Dodgers twenty-five man roster...

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[align=center]2008 Los Angeles Dodgers Active Roster

Catcher

Martin.jpg

#55 Russell Martin

.293 BA, 19 HR, 87 RBI

2 Years/ $300,000 Per Year

Age: 25

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Bennett.jpg

#26 Gary Bennett

.252 BA, 2 HR, 52 RBI

1 Year/ $700,000 Per Year

Age: 35

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First Baseman

Loney.jpg

#7 James Loney

.331 BA, 15 HR, 67 RBI

3 Years/ $300,000 Per Year

Age: 23

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Sweeney.jpg

#21 Mark Sweeney

.256 BA, 2 HR, 10 RBI

1 Year/ $800,000 Per Year

Age: 38

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Second Baseman

Kent.jpg

#12 Jeff Kent

.302 BA, 20 HR, 79 RBI

1 Year/ $8,800,000 Per Year

Age: 40

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Shortstop

Furcal.jpg

#15 Rafael Furcal

.270 BA, 6 HR, 47 RBI

2 Years/ $6,300,000 Per Year

Age: 30

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Third Basemen

Garciaparra.jpg

#5 Nomar Garciaparra

.283 BA, 7 HR, 59 RBI

1 Years/ $8,300,000 Per Year

Age: 34

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DeWitt.jpg

#33 Blake DeWitt

No Major League Stats

3 Years/ $200,000 Per Year

Age: 22

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Left Fielder

Ethier.jpg

#16 Andre Ethier

.284 BA, 13 HR, 64 RBI

2 Years/ $200,000 Per Year

Age: 25

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Pierre.jpg

#9 Juan Pierre

.293 BA, 0 HR, 41 RBI

4 Years/ $8,900,000 Per Year

Age: 30

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Center Fielder

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#25 Andruw Jones

.222 BA, 26 HR, 94 RBI

2 Years/ $17,900,000 Per Year

Age: 30

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Right Fielder

Kemp.jpg

#27 Matt Kemp

.342 BA, 10 HR, 42 RBI

2 Years/ $300,000 Per Year

Age: 23

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#3 Delwyn Young

.382 BA, 2 HR, 3 RBI

3 Years/ $200,000 Per Year

Age: 25

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Starting Rotation

Lowe.jpg

#23 Derek Lowe

12-14, 3.88 ERA, 147 K

1 Year/ $9,800,000 Per Year

Age: 34

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Penny.jpg

#31 Brad Penny

16-4, 3.03 ERA, 135 K

1 Year/ $8,300,000 Per Year

Age: 29

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Kuroda.jpg

#18 Hiroki Kuroda

No Major League Stats

3 Years/ $11,600,000 Per Year

Age: 33

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Billingsley.jpg

#58 Chad Billingsley

12-5, 3.80 ERA, 141 K

2 Years/ $200,000 Per Year

Age: 23

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Schmidt.jpg

#29 Jason Schmidt

1-4, 6.31 ERA, 22 K

2 Years/ $15,500,000 Per Year

Age: 35

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Long Relief

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#61 Chan Ho Park

0-1, 15.75 ERA, 4 K

1 Year/ $400,000 Per Year

Age: 34

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Middle Relief

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#97 Joe Beimel

4-2, 3.88 ERA, 39 K

1 Year/ $1,700,000 Per Year

Age: 30

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Kuo.jpg

#56 Hong-Chih Kuo

1-4, 7.42 ERA, 27 K

3 Years/ $600,000 Per Year

Age: 26

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Wade.jpg

#47 Cory Wade

No Major League Stats

3 Years/ $200,000 Per Year

Age: 24

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Proctor.jpg

#45 Scott Proctor

2-5, 3.81 ERA, 37 K

1 Year/ $900,000 Per Year

Age: 31

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Setup Relief

Broxton.jpg

#51 Jonathan Broxton

4-4, 2.85 ERA, 99 K

2 Years/ $200,000 Per Year

Age: 23

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Closer

Saito.jpg

#44 Takashi Saito

2-1, 1.40 ERA, 39 SV, 78 K

1 Year/ $1,800,000 Per Year

Age: 38

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[align=center]Series Preview

San Francisco Giants (0-0) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (0-0)

The 2008 season will get underway for the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 2nd, where they will kick things off with a bang when they face long time rival, the hated San Francisco Giants. These two teams have had a heated rivalry dating back to their days in New York together, and it transferred when they both moved to the West Coast in the fifties. Both teams are coming off disappointing finishes to the 2007 season, as the Dodgers finished in fourth place, and the Giants finished in the NL West cellar with a record ten games over .500.

Coming into this season though they seem to be teams heading in separate directions. The Dodgers are building on what they started last season with developing young hitters like Russell Martin, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, and young pitchers like Chad Billingsley and Japanese import Hiroki Kuroda. They add these players to already established names like Derek Lowe, Brad Penny and Jeff Kent. They also added Andruw Jones to the fold in the offseason. On the other hand the Giants are a very young team with a gaping hole, which was caused by the all-time home run king leaving San Francisco in the offseason. They are in a current rebuilding mode, which they are focusing around their young pitching staff of Matt Cain, Noah Lowry and Tim Lincecum.

This series, like every series between these two rivals is going to be important for the two teams. It may not have a huge impact in the standings as it is just the opening series of the season, but a good start by either side could point the winning side onto a streak that could put them into an early lead in the division. Pride is also up for grabs in this series as Dodger fans don’t want to lose to Giant fans, and Giant fans don’t want to fall to Dodger fans. This opening series is a very compelling one with many questions to be answered. Will the Dodgers’ offense measure up to their good pitching this year? Can the Giants replace their slugger? Will the young three starters for the Giants carry them to a good season, or do they still need time to develop? Only time will tell, but these three games will be a good indicator of things to come in the future.

Game One Matchup

Game1.jpg

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[align=center]San Francisco Giants (0-0) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (0-0)

Game1.jpg

Scoring Summary

Top of the 1st

SF: Ray Durham Sacrifice Fly (1-0)

Bottom of the 4th

LA: James Loney Sacrifice Fly (1-1)

LA: Nomar Garciaparra RBI Single (1-2)

Bottom of the 6th

LA: Derek Lowe RBI Single (1-3)

LA: Rafael Furcal RBI Single (1-4)

Player of the Game

Lowe.jpg

Derek Lowe

“I had a good spring and that carried over to today. I had a little hiccup there in the first, but I really feel like I settled in after that. I was able to locate my sinker, and if I have that pitch working then I’m more than likely going to have a good day. That RBI was a nice little plus as well, gotta love when you can help your own cause.â€

BS1.jpg

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[align=center]San Francisco Giants (0-1) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (1-0)

Game2.jpg

Scoring Summary

Top 4th

SF: Ray Durham 2-Run HR (2-0)

Bottom 4th

LA: Jeff Kent RBI Single (2-1)

Bottom 6th

LA: Russell Martin RBI Triple (2-2)

LA: Jeff Kent Sacrifice Fly (2-3)

Bottom 8th

LA: James Loney 2-Run HR (2-5)

Injury

San Francisco starting pitcher Noah Lowry was struck by a line drive in the third inning by Brad Penny. He left the game with a sore elbow and will likely only miss his next start.

Player of the Game

Loney.jpg

James Loney

“I’ve had a really good feel for my swing these past two days. I also put in a lot of work into hitting lefties this offseason, so that really paid off today against Cain and Zito. I didn’t think that homer was going to go though. I just put my head down and was charging hard for a double or triple, and I looked up and just saw it sneak over the left center field wall.â€

BS2.jpg

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Will Manny be added in this team?

I really doubt it. I don't think the Red Sox would be willing to part with him, and I'd have to give up a lot more than the Dodgers did in real life to get him. At some point in the season I'm going to be in the market for a power hitter to go in the middle of my lineup, we'll just have to wait and see who becomes available.

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[align=center]San Francisco Giants (0-2) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (2-0)

Game3.jpg

Scoring Summary

Top 1st

SF: Aaron Rowand RBI Single (1-0)

SF: Ray Durham RBI Single (2-0)

Bottom 2nd

LA: Rafeal Furcal 2 RBI Single (2-2)

LA: Matt Kemp 2 RBI Single (2-4)

Bottom 3rd

LA: Hiroki Kuroda RBI Double (2-5)

Top 7th

SF: Jose Castillo RBI Double (3-5)

SF: Eliezer Alfonzo 2 Run Home Run (5-5)

Bottom 7th

LA: Andruw Jones Solo Home Run (5-6)

Bottom 8th

LA: Matt Kemp RBI Single (5-7)

LA: Andruw Jones 2 RBI Double (5-9)

LA: Nomar Garciaparra RBI Double (5-10)

Top 9th

SF: Randy Winn Solo Home Run (6-10)

Player of the Game

Jones.jpg

Andruw Jones

“Nothing was really clicking the past two days, but I was just locked in today. When Walker threw me that fastball up and in I recognized it right away and just swung as hard as I could. It was nice to give the Saito the night off with that double in the eighth too.â€

BS3.jpg

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[align=center]Series Preview

Los Angeles Dodgers (3-0) vs. San Diego Padres (1-3)

It’s just the second series of the young season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and they are already facing their second division foe of the year. In their first series they were able to dispatch of the new look Giants in three consecutive nights, but things might not come as easily as they will be facing a solid San Diego Padres team. And to make things more difficult, the Padres will be throwing out staff ace, and Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy in game two against Jason Schmidt, who has had a bad run of injuries as of late.

The Padres looked below what their expectations are in their first series, and they are looking to turn things around in a hurry. In their opening day loss, Jake Peavy took a rare loss while giving up four runs. The Padres have been struggling on offense in the first four games, as they only have one hitter over .300 at this time, catcher Josh Bard. In fact, their only player with more than one RBI right now is Adrian Gonzalez, who has three to go with his one home run.

The Dodgers are the polar opposite right now, as their offense is absolutely raking. They have five players hitting over the .400 mark. They know their bats will eventually cool, but they are hoping that their dominance of Giants pitching will carry over into this series with the Padres. The Dodgers pitching also looked good in the opening series. All three starters walked out with wins, and Derek Lowe looked especially good. Hiroki Kuroda was a little sloppy at the end of his outing, but it was a good debut for him. Lowe will get the ball once again in game three of this series, and he looks to prove why he is considered the ace of the staff.

Game One Matchup

Game4.jpg

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Right now I'm working on my sliders a little bit to help bring the hit totals down. It was looking a lot better in this game, then I destroyed their bullpen. In the next couple of games you should see the hit totals come down to a more realistic level.

[align=center]Los Angeles Dodgers (3-0) vs. San Diego Padres (1-3)

Game4.jpg

Scoring Summary

Top 3rd

LA: Rafael Furcal RBI Single (1-0)

Top 4th

LA: Andruw Jones RBI Single (2-0)

Bottom 4th

SD: Khalil Green Solo Home Run (2-1)

Bottom 6th

SD: Brian Giles Scores on Error (2-2)

Top 7th

LA: Rafael Furcal Sacrifice (3-2)

Top 8th

LA: James Loney RBI Double (4-2)

Top 9th

LA: Matt Kemp RBI Double (5-2)

LA: James Loney 2-RBI Double (7-2)

LA: Andruw Jones RBI Single (8-2)

Player of the Game

Loney.jpg

James Loney

“We were all kind of sweating it early on. Their starter looked really good, but we were ready for their bullpen. If our team can keep up this hitting all year long we will be in good shape.â€

BS4.jpg

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I'm gonna have to put an abrupt end to this dynasty for a few reasons. I played a few more games and finally got my sliders right, but it just didn't seem right having the first eight games have unrealistic stats. Another is that Gashouse34 ended his Cardinals dynasty, and that team is where my heart is at. The only reason I didn't do a Cardinals one is because he beat me to it by a few days, and since he's the one who introduced me to MVP08 I didn't want to take his team. I know the Cardinals much more than I do the Dodgers, I'm even slated to do my college internship with them.

I've learned a lot in my first MVP dynasty attempt, so I'm positive my Cardinals one will be much better and it will be one that I can take for the long haul. Thanks for reading this one and sorry that it ended so early, but stick around and my Cardinals dynasty will be up soon and it will be a good read.

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