Mike D’Antoni will be calling his first game as the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Phoenix Suns tonight at the Staples Center. The expectations of success for the embattled head coach will be at its highest since his hiring was looked at as a means for Jim Buss to snub legendary head coach Phil Jackson over coaching this talented squad. Everyone in the NBA community knew the way this team was assembled there was only one coached primed to lead them to #18. Clearly no one expected that the name Mike D’Antoni would be the one resonating  as the franchises 22nd head coach, so the room for error will be minuscule for D’Antoni as he begins to implement his “high-octane” offense which if successful produces high risk-high reward. There is no reward greater than an NBA Championship which has eluded him while running the show in Phoenix.  As the New York Knicks head coach (2008-2011), he only amassed 1 season in which the team  cleared . 500 barely making the playoffs before getting swept out of the 1st round.  In order for D’Antoni to pull of the ultimate heist for Jim Buss , the team must buy in to what he’s going to fuse into their offensive scheme. Kobe must accept that when a healthy Steve Nash returns to the court that the offense will flow through him primarily.

While everyone knows that the Lakers will undoubtedly increase their offensive productivity, currently 12th in the league, the question will be how much of their defensive will be compromised? The Lakers are 11th in the league and have shown a much improved effort recently to limit their opponents now to 94.1 points per game.

The bench is far from deep and if you couple that with D’Antoni’s philosophy to use a short bench, starters legs could falter down the home stretch  at the expense of his system. Things in LA can be dicey rather quickly if the fiery Italian head coach doesn’t immediately put a little zest in the Lakers’s sauce who ride a mini 2 game winning streak under interim head coach Bernie Bickerstaff bringing their record to 4-5, a place I’m sure neither Kobe or the Lakers expected to be in this early in year given the schedule they have started with.

Its very clear that the only people who truly believe that a championship run under the helm of  D’Antoni can be done is Jim Buss, Steve Nash and D’Antoni himself, while everybody is gonna have to wait and see how this script will play out come June.  The road to the O’Brien Trophy will be through him and he will have to channel his inner “Charlie Hustle” to direct these cast of characters and put them in a position make it to the NBA Finals in a wide open Western Conference. Anything less than that would be considered fool’s gold. In the NBA this is considered an “uphill battle” but to the LA faithful, consider this the Italian Job.

The buzz surrounding the 2011 NBA Draft was never really about what the Cleveland Cavaliers  should do rather than what they shouldn’t do. The hype leading up to the top 2 prospects Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams made me wonder whether Cleveland was clearly looking for one these guys to be their future or if they were being bullied to take someone because of the hype that comes with having the #1 pick. Either way you look at it, the Cavs PR Department is gonna have a heck of a time selling their fans on the idea that this year’s  #1 PICK is the key to a resurrecting this franchise to be a Central Division powerhouse again.

Can Kyrie Irving Give Cleveland the NBA Title LeBron James couldnt ? Dan Gilbert hopes so

KYRIE IRVING -DUKE

Cleveland’s pick of Kyrie Irving was predictable, yet senseless.  Yes , Irving is versatile prospect. He’s a 6’2 combo guard whom many have considered him to have a smooth rhythmic flow to his game. He has underrated quickness,  and does possess a high basketball IQ to help manage the game, but he is not a true-scoring point guard. I don’t believe he has the ability to just take over a game when-needed and unless he has that dynamic scorer to play along side with ,  he will be asked to create shots rather than direct and facilitate.  He only has 11 games under his belt on the collegiate level,  and so some would wonder if whether his 190 lb frame can carry the burden of uplifting this  struggling franchise  who just watched their ” Chosen One” take his “talents” to South Beach a season ago. The critics say this  may be too daunting a task for an 18 year old kid.  The question isn’t whether he is capable of handling that burden, but rather is he the “guy” to handle this burden, and quite frankly I do not see it in him to command the respect and will of a team when faced with these adversities that Cleveland faces. If nothing else, Kyrie may have been spoiled playing for coach Mike Krzyzewski. Playing under a  successful college program does not  guarantee that the star athlete will know to win in the NBA. I’m not sold that Kyrie will be ready to handle the type of losses this team will sustain in 2011.   The Cavs have gone through a bevy of guards in the last 3 years and its clear that the PG position will not be the position that will sustain success for that organization. There has only been one guard during the Cleveland Franchises who has sparkled and made a name for that team, and his name was Mark Price. You will not see Mark Price in Kyrie Irving. Under the Byron Scott regime, you will not see Chris Paul come out of Kyrie Irving, and even at best Kyrie Irving will not be the dynamic face of this Cavalier organization in years to come. He can be a dynamic guard who can lead a team with steady play. He will not be a 20 pt , 10 ast kind of player. At best he may give you 15 pts and 5 ast per game, and if this is going to make Clevelanders jump up and down in emphatic galore over having this #1 pick, expect to see the moving trucks in 5 years time. The Cavs probably should’ve  traded down to pick up some quality players with future draft picks where the talent pool is less murky unlike this year’s. Get a couple of veteran players whom can come in and help this team win relevant games to keep Cleveland fans coming to the arena. Lets face it, this franchise will be on a downward trend for the next few years and unless they turn this around;  if they are basically saying to the Cleveland Cavalier community that this is a rebuilding process, drafting Kyrie Irving as your #1  is basically telling the city of Cleveland, “BUNKER DOWN” this is gonna be a long one.

Can Tristan make the tranistion in being an NBA Star?

TRISTAN THOMPSON-TEXAS

One questionable pick by Cleveland is bad, but to then take Tristan Thompson as your #4 had me absolutely baffled. Tristan Thompson is completely “raw”. At 6′ 8″ 233 he’s a younger JJ Hickson.  He will not make an immediate impact on a struggling Cavalier’s team who only won 19 games last year, when previous to that amassed over 120 wins in the  2 seasons before.  Picking up Thompson this early in the draft basically is saying that they are willing to listen to offers to move Hickson. Last season, however, Hickson’s inconsistency really put up red flags to other organizations to be completely sold on whether he will pan out as solid NBA player which severely lessens likelihood that a straight up trade can be made favoring the Cavs. Any deal involving Hickson could wind up having the Cavs give up more than they’d like thus really scrutinizing the logic in  the drafting of Thompson. If Cleveland couldn’t get it right with Hickson, what makes them think think they’ll figure it out with Thompson?

Choosing Thompson is putting an insurmountable amount of pressure on the development coaches, to help this kid find his game. He can be defensive juggernaut if guided correctly, with a moderate offensive game, which is a complete downgrade when you had a versatile three-four guy in Lebron James. The benchmark of Tristan’s development will be truly tested in the Eastern Conference, preferably in the Central Division. If the Cavs go to a smaller line-up, he may flourish in the 4-5 spot, however he’ll need to improve his rebounding skills, and post presence because Jamison will be the primary wing player in the offensive scheme. Thompson will be an offensive liability on the floor when fouled. He shoots an abysmal 48% from the free throw line. The quickness of the 3-4 position maybe too much for him to grasp over the next 3-4 years and will primarily be another body Byron can use for 6 fouls unless he finds a way to put it all together. With the eventual lockout looming, expect Thompson’s development to take an extreme bump in the road as well. For a top #5 pick in an NBA Draft, this was too risky a move to have been made.

It was only 2 months ago Cleveland was jumping up and down in emphatic glee that they had the #1 pick, but when you look at the talent in this year’s draft, there are so many players with too many question marks to their game and how they will translate to being a successful NBA star or player for that matter. This draft didn’t really show the potential future of the NBA, but rather has properly exposed struggling franchises like the  Cleveland Cavaliers, that changes need to be made to make more sound and proper decisions across the board, to build a successful organization and sustain it.

Its gonna take more than Dan Gilber't son, and a #1 Draft pick to help make Cleveland relevant again in the NBA

As the week comes to a close, the LA Dodgers has found themselves nestled in 3rd Place in their division with  a rather uncomfortable  6-7 record which could easily be 8-5 or possibly 9-4. The Dods, lost 2 of 3 earlier this week  to a streaking San Francisco Giants team who clearly are starting to show consistency in their bats and what better way to test  that theory than by cascading hits all over California against an inconsistent rotation like the Dodgers.  The series loss pulled the Dods back to middle of the pack  in the NL West Standings . The Dodgers must shrug of the stench of that series and prepare for a fierce and highly motivated  St. Louis Cardinals  squad in a 4 game set  this weekend.

A successful series against the Cardinals would help them keep pace with a scorching hot Colorado Rockies team, who just finished an impressive 4 game sweep of the New York Mets this week putting their record at 8-2.  With that being said,  the series clearly has not started off the way manager Don Mattingly hoped to , as the Cards crushed the Dodgers 9-5 in the series opener. With this lost, the Dodgers have lost 3 games in a row, and 4 of their last 6 games.

One bright spot for the Dodgers during this weekend’s match up will be the pitching debut of  Jon Garland, who is expected to  take the mound Friday Night against Kyle Lohse. Garland is coming off the 15-Day DL due to a severe oblique strain which has kept him out of the rotation during the start of the season. Garland signed as a free agent by the Dodgers in the off season to help sure up their 5th spot in the pitching rotation who will surely be a sight for sore eyes to see. This also means that the “John Ely Experiment” is no more as he has been optioned back to Triple A duties after his less than impressive pitching outing against the Padres earlier this week in their 7-2 loss.

Mattingly is clearly playing “Patchwork Orange” as he continues to mesh his pitching rotation together until fully healthy. The Dods are still waiting for Vincent Padilla to recover who also is on the DL as well.

Even though the Dodgers are only 2 games behind the Colorado Rockies, there is much to be concerned in the land of Bollywood. The Dodgers rank middle to bottom half of most offensive statistical categories. More surprisingly, what was to be a strength for the Dodgers going into this season may very well become their achilles heel. Their pitching currenly ranks in the bottom half of  most pitching statistical categories. Definitely part of the reason could be that they dont have healthy starting rotation, but most of the statisical woes are coming from their inability to sustain leads when given or finding that consistent formula of pitching to get from their starters to Broxton in the ninth. The game has changed to where its critical to have a guy in the 7th, and 8th inning to come in an shut down the opposition and then get the ball to your closer. Guys like  Lance Cormier, and Kelly Jansen have not been getting the job done, and ultimately we’re seeing games for the Dodgers lost between the 4th through 8th innings.  Leads that the Dodgers have worked hard to attain are not safe, and when your team is not an offensive threat every time you go through that batting order,  scoring 3 to 4 runs maybe considered an offensive explosion if their pitching  staff is expected to hold the  opposition to fewer than that. Very daunting task to ask of  your bullpen, but its the cards manager  Don Mattingly and  pitching coach, Rick Honeycutt are dealt with.

Ask Don Mattingly what he had hoped to accomplish in the 4 game series against the World Champion San Francisco Giants, and Im sure on his laundry list items of “Things To Achieve”, none would say First Place in the Division. The Dodgers 7-5 victory, however did exactly that. Not only did they take 3 of the 4 games in this series at Dodger Stadium, but their win put  the Dodgers in First Place, a win ahead of the San Diego Padres in the standings.

Hiroki Kuroda pitched seven effective yet shaky inning giving up 6 hits and 3 earned on 5 K’s, earning his first victory of the year, while Jonathan Broxton came in and did work to shut down a late inning surge by the Giants in the 9th to pick up his 3rd save of the year. Kuroda’s performance was adequate, but far from dominant. The Dodgers gave Kuroda an early 3-o lead only to see that vanquish during the game as home run’s by Pedro Sandoval,  and Pat Burrell, helped the Giants tie the game up 3-3 going into the bottom of the seventh. Kuroda’s pitches were just  left out over the plate during many of the Giant-at- bats. Kuroda is most effective when teams are hitting ground ball outs on his pitches. Kuroda’s pitches, tonight, were hanging around the heart of the plate or  landing in the power zone of the Giants batters after falling behind on their perspective counts. It was only a matter of time before Pedro Sandoval, who took a 2-2 belt high fast ball over the right field fence in the second and Pat Burrell taking a 2-0 slider over the left field wall in the 7th would get these kind of mistake pitches in their power zone.

The Dodgers offense was yet again powered by a hot bat in Matt Kemp, who went 1-4 with 2 RBI’s. Kemp blasted a 2-run homer run of the left field fence in the first inning to help the Dodgers go up 3-0 . The Dodgers also received offensive contributions from the  lead-off spot  by Rafael Furcal who went  2 for 4 including a key double in the 7th inning that  sparked a four run seventh inning to help put the Giants away and get the victory.

The Dodgers head to Colorado Tuesday for a three game set taking on the Rockies. Clayton Kershaw will look to match his impressive opening day performance on the mound against second year pitcher Jhoulys Chacin who will make his first start of season. Last year Chacin went 9-11 with a 3.28 ERA. Chacin however has had some success against the blue crew. In 12 games against the Dodgers in 2010 Chacin went 6-6 with a 2.87 ERA. He struck out 33 batters over 37 plus innings of work. The Dodgers bats must be patient as they have had some success getting free passes from Chacin. He’s walked 17 Dodger batters during those match-ups.

Ted Lilly’s pitching debut as a Dodger was rudely introduced by an unrelenting Giants offense crushing LA 10-0 this afternoon at Dodgers Stadium.

The free-agent signing of  Ted Lilly didn’t exactly resonate shockwaves through the baseball community as  this was their  “big splash” off-season acquisition.  Many MLB analysts saw this as  a “get – me- over” signing. It basically said we did something in the off-season rather than nothing. In no way by signing Lilly would this suddenly make the Dodgers a division favorite or title contending ball club.  The deal for 33 million over 3 years to get him however, i’m sure made  many scratch their heads on what Dodger management was thinking in acquiring the lefty veteran now with his 5th team in 12 years. Lilly’s unimpressive pitching debut as a Dodger will surely raise question marks as to whether signing this lefty veteran/journeyman was worth the kind of money they inked to acquire him.

Mattingly comes to take the ball from Lilly only going 4 2/3 innings in 10-0 blowout. Photo: Jae C. Hong / AP

Lilly pitched 4 2/3 innings giving up 4 earned runs on 6 hits. Lilly’s inability to get out of the 5th, put Dodger Manager Don Mattingly in a bind as he had to extensively use his bullpen to finish this game.  The biggest problem for Mattingly wont be motivating his players to pick their heads up and forget today’s loss, it will be whether he’ll have a bullpen available to finish tomorrows finale. The  Dodgers have used 7 bullpen pitchers thru the first 3 games of the series. While this doesnt seem like a lot depending on how many available pitchers he has on a 25 man roster, this could prove to be critical to Mattingly’s strategy for tomorrow’s ballgame. Both teams have played each other tight through 2 of the 3 ballgames and the series finale should be no different. The Dodgers expect to throw Hiroki Kuroda on the mound against a questionable Barry Zito, who  may start tomorrow’s contest despite injuries suffered from a car accident Thursday. Both Kuroda and Zito are definitely not shut down pitchers. Both are prone to give up runs and there is very little expectation that this will be a low scoring affair. The Giants are looking to even up the series 2-2 after dropping the first two games. This may come down to bullpen relief, and right now Giants Manager Bruce Bochy may have the edge going into tomorrow’s contest.

The Blue Notes:

• Even though the Dodgers were blanked this afternoon, you still have to be encouraged by the great offensive start of Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp. Ethier and Kemp continue to swing a hot bat going a combined 5 for 7 in the loss. What is very encouraging is Matt Kemp’s patience at the plate. Last year Kemp struck out 170 times. Already in  the 3 games of this series  Kemp has amassed 3 walks and only striking out once. This means Kemp is seeing the ball extremely well and if he isn’t getting base hits, hes putting the ball in play. All good signs for a batter with his kind of potential.
• While the Dodgers 3-4 hitters are holding up their end in offensive production, the rest of the Dodger line up just simply isn’t.  Their 1-2 hitters in this series are a combined 3 for 23 (.130 BA). The inability of their supporting cast to get on base and give Ethier and Kemp opportunities to get RBI’s will undoubtedly stifle this team’s offensive momentum .  Kemp only has 1 RBI, while Ethier has none.
• Minute as it seems, the Dodgers has committed errors in each game of the series thus far. Their opening day defensive performance was far from impressive. Had not Clayton Kershaw pitched a gem you would have almost thought the Dodger Defense would’ve lost the game for them. The series defensively for both teams  has been ugly and thats putting it midly. Over the course of the season it will be interesting to see how Mattingly will assess the players he has and make the necessary adjustments to cut down their defensive deficiencies if they expect to be in thick of this race.
• Jonathan Broxton is off to a good start with 2 saves in 2 opportunities so far this season. His second half collapse in 2010 raised many questions if Broxton should still be the closer for the Dodgers going into 2011. Mattingly clearly has confidence that Broxton will have a bounce back season this year, but that almost faded away when he nearly blew his first save serving up a Pat Burrell home run in the Top 9th of their Opening Day Game Thursday. While Broxton regathered himself and shut down the Giants, its still a concern that should be monitored as we continue forward to the season.
• Chad Billingsley’s first win Friday night, was a very good sign for the Dodger’s starting rotation.  Billingsley’s gave up 3 runs in his 2011 debut all in the 4 th inning, however he pitched 6 solid innings and gave his team a chance to come back  and win the game which they did by the score of 4-3. Billingsley recently signed to a three-year contract extension through 2014, with a club option for 2015. If the option is exercised, the deal is would be worth $46 million.  Clearly the Dodgers are putting their money where his arm is.

Tonight’s Opening Day match-up between the Giants and the Dodgers  reminded me of a scene from the classic film ” Shawshank Redemption”,  and a very memorable  scene where Morgan Freeman is carving his name  in an old sector of the halfway house  and he says  “Either Get Busy Livin, or Get Busy Dyin”. Clayton Kershaw’s mastery against the World Champs line up today felt like a twisted metaphor. Giants hitters needed to “Either Get Busy Swinging or Get Busy Sitting” as  Kershaw, struck out 9,  only allowing 4 hits thru 7 dominant innings;  outdueling Tim Lincecum and San Francisco Giants in a 2-1 Opening Day victory.

Kershaw, 23,  became the youngest Dodger Opening Day starter since Fernando Valuenzuela took the mound back in 1983. But his poise and confidence made it seem as if he’s been there and done that. Kershaw dominated the Giant hitters with a top heavy fastball, that ranged anywhere from 88-95 mph and his off-speed pitches were tremendous.  At one stint he struck out 4 Giant hitters all of them with a sweeping slider that broke from the left hand side of the plate and wound up literally at the feet of the right handed hitters. Left handed bats were welcomed with a moving fastball that had a slight cut back on the inside corner of the plate practically freezing their hands in mid motion of their swing. This is the kind of pitching you would expect from a Roy Halladay, CC Sabathia, Tim Lincecum other seasoned #1 veteran pitchers. Kershaw’s performance provided us with a glimpse of his budding potential. There is no question he is the Ace of the LA Dodgers, but throwing 7 shoutout innings, and commanding the strike zone the way he did  sent a clear message to the rest of division. The Giants, and Rockies are not the only teams who have a dominant #1.

Dominant Clayton Kershaw catapults Dodgers over Giants 2-1 in Opener

Just to give you idea of how unreal Kershaw’s performance was, in the first 3 innings he had 6 strikeouts. Thru 7 he had 9 strikes-out on 92 pitches. He had a more effective opening day performance than CC Sabathia. The key to Kershaw’s ability to dominate was efficiency and and high Strike to Ball ratio. Out of 92 pitches made, 65 were strikes. This means that Kershaw’s ability to command the strike zone without walking batters kept him in the game. He made quality pitches ,where even balls look like strikes and he forced the Giant hitters  to swing outside of their hitting zones. This kind of pitching saavy shows the kind of growth Kershaw is capable of as he grows into his role.

The key moment of the game came in the 6th inning, where the Dodgers just took a 1-0 lead on Giant misplays and errors. The bases were loaded with two outs. Dodger manager, Don Mattingly, has a decision to make with Kershaw coming up to hit. Matting can either take Kershaw out, and rely on his bullpen to pitch the seventh thru ninth innings, and use a pinch hitter to see if they can bust this game open with a quality at-bat. Or roll the dice, let Kershaw hit, and keep him in the game because he feels Kershaw can give him one more quality inning which allows him to put in Hong Chich Kuo, their 8th inning closer. Mattingly goes with Kershaw. In 2010 this decision would have concluded with Kershaw sitting on the bench with a towel over his head and some pats on the shoulder, “Job Well Done”. What a luxury it must be for Mattingly to even have this kind of flexibility.

Although this is 1 out of 162 games, the long term effects of this victory speak volumes on what kind of pitcher Clayton Kershaw can become by seasons end. These are all good signs that Kershaw can have a possible Cy-Young type of season.  More importantly it also shows, that having a pitcher like Kershaw will keep the Dodgers competitive in one run ball games, a  record they would love to improve from last year’s disappointing season.

For the Dodgers to Dominate they need Kemp and Ethier to bring the pain in 2k11

The LA Dodgers are a prideful organization. They are one of the oldest baseball franchises that resides in the NL WEST. When you think of the NL WEST, the Dodgers and Giants are the first teams that come to mind. Their rivalries have been intense, and over the last couple years each series played has been a major factor determining the fate of either organizations bid to the postseason.

For the Dodgers to be a NL West Contender, they will have to go back to the kind of baseball that has made them successful back in the Mid to late 80′s. They have to go back to Blue Collar Baseball. Their roster is not filled with 30+ home run caliber hitters. With exception to Matt Kemp and Andre Either, the Dodgers must go back to their “ole reliable” strategy in run manufacturing. Timely hits, hit n runs, Sacrifice bunts,suicide squeezes, stealing bases and leaning on quality pitching and defense to keep them in ball games. The Dodgers must throw back their mentality and the whole team offensively must share in being a “timely threat” offensively. Just as easy as the Dodgers can be at the bottom of the NL West, if they buy into Mattingly’s system and certain players step up  like James Loney, and Raphael Furcal [staying healthy] . the Dodgers can be the talk of the NL West.

The Key to the Dodgers Success:

1. Maturity – This is the year for Ethier and Kemp to step up and take over this franchise. No more under the radar. At some point both of these guys have to step out of their personalities and infuse their character to give Dodgers an Offensive Identity. Both of these guys are more than capable bringing that to this team. Last year Matt Kemp hit an abysmal .249 last year. While his 24 homers and 89 RBI’s would be impressive for other budding superstars, take into account he only scored 82 runs last year. That means less contact, less Kemp on the base pads. For this team to be offensively credible he must be on base.  He must give Andre Ethier quality at bats, opportunities to drive in runs. If Kemp put together 89 RBI, Ethier must have over 100 by end of the season if the Dodgers expect to take the division. They must be the 1-2 combo that NL West pitching must fear.

2. Pitching – There is no question the Dodgers have a young, vibrant pitching staff primed to open a lot eye lids this year,but will they be consistent, and when it matters most will they be effective. As a staff they ranked in the Top 15 in 3 major pitching categories. ERA, Quality Starts, and Opponents Batting Average. Because this team is not offensively stacked, expect the Dodgers to rely heavily on their pitching to keep them in ball games. This is the year Clayton Kershaw either becomes a household name or household lame. He has the “stuff” 13-10 record last year with a 2.91 ERA.  He got off to an excellent start in 2010 racking up 9 wins before the All Star Break, but he struggled in the second half of the season only winning 4 of  his 14 starts. Kershaw has to be consistent and the dominant go to “guy” on the mound. He must be the “Bulldog” like Orel Hershiser. He must want the baseball when it matters most, and on Opening Day playing against your most bitter rival in the San Francisco Giants, fresh off a World Series Championship season, would it not be a great statement for the Dodger to send the first warning shot by defeating them Opening Day with their “ACE” on the mound. Thats the mentality Kershaw must carry and instill to the rest of the rotation if there is any hope for the Dodgers to be competitive in this division. Keep a close eye on Chad Billingsley. He just recently signed a contract extension and the question will be is he worth the investment. While Kershaw is the “ACE”. I believe Billingsley must be the “Anchor”. Just as easy as Billingsley can dominate 1 game, he can also disappear for 3. This wont do, for the Boys In Blue.

3. Battery & Management – The one element while it may not statistically impact the Dodgers, i think may have a profound effect on the chemistry this team needs to compete on a nightly basis, will be the battery. The loss of Russell Martin to me may have a significant impact as this season wears along. Rod Barajas and Dioneer Navarro, while are servicable catchers in their own way, may not command the respect Martin did with this young, rising bullpen. It surprises me the Dodgers didnt look to bring someone up from the farm system that they could work in since their rotation is vastly young, and maybe haveull one veteran catcher handling the bullpen duties. Barajas will get the starting nod, and clearly his offense will help him in the starting line up but if he doesnt help the Dodgers continue to improve in their quality starts with the kind of pitching staff they have, it wont be long before a switch will take place and even then Navarro to me isnt the right fit for this situation. This decision process is only but one of a few conundrums Mattingly and his crew will face as they try to out fox and out strategize the rest of the NL to slide their way into contention.

What ever comes of the 2011 season will certainly not diminish the fact, that the McCourts feel they have the right man for the job as  Joe Torre’s successor. If he can keep this team competitive and relevant and they hang around during a good portion of the season, do not be surprised if the Dodgers make a move to trade and do whats needed to keep themselves in the play off hunt.  The key for Mattingly is knowing how he can maximize his teams potential to be successful in his division. Never mind the National League, cause there will only be 1 team coming out of the division. I dont believe their will be a wild card from the West, so for the Dodgers to get in, they gotta win it all. In order to do that, they have to become something  they haven’t been  in the last 20 years. “OLD SCHOOL”