I picked the Dodgers to finish third last year, and got grief (they finished fourth), and I'm much more positive about this season (I think they'll win the West), but some of these predictions are way too Pollyanna.

If Loney, Nomar, and former CF that is now the LF put those numbers up, well, I'll eat my hat.

Yep. Catcher Mike Kinkade.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080223/SPORTS/990071336/1004/SPORTS

http://tinyurl.com/2qt536

The 23-year-old right fielder with a reputation for being cocky and a knack for making mistakes on the basepaths was to the 30-year-old Jones a "real bright kid with a good head on his shoulders."

In Jones, Kemp said, he has found a mentor who he says understands him. He traded phone numbers with Jones at the camp in Dodger Stadium and regularly exchanged calls and text messages with him in the month leading up to spring training.

In any case, I think he ought to have a higher SLG than Loney, who I agree is probably pegged a bit too high.

Which, after all, do you think are the most pie-in-the-sky?

.950 James Loney
1.025 Matt Kemp
.920 Andruw Jones
.885 Russell Martin
.900 Jeff Kent
.910 Andy LaRoche
.890 Andre Ethier
.880 Rafael Furcal

None of those aggregate projections look out of place. I held down the LaRoche numbers but the only two who I think will have a hard time meeting these will be Loney and Kemp but they could also go higher. Once Ethier is playing everyday this should be the best hitting team we've had in the McCourt era.

8:13 Villanova - Personal foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Offensive foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Offensive foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Offensive foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Offensive foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Offensive foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Offensive foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Personal foul on Corey Fisher

That must have been one hard foul.

8:13 Villanova - Personal foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Offensive foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Offensive foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Offensive foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Offensive foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Offensive foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Offensive foul on Corey Fisher
8:13 Villanova - Personal foul on Corey Fisher

That must have been one hard foul.

>> Torre said he had only heard good things around the league about Jones, and that his only concern was Jones dropping a few pounds during the spring. The Curacao native is listed at 210 pounds but appears heavier.

"It's a little bit of a concern," admitted Torre, who said Jones could bat anywhere from third to sixth in the order. <<

http://tinyurl.com/yrexr2

>> ... Yhency Brazoban's recovery from shoulder surgery has progressed to the point that he now will throw every other day. He is expected to be ready by the start of the regular season.

... The Dodgers signed five of their ``zero-to-three'' guys: Pitchers Jonathan Broxton and Eric Stults, catcher Lucas May, infielder Chin-lung Hu and outfielder Matt Kemp. Just to clarify, these are players on the 40-man roster who are not yet eligible for arbitration. <<

http://blogs.dailynews.com/dodgers/

I need some baseball.

I have a hard time getting across to my younger staff that income tax refunds aren't really a good thing. Unless you enjoy using the IRS Savings Plan. It pays 0% interest.

Though Saturday morning games always seem to be a real challenge.

D4P is pessimistic in the long term.

>> One of the interesting things about baseball is that the unexpected is always lurking just around the corner. And in one of those Kodak moments the Dodgers issued a very careful statement that they are looking for "alternatives" to the new spring training facility in Glendale, Arizona. <<

http://dodgers.scout.com/2/731134.html

I hear it's a page turner.

(ducks)

You do need to give this week's "The Wire" your full attention. Besides you may find it to be more interesting if the episode features Oscar-winner(TM) Amy Ryan instead of just Oscar (TM)-nominated Amy Ryan.

>> But in the end, this case didn't turn out to be about service time -- the factor that determines most arbitration awards. It was about the fact that Ryan Howard is a historic player. A really historic player. There's only player in history who compares to this man. And it isn't Pujols, Cabrera or anyone else of this generation.
It's a gentleman named George H. Ruth. You may know him as "Babe." <<

http://tinyurl.com/2obdsp

I think I've heard of such a name.