Los Angeles Dodgers preview The Dodgers were a .500 team and two games out of first place before acquiring Manny Ramirez. With Manny, they went 30-24 and won the N.L. West by two games. Manny re-signed, as did shortstop Rafael Furcal and third baseman Casey Blake. Plus, the team bolstered an already loaded lineup with second baseman Orlando Hudson, who replaces the retired Jeff Kent. The lineup is solid, but Los Angeles will be counting on plenty of young arms. THREE QUESTIONS 1. What are realistic expectations for Manny Ramirez? As amazing as Ramirez was after joining the Dodgers last season, he isn't going to flirt with a .400 average or drive in a run per game over a 162-game season. However, he will turn 37 in May. However, Ramirez still is among the best hitters in the game and obviously has a comfort level in L.A. -- and a happy Manny is a productive Manny. A 35-homer, 120-RBI season is within reach, assuming his hamstring injury doesn't linger into the regular season. Just as important as the numbers Manny produces is the effect he has on the rest of the lineup. Those hitting in front of and behind him are going to see better pitches, something that had a major impact in August/September last season. Before Manny arrived, L.A. averaged 4.17 runs per game. With Manny, that number shot to 4.63. 2. Is the rotation strong enough? Gone are Derek Lowe, Brad Penny and Greg Maddux, though only Lowe is a major loss. Manager Joe Torre recently named Hiroki Kuroda the opening-day starter, but Kuroda isn't an ace and he battled shoulder problems in his first major league season in 2008. Chad Billingsley has ace stuff but is only 24. No. 3 starter Randy Wolf has durability issues. Last season was the first since 2003 that Wolf started more than 23 games. Southpaw Clayton Kershaw, 21, is another promising young arm, but how hard will the team push him after he threw 168 innings last season? Los Angeles had hoped oft-injured Jason Schmidt would round out the rotation, but his arm isn't ready. Claudio Vargas, Shawn Estes, Eric Stults, Eric Milton and (eventually) James McDonald are other options. The rotation would benefit from another veteran arm. Free agent Pedro Martinez has been mentioned in rumors but also would be a durability concern. 3. Is Jonathan Broxton ready to close? The Dodgers' bullpen experienced a lot of turnover in the offseason. Gone are Joe Beimel, Chan Ho Park, Scott Proctor and closer Takashi Saito. Because Saito was injured for much of the second half last season, Broxton got a chance to audition for the ninth-inning role. In July, Broxton was 5-for-5 in save opportunities with a 1.59 ERA. He slumped in August (5-for-7, three losses, 5.11 ERA) before rebounding in September (4-for-5, 0.79 ERA). Broxton has pitched just one Cactus League inning this spring because he has been with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Judging by the way he finished 2008, Broxton should be ready to handle the ninth-inning pressure. PROJECTED LINEUP 1. SS Rafael Furcal. Hit .366 before back injury wiped out most of '08 season. 2. 2B Orlando Hudson. Had .350-plus OBP past three seasons in Arizona. 3. LF Manny Ramirez. Finished fourth in N.L. MVP voting, despite playing only 53 games with L.A. 4. RF Andre Ethier. Hit .368 with 31 RBIs in September/October. 5. CF Matt Kemp. Fourteen of 18 HRs came at home last season. 6. 1B James Loney. Drove in 17 runs despite poor September (.209 BA). 7. C Russell Martin. Has 20-20 capability and is solid for OBP (.385 in '08). 8. 3B Casey Blake. Had 11 HRs in 94 games with Indians; 10 in 58 games with L.A. PROJECTED ROTATION 1. RHP Hiroki Kuroda. Was 3-8 on road, despite 3.78 ERA. 2. LHP Randy Wolf. Shined with Houston (6-2, 3.57 ERA) after slumping with San Diego (6-10, 4.74) in '08. 3. RHP Chad Billingsley. Had 201 Ks in 200 2/3 IP last season; led team with 16 wins. 4. LHP Clayton Kershaw. Must improve his 4.35 BB/9 ratio. 5. RHP Claudio Vargas. In 114 career starts, has 4.95 ERA. PROJECTED CLOSER RHP Jonathan Broxton. Finished sixth among major league relievers with 88 strikeouts, while allowing only two homers in 69 innings. GRADES Offense: A. When Russell Martin and Casey Blake are hitting seventh and eighth, respectively, you know you're loaded. With continued improvement from youngsters James Loney, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp, this figures to be the best offense in the National League -- especially if Furcal stays healthy. Pitching: B. Much depends on the young arms of Billingsley (24), Kershaw (21), McDonald (24) and Broxton (24). Also important will be the performance of the new-look bullpen, which needs Hong-Chih Kuo to be healthy, Guillermo Mota to return to 2004 form and Corey Wade (25) to step up. Bench: A. There is an embarrassment of riches in reserve with infielders Mark Loretta, Blake DeWitt and Doug Mientkiewicz, outfielder Juan Pierre and catcher Brad Ausmus. Everyone can stay rested, and that's especially vital for Martin, who has played 150-plus games the past two seasons. Manager: A. In sweeping the Cubs in the NLDS last season, Torre won his first playoff series since the 2004 ALDS. But no one is questioning his hall of Fame coaching credentials. Torre has a solid handle on this lineup and plenty of talent with which to work. He has taken his teams to the postseason every year since 1996. Sporting News prediction: The Dodgers clearly are the class of the N.L. West and are a solid pick to represent the N.L. in the World Series. However, the Cubs -- thanks to the superior rotation -- will prevail in a classic NLCS. --

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