The Dodgers were a team counted out all season. Let’s be real, everyone pretty much expected the Dodgers not to do much in 2008. Heck I’ll even take it a step further and say that no one really expected any NL West team with maybe the exception of the Arizona Diamondbacks to do anything. So as a Dodgers fan, seeing my team get to where they did, I’m happy. It shows you that the franchises investment in their youth, players like Russell Martin, Andre Either, Matt Kemp and even rookie Blake DeWitt, is really starting to pay off. The real question in my mind is who will they sign during the off season to get this team in a position to not just make it to the playoffs but all the way to the World Series.

Two key players that jump out to me are Rafael Furcal and Manny Ramirez, who both have contracts expiring this year. Furcal, although on the disabled list the majority of the 2008 season, has been a solid day in and day out player at Shortstop. Before he became injured in 2008 he was atop the leader board in the NL in offensive production, and finished the season with a .357 batting average with 143 at bats. Almost nothing needs to be said about Manny. I clearly think every Dodgers fan would agree that they should sign him. To drive the point home though, here are his numbers since joining the Dodgers (489 OBP, 743 SLG, 396 AVG). Those are absolutely phenomenal numbers and he clearly helped the Dodgers get to the post season in 2008. However, what you don’t get from those numbers are intangibles like attitude and excitement. The clubhouse attitude changed with Manny on the team; they finally learned how to have fun playing the game. The fans got excited every time he came up to bat; you were on your seat waiting to see what the guy would do next. Having watched the Dodgers all season, I can definitely say without a doubt that the mere presence of Manny brought life back into this ball club.

A tough question for the Dodgers this off season will be what to do with the abundance of outfielders. Currently, we have Andre Either, Matt Kemp, Juan Pierre, Manny Ramirez (maybe) and Andruw Jones to name the big ones. If the Dodgers want to stick with the youth movement of Either and Kemp, then that really only leaves one spot open. Juan Pierre has a contract with the team through 2011, and Jones has one through 2009. Unless Jones has a brilliant spring, I think its an easy decision, eat his salary for 2009. Pierre is a much tougher problem, since he is not happy being a utility player. Frankly, I don’t blame him, the Dodgers signed him to come play center field full time and then gave it away. Last is Manny Ramirez, if signed there is no doubt he will play every day if healthy. If they’re able to keep Manny, my pick would be for Manny in left, Pierre and Kemp alternating in center and Either in left.

Starting pitching will also be another interesting area to keep an eye on going into next season. Both Derek Lowe and Brad Penny have expiring contracts. With Penny, you have a guy who at times during his three year contract showed absolute brilliance on the mound. However, the 2008 season was a completely different story for him. Not only was he put on the disabled list the end of the season to have surgery, but when he was healthy and pitching this season he didn’t seem to have his best stuff. Lowe, on the other hand is a true work horse, giving a team quality starts day after day. You might question the effectiveness of his pitches as more and more players have had a chance to see his stuff. Last is a pitcher I think everyone has forgotten about since being signed back in 2007, Jason Schmidt. If you don’t remember he is the guy the Dodgers picked up from San Francisco only to immediately go on the disabled list. He may finally be back next season. The real question will be “How good is his stuff?”, and will the Dodgers get one good year out of his three year 47 million dollar contract?

The one thing I know for sure is that I can’t wait to watch the Dodgers play in 2009, it just might be our year.