Eric Stephen of True Blue LA and Dodgers beat reporter Ken Gurnick whittled down the remaining spot in the Dodgers' Opening Day roster to Scott Elbert and Lance Cormier. The rest of the roster looks like this:
Starters: Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, Hiroki Kuroda
Relievers: Jonathan Broxton, Hong-Chih Kuo, Kenley Jansen, Matt Guerrier, Blake Hawksworth, Mike MacDougal
Catchers: Rod Barajas, Hector Giminez
Infielders: James Loney, Ivan DeJesus, Rafael Furcal, Juan Uribe, Jamey Carroll, Aaron Miles
Outfielders: Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Marcus Thames, Xavier Paul, Jay Gibbons, Tony Gwynn Jr.
Injured: Vicente Padilla, Jon Garland, Dioner Navarro, Casey Blake
Here are some of my comments about the present roster situation:
*I don't know who should win that last spot. I would like Scott Elbert to win it but I would like him to be more developed than he is at this point as well. I am alright with either one at this point. I think the bigger story is Ramon Troncoso given the snub in favor of Mike MacDougal. Troncoso might be shot after having been ridden by Joe Torre early last year because he has done enough in the league to warrant a roster spot. That must be it because Mike MacDougal is not going to be appointment television. Perhaps he will do what some veteran relievers do and start producing out of nowhere but the odds are against him,
*I sit here having been proven wrong and I am stunned. Ivan DeJesus will be getting the majority of starts out of the gate for the Dodgers. I wish him the best of luck and I am thankful the Dodgers' front office is capable of making a decision like this. It did take an injury to Casey Blake but they could have given the job to Aaron Miles. Perhaps it's not so much the front office but a new manager that convinced the organization to go in this direction. This certainly wouldn't have happened on the previous manager's watch.
*Six outfielders?! You could say that the Dodgers have seven with Giminez but I guess this is what the Dodgers are doing. Nothing like four outfielders to play one spot. Yes, Gwynn will play some center but this is a clear indication that the Dodgers need to commit to tossing a player off the roster or, more aptly, they could have done a better job at addressing the position.
*You would think the Dodgers would be reeling with as much press as Padilla and Garland are getting. They still have the big four and the fifth starter is a reliever for the first two weeks anyways. 11 pitchers works for me for many reasons but, if they were to add a 12th, it would probably be Travis Schlichting. Why do I feel that he is better than Hawksworth and MacDougal?
*Hector Giminez is the Dodgers' back-up catcher. He certainly impressed with his ability to play in the outfield as well as catch. I don't think that he is going to get many starts as the team has been vocal about the confidence they have in Rod Barajas. I am just not sure if that is true and I am not all that sure Hector Giminez can field the position at the major league level.
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Of course, the success of the Dodgers in 2011 depends far more on players not mentioned in the comments above. This probably means that it's time for Vin to say "It's time for Dodger baseball!" Let's hope this season doesn't have us begging for the McCourts to run out of money, shutting Dodger operations down!
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