Well, it’s finally baseball season again, and we’re glad to have all of our listeners back for another Dodger season. What better way to start the season off than with a series against our rivals, the Giants. And better yet, we will be at home at Dodger stadium, ready to knock San Francisco off their high horse and back to reality.

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Keys To The Series

With only 2 days until opening day – and the beginning of a series featuring one of the biggest rivalries in baseball, we continue our series on the Dodgers’ opposition in the National League West. Today we are looking at the San Francisco Giants.

While San Francisco will be bragging about the World Series Champions status – and you really can’t blame ‘em for that – they still better be ready for some hard baseball. The Dodgers have a good team put together this year, with talent, experience, and depth. And that’s a good thing because the Dodgers are going to need all of that as they face off against the Giants.

Marked by us as the #1 threat in the N.L. West, the Giants also have the talent, experience, and depth, and as we mention in this episode, it’s going to be the small things that separate the 2 and playing a deciding role in which team makes it to the playoffs.

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Let us know what you think about the episode. We’ll be doing a short pre-series episode for you shortly to give more specifics; however we want to know what you think about this match up – for the opening day series as well as for the season.

Also be sure to catch Part 1: How The Dodgers stack up against the San Diego Padres

With only 3 days left until opening day, we are breaking down the National League West for you in a 4-part series. We will be comparing each team against the Dodgers for 2011, pointing out the strengths and weakness of both teams.

In this episode, we take a look at the San Diego Padres, assessing their strengths and weaknesses against the Dodgers for 2011, and focusing a lot on home-field advantage/disadvantage (Petco Park). We also break down the pitching for the Padres as well as their defense and hitting.

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Where do you stand?

Is there anything we left out regarding the Dodgers vs. the Padres for 2011? Do you see the Padres giving the Dodgers any trouble this season?

We have 10 days until the beginning of the 2011 season, and the Dodgers are starting to get things together and put ideas into cement. While the Dodgers haven’t done too well in the first 2 weeks of Spring Training, there have been some improvements. On the other hand, the Dodgers are still battling with injuries, in pitchers Padilla and Garland, as well as with Blake’s sore back.

In this episode, we will take a look at where the Dodgers stand in terms of the latest injuries and whether the bad scouting report reflects the true potential they have as opening day approaches.

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What Do You Guys Think?

Any comments or questions about this episode? Let us know what you would like to contribute to the conversation by leaving us a reply below.

As many Dodger fans know, Dodger starting pitcher Jon Garland – scheduled to be the 5th starter in the rotation – has been placed on the DL due to an oblique strain. Initial reports indicate that he will be out for as much as an entire month before resuming any serious throwing.

In this episode, we will examine Garland’s injury and discuss what implications this has for the Dodgers at the beginning of the season.

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Let us know what think will happen with Garland – when he’ll be back, if he’ll stay healthy – and what impact this will have on the Dodgers in 2011.

Jamey Carroll came through for the Dodgers in stellar form during the 2010 season, and while eager to earn a starting role for 2011, he was passed by for the acquisition of former Giants infielder baseman Juan Uribe. We asked you guys why Carroll hasn’t been offered a starting role, despite his incredible depth as a ball player and what that might mean later down the line should he find a starting role elsewhere.

Here’s what you guys had to say in the survey. The numbers are below, but you can also listen to our interpretation and analysis.

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1. Jamey Carroll, current utility player and MVP for the Dodgers in 2010, doesn’t have a starting role. Why?

2. The Dodgers recently acquired 2nd baseman and all-around infielder Juan Uribe from San Francisco. Would Carroll have been given a starting role if this acquisition didn’t take place?

3. If Carroll receives an offer to play for another team AS A STARTER (either next season or in the middle of the 2011 season), do you think he’ll accept it? (multiple-answers are okay)

A couple of weeks ago, Dodger fans heard that Vincente Padilla, a possible contender for the 5th spot in the starting rotation and all-around multi-purpose pitcher, was put on the DL due to an nerve issue in his throwing arm. We asked you guys for your input to help guide our discussion, and we have the results of the survey for you.

Below are the results in numerical form, and also have a listen to the audio to get our take and analysis on the results.

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1. The Dodgers recently announced that pitcher Vincente Padilla’s arm surgery was successful and that they planned on having him back on the mound at the beginning of May. How realistic is this?

2. Assuming Vincente Padilla returns for the 2011 season, do you think he’ll remain healthy for the duration of the season?

3. With Padilla’s injury, the Dodgers have already done some “housework” to move guys around in his stead. If Padilla returns, in what role(s) will be most likely be used? (multiple answers are okay)

4. With 2 injuries in 2010, and a serious one at the very beginning of Spring Training 2011, how much are the Dodgers REALLY counting on Padilla, should he return to play this season?

Yep, you heard right. The new skipper for the Dodgers is making some changes for this coming 2011 season. One of the most amazing decisions involves moving veteran 3rd baseman, Casey Blake, into the #2 spot behind Rafael Furcal. Blake, having performed well with the Dodgers in his normal batting spot (#6 or #7) is about to find out how it feels at the top of the lineup.

This is an interesting change for a couple of reasons. First of all, Dodger fans know that Blake has been hitting in the lower 3rd of the lineup the entire time he has been with the Dodgers, and secondly, any baseball fan will tell you that while having some power at the top of the lineup is nice, the guy filling the #2 spot needs to have speed around the base pads.

Fill out the short 4-question survey (multiple choice), and let us know how you think this is going to turn out (both for Blake and for the team) in 2011.

Jamey Carroll came through for the Dodgers in dramatic fashion during the 2010 season. He boasted incredible numbers – including the best on-base-percentage, had a higher batting average than Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Casey Blake – and was deemed MVP of the team.

In addition he was honored with perhaps the highest award the team can bestow, the Roy Campanella Award. The fifth annual recipient, Carroll was chosen near unanimously by Dodgers uniform personnel as the player who best exemplified the spirit and leadership of the late Hall of Fame catcher.

And yet he is still a utility player for the Dodgers, having not earned a starting role and being placed as #2 behind Juan Uribe, recently acquired from San Francisco. Give your 2 cents below. Fill out the short survey, and let us know what you think about Jamey Carroll.

A lot has happened with Dodger pitcher Vincente Padilla. In 2010, he was side-lined due to 2 different injuries, allowing him to make only 16 appearances and effectively putting him out of more than half the season. We have barely started spring training, and it’s already happened again.

This is your chance to weigh in on what will happen with Padilla. We will be addressing this matter again once the season gets going, but we are looking to find out what you guys think.

Will he return?

Will he remain healthy?

Will the Dodgers even even want to use him?

Fill out the short survey below, so we can incorporate your ideas into our episode on Padilla. It’s only 4 short, multiple-choice questions and shouldn’t take more than 1 minute.