Unlike the team I covered yesterday, today's team is actually eliminated from the playoff chase. The New York Yankees only need one win or one Tiger loss to eliminate the Detroit Tigers. In the other league, the Los Angeles Dodgers are officially eliminated after last night's loss and Padre victory.

Strengths

Contrary to what Jeff Kent thinks, the youngsters are this team's greatest strength. Kent is frustrated and mistakenly taking it out on the young guys' inexperience, although the youngsters have been a lot better than the veterans they're replacing. Kent has hinted at retirement in the offseason, but if he chooses to return and the Dodgers exercise their $9M team option, he'll continue to be one of the best hitting second baseman in the league. The option should be a no-brainer for the Dodgers to exercise, and given general manager Ned Colletti's affinity for veterans, it should be picked up.

As for the youngsters, there's catcher Russell Martin (.297/.380/.472 at 24), first baseman James Loney (.335/.384/.538 at 23), shortstop Chin-Lung Hu (.318/.337/.505 as a 23 year old in AAA and possibly the best defensive shortstop currently in the majors), third baseman Andy LaRoche (.309/.399/.589 as a 23 year old in AAA, including .365/.447/.817 since the All-Star break), outfielders Matt Kemp (.331/.364/.509 at 22), Andre Ethier (.288/.353/.458 at 25), and Delwyn Young (.337/.384/.571 as a 25 year old in AAA). Given the statistics, all seven of these guys deserve an everyday job in the majors. Once you get the scouting opinion, six of these seven deserve an everyday job (Delwyn Young is considered a fourth outfielder in the end). Taking those six along with Kent, Rafael Furcal, and Juan Pierre, it would be nice if they could find a way to get all but Pierre on the field everyday (teams need to learn that the ability to get on base is more important than the ability to take the next one). However, that would leave them with five infielders and two outfielders, which keeps Pierre in the lineup. So who gets kept out of the everyday lineup? It wouldn't surprise me to see the Dodgers make the mistake of 2007 all over again and play Nomar Garciaparra, Pierre, Furcal, and Kent at the expense of LaRoche, Hu, and Young. It would be nice to see the team bench Garciaparra and trade Furcal for some pitching help since you can never have too much of that.

Moving to the rotation, the Dodgers are hoping for Jason Schmidt to make a full recovery in time for spring training, but everyone rehabs differently. Since Schmidt suffered a shoulder injury, his velocity will let you know if he's ready. The rest of the rotation will be made up of Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, and 23 year old Chad Billingsley (that Logan White really knows how to run a scouting department). The fifth spot in the rotation could be up for grabs among Esteban Loaiza, Mark Hendrickson, and Eric Stults. If you're wondering where all the young arms are (other than Billingsley), 19 year old Clayton Kershaw is regarded as the best left handed pitcher in the minor leagues, if not the best regardless of handedness. Kershaw made it up to AA, but after only five starts there, he's probably due to return to Jacksonville for next year. Splitting time between Low-A and AA, he had a 2.95 ERA and 163 strikeouts over 122 innings.

In the later innings, the Dodgers have turned to Joe Beimel, 23 year old Jonathan Broxton, and Takashi Saito to hammer things down, and they haven't disappointed. Beimel will be due arbitration, and I think Saito hasn't even reached arbitration yet. Given that, all three will be back next year and could be joined by 23 year old Jonathan Meloan. Meloan has not pitched well in his four innings in the majors, but at AAA, he dominated with 91 strikeouts and a 2.03 ERA over 66.2 innings.

Weaknesses

Other than the aforementioned fifth starter spot and Colletti's affinity for experience over talent, the Dodgers don't have many weaknesses. Sometimes, a great scouting department really makes the general manager's job much easier.

Overall

The Dodgers are set up well for both 2008 and the foreseeable future. Following next year, they'll have some decisions to make with Kent (free agency), Lowe (free agency), and Penny (2009 team option for $8.75M), but the Dodgers are in an enviable position going forward.