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Dodger Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is located in the heart of the city, and can hold 56,000 people. Known as a pitcher’s ballpark, the air is a little heavier than the rest of the country, keeping the ball from reaching it’s maximum distance off the bat. Jim Tracy enters his fourth season as manager of the Dodgers, and although no one expects him to have a run like his predecessor Tommy Lasorda, everyone expects him to have a competitive team entering the 2004 season.
The biggest off-season acquisition at the plate is center fielder Milton Bradley from the Cleveland Indians. Bradley will anchor the outfield on defense and team up with all-star right fielder Shawn Green, catcher Paul Lo Duca, and third baseman Adrian Beltre. Lo Duca isn’t the prototypical catcher, because he can lead off, steal bases, and hits for an unbelievable average. Although this team won’t scare a lot of teams in the National League, they should post numbers that are well beyond those of last season.
The Dodgers will look to keep their rotation above average in the 2004 season. They can play a different style of game because they know the starter only need to go six innings to give the Dodgers a good chance at winning the game because of two little words: bull pen. Guillermo Mota is the Dodgers’ key set-up man, and he can work any number of innings asked of him. As special as Mota is, he’s nothing compared to Eric Gagne, the closer. Gagne signed with the Dodgers as a starter, and after years of little success, he made the move to the closer spot. Since then, he’s been downright nasty, because he can throw three pitches very well, and keeps the hitters off balance.
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