It’s that time of year again. Everyone is swearing off junk food, buying gym memberships and looking up local charities in order to hit their New Year’s resolutions. But if the Dodgers want to return to the NLCS and have another shot at the World Series, they better make a few of their own.
With the re-signings of Brian Wilson, J.P. Howell and Juan Uribe, the Dodgers addressed their biggest needs in the offseason. They strengthened the bullpen further with Chris Perez and Jamey Wright coming to Los Angeles. Dan Haren was brought in on a one-year deal to give the rotation a slight boost.
The starting lineup is ready to roll with the only identifiable weakness at catcher, where A.J. Ellis is slightly offensively challenged. There’s a question mark at second base with the unproven rookie Alexander Guerrero taking over, and plenty of injury questions between Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford and Hanley Ramirez.
So as good as the Dodgers may look on paper, there are plenty of things that can still be tweaked. Which resolutions should GM Ned Colletti, owner Stan Kasten and manager Don Mattingly be making for the new year? Read on to find out.