The Dodgers are expected to be a contender again this season, and with the starting pitching expected to be a question mark once you get through the top three of Kershaw, Billingsley and Kuroda, the bullpen was expected to be a strength that would help alleviate the question marks at the back end of the Dodgers’ rotation.  That expected strength has turned into question marks early this season, however, with Sherrill struggling, Kuo hurt, Bellasario having off-field issues and a group of unprovens trying to get on track.  Heck, even Jonathan Broxton is said to be seeing a dip in his velocity, which for a power pitcher is never a good thing.  Its only the first week of the season, but so far the Dodgers’ bullpen has not inspired confidence.

NOTES:  Andre Ethier celebrated his 28th birthday with a key hit to plate 2 runs in a key eighth inning pinch-hit appearance to put the Dodgers ahead by a run (a lead they would later surrender due to Sherrill’s ineffectiveness).  Manny Ramirez got his 2500th career hit on a little check swing dribbler down the third base line that intially went foul but then crept back into fair play as pitcher Josh Johnson picked it up off the chalk.  Ironic how one of the most prolific power hitters the game has ever seen in Manny Ramirez ends up getting his 2500th hit on an 8 foot roller down the line.

1. Vernon Wells:  A former top 20 fantasy player who has battled injuries over the past year and a half, Wells is finally healthy and off to a blazing hot start with four home runs and 7 RBI’s through 3 games.
2. Garret Jones:  The 28 year old outfielder for the Pirates has three home runs and six RBIs in his first three games against a Dodger’s pitching staff that was one of the best in 2009.
3. Chris Young:  The padres hurler who had a miserable and injury filled 2009 campaign, pitched six 1-hit innings and notched 5 strikeouts in win during his first start of the season.  The former 167 k performer with a career average ERA in the 3’s should rebound nicely from his miserable 2009.

The Dodgers take a rested group of regulars (but an overworked bullpen) to Florida for the start of a three game weekend series before heading home for next Tuesday’s season opener against the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks.

While it is understandable that the landscape of online content is clearly skewed towards the promotion of shock-content or wild assertions in an effort to capture audience, John Hollinger goes just a bit further than the rest of us.  Hollinger, who first made a name for himself by inventing the largely unreliable PER rating system (a system that laughably lays claim to the “fact” that a guy like Kevin Martin is a more efficient ball player than Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash) is now making a name for himself with his “scientific” power rankings, rankings that as of yesterday had the Los Angeles Lakers as the 11th best team in the league, behind not one, two or three, but FIVE teams the Lakers have defeated already this season.

Being a sabermetrician at heart myself, I have tried to understand Hollinger’s futile attempts at doing to Basketball what Bill James and Paul Depodesta/Billy Bean successfully did to baseball. No matter how hard I try, however, each time I try to dig into Hollinger’s “science” I get about 20% of the way through the equation before getting lost in my own personal list of arguments against his formula.  Rather than waste my time trying to lay the arguments out here, let me just save you all some time, he is flat out wrong……and an ass who will forever be labeled on this website as a douche-tool.

Should be a great year of high school football playoffs as some very strong teams look destined to crash heads on their way towards a CIF final matchup. First ranked Crenshaw will have to battle it out with the liked of Carson and Venice.  The most interesting and hard fought division, however, is sure to be the SS Pac-5 as teams like Edison and Servite will have to battle tough competition if they hope of arriving at a rematch of the game that Edison won earlier this season.

USC had been flirting with mediocrity all season, losing to Washington and Oregon and not playing well against lessor competition like Arizona State and Notre Dame.  Still, in spite of their mediocre play, the Trojans found themselves still ranked in the BCS top 10 heading into this week’s home game against the Stanford Cardinals.  USC was no doubt benefiting in the rankings from the lure of Trojan teams of old, but the days of inflated rankings came to a certain end this Saturday as USC was humiliated by a talented and (formerly) underrated Stanford team.  Toby Gerhart rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns, as the currently unrated Stanford Cardinals (bet me that will change after the new rankings come out) ended USC’s string of Pac-10 titles with a 55-21 win.

As USC plays out its season in hopes of finishing with a 9-3 record, other Pac-10 teams will be fighting for the title and a birth in a BCS bowl game.  Standford looks very good heading into the toughest part of its schedule.  Oregon controls its own destiny, needing to win out to earn at least a share of the Pac-10 title.  Even Arizona, at 6-2, has a shot at making a run and end it with a season ending victory over USC in three weeks.

In addition to falling back from the elite of the Pac-10, USC must regroup as they face UCLA in two weeks in a game that could serve as a measuring stick as to where Southern California football is headed. While UCLA is mired in a 4-5 season, the Bruins have had strong recruiting classes and are currently playing quite a few underclassmen at key skill positions so, if the trajectory continues, UCLA could begin to once again challenge USC for Southern California college football notoriety.

Notes: The game was delayed on two occassions after the stadium lights went out due to power issues at the Home Depot Center.

• Gasol to be out until Christmas?  Just kidding…ha ha…maybe (Link).
• Bosh, Wade and Lebron on the same team in 2010?  Don’t count on it thanks to our failing economy (Link). Plus, Kobe tells Lebron to stop talking Free Agency (Link).
• Speculation that its not Stephen Jackson that is going to be out of Golden State soon but rather Don Nelson (Link).  Are Clippers interested in Jackson? (Link).
• Mike Dunleavy as good as gone? (Link).

MLB:

• Returning Home? Dodgers may move Sherrill for Edwin Jackson (Link).
• Wolf could be back in Blue (Link).
• Dodgers after Vazquez? Noooooot (Link).
• MLB.com confirms that Red Sox meeting with Lackey (Link).
• Orlando Hudson to New York? (Link).