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Los Angeles Dodgers Must Find Themselves

By Keith Rivas

Mar 21, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (23) congratulates right fielder Yasiel Puig (66) after scoring during the third inning against the Seattle Mariners at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez (23) congratulates right fielder Yasiel Puig (66) after scoring during the third inning against the Seattle Mariners at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s time for the Los Angeles Dodgers to step up to the plate in their division.

There hasn’t been a better time for the Dodgers to show us what they’re made of than this season.

Coming into the 2016-17 campaign, their biggest changes in the off-season included losing one of their best pitchers in Zack Greinke to the Arizona Diamondbacks as well as a shift in the managerial seat to Dave Roberts.

Expectations seem to get the best of Los Angeles, especially in the post-season, so keeping a level head is the biggest thing above all to have in mind as the season’s start nears.

Knowing that they have enough in house to worry about, it can be easy to forget about everything else going on within the division.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, particularly after acquiring Greinke, have emerged as a dark horse to possibly take the NL West divisional crown from the Dodgers, who happen to be the three-time defending division champ.

Aside from Arizona, the San Francisco Giants look to make the most out of another even year run at the World Series, and they showed us this off-season that they meant business after successfully bringing Johnny Cueto to town from the Kansas City Royals.

For both San Francisco and Arizona, pitching was their biggest weakness in recent years, and it’s one of the reasons that Los Angeles was able to do what they did offensively in divisional games.

There isn’t too much to worry about with the Colorado Rockies or San Diego Padres, so unless something shocking happens to kick off the season like what we saw with the Houston Astros last year, don’t expect much noise coming from them — at least directed towards Los Angeles.

Offensively speaking, Adrian Gonzalez is the biggest weapon that the Dodgers have at their disposal.

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    • Gonzalez went off the charts last season, leading the team in every major scoring and offensive category, including a .275 batting average.

    To add to that, Gonzalez knocked off 28 home runs, got 90 RBI’s, and followed through with over 150 hits throughout the season.

    He also led the team in games played, totaling 156 out of the 162 scheduled games last year — second to none.

    In order for the Dodgers to stay competitive, he won’t be able to miss a beat.

    While Gonzalez is where the Dodgers get their power hitting from, the flash that the fans want to see is usually from outfielders Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig.

    Puig wasn’t too great last season, falling off from a breakout beginning to a career not long ago, and Pederson looked like he was still trying to find his place with the team, even though he seemed to have plenty of time to get acquainted.

    For these two players, the idea of keeping a level head is even more emphasized, mainly because they are the face of the franchise. And since they bring the energy, they shouldn’t have a problem with their personal expectations being as high as they are most nights.

    Lastly, Corey Seager will be the crux of the divisional run for Los Angeles, since stellar infield play is going to be necessary to keep high-flying offenses off the bases.

    Seager had moments here and there, but he needs to establish himself as the long-term solution for the team and continue playing at the highest level possible on a game-by-game basis.

    Next: Andre Ethier: Injury Update

    The other teams in the division are ready to gun for the Dodgers, and if they aren’t careful, they’ll be caught blindsided and have a whole lot of catching up to do.

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