[PilotMan]

In 1983 the team started off looking good. Except that the Giants and Astros were also looking good. In fact, for the majority of the season all three teams had winning percentages over .600.


The rotation started the year the same as last year with Bannister replacing Reuchel and Hooton dropping down to the #5 spot. Lasorda also promoted Neidenfeuer to the primary set up man behind Howe, with Stewart being pushed down.


The lineup though looks quite a bit different this year. The familiar faces of Bill Russell, Ron Cey and Ken Landreaux are not there. Instead, Pedro Guerrero has been moved to the hot corner to start at 3^rd. That made room for second year man, Mike Marshall who hit 9HR in part time duty off the bench last year.


Starting at center is rookie Franklin Stubbs. Stubbs was in AA San Antonio for most of '82, where he hit .303, had 26 HR and knocked in 101. That would be enough for the AA MVP Award. He finished the year at AAA with another 5HR in 19 games.


With no Bill Russell, Tack Wilson was slated as the opening day shortstop.


Second base was a little crowded with Sax being back and healthy, leaving Bernazard to sit on the bench.

There was a big surprise behind the plate, with Mike Scioscia losing his starting job to the right handed Bob Brenly. Scioscia is the better defender, but Brenly shows more pop in his bat.


Part way through the season Wilson lost his job at SS even though he was putting up the same numbers he did last year, Lasorda felt like he needed to experiment by moving Tony Bernazard to short. It was a disaster defensively, with him committing 20 errors in 21 games.


Over at first base, Steve Garvey just couldn't get his OBP or his power going and with Greg Brock (.319, 22, 59) tearing it up at AAA, the team felt like it was time to give the kid a shot. So he is another new face replacing the old guard that won in '81.


Even with the team performing well, the team started making moves in the middle of July. There were three big trades that impacted the lineup going forward. Here's the breakdown and what happened and why:


The first move was a big one. The team shipped new starter Floyd Bannister (9-6, 2.98, 130IP) along with 24 yr old prospect Orel Hershiser (3-3, 27G and 2 S in AAA) to the Royals in exchange for Roy Smalley (.282, 15HR, 39RBI) . The Dodgers had unsuccessfully pursued Smalley in the off season and his acquisition means that SS will be manned by a 2-time All Star and 1982 Silver Slugger at SS in the AL. Smalley is also under contract for 6 years.


The second trade came the next day. With Smalley manning short, Tack Wilson (.262, 3, 36) became a pawn. He was shipped to the Giants and coming back to the Dodgers is relief pitcher Greg Minton. Minton (2-2, 1S, 36IP, 3.75) was the closer for the Giants in '82, and did well, but lost his job to Al Holland in the off season. Also coming to LA, for the second time, is SS prospect Mariano Duncan, who has been everywhere from rookie ball to AAA.


The third and last trade before the deadline saw the end of a starting job for Dusty Baker. His productivity had been weak for an outfielder, if you think about '82 as being passable. He just wasn't cutting it. Out the door is RP Ted Power (10g, 13.2IP, 0.66ERA), who couldn't break into a regular spot in the bullpen. Once again, SS prospect Mariano Duncan is on the road. Both are heading to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for LF slugger Ron Kittle (.235, 11, 35). Kittle isn't much of defensive drop off from Baker, and he doesn't get on base nearly enough, but he does hit for power more than Baker.


This entire season has been a roll for this Dodger team. They've lead the league in pitching, runs scored and homeruns for most of the year and they were the first team to clinch a division. Our current record is 100-50. It's been a win 2 lose 1 kind of season. There are 12 games left in 1983, the team is primed to finish with a better record than in 1982 and again looks to be the favorite to win the Series. So hopes are seriously high that the moves that we've made are going to be enough to win it, and not choke in the Series like we did last year.