With the addition of Schmidt (above) and Wolf, L.A. has four starters who have been 16-game winners and a staff that's as good as any in the majors. Al Tielemans/SI
	FAST FACTS MANAGER GRADY LITTLE second season with Dodgers Team Page | 2007 Schedule THE NUMBERS       LIE | DON'T LIE 204 Hits by slap-and-dash leadoff man Juan Pierre in 2006 for his former team, the Cubs, marking the third time in the last four years that he reached 200. His .333 on-base percentage, however, was second worst among every-day leadoff hitters in the NL, and he made 528 outs -- the fourth consecutive season that Pierre was in the top three in the league in that category. CONSIDER THIS In his rookie season last year closer Takashi Saito put up a 3.73 ERA against NL West opponents but a microscopic 0.24 mark against teams from other divisions. Why the huge discrepancy? The 37-year-old Saito, who had never been a full-time closer during his 14-year career with the Yokohama BayStars franchise of the Japanese Central League, relies heavily on getting batters to chase a slider that he rarely throws in the strike zone; it's a neat trick but one that quickly wears thin the more times opponents face him. Manager Grady Little should consider using hard-throwing 22-year-old Jonathan Broxton as his closer against the West, reserving Saito for the rest of a league that doesn't see Los Angeles quite as often. After his May 1 call-up last season, Broxton settled into the Dodgers' setup role and struck out 97 in 76 1/3 innings. BATTING ORDER POS. PLAYER B-T PVR BA HR RBI SB SS RAFAEL FURCAL S-R 42 .300 15 63 37 CF JUAN PIERRE L 67 .292 3 40 58 1B NOMAR GARCIAPARRA R 103 .303 20 93 3 2B JEFF KENT R 115 .292 14 68 1 LF LUIS GONZALEZ L-R 190 .271 15 73 0 C RUSSELL MARTIN R 118 .282 10 65 10 RF ANDRE ETHIER L 129 .308 11 55 5 3B WILSON BETEMIT S-R 163 .263 18 53 3 BENCH POS. PLAYER B-T PVR BA HR RBI SB 1B JAMES LONEY L 242 .284 4 18 1 INF OLMEDO SAENZ R 294 .296 11 48 0 OF-INF MARLON ANDERSON L-R 326 .297 12 38 4 ROTATION THROWS PITCHER PVR W L K WHIP ERA RH DEREK LOWE 34 16 8 123 1.27 3.63 LH RANDY WOLF 78 4 0 44 1.69 5.56 RH JASON SCHMIDT 19 11 9 180 1.26 3.59 RH BRAD PENNY 55 16 9 148 1.38 4.33 LH HONG-CHIH KUO 207 1 5 71 1.46 4.22 BULLPEN THROWS PITCHER PVR W L S WHIP ERA RH TAKASHI SAITO 46 6 2 24 0.91 2.07 RH JONATHAN BROXTON 114 4 1 3 1.23 2.59 LH JOE BEIMEL 183 2 1 1 1.30 2.96

As general manager Ned Colletti wrapped up negotiations with agent Arn Tellem in November to keep first baseman Nomar Garciaparra in Los Angeles, Tellem told Colletti that he had another free-agent client who was highly motivated to be a Dodger, lefthanded pitcher Randy Wolf. Colletti was interested but wasn't sure he could afford the price tag in a bull market that would bring Gil Meche a five-year, $55 million contract from Kansas City. Soon Tellem let Colletti know just how motivated Wolf was: He'd take a one-year contract.

"I thought he was probably worth three years, $24 million, maybe two years with an option for the third," Colletti says. "In this day and age, when do you see a player leave money on the table? But it told me two very important things about Randy Wolf. Number 1, he wanted to be a Dodger, and those are the kinds of players we want here. Number 2, it told me he was convinced he was fully healthy, because if he wasn't, he would have been looking for the security of more guaranteed years."

Wolf (69-60, 4.21 ERA in his career) took $8 million to pitch for the Dodgers this year with a $9 million vesting option for 2008 based on innings pitched -- far less than not only Meche money but also the $40 million that went to Ted Lilly (59-58, 4.60), the $33.8 million to Vicente Padilla (66-61, 4.06) and the $24.5 million to Adam Eaton (54-45, 4.40), who replaced Wolf in Philadelphia.

"The bottom line was, this is where I always wanted to be," says Wolf, who grew up a Dodgers fan in Southern California, twice pitched for his high school city section championship game at Dodger Stadium and starred at Pepperdine. "It's a dream come true."

Los Angeles is banking on getting Wolf at the perfect time -- 21 months after Tommy John surgery. He had pitched with pain in his elbow since 2002 and did make 12 pain-free postoperative starts for the Phillies last year (4-0, 5.56). Says Wolf, "I'm healthy. My arm feels better than it ever felt. It's like I'm back in high school. By the third [warmup] throw I feel like I can throw as hard as I can. Before, if it took me 20 throws to get loose, that was good."

Colletti didn't stop with Wolf in his efforts to build the team around starting pitching, the traditional Dodgers' strength in a pitcher-friendly home ballpark. He also signed ace righthander Jason Schmidt, 34, who has made at least 29 starts for five years running, to a more market-driven three-year, $47 million deal. The additions fortified Los Angeles with four starters who have been 16-game winners: Derek Lowe, Wolf, Schmidt and Brad Penny. Mix in a power bullpen -- only the Cubs' pen struck out batters at a better rate last year -- that can use Takashi Saito or Jonathan Broxton to close, and Los Angeles can match any staff in the league.

All that pitching takes pressure off a lineup that last year hit fewer homers than every team in the league except Pittsburgh. The Dodgers won a wild-card spot largely because they drew walks (third), ran the bases well (second in steals) and hit well with runners in scoring position (first). They'll employ the same method this season and have third baseman Andy LaRoche, 23, first baseman James Loney, 22, and outfielder Matt Kemp, 22, on reserve if the offense needs an in-season boost.

Los Angeles is looking for consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since 1995-96, but the franchise needs to address a more vexing dry spell: It hasn't won a playoff series since 1988, a streak that continued with a three-games-and-out thrashing by the Mets last year. Says Colletti, "There were tears in the clubhouse after that. I can't ever recall a team that took the last day so hard. But the message from the players was the same: I can't wait for next year." -- Tom Verducci

Issue date: March 26, 2007