Player: Pablo Ozuna
2008 Stats: 7-32 (.219), one homerun, three RBIs
2008 Analysis: A mid-season acquisition from Chicago, Ozuna appeared in 36 games for the Dodgers, and got 32 at-bats. He did hit a homerun, the third of his career. Mostly though, Ozuna served as a utility glove off the bench. In fact, Ozuna made it into games as a 2nd baseman, a shortstop, a 3rd baseman, and an outfielder. He didn't commit an error, though, in 53 total chances, so that's... something...
2009 Outlook: Ozuna has a .959 career fielding percentage, he doesn't hit well, he doesn't have really good speed... I don't feel like there's any need for the Dodgers to bring him back next year, especially because if we really desperately need a utility infielder, there are enough alternatives (both from within our own farm system or on the free agent market) out there.
Ok, moving on to 2nd base.
Player: Jeff Kent
2008 Stats: .280, 12 homeruns, 59 RBIs
2008 Analysis: Was it just me, or did it seem like Jeff Kent missed more than just 41 games this year? In any case, Kent played well... for a 40-year old 2nd baseman though underperformed by his own standards.
He did have 440 at-bats this year, which isn't a full season, but enough of a sample size. His batting average and OBP was the lowest it's been since 1997 (his slugging was its lowest since 1996) and despite having only 54 at-bats less than he had in 2007, he had eight less homeruns and 20 less RBIs.
Defensively, Kent, who never was a Gold Glove 2nd Baseman to begin with, was sometimes difficult to watch playing 2nd. He's lost a step or two... his range is obviously much less than it used to be. 
His fielding percentage was .976 in limited chances. But then again, Kent's defense was never his strong suit.
2009 Outlook: There are a couple possible scenarios for Jeff Kent:
1. Kent decides to retire. If he does, then good for him. He's had a good long career (Career: 377 homeruns, 1518 RBIs, .290 average) and is most likely Hall-of-Fame bound.
2. Kent decides to keep playing. If he still wants to play, the best place for Kent is probably the DH position on an American League team. If he's willing to accept that DH role, he could have another year or two of swinging the bat left in his tank. However...
3. Kent decides to keep playing, but wants to remain a 2nd baseman. Jeff Kent is a man of pride. He might not want to play in the watered down position of a DH. Should he still want to play, and remain a 2nd baseman, he might be able to find a team willing to give him that role. The Dodgers, however, with Blake DeWitt in the wings, might be ready to move on. If that's the case, Kent will have to look elsewhere, possibly out of his comfort zone (his adopted state of Texas or his homestate of California) to find the job, which could be much less appealing.
How do I think this will all go down? Most likely, I feel like Jeff Kent will choose option 1. He's missed time due to injury the last three years, and his stats are falling, if only slightly. It might be time to ride off into the sunset. Kent certainly has some outside interests that would keep him busy. He's made it clear in the past that baseball doesn't mean everything to him. I think he might go choose to enjoy retirement on his ranch and wait a couple years for the Hall-of-Fame to come calling. But then again, Kent has never been an easy guy to read. Who knows? Maybe his desire for a World Series ring will having him coming back for another go at it. Whatever the choice is, I'm sure we haven't heard the last of Jeff Kent.
Mark Sweeney played two games at 1st base this year, and an inning in left field once. I think that makes him a 1st baseman...
Player: Mark Sweeney
2008 Stats: .130, 12-92, 5 RBIs
2008 Analysis: Mark Sweeney had 12 hits this year. That's it. For comparison, in the seven games from August 6th to August 12th, Matt Kemp had 13 hits. Matt Kemp matched Mark Sweeney's entire 2008 offensive output in one week, and he did it in 60 less at-bats. Better yet, Manny Ramírez collected 14 hits in five games from August 26th to August 30th. He did that in 70 less at-bats than Sweeney.
How bad was Mark Sweeney? Had not one, not two, but three instances during the season when he went over 20 days without a base hit (and I'm not counting his time on the DL). And all these people who said he supposed improved by the end of the season? From August 26th till the end of the season, he collected one base hit. Just one.
2009 Outlook: Mark Sweeney filed for free agency at the beginning of the offseason. I can't imagine he'll find a manager on any other team that would treat him as well as Joe Torre did. Mark Sweeney should have been cut before June started, and Torre kept him around for the entire season, even sacrificing better, younger players to keep a spot on the bench for good old Sweeney.
My hopes for 2009? I hope I don't see Mark Sweeney anywhere near a Dodger uniform unless it's as Coach Sweeney. Ok, let me rephrase. I don't ever want to see Mark Sweeney reaching for a bat in the Dodger dugout again. Ever.
Alright, now that catchers are done, we'll move around the diamond. On to 1st base...
Player: James Loney
2008 Stats: .289, 13 homeruns, 90 RBIs, 85 strikeouts, 45 walks, seven stolen bases
2008 Analysis: It's hard to say that a player that lead the team in RBIs with 90 had a disappointing year, but James Loney had a disappointing year.
Don't get me wrong, 90 RBIs is a big plus. However, for all the promise he showed in 2007, his first full season in 2008 was a big drop off. His power wasn't there. He had a little more than 250 at-bats in 2008 than in 2007 and hit two less homeruns. He also saw a drop off in his batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. I'm going to chalk this up to a sophomore slump (even though this is really his third season in the majors).
On a side note, Loney did flash a little speed, going seven for 11 in stolen base opportunites. Not bad for a 1st baseman.
Defensively, Loney showed some good improvement. For now, he's solid with the glove, and many predict he's only getting better. He committed 13 errors in 1498 total chances (.991 fielding percentage). That's an improvement from 2007. He only committed four more errors in 2008 than he made in 2007, with 700 more chances. That's a step in the right direction.
2009 Outlook: For 2009, I fully expect to see James Loney starting 160+ games for us at 1st base. There's not much reason to think this won't be the case. Though James, let's hit up the weight room a little more during the offseason, huh? 13 homeruns from our 1st baseman is a little underwhelming.
Player: A.J. Ellis
2008 Stats: 0-3, one run scored
2008 Analysis: A.J. Ellis came up as a September call-up and made it into four games, getting his only at-bats in the final game of the season. They weren't too impressive, but, of course, were hardly enough to judge him by. He did bat .321 during the season with Triple-A Las Vegas.
2009 Outlook: A.J. Ellis's minor league career has, for the most part, consisted of backing up Russell Martin. If Danny Ardoin, or a similar type backup catcher, can't be signed for relatively cheap, then I wouldn't mind giving Ellis a shot to back up Martin in the season.
Player: Gary Bennett
2008 Stats: .190, one homerun, four RBIs
2008 Analysis: Bennett had a bit of an odd year. He had one excellent game offensively, coming May 15th against Milwaukee when he collected his one homerun and all four of his RBIs for the year. The rest of his year, though, was noted by his inability to throw the ball directly back to the pitcher. He was placed on the 15-day DL on May 21st with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. I have no idea what that is, but it must have been bad, because Bennett was not seen from during the rest of the year.
2009 Outlook: The Dodgers had a $900,000 club option on Bennett for the 2009 season, with a $50,000 buyout, which the Dodgers have exercised to make Bennett a free agent. I definitely think Danny Ardoin would be a much cheaper alternative, and one who would probably put up better numbers anyway. I don't doubt that Bennett will be able to find a job with another team, but I don't think it'll be with the Dodgers.
In my last post, I covered starting catcher Russell Martin. In these next posts, I'll cover everyone else who played catcher this year.
Player: Danny Ardoin
2008 Stats: .235, one homerun, four RBIs
2008 Analysis: After starting the season in the minor leagues, Ardoin came up to replace an injured Gary Bennett and did an adequate job. He didn't hit that well, but he was better than Bennett. He also provided adequate defense, though again, he was better than Bennett. Still, I start to wonder what it is that we really require from a backup catcher. What kind of stats we would have to get from a backup catcher that would make me want to have him back the next year?
2009 Outlook: If Ardoin can be brought back for cheap (and I mean cheap), then he wouldn't be a bad option as a back up catcher. Ideally though, I would like to get a better hitting catcher so that we could give Russell Martin more days off without having to worry about a black hole of offense coming from the #8 spot.
2008 Analysis: A mid-season acquisition from Chicago, Ozuna appeared in 36 games for the Dodgers, and got 32 at-bats. He did hit a homerun, the third of his career. Mostly though, Ozuna served as a utility glove off the bench. In fact, Ozuna made it into games as a 2nd baseman, a shortstop, a 3rd baseman, and an outfielder. He didn't commit an error, though, in 53 total chances, so that's... something...
