One competitor fading early, with little hope on the horizon ...

I haven't really reported from the enemy front, but it's not looking like 2011 is going to be the year of the Dodgers. Anyone surprised, raise your hand.


(that's a cricket)

Consider:

• Major League Baseball ... er, Bud Selig's hired goon, has been pushed in to take over the day-to-day business operations of the Dodgers. This was an ugly situation the past two times MLB has taken over a team (especially when Omar Minaya, GM of the Montreal Expos, traded away key prospects Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips for a rental of Bartolo Colon). However, you'll be hard pressed to find a Dodger fan who hasn't been this excited since Perez Hilton got punched. This is clearly getting the Dodgers one step closer to shedding Frank McCourt, who argues for transparency, but at the same time, doesn't want the fans to know what's in the books. Also, he argues that MLB is holding him back by not allowing Fox do give him a $30 million advance on a huge contract, but no other MLB franchise needs a $30 million advance to meet May's payroll. Long story short, MLB likely won't allow LA to add any pieces that cost anything, which doesn't lend hope for 2011.
• Pieces are falling apart, and the thin depth is showing. Rafael Furcal goes down, leaving Jamey Carroll in leadoff, and Aaron Miles as the primary bench bat. (While not specifically mentioned in the article, I'm pretty sure Carroll and Miles were part of the 120 players mentioned in this article.) Then down goes an aging and infected Casey Blake, and the backup infielders consist of Ivan DeJesus (.385 OPS) and Russ Mitchell (45 career AB, .416 OBP and apparently is working for the Dodgers as an intern, as no salary information is available). Furcal is due back in a week or two, while Blake figures to be out longer.
• Andre Ethier is not the problem.
• The bullpen continues to be a concern. The cornerstone, Jonathan Broxton, does have seven saves, and nearly all of them were palpatation inducing. An ERA near six, declining velocity and bone spurs have him shelved and are testing the depth. Part of that depth, top-10 organizational prospect Kenley Jansen is already back playing for a team named by Matt Groening. The closing is going to surprisingly effective, yet hardly tested in this role Vincente Padilla and injured-to-merely-disappointing Hong-Chih Kuo.

Long story short ... as players are hitting the DL, the horses aren't there to back them up. With several positions making Hardball Talk's list of worst offensive production by position (and we can't blame injuries for deficient performances from 1B, catcher ... really, the Dodgers have four positions producing less of an OPS than the Astros' pitchers?!?). Start thinking about 2012 and how much that group led by Magic Johnson, Steve Garvey or Mark Cuban will want to spend on a key free agent.