The Dodgers will begin the season with one of the deepest rotations in the league, one that was largely set going to spring training. The battle to join Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley and Japanese import Hiroki Kuroda in the fifth spot became Esteban Loaiza's to lose when it was made clear that Jason Schmidt wouldn't be ready for the start of the regular season, and Loaiza has done nothing this spring to lose it.

Schmidt isn't expected back until late May at the earliest.

The bullpen is largely set, as well, although closer Takashi Saito got a late start this spring because of a right calf injury. He appears ready to go, and the main relief corps will be filled out with setup man Jonathan Broxton, right-handers Scott Proctor and Rudy Seanez and lefties Joe Beimel and Hong-Chih Kuo.

There is one open spot in the bullpen, which is one more than there was expected to be at the start of camp. Reliever Yhency Brazoban, who missed most of the past two seasons with elbow and shoulder injuries, struggled this spring. He also reported to camp overweight, and the turning point of one of his worst innings was a tapper just to the right of the mound by Florida's Hanley Ramirez that Brazoban couldn't bend over to pick up.

That probably opens a spot for veteran Chan Ho Park, who is in camp on a minor league deal and has had an outstanding spring. Park would fill a long-relief role and be available to step into the rotation if someone went down.

The Dodgers thought they had bolstered their lineup with the offseason free agent signing of center fielder Andruw Jones. But there is a good chance they will begin the season with both second baseman Jeff Kent and third baseman Nomar Garciaparra on the disabled list, leaving them with some combination of light-hitting, utility-infield type guys at those positions. There was some question as to whether Juan Pierre, who moved to left field to accommodate Jones, would even be in the everyday lineup. If power-hitting youngster Andre Ethier were to supplant Pierre, meaning Ethier and equally promising Matt Kemp would start together, it would dramatically change the makeup to a more power-based lineup.

The bench isn't especially strong. Left-handed pinch-hitting specialist Mark Sweeney is still one of the best around at what he does, but he is 38. For now, there really isn't a right-handed bat off the bench with any power. Backup catcher Gary Bennett figures to see more action than Mike Lieberthal did last year because manager Joe Torre is expected to rest Russell Martin at least once a week.

The Dodgers have enough talent to contend in most divisions, but the National League West isn't most divisions. Any one of four teams could win it, and the fact the Dodgers probably won't begin the season at full strength could put them in an early hole that would be difficult to dig out of.

PRIMED FOR A BIG SEASON
1B James Loney, who last season didn't make the Opening Day roster despite a spectacular spring, this year will begin the season as the everyday starter. A line-drive hitter with the potential to win both batting titles and Gold Gloves during his career, Loney has flown under the radar this spring while most of the attention went to position battles elsewhere on the field.

ON THE DECLINE
3B Nomar Garciaparra saw his home run total drop from 20 in 2006 to seven last year, when he had just 24 extra-base hits overall. He also has become alarmingly injury-prone, as evidenced by the fact he is now expected to begin the season on the disabled list after suffering what was thought at the time to be a minor right wrist injury when he was hit by a pitch back on March 7. He turned out to have a microfracture.

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