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The Los Angeles Dodgers world was rocked when it came forth that Manny Ramirez their inspirational offensive force in 2008 used steroids. The Dodgers suddenly faced 50 games without the hitter that made players like Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp dangers in the lineup. Suddenly the assurance that the Dodgers would win the NL East no longer existed.

Well, the Dodgers have not clinched the division title, but they should barring any implosion. The team has been unstoppable at home and terrific on the road. They lead the majors in run differentiation, a sign of an improbably balanced team. Los Angeles is going to the playoffs as the NL West champions or the wild card, but most likely the former. They will also have the best record in the National League.

The Dodgers are the best hitting team in the league and have the best ERA. The batting order has few standouts. Instead they have a solid order. Andre Ethier is the leading slugger on the team, but he has Matt Kemp, Manny Ramirez, and Casey Blake as power protection in the order. Juan Pierre is the leading hitter and is half of the Pierre-Kemp base stealing threat.

The pitching starts off with four more than solid starters in Randy Wolf, Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, and new addition Jon Garland. They could even replace Billingsley with Vincente Padilla, Jeff Weaver, or Hiroki Kuroda is they wished to. This team is deep. Jonathan Broxton has emerged as a terrific closer and the bullpen will be full of options with three starters likely to be relegated to the pen.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are simply the most balanced team in the National League. This is does not mean that another team could not get hot at the right time and knock them out, but this certainly makes them the favorites to win the pennant in October and try to win the second World Series in a row for the NL.