The Dodgers and Padres need this. Both teams stayed in the spotlight by making big personnel changes ranging from the players all the way up to the very top with owners. After a while, the news and sports talk shows seem to forget that actually playing the game of baseball is all that really matters. So I’m sure that nobody is more ready than the players to get put the offseason in the rearview.

The Dodgers boast some young rising stars in Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, and Dee Gordon that everyone is raving about. But what is most interesting about the Padres this year is that all of their players are rising stars you just haven’t heard of yet. Top prospects in trades have come over by the boat load over the last few years as the team began rebuilding their roster. The last two aces pitching for the Padres have found themselves packing their bags in exchange for players. Jake Peavy, the 2007 Cy Young award winner was traded for four prospects to the White Sox and last year’s ace, Mat Latos, was recently shipped off for four more.

With the addition of these players in the farm system, the Padres are hoping to have the next best thing since Tony Gwynn. But as for the here and now, only a few of these diamonds have broke the roster and will be a part of tonight’s game. So for now, San Diego will have to wait and watch as Clayton Kershaw mows down each player one by one until the umpire tells him to stop. The starter tonight for the Dodgers is not only last year’s NL Cy Young Award winner, but he is only just beginning his prime. The starter opposite to him, Edinson Volquez, will be trying to do his best Kershaw impression.

While the Padres made headlines recently bringing in new players, the Dodgers were making headlines of bringing in new owners. The Dodgers were sold recently to a business group including Magic Johnson, and now will be waiting a while for the new management to get settled in before any big moves can be made. That means they will be relying on their star players like Kershaw and Matt Kemp, who came through with a season in which he finished second in the MVP race. Another key player this season for the Dodgers is their young shortstop, Dee Gordon, who in just his second year in the big leagues is already being predicted to steal 70 bases.

So what I am predicting is some bad news bears for Padres fans. Not only will you have to witness firsthand the merry-go-round of walks that Volquez is famous for, but you will have to watch how easy the other starter makes it look. And to top that off, it’s in San Diego. Not that the Dodgers are great offensively, but Edinson Volquez makes a lot of teams look really good when he’s walking every other hitter. If he’s on, prepare for a close game through the 6th. But remember, there’s no Heath Bell at the end of the game to tuck teams in and say goodnight. Bovada.lv’s MLB Opening Day Odds seems to agree with my “Kershaw world domination” theory and the runline at -1.5/+1.5 in favor of Dodger blue.

The over/under is at 6 with even odds for the over and -120 for the under. Two teams with not much offense besides the obvious stars and the six runs should only come from the Padres pitching. If Volquez throws well, it should be well below six with room to spare and Javy Guerra shaking hands on the mound to end it.