Differences add up for Dodgers going into National League division series

The way Don Mattingly tells it, this season was considerably easier for him than the last. This particular group of players, the Dodgers manager said, demonstrated a higher degree of professionalism.

“Our guys get ready to play,” he said. “I never worried about them being ready to play. I could trust them. They got down to business on the field. That was a good feeling for me.”

Mattingly didn’t name names, but the list of transactions over the last year told the story.

Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez played elsewhere. Yasiel Puig spent a significant time on the disabled list.

Newcomers to the team included veterans such as Jimmy Rollins, Howie Kendrick and Chase Utley.

But will improvement in the clubhouse translate to the field this month?

Adrian Gonzalez believes it will.

“I think the way we play is different this year,” Gonzalez said. “We have a longer lineup. We have more guys that fight more at-bats. I think our home-run output and on-base percentage difference is something you can look at.

“I think the leadership we have with Howie, Chase and Jimmy, we have more confidence because we know we have a more professional attitude.”

Other questions remain. Here are some of them as the Dodgers face the New York Mets in a National League division series beginning Friday:

How will they score?

Analysis of this series has centered on the pitching matchups, and understandably so. The Dodgers have a top-heavy rotation headed by Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke; the Mets have a group of young flamethrowers headlined by Game 1 starter Jacob deGrom.

So how will the Dodgers attack the likes of deGrom and Noah Syndergaard? The Dodgers relied heavily on home runs during the regular season — they led the National League with 187 — so it’s probably safe to assume they will continue to do so in the division series.

Led by Gonzalez, who belted a team-best 28 home runs, the Dodgers had eight players who hit 10 or more home runs. Another player, Howie Kendrick, hit nine.

One problem: Several of their power sources became non-factors late in the season, including Joc Pederson (26 home runs), Yasmani Grandal (16), Alex Guerrero (11) and Puig (11).

Is the team healthy?

The Dodgers are as healthy as they have been in some time. Puig and Enrique Hernandez returned from the disabled list during the final week of the regular season.

Still, the team’s collective health remains a concern, if only because of who was recently injured. Namely, the Dodgers’ No. 3 and 4 hitters.

Gonzalez is dealing with a pinched nerve in his back that is resulting in discomfort in his left leg. Justin Turner has been slowed by a bruised left knee.

Gonzalez and Turner say they are recovered, but, in baseball, recovered often means healthy enough to play. Considering the quality of the Mets’ starting pitching, the Dodgers could have trouble scoring runs. If Gonzalez and Turner are less than 100%, which is likely, the task becomes more difficult.

Who could be the X-factor?

Puig is likely to be even more unpredictable than usual. He will enter the postseason having played in only two major league games over the last six weeks because of a strained left hamstring.

Puig will presumably be on the bench for most of the series; the Dodgers figure to start the left-handed-hitting Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford against a Mets staff overloaded with right-handed pitching.

While Puig figures to primarily be used as a late-inning pinch hitter, there’s always a chance his role could be expanded. That would introduce a wide range of possibilities, because he is one of the few players in this series who is not only capable of winning a game on his own, but also of losing one.

Who are the newcomers to watch?

Corey Seager is an obvious choice. The 21-year-old rookie could continue to start over veteran Jimmy Rollins at shortstop.

Seager had a tremendous first month in the major leagues, batting .337 with four home runs and 17 runs batted in.

He came up from the minor leagues with the reputation as a shortstop who didn’t make mistakes on routine plays. But so far, that hasn’t been the case. Seager has made five errors. In a low-scoring environment, mistakes such as that could be fatal.

Hernandez also could play a significant role on defense. With Pederson slumping, Hernandez took over as the team’s starting center fielder, only to go down with a strained hamstring in late August.

A .307 hitter, Hernandez returned from the disabled list for the final month of the regular season and could find himself back in center field for this series.

What about management?

From pinch running for Gonzalez in Game 1 of the 2013 NLCS to calling on Scott Elbert to pitch in Game 3 of a NLDS last year, Mattingly has made his share of questionable calls during the postseason.

How Mattingly manages this month might not only determine how far the Dodgers advance, but also his long-term future with the organization.

Follow Dylan Hernandez on Twitter @dylanohernandez