No More Dodger Blues

With less than two weeks left in their regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers have all but mathematically assured themselves of their first playoff appearance since 2009 and are seeking their first World Series win since 1988. The Dodgers seem to be a team of destiny this year; a team in last place is turned around by a poor Cuban ball player who was smuggled into the game by Mexican drug lords only after several failed attempts at attaining his dream.  The proverbial “Hollywood wouldn’t buy this script” has done exactly that.  SoCal is all in, and they should be. This team is built not only to make a run in this year’s playoffs but for years of dominance over their National League West brethren.

Can you think of a more dominant 1-2 that will be together for the foreseeable future then Kershaw and Greinke?

Can you think of a more talented rookie than Yasiel Puig? Say what you want about Puig, but he’s the reason the Dodgers are even in this position. He saved Donnie baseballs job and the Dodgers season; and he’s paving the way for their future.

Reports are out that the Dodgers have a deal in place to bring Cuban defector and phenom second baseman Alexander Guerrero to the show (pending league approval and immigration status).  The Dodgers seemed to have reinvigorated their past and are once again playing a key role in bringing minority talent to major league baseball.

Three months ago this team had lost their direction, they were in last place, and Mattingly was a few losses away from being fired.  Fast forward to today and the Dodgers are in first place, fighting for home field advantage in the playoffs. Mattingly’s patience and steady hand seem to be the perfect fit for this young loose team.  Mattingly has let Puig be Puig (similar to Manny being Manny) for the most part but has also showed Puig and the rest of his team that they will be held accountable.  This team is built of high priced under achievers that has seemed to gel at the right time to save the Dodgers season and some of their careers (minus Matt Kemp).

This season will go down as a success regardless of what happens come playoff time, especially considering their horrendous start. The Dodgers and their smart super rich ownership are building something to last. They’ve reinvigorated the Dodgers brand and seem to be here to stay for good.  The Dodgers haven’t been the same franchise since the O’Mally family sold to Fox.  It went from bad to worse when Bud Selig in his infinite wisdom approved the sale to the dumpster fire that was Frank McCourt.

Then again, McCourt may be the best thing that could have happened to LA. If he was even a mediocre owner, he would still be the captain of the sinking Dodger ship; the Dodgers would be fighting to stay semi-relevant in one of baseball’s biggest markets.  McCourt was so bad he was forced out. The new ownership group has given GM Ned Coletti full reign to do and spend as he sees fit.  They have LA’s most beloved athlete as the face of their ownership group (Magic Johnson).  They’ve opened up the Cuban defector market and have been hyper-aggressive in the trade and free agent markets. They have superstars in Kershaw, Ramirez, and Puig, they have all stars in Greinke and Gonzalez, they have up and coming talent in Jansen, and they have traded and signed role players to be key cogs in the Dodger machine (hello Michael Young, Juan Uribe, AJ Ellis, and Brian Wilson).

They have the money, the brand, the smarts, and the figure head. 

And, soon they’ll have all of baseball again

 

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