The joy in this Dodger summer is not just in the winning, or being in first place.
It’s that the Dodger summer is about the game.
Three years ago, two years ago, the Dodger universe was mired in L’Affaire McCourt. Even last year, in the months following the ownership change, there was still a detox period.
This year, good or bad, the conversation has been about the game. The worst it has gotten was the debate over the fate of Don Mattingly in the spring (here and here, for example) — a debate that clearly wasn’t a figment of our imagination. There’s been all the injuries, carping out this player’s performance or that one’s. But it’s all about the game.
Meanwhile, baseball at large is enveloped in a conversation about performance-enhancing drugs and punishments that Los Angeles is not really a principal part of. It’s not that Dodger fans don’t have a tangential interest in it, just as it wasn’t that baseball fans didn’t have a tangential interest in the McCourt trauma.
But mainly, we get to go our merry way, winning and losing, living and dying with our team, the way we were meant to, the way we were deprived of from the moment Frank and Jamie figured out they couldn’t make it work.
Of course, the more it remains about winning and not losing, the better.
Anonymous
It certainly is quite refreshing isn’t it? And the winning (hopefully much more coming) is the icing….
KT
Go BLUE!!!!
Anonymous
For me, winning is the waffle.
Linkmeister
Okay, what’s the deal with waffles? Obviously I missed something.
Jon Weisman
“Don’t demand the waffle.”
http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/2013/06/23/dont-demand-the-waffle/
Anonymous
Too late. Apparently, lots of people are demanding the waffle.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/taco-bell-expanding-test-of-waffle-taco-breakfast/2013/08/06/b7d6022c-fe97-11e2-8294-0ee5075b840d_story.html
Jon Weisman
Whoa
Anonymous
Never underestimate the American public’s desire for type 2 diabetes.
Anonymous
I helped someone in the library who thought Type 2 diabetes got its name because it was twice as bad as Type 1 diabetes.
Anonymous
Maybe it was there before, but I’ve noticed in my two visits to Dodger Stadium post-McCourt (once each the last two years) a much friendlier attitude: from the parking lot cashier, to the ticket taker, to the concessions worker. . . . I could have easily mistaken Chavez Ravine for The Happiest Place on Earth . . . except I didn’t leave completely happy: the Blue lost both games (yes, I know there may be a cause/effect relationship with my attendance!).
Anonymous
In an ironic way, the terrible start has made this season much more enjoyable. Had the Dodgers played like a team with a $200 million payroll from day one, there wouldn’t have been much to root for. I was dreading this season because anything short of a World Series championship would have been a disappointment.
But the bad first half has made so many other outcomes seem like a reward. Of course, I hope the Dodgers win it all, but proving that they belong with the best in baseball has already been a triumph.
Plus there are still other milestones to look forward to now, rather than treat as obligatory steps on a journey.
Anonymous
Could it be that the McCourt misadventure will turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to the Dodgers? My birthday is June 21. They were terrible up to that point, but I thought Kershaw is pitching, it’s my birthday, a W would be nice. No such luck. But the gift that started the next day has been pretty incredible.
KT
yea it was a good day to be at the park…Getting Puig’s signature was just icing on the cake
Anonymous
I miss people talking about Chad Billingsley’s mental state.
Jon Weisman
Ack! I was just thinking the other day about his absence and the ensuing quiet.
Anonymous
The absence of his lack of toughness is what has propelled the team to such heights!
Jon Weisman
From the press notes: “The Dodgers own the best road winning percentage in the Major Leagues
(31-25, .554). The Dodgers last led the big leagues in road wins and
winning percentage in 1988, when they were 49-31 (.613) away from Dodger
Stadium. “
KT
yasielpuig @YasielPuig20m
Mi compañero http://instagram.com/p/cuQQUHDYeR/
Anonymous
Every team in the NL West except for the Giants has won exactly 31 home games. The Giants have won 29. 3 of the 5 teams in the NL West have just 21 road wins. The Dodgers and DBacks have more.
Jon Weisman
Crawford LF
Hairston 3B
Gonzalez 1B
Puig RF
Ethier CF
Schumaker 2B
Federowicz C
Gordon SS
Nolasco P
Anonymous
Gordo gets a start!
Anonymous
It was bound to happen :)
Anonymous
May I suggest that Mr. Nolasco try to get a lot of fly balls.
Anonymous
Already his forte, no? (now, if he could just keep them in the park)
Anonymous
Somewhere, Joe Torre is thinking it’s Sunday.
Anonymous
The Dodgers have the exact same home and road records now (31-25). They last finished that way in 2002 (46-35 home/road). The Dodgers were eliminated from the wild card on Game 161 and lost a meaningless game on the final Sunday to the Padres, where they started Wilkin Ruan, Joe Thurston, Mike Kinkade, Chin-Feng Chen, David Ross, Jolbert Cabrera, Cesar Izturis, Luke Allen, and Victor Alvarez.
Jon Weisman
An Obscure but Memorable Dreamscape.
Anonymous
I went to the game. Dave Roberts spoke to the crowd afterwards and told us that the Dodgers would win it the next year.
Dave Roberts lied to me.
Jon Weisman
NPUT