The wheel keeps spinning

Let’s begin by thanking Bob Timmermann for his usual impeccable savoir-faire in guiding Dodger Thoughts over the past week. He’s the best.

It was around this time last year that I truly began to feel pulled in so many directions, leading me to put this site on my backburner for more than six months. With the team inches away from the playoffs, that won’t be happening this September, though I can’t say that I feel any more adept in managing my work efforts. Single-minded focus on one aspect of my career over the winter had twists that I didn’t anticipate – what else is new?

But at least the Dodgers have gotten their act together. And it’s just kind of crazy. In 25 years, playing in the World Series, hasn’t seemed so near-fetched.

Game 7 of the World Series, if there is one, is scheduled for Halloween. Don’t tell my kids.

But that’s so far away. Playoff baseball is when dreams go on a terror ride, a mystery train that might never reach its destination. In recent times, the Dodgers have won playoff series that surprised many (2008 against the Cubs, 2009 against the Cardinals) and lost just when some thought they would win (Philadelphia, Philadelphia), the exult and the bitter in an extreme.

Imagine Friday’s relatively meaningless September game against San Francisco happened to be the finale of the National League Championship Series in October, a game that was essentially a tossup deciding whether or not Dodger fans would be elated or deflated. It almost doesn’t seem right. It’s almost too powerful to wrap your head around.

You plan and prepare and maybe even pray. You have some control over your fate, but you never really know how much. Amid all the chaos, you just hope that it’s your turn.

Dodgers at Giants, 7:10 p.m.
Kershaw CLXXX: Kershawn Jon