Hello,
The Dodgers had been steamrolling the MLB for most of the season. But then they were hit with a bit of an injury bug and their play was aversely affected. Then the Dodgers lost 7 in a row and I didn't know what to think. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Mark Ellis were all injured and the Dodgers were struggling without those three players. The Dodgers offense had turned into a very anemic unit. Meanwhile the Giants got hot, caught up and then passed the Dodgers. I was hoping the Dodgers could hold on until those big 3 players came back. Then last Sunday LA was on Sunday Night Baseball and I thought the humiliation was going to be complete.
However that isn't what happened to this scrappy Dodgers team. LA continues to feel like a team of destiny by what happened next. Thanks to the Mets error proved defense and the Dodgers timely hitting somehow the Dodgers scraped together 8 runs. They snapped their 7 game losing streak in front of a national television audience. They then lost the next day, but that was followed by 3 straight victories. Improbably the Dodgers have won 4 of 5 and seemed to have rediscovered their mojo just a bit. Good news came when Ellis was able to begin playing again. Fate intervened and lead off hitter Dee Gordon was injured. Now it looks like he'll be out 6 weeks.
Thankfully Matt Kemp is in Rancho Cucamonga rehabbing his hamstring. He says he'll be back in the Dodgers line up after All-Star break is over. If it wasn't for the Red Sox and all their injuries I would say that the Dodgers are the most snakebite team in the MLB. The Dodgers have 3 more games with the Diamondbacks in Arizona and then thankfully it's the All Star Break.
The Dodgers still need to add another powerful bat to their offense if they can. It didn't break my heart that Carlos Lee didn't end up a Dodger. And although they now seem to have a lot of money, I don't want them to see them overspend to pick up a player that may or may not help them. I know it's a bit farfetched but I would love to Yasiel Puig be able to help the Dodgers this year. He's already signed and they don't have to give up anything for him. The $42 million he'll be paid is a much better value than Alfonso Soriono, Justin Morneau or Vernon Wells would be.
My other team that has kicked up their level of play another notch is the Pittsburgh Pirates. I won't quite call them a team of destiny. Are they a team that has finally learned how to win? Do they have enough pieces to make noise in the playoffs? Will they be able to even make the playoffs. Can they continue playing as well as they are now? Will they somehow be able to avoid the injury bug that seems to hit every team? Will the frugal Pirates make a move to make themselves better by the trade deadline? If the answer is yes to most of those questions, then we may see Pittsburgh's first playoff team in 20 years. It's been a crappy 20 years for the Pirates. So I won't call them a team of destiny yet, but they certainly seem to be MLB's Cinderella team.
Pittsburgh has won 8 of 9 games and are playing at a very high level. The Pirates are fueled by a high scoring offense and solid pitching. Pittsburgh is in first place in the NL Central, leading the second place Reds by two games. They close out the first half of the season with a 3 game series against the Giants in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh can help both themselves and the Dodgers with a good series. I'll be cheering doubly for the Pirates. Any time they win in the next 3 games will help them and the Dodgers. I would love to see Pittsburgh and LA go into the All Star Break leading their respective divisions.
I'm already looking forward to the playoffs. Now can the Red Sox and Braves continue to get better and make some noise? I want to congratulate David Ortiz for hitting his 400th career home run. Although the Red Sox were swept by the A's. With Dustin Pedroia getting injured is there any hope for them? Or is karma slapping them around for their ridiculously high payroll. If that's the case though when is karma coming for the Yankees? As for the Cubs, (insert your own overly optimistic thought here.)
themusicaddict
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