Saturday, August 14, 2010

I'm gonna dwell on the past for a while.


2009 was a good year for the Dodgers. Everything seemed to be going great. They had amazing players who could hit really well, outstanding pitching which actually included their bullpen, and everything seemed a-okay. Los Angeles eventually made it to the postseason, sweeping the Cardinals. Remember how they came from behind to win one of the games as well? Everything seemed dandy. And then we went up against the Phillies, the same guys who beat us in the 2008 postseason and lost.

You know, despite not advancing beyond that point, there was still quite a sense of accomplishment there. Was there not? Being NL West Champs two years in a row was great. Making it to the World Series and winning it would have been much better, but I'm not complaining. The Dodgers proved that they were a team that could fight and work hard and win. They came at it all with heart and dedication, and in the end, that gave me, as a fan, a bit of satisfaction. Even though they didn't make it to the World Series, I still felt confident that my team had what it took to get far. They would only need to reach a bit further next time.

And at the beginning of this 2010 season, things seemed to be going...well, alright. Dodgers weren't playing as well as the last year and I think it was ultimately because of pitching. Offense was wonderful though. I mean, Andre Ethier with two walk-off grand slams? How often do you see that? Then Andre got hurt, and Manny got hurt, and Raffy was still out, and everyone was getting injured almost to the point where we were as bad as the Red Sox who had nearly all their starters on the DL and the bench. And then when those hurt players came back from the disabled list they struggled. A lot. Ethier was barely hitting. Kemp suddenly seemed to begin to bail on every pitch to him, resulting in multiple strikeouts. Virtually all of our big, ace hitters weren't doing well.

If it wasn't one thing, it was the other. If it wasn't starting pitching, it was offense. If it wasn't offense, it was starting pitching. If it wasn't offense or starting pitching, it was the bull pen. And this continues. And continues and continues and continues. Why? Because we apparently don't know how to learn from our mistakes. Maybe it's a human thing. Or maybe it's just a Joe Torre thing. Who really knows anymore?

All I know is that, this season seems to pretty much be over for L.A. It's...honestly quite devastating seeing players that were doing so well last year and the year before suddenly struggle so bad and for so long.

Well. This year just doesn't seem to be our year. Oh well. Maybe next year. I just hope to see the Dodgers win a World Series in my lifetime. That's my dream.

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