Bask in this, friends. Bask in it. I know there’s a lot happening outside of the lines right now as far as trade rumors go and believe me when I say that we’ll have much to discuss over the next two days, but at the moment all I can focus on is the fact that the Dodgers just went into San Francisco three games behind the Giants and just completed a sweep on enemy territory to pull back into a tie for first.
Actually, merely saying “a sweep” seems to be underselling things a bit, because look at this series. On Friday, you had unheralded – and when I say “unheralded”, I really mean “something like tenth on the depth chart entering the season, if anyone even bothered to think of him at all, which they didn’t” – Stephen Fife matching Matt Cain before Hanley Ramirez deposited his first homer as a Dodger into the left field bleachers. On Saturday, you had Chad Billingsley shut down the San Francisco offense as Matt Kemp, A.J. Ellis & friends led a rout. And Sunday? Well, only Clayton Kershaw throwing the fifth shutout of his career as five Dodgers – hell let’s name them: Mark Ellis, Kemp, Andre Ethier, James Loney, & Luis Cruz – had at least two hits. Oh, and A.J. Ellis had the most A.J. Ellis game of his life, walking in each of his four plate appearances. That’s the second time this season he’s done that, and it ties him with dozens for the second-most walks in a game in Dodger history. (And lest we forget, “Billingsley & Kershaw starting back-to-back shutouts against the Giants” is basically all of our 2008 wet dreams come to life.)
As low as we felt a month ago, as the Dodgers were completing an absolutely wretched June thanks to injuries and general ineffectiveness, that’s how high things feel right now. First place, once again, but unlike when they were there in May, it feels like this is a team that might actually deserve to be there. Not only that, there’s almost certainly reinforcements coming soon, thanks to ownership that can actually afford to field a competitive roster.
It’s a fine, fine time to be a Dodger fan, friends. Enjoy it.
