A Whole New Blue

A Whole New Blue

Its been an up and down season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, to say the least.

Coming into the season the Dodgers were a strong candidate to come out of the National League.  Than game 1 they shutout the World Champion San Francisco Giants, behind Kershaw’s complete game shutout and not to mention his homerun. Everything looked good…Well that is until the injury bug bit the Dodgers, and bit them hard.

            A wild night at Chavez Ravine, which resulted in a bench-clearing brawl with the Padres, saw the team lose their new $147M dollar starter Zack Greinke, and than it went downhill for the next two months.  With Hanley Ramirez still out due to a thumb injury in the World Baseball Classic, The Dodgers started to drop like flies.  Matt Kemp, Carl Crawford, Hanley (again), the team slipped to 30-42 a season worst 12 games under .500

            It was shaping out to be a very expensive and disappointing 2013 season.  Don Mattingly was almost out of a job.  That is until The Man, The Myth, and The Legend arrived from Triple A.  Yasiel Puig.  Before fans could even pronounce his name right, he had single handedly won 3 straight games for the Dodgers. He was the lead story on just about every sports outlet, he was throwing people out left and right, hitting grand slams, and go ahead singles, but most importantly he provided a much needed jump start to the Dodgers.  Their batteries were on empty, their bodies were ailing, and the team seemed lifeless, Puig not only jolted them, but he infused the team with the confidence, and cockiness that he portrays in his own personality. The team has taken on Puigs persona, and it has worked.

            On June 3^rd 2013 the Dodgers were re-invented, since that date they have gone 24-15 and have clawed all the way from last place to second place and a .500 record at the All Star Break. Along with Puig-Mania, the Dodgers were also able to get healthy, besides Matt Kemp (who cant seem to get healthy since last season) The Blue Crew has shown a real glimpse of what this team can be when they are healthy and clicking.

            With 68 games remaining and 2.5 games behind the Dbacks, the dirty work is done, they have climbed out of the abyss, now is the time to just go out and play baseball, win some games, stay healthy, and take the NL West.

            Anything less, is a disappointment and a lot of money spent for nothing.

Justin Domino

Curse Busting

Curse Busters

Since 1918 The Boston Red Sox were cursed, whether it is because of the Great Bambino, or any other reason, the facts are they hadn’t won a World Series in 86 years. There is a team on the North Side of Chicago, which has a similar problem, only a little bit worse, is that even possible?

The Red Sox curse was standing strong until two men walked through the Fenway Park doors, Theo Epstein, and Terry Francona.   In 2002 Theo Epstein was given the reigns.  Two years later he hires Francona, and I think we know the rest of that story…They go on to win 2 World Series Titles, and who knows it could have been more, if not for the greatest September collapse in baseball history.

A terrible September later and Theo Epstein in now holding down the fort for the Chicago Cubs.  And we thought the Red Sox were cursed? We thought the Red Sox would never win? The Cubbies make The Red Sox curse busting look like a walk in the park.

The writings on the wall, the precedent has been set, however you want to put it, its there…Theo to the North Siders. The same North Siders that have not won anything in over 100 years!  Francona searching for a job, Look no further than the loveable losers.  I mean why not?

The Chicago Cubs job is by far the best job in baseball, why? Well the guys that finally win it for this city will go down as Gods in baseball history. They will never be forgotten, and it will probably be the most celebrated World Series Title of all time.  And on the contrary if they don’t win, it really doesn’t matter because it’s never been done there, they would just join the long list of guys that could not get it done for the Cubs.

Epstein and Francona know each other very well, they are comfortable with each other, and most importantly they have won together.  Its almost seems like a fairytale, If Epstein indeed decides to hire Francona, they will embark on a journey that can turn these two men into immortals. Now they might have a few kinks to work out, to make sure they are on the same page, but if they are able to work out the problems that may have festered towards the end of the Boston era, they should have no reason not to make this happen.

1918 vs 1908

Fenway Park vs Wrigley Field

Curse of Bambino vs Curse of Billy Goat

When there is losing going on, who you gonna call? The Curse Busters

J