Dodger Baseball- Summer of 2011: A TBLA Musical Odyssey:

Way back in August of 2010, I started reading posts from people on TBLA. I was looking for someone to Rescue Me from the previous baseball season. I lurked for awhile, and watched the people Talk, Talk all day and night. They talked about how The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades, and The Power Of Love for the Dodgers. Well, at that time, I thought Silence Is Golden, and I kept quiet.

There were people with hope for the 2011 season and didn't think it was The Impossible Dream for the Dodgers to have a winning team. These same people would say I Just Want To Celebrate another trip to the post season. I could see that we were in for some Good Times, Bad Times, but with a few acquisitions, and a Good Luck Charm, we could have the Time Of The Season. They also knew that as good as we had been at home, Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White, and we could win a lot of games on the road.

There were also the doubters, who thought that it would be the Same Old Song and Dance, and that they would have to Wait a Million Years for this team to be good. These same people would constantly Tell Me Why they thought 2011 would be The Grand Illusion. They would point to Russell Martin and say "You're No Good", so we'll just non-tender you, and get two new catchers to replace you. They would point to Ethier and say that we should trade him before he gets to be too expensive, but For What It's Worth, He will be part of the core of this team for quite awhile.

These same people also said we had a guy Kemp playing Center Field that wasn't as good as the five tool player he was supposed to be, and gave all of us 49 Reasons why he should be traded for a middle reliever. Well, I Can See Clearly Now, and knew his letdown was from an outside source, and knew that he was just Pushin' Too Hard at the end of last year. You see we had this Frankenstein named Manny playing left field last year, and Kemp was trying to make up for his absence, but the nay sayers were going to Blame it on the Bossa Nova, or anything else to come up with a reason for his decline.

All though the winter, Players were discussed, Donnie two times and the team were examined with a microscope, and I just wanted to Laugh, Laugh at all the Ideas and scenarios that were presented. Should we get rid of Broxton because he sweats too much? Who will be our left fielder? Will the pitching staff be Fresh Garbage, or will Kershaw, Bills and Kuroda Carry On as they have? Does Furcal have another good, injury-free season left in him, or will he spend more time with the Doctor, Doctor?

Well, we picked up a Giant cast-off to play second base, although he does have power, and can field rather well. These Eyes didn't see much OBP from Uribe. As it turned out,I Should Have Known Better than to think he would be our second baseman, because of the injury to Blake, he's filled in at third pretty well, but his OBP is still just about the same as his BA, but Big Girls Don't Cry, and he's pushing on. And our super utility guy from last year is doing it again this year. Jamey Gamer is doing a great job, hitting well and filling in wherever he's needed. Mercy, Mercy Me!

Unfortunately, the injury bug has bitten nearly the whole team, with Kuo catching the Subterranean Homesick Blues, Broxton Free Fallin' out of pen, our spring miracle catcher, Gimenez on the 60 day DL, and even Padilla, our super-sub Closer failing to get his Mojo Workin'. It seems that no matter what plan we have, it goes to shit. It makes for A Hard Days Night when Donnie has to piece together a lineup every night. It seems like a Sign of the Times, that there are so many injuries in baseball these days, but there are still games to play, so it's not The End of the world.

The last couple weeks have been the worst. Our starting pitchers are doing a credible job, but the offense has been so bad that some people have said " Don't it Make You Want to Go Home"? That may be why attendance is down. I don't believe that In My Life I have ever seen such a bipolar offense. They get lots of hits, except when runners are in scoring position. They can't even hit a sac fly! They can't score more than 3 runs a game, and when they do, the pitching staff can't handle the excitement, and starts grooving fastballs. People tell me it won't go on, but What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am?

And the Dodger Divorce....Let's not forget that! The distraction of that and the MLB takeover has affected the team, also. The attendance is down so much, you'd think Everyone's Gone to the Moon. Frank has run the Dodgers like his personal ATM and the Commish doesn't like it. Or him. Bud says " I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" when he's gone.

To sum it up, the Dodgers are having a bad year. Even Mr. Blue, Tommy Lasorda hasn't been heard from to discuss this season-long slump. Oh What a Night it'll be when he does! I want be at that press conference. I don't think he will, though, because, Outside of a Small Circle of Friends, I don't think he wants to downgrade his lifelong team. He'll probably say "When I Die, I'll Talk to the Big Dodger in the Sky, and He'll explain it to me."