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Respect and Fulfillment
2004-07-13 17:28
... It makes for a great contrast among the contenders within the division. The Dodgers rely on selected tactics, platoons, and a number of retreads. You could argue they have a true star in Eric Gagne, but let's face it, he's a closer, and closers don't win divisions on their own. In contrast, you have the Giants, who will go wherever Barry Bonds and Jason Schmidt carry them. Where Tracy fidgets, Felipe observes (to be charitable). Then you have the Padres, flashing new park money and high expectations, a hastily assembled blend of oldish mercs and homegrown goodies. There are no good guys or bad guys, just three very different teams, all with their merits. It's still a little disconcerting to think that I like what the Dodgers are up to, but it's going to be a great flag chase down the stretch. - Chris Kahrl, Baseball Prospectus, July 12, 2004 (bold emphasis mine) This piece of writing touches upon the core of my interest in the Dodgers. Chris Kahrl is not a Dodger fan, yet the Dodgers are earning her respect. "I'm very happy these days," I wrote on March 12, 2003. "I have a wonderful wife and a wonderful baby, and you won't catch me regretting the choices I made that allowed those things to happen. But I do have frustrations, and those frustrations, I've come to realize, are played out each time the Dodgers do something. Anything. I'm not just talking about the 162 games; I'm talking about the offseason trades and the decisions to replace the dirt warning track with rubber and the removal of the sandwich station on the Club level of Dodger Stadium. I was raised in an easier time, where things were more often right than wrong, and I haven't shed my addiction to that time. I want things with the Dodgers to be right. That, essentially, is the genesis of this website - to deal with that want." The Dodgers don't do everything right - not by a longshot. But when they are doing something right - like making the most of their duct-taped roster to make it to first place at the All-Star Break - and yes (external validation alert), when people notice - that's as fulfilling as a victory on the field.
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