Let s the Reign Begin

The LA Dodgers as a whole were a pretty subdued group, save the rookies and AJ Pollock, as they celebrated their 7th consecutive NL West Championship. AJ Pollock could only watch the last six. He was part of this one. The rest of the team was subdued because they have been here before… several times and they know that winning the NL West is just another step in their quest for a Championship.

Never underestimate what 25 human beings can accomplish when they are hungry, have been denied in the past and are truly a Band of Brothers who are all singing out of the same hymnbook. It’s just September 11th and the Dodgers now have 94 wins, 4 more than Atlanta and 1 les than NY and Houston.

Last year, the Dodgers won 92 games. With 16 games left in the season, the Dodgers will win at least 102 games…. if they play .500 ball. I think it will be more like 104 or 105 games, but that’s not important. They know what is important. The next step is the NLDS and the step after that is the NLCS. None of this matters, if they don’t execute those next steps. It’s not going to be easy. The Braves, Nationals, and D-Bags are all tired of seeing the Dodgers win and they will be after them with a vengeance!

Say what you will about Dave Roberts: he is the “glue” that brought this tem together and holds it together. Bill Plaschke can write some really good or really dumb stuff, but today he was very good in The LA Times:

The last time the Dodgers failed to win a National League West championship, the opening-day owner was Frank McCourt.

The last time the Dodgers didn’t paint a clubhouse with champagne in September, the opening-day infield was James Loney, Mark Ellis, Dee Gordon and Juan Uribe.

The last time the Dodgers finished in second place, the opening-day winning pitcher was Josh Lindblom and the save was recorded by Javy Guerra.

The Dodgers have upgraded ownership and players. This team is so much better it’s not even in the same Zip Code. As he said: WOW. JUST WOW! He went on to say:

Dave Roberts, who took over the Dodgers in 2016, becomes the first manager to lead his team to division titles in his first four seasons as a big league manager.

Andrew Friedman, the baseball boss who built upon the strong foundation laid by Ned Colletti, is a neat five for five in division championships since coming to Los Angeles from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Plaschke demonstrated why this team is unique when he wrote this:

Before Tuesday, my favorite Dodgers moment this season was the June weekend featuring consecutive walk-off home runs by rookies Beaty, Verdugo and Smith.

But then Roberts topped that Tuesday night in the Baltimore visiting clubhouse when he asked his champagne-bottle-clutching team to delay the postgame celebration until somebody could face-time injured Verdugo and Max Muncy. Only when they appeared on raised smartphones was the champagne popped, at which point it was sprayed all over their video faces.

“No man left behind,” Roberts screamed, and that is how you win seven titles in a row.

Dave Roberts is the heart and soul and also the glue that binds this Band of Brothers together. They are all-in and ready for their October Reign. We are in for some kinda’ ride!

Photo Credit: (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)