Manny Ramirez, Casey Blake a Big Part of LA Dodgers' Playoff Optimism

Out from the warm glow of Chavez Ravine, through the desperado duels of the NL West, into hostile batter’s boxes of the league’s top powerhouses, and to the very gates of the postseason, the Dodgers have answered the call to baseball this year with heart and tenacity. 

The quest for the World Championship is never kind, and the team that brought baseball to the West Coast has had to shoulder a small mountain of injuries, suffer an eight-game losing streak, and play most of the season in the shadow of a lackluster division rival. 

But in trademark Dodger fashion, the blue crew have finally pitched, hit, and dealed their way to the top of the win-challenged NL West.  Ask any Dodger fan; it has been a wild and often excruciating ride.  Or perhaps a they’ll sum up the season with just one word: Manny.

The Dodgers’ brilliant last-minute deal with the Red Sox capitalized on Boston’s prickly-at-best relationship with Manny Ramirez, whose many accolades include the 2004 World Series MVP, nine silver-slugger seasons and 12 starts in the Midsummer Classic. 

The aftershocks of this huge power-shift are still being felt, not only in the pitching strategies of opposing teams, but especially in the Dodger clubhouse.  To his new teammates he has been an inspiration, a joker, and a friend.  And as the dreadlocked clean-up hitter has been a clubhouse catalyst, so has he won the hearts of the Dodgers faithful in a big way. 

Manny’s freewheeling discipline, yet staggering offensive instincts, are a phenomenon that seem much more at home near Hollywood than die-hard Boston.  If the do-rag fits…

But this SoCal club has benefited from another deal crafted by the ever-discerning GM Ned Colleti, when on July 26th the Dodgers picked up the veteran bat of Casey Blake to take over at third base.  With Blake’s arrival, the Dodgers have their first solid third baseman since Adrian Beltre.

Before the inevitable discussion of playoff contingencies and fantasies, it should not go unsaid that the acquisitions of Ramirez and Blake should be looked at as more than just acquisitions. 

These Dodgers should be more than just late-season soldiers of fortune.  In this age of trade deadlines and continuously changing teams, we have lost part of the loyalty and brotherhood of baseball.  With the Dodgers, the past few years have been especially come-and-go, with the starting lineup undergoing so much reinvention that Jeff Kent is currently the longest-tenured player, and he was a Giant in 2002. 

Not to mention three different managers since 2005.

So, as the Dodgers put in their last word in the NL West this year, the question arises: can this be the 21st century secret recipe the Dodgers have been looking for?  Will Manny and Blake bat for L.A. in ‘09?  Will the rise of young stars Andre Ethier, Russel Martin, and Matt Kemp continue to electrify Chavez Ravine?  It is very much hoped that they will.

Now, with eight games remaining and a three-and-a-half game lead on the Arizona Diamondbacks, the home stretch is about to get dusty.  The postseason possibilities become clearer every day.  Let the debates begin.