Dodgers & Vin Scully

It's been a while - about 1 1/2 years in fact.

It would be trite to day I have been busy but.......

In any event this is Vin Scully's final season broadcasting for the Dodgers - I have been listening to Vin my entire life & I am going to be 64 years old in October. To say the fact that he is retiring is historic doesn't even do justice to the significance of his leaving.

Like all Dodger fans I started the season pulling for them to bring a championship home to LA to honor the fact that the greatest broadcaster & most popular Dodger of all time was in his final year at the microphone. Hope springs eternal after all - we have been waiting since the Gibson miracle World Series home run & Hershiser historic performances of 1988.

It didn't look good for much of the season as the Giants got hot early & pulled away to a big lead in the Division up until the All Star Break. The Dodgers tried desperately to maintain contact for the Division Championship but it increasingly looked like the best case scenario for the post season would be a Wild Card spot.

To make matters worse we lost the best pitcher in MLB Clayton Kershaw shortly after the All Star game with what appeared to be pretty serious back problems. That was just the "cherry on the sundae" regarding the incredible injury issues that had beset the pitching staff since the beginning of Spring Training at Camelback. At that moment around the beginning of July we looked like "toast" - the starting rotation was a rag tag bunch of "has beens & never weres" with several rookies sprinkled in for good measure. Plus the underachieving "Wild Horse" Yasil Puig had been sent down to OKC after efforts to trade him were unsuccessful AND he then was placed on waivers at the end of August.

So here we are - September 8, 2016 (my late father's birthday - he loved Vin Scully & had been following him from the moment the Dodgers arrived in LA); lo & behold the Dodgers not only caught the hated Giants but now hold a 5 game lead in the Division. Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to return on Friday vs. the Marlins and the "Wild Horse" has hit home runs in the last 2 games after his recall from AAA purgatory.

If I had to pick a moment or game when it appeared that this would be a season of destiny it would be the last game of the recent series in Colorado a 2nd game of a day/night double header on August 31st. The Dodgers had been crushed the first 2 games of the series by the Rockies and trailed badly in this final game 8-2 entering the 8th inning. Other than the fact that the game was in Denver where offense dominates & no game is over until its over, there was no reason to have a scintilla of optimism that this game could end well. Then the Dodgers scored 3 in the 8th to make it close and in the 9th, Andrew Toles (yes, who is "Andrew Toles"? - he was nowhere on the radar screen of major contributors for this team at any time this season or any season) hit a 2 out go ahead grand slam and the Dodgers pulled out the win 10-8.

From that game till now the Dodgers have gone 5-1 (winning 5 in a row) and extended the lead over the Giants to a season high 5 games with 23 games remaining on the schedule.

They are starting a critical & difficult 10 game road trip (Florida, the Yankees & Arizona) before returning to face the Giants in LA for 3 crucial games at the Ravine.

It doesn't take a genius to predict that the Dodgers fate will be crystal clear after the final game of the Giants series on September 21st. I am cautiously optimistic & desperately hoping it will all work out so that Vin Scully will be broadcasting post season baseball on the Dodgers television network.