Dodger Fans are Starting to Come Around

This off-season, I stayed away.

A Dodger-fan in rehab, I needed to distance myself from anything McCourt-related. I had been lobbying against him since before fansmanship.com was created. Facebook friends heard my grumblings as far back as 2008. But people — including other fansmanshippers (yep, new word) — wanted to be positive about the situation. The Dodgers, after all, were just a few games away from the World Series — a few pieces away from winning it all. At least, that’s what Frank and Ned wanted us to believe.

The Dodgers' dugout seems like a much happier place this season. Photo by Andy Stevens

So fans kept coming. Until the wheels fell off. Frank and Jamie’s divorce shined a light on the ineptitude I’d suspected and the Brian Stow beating was the tipping point.

After an embarrassing season last year — the Dodgers were never in the race — this Dodger fan went home and licked his wounds, hoping for better days ahead filled with big pocketbooks and players Los Angeles deserved; something other than a corner infield combination of Juan Uribe and speed racer James Loney.

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In March of this year, I made my first trip to Camelback Ranch. The team was on the verge of being sold and I wanted to get a grip on what my future as a Dodgers fan was going to look like.

Over the first few weeks of the season, fans have found out that there are many reasons to be excited. Dee Gordon swipes bases on a daily basis, Matt Kemp looks like he’s going to hit 50 home runs this year, and most importantly, Andre Ethier is healthy and also raking.

The team is 9-1 and is avoiding losing this year like they avoided winning all of last year. Gordon’s enthusiasm and Kemp’s smile seem to highlight what on the surface is a clubhouse full of harmony.

But PLEASE. Let’s not start to make our World Series reservations just yet.

There is buzz around the stadium that we haven't seen since before last year. Let's just keep it all in perspective. Please? Photo by Andy Stevens

1) Depth – The Dodgers have none. Kennedy, Gwynn, Sellars, Treanor, and Hairston are not horrible on paper. The problem is that they back-up injury prone guys like Uribe, Ethier, and Rivera along with bottom-half-at-their-position guys like Loney and the Elliss’.

2) Starting Pitching – This is also a depth issue, but a specific one. To be a contender, you have to have more than one proven pitcher. The loss of Hiroki Kuroda can’t possibly be made up in the long-term by Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang, can they?

3) Kemp and Ethier can’t stay this hot… can they? Out of the gate they are the hottest 1-2 punch in the game. If Ethier stays healthy this season — something he hasn’t done in a few years — he has the chance to be a 30 home runs, 120 RBI’s guy.

So please Dodgers fans, be excited. Be excited that your team seems on the right track. Magic Johnson is among those in charge. The new ownership group definitely doesn’t have a cash flow issue like before. Your team is winning.

After 10 games, it seems like nothing could go wrong.