Great piece by Baseball-Intellect, breaking down Manny’s swing and some other observations about the current state of the Dodgers—semi-consensus is that the move should push the Dodgers slightly ahead of Arizona as favorites to win the West. So that’s nice.
Maybe the best part of the whole acquisition has been the effect on the fan base though. It’s like the Dodgers matter again — ESPN radio is buzzing with Dodger talk for the first time since Mike Piazza left town. My girlfriend knows who Manny is. I’ve got friends calling to see if we can get tickets. Cell phones are ringing, people are talking, duckets are being purchased; there’s a sense of excitement around tonight’s game that feels oddly foreign.
Obviously the Dodgers could have used Manny’s bat last night (or just about anybody’s bat for that matter) as the boys suffered another tough loss to B Webb, who is essentially kryptonite to the NL West; his current record against the division is 8-0 with only one lonely no-decision. So, we’re two games back with a record of 54-54 and conveniently enough another 54 to play. Besides the obviously enjoyment of watching Manny on a daily basis, it’s going to be interesting to see who JT deems the odd man out. Does he do the right thing and play Kemp in center and Ethier in right? Or does to turn to the trusted (if tragically flawed veteran) Juan Pierre at the 8 and slide Kemp to the 9? Lineups are due in about an hour:
