Dee Gordon: A Comet Becomes a Star

If you asked me three years ago if Dee Gordon had the potential to be an All-Star, I would've said no. He had potential to be a great leadoff man and an exceptional base stealer but on first glance, I didn't see All-Star. All I was hoping for was him to develop into a better hitter so he could be a weapon.

Safe to say the guy my former co-worker called Speedy Dee back in 2011 has exceeded that. He's an All-Star reserve, a .300 hitter and the major league leader in stolen bases and triples that has helped galvanize this Dodgers offense. And I'm happy for him.

Yasiel Puig? Expected All-Star the minute he took MLB by storm. Clayton Kershaw? You've seen his last seven games right? Zach Greinke? Unquestionably the best "No. 2" pitcher in the National League. But Dee? A diamond in the rough who finally started to shine.

Clayton Kershaw: A No-No for the Young Prince

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— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) June 19, 2014

I was running Wednesday night with my crew and my phone died. So when I changed batteries afterwards, I got all the updates from ESPN. "Clayton Kershaw has retired the first 15 batters......Clayton Kershaw has retired the first 18 batters."

Naturally, I turned on the game on the radio. All I heard was the roar of Dodger Stadium and silence from Charley Steiner and Rick Monday. I started swelling up with hope and then all a sudden, Steiner started saying Kershaw was being embraced by his teammates as he threw the 12th no-hitter in L.A. Dodgers history.

All I could do was smile. A month ago, he had perhaps the worst game of his career as he was chased in the first inning. Now the Young Prince had the game of his life and it was even more special knowing we've been blessed to see such a wonderful talent grow and blossom into the best pitcher in baseball.

Rising to the NLCS (The Dodgers and Me)

The only thing standing between the Dodgers and the World Series is the St. Louis Cardinals. The team that’s as good postseason money as anybody with 3 straight NLCS appearances.

But for some reason, I’m pretty confident this Dodgers team’s magical ride won’t end. I feel like it’s 2008 all over again when this was the first trip in 20 years. I wasn’t confident about the 2009 NLCS because I felt like Philly already had our number. This year, I’m feeling much different.

It hit me when Juan Uribe hit that home run in Game 4. I was wearing my Kershaw replica jersey that I kept on from my tutoring gig and I jumped around my living room like I jumped during the two walk-off wins at Dodger Stadium I attended this year. Once again, the excitement around this team is like nothing I’ve seen since 2008.

Dodgers are NL West Champs (And Everybody's Celebrating)

I remember watching the Dodgers this spring and thinking this year was going to be terrible. But you want to know the moment when I first had hope they could turn it around? June 7 against the Braves when they were still meandering in last place.

I was there with my church during the humble beginnings of the Yasiel Puig era. Puig hit a game-tying home run while I was at the concession stands and despite leaving guys on base, the team won in extra innings for their first walkoff of the season. The season was still bleak but I had hope that Puig was going to be some kind of spark.

Fast forward three months later. The Dodgers clinched the division and they're celebrating in the Arizona Diamondbacks pool like kids. Don Mattingly held back tears talking about how great this team was and how resilient they were. Hanley Ramirez finally gets to taste the postseason and played like he wanted it going 4-4 with two home runs.

And in true Dodger fashion, AJ Ellis provided the surprising biggest blow with the go-ahead home run. I listened on the radio and could only smile.

Yasiel Puig: Let The Wild Horse Roam

My Tuesday was a bit overwhelming attending a funeral for a close mentor. So I didn't get to check out much sports news til around 4 p.m. and sure enough, I saw four words ring out. "YASIEL PUIG GETS BENCHED."

Naturally, I rolled my eyes but I wanted to see what folks were raising a ruckus over. Turns out Puig was late to the stadium and was punished. No big deal. You're late for work, you face consequences.

Of course, people made a big deal about him being out the night before. But had he been on time, nobody would say anything. So it's no surprised that Puig - who's never been a fan of the media - cussed the media out and wanted to only talk baseball.

As Will Leitch mentioned this year, sports fans (and some media) have a problem with accepting youthful mistakes. People think folks should mature as fast as they did, not realizing it's harder when cameras amplify your every move. We expect too much of teenagers and 20-somethings with prodigious talent to act like adults instead of realizing adulthood is a process not based on age or talent.

How Bout These Dodgers?: Another Day, Another WOW

 "Another incredible moment in the Magic Castle" (Vin Scully after Adrian Gonzalez's walkoff hit)

So after another exciting win at Chavez Ravine, how can you not watch every single game with these Dodgers? How can you see the Dodgers down by any deficit and not wonder how, but when it's going to be overcome? How can you see this team and not think "They just might get to the World Series"

When Chris Capuano pitched a terrible five innings and allowed four runs, it felt like a bad prelude to a good ending. When Adrian Gonzalez and a fresh-off-the-DL Hanley Ramirez led a 6th inning rally to cut the lead to 4-2, I sat back nodding.

And when Andre Ethier dusted off his Captain Clutch cape and tied the game on a pinch-hit bomb in the 9th? My calmness was validated and it erupted into cheers! It felt like 2009 again seeing him step up and swing away like he knew the ball was gone.

But oh there's more!! How crazy is it that freaking Carlos Marmol, the relief pitcher, stepped up to bat in the 10th and sent a ball to the warning track. Yeah, it's been that kind of run where a pitcher getting a walkoff hit wouldn't be the craziest thing.

Then you have the 12th. The Wild Horse Yasiel Puig doing what he does best to set up the win.

Hyun-Jin Ryu: Rookie of the Year?

Quiet as kept, Hyun-Jin Ryu has injected himself into the National League Rookie of the Year debate. I know Yasiel Puig has gotten the lion's share of attention as a rookie but the Dodgers' other lefty pitching phenom deserves to get praise as well.

Ryu (11-3) shut down the Cardinals Thursday with another brilliant outing (7 IP, 5 Hits, 0 earned runs for his fourth straight win) as he pitched with no fear of one of the best teams in the majors. He came at St. Louis' hitters like a veteran and when I thought he was done after 6 innings, he went out and pitched the 7th to finish off his night and relieve the bullpen a bit.

Earlier this month, Don Mattingly tried to drum up support for Ryu as Rookie of the Year and I'm doing the same now. Let's spell out his case.

Confidence in Canada (Dodgers Keep Rolling)

Just when I think I keep running out of things to say about the Dodgers' incredible play, this team keeps on finding ways to stretch my creativity. Consider what they did last night.


Down to their last strike against Toronto, Andre Ethier - who's been resembling his Captain Clutch days lately - ties the game in the 9th inning. Then in the 10th, Mark Ellis and Yasiel Puig hit home runs to spark a five-run explosion and finish off the Blue Jays in a sweep.

To recap, three straight wins in Toronto, the last two via comeback. 41 runs scored the last four games. Six straight road wins coming off the All-Star break (10 in a row overall). First place in the National League West. At this point, the question isn't how hot this team can stay but who's going to catch fire next.

Even maligned reliever Brandon League has rediscovered his mojo, earning a win the last two games. His two scoreless innings of work Wednesday were crucial in putting the Dodgers in position to tie and take the lead. For a guy who's earned groans this year after losing his job as the closer, he's starting to redeem himself quite nicely.

My Love/Hate Relationship with Fan Voting

MLB wraps up another year of fan voting for the All-Star Game on Thursday. I haven't even bothered to check the numbers closely, which is something I used to do for every sport back in the day. But it reminds me why the older I get, the more ambivalent I feel on fan voting.

It's great because it's the ultimate sign of fans being involved. But at what cost? Since we know that fans don't always get it right, it's just going to become a biased decision where guys who aren't deserving start because they happen to be on the right team.

It's great because the fans decide who they get to see in All-Star Games. But if the game is supposed to honor those who had great first halves, can we trust fans to get it right besides a popularity contest.

To be honest, I'm not one of those old school folks who think the All-Star Game should mean more than it does. I love the entertainment and relaxation of it (although the Home Run Derby is basically like the Slam Dunk Competition - a dog on Old Yeller status). It shouldn't be any more pressure than it needs to be.

Yasiel Puig: Something Like A Phenomenon

Has anybody had a better first week in pro sports recently than Yasiel Puig? The Dodgers' highly touted phenom has been on a tear this week unlike anything I've seen. A recap of his first five games.

Monday: 2 hits and a bullet assist from deep right field for the game-ending double play.
Tuesday: 2 home runs. The first to tie the game, the second to give the Dodgers more insurance.
Wednesday: 0-for-4. A reminder that he's human.
Thursday: Grand slam in the 8th inning to turn a 1-0 lead to a 5-0 cushion. On the first pitch!!
Friday: Game-tying home run in the 6th. Intentional walk in the 8th.

4 home runs, 10 runs batted in. A name on the lips of non-baseball fans. Can't script it any better. He'd be front and center on that old VH1 show "Best Week Ever"

I was at Dodger Stadium Friday and to see the Puig Phenomenon live was something to behold. We saw folks already selling bootleg Puig shirts on the drive in. There were fans with "Viva Puig" signs in the stadium. The atmosphere was ready to see another big moment and the team's latest phenom didn't disappoint.

The Young Prince Cooketh!!!

Nothing like coming home back to Cali and seeing Clayton Kershaw do this to the Washington Nationals. The same day I find out that Zach Greinke will be back ahead of schedule to pitch tomorrow, the best pitcher in the National League goes lights out to boost the team's momentum.

The Young Prince (4-2) had 6 strikeouts in a row at one point and even scored a run on Andre Ethier's double after being hit by a pitch. As I said after his Opening Day shutout, the only pitcher better than Kershaw is Justin Verlander.

Oh, and he's now your major league leader in ERA (1.40). This is the best he's pitched to start the season and as Jon Weisman points out, it could be scarier in the second half when he's usually lights out.

After going 0-for-8 to start May, the Dodgers have won 3 of 4 and at least for one night, they've postponed me writing about how this season has been a disappointment. And props to Don Mattingly going to Kenley Jansen to finish the game instead of Brandon League, who's been inconsistent lately.

Jackie Robinson: Honoring vs. Remembering His Legacy

I saw "42" this past weekend and I went in worried they would sanitize his story and Hollywood-ize to make it some feel good piece. I was wrong because it was quite solid.

While the movie didn't introduce anything new to me, it did show the strength Jackie had as well as how much he needed the support of his wife, Rachel, to be his rock. It showed that Jackie often had to go it alone and despite having Rachel, a few teammates and legendary newspaper scribe Wendell Smith by his side, he had to face the abuse and loneliness in 1947.

I loved how it showed that Jackie only didn't fight back because he was told to, not because it was his nature. We have a way of thinking that our civil rights icons were passive aggressive and it demeans their struggle by making them appear weak compared to folks like Malcolm X, Stokley Carmichael and the Black Panthers.

(Let's clear up that logic now. 1) He grew up in California and attended UCLA so he wasn't uncomfortable speaking up to White people.  2) He was court-martialed in the Army for refusing to moving to the back of the bus and later acquitted. 3) Branch Rickey told him that in 1949, he was free to be himself. Not fighting back is a tactic, not a sign of weakness or lack of passion)

Kershaw's Court: Hail the Young Prince

I've slowly been getting into a baseball groove since my March was consumed by the Lakers and March Madness. I used to get hyped for Opening Day and it didn't hit me until Saturday when one of my NABJ colleagues came down for the weekend since he was hoping to see his Giants beat my Dodgers to kick off 2013.

Well Opening Day came and went while I was at work and during a break, I saw that Clayton Kershaw not only threw a 4-hit masterpiece with 94 pitches, but even helped his own cause with a 414-foot bomb to centerfield to break a 0-0 tie. My friend told me he couldn't believe that ball was going over the fence until it finally landed.

The last Dodgers pitcher to throw an Opening Day shutout? Fernando Valenzuela in that magical 1981 season. The last pitcher to throw a shutout and hitting a home run? Bob Lemon in 1953. The fact that it was against the hated Giants made it even better.