There was something otherworldly about the 2009 Los Angeles Dodgers from the start. Signs of some kind of alien season started early, around November of last year, to be exact.
Its main star, Manny Ramirez, who bears a striking resemblance to the dreadlocked “Predator” of sci-fi movie fame, was a holdout in the offseason, refusing to play by the rules of cause and effect, give and take. , all time. the move implements a countermovement aspect of trading physics.
The Dodgers offered once, and they offered big, and Ramirez and the agent said, “They’re offering again!” On this big blue planet, that’s not the way you play ball, ping-pong or any receptive sport, negotiating with each other. Offers are supposed to evoke counteroffers, especially in a down economy.
Literally running late to the game, Ramirez arrived at spring training with little time to get in shape. By his own admission, when he arrived on opening day, he was at “50%” of his capacity. His hamstring kicked in, so he needed to rest just when he was supposed to do his best.
Then the failed 50-game drug test suspension hit him.
Still, the interplanetary Dodgers continued to play in the stratosphere, without Ramírez.
But even the wizardry of manager Joe Torre and the upbeat play of near-rookies and grizzled-but-good veterans couldn’t keep this team from defying the laws of gravity forever.
On Earth, the perpetual motion machine has not yet been invented. If you want your engine to keep running, you need gasoline, batteries, hydrogen, steam or solar propulsion, biofuel, or a combination.
Teams don’t stand still, improve or degrade. Without continuous improvement, entropy sets in; people get worn out, as much as the Dodgers are doing pitching and hitting clutch.
The team got a chance to refuel and improve by signing ace pitcher Roy Halladay, who pitches deep in games. But management passed on, and brought in a lower octane, instead.
No longer the best team in baseball, the Yankees are, with 30 wins over .500, the Dodgers have fallen back to Earth.
For them, that is too normal; not paranormal.
Your Stargate for 2009 may have been closed.
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