June 17th, 2013 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka As noted in an earlier post here on ThinkBlueLA, I have thrown my towel in on the 2013 Dodgers; I simply do not see them turning things around. Can it happen? Absolutely. Will it happen? Probably not.
That being said, there have been some good things that have happened with the Dodgers in this otherwise dismal 2013 season. If I had to pick two, my first would, of course, be the emergence of Yasiel Puig.
Yasiel Puig has always been great about signing autographs for fans – even on the day that he made his debut with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
As I have noted countless times (and you’re probably tired of hearing it), I began following Puig the very moment that the Dodgers signed him. I am not a bandwagon Puig fan – I am driving that wagon. My biggest bone of contention about Puig (and anyone who knows me knows this) is that I felt that Yasiel should have departed spring training camp on the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster and he never should have left it. I mean let’s be real here – when is the last time you saw anyone do what Puig did in spring training? Can you even begin to imagine where the Dodgers would be today had Yasiel been with the team on April 1st? Curse you, Ned Colletti.
My second silver lining is equally a no-brainer – Clayton Kershaw. In spite of the fact that his teammates have given Kershaw virtually zero run support, the kid goes out there every five days and pitches his butt off. There is no greater travesty than having a guy with an NL-leading 1.84 ERA possessing a 5-4 record because of the ineptitude of his teammates to put up even three or four runs for him and a bullpen totally incapable of protecting his leads.
I am absolutely terrified that the one time that I miss a Clayton Kershaw start, he will throw a no-hitter. My solution? Never miss a Kershaw start.
(Photo credit – Garrett Nichols)
Quite honestly, Kershaw’s record should be 10-1 or at worst 9-2 right now, and if I’m one of the (many) guys responsible for giving him a no-decision, I would be ashamed of myself and would beg his forgiveness; but I can absolutely positively assure you that Clayton does not see it this way. When he loses a game (or has a no-decision) by a score of 3-2 or 2-1, he always falls on his sword and says “I shouldn’t have allowed any runs.” I know this for a fact because I have heard him say it many times during his post-game interviews – that’s just how Clayton Kershaw is wired and why we all love him.
What about you? In a season where very little has gone right for the Dodgers, what is your silver lining?
What is your silver lining for the 2013 Dodgers?
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It’s been a pretty dismal year all around. I would have to say for me it’s also Yasiel Puig. He has been pretty special in his first 13 games. Even when Matt Kemp came on the scene, with all of his potential he did not have the immediate effect that Puig has had. Also, I don’t know if this counts, attending my first Dodger spring training is a silver lining for me in 2013.
If they can maintain their present pace, the Dodgers will qualify for the seventh overall draft pick in 2014 and might even sneak a sixth overall pick. That’s Clayton territory.
Puig’s emergence and Kershaw’s fine season are great. The silver lining for me though would only be if Ned Colletti is given his walking papers. There are some that will say that Mattingly getting fired would be the silver lining to a lackluster season, but deep down the architect of this Dodger team is Colletti and he is the person that needs to go.
I couldn’t agree more evan.
I would add that with the rash of muscle strain injuries on this team, it would make sense that something needs to be adjusted, because whatever they’re doing now is not working. I’ve never seen a Dodger team have more pulled muscles than they’ve had this season.
Sorry about the lower case, Evan…
Puig is definitely the silver lining for me. I hope he keeps it up. My 8 and 5 year old ask to watch “the Puig” rundown the next day (usually too late for us in CST for them to watch live). They ooooh and ahhh over his throws. I can’t wait to see what happens when Kemp and Crawford get back even though the season is a wash. He will have more protection and get better pitches to hit. Yesterday’s lineup was very inept. That to me was a sign of even Mattingly giving up a bit. It is amazing that Puig achieved the hits he did yesterday as I would have just pitched around him where possible to deal with the rest of the lineup. Ethier is going to benefit from this as well as he seems to be a guy who needs an incentive to focus. A little competition for his playing time is going to get him working hard while Kemp and Crawford are still on the DL. Even though it might be a foregone conclusion that he will be traded, I am not that confident that we will have a healthy lineup for the rest of the year.
Silver lining for me is that it’s still June. False hopes? Probably lol.
Like almost everyone else, silver lining for me is Puig. Everytime he comes up to the plate, I expect a hit, and I think the opposing pitchers are starting to think that as well. He’s THAT good.
Second, my boy, ace Kershaw. Coming into this year, I didn’t even realize this guy was on pace to have the lowest ERA by any pitcher in the live-ball era. That is amazing.
Third, my new boy, Ryu. This guy is legit. I was very skeptical about him at first, because quite frankly, the scouting reports on him weren’t very flattering. But after watching him a few times, it was really easy to figure out that this guy is for real.
Fourth, Kenley Jansen. Because he strikes a lot of guys out, and makes it look easy. Enough said lol.
In addition to all the silver linings listed above, I would add the name of Nick Punto. He has been a pleasant surprise and seems to be a bit of a spark plug. I also appreciate both of the Ellis’s work ethic and achievements.
Other than what you already mention Ron, I think the fact that on June 17th with as bad as this season has been so far, the team is still lest than 10 games out of first place.
Like everybody else, mine too is Puig, Kershaw, and Ryu. But being the type of person I am, the Matt Kemp’s stripping down and giving his uni to that young Josh fellow, and later flying him to Dodger Stadium ranks one of my all time favorite things about this year. As I have said before many times, to me that is the stuff sports hero’s are made of. I mean you just don’t see that kind of stuff happen. Maybe it’s just the line of work that I do, but those gestures by Matt had a very deep impact on me.