Dodgers Take Advantage of Reeling Giants - Uribe With a Near Cycle

Last year on this date Dodgers were in 1st place with a 47-37 record a full game and a half up in the standings.  Today they are in 3rd, sitting at 41-44.  Now be completely honest, are you more confident in this years team than last years?  

I know I certainly like the clubs chances this year over last.  Not because I know that they failed last year but because the makeup of this team is simply more powerful.   That Dodger team last year lacked Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez, Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford, and Zack Greinke.  There’s no comparing them to Dee Gordon, Luis Cruz, Adam Kennedy, James Loney and Bobby Abreu.  I take the sub .500 2013 Dodgers and definitely think their chances to win it all are much higher.

Andre Ethier receives congratulations after scoring in the second inning of tonight's 10-2 Dodger win. (photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

For the first time since the early days in Spring training, I’m thinking this Dodger team has the horses to make a run deep into post season play.  Even with Matt Kemp’s re-injury tonight and our unsure knowledge as to whether the shoulder is sound or not, the team has enough horses to compete with or without him.

Tonight the Giants donned what I call their "throw up" orange jerseys.  You know the ones that the “guys picking up trash on the side of the freeways wear after being sentenced to pick up trash on the side of the freeway because they got a DUI” uniforms.  They played like the guys on the side of the freeway too, as they lost their ninth of their last ten.  The Dodgers took advantage of that slumping club and made this game a no doubter by inning number three.

Juan Uribe is congratulated at the plate following his homer in the 7th inning tonight.  Uribe was a single short of the cycle and had 7 RBI (photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo)

The Dodger hit parade continued on as they pounded out double digit hits for the 5th game in a row.  The Dodger offense is hitting it’s stride, and in pitcher friendly AT&T Park of all places against an ace like Matt Cain.  Juan Uribe is another one of those amazing stories this year that has surfaced in the past two weeks.  This is a guy that he has completely bought in to Mark McGwire’s hitting approach.  Not only has Uribe taken pitches all season and simply approached his at-bats with expertise all year, but he has hit to all fields and raised his OBP by 100 points.  

Tonight’s historic near cycle by Uribe against his old teammates in San Francisco had to be his most satisfying night as a Dodger.  He’s doing it all, with his bat and the glove.  And that’s the fun thing about this Dodger team right now.  There’s a different hero each night.  A.J. Ellis, Kershaw, then Ramirez, Puig, Ryu and Kemp.  Everyone is contributing and the wins keep being chalked up.  Tomorrow it'll be Fife against Bumgarner.  The Dodgers are back in second place.