The Beginning

Fall seven times, get up eight.

This beginning sounds like a Dwayne Wade commercial.

As maddenly inconsistent or consistently stoic you can call the Dodgers, they’ve stormed into first place in the NL West.

It’s not much of a feat, considering the Dodgers wave a 72-70 record, but it’s a far cry from where the team was just a week ago, after a seven game losing streak.

What has remained, however, throughout the slump and the streak, is Manny Ramirez’s irreplaceable energy and eccentric demeanor.

Call him the kid.

Other than his notable sound bites, his presence in the dugout is a tremendous addition, contrasting to the self-absorbed Jeff Kent.

Now that Kent’s considering season-ending surgery, Ramirez’s leadership is to be counted upon for the home stretch, as the Dodgers look to win their first major league post-season game in over a decade.

Take this:

“Manny Ramirez holds up his glove before the game. "It's illegal," he says.The glove is red, white and blue, so the obvious conclusion is the colors aren't within the rules.

"It's illegal," Ramirez explains, while always mocking his own shortcomings, "because it catches everything," and everyone in the clubhouse laughs.”

Or this:

"It starts late in the game," Manager Joe Torre says with a grin. "I'll hear, 'Joe, Joe,' from the end of the dugout and it's Manny looking for me to take him out, and I just point to left field."

He's always messing with me. I asked him if he wanted to face the Arizona left-hander and he says, 'Why don't you put in one of your young players,' and I have to tell him, 'Don't tell me how to manage.' Then he sits next to Greg Maddux and tells him how he got me."

Or this: a .410 batting average, with 11 homers and 34 RBI’s – in a month.

This beginning – you can call it that – possibly signifies a new era in Dodger baseball.

The Dodgers took out then first place-Arizona's feared duo - Haren and Webb - and torn them to shreds - twice.

How so?

Perhaps its the lively dugout, complete with booming music, instead of a listless and passive underground audience.

Or maybe the free flowing dreadlocks, baggy pants, and boxes of bubble bubble.

Either way, Los Angeles is piling into the Chavez Ravine to watch the Blue Crew defend first place.

Where will the Dodgers be in a month?

Who knows?

At least this is the good beginning.

And it's destiny is resting on the shoulders of a 36-year-old kid.