Alright, Here We Go...

It's really kind of weird when you think about it.

Six months and 162 games all leading up to this. A mini-season. One where almost nothing we've done the last half a year means anything. In fact, everything we've done for the last half a year can be negated with three bad games... it's weird... these playoffs.

They start for us on Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. And despite the weirdness, I'm excited.

Yeah, we finished the season on a mostly lame note. And yes, our pitching rotation probably isn't as strong as their rotation. And yeah, our three and four hitters probably aren't as scary as Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday.

But I'm still excited.

And even though almost every single "expert" is picking against us, I've still got hope. Maybe our team doesn't match up well with the Cardinals. Ok, I'll give them that. But there is something special about this team.

We've got veterans mixing with youngsters. We have long tenured Dodgers gelling with newcomers. Despite not having a "Game Changer" like Albert Pujols or a "Staff Ace" like Chris Carpenter, we've still managed to win more games. And anyway, we have quality players who step up and take on those roles before passing it on to another player. Probably most important though, is that we seem to have that interesting kind of intangible team spirit that doesn't allow the team to give up. A "Never Say Die" kind of attitude that allows a team to win in comeback fashion, over and over again, many times in the last at-bat.

We just seem to have something special.

So, yeah, the playoffs start Wednesday. And hey, maybe we do get swept. Or... maybe, just maybe, we do the sweeping (It's not like the experts haven't been wrong before). We'll see.

Either way, I guess this is just my way of saying "Thank You." I want to thank the Dodgers for this season. It's been a season of ups and downs, and it's been (mostly) fun. So seriously, thank you Dodgers.

...but the real season is over. And we're ready to move on. So let's do it. Bring it on, Cardinals. Our team is mostly healthy. Our players are ready to go. And I'm pretty sure we still have some of that magic left in the tank.

The new mini-season begins Wednesday.

And I'm excited.