| From the get-go there was something | | | | him. |
| otherworldly about the 2009 Los Angeles | | | | Still, the interplanetary Dodgers continued to play |
| Dodgers. The signs of an ET sort of season set in | | | | in the stratosphere, without Ramirez. |
| early, around November of last year, to be exact. | | | | But even the wizardry of manager Joe Torre and |
| Their top star, Manny Ramirez, who bears a | | | | the buoyant play of near-rookies and grizzled but |
| striking resemblance to the dreadlocked | | | | still good veterans couldn't keep this team from |
| "Predator" of sci-fi movie fame, was an | | | | defying the laws of gravity forever. |
| off-season holdout, refusing to play by the rules | | | | On Earth, the perpetual motion machine has yet |
| of cause-and-effect, give and take, every motion | | | | to be invented. If you want your engine to keep |
| sets into effect a counter-motion aspect of | | | | running, you need gas, or batteries, or hydrogen, |
| bargaining physics. | | | | steam, or solar propulsion, bio-fuel, or a |
| The Dodgers offered once, and offered big, and | | | | combination. |
| Ramirez and agent said, "Offer again!" On this | | | | Teams don't stand still, they improve or degrade. |
| big-blue planet that's not the way you play catch, | | | | Without continuous improvement, entropy sets in; |
| ping-pong or any responsive sport, negotiation | | | | people wear out, much as the Dodgers pitching |
| among them. Offers are supposed to evoke | | | | and clutch hitting is doing. |
| counter-offers, especially in a declining economy. | | | | The team had a chance to refuel and to upgrade |
| Late to the game, literally, Ramirez got to spring | | | | by signing ace pitcher Roy Halladay, who pitches |
| training with little time to get into shape. By his | | | | deep into games. But management passed, and |
| own admission, when opening day arrived, he was | | | | brought in a lower octane closer, instead. |
| at "50%" capability. His hamstring acted up, so he | | | | No longer the best team in baseball, the Yankees |
| needed rest just as he was supposed to be going | | | | are, at 30 wins over .500, the Dodgers have fallen |
| all out. | | | | back to Earth. |
| Then, the 50 game failed drug test suspension hit | | | | For them, that's all too normal; not paranormal. |