The deadline trade that brought Manny Ramirez to Los Angeles is looking more and more brilliant with each home run he hits.  Manny has been flat out unconscious since coming to California, hitting .400 in that span with 19 home runs and over 50 rbi’s.  The Dodgers have transformed from a middle of the road team that may have had more expectations on its new manager than a postseason berth into a hitting machine, bruising through the final month of the season and currently standing with an all but guaranteed playoff series win versus the Cubs after two convincing beat downs at Wrigley.  Give the credit to Manny.

Believe what you will, but this stretch that Manny has put together is hardly a fluke.  Ramirez is one of the greatest hitters to ever play the game, and is evidencing that now more than ever in Los Angeles.  At 36 years old, Ramirez is proving that when he tries on a consistent basis, he’s damn near unstoppable.  Now that he’s become united with a much more laid back region of the country, it appears as if Manny has found a match made in heaven.  He can get away with being a lazy and off the wall character because he fits right in with half of Southern California.  The guy wears #99 for Gods’ sake.  He doesn’t have to deal with the tight-assholed pricks in the Northeast who couldn’t stand his antics and let him hear about it everywhere he went.  This is Los Angeles.  These are people who show up to games in the 3rd and leave in the 7th.  Theres ten thousand more important things to do than let Manny know about what a horrible game he had the other night or why he didn’t run out a grounder.

The NL West took a lot of heat during the season (and rightfully so) for being the worst division in baseball.  However, it’s becoming more and more evident with every bomb Manny hits that the Dodgers are one of the strongest teams in the playoffs.  I don’t know about you, but I haven’t seen someone play this dominant for this long of a stretch since I began watching baseball.  Manny is unconscious, and until he wakes up from his California dream, there’s no reason to think the Dodgers are going to slow down.