ST. LOUIS — For the last two weeks, the Dodgers hadn’t felt good.
Both at the plate and behind the scenes.
Starting with last month’s trip to Denver, the club’s lineup had been in a rut, averaging barely four runs per game during a 5-9 skid that derailed their hot start to the season. Over that same period, a nasty bug had been going around the clubhouse, impacting up to 90% of the roster in the estimation of one team staff member.
Slumps and sicknesses, of course, are inevitable realities of a grueling six-month season.
Rarely, however, do teams so severely endure both at the same time.
“I know this doesn’t quantify anything, and no one will care,” veteran third baseman Max Muncy said earlier this weekend, “but for me, one of the side effects when everyone’s feeling bad is, the team doesn’t have the same joy when we show up every day.”
Which meant, as the losses piled up and the search for offense lingered, laughter and levity seemed equally short in supply.
“You have to conserve your energy, so you don’t have the same shenanigans going on in the clubhouse,” noted Muncy, who was so sick during the team’s recent homestand that he had to leave one game early and wear a heavy jacket in the dugout to regulate his body temperature.
“When you take out any of that joy that comes from being around everybody, it has a negative effect on people.”
Finally, on Sunday, such vibes began to shift.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
