"It's going to be weird. It's almost like a dream."

The contrasted emotions struck me in this story in the LA Times this morning, after the drubbing by the Twins last night, “Dodgers Not in a League With Twins”:

“They may skip me,” [starter Derek] Lowe said, downcast after his performance.

And then check out the new guys announced yesterday, coming from the last-place-group-of-death Devil Rays, P Mark Hendrickson and C Toby Hall:

The only guys who weren’t downcast were the ones who weren’t here. Hendrickson, the only person ever to play for the Devil Rays and Cleveland Cavaliers, said he was looking forward to his first playoff drive in basketball or baseball.

“I’m really excited to go out there,” said Hall, who grew up in Whittier and saw his first major league game in Dodger Stadium. “When you put your cleats on, you have a chance to win every night, in front of 40,000-50,000 people. It’s going to be weird. It’s almost like a dream.”

It’s all about perspective, isn’t it?