This was a craptastic, forgettable week for the Dodgers. I, your resident source of Optimism and Sunshine, will recap only the good and beautiful from the past week. It may be a short post.

Clayton Kershaw – We as Dodgers fans are so lucky. We all know this, of course, but Kersh proved to us once again why we are so very lucky to have him as the #1 starter for our team. In words that are often overused and hyperbole, these rang true for Kershaw in Sunday’s game – he literally put the team on his back and willed them to a win.

The Dodgers came into Sunday’s game with a six game losing streak, and very little offensive output. All Kershaw did was take a perfect game into the 5th inning, give up a total of three hits, strike out 14, while going the distance with a total of 102 pitches. And, since the Dodgers again couldn’t provide any run support, he drove in his battery mate A.J. Ellis in what would be the only run of the game. What can’t he do.?

DodgerFam Twitter – I know what not everyone who reads this is on Twitter. Twitter can be a very dark place when things are not going well with any sports team, and especially with the Dodgers. The NFL Draft was this weekend, and Jared Goff was drafted #1 to the LA Rams. A tweet of his from 2013 surfaced, in which he wished that Yasiel Puig would take a fastball to the ribs. Puig, showing great humor, wrote back.

This was the best answer that could ever be. My friend Sarah Wexler over at Dodgers Digest suggested everyone should change their name to #NameYourFriend and it would lead to a Dodgers win. Everyone from Orel Hershiser to Alanna Rizzo to the Dodgers’ own Twitter account joined in, and it seemed to have worked its magic. It was a great example of everyone joining in on the fun instead of focusing solely on the negative in a situation.

Chemistry – I understand that’s there more to team chemistry than just whether the players like each other. But, it helps when everyone genuinely seems to like each other. Team leader Adrian Gonzalez did his best to keep team spirits up with this post on the whiteboard in the locker room.

After the Dodgers finally did win, the team had a mini running man contest in the locker room.

Dave Roberts continued to project calmness and patience when talking about the team. Regardless of struggles, a team that projects unity will always do better in the end.

I am choosing to look at the Dodgers with rose colored glasses, but as it is a long season, and they are still in first place (!), I will continue to do so. The upcoming road trip could prove to be difficult, and then it’s home for the Mets and the Cards. But no slump lasts forever, and I believe the Dodgers are primed to come out of it just at the right time.