It's been a winding trail of a season for the Dodgers, with every surge seemingly being followed by a drought. The Dodgers didn't appear as if they were going to make it easy on themselves after losing 2 of 3 to the Giants last weekend, but thanks to Arizona completely folding and playing their way out of contention, all the Dodgers had to do was beat a horrid San Diego team twice. Luckily for the Dodgers, they have this thing wrapped up before heading to San Francisco for the three final games of the season beginning tomorrow night. As it turns out, if Tim Lincecum takes the mound on Sunday, he will be only pitching for a shot at the Cy Young award and not a shot at keeping San Francisco's hated rival out of the post season.
On a broader scale, it had been a disappointing season for the Dodgers considering their talent on paper and the expectations heading into the season. But with a playoff birth secured, all of that disappointment is dissolved and now it's simply time to play baseball and make some noise in the playoffs. It's funny how a trip to October can erase any previous ill feelings, even those that lingered three days ago. But that's what the Dodgers face now, much like the world champion St. Louis Cardinals of 2006. It doesn't matter how you get in, you just have to get there to get a shot.
The Dodgers came out of the gate hot in April, but the chances of being a premier team in the National League went down the drain as soon as Rafael Furcal injured his back and was lost for the remainder of the season. Furcal is back with the club now and is being evaluated in game situations to see if he can help the team at all in the playoffs. Remember, this was at the same time when most people were talking about how great a team the Diamondbacks were since they opened up the season beating everybody. Hey, we all fell for the D'back juice. How could you not? Brandon Webb looked incredible, the rest of the staff was better than anyone else, they were crushing the ball and playing good defense. They certainly appeared to be the team to beat in the National League. Funny how much things can change in five months of play.
The kids -- Matt Kemp, James Loney, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin -- were all supposed to step up and be big time contributors and Jeff Kent was supposed to be a big threat in the middle of the order and Brad Penny was supposed to anchor the staff and Takashi Saito was supposed to be a dominant closer once again, the list continues. A lot of those things did not happen. Penny has been troubled by arm problems and was finally put on the 60-day DL, making him inactive for post season play. Saito was shut down for much of the second half with elbow pain, making Jonathan Broxton the closer by default. Kent went down with an injured knee that required surgery, but he is back and may be able to add some value as a pinch hitter in the playoffs.
The young guys enjoyed a great learning experience this year, full of staggered playing time and daily big league struggles. But looking back, with all of the inconsistencies and frustrations, this has been a huge developmental year for all of them. Andre Ethier turned into a beast at the plate hitting .300 with 20 home runs, and that came with him splitting much of the first half with Juan Pierre and the Andruw Jones Experiment. If he was in right field from spring training like we thought he should be, he may have been a 30-homer threat with 110 RBI's, and this race would not have been close.
Matt Kemp learned to stop chasing breaking balls out of the strike zone, and he has developed into an elite power-speed threat. He has the makings of a superstar and can become a very special center fielder for the Dodgers. We all know these two guys have the swagger and the confidence to be big time big league players. The only thing they are lacking now is more at-bats. The more their name is on the lineup card, the better they will be.
For everything that was supposed to happen and didn't, the trading deadline brought God himself in Manny Ramirez. At least that's the way he is perceived in Los Angeles. Ramirez has been everything and more the Dodgers could have asked from one player as he has hit around .400 with 17 home runs with the Dodgers. In 50 games. Think about those numbers. He is the single biggest reason why the Dodgers are going to the post season and Arizona is going on fishing. Ramirez single handedly aided Ethier's resurgence as the youngster benefited from hitting in front of the perennial All-Star, regardless of Jeff Kent's take on that issue.
I guess the million dollar question is how much of this can be attributed to Joe Torre and his affect on this young ball club? Well, a lot, to be honest. Torre proved in New York that he is the master at running a clubhouse and keeping his players happy, or at least understanding, when they are not starting every night. He has the ability to paint a bigger picture for his clubs, which allows them to stay focused on winning ball games and forget about story lines and playing time and contracts. That is what he does best and he proved it once again with these Dodgers.
I'm sure it hasn't has been as easy as it has looked for Torre this season. There was surely a lot of agony over the failures of his club and the losing streaks and the embarrassing road trips against inferior opponents. But to Torre's credit, he has kept his ever-present even keel persona intact, and he has kept his young players coming to the ball park to work on a daily basis. You cannot help but feel some sense of gratification for Torre after how he was treated in New York.
I suppose 14 straight years of post season play and four World Championships isn't enough to gain enough respect to be able to determine your exit from one of baseball's grandest stages. Torre was made out to be the bad guy in New York, when in fact it was the Yankees lack of pitching why they were bombed by Detroit in the first round of the playoffs and why they aren't even going to get there this season. Then the Steinbrenner's embarrassed Torre by offering him an unassuming contract that undermined everything he had previously done for the organization. Torre had no choice but to leave.
Torre was too classy for that mess then, and he still is too classy for it now, apparently. Hank Steinbrenner's comments in the New York papers this week have made a mockery out of the Yankees and was a blatant jealous shot at Torre, even if Hank attempted to make it clear that he was only sounding off. I guess Hank will never be completely happy until Torre is sipping gin on some beach somewhere for the rest of his days.
But regardless of the first 158 games and all of the bleak days in between, this Dodgers club has a chance to do something special under the leadership of Torre and bring this Los Angeles franchise back to the roots of its rich tradition. It is well known that the Dodgers have won one playoff game since the 1988 glory days -- a 2004 Jose Lima gem in the NLDS against Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals -- and the pressure is at its highest now to make a move. The fans and the city are tired of waiting to see winning baseball again in Chavez Ravine, and you can't blame them. But luckily for the Dodgers, history is a moot point heading to the Bay this weekend. Joe will spend his weekend relaxing and setting up his rotation for the playoffs shortly after he feels his first non-Yankee champagne shower trickle down his back. Only a Dodger could say it -- how sweet it is, the fruits of victory. It's October a week early in L.A.
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