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[url=http://www.dodgers.com]The Los Angeles Dodgers[/url]
Cardinal Nation may argue, but the Dodgers are the class of National League Baseball.
This is the 31st (counting Play-In Games/Series) appearance in a postseason appearance of some sort in the franchise history, dating back to the 1889 Brooklyn Bridegrooms of the American Association, who lost to the New York Giants 6 games to 3 in the original form of the “World Series.”
But more on Dodger postseason baseball later.
First, who are the 2006 Wild Card Winning Dodgers?
(Note for some reason MLB's Roster pages are all showing everyone's roster as of Sunday Night. Look for whatever Game Cast program you use for who actually is eligible to play)
They are:
Nomar Garciaparra at 1st. #5, R/R
Played of course with the 1998, 1999 and 2003 Red Sox
Jeff Kent at 2nd. #12, R/R
Kent has played in the postseason with the Indians in 1996, the Giants in 1999, 2000 and 2002 and with the 2004 Astros
Rafael Furcal at SS. # 15 B/R
An ex-Brave in the 2000, 2002 through 2005 postseasons with the Braves
Andre Ethier in LF. # 16 L/L
Kenny Lofton in CF. # 6 L/L
Been around for a while and is rarely not in the Postseason
Cleveland 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2001, Braves in 1997, Giants in 2002, Cubs in 2003 and Yankees in 2004.
And J.D. Drew around in RF. # 7 R/L
Played with St Louis in the 2000-2002 Postseason and was a Brave in 2004
Russell Martin behind the plate. # 55 R/R
On the Dodger bench are
INF:
Ex Met Marlon Anderson 21 L/R
Anderson was a Cardinal in the 2004 Postseason
James Loney 29 L/L
Julio Lugo 3 R/R
Lugo was an Astro in the 2001 Postseason
Ramon Martinez 18 R/R
Played with the Giants in 2000 and 2002 and the Cubs in 2003
Oscar Robles 13 L/R
Olmedo Saenz 8 R/R
Was an A in the 2000-2002 run
OF
Matt Kemp 27 R/R
Jason Repko 17 R/R
Delwyn Young 49 B/R
C
Einar Diaz 26 R/R
Was an Indian for the 1998, 1999 and 2001 Postseasons
Toby Hall R/R
Pitching has been a Dodger tradition, and this year is no exception.
Derek Lowe will start Game One on Wednesday # 23 R/R
Lowe was a teammate of Nomar’s on the 1998, 1999 and 2003 Red Sox and of course won the final game of all three 2004 series for the Sox.
Either rookie Hong-Chih Kuo, 56 L/L or Greg Maddux, 36 R/R is your 2nd game starter on Thursday night, and the other will be in Game 3 on Saturday.
Maddux of course has a lengthy postseason resume. 1989 with the Cubs and 1993-2003 with the Braves
With Eric Gagne on the DL, Takashi Saito 44 L/R is the current Dodger closer
Rounding out the staff:
Joe Beimel 97 L/L
Chad Billingsley 58 R/R
Jonathan Broxton R/R
Giovanni Carrara 54 R/R
Pitched for the Dodgers in 2004
Elmer Dessens 45 R/R
Pitched for the Dodgers in 2004
Ex-Met Tim Hamulack 47 R/L
Mark Hendrickson 30 L/L
Brad Penny 31 R/R
Played with the 2003 Marlins. Was the reason Paul Lo Duca missed out on a playoff appearance and wound up being DLed and missing the 2004 postseason!
Aaron Sele 41 R/R
With the Rangers in 1998-1999 and Mariners in 2000-2001
Eric Stults 50 L/L
Brett Tomko 35 R/R
Pitched in 2000 with the Mariners
Gagne, 38 R/R who pitched with the 2004 Dodgers, is joined on the current Dodger DL List with
INF Bill Mueller 14 B/R, who played in the postseasons with the Giants in 1997 and 2000 and with the Red Sox 2003-2005
C Jayson Werth 28 R/R who played with the 2004 Dodgers
And P Yhency Brazoban 43 R/R who played with the 2004 Dodgers
Guys on the roster of both 2004 and 2006 Dodgers either on or off the postseason roster:
Yhency Brazoban, Giovanni Carrara, Elmer Dessens, Eric Gagne, Olmedo Saenz, Brad Penny and Jayson Werth
The Dodgers are skippered by Grady Little of the 2003 Red Sox Fame
Dave Jauss is the bench coach, “We-play-to-day We-Win-to-day DATS DIT!” Mariano Duncan is the 1B coach, Rich Donnelly on the lines at 3rd. Legendary Oriole and ex-Met Eddie Murray is the hitting coach, Rick Honeycutt is the pitching coach with Dan Warthen in the Bullpen. And Dodger Icon Manny Mota rounds out the staff (just listed as “Coach.”
Dodgers wound up at 88-74, good enough to tie with the Padres, but lost the season series, so that’s why they are here and not the Padres. Mets went 4-3 against the Dodgers, at two very different points in the season. Out in LA in early June, the Mets taking 2 out of 3 started the 8 game winning streak that essentially ended the Phillies hopes of challenging for the division. Splitting 4 at Shea in early September was more about the Dodgers needing wins to stave off the Padres, and the Mets were closing in on wrapping up their division.
And now some history:
Between 1884 and 1890 the American Association played the National League in a “World Series” at the end of their respective seasons with the top teams as the combatants. As mentioned, the Brooklyn entry in the AA lost to the New York Giants in 1889. A year later the Bridegrooms joined the National League, and they were the top team in the league. They played the Louisville Colonels to a 3 all tie (with 1 tie game) in the final such series.
The Dodgers were then challenged by the Pirates for the “Chronicle Telegraph Cup” (fashioned after the 1894-1897 Temple Cup that the Baltimore Orioles dominated) and they crushed the Pirates 3 games to 1.
The Dodgers start a long decline at this point, as the New York Giants become the class organization of the NL, and would hold that title right up until the “Boys of Summer” era when the Dodgers took the title from them. In the meantime the Robins, so called in honor of Wilbert Robinson, lost to the Red Sox in 5 games in 1915, and lost 5 games to 2 to the Indians in 1920.
We move on to 1941, and the birth of the Dodger-Cardinal rivalry that exists to this day. A tight pennant race, with the added fuel of ex Cardinal Ducky Medwick and Leo Durocher leading the charge for the Dodgers. Dodgers wound up winning, but lost to the Yankees in 5. The Cardinals would have the upper hand for the next 5 years, including sweeping the Dodgers in the first ever “Play-In” series in 1946. All that changed in 1947.
From 1947 through the final season in Brooklyn, the Dodgers were the NL rep in the World Series 6 times. Losing to the Yankees in 7 in 1947, 5 in 1949, 7 in 1952, 6 in 1953 and 7 in 1956. They also lost the famous 1951 Play-In Series 2 games to 1 against the Giants, and of course they won the 1955 World Series, defeating the Yankees in 7 games. Were they the Braves of their era? That’s an argument for another day.
Moving from Brooklyn after the 1957 season, the Dodgers rebounded and had quite a year in 1959. They’d sweep the Braves in a Play-In Series, and beat the “Go-Go” White Sox in six games for the World Championship.
1959 was a bit of a hybrid. Hodges, Reese, and Snider were still around, but members of the 1960’s run were starting to be entrenched. And that team, led by Sandy Koufax’s pitching, dominated the 1960’s. 1962 they’d lose a play-in series 2 games to 1 to the San Francisco Giants, but rebounded and swept the Yankees in the 1963 World Series. A 7 game series victory against the Twins in 1965 and getting swept by the Baby Birds Orioles in 1966 put an end to the 1960’s Dodger run.
By 1974, the Garvey-Lopes-Cey-Russell led era was underway. However they ran into the buzz saw known as the Oakland A’s. After beating the Pirates 3-1 in the NLCS, they lost to the A’s 4 games to 1. From 1977 to 1978 the Dodgers and Phillies did battle in the NLCS. Both times, lead by Tommy Lasorda, the Dodgers won in 4 games. And both times the National League Champs lost to the Yankees in 6 games!
The Dodgers-Phillies matchup almost went a 3rd round in 1980, but the Astros, lead by Joe Nierko’s pitching, beat the Dodgers in a One Game Play-In at Dodger Stadium. This was the Dodgers’ 5th appearance in such a scenario which leads all of baseball. The 1959 sweep of the Braves would be their only victorious appearance!
In 1981 the Dodgers, led by Fernando-Mania, would exact revenge on the Astros by winning a 5 game series in the precursor to the current Divisional Series, this of course was brought upon due to the Player’s Strike in 1981. The Expos would take the Dodgers to the 5 game limit as well in the LCS, the Dodgers winning the series with Rick Monday’s homer against Steve Rogers. The World Series would go 6 games, with the Dodgers beating the Yankees in 6. It would be the 11th such meeting, and only the Dodgers’ 4th win in the series.
The Dodgers immediately started on the next era right away, cutting ties with Garvey, Cey and Lopes. They would return to the LCS in 1983 and 1985. Losing to the Phillies in 4 and in the first best of 7 NLCS they lost to the Cardinals in a 6 game classic. 1988 the Dodgers faced the Mets, and won in a 7 game series, and would go on to beat the A’s in 5. The less said about 1988, the better.
For what it’s worth, the Dodgers wound up as leading the NL West at the time of the 1994 Player’s Strike. The next year the Dodgers wound up winning the West in Lasorda’s final season. They got swept by the Reds in the Divisional Series. 1996, under Bill Russell as manager, the Dodgers went to the final game against the Padres but came up one game short, so the Dodgers wound up the Wild Card Winners. They promptly got swept by the Braves!
A rocky decade later of ownership, managerial and player turmoil, under Jim Tracy they would win the 2004 NL West, their first division in 8 years. They lost to the Cardinals in 4 games! With Jose Lima winning the very first Dodger postseason game since Orel Hersisher knelled to the Oakland Coliseum mound finishing Game 5 of the 1988 World Series.
And now, 2006…
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