Dodgers 2.0

In life, there are few certainties. One universal truth is that whatever sports team a boy roots for at age eight, that man is rooting for that same team at 50 and beyond. It is in the genetic code that any male with a predisposition to sports myopia that his allegiance to his boyhood team is unchangeable, unquestioned, and genetically sealed to be passed on to his children. There have been tremendous advancements in gene research and I am sure they will identify that particular code on the double helix of the North American Male primate. But there is no geography, therapy or narcotics that can change this male imprinting ritual.

And in the City of the Angels it was the triple witching hour Saturday night. 82,765 watched their Trojans spank the Oregon Ducks. Eight miles up the 110 FWY, 56,000 of my closest friends and I were watching our Dodgers win a historic game in recent local sports history. And thirteen miles north at the Rose Bowl, 65,469 people were watching my Bruins win at home for the first time in over a month. And Los Angeles needs an NFL franchise because…???

The Yard was covering the Dodger game for our maniacal fan base. After careful review and input from marketing, a decision was made to go watch the Dodgers clinch their first playoff series since the championship team of 1988 rather than attend the battle for the cellar between the 1-4 Washington State Cougars and the 1-3 UCLA Bruins. Seeing the Bruins win a football game at home is going to be a dicey proposition the rest of the schedule so it was not an easy decision.

One Hundred Years of futility came alive in high definition in the second inning of game two of the Dodger-Cub Series in Chicago. It was the Billy Goat, Tinkers to Evers to Chance and Steve Bartman all rolled into an unfathomable melt down by the Cubs infield. In the span of four batters, 75% of the Chicago infield failed to make a play that could have stopped the bleeding. On most days, Cub’s starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano is already about two degrees away from a dugout fight with a teammate. As he watched his infield bumble his place in history, his demeanor morphed into Carlos the Angry and Diffident. Five runs later, the ghosts of 1060 W. Addison Street were singing “Take me out to the ball game” with Harry Caray. The beer soaked grimaces of 2nd City’s most loyal sports fans telegraphed the pain that would be felt throughout the region for at least another year and maybe a lifetime.

Saturday night, Dodger Stadium was electric. It was the first real playoff atmosphere since 1988. The Dodgers have never led a play off series since that amazing year. The Dodgers jumped on the Cubs in their first at bat and never looked back. The Cubs knew they were done on Thursday night. The outcome was decided in the 312 not the 213. There is no micro-brew on the planet that can wash this taste away. Chicago faithful, you all might consider going deep with the Jager bombs, deal with the inevitable intestinal surge, brush your teeth and get on to da’ Bears.

The last Dodger Championship team in 1988 was as highly discounted as this 2008 Team. The Dodgers were huge underdogs to the Mets in the NLCS and the Oakland A’s in the World Series in 1988. That Dodger team had some young bucks like Mike Marshall, Franklin Stubbs and Steve Sax who came of age with veterans like Kirk Gibson, Rick Dempsey and Mickey Hatcher. This year’s Dodger team has found similar chemistry with Kemp, Loney, Martin being mentored with Nomar, Officer Kent, and ManRam. This Dodger team seems to have that spirit, tenacity and luck to get to the World Series.

In addition the Dodger shed about 568 pounds of bloated bile when Sad Brad Penney and “Supersize Me” Andruw Jones cleared out their lockers and went off the reservation after being left off the playoff rosters. Other Dodger players who were left off the 25 man playoff roster are still there cheering on their compadres and everyone gets a playoff share regardless. Brad and Druw will be missed about as much as Athlete’s foot and their value to this year’s team are comparable to that same fungus.

Dodgers vs. Red Sox is still a possibility. Manny playing left field wearing the LA gray and blue with his #99 facing the green monster, there would not be a more compelling sports story this year anywhere and certainly not in the Yard. Root your favorite team but rally behind our Boys of Summer. This fall is going to be something special in Los Angeles.