> OCTOBER 2006

While reading the sports section this morning, we stumbled upon some interesting news: it seems that the World Series is in the midst of being played. Who knew? Along with everyone else outside of St. Louis and Detroit, we're not watching the Series, but the fact that Game Three is on Tuesday means one thing: baseball's offseason is just days away. That being the case, it's our responsibility to give Ned Colletti some things to think about for the months ahead.

The Infield
The Dodgers are set at short with Rafael Furcal and at second with Jeff Kent. First base and third base are the question marks. Nomar Garciaparra is a free agent, and the Dodgers have to let him go. In '06 he came through in the clutch, but he was too often on the crutch. Nomar's a good guy, but he commands too much money for a someone who can't be counted on to play much more than 100 games. It's time for James Loney to get the nod at first. Defensively he's excellent, and offensively he should continue to improve. If he's hitting .202 by the All-Star break, you scrap the plan and find a replacement--or you move Kent to first and put Marlon Anderson at second (where he belongs anyway). Another option at second (if Kent was to shift to first) would be to bring up Andy LaRoche. Finishing last season at Triple-A, LaRoche is a top prospect, but is seen more as a third baseman. At third, though, the Dodgers are still high on Wilson Betemit. We're not huge Betemit fans, and the Dodgers wouldn't be getting enough power from the corners with him and Loney in the lineup. That means the Dodgers need a third baseman. (Bill Mueller is still under contract for '07, but there's no guarantee he'll even walk again.) So who's available? The Mariners are probably looking to deal Adrian Beltre and the Yankees may very well part with A-Rod. If either of those teams would pick up a bit of their salary, one of those guys might very well be a good fit in L.A.

What Colletti will actually do: Sign Julio Lugo to a 3-year deal and trade for Rich Aurilia.

The Outfield
The Dodger outfield has problems... but also potential. J.D. Drew doesn't figure to exercise his escape clause, so he'll be back in right field. Kenny Lofton is a free agent and would love to re-sign with the Dodgers. He'd be better off checking himself into an assisted living facility. His legs don't work anymore, his arm is embarrassing, and he's too old to go by the name Kenny. If Ned Colletti does just one thing this offseason, let it be waving goodbye to Lofton. It's not exactly like there's an obvious choice for centerfield, but there are choices. Matt Kemp might be at the top of the list despite his horrid slump last year. Jason Repko is an option, but let's face it, he's really not. Left field could go to Andre Ethier and Marlon Anderson, or Ethier could be packaged in a deal for a power-hitter. Or a pitcher. Or a power-hitting pitcher. We're torn on Ethier... not because he couldn't keep up the torrid pace he started with in '06, but because he just doesn't have the power you'd like to see from a left fielder. And he's too pretty.

What Colletti will actually do: Rely on Jayson Werth to get healthy and invite John Mabry to Spring Training.

The Catching
The best thing that Ned Colletti did in '06 was trade Dioner Navarro. Russell Martin came into his own, proving he could hit, call a good game, and throw runners out at second. Well, ok, he could hit and call a good game. The catching job is Martin's, but let's hope Colletti can find a backup who Grady Little isn't afraid to use. Toby Hall did everything that could have been expected of him in '06, but Little used him even more sparingly than Sandy Alomar Jr, who started the season as the backup. Hall is a free agent and will clearly leave, something he made clear hours after the Dodgers acquired him in July.

What Colletti will actually do: sign Paul Bako, Todd Pratt, and Barry Lyons.

The Pitching
If the Dodgers think they can beef up their pitching staff simply by adding a starter, they're sadly mistaken. Right now, the Dodgers have one starting pitcher they can truly rely on: Derek Lowe. Beyond Lowe, there's Brad Penny (who's a pain in the ass and just not that good), Chad Billingsley (who the jury is still out on), Mark Hendrickson (who's too tall for the jury to even make eye contact with) Hong-Chih Kuo (who's made something like 4 career starts), Brett Tomko (who wishes he was a reliever), and Elmer Dessens (who wishes he was Brett Tomko). Aaron Sele is a free agent and figures to depart (possibly from this earth), and Greg Maddux is a free agent as well. With the state of the team's pitching staff, we don't see how the Dodgers can afford not to re-sign Maddux. We also don't see how they can continue to pay Brad Penny to underachieve and bark at his manager on the mound. Although it puts the Dodgers another pitcher short, it's time for Penny to go. Jason Schmidt could be an intriguing replacement (especially considering Colletti's history in San Francisco), as is Barry Zito.

The Dodger bullpen isn't in much better shape than the rotation. Gagne is gone, Carrara is gone (again), and probably so too is Joe Beimel, if for no other reason than that he's now hated by his teammates. Yhency Brazoban and Franquelis Osoria are recovering from injuries, and Tim Hamulack is recovering from mediocrity. Jonathan Broxton is the big man in the pen (in more ways than one) especially since you can't count on Dessens or Tomko for much consistency. The Dodgers don't even know if Takashi Saito is coming back, although that just depends on how much money they're willing to offer him. Whether Saito returns or not, the Dodgers need to add two established relievers. No more of this Lance Carter shit.

What Colletti will actually do: invite Scott Erickson to spring Training and invite Kim Ng to dinner.

October 15, 2006
Fox howls at Lyons

Making a lot of baseball fans extremely happy, Fox Sports gave Steve Lyons the boot on Saturday, firing the commentator after 10 years with the network. After hearing the news, Lyons immediately dropped his pants.

Look, Steve Lyons is no Vin Scully. Hell, he's no Ross Porter. Truthfully, he's no Charlie Steiner either. He doesn't always have the most profound things to say, he doesn't always tie his thoughts to what's going on down on the field, and he isn't the most sensitive guy. But he's a normal guy. Sometimes he's a bit of a dick, sometimes he's right on target, and sometimes he's even funny. Frankly, it's a mystery how he got chosen to do the ALCS in the first place, but his mediocrity as a commentator aside, his firing really didn't seem justified. We won't go into the details here, but we will say that people need to lighten up a bit. We're not exactly sure what Lyons meant by his wallet comment (just like we're not sure what he means by half the things he says) but you can't cry racism just because he talks about "habla-ing some Espanol" and looking for his wallet in the same sentence.

Lyons' firing from Fox doesn't necessarily mean he's done as a Dodger commentator, though the team has said that they're "reviewing his status" (which means they're trying to coax an intern into claiming she was sexually harrassed by him). People can complain all they want about Lyons, but honestly we find Rick Monday far more offensive. Lyons might not be the classiest guy, but at least he can describe a ground ball up the middle.

October 9, 2006
Peaks, tweaks, and freaks

Now that your fantasy of the Dodgers going 11-0 in the postseason and winning the World Series on a grand slam by Toby Hall has been shattered, it's time to take a quick look back at 2006, the year of pastel-colored seats, back-to-back-to-back-to-back ninth inning home runs, and Einar Diaz. It was a season characterized by a few recurring themes:

1. Turnover
With Ned Colletti new to the whole general managing thing and the team's pitching staff continually shaky, the Dodgers made moves all season long. Half the guys Colletti picked up in the offseason were gone by July. Jae Seo was dumped, and so was Danys Baez. Dioner Navarro went to Tampa Bay, and Odalis Perez went to Kansas City. Ricky Ledee departed, along with Cesar Izturis, Joel Guzman, Jose Cruz, Willy Aybar, Cody Ross, and Sandy Alomar Jr. (who we kept forgetting was even on the team in the first place). Their replacements had mixed results. Mark Hendrickson and Julio Lugo were terrible. Elmer Dessens didn't do much and neither did Wilson Betemit. Giovanni Carrara became a Dodger again, then didn't, and then did again. Toby Hall was decent, though he only played once every month an a half. Greg Maddux did well (up until when it really counted) and Marlon Anderson was spectacular (offensively, at least). Fourty-four different guys wore the Dodger uniform over the course of the season.

2. Injuries
Their poor health carrying over from the year before, the Dodgers started on crutches and ended with a cut hand. Nomar Garciaparra went on the DL the weekend before the season started, and Kenny Lofton followed. Jayson Werth never played a game (well, other than a game of cards, maybe), Yhency Brazoban made it only a week, Jason Repko only a month, and Bill Mueller didn't last much longer. Eric Gagne started the season on the DL and returned in June only to pitch just two innings before calling it quits again. Dioner Navarro was injured in early May and—thankfully—never regained his starting role, and lingering injuries to Brad Penny and Jeff Kent affected their production. Amzingly enough, the one guy to stay healthy was J.D. Drew. Made out of cardboard and popsicle sticks, Drew played in a career-high 146 games.

3. Rookies
As much as we criticized every move they made, Dan Evans and Paul DePodesta apparently had some success in one area: the farm system. Willy Aybar, Russell Martin, James Loney, Matt Kemp, Jonathan Broxton, and Chad Billingsley all had some degree of success in 2006, with Martin clearly making the biggest impact. Kemp started out on fire, hitting seven home runs in his first forty-five at-bats, but then looked like Rafael Bournigal in his next 108 at-bats. Andre Ethier, picked up in the offseason by Colletti, impressed for a couple months before falling out of favor with Grady Little, who preferred to use a second baseman in left field. Fans in Los Angeles certainly aren't used the excitement of watching guys try to prove themselves, but there should be more of it the next few years.

4. Streaks
Never before in the history of the world has there ever been anything as streaky as the 2006 Los Angeles Dodgers. They had a seven game winning streak in May, they lost seven of eight at one point in June, lost thirteen of fourteen to start the second half of the season, turned around to win the next eleven and seventeen of eighteen, lost four in a row later in the month, then won seven straight, and ended the season by winning seven in a row. One week they looked like they'd never win another game, and then next they looked invincible. Bunch of assholes.

5. Horrors
Though he started out decently, Brett Tomko became soon struggled as a starting pitcher. After a stint on the DL, he volunteered to come out of the pen. Too bad he didn't volunteer for the Peace Corps instead. Brad Penny could have joined him. After pitching well enough in the first half to make the start in the All-Star Game, Penny wasn't the same after those two innings of gas. You combine an injury with an attitude and you really end up with a mess. Speaking of messes, there were a few games that come to mind. The Dodgers played five hours against the Astros in April only to lose in 14 innings, blew a 6-0 lead agains the Diamondbacks a week later, managed just a run off Byung-Hyun Kim at Coors Field in late May, got destroyed by Adrian Beltre in his return to Dodger Stadium in June, got clobbered by Albert Pujols in the fourteenth inning in mid-July, watched J.D. Drew futilely attempt an inside-the-park home run in August, blew a 7-0 lead against the Cubs (who made 6 errors) in mid-September, and then forgot how to run the bases in Game 1 of the Division Series—right after their situational lefty decided to prepare for the big game by doing tequila slammers at 2:30 a.m.

And worst of alll, Vin Scully isn't getting any younger.

October 7, 2006 - Mets 9, Dodgers 5
The same old L.A. Story

Sure, it's over for the Dodgers. But let's look on the bright side: we don't have to watch Brad Penny pitch on Sunday. On the dark side, well, there's plenty to talk about. Frankly, we don't even want to talk about it. We'd rather just crawl up in a ball, go to sleep, and wake up in mid-February to find that Penny, Kenny Lofton, Julio Lugo, J.D. Drew, Joe Beimel, Mark Hendrickson, Brett Tomko, Giovanni Carrara, Elmer Dessens, and Grady Little are all wearing a different uniform—and preferably the uniform of a team on Mars so that the Dodgers never have to play them.

In losing 9-5 to the Mets on Saturday, the Dodgers have now been swept in three of their last four visits to the postseason. (We call them 'visits' because they're too short to call anything else.) That's one win and twelve losses. That's pretty goddamn humiliating—not for players, who are never on the team more than a year or two—but for Dodger fans, who have to defend their allegiance, who have to explain to friends, co-workers, and even themselves why they continue to subject themselves to such torture, day after day, year after year. Over the last eighteen seasons, some impressive ballpayers have worn the Dodger uniform. Eddie Murray, Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, Darryl Strawberry, Eric Davis, Ramon Martinez, Mike Piazza, Eric Karros, Raul Mondesi, Hideo Nomo, Gary Sheffield, Kevin Brown, Adrian Beltre, Shawn Green, Eric Gagne, Jeff Kent, Derek Lowe, Nomar Garciaparra. All those names, and the Dodgers have had one lousy postseason victory since '88—courtesy of Jose Friggin' Lima (a guy who's had more herpes sores than victories since that 2004 win). It's a joke.

Saturday's final loss was fitting, though, since it truly epitomized the season. You had a starting pitcher (Greg Maddux) not make it past the fourth inning. You had a guy playing out of position (Marlon Anderson) make a couple of very questionable plays in the outfield. You had half the lineup (J.D. Drew, Kenny Lofton, Wilson Betemit...) popping up on the first pitch they saw. You had the Dodgers coming from behind on a couple of clutch hits (from James Loney and Jeff Kent) but missing the opportunity to break it open (as Andre Ethier lined into a double-play). You had the Dodgers getting on base (with 16 hits and 3 walks), but failing to get guys home (stranding 13 runners). You had a young pitcher on the mound in a 1-run game (Jonathan Broxton) with nobody warming up in the bullpen (thanks to Grady Little). You had former Dodgers killing their old team (Shawn Green scoring the tying run, Paul Lo Duca scoring the eventual game-winner, and Guillermo Mota pitching two scoreless innings). And you had a relief pitcher (Brett Tomko) allowing the game to slip completely out of reach.

Before the series even started the Dodgers were in trouble (losing Joe Beimel to stupidity), and two innings into the series (when nine Dodgers tried to score on a double to right) it was clear they didn't belong. Ned Colletti, Grady Little, and Frank McCourt might talk about the season and how they're proud of the team, how they overcame a lot of injuries, how a bunch of rookies contributed, how the hung in and grabbed the Wild Card... but the fact is, the 2006 Dodgers failed. When you're swept in three games, it's not a success—it's a nightmare. Have a nice winter.

October 5, 2006 - Mets 4, Dodgers 1
Jesus Christ, why even bother?

Two days into the postseason, the Dodgers are already nine innings away from being eliminated. Against a team that lost their ace over the weekend and their game one starter the day before the series, the Dodgers have scored just six runs—and only one on Thursday night. Entering the playoffs having had won their last seven games, the Dodgers now find themselves two games into another streak. Packed with veterans in their lineup, the Dodgers have failed to execute fundamentally.

Honestly, why even bother? For six months, they play for this. And now that they're here, it looks like they've got no interest in sticking around. If that's the case, why not just quit in late August? It would've saved us all some time, money, and stress. The Dodgers have been laughed at throughout baseball for the last decade, and instead of giving people something to talk about, they're just giving them another reason to laugh. On Wednesday, of course, the Dodgers committed that horrific baserunning blunder. On Thursday, they didn't fare much better. With New York up by two in the sixth inning and Grady Little evidently willing to throw in the towel, Brett Tomko entered the game. A minute later, the bases were loaded—thanks in part to a throwing error by Tomko. Mark Hendrickson came in to get a force at the plate and then got Julio Franco to ground into a perfect double-play ball. Rafael Furcal stayed back on the ball, however, and by the time defensive liability Julio Lugo turned it, the 72-year-old Franco was safe at first and the Mets had scored their third run—soon to score their fourth. What's the only thing more embarrassing than having two runners tagged out at the plate seconds apart? Allowing someone's friggin' grandfather to beat out a double-play ball.

Not that anything that happened in the sixth inning really mattered, though. Aside from Wilson Betemit's eighth inning homer, the Dodgers had only four pathetic hits. The New York Mets might be beatable, but you're not going to beat them with five hits.

Now to the important stuff: giving ourselves some well-deserved credit. First, we predicted that Derek Lowe would crack in the fourth inning of Game 1. So what happened? He gave up two home runs. Then we heard about Joe Beimel's injury and knew it was alcohol related. So what happened? A couple people came forward to say that Beimel actually dropped the glass at a bar, not in his hotel room as he had claimed. Then Nomar Garciaparra left in the sixth inning of Game 2... exactly the inning we had predicted before the series. Here are the winning Super Lotto numbers for Saturday, October 7th: 3, 4, 18, 29, 39, and Mega 14. You're welcome.

October 4, 2006 - Mets 6, Dodgers 5
Dodgers hit traffic going home

On Tuesday, we made some predictions for the Division Series. Most of them were absurd—Greg Maddux running into a wall, Derek Lowe giving up three sets of back-to-back homers, Nomar Garciaparra leaving a game after hurting himself while blinking. None of our predictions, however, were as absurd as what happened in the second inning on Wednesday. Only a crackhead would have predicted that two Dodgers would get tagged out at home plate—three seconds apart. Briefly it was comical. Then it seemed unreal. Then, after it sunk in, it just seemed like a typical Dodger disaster.

You all know how it went down, but we'll run through it again. Nobody out, Jeff Kent on second base, J.D. Drew on first. Russell Martin hits a fly ball to right that carries past Shawn Green and hits the bottom of the wall. Here's where everything had to happen in a horrendously perfect way. If it didn't, the Dodgers would have scored three, maybe four runs in the inning, and probably would have gone on to win Game 1. So, first, Kent gets a terrible read on the ball and has no jump off of second. As he's headed to third, the ball bounces right back to Green, who throws a perfect relay to Jose Valentin, who fires the ball to Paul Lo Duca. Third base coach Rich Donnelly (sure to have nightmares for years to come) wants to hold up Kent at third, but J.D. Drew—picking an interesting moment to hustle for the first time—is right behind Kent. Confused, Donnelly sends Kent with the idea that Drew will stop at third. As Donnelly watches Kent about to be nailed at the plate, though, Drew breezes by him. A second later, he's out too. Three hits, and the Dodgers have a guy at second with two outs. The most miserable part of the whole thing, really, might be that the Mets' relay went from Green to Valentin to Lo Duca. Gosh, those names sound really familiar.

While the second inning play is obviously the one that'll be remembered for years to come, you can't forget about what happened later in the game. Down 4-1 in the seventh, the Dodgers broke through to tie the game on a clutch double by Nomar Garciaparra. Enter Brad Penny, who immediately walked two, gave up a single, and then a double. While we'd love to rip Penny, the fact is he's not a relief pitcher. And while we'd love to believe that a pitcher is a pitcher, that's just not the case. Especially with the way Penny's been pitching of late, Grady Little blew it. Sure, Joe Beimel's stupid-ass injury makes the bullpen a little weaker, but how about turning to a guy who's used to pitching in 7th inning? Penny's not used to pitching in the fifth inning, let alone the seventh. Terrific that Little turned to Jonathan Broxton after the Dodgers were down by two. That helped.

By the way, Rich Donnelly is still waving guys home as we speak.

October 3, 2006
Predictions from our crystal ball

After running all the numbers, doing an in-depth analysis of the pitching matchups, and sitting on our crystal ball, we offer the following predictions for the Dodgers/Mets series...

Game 1: Lowe vs. Hernández
Derek Lowe gets through the first three innings easily, making just 36 pitches—though sweating as if he's made 90. He hits the wall in the fourth, however, throwing two wild pitches and giving up four runs—two on a Jose Valentin home run. He's removed for Aaron Sele, who gives up a couple more runs in the fifth (one on a solo shot by Shawn Green). Nomar Garciaparra comes out in the sixth inning after injuring his side while blinking. The Dodgers rally for two runs in the seventh, but leave the bases loaded after J.D. Drew looks at three straight strikes.
Final: Mets 7, Dodgers 2

Game 2: Kuo vs. Glavine
Rafael Furcal leads off the first inning with a home run. Hong-Chih Kuo walks two in the first inning, but gets out of it after a line drive ricochets off of Jeff Kent's moustache and lands in the glove of Garciaparra. Russell Martin doubles twice, the second coming with guys on second and third in the 5th inning to break a scoreless tie. Kuo gives up three runs in the bottom of the inning, though, and after five, Mets are up 3-1. Dodgers tie it with four straight hits in the sixth, but Garciaparra has to leave the game after hurting his side while cheering. Dodger relievers pitch three scoreless innings and Marlon Anderson hits a pinch homer in the 8th to give the Dodgers the eventual win.
Final: Dodgers 4, Mets 3

Game 3: Trachsel vs. Maddux
Pissed off that he has to wait until Game 3 to pitch, Greg Maddux beans the first three New York batters and points to Grady Little in the dugout, yelling "You're next, old man!" Maddux bears down, though, and only gives up one run in the first inning. After Steve Trachsel takes 45 minutes to make 12 pitches in the bottom of the first, Maddux begins to stiffen up and loses velocity in the second inning, becoming the first guy to ever throw a pitch under 15 miles per hour. He gets through the second and third unscathed, but like Lowe in Game 1, Maddux hits the wall after the fourth—literally. Headed back to the clubhouse to change his Depends pad between innings, Maddux's 41-year-old eyes deceive him and he walks into a wall. Bloodied by not beaten, Maddux returns to the mound and pitches three more innings, giving up just an RBI double to Paul Lo Duca. Going into the eighth, it's 1-0 Mets. Jonathan Broxton gives up a run in the bottom of the eighth, though, and the Mets add to their lead. Garciaparra leaves the game after injuring his side while drinking Gatorade. Down two, the Dodgers load the bases with two outs in the ninth, but Shawn Green robs Olmedo Saenz of an extra base hit with a leaping, diving, tumbling catch on the warning track. Saenz throws his hands in the air but then thinks of eating a New York pizza and immediately feels better.
Final: Mets 2, Dodgers 0

Game 4: Hernández vs. Penny
Insisting that he's healthy, Brad Penny gets the start and gives up three runs in the first inning. After giving up two more in the second, he leaves the game with a mild vulva strain. Garciaparra then leaves after injuring his side while laughing at Penny's injury. Down 5-0, the Dodgers begin to creep back, scoring one in the third, two in the fourth, and one in the fifth. Meanwhile, Mark Hendrickson pitches the game of his life, striking out all 14 batters to face him and grabbing a passing helicopter with his bare hands. A Jeff Kent home run ties the game in the 8th, and the Dodgers add another in the top of the ninth on four consecutive infield hits—the big one coming on a dribbler hit by Ramon Martinez... as confused Dodger fans chant HEE-SEOP-CHOI. Takashi Saito does the job in the ninth, pumping his fist in excitement. He's a little less excited when the home plate umpire tells him that there are only two outs. Saito then gives up two hits, but gets Carlos Delgado to pop up to end it. "We've got the momentum now," says Grady Little after the game.
Final: Dodgers 6, Mets 5

Game 5: Lowe vs. Glavine
The momentum of the Dodgers' Game 4 victory lasts about 2 minutes, as Lowe gives up back-to-back homers in the first inning—both, somehow, to Shawn Green. Lowe gives up two more in the third inning. And then two more in the sixth. Not wanting to tire his bullpen in case the team makes it to the NLCS, though, Grady Little leaves Lowe in the game. Lowe gives up four more runs in the seventh. After making 165 pitches, Little finally visits the mound... and leaves Lowe in. Garciaparra leaves after injuring his side while throwing a punch at Little. Lowe ends up going eight innings, giving up 13 runs and 19 hits. "Well, I'll tell ya what," says Little after the game, "I'm disappointed that some people are judging me on the results of one decision I made—not the decision, but the results of the decision. Gol'dang."
Final: Mets 13, Dodgers 6 - Mets win series, 3-2

October 1, 2006 - Dodgers 4, Giants 3
Dodgers feast, then go east

Well, the Dodgers won on Sunday. What does it mean? Not much. Since they took it in the poopshoot from the Padres during the season, the Dodgers go to New York as the Wild Card winner and the Padres host St. Louis as the Western Divison Champs. Might have been different had the Dodgers not lost two out of three to the Brewers, Pirates, and Cubs in September, but what can you do?

If nothing else, the Dodgers' 4-3 victory over the Giants on Sunday gives them a bit of momentum going into the postseason. They've won seven straight, and it's always a bonus to sweep the Giants—even if they had mentally checked out a couple weeks ago. You've got to be careful when you talk about momentum, though, because it seems to have a funny way of turning around pretty quickly—especially for the Dodgers. After their home run barrage against the Padres on September 18th, everyone got caught up in the madness and predicted that the Dodgers wouldn't lose another game all season. And then they lost the next two. Considering how streaky they've been this season, you don't really expect the latest streak to carry into the playoffs... especially since they're up against the 97-65 Mets. Then again, the '88 Dodgers lost ten of eleven to the Mets during the regular season and came out on top in the NLCS. But that team had Jeff Hamilton, and there's no one on the 2006 Dodgers with that kind of talent, fire, and altheticism. So, let's summarize: (1) The Dodgers have momentum, but it doesn't matter, (2) The Mets are great, but anything can happen in a short series, and (3) Jeff Hamilton is a baseball God.

With Sunday's win, the Dodgers end the regular season with an 88-74 record—a 17-game improvement over last season. And just think if Danys Baez, Odalis Perez, Jae Seo, Lance Carter, and Jose Cruz hadn't been on the team at all—they might have won 120 games. Still, for a team that was in complete organizational disarray as late as November last year, lost a couple key players early this season, began the second half by losing 13 of 14, and was managed by a guy who spent much of the season sleeping, an 88-win season is certainly an accomplishment. We'll readily admit that we wrote the Dodgers off multiple times this season, but truthfully we just didn't think they'd survive the loss of Ricky Ledee. Our bad.