9.28.00 LOS ANGELES DODGERS vs SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Not so long ago, back when our automotive choices were limited to my wife’s ten-year-old beater Volkswagen Fox and my eighteen-year-old, rubber band–powered Honda Accord, I actually used to fantasize about the day when we’d be able to hop in our Miata, throw down the top, and motor out to Dodger Stadium in style; about racing up the hill to Chavez Ravine on sparkling spring afternoons with the sun in our faces; about warm summer nights blasting down the 10, the wind whipping our hair as a scarcely audible Ross Porter grumbled and mumbled his way through the post-game show. Now those, those would be days, wouldn’t they?
They were.
My brother joined me for the last home game of the 2000 season at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers lost, of course. Some time around the third inning they trotted out team mascot Tommy Lasorda, just returned from his Olympic triumph in Australia, and everyone cheered the last tenuous link to the glory of Dodger teams past. Kevin Malone sat in the front with his ice cream cone; Kevin Brown struck out eight but lasted only five innings; Gary Sheffield got himself ejected; Barry Bonds hit his 49th home run of the season; Davey Johnson took one last look around the place he’d spent two of the more forgettable years of his career. So long, Davey.
So long Todd Hundley, too, and perhaps Mark Grudzielanek, and probably Darren Dreifort, and Christ, would they really be insane enough to deal Gary Sheffield to free up payroll for Alex Rodriguez? Locking up Dreifort and Chan Ho Park and getting a legitmate number four starter (never mind number five) is what they need to do—forget about A-Rod. Alex Cora at short is young and cheap and has lots of upside with his mobility and improved hitting this year. Hundley, sad to say, will probably be too expensive to keep, especially with the similarly young and cheap and equally talented Paul LoDuca waiting in the wings. But the Dodgers have plenty of power; what they need is pitching, better defense up the middle, and a manager who understands how to play National League ball in a big ballpark. Relying on the three-run homer ain’t gonna work. And neither is inviting even more media scrutiny and impossible expectations by breaking the bank to sign A-Rod.
But whatever. Kevin Malone probably stopped reading these things a few installments ago. And pointing out the obvious has always tended to make general managers’ attentions wander anyway.
I’ll see you next year, Dodgers. They’re opening that new ballpark in Pittsburgh, you know. And Shea’s only five hours and change, I’m told. And who knows? Montreal? Philly? Well, okay, maybe not.
FINAL SCORE: GIANTS 5, DODGERS 3
MEMORABLE HECKLE: Would you believe there wasn’t one?
