DODGERS' DEFEAT EPITOMIZES '99 : PHILADELPHIA 6, DODGERS 5.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

So you're a Dodgers fan who just got back from a four-month jetaway in Malaysia, or Fiji, or maybe you were hangin' out on a private island. There was no SportsCenter, no way to follow baseball and you were wondering about the Boys in Blue.

Rather than perusing old newspapers to understand why the team that was going to the playoffs in six weeks is instead going home soon, look no further than the Dodgers' 6-5, 11-inning loss to Philadelphia on Saturday for all the signs of a disastrous season rolled into one.

The Dodgers' 68th loss in 123 games had so many elements present in so many other games they've frittered away that it does fine as a poster child.

For instance:

A solid start by Ismael Valdes (6 innings pitched, two runs) was wasted.

The Dodgers were 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position, and all three hits came in one inning.

They counted on one inning, a five-run eighth in which Todd Hundley drove in three with a double, and did nothing else offensively.

Given a lead late, the bullpen lost for the 18th time. The Dodgers' 12-18 mark in the bullpen is the worst winning percentage (.400) in the NL.

They lost in extra innings, something they've done 11 times in 15 chances.

They followed up an emotional, come-from-behind win with seven innings of malaise and wasted opportunities.

And they had the opportunity to move up in the standings, albeit to third instead of somewhere substantial, and blew it.

Mix in a few off-field distractions and you have the 1999 Dodgers.

``That's frustrating, to have a three-run lead and can't hold it,'' Dodgers manager Davey Johnson said. ``Pete (Pedro Borbon) walks a guy, gives up a homer and gets the tough guy out. That's the way it's been.''

It's what losing baseball - Dodgers baseball - is all about.

Though Borbon and Alan Mills, two of the more-reliable relievers this season, played a big part in this, the loss is more than the duo combining for two outs, three walks and three runs while failing to hold a 5-2 lead in the eighth.

Mills had allowed one run and two hits in his last 7-2/3 innings.

Borbon's the one having problems.

With Rico Brogna's (five RBI) two-run homer, Borbon has given up nine runs in 11 innings and has a 7.60 ERA in his last 18 outings.

``I consider myself, right now, an average reliever,'' Borbon said. ``I have to come out of it and do better. I'm just hurting the team. My stuff is as good or better than it was at the beginning of the season. I'm not hitting my corners and I'm making dumb pitches. That comes from the little doubt in your mind, which you have when you don't have your confidence.''

And it's more than closer Jeff Shaw coming in to get the final four outs, only to give up a double to pinch-hitter Rob Ducey on a two-strike pitch in the eighth, though he played a role in the Dodgers' 45th loss in 74 games.

``That's an 0-2 pitch, and 0-2 pitches are not supposed to be hit,'' Shaw said. ``It's a mistake. It's something that shouldn't happen. It's 0-2. I have to make a pitch out of the strike zone.''

Blame for the loss and blame for the season falls all throughout the clubhouse. And though the Dodgers' bullpen was battered for four runs in five innings, there were also squandered chances by the offense.

Most notable was in the 10th when the first two Dodgers walked. They then stood there for a pair of strikeouts before Mark Grudzielanek grounded out.

``We were down 2-0, and I told Rick Dempsey down in the pen, `We got them right where we want them,' `' Shaw said. ``I thought we would come back and we did, and then we didn't capitalize.''

Like most Dodgers opponents, the Phillies eventually did.

There. Now, you're caught up on the last 4-1/2 months.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photo

PHOTO (1 -- color) Scott Rolen tags out the Dodgers' Mark Grudzielanek at third base during Philadelphia's 6-5 win Saturday.

Dan Loh/Associated Press

(2) PEDRO BORBON - The struggling reliever has a 7.60 ERA in his past 18 outings.