FORECAST: WACKY WEEK YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IN DODGERS' PLAYOFF QUEST.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Staff Writer This is about to be the most broken-down Dodgers team ever to make the playoffs. Or this is about to be the most entertaining Dodgers team ever to miss the playoffs. Which will it be? How will it happen? Based on recent evidence, here's the way the final week of the regular season plays out: Today: Trailing the Padres by two games in the division and the Phillies by one game for the wild-card, the Dodgers open the Colorado series with a lineup of Einar Diaz Einar Antonio Diáz (born December 28, 1972 in Chiriquí Province, Panama) is a Minor League Baseball catcher who plays in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Diaz was called up in 1996 by the Cleveland Indians to back up then-catcher Sandy Alomar, Jr. behind the plate; Olmedo Saenz, Delwyn Young Delwyn Rudy Young (born June 30, 1982 in Los Angeles, California) is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. High School Years , Oscar Robles Oscar M. Robles (b. April 9, 1976, in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico) has spent much of this decade as a third baseman for the Mexico City Red Devils (Diablos Rojos del México), and briefly as an infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers from May 2005 through 2006. and Julio Lugo Julio Cesar Lugo (born on November 16, 1975 in Barahona, Dominican Republic) is a major league shortstop for the Boston Red Sox. He bats and throws right-handed. Lugo is the older brother of baseball pitcher Ruddy Lugo. around the horn; and Marlon Anderson Marlon Ordell Anderson is a Major League Baseball infielder who was born on January 16, 1974 in Montgomery, Alabama. Marlon attended the Autuaga County School system in Prattville, Alabama. He currently plays for the New York Mets. , Jason Repko Jason Edward Repko (born December 27, 1980 in East Chicago, Indiana) is an outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Primarily a utility outfielder, his career had been slowed by numerous injuries. and Ramon Martinez Ramon Martinez is the name of several people:
The key veterans are too banged-up to play, and the key rookies are napping. Manager Grady Little, asked what the heck the team can do, answers sagely, ``Try,'' and elaborates, ``Hard.'' The Rockies' Jason Jennings throws a perfect game, every Dodger getting out on a first-pitch grounder except J.D. Drew, who pinch-hits with two outs in the ninth, works the count full and strikes out looking. Greg Maddux loses 2-0. In a side note, the Dodgers announce that the crowd is 49,791 and that this pushes Dodger Stadium's record-setting attendance over 3.8 million. The figures are viewed with some skepticism, however, since this is a road game and Dodger Stadium is empty. Wednesday: A sleepy affair, by September 2006 standards. Derek Lowe strikes out the first 18 Rockies batters. The Dodgers hit 10 home runs in a row, the first and last by Nomar Garciaparra, to take a 10-0 lead in the seventh inning. The bullpen gives up 11 runs in the eighth, though Joe Beimel becomes the first major-league pitcher to record five strikeouts in an inning. This occurs because workhorse catcher Russell Martin nods off and lets a couple of third strikes go to the screen. A Garciaparra homer ties it in the ninth. Dodgers lose 12-11 in the 23rd inning. For the Dodgers to make the playoffs now, some weird stuff is going to have to start happening. Thursday: Before the game, it is revealed that the man pitching as ``Brad Penny'' for the past month actually has been Woody Allen in a foam-rubber muscle suit. ``Ninety percent of greatness is showing up,'' Allen says at his locker, before considering ``Penny's'' performance lately and adding, ``OK, it's really 12 percent.'' Allen stops the Rockies on two hits, keeping them off-balance with a combination of cut fastballs and Isak Dinesen references. Dodgers win 4-1 but trail by three games in both the division and wild- card races with three to play. Grady Little, asked to analyze the ins and outs ins and outs pl.n. 1. The intricate details of a situation, decision, or process. 2. The windings of a road or path. of the balance of the races, replies wryly, ``We'll see.'' Friday: The Dodgers arrive in San Francisco for the climactic series to discover, ominously, that the Giants have begun their youth movement by signing Joe Morgan, 63. The Daily News declares the Dodgers done, dead, cooked, beaten, finished, history, hopeless, roadkill road·kill n. 1. An animal or animals killed by being struck by a motor vehicle. 2. Slang One that has failed or been defeated and is no longer worthy of consideration: , kaput ka·put also ka·putt adj. Informal Incapacitated or destroyed. [German kaputt, from French capot, not having won a single trick at piquet, possibly from Provençal. , and kind of up against it. Hong-Chi Kuo pitches a no-hitter, and the Dodgers win 16-0. Padres lose. Phils lose. Saturday: With a winning streak going, pregame discussion revolves around the question: Will the Dodgers' momentum produce more momentum or will too much discussion of momentum actually kill momentum? ``Yes,'' Grady Little philosophises. Dodgers win behind Maddux, the pivotal run scoring when a hobbling Jeff Kent's sinking line drive to left field gets through Barry Bonds. The official scorer rules it an error on Bonds, after which the scorer is jailed for not revealing his thinking. Padres lose. Phils lose. Sunday: Game 162! The Dodgers will be eliminated if a.) the Padres win at Arizona, b.) the Phils win at Florida, or c.) Brett Tomko gets in the game at San Francisco. Before the Padres' game, assistant-to-the-GM Paul DePodesta announces that Mike Piazza, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Barfield, Todd Walker, Josh Bard, Jake Peavy and Trevor Hoffman have been traded to Washington for NPR's Linda Wertheimer, Sen. Arlen Specter and a joint chief to be named later. Padres lose. Phillies lose. Dodgers take a 4-2 lead to the eighth behind Lowe. Morgan, seeking to reprise re·prise n. 1. Music a. A repetition of a phrase or verse. b. A return to an original theme. 2. A recurrence or resumption of an action. tr.v. his Dodger-killing role in 1982, hits a three-run homer off reliever Tim Hamulack to put the Giants ahead. But Garciaparra, after being delivered to the batter's box in a wheelchair, rips a two-out, two- strike, broken-bat, wind-aided, off-the-foul-pole grand slam in the ninth, and the Dodgers win to create a three-way tie for two playoff spots. And then: In a four-day whirlwind, the Dodgers go from San Francisco to Los Angeles for a one-game tiebreaker tie·break·er n. An additional contest or period of play designed to establish a winner among tied contestants. Also called tiebreak. tie against the Padres for the division title, and lose; go to Philadelphia for a one-game tiebreaker against the Phils for the wild-card, and win; and go to New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of to open the playoffs against the Mets. (Check back in October, when we'll predict how the Dodgers become the first team to win a World Series after trailing 4 games to 0.) heymodesti(AT_SIGN)aol.com (818) 713-3616 CAPTION(S): 3 photos, 3 boxes Photo: (1 -- 3 -- color) no caption (Baseball players) Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer Jamie Squire/Associated Press Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press Box: (1) LOS ANGELES DODGERS "Dodgers" and "Brooklyn Dodgers" redirect here. For the American football team, see Brooklyn Dodgers (football). For the Eastern Basketball Association team, see Brooklyn Dodgers (basketball). (2) PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (3) SAN DIEGO PADRES |
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