MADDUX COULDN'T HELP L.A.

Byline: JOE HAAKENSON Staff Writer

Where, oh where have you gone, Jose Lima?

He barely wore a Dodgers uniform long enough to get it dirty, but he remains the answer to a trivia question that probably would stump the patrons at your neighborhood sports bar.

Who is the last Dodgers pitcher to win a postseason game? In fact, with the New York Mets finishing their sweep of the Dodgers on Saturday, Lima is the only Dodgers pitcher to win a postseason game since 1988, way back when Greg Maddux was a promising 22-year-old pitcher coming into his own with the Chicago Cubs.

Lima's victory came against the Cardinals in the 2004 National League Division Series, but if anyone would have been the perfect candidate to knock him from the trivia books, Maddux was the guy. Few pitchers have the postseason experience as the cerebral Maddux, who was a mainstay on an Atlanta Braves team that won 13 consecutive NL East titles.

Maddux went into Game 3 of the NLDS on Saturday having pitched in 31 postseason games, compiling a record of 11-14 with a 3.22 ERA. But it had been a few years since his last postseason win -- a victory over the Giants in the 2002 NLDS for the Braves.

Maddux is a certain Hall of Famer and has something in common with Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax, who was seated in Dodgers owner Frank McCourt's box near the Dodgers dugout Saturday. They are the only pitchers ever to be selected the Cy Young award winner unanimously twice. But it didn't take long Saturday to see that even future Hall of Famers need a break or two now and then.

The Mets didn't exactly smoke the ball, but they found holes and put the Dodgers in one.

``Those were pitches I usually get outs with,'' Maddux said. ``A couple of them weren't hit hard enough to get to the outfielders. It happens sometimes. It's too bad it has to happen in a game like this. You have a few of them every year, but it was a bad time to take one.''

Maddux avoided being tagged with the loss when Jeff Kent's two-run homer in the fifth inning tied the score at 4, but Maddux's inability to pitch deep in the game put a burden on the Dodgers' bullpen that it was unable to shoulder.

Maddux won 15 games this season, the 18th time in the past 19 seasons he's won at least that many. But his career is nearing and end, leaving the Dodgers to retool for next season.

Whether the 40-year-old Maddux will be a part of it is anybody's guess. For now, Maddux won't think about where he might be next year.

``I'm going to spend some time with my wife and kids, and play with my 14 best friends,'' Maddux said. Fourteen best friends? ``My (golf) clubs.''

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Photo:

(color) Dodgers starter Greg Maddux was far from spectacular, allowing four runs in four innings.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer