The Dodgers aren’t a team; they are a Hollywood script. Welcome to “Gags to Riches,” starring Manny Ramirez as the dreadlocked slugger, who’s as big a hit in the clubhouse as on the field, and manager Joe Torre, who’s calmer than a lagoon while his club weathers the storm.
By Torre’s admission, his team was down to its last gasp, its final shallow breath. The date was Aug. 30, in Phoenix. The Dodgers couldn’t have experienced a worse road trip if Clark Griswold was behind the wheel. They had lost eight straight and had fallen 4 1/2 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Dan Haren, he of the fork-tongue splitter, was on the mound for Arizona.
“It got to the point where we had to put up or shut up,” Torre said.
The Dodgers won 6-2 and followed with an 8-1 pounding of Cy Young Award candidate Brandon Webb the next day. Suddenly everything seemed possible again.
“I don’t ever remember being elated after a 2-8 trip before, but I was,” continued Torre.
In a striking about-face, the Dodgers have won 12 of their last 14 games, leaving them in position to win a National League West that has been the source of more punch lines than political candidates. The Dodgers are 77-72, practically assuring that the division winner won’t be the first-ever with a losing record.
“In years past, you heard people calling it the NL Worst. But a lot of those same people thought it would be the NL Best this year. It hasn’t worked out,” said Astros pitcher Randy Wolf, who began the season with the Padres. “All that matters is getting in the playoffs.”
That’s the running theme with the Dodgers, who are something altogether different now. On July 31, with the Red Sox eager to rid their team of a distraction, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt picked up the phone and said “yes” to a trade for Ramirez. He has been nothing short of Mick Jagger joining the Rolling Stones.
Multiple teammates said Ramirez’s arrival and second baseman Jeff Kent’s departure — he’s out with knee surgery — have been the perfect solution to a clubhouse that needed levity and more camaraderie.
The idea that Ramirez could galvanize a team is stunning for any Red Sox fan that watched the left fielder’s effort-challenged final weeks in Boston. But it speaks to baseball’s socialism that Ramirez doesn’t stand alone as September’s remarkable story.
With the emphasis on drafting and developing young players as a countermeasure to the dangerously erratic free-agent market, many teams, no matter how flawed or anonymous, are thinking playoffs.
In Tampa Bay, a club that has never had a winning season is pushing for an American League East title, or at the very least a wild-card berth. The Twins, despite the departures of Johan Santana and Torii Hunter, are tracking the Chicago White Sox. The Mets, with an unlikely MVP candidate (Carlos Delgado), are trying to avoid paging Dr. Heimlich again. The Brewers are creating ulcers with another horrible September, and the Angels are sitting back with umbrella drinks and sunglasses waiting for the rest of the world to join the postseason party.
With two weeks left, a look at the five most important things to watch:
Bay of plenty
The Rays are a Disney story. Since June 29, they have been in first place for all but one day. This team has had more opportunities to fold than a worker at The Gap, yet refuses. The Rays are built on terrific starting pitching and defense. Even if the Red Sox ultimately overtake them, there’s no reason to think the Rays won’t secure the wild card.
Houston, you don’t have a problem
The Astros are this year’s Rockies, staging one of the greatest September surges ever. “I guess it was magic last year,” former Rockies and current Astros reliever LaTroy Hawkins said. “All I have seen in Houston is a team that plays well every day.” Hurricane Ike unfortunately interrupted the Astros’ run, moving home games to Milwaukee. Don’t sleep on Houston just yet. The Astros’ remaining schedule features only one team — Florida — with a winning record.
Good grief
A year after the Mets somehow squandered a seven-game lead with 17 to play, choke is still a dirty word in Shea Stadium. Mets players will require grief counseling if they are unable to win the NL East. This team is tougher, and has better pitchers, namely Santana. But it’s Luis Ayala, a sinkhole with the Nationals, who will prove the difference by solidifying the closer’s role. Brewers fans are beginning to wonder if their team is this year’s Mets. Milwaukee is 3-9 in September, creating the motto: “Pitch CC Sabathia and turn on the sprinklers.”
Is there a doctor on board?
Injuries loom as potential roadblocks to October for contending teams. In Chicago, the White Sox are dealing with the absence of sluggers Carlos Quentin and Paul Konerko. So much for the White Sox and Cubs meeting in the World Series for the first time in 102 years. The Rays and Twins just got Evan Longoria and Michael Cuddyer back, respectively. And the Dodgers are without Andruw Jones for the rest of the season — oh, wait, that actually helps them.
Life without the Yankees
According to major-league officials, the playoffs will go on if the Yankees don’t advance. Oh, the humanity. It looks like $209 million doesn’t buy what it used to. The only issue is whether their absence will affect the Red Sox, whose every move centers on one-upping the Yankees. For some, a fall without Boston or New York would be refreshing. For Fox, a World Series with Tampa Bay and, say, Houston would be reason to chew through concrete.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
Man, oh, Manny
The Red Sox traded Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers on July 31. What has happened since:
Dodgers:
•L.A. is 23-18 since the trade.
•L.A. trailed Arizona by two games in the NL West and now leads the division by 4 1/2 games.
•Ramirez with L.A.: .385, 14 homers, 41 RBIs in 41 games.
Red Sox:
•Boston is 27-13 since the trade.
•Boston led the wild-card race by half a game before the trade and now leads by six games.
•Ramirez with Boston: .296, 20 homers, 68 RBIs in 100 games.
Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
