'09 Playoff Teams' Current Droughts

World Championships:
Phillies- 2008
Red Sox -2007
Cardinals- 2006
Angels- 2002
Yankees- 2000
Rockies- Never (started in '93)
Twins- 1991
Dodgers- 1988


League Pennants:
Phillies- 2008
Red Sox- 2007
Rockies- 2007
Cardinals- 2006
Yankees- 2003
Angels- 2002
Twins- 1991
Dodgers- 1988

Besides the Dodgers, I usually root for the team that has gone the longest without a World Series Championship or at least a League Championship. I never thought that team would be the Dodgers, in both cases. Sigh.

Playoff Hibernation

Tomorrow starts the MLB Playoffs, a wonderful time of year. This is the 3rd time in 4 years, and 4th in 6 years, that the Dodgers have made the playoffs. Which is fantastic, except for two factors: the stress that I feel watching my team in must-win games every day- I live and die with every pitch, and drive myself crazy; and the way it affects my schedule. The latter is not a horrible thing, it just alters my planning on a day-to-day basis for a month. Want to do something next Tuesday? I can let you know Monday after the networks figure out what time the Dodgers game is. And there's no phone calls, emails, Facebook, etc. I have only missed one game in the last 25 years of Dodger playoffs, and that was to be best man in a friend's wedding (which I will never let him live down). The Dodgers haven't made it very far since 1988, so this usually only a week and a half of anomaly. But one of these years, they may actually make it back to the World Series. When that happens, hold your calls and emails till the second week of November.

The Game That Will Not End

The World Series was headed in the same direction as every Series since '04- boring, predictable, one-sided. Then, Monday night during Game 5, Mother Nature stepped in. Torrential rain, 25 MPH wind, a tie game in the sixth, and the Phillies and Rays could play no more. Yesterday was worse, and tonight may not happen either. So, the first suspended game in World Series history may not be played till Halloween. And suddenly, the dead-to-rights Rays have the momentum. If they can pull off a win in a game they were losing until the sixth, and get back to the indoor friendly confines of The Trop, then who knows what might happen? At the very least, we have an interesting Series again.

DEVIL-Free Series

Tomorrow begins the '08 World Series, and while it's lacking my Dodgers, it does have the best worst-to-first story since the '69 Mets. I will be rooting for Tampa, though it is a shame that they no longer have the Devil in their name. This has the makings of a great 6 or 7 game series, with two evenly matched teams with power and pitching. This is the last 10 days of the '08 baseball season, so let's make it count, boys!

And Boom Goes The Dynamite

The Dodgers' dreams ended last night, as they lost game 5 of the NLCS to the Phillies. And while I am still bummed, I am less suicidal than I was last night. In retrospect, this is further than I had hoped for the Dodgers to make it this year. As late as 3 weeks ago, it didn't even look like we'd make the playoffs, so our 1st NLCS in 20 years ain't too shabby. Plus, I got to end my own baseball season by seeing my first Dodgers playoff game last week. And congrats to the Phils, who have waited a long time as well. Though I will be rooting for the DEVIL Rays from here on out.

NLCS Notes- 10/13

It was good to finally put a Dodger win in this NLCS, as they won 7-2 last night. The first 2 game sin Philly, they looked flat, not scoring enough, not fighting the same way they have the last month and a half. Last night, the Dodgers finally looked up to the task, as Hiroki Kuroda pitched wonderfully, and also gave a little retaliation for the head-hunting that wife beater Brett "Boom Outta Here" Myers and Clay Condrey have engaged in. And for all the talk of Manny being a carefree goofball, he had to be held back by numerous teammates when the benches cleared. At least this looks like a series again, and hopefully we'll continue to see great baseball from the Dodgers the next few nights.

'83 Revisited

It's hard to imagine a significant rivalry for teams that are 3000 miles apart. But once upon a time, the Dodgers and the Phillies were that rivalry, which they will renew in the NLCS tomorrow. This will be the fourth time these two team have faced each other for a chance to go to the World Series, but the first time in 25 years.

The first two times, in 1977 and 1978, LA and Philly were unquestionably the two best NL teams of the late '70's. And both times, the Dodgers came out on top. Unfortunately, those aren't the ones I can recall.

In 1983, my love for the Dodgers continued to grow. A World Series in '81 and a near-miss in '82, the '83 Dodgers looked like the real deal. A great pitching staff with Fernando Valenzuela (above), Rick Honeycutt, and Jerry Reuss; a bullpen with Tom Niedenfuer (2 years before the meltdown); and a starting lineup that included Pedro Guerrero, Steve Sax and Dusty Baker. The Phillies were solid as well, with the likes of Steve Carlton, Mike Schmidt and Juan Samuel. But this was the Dodgers to lose. They had beaten the Phils 11 out of 12 times during the regular season.

Unfortunately, the Phils came to play. Except for a great win by Fernando, the Dodgers were completely dominated and lost in 4 games. I can remember listening to the games on the radio, as we were moving at the time and didn't have cable. It was brutal, as I had become spoiled into thinking my team would always win. 25 years later, the Dodgers have let me down more times than I can count. 20 years between playoff victories, for one. Now, for at least 4 games, I can pretend I am 10 again, with optimism that my Dodgers can beat the Phillies. At the very least, I can watch in on TV this time.

Division Series Notes- 10/5

The Dodgers finished off the Cubs early Sunday morning, 3-1, to advance to the NLCS for the first time in 20 years. Hiroki Kuroda (above) continued the string of great starting performances, and questionable Jonathan Broxton was able to close it out. Next stop Philadelphia, who finished off the Brewers on Sunday. The euphoria I felt as the game ended is indescribable, 20 years is a long time not to win any playoff series. The series vs. the Phils should be even harder, as LA will be taken more seriously than the Cubs took them.

But that's not till Thursday. For now, I will bask in the glow of finally being paid back a little for being a diehard fan.

Division Series Notes- 10/3

The Dodgers won again last night, a 10-3 thrashing of a bad-looking Cubs team. In 2 nights, the Dodgers have won more playoff games than they had in 20 years. Manny continued his amazing hitting with another home run, extending his postseason record to 26 dingers. Manny is the first Dodger to hit home runs in consecutive road playoff games since...Kirk Gibson. Wow. As bad as the Cubs played (4 errors and such), the Dodgers played that well. Besides taking advantage of the mistakes, they also played good hit-and-run, timely bunts, and Chad Billingsley (above) pitching his ass off. Now it moves to LA for Game 3, where we face the best Cubs pitcher in Rich Harden.

In other LDS news:

- The Phils beat baseball's best pitcher and thumped the Brewers 5-2. Milwaukee barely squeaked in, lost their #2 pitcher in Ben Sheets, and kept pushing CC on 3 days' rest. But Brett Myers looked unhittable and Philly should finish them off quickly this weekend.

- The Tampa Bay rays won their first-ever playoff game, 6-4, as Evan Longoria hit 2 home runs in his 1st 2 at-bats, becoming only the 2nd player to ever accomplish that.

Division Series Notes- 10/2

In "Could it be true?" news, the Dodgers beat the Cubs in Game 1 of their NLDS, 7-2. This brings the Dodgers' record in the playoffs since the fateful 1988 season to 2-12. Jose Lima won a game in '04 that barely kept the series alive. This time, James Loney (above) became the 3rd Dodger to ever hit a grand slam in the postseason (Ron Cey and Dusty Baker were the others in 1977), and MVP candidate Manny hit a home run as well that he golfed out. I have allowed myself a brief moment of joy, now back to the belief that we will return to our playoff-failure ways tonight.

In other 1st round news:

- Phils won over the Brewers, 3-1, for their first playoff game win since 1993. Brewers need to win today with the best pitcher in baseball, CC Sabathia, or it's over.

- Red Sox beat the Angels for the 10th playoff game in a row. Home losses don't bode well in the first round, and Anaheim needs to regroup quickly.