I Remember 1982... Do You?

Things sure don't look as rosy as they did at this time yesterdee, as they say in the hills. In spite of his fine performance in Denver last week, one must conclude that the Dodgers can no longer afford to have Maddux pitch this season unless they've already clinched the division. The doctor is no longer in and he's being beaten up by the league's worst. At the time of this writing, the Snakes are beating Aaron Cook early. Now, whether or not this holds, the Dodger MUST win tonight. Period. They cannot expect to back into the Playoffs by hoping Arizona loses every day. I would seriously consider starting Pierre in center over Kemp for the remainder of the season if I was Joe Torre. Kemp seems to have lost his power again and his baserunning blunders and pitch selection - he's about to break Billy Grabarkowitz's all-time Dodger record for strike outs in a season - leave much to be desired. Let's see if Torre is wise enough to make this obvious move.

It's scary. I remember that Sunday in '82. It was the last day of the season, as I recall, and the Dodgers were in a tie for first place with Atlanta who were, ironically enough, managed by Joe Torre. Atlanta won their game that day and the Dodgers were beating the Giants by a couple of runs. Dodgers reliever Terry Forster throws a cock high pitch to Joe Morgan in the 9th inning and he slams it over the right field fence. Braves in. Dodgers out. Giants proudly claim responsibilty for the terrorist attack on LA and its fans. Whoever wears the black and gold of the Giants has a built-in hatred for the Dodgers and wants to beat them more than anything come playoff time. The Giants know they have a chance to knock the Dodgers off their high perch (80-74 isn't exactly an aerie.) and they play the Dodgers five more times before this thing is done. The Dodgers looked like crap last night against Zito, like the fans were keeping them awake. Guess that's what happens when your starter can't keep you in the game in the early innings. If the Snakes do what they're supposed to do and the Blue continue to hit and pitch poorly, the Snakes'll catch 'em by Wednesday. It's time for the Dodgers to make their final statement of the regular season and not let themselves be pushed around by a lesser team, regardless of the rivalry. If there's one major complaint I've had about the Dodgers for some time and I still have, it's that they never seem to get angry. We'll see what the Dodgers are made of tonight and tomorrow.

Congrats to the Chicago Cubs and the Tama Bay Rays. The Cubbies have clincehd their 2nd consecutive Central Division title and the Rays have clinched their first playoff spot in their 11 year history. Most likely, the Rays will prevail in the AL East and the mighty Bosox, last year's World Champs, will have to fly to Anaheim for the first round of the series. Of course, if you're a Halos fan, you'd much rather face the White Sox or Tampa.