dodgers win!

the dodgers swept the cubs last night to advance to the national league championship series. they also swept away 20 years of utter futility. they brushed aside the ghosts of piazza and karros along with those of fox ownership and their own playoff series losses by sweep.

manny batted .500 with two homers. russell martin hit in the high .300s and was a catalyst all over the field. james loney led the team in rbi.

when martin and matt kemp went into the stands after the game to spray champagne and celebrate with the dodger faithful, it was as if 1988 was yesterday. the long suffering fans who had once become accustomed to post-season heroics seemed to pick up right where they left off.

i watched the end of the game in the loudest bar blaring 80s dance hits in all of pasadena; wokcano. it was odd but interesting and the place did acknowledge the victory when it occurred with just a few hoots and hollers. shortly thereafter a few friends who were out for a drink in honor of my wife's birthday ambled over to the 35er where 50% of the bar was wearing some piece of dodger gear. downstairs over hefeweizens and foozball, i talked to a guy who was wearing a dodger blue shirt that said, "doyers," across the chest. (it was a gift so he could not tell me where to pick one up.) he had come from the game and related how great it was to be in the ravine.

i shared with him and his wife what it was like to be there when jerry reuss beat the astros in a one-game playoff. i talked about trying to get burt hooten's attention through a crack in the bullpen while reggie jackson was notching another world series home run off of don sutton.

i described how it felt to be 13-years-old, watching the deciding game of a playoff series against the phillies, (those of larry bowa and gary mathews and "the bull," greg luzinski,) when in the bottom of the tenth, with two outs, ron cey walked. dusty baker got on when garry maddox misplayed a fly ball setting up bill russell who hit a single up the middle. i told my new friends how maddox charged the ball but realized it was for naught as cey was scoring easily. he pulled his glove up and began walking to the dugout as i stood there in the pavilion, my mouth agape, watching that ball roll through the grass signalling the dodgers destiny to challenge the yankees again in the world series for retribution. my dad charged to the edge of the wall and turned to me as fans poured onto the field to cut little squares of grass and earth to save as souvenirs of the momentous occasion. he asked me if i wanted to jump out onto the field and i screamed out yes. as my dad contemplated a jumping off point, he changed his mind and we stayed put, yelling and screaming all the same.

there was a great sense of camaraderie among the true blue dodger fans out and about last night. gone are the days of lopes, garvey, reggie smith and dusty baker. instead we have man-ram, kemp, lowe and nomar. these phillies will not have the bull nor bake mcbride nor steve carlton. we will have to contend with rollins and howard and utley. still, it should be fun.