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Dodger Blues
By MATT WONG, MOP Squad Sports Staff Writer
Apr 12, 2005 - 9:04:00 PM

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Oh great, back to Los Angeles. Back to where the Giants lost the final game of the 1993 season, when we had the best record in Major League Baseball. Going into the game, the Giants were tied with the Atlanta Braves for 1st place in the National League West. In 1993 there was no such thing as a wild card team. With the Braves already recording a victory that day, the Giants were in a must win situation. They had to beat their archrivals, or go start their golf season. The Giants were slaughtered that day in front of a capacity crowd that came out for one reason: to watch the Dodgers salvage their season by ruining the Giants playoff hopes. Former Giants 3rd baseman Matt Williams promised that the Giants would “never lose again” to the Dodgers.

Bradley and the Dodgers do it again (AP Photo)

Fast forward to 2004. The Giants were one game behind the Dodgers for 1st place with two games to play. The final two games of the season were to be played at Dodger Stadium. The Giants jump out to a 3-0 lead. Starting Pitcher Brett Tomko was electric. By far the best start of his entire career, in probably the most important one too. He leaves the bullpen with a 3-0 lead and we head to the 9th. Closer Dustin Hermanson can’t find the strike zone, and neither can Matt Herges. Defensive replacement Cody Ransom makes a crucial error followed by Wayne Franklin giving Steve Finley one of his finest baseball memories. A walk-off grand slam home run to win the division at home, you can’t even write up stuff like that.

Then there was today. The first visit back to Chavez Ravine has to go a lot smoother right? As the Giants watched the Dodger opening day ceremonies, all that can be thought about was what could have been. The Giants were one of the hottest teams coming down the stretch in 2004. If the bullpen hangs onto that lead, Jason Schmidt pitches the final game of the season and a chance at winning back-to-back division titles. Instead, that final game was a chance for the Dodger starters to relax before they start the postseason.

The game starts about five minutes late. The Giants come out firing. Ray Durham got hit by a pitch. Vizquel singled, Snow flied out deep to left, Feliz singled, Alfonso too. The Giants ended up scoring five runs in the first inning off of Dodgers starter Jeff Weaver. Today was a different day at Chavez Ravine…

Giants starting pitcher Kirk Reuter struggles his way to 5+ innings and by the 9th inning the score is 8-5 Giants on top. Hmm, three run Giants lead, on a sunny day game at Dodgers Stadium, it sounds too familiar. However this year the Giants have a real closer. Armando Benitez was brought in to fix the exact problem the Giants had on their last visit to Los Angeles. He gets the leadoff guy out. One out. Two to go, Ricky Ledee who was in a Giants uniform last year, doubled and here we go. Cesar Itzuris gets his third hit of the game. Two men on, two men out, Benitez walks two hitters, which leads to a run 8-6. Normally Giants manager Felipe Alou would go to his bullpen to find someone with control, because clearly Benitez didn’t have his.

But this is why the Giants signed Armando Benitez. This was his first test. Alou can’t pull him now. He needs him to go through these situations down the stretch. The Giants will live and die by way of Benitez. Milton Bradley hits a line drive base hit to left field. The Dodgers were on their way to at least tying the game. Defensive replacement Jason Ellison appears a bit too anxious, he takes the world’s worst angle on the ball and is forced to make a full extension backhand stab, which came up empty. As the ball rolls all the way to the wall, Ellison takes the ultimate walk of shame. Knowing that he lost the game, he sprints like he’s never sprinted before. As he sprints he sees the ball rolling farther and farther away. It’s a race that he cannot win, no matter how much he wants to, no matter how sorry he is. He is essentially running away, running away from the pain of costing his team a win against their rivals and maybe costing him a roster spot for good. Ellison finally runs all the way to the wall. He picks up the ball and spikes it like a touchdown celebration in the 80’s. The game was over and now he must make his second walk of shame, back to the dugout.

One dramatic event after another has happened to the Giants in Los Angeles since that 1993 season. Whether it be compiling one of the best teams of the decade then having the Dodgers ruin their playoff chances on the last day of the season, being up 5-0 in the 8th inning in game 6 of the 2002 World Series until a Scott Speizio 3-run homerun changed everything, the 9th inning meltdown leading up to the Steve Finley walk off grand slam to win the division and then today. Another three run lead blown by walks by a closer, an error by a defensive replacement and a walk off hit by a Dodgers’ Centerfielder. In the words of Randy Newman, “I love L.A.”


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