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After a long, long, long wait, the Dodgers are finally in the playoffs!This Dodgers team has been absolutely incredible. Despite a pitching rotation which has been in tatters in all season long, the Dodgers have managed a whopping 53 come-from-behind wins, and 16 when trailing after 8 innings. Talk about clutch.
What's so significant about this Dodgers playoff berth is that it's the first in the post-Mike Piazza era. It seemed as if the Dodgers could never get over the trades of 1998 and Fox ownership, but as Steve Finley's grand slam went over the right field wall, it opened the flood gates for the new Dodger era. This is not the team of the past which underachieves, and fails to come through with the game and the season on the line. The woes of the past are now behind us.
As the playoffs begin, we're excited that Milton Bradley is coming back (LAist thinks what he did was beyond stupid because it cost him give crucial games, but we think he handled the aftermath with class and he'll be a better person in the long run). We also think that the Dodgers should go with a four-man rotation, because three-man rotations have not proved successful in recent years for the playoffs. We're not sure Odalis Perez, Jeff Weaver, or Jose Lima could handle pitching on three days rest, so we support giving Kaz Ishii the fourth spot in the rotation, a guy who seems to come through with his back against the wall.
LAist also congratulates the Angels, who we've overlooked at times on this site. Anaheim has been on a tear lately, beating the A's for the AL West title, despite a ridiculous move to suspend Jose Guillen for the rest of the season.
As always, LAist is rooting for a Freeway Series.
