THE WORLD SERIES: ATHLETICS vs DODGERS : NO WONDER THESE GUYS GET . . . STRAIGHT A’S : Oakland Has a Team That Could Rival Athletics’ Dynasty of 1970s

Now that the Dodgers have gotten into the World Series, just what in the world have they gotten themselves into? They saw this coming. They were warned, a good 3, 4 days in advance. They could have dumped this all on the New York Mets, which would’ve been the decent thing, the smart thing, the expected thing to do.

But no. The Dodgers had to get mad at David Cone and get their backs up about Jay Howell and actually put their faith in Tom Lasorda’s fertilizer. Temporarily insane, obviously, they had to go out and beat the Mets.

So now they get the A’s.

They have only themselves to blame.

For those who haven’t paid close attention to the A’s since 1974, the last time Oakland and Los Angeles met in a World Series, a refresher course may be in order. Much has changed since we saw Bill Buckner getting thrown out at third and Joe Ferguson gunning down Sal Bando at home plate and Mike Marshall--the other Mike Marshall--refusing to throw a warm-up pitch during that fateful 7th-inning delay in Game 5.

The 1988 Oakland Athletics won 104 regular-season games. In the last 30 years, only two American League clubs--the 1961 New York Yankees at 109-53, and the 1970 Baltimore Orioles at 108-54--have won more.

In the playoffs, these A’s swept the Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 0. In the last 30 years, only three other teams--the 1963 Dodgers, the 1966 Orioles and the 1976 Cincinnati Reds--swept a postseason series in 4 games.

And the Red Sox weren’t exactly cardboard cut-outs. They have Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Dwight Evans, Mike Greenwell, Lee Smith, Bruce Hurst. They were in the World Series 2 years ago.

The A’s outplayed them in every facet of the game.

In Game 1, the A’s out-pitched them, with Dave Stewart, Rick Honeycutt and Dennis Eckersley edging Hurst, 2-1.

In Game 2, the A’s out-rookied them, with first-year shortstop Walt Weiss driving in the winning run in the 9th inning of a 4-3 victory.

In Game 3, the A’s out-hammered them, using home runs by Mark McGwire, Carney Lansford, Ron Hassey and Dave Henderson to turn a 5-0 deficit into a 10-6 victory.

And in Game 4, the A’s out-gloved them, with fielding gems by Mike Gallego and Lansford lining Oakland’s path to a 4-1 pennant-clinching victory.

“If there’s a better team, I’d like to see it,” said A’s right fielder Jose Canseco after hitting 3 home runs in 4 playoff games. “What you saw out there was a team with a lot of power, a lot of speed, a lot of pitching and a lot of defense.

“Basically, when you have those kind of combinations, you’re going to be very hard to beat.”

That’s basically correct. While beating the stuffing out of the American League West, the A’s led the league in team earned-run average, 3.44; set a major league record for team saves, 64; scored 800 runs, hit 156 home runs, stole 129 bases and placed third in the league in fielding, .983.

And that’s not counting the individual stuff.

Canseco, with 42 home runs and 40 stolen bases, became the first 40-40 player. He also led the majors in runs batted in with 124--a franchise record--and batted .307.

Eckersley saved 45 games--one shy of the big league record--before saving 4 more against Boston and getting named playoff MVP. He also accounted for 1988’s statistic of the year: In his 45 saves, Eckersley allowed just 1 earned run in 53 innings. That translates into an earned-run average of 0.02.

The A’s had 3 players with 90 or more RBIs--Canseco, McGwire and Henderson. They had 3 pitchers with 16 or more wins--Stewart, Bob Welch and Storm Davis. They had 4 players with 20 or more stolen bases--Canseco, Lansford, Luis Polonia and Stan Javier.

They are also starting to get some play as best team of the decade, an argument that holds water. On paper, only the ’84 Tigers and the ’86 Mets compare.

On the field, beginning Saturday, the ’88 Dodgers will try to compare. The A’s don’t seem to look worried. After the Boston obliteration, Oakland over L.A. could be as easy as A-B-C.

But forget the B’s and C’s. Learn about the A’s.

Twenty things you should know about these Oakland invaders:

1. How good is Jose Canseco?

“Jose Canseco is God,” says McGwire, whose perspective could be clouded. McGwire still is young and, let’s face it, Canseco merely parted the Red Sox, not the Red Sea.

Jim Lefebvre, the A’s third base coach, offers a more seasoned observation.

“Make no mistake, this is a team that feeds off Jose,” Lefebvre says. “He is not only the greatest talent in baseball right now, but he is the kind of player who creates a mood and a personality. He’s the kind of player who again and again will make a difference--not only with what he does but when he does it.”

Canseco’s home runs against the Red Sox included 1 to left field, 1 to center field, 1 to right field; 2 against Hurst, 1 against Clemens. All of them were breath-taking. His playoff batting average was .313. His playoff slugging percentage was .938.

Only 24, Canseco has already hit 111 home runs, an average of 37 a season.

2. Who are the Bash Brothers?

The Super Bowl hasn’t cornered the market on cornball nicknames. If the Broncos can have their Three Amigos, the Dolphins their Killer B’s and the Redskins their Smurfs and Hogs, the A’s can have their Bash Brothers--Canseco and McGwire.

They already have a poster out--Canseco and McGwire decked out in Blues Brothers sunglasses and porkpies, brandishing industrial-sized bats and leaning against a police car. Oh, and they look real mean.

Sure, it’s trite. Sure, it’s been done before.

It’s also developed into a mini-gold mine. In less than 3 weeks, 50,000 copies of the poster have been sold in the Bay Area.

3. Who is Walt Weiss and why is Tony La Russa saying all those nice things about him?

Bigger than Canseco, better than McGwire. That’s the La Russa line on Walt Weiss, the .250-hitting shortstop who supposedly did more for the A’s in his first season than the Bash Brothers did in theirs.

“He’s tough offensively and great defensively,” the Oakland manager says. “If this guy had been in the league 10 years and had this kind of defensive season, they’d be raving about him. I get the same feeling watching Alan Trammell take ground balls as I do watching Walt Weiss.”

OK, Weiss is in contention for becoming Oakland’s third straight rookie of the year. A little hype is to be expected.

But then in the playoffs, Weiss made a run-saving, diving stop of Rich Gedman’s grounder in Game 1. He won Game 2 with a 9th-inning single. He turned in another dazzler on Jim Rice in Game 3 and helped turn a crucial double play in Game 4.

By sweep’s end, Boston Manager Joe Morgan needed no more convincing.

“I like the guy better than (Alfredo) Griffin,” Morgan said. “He’s so steady.

“There was a game this season, a little pop fly up over third base that falls in with Dwight Evans running from first. A lot of people would get confused with a ball like that, not know what to do with it. But Weiss jumps on the ball like it’s a $1,000 bill and Evans is dead at third.

“He’s a player.”

4. Is that really Carney Lansford at third base, or just his evil twin?

Talk about your split seasons!

On June 4, the good Carney was batting .402, leading the major leagues in hitting and headed for an eventual berth on the American League All-Star team.

From June 4 through the end of the regular season, however, it was all bad Carney. Lansford managed only 65 hits in his last 332 at-bats (.196) and took a 7-for-53 slump into the playoffs. The slide dragged Lansford all the way down to .279--13 points below his career average--and from the All-Star break on, he totaled just 2 home runs and 17 RBIs.

So what happened?

First, Lansford met up with the laws of nature, his average dipping to an earthly .331 by the All-Star game. Then, he injured his right thumb in early August and the rest of his season unraveled.

Through it all, Lansford fielded his position with aplomb--he committed just 7 errors--and during the playoffs, he showed signs of finding his old self at the plate. Against the Red Sox, Lansford batted .294 and hit a 2-run homer that ignited the A’s comeback in Game 3, which pleased La Russa, a longtime admirer, no end.

“He rises to the occasion,” La Russa said. “He’s the perfect professional. I’m glad everybody got the opportunity to see how he can win a game.”

5. Didn’t Dennis Eckersley used to be washed up?

Both the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs used to think so. Boston traded him during the middle of the 1984 season for Bill Buckner--a trade that came back to haunt the Red Sox not once, but twice. Two years later, the Cubs were fed up with Eckersley, too, and dealt him to Oakland for three prospects named Dave Wilder, Brian Guinn and Mark Leonette.

Coming off a 6-11 season with Chicago, Eckersley found himself, much to his chagrin, opening the 1987 season in the A’s bullpen. “It was (pitching coach) Dave Duncan’s idea,” La Russa says. “It started out that we picked up Eck for pitching depth. But Dave saw something special there and he stayed with it.”

Amid his own protestations, Eckersley went on to save 16 games in support of Jay Howell in 1987. Then came 1988 and 45 saves and the MVP award in the American League playoffs.

“I guess I can’t complain anymore,” Eckersley says with a grin. “The bullpen’s certainly worked out for me. I’m getting old. I had to get something in before it’s too late.”

6. What is it with Don Baylor and the World Series and will all this catch up with him in his next life?

The trend has gotten out of hand. Boston in 1986, Minnesota in 1987, Oakland in 1988.

Want a pennant? Sign Don Baylor.

Baylor played only a bit part with the A’s this season, batting .220 with 7 home runs and 34 RBIs. But emotionally, spiritually, whatever, Baylor has a presence.

“There aren’t that many players who want to assume the leadership role, but Don is one of the few,” La Russa says. “He leads by example.”

Then, again, maybe it’s just dumb luck.

Baylor simply says: “This is what I train for. I’ve never trained to lose.”

7. How did the A’s make out in the Rickey Henderson deal?

Back in December, 1984, this was the trade that was supposed to cripple Oakland and turn the New York Yankees into a dynasty--Henderson and pitcher Bert Bradley for Tim Birtsas, Jay Howell, Stan Javier, Eric Plunk and Jose Rijo.

Only Javier, a reserve outfielder, and Plunk, a right-handed relief pitcher, remain with the A’s. The others, however, served the franchise admirably. Last winter, Birtsas and Rijo were sent to Cincinnati for Dave Parker, and Howell was part of the deal that brought Bob Welch in from Los Angeles.

Henderson and the Yankees? They, again, are on the outside looking in, living unhappily ever after.

8. Didn’t Mark McGwire have a down year?

So it would seem. His batting average dropped 29 points from 1987. He hit 17 fewer home runs. He drove in 19 fewer runs.

Of course, that still left McGwire at .260 with 32 home runs, third best in the league, and 99 RBIs, eighth best in the league.

McGwire also set a club record with 20 game-winning hits, drove in 35 runs that either tied a game or gave the A’s the lead, and batted .333 with 3 RBIs in the sweep of Boston. He remains the best young first baseman in the American League.

Wally Joyner should have had such a down year.

9. How about those former Dodgers?

The Dodgers have done a pretty fair job of loading the Oakland pitching staff. Dave Stewart, Bob Welch and Rick Honeycutt--40% of a starting rotation and one middle reliever, all former bleeders of Dodger Blue.

Stewart and Honeycutt were once actually traded for one another, the Dodgers shipping Stewart to Texas in 1983 for the Ranger left-hander. By 1986, Stewart had migrated to Oakland, where he is 50-30. After winning 20 games in 1987, Stewart finished 21-12 in 1988.

Welch, the price the Dodgers paid last winter for Alfredo Griffin and Jay Howell, went 17-9 in green and gold, reaching a career high for victories. Most striking is how quickly he settled in by the Bay. Welch went 13-4 with a 2.56 ERA in games he pitched at the Oakland Coliseum.

Honeycutt, whose trade to the A’s brought the Dodgers Tim Belcher in late 1987, found a home in the Oakland bullpen. During the regular season, he went 3-2 with 7 saves and a 3.50 ERA. During the playoffs, he pitched 2 hitless innings and received credit for the victory in Game 1.

10. Do you think Donnie Moore will be watching the Series?

If he does, he’ll probably feel a whole lot better about 1986.

This Dave Henderson is no fluke.

Two years and two teams later, Henderson batted .304 as Oakland’s regular center fielder, 50 points higher than his career average. He scored 100 runs, drove in 94, hit 24 home runs and amassed 38 doubles--all career highs. Including the playoffs, the A’s were 24-1 in games in which Henderson homered.

And in the playoffs, Henderson batted .375 with 4 RBIs, including the game-winner in Game 1 and a 2-run homer in Game 3. His knack for doing the right thing at the right time continues.

“I don’t plan this stuff,” Henderson says in typical unassuming style. “I just throw it out and whatever happens, happens.”

Donnie Moore knows.

11. Who is the A’s real stolen-base hero?

Canseco? Guess again. Luis Polonia, who swiped 24 bases in 84 games? Strike 2.

Look deep into eyes of the Oakland bullpen. There you’ll find Gene Nelson, middle reliever and set-up man for Eckersley who also doubled as a pinch-runner during an extra-inning game in Toronto on July 3.

In the top of the 12th, Nelson broke from first base and slid safely into second, becoming the first American League pitcher to steal a base since the adoption of the designated hitter rule in 1973. You can look it up. Nelson went on to score the A’s seventh run in an eventual 9-8 Oakland victory in 16 innings.

12. Will we be seeing a lot of Dave Parker in the World Series?

Is there any other way?

In truth, the hefty outfielder may be logging a lot of bench time against the Dodgers. Parker doesn’t hit left-handers much anymore, which could cost him a start against John Tudor. And at 37 and 240 pounds, Parker doesn’t move well in the outfield anymore, which usually restricts him to the designated hitter’s role.

There will be no designated hitter in the games played at Dodger Stadium.

In the playoffs, Parker appeared only once in left field, in Game 4, once the A’s had a 3-0 series advantage. Two balls were hit his way, a fly ball and a single. Parker caught the fly, but booted the single.

13. Can the A’s pitchers swing the bat?

Only five Oakland pitchers have as much as a major league batting record. Stewart is the best of the lot, at .196, but his last at-bat was on Aug. 15, 1983. Next, in order, come Welch, .151; Honeycutt, .134; Eckersley, .133, and Davis, .063.

Welch, Honeycutt and Davis all batted during the 1987 season. Eckersley last faced live pitching in 1986.

As Stewart assesses the situation, “We like the DH.”

14. Do the A’s have their own version of the Dodgers’ stuntmen?

Afraid not, although it might be time to round up Gallego, Javier and Tony Phillips and call them the buntmen.

None of these guys hit much--Javier batted .257 in 1988, Gallego .209 and Phillips .203--but among the redwoods in the Oakland batting order, none of them is required to. Offensively, this threesome specializes in the suicide squeeze.

Defensively, however, they all serve vital functions. Javier is a valuable late-inning outfield replacement for Parker or Polonia. Phillips, a utility man’s utility man, played every position except pitcher and catcher this season. And Gallego, subbing for the injured Glenn Hubbard at second base in the playoffs, did a Dick Green job on the Red Sox.

Dodger fans who remember 1974 remember Dick Green.

15. What is Dave Stewart’s favorite pregame meal?

An air sandwich. A vacuum burger. Spared ribs.

In other words, nada.

“I have a problem with nerves,” Stewart explains. “When I’m pitching, I have trouble keeping my food down.

“So, to eliminate throwing up on the mound, I just don’t eat.”

So, on the night before he pitches, Stewart begins to fast around midnight. By the time he is finished pitching, Stewart is usually one hungry pitcher, which is why he usually hits the postgame spread before the showers.

16. What happened to Bob Welch in Game 3 of the playoffs?

Stewart isn’t the only one with a nerves problem. In the words of Oakland catcher Terry Steinbach, “Calling Bob hyper is an understatement.”

Ever the excitable boy, Welch was virtually leaking adrenaline by the time he made his first pitch against Boston last Saturday night. Welch allowed hits to the first four batters he faced, got an out and then walked the next two hitters.

He lasted 1 innings. By the time he left, Oakland trailed, 5-0.

Despite his storied strikeout of Reggie Jackson in Game 2 of the 1978 World Series, Welch has encountered much difficulty in postseason play. His record in the playoffs is 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA. In the World Series, he is 0-1 with a 10.39 ERA.

17. What’s with Tony La Russa’s cap, anyway?

Frayed by the A and worn where it isn’t torn, La Russa’s cap is in worse shape than Kirk Gibson’s hamstring. The Oakland manager has worn it every game this season. His team has won 108 of those games.

“The best hat I ever had,” La Russa says. “I’m not going to change it now. If I change my hat, should I change my right fielder, too?”

18. Are these A’s as good as the ’74 A’s?

On paper, they may be better.

The 1974 A’s finished the regular season at 90-72, which would have put them 14 games behind the 1988 A’s. The current A’s record of 104-58 also out-distanced the World Series champion Oakland clubs of 1972 (93-62) and 1973 (94-68).

The ’88 A’s had the franchise’s best record since 1931, when the Philadelphia Athletics went 107-45. Their 14-game winning streak in April and May was the club’s longest since the franchise moved from Kansas City.

The ’74 A’s had no 40-40 man, although Reggie Jackson was 25-25. They had no .300 hitter, as Joe Rudi’s .293 mark led the club. Catfish Hunter won 25 games, but their leader in saves was Rollie Fingers, who had 18.

They did, however, beat the ’74 Dodgers, 4 games to 1. Those Dodgers finished the regular season 102-60.

19. Do they have any weakness?

If Parker or Polonia play in the outfield, yes. Both are uniquely suited to the designated hitter’s role, and when one of them starts in left, there’s sure to be high adventure in the Oakland outfield.

Henderson in center and Canseco in right are no great defensive shakes, either, which could make this an exciting World Series for fly balls. John Shelby, most assuredly, will have company.

20. Do the Dodgers have a chance?

Well, let’s turn the floor over to Canseco.

“We’re the team to beat,” he said. “We’re the team with the better record. We’re the team with the best balance.

“The pressure will be on (the Dodgers). They’re going to have a chore if they want to beat us.”

The odds look long, Angelenos. The A’s can do it all. The Dodgers can pitch. The Dodgers are thrilled to be here. The A’s expected it.