ANALYSIS : No Doubt About It, the A’s Are Good : World Series: On today’s terms, this Oakland club must be regarded as a dynasty.

In reference to the ‘D’ word, the point has already been made:

Baseball--if not Webster--has redefined dynasty.

Forget the Dodger and New York Yankee powerhouses of the past, the Cincinnati Red and Oakland A’s monopolies of the ‘70s.

It’s a new game now.

Consider:

--Free agency translates to player movement and the impossibility of keeping a roster intact.

--Escalating salaries have forced clubs to impose payroll ceilings, at which point they tear down and rebuild.

--Multiyear contracts have adversely affected, in many cases, motivation and incentive.

Any club that consistently competes on a contending basis now--sprinkling in a division title here and a pennant there--probably fits the new definition of a dynasty.

The Oakland A’s--with their 203 regular-season victories in the last two years, their two straight American League pennants, their four-game demolition of the San Francisco Giants in this year’s World Series and their obvious ability to remain a contender during the first few years of the next decade--are probably there already.

A dynasty--on today’s terms, at least.

Amid the restrained celebration after Game 4 of the World Series Saturday night, A’s pitcher Dave Stewart probably said it best:

“I can see us winning a few more, maybe five or six,” he said. “But you don’t know. Egos become involved. Money becomes involved. If this team stays together and doesn’t get a big ego, it can do anything. The only team that can beat the Oakland A’s is the Oakland A’s.”

Wasn’t it just yesterday that the Detroit Tigers and New York Mets were thought to be the next dynasties? Will the A’s defeat the enemy within?

There doesn’t seem to have been a team, or organization, in the ‘80s better equipped to cope with the seeds of self-destruction.

Consider again:

--The A’s--under the ownership of Walter Haas Jr. and leadership of general manager Sandy Alderson--have developed a reputation for caring, community and family. The environment, when analyzed by prospective free agents, has become as attractive as Los Angeles, Anaheim or San Diego. Players now yearn to play and stay in Oakland.

--Along the way, management has also shown a willingness to pay the price. Mike Moore received $3.95 million as a free agent even though the A’s already had a comparatively strong pitching staff. Rickey Henderson was correctly perceived to be a missing dimension and acquired in a trade even though he would become eligible for free agency this winter.

--The A’s nucleus, including Henderson, the starting pitchers, Bash Brothers Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, and several other key player such as Carney Lansford, Tony Phillips and Terry Steinbach, is comparatively young. Age is not an immediate concern, though relief ace Dennis Eckersley is 35 and designated hitter Dave Parker, who led the team in runs batted in, is 38.

--No manager, the players say, is better prepared than Tony La Russa. No manager, they insist, does a better job of allowing individual freedoms within the framework of team discipline.

La Russa went to Bill Walsh and Pat Riley, among others, last winter to discuss the perils of repeating, then defined the A’s mission, the commitment to resisting comfort, in spring training.

When injuries threatened to sink the A’s in the first half, La Russa brought new meaning to the concept of taking it one day at a time, with the A’s ultimately winning only five fewer games than the 104 of 1988.

When rain and the distractions of the Bay Area earthquake threatened to dissolve the A’s momentum and concentration during the 10-day break between Games 2 and 3 of the World Series, La Russa took the A’s to Arizona to restore the focus.

When others questioned the meaning and significance of this protracted Series in light of the tragic temblor, La Russa told his players that to win it, to have kept pushing and responding mentally and physically through the longest season ever, would represent the greatest and most meaningful victory ever.

It can be said with some certainty that intensity under La Russa will not be a problem. He simply brings more to the party than most managers, as does the A’s organization in general.

Who will they bring to the 1990 party?

Free-agent pitcher Mark Langston could ensure the dynasty, but the A’s are unlikely to go as high as some other clubs because of the $3 million a year they will be compelled to give Henderson and the overall escalation of their payroll.

Pitcher Storm Davis, catcher Ron Hassey and Parker, the productive DH, are also eligible for free agency, and there is some question whether any will be back.

Parker wants a two-year contract, at which point he would be 40. The A’s have another, younger, left-handed power hitter, Ken Phelps, on the bench. Davis won 19 games with an earned-run average of 4.36 and riled the A’s with selfish complaints about being dropped from the Series rotation after the earthquake.

Middle reliever Todd Burns may move into the 1990 rotation, and farm product Jim Corsi may replace Burns in the bullpen. GM Alderson has said that he foresees few spring openings.

The questions of winter will be addressed later than normal. The 1989 World Series finally ended 14 days after it began.

Did its completion provide the damaged Bay Area with a mental panacea, a building block on the road to recovery, a rebirth of sorts?

Who can be sure?

The certainty is that the dominant A’s, on the field and off, continue to display characteristics associated with a dynasty, particularly by today’s definition.