It Could Be October to Remember

After losing, in Tom Lasorda and Brett Butler, their leader and their leadoff man, the Dodgers have held themselves together beautifully. Though a far cry from the dominant, Atlanta-like team that they wanted to be, the Dodgers never came apart at the seams, as well they could have after their manager, their center fielder and even their starting third baseman, Mike Blowers, were taken from them.

That explains why they still stand a chance to win this thing, with precious few weeks remaining in the season. Everyone knows that the 1988 Dodgers did more with less than any team in memory, so there is no reason to rule out this season’s club, simply because of a few unforeseen hardships. Weirder things have happened.

I don’t know, maybe Brett Butler could come off the bench during the World Series with a splint on his left wrist, then one-hand an Orel Hershiser pitch over the right-field fence.

Butler, who if not for bad luck would have no luck at all, and Lasorda, who must pace his upstairs box like a maternity-ward father, are still with the Dodgers in flesh as well as spirit, the two most unlikely cheerleaders the team ever expected to have. Lasorda is wearing a shirt and necktie, which is one of those sights you never expect to see, like Clint Eastwood in Bermuda shorts.

Bill Russell is running the club now, and has proved conclusively that he should still be running it next spring. Even if the Dodgers should do a September swoon and miss the playoffs, it would prove only that Russell is fallible, not incapable. He merits at least one full season in charge, fair being fair.

This doesn’t mean there are heads that shouldn’t roll, if the Dodgers spend their October at home watching the San Diego Padres on television.

Despite a roster full of mature professionals and rookies of the year, the Dodgers still need to find one additional outfielder, a more consistent second baseman and a way to keep opponents from stealing second and third base at will, even if it means having the pitcher lob the ball to Eric Karros nine times per baserunner. Games would take 4 1/2 hours, but Mike Piazza is too good a catcher to be taken advantage of this way.

Joe Morgan practically dictated what would happen next, while broadcasting a Dodger game the other night. He called it before Cincinnati’s Eric Davis stole third without a throw, then called it again when the Dodgers had shortstop Greg Gagne cover second on a steal, even with Ismael Valdes working the outside corner to a left-handed hitter, Hal Morris, who slapped the ball right where Gagne had been positioned.

The Dodgers do not have enough offense--three exceptional batters in an order of nine--to give away runs. Russell’s club has above-average pitching and defense, but until the Dodgers can keep runners from stealing second and often third, the opposition will continue to need only two hits to score a run, not the customary three.

Few teams in baseball are without flaws, however, so the Dodgers do have as good a shot at going all the way as anybody. I mean, it’s not as though the Braves terrify them. The Dodgers don’t sit around and say, “Oooh, there’s no way we could ever hit Denny Neagle.”

I have been thinking about how much fun this October could be.

First would come the National League playoffs, where, for instance, the Dodgers could find themselves in the ninth inning of a thrilling game, needing a hero to defeat that fine St. Louis relief pitcher . . . yes, Dennis Eckersley. That’s why I say we let Butler limp up there and grip the bat with one hand. Psychological warfare.

Or, there could be a league championship series between the Dodgers and their old amigos, the Padres, which could present a situation in which Game 7 boils down to the Dodgers against a portly southpaw by the name of Valenzuela. You might have heard of him.

And then there is the World Series, which could put the National League champions in Cleveland, with the Dodgers needing to rough up the enemy’s ace right-hander, fellow named Hershiser.

That same World Series could also take the Dodgers farther east, as well as bring Cal Ripken before Chavez Ravine’s fans for the first time. It could also be a replay, 15 years later, of the World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees, with a certain Mr. Strawberry stepping to the plate. A replay of the 1959 World Series with the White Sox is yet another possibility, although let’s not play it at the Coliseum.

We could have one fine October, but first, we have to survive September. That’s what this season has been about for the Dodgers, survival.