Rooting for the Dodgers Is a Gamble Sometimes

I’ve made plans to go to Las Vegas this weekend because I haven’t had a day off in a week or two, and three columns a week sometimes just gets to be too much.

I mentioned that to some of our heroes before Wednesday’s game, and I think most of the Dodgers were genuinely happy that I was getting the chance to go away.

“You might want to throw some money [on the Dodgers winning the pennant],” suggested catcher Jason Phillips, and I wasn’t surprised that a guy trying to make it paycheck-to-paycheck would think of such a thing. I know, because I already had.

Earlier in the day I contacted Robert Walker, the race and sports book director for the Mirage and MGM, and asked for the current odds on our heroes’ mad dash for postseason glory.

When Walker stopped laughing, he said, “30-1 to win the pennant and 60-1 to win the Series.” He said he’d also have a race and sports book window waiting just for me -- if I wanted to wager on the Dodgers.

“We might even ring a bell or something,” he said, “you know like they do when someone gets a tip at a bar.”

I probably should have told Mr. Wise Guy that I’d also like to bet on the Lakers winning the title next season -- he might’ve sent a limo.

I reminded Mr. Wise Guy, though, that our heroes are the hottest team in the National League West, and if the Dodgers move into first place, they might even set a goal of hitting the .500 mark.

And if not, I told him, then they are on the brink of making Major League Baseball history -- becoming the first team to win a division title with a record below .500.

I watched the Dodgers on TV on Tuesday and Vin Scully was giving pitch-by-pitch updates from San Diego, and he wouldn’t do that if this wasn’t a legitimate playoff race. Scully got me so pumped, I took the genuine Dodger cap that Micro Manager had given me away from the dogs just in case I needed to wear it again.

If the Dodgers win the division, they’ve got decent starting pitching, which gives them a chance to steal a pennant. And then who knows: L.A. vs. L.A.?

I found myself talking up the Dodgers to Mr. Wise Guy, forgetting for a moment that The Flake, a.k.a., Jeff Weaver, would be pitching later. I really was turning into Charley Steiner. I hope this doesn’t mean I have to feign interest in what Steve Lyons has to say.

Walker said the Dodgers were 20-1 to win the World Series before the season began, and 8-1 to win the pennant, which means Mr. Wise Guy had a much loftier opinion of the Dodgers. He probably thought Hee-Seop Choi would be the every-day first baseman, too.

By comparison, the Dodgers are now a bargain at 60-1 with Choi on the bench, giving everyone who “Thinks Blue” an edge in Vegas, so long as it doesn’t come down to Yhency Brazoban holding a lead and Phillips throwing out someone trying to steal.

Before I left for Vegas, I thought I’d check on our heroes and gauge their level of excitement -- you know, like going to the paddock before a big race and checking out the nags. That’s why I started with Phillips.

He said he’s a regular scoreboard watcher, which explains, I said, why he has thrown out only 12 of 82 runners trying to steal second. Phillips laughed, and that’s how far these guys have come this season.

(For the record he laughed before Ryan Freel went five for five in steals Wednesday.)

The Dodgers were feeling pretty chipper with the Padres in decline, prompting Cesar Izturis before the game to tell me, “There were a lot of people who didn’t believe in us.” Attendance figures, though, suggest something else, making you wonder if they all began the season with a visit to Las Vegas.

I moved from Izturis to Jeff Kent, you know, night to day, Mister Rogers to Mr. Chuckles. I told him how excited I was about the Dodgers and their climb into playoff contention and how I was there for the guys all the way.

“You’re sad,” Kent said, which was odd, because I told him how happy I was for our heroes. “Your cheers are phony.”

For some reason, Kent then got downright mean. “Why don’t you write about hockey?”

As you can see, it’s tough being a Dodger fan, but then I noticed Eric Karros walking through the clubhouse, and I thought for a moment that management had made a move to upgrade first base. Viva Las Vegas.

The Padres won in the bottom of the ninth, which should keep the lofty odds on the Dodgers the same until I arrive.

“I was talking [to someone who would rather not have his name revealed],” Derek Lowe said, “and he said this might be one of the only times where a general manager can dictate who wins a division.

“Right now we’re all the same team in the West -- since we’re all basically below .500. Whichever GM makes the right move [before the trading deadline Sunday] could be the team to win it.”

That could be a problem. The trading deadline is 1 p.m. Sunday, and I kind of hoped we’d be on the road and leaving Las Vegas before then, which eliminates the opportunity of sizing up the Dodgers’ chances of winning the division after General Manager Paul DePodesta turns on his computer.

You don’t think he’d do anything to mess up the Dodgers’ chances of winning it all, do you?

*

TODAY’S LAST word comes in e-mail from Fred Gordon:

“So you donated the whole lot of clothes to Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA? Did you give credit to the people that gave you the clothes or did you take credit for the donation, you unethical (jerk). I dare you to print this letter, a letter that shows your lack of integrality.”

It’d be nice now if you donated $100 to Mattel’s; just send it to me and I’ll give it to them.

T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.