2008 SEASON PREVIEW

Ned Colletti and the 2006 Turnaround

Newly hired Ned Colletti was responsible for a tangible change in attitude and guided the Dodgers' resurgence in the 2006 season. He hired former Red Sox manager Grady Little to lead the team and also traded oft-troubled Milton Bradley for rookie phenom Andre Ethier . His off season acquisitions also included former Atlanta Brave shortstop Rafael Furcal and former Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller . Coletti also signed former All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra , even though the team already had two other former All-Star shortstops (Furcal and the then-injured Cesar Izturis ). Garciaparra agreed to play first base and adjusted quite well in the field and remained productive at the plate, producing several key hits in Dodger victories.

Due to the crowded infield, untimely injuries and several players' lack of production, the team was rebuilt during the season. The flurry of trading saw Cesar Izturis go to the Chicago Cubs for Greg Maddux while Willy Aybar and Danys Baez went to Atlanta for Wilson Betemit . A series of rookies were called up and provided substantial everyday contributions. Among them were catcher Russell Martin , who won the starting catching job after being called up in May and starting pitcher Chad Billingsley , who had several quality starts in August and September. Ethier led the team in batting with a .308 batting average as the team's everyday left fielder through much of the season. Another key move was handing the closer's role to reliever Takashi Saito , where he flourished, notching 24 saves in 26 opportunities to go with a 2.07 ERA.

At the end of 2006, the Dodgers swept the San Francisco Giants in the last series of the season to secure an 88-74 record and land them in a tie with the San Diego Padres for first place in the western division. However, due the fact that the Padres took 13 of the 18 head-to-head meetings during the regular season, the Dodgers were forced to cede the division title to San Diego and settle for the National League's Wild Card spot. They were eventually swept, 3-0, by the New York Mets in the 2006 National League Division Series . They lost the first two games at Shea Stadium , 6-5 and 4-1, and the third game at Dodger Stadium, 9-5.

The 2006 season witnessed several memorable moments:

• May 19, 2006: Dodgers collect 25 hits in one game, setting a Los Angeles franchise record.

• August 2006: Dodgers reel off 11 consecutive wins, their longest winning streak since 1993, and end the month with a 21-7 record, tying the Los Angeles' club record for that month.

• September 18, 2006: Four consecutive Dodger batters hit home runs in the ninth inning. This is only the fourth time it has ever happened in baseball history, and the first time that the final homer tied the game.

• September 28, 2006: Rookie first baseman James Loney ties Gil Hodges' 56-year-old Dodgers record with 9 RBIs in one game.

Nineties and the Fox Era

After 1988, the Dodgers did not win another postseason game until 2004, though they did reach the playoffs in 1995 and 1996 , narrowly missed in 1991 and 1997 , and led the NL West when the end of the 1994 season was cancelled by a strike . Hershiser, like Valenzuela before him, suffered an arm injury in 1990 due to overwork, which took the edge off his effectiveness for the remainder of his career. From 1992 to 1996, five consecutive Dodgers were named Rookie of the Year : Eric Karros , Mike Piazza , Raúl Mondesí , Hideo Nomo , and Todd Hollandsworth . After nearly 20 years at the helm, Lasorda retired in 1996, though he still remains with the Dodgers as an executive vice-president. He was replaced as manager by longtime Dodgers shortstop Bill Russell .

Nearly a half-century of unusual stability (only two managers 1954-1996, owned by a single family 1950-1998) finally came to an end. In 1998, the O'Malley family sold the Dodgers to Rupert Murdoch 's News Corporation , owner of the Fox network and 20th Century Fox . Among the new ownership's early moves were trading away popular catcher Piazza, and replacing Russell with celebrity manager Davey Johnson . Johnson's volatile tenure ended two years later, and he was followed as manager by Jim Tracy . To fans accustomed to the personal touch of the O'Malleys, the Fox corporate ownership often seemed clumsy and distracted. Huge contracts were awarded to injury-prone pitchers Kevin Brown and Darren Dreifort , unprofitably tying up money that could have improved the team in many other areas. Fox made the first changes to the home uniform since the club moved from Brooklyn and introduced the team's first alternate jersey and cap, adding silver to the team's official colors (although they have rarely been used since). The team became more steady on the field in the early 2000s, with four consecutive winning seasons under the leadership of manager Tracy, starting pitcher Chan Ho Park , slugger Shawn Green , third baseman Adrián Beltré , and catcher Paul Lo Duca . The 2002 season was marked by the emergence of Éric Gagné as one of baseball's top relief pitchers . Gagné later won the Cy Young Award in 2003, converting all 55 of his save opportunities that year, and holding the league to a 1.20 ERA and striking out 137 batters in 82 1/3 innings. Gagné would later establish a new major league record for consecutive saves, with 84 saves spanning parts of the 2002, 2003 and 2004 seasons.

1988 World Series Championship Team

The 1988 Championship is all the more magical for the fact that the Dodgers were hardly baseball's best team on paper. They enjoyed career years from several players, and were inspired by the fiery intensity of newcomer Kirk Gibson (the league's Most Valuable Player that year), as well as the quiet but steady Hershiser and the always ebullient Lasorda. Although they entered the NLCS as decided underdogs to the powerful New York Mets , who they were 1-10 against during the regular season, the Dodgers prevailed in a thrilling back-and-forth series that went the entire 7 games. The World Series matched them with an even more powerful opponent, the Oakland Athletics , who owned baseball's best regular-season record with 104 wins against only 58 defeats. Featuring the "Bash Brothers" duo of Mark McGwire and José Canseco , the A's took an early lead in Game 1 on a grand slam by Canseco, and led 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs, pinch-hitter Mike Davis drew a base on balls from formidable closer and future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley . During Davis' at-bat, Lasorda had infielder Dave Anderson on deck so the Athletics would pitch to Davis more carefully. Then, Gibson, hobbled by injuries to both his legs, came in to pinch hit . After fighting off several pitches and working the count full, Gibson got the backdoor slider he was looking for and pulled it into the right field pavillion for a two-run, walk-off home run , winning the game for the Dodgers, 5-4. Easily one of the most memorable and improbable home runs in baseball history, Gibson's dramatic home run was his only appearance of the entire series, and it set the tone for the following four games. Hershiser dominated the Athletics in Games 2 and 5, and was on the mound when the Dodgers completed their stunning 4 games to 1 upset of the A's, capping off an incredible personal season by being named the Series MVP. Few remember that the Dodgers were so injury riddled during their World Series appearance. They won the Series in Game 5 with lifetime reserves Danny Heep and Mickey Hatcher in the starting lineup.