Baseball: Dodgers left to ponder another postseason flop
AFP
PHILADELPHIA - The Los Angeles Dodgers brought the National League's best record to the playoffs, but for the second year in a row it was Philadelphia heading to the World Series.
As in 2008, the Dodgers wasted home field advantage in the National League Championship Series, falling in five games to the Phillies.
Gone were the Dodgers' dreams of a first trip to the World Series since they won the title in 1988.
Gone were baseball fans' dreams of a Dodgers-Yankees World Series clash, a matchup that would have pitted Torre and his new team against the team he guided to four championships.
Pitching was a big problem for the Dodgers, who had no definitive ace to anchor their rotation.
Closer Jonathan Broxton proved highly fallible, giving up a walk in game four that led to a tying run in a ninth-inning rally. The Dodgers' starters and the usually reliable bullpen fared no better.
The Dodgers have a most potential 16 players eligible for free agency and many may not return next season.
"We're going to take them case by case," Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said.
Slugger Manny Ramirez has a 20 million-dollar player option to return next season.
Ramirez didn't deliver in the clutch against the Phillies. He was 5 for 19 with one home run and two RBIs in the series, and the home run was his only extra-base hit.
"They were better than us - that's what happened," Ramirez said. "They were better than us, so I'm just going to wish them good luck in the World Series." The Phillies hit 10 homers to the Dodgers' six in the series. The Dodgers' team batting average was .232, one point higher than the Phillies. But the Phillies' team ERA was 3.07, compared with the Dodgers' 7.38.
"You have to play better," Torre said. "We have to pitch better. You know, whether it's the starter or the reliever, that's the one thing that's going to expose you more than anything else is being able to get those outs."
But the 69-year-old manager, who has one year left on a three-year contract, indicated he plans to return for at least one more year.
"It's still something that keeps me around and keeps me wanting to do it some more," Torre said.
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