Relaxed Dodgers confident they can advance

Nick Christensen

Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004 | 9:32 a.m.

LOS ANGELES -- The last time the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the St. Louis Cardinals, the outlook for the Dodgers was a little rosier.

With an 83-60 record and leading the National League West, the Dodgers took two of three games against baseball's best team and built a five-game advantage over San Francisco in the race for the division title.

That was Sept. 12, nearly four weeks ago, and Los Angeles had just won five of six games, seemingly ready to close out the division.

But a funny thing happened on the way to October. Los Angeles' lead started to evaporate. Just 11 days after that series against St. Louis, the edge Los Angeles had held since July 7 was down to just a half-game. And although the Dodgers clinched after a dramatic ninth-inning rally on Saturday at Chavez Ravine, their 10-11 close to the season put them three games behind Atlanta in the National League. The close of the season means they start the postseason on the road in St. Louis instead of at home against the wild-card winner.

Still, the Dodgers have been nothing if not relaxed all season. Even with the limp toward the end of the regular season, the mood on Sunday seemed to still be without a worry.

Odalis Perez, who was scheduled to start today's game at St. Louis, pointed back to that September series in Dodger Stadium as a reason his team was confident heading into its first playoff game in eight years.

"It doesn't matter. It's a different game now," he said. "We played St. Louis here, and we beat them two out of three."

Perez would also start Game 4, if necessary, on Sunday, as manager Jim Tracy opted to go with a three-man rotation of Perez, Jeff Weaver, and Jose Lima for the opening series.

"I think the fact that we played the Cardinals six times in the early part of September, they're very fresh on our minds, and I'm sure we're fresh on their minds," Tracy said.

The Dodgers were swept in St. Louis in a three-game series beginning Sept. 3, including a 6-5 loss in 11 innings to close the series. In the previous two games, the Dodgers scored just one run, leaving Lima hanging for the 3-0 loss in the opening game.

Twice, Lima has been in this situation, in Houston in 1997 and 1999. Both times, the Astros lost to Atlanta in a division series.

"The playoffs are different," Lima said. "You lose a game, and you're out. You go home and play golf and stuff."

But if it's pressure that characterizes the postseason, Los Angeles has already been there. Of the team's 93 wins, 53 were come-from-behind wins, including Saturday's dramatics, and 26 of those 53 wins came in the Dodgers' last at-bat. In the 93 wins, closer Eric Gagne has 45 saves. And the pennant race itself, with Los Angeles limping along toward Saturday's clinching moment, also put the team through tense times.

"The environment changes a little bit, the intensity," Tracy said. "I don't think from a pressure level standpoint, it gets any harder than what we've already dealt with."

Dodgers slugger Shawn Green, who sat out Sunday with a minor leg injury, agreed that the worst might have already passed for his team.

"It was such a grind, such a marathon to get the division title, especially in this close race," he said. "I think now with this behind us, all eyes are forward. I think the offense is going to be great."

Perez, who 16 times this season gave up three runs or fewer but still got a no-decision or a loss, said this is no time to worry about pressure.

"Nervous? I don't believe in that word," he said. "Nobody has to be afraid to face anybody."

If the Dodgers do have confidence on their side, they still will be battling history. Los Angeles has not won a postseason game since the 1988 World Series, and the only time the Dodgers and Cardinals faced in the postseason, in 1985, Los Angeles won the first two games but lost the next four as St. Louis advanced to the World Series.