Lights out at Chavez Ravine, the ’08 Dodgers are done

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Out of nowhere the public address system at Dodgers Stadium blared: “Leading off…First baseman James Loney!” This was the L.A. boys’ last-chance inning. Down 5-1, inept much of the night, facing a team and a closer, Brad Lidge, who almost never blow leads of any sort late in games, the home team and its fans knew something very big had to be done.

Lidge threw two quick strikes, then two balls, and then Loney burped a single into left-center, sending this crowd, for only the second time all evening, into a state of utter euphoria. They stood, they pounded seats, they hoped -– there was a big fight in the stands, down on the first level, a huge dude with tattoos all over his back and also down his arms beating on another big, angry looking dude even though both wore Dodgers gear (nothing beats the family atmosphere at Dodgers Stadium) -– but even the people sitting around that fight didn’t pay it much attention.

Casey Blake dug in at the plate amid a “Let’s Go Dodgers!” chant. He hit the fifth pitch high but not very far. Out number one. Matt Kemp at bat next. He launched a ball high and deep … deep enough to be a homer anywhere else but where his ball came down, just short of the wall in center field and into Shane Victorino’s glove. Out number two.

The stands were much quieter as Nomar Garciaparra walked to the plate. When he popped a ball not much higher than a standard tennis lob he only took a few steps, cradling his bat in both hands, knowing what was next. When he watched the Phillies catcher nab it for out number three the crowd lost nearly all of its energy and Garciaparra, well, honestly, it was hard not to feel sort of sorry for him as he walked extremely slowly with his head down to the dugout like a kid who had just made the last out in a big Little League game.

Large swaths of fans stayed on well past the final out. A good several hundred of them were Phillies fans in red Phillies gear who glommed around the Phillies dugout, chanting “Let’s go Phillies, Let’s go Phillies!” as Phillies players trotted around near first base with champagne bottles.

There were also, of course, several thousand hometown fans who remained. They booed the Phillies, of course, but also chanted “Let’s go Dodgers, Let’s go Dodgers!” or “Manny, Manny, Manneee!”

The fans gave huge applause to Joe Torre, Andre Ethier, Garciaparra and Manny as those four briefly stepped out of the dugout to raise their caps or just wave. (Manny didn’t have a cap, he was already dressed as a civilian when he briefly appeared at the dugout steps with what looked like a gray bandana wrapped around his braided locks.)

And the fans cheered, too, when Tommy Lasorda took to the field with a microphone and told everyone on hand in his hoarse voice to say a prayer for “Tommy and the Dodgers,” (Writer’s note: Huh?) and advising the faithful not to worry: Next year, Tommy vowed, would turn out better.

-- Kurt Streeter

Top photo: Joe Torre reacts to the crowd after the Philadelphia Phillies won the NLCS. Credit: Harry How / Getty Images

Inset: Former manager Tommy Lasorda speaks to the crowd after the game. Credit: Jeff Lewis / US Presswire