Last week, all of my Dodger-fan pals were bemoaning their fate. Trailing the hated Giants for a wildcard spot, the Dodgers were slated to play seven of their final nine games against the San Diego Padres.
Normally, playing so many games against a last place team would seem like a dream come true. You could purchase your playoff tickets and expect to see a game.
But as any true Dodger fan will tell you, it’s no fun playing the Padres. It’s been a century – or so it seems – since the Dodgers won a season series against the Padres. And the Dodgers have only done it two or three times in the last 33 years. In fact, the Padres have been particular successful against the Dodgers in the Bruce Bochy era.
This season, so far, has been no different. Including tonight’s victory over the Dodgers, the Padres are now 8-5 this season against LA.
The Padres own the Dodgers. (Here’s a story from June about just how dominating the Padres have been in Dodger Stadium under Bochy.)
And I can predict what I’ll read in the LA Times tomorrow – the beat writers will whine about how the lowly Padres managed another victory against the boys in blue. And I mean WHINE. One of the great joys of beating the Dodgers is reading the Times the next day. It’s always good for a laugh. The Dodger writers hate the Padres (especially Plaschke), and it shows.
Yup, this will be a fun week of baseball as I get to watch my Padres knock the Dodgers out of the playoffs.