T.J. SIMERS - Garciaparra's home run is straight out of Lourdes
It's the beauty of sports, the once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness a miracle, man conquering the impossible, or Nomar Garciaparra hitting a home run.
I don't believe what I just saw.
The Dodgers sent Hong-Chih Kuo to the minors before the game, undoubtedly to keep the pitcher from getting his second home run of the season and doubling Garciaparra's totals. Jason Schmidt had already been dispatched to the disabled list earlier with the same number of homers as Garciaparra.
And then wham, some 230 at-bats after hitting a home run in April, Garciaparra hit a ball so hard, it had just enough to tumble over the wall. To his credit, he remembered how to run around the bases.
Saturday marked the halfway mark in the season, and in the first 81 games, the Dodgers got two home runs from the guy who carried them through much of last season. It's been a struggle, all right, just like the Dodgers' season, and maybe they go hand in hand.
Garciaparra, a new father of twins, has been a .336 hitter at home, and a .224 wreck on the road. Time to pipe in babies crying into his hotel room.
You will note, though, that Saturday night's game had a playoff feel to it, which made it a pretty good bet the Dodgers would lose. But with the pressure turned up, you will also note it was Garciaparra who responded. The sign of a rebirth, or a fluke?
We're getting to that point in Dodgers history when serious consideration must be given to erecting a statue in Jose Lima's honor. A generation of youngsters is about to grow up thinking Lima is the franchise's greatest clutch player.
Lima pitched the Dodgers to their only playoff win since 1988, and did so by going the distance in a shutout. This is great news for the present-day Dodgers, of course, who still have the Lima playoff likes of Mark Hendrickson, Brett Tomko, Chad Billingsley and D.J. Houlton on the roster.
The Dodgers really do have a fight on their hands, and while the Angels have done their part to raise postseason hopes, the only thing the Dodgers have done is raise questions and interest in the July 31 trading deadline.
How much does Jeff Kent have left? Can Luis Gonzalez play this well all season? How much of a talent upgrade do the Padres get from Michael Barrett and Milton Bradley?
Are Brad Penny, Derek Lowe, Randy Wolf and a collection of stiffs enough to offset Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Greg Maddux and David Wells?
