Of all the numbers floating atop the sudsy Dodger Stadium joy Saturday night -- 20 years, three-game sweep, eight more wins -- the most important one was never mentioned.
In a sport that celebrates perseverance, it's a number that doesn't make sense.
In an organization that built its tradition on continuity, it's a number that is actively shunned.
Yet there it was, the most compelling number of one of the Dodgers' most compelling playoff series in history.
Zero.
That is the number of times the Dodgers had used their division-series-winning lineup before the division series.
The eight position players who took the field for the opening game against the Chicago Cubs had never before started a game together.
Never.
Imagine a Broadway hit show that wasn't cast until opening afternoon, an "Extreme Home Makeover" occurring entirely during a commercial break.
Russell Martin, James Loney, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier were there, minding their own business, heading toward second place in a lousy division, when all heaven broke loose.
Casey Blake arrived in late July. Manny Ramirez showed up at the beginning of August.
Blake DeWitt returned from Las Vegas to play second base at the end of August. Rafael Furcal returned from a back injury in the final weekend of the regular season.
Talk about an odd way to celebrate your franchise's 50th anniversary.
The Dodgers once boasted of an infield that played together 8 1/2 years, yet entered this postseason with a lineup that had not been together even one minute.
The Dodgers once had two managers in 43 years, yet they advance to the National League Championship Series with a lineup that has now played together all of three games.
If this is not a major league record, it has certainly tied one.
"It's pretty strange," said pitcher Derek Lowe. "When people come up to me and ask why we're not the same team as earlier in the season . . . well, it's because we're literally not the same team."
Even guys who have been here are not the same guys.
Jonathan Broxton has been closing for only about half the season.
Cory Wade has been his main setup guy for only about a month.
Martin was in the starting lineup as catcher five fewer times than last year, and even that small amount of rest has helped.
"The last couple of months have felt like a new season," Andre Ethier said. "We get to the playoffs, and it feels like we're just getting started."
