Old Song: Wait ‘Til Next Year

Los Angeles, 3,318,886 of you came to Dodger Stadium this season, a lot of you thinking this could be your year. It goes to show you, three million Dodger fans can be wrong.

Barring what one Dodger called “a little miracle,� the end of the O’Malley Empire is upon us. The next Dodger team you see, someone else will own it. You won’t see Brett Butler in a white home uniform again. Eddie Murray, unlikely. Tom Candiotti, doubtful. Otis Nixon, Greg Gagne, Todd Hollandsworth, Todd Worrell . . . Hideo Nomo? . . . Eric Karros??? . . . hey, who knows?

The Giants will win the division. The Giants will win the division.

Sorry, no more games in Chavez Ravine this season. Go home. Drive safely. Thanks for coming. See you next year. And now, here’s Nancy Bea Hefley at the organ, playing “Auld Lang Syne.�

Sorry, no 12th World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees.

Sorry, no rematch of the 1966 World Series between the Dodgers and Orioles.

Sorry, no first meeting since the 1920 World Series between the Dodgers and Indians.

Sorry, no first indoor World Series for a Dodger team, against the Mariners.

All realistic chances came to a halt Wednesday, in front of a paid crowd of 39,184 and a vacant right-field pavilion. For the 11th time in their last 15 games, the Dodgers lost. They got five hits. They sprayed the ball to all parts of the infield. About the only important thing they hit was Tony Gwynn.

Another day, another collar.

In the aftermath of a 4-1 defeat, all seemed lost.

Manager Bill Russell bit the bullet, like his hero, John Wayne. Russell said, “These guys know what they have to do. We need to win. And we need some help.�

Meanwhile, somewhere over the Rocky Mountains, there must have been jubilation on San Francisco’s team plane. The Giants’ win and the Dodgers’ loss reduced their magic number to two. Their hero? Brian “Magic Number� Johnson, with another huge home run.

“You see who’s ahead of you,� said Candiotti, who grew up a fan of the Giants and can’t help but admire them, “and you see how they’re doing it. They keep making the plays. They’re in command.

“Even when we were in San Fran, they were doing everything they had to do to win.�

Spoken like a true Northern Californian, except for the San Fran part.

Tom, you hit the nail on the head, the way San Diego’s Joey Hamilton nearly hit several Dodgers.

The Dodgers do not make the plays. They try, but they don’t. When a chance comes along to save the day, someone hits into a double play. Even the home field didn’t help.

And now, the Dodgers must take a road record of 38-39 to the Denver den of the Colorado Rockies.

“A lot of things can happen there,� Russell says.

He knows that if Mike Piazza, Karros, Raul Mondesi and Todd Zeile can lay wood on the ball in Denver, they can hit the ball to Boulder. He knows that if Nomo, Ismael Valdes, Ramon Martinez and Chan Ho Park can get some runs for a change--say, 10 apiece--each one stands a good chance of defeating the Rockies, 10-9.

Otherwise, forget about it.

The season could be toast. Rupert Murdoch will arrive. Heads will roll. Anything is possible. Paul Konerko at first base. Pedro Martinez in a Dodger uniform again. A popular Dodger, or two, or five, becoming an Arizona Diamondback or a Tampa Bay Devil Ray.

You will see Piazza behind the plate at Dodger Stadium again. You will see Mondesi in right, Park on the mound. You will see Eric Young at second base, because no way L.A. trades the two Pedros--Martinez and Astacio--and comes up empty-handed.

Otherwise, your guess is as good as anybody’s.

Today’s center fielder, Nixon, isn’t ready to think 1998 until he knows 1997 is done. Nixon contends, “We got four more games. We got to win them all. The Giants got three games. What if they lose all three? You never know. We need a little luck. We need to win all our games. We need a little miracle.

“So, if anybody’s closing the door, not me. Not yet.�

A lot of the 3,318,886 fans at Dodger Stadium this season left early.

But a lot of them thought they could come back and catch a Dodger game in October.

Sorry.