They put together a little six-game winning streak in the final week of the season and averaged nearly seven runs a game.
This is the kind of offense Dodgers fans can expect next season. Too bad it didn’t do them any good this season.
Still, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told MLB.com there is no reason to think his players can produce like this on a regular basis.
“It’s good. It’s kind of fun playing like this,” Mattingly said. “It makes you think, ‘Why can’t you do this over the course of a season or a month?’”
Why, indeed.
It would have been nice if the Dodger bats woke up a month ago.
Adrian Gonzalez put together a 13-game hitting streak over the final two weeks of the season. It was the longest hitting streak for any Dodger this season. It started on Sept. 19 against the Washington Nationals. He hit .396 during the streak and the Dodgers were 9-4 over those 13 games.
Gonzalez had two hits, including his 47th double of the season, a career-high, against the Giants on Monday.
Matt Kemp ended the season on a hot note as well. He hit .458 with four home runs and nine RBIs in seven games from Sept. 24 to Oct. 1.
Luis Cruz was a tough out during that same time span, hitting .320 with a home run and four RBIs. He hit .313 in September and had the second-highest batting average on the team for the month.
Little-used Elian Herrera even got into the hitting act with a game-winning, RBI single against the Giants in a game the Dodgers needed to win to stay alive in the playoff picture.
He said after the game the Dodgers are playing like they were early in the season, when they were the leaders in the National League West standings and one of the best-hitting teams in baseball.
“I remember when I came here, the team was playing really good,” Herrera said. “That is how the team is playing right now. They are playing so good. They just have to keep playing like that.”
The Dodgers are giving their fans a taste of things to come. Let’s all hope they can pick up in the spring where they left off in the fall.
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The UCLA Bruins are back in the Associated Press top 25 college football poll after a convincing 42-12 win over Colorado.
But who hasn’t beaten up on Colorado this year?
Washington State. That’s who.
Every other team Colorado has played has won. Three of those teams won by double digits and two scored more than 42 points.
Valencia High graduate Steven Manfro chipped in with two catches for 20 yards against Colorado. He also returned five punts for 51 yards.
The Bruins moved into the No. 25 spot after the win over Colorado. Let’s see how long they stay in the top 25 this time.
The USC Trojans are hanging in the AP top 25 after starting the season as the No. 1 team. The Trojans are ranked No. 13 after their first four games.
After they lose to Oregon, it will be interesting to see if the Trojans can stay in the top 25.
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The Hart football team heads into Foothill League play as the No. 1 ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Northern Division.
The Indians, winners of four games in a row, are not only the favorite to win the Foothill League championship, but the Northern Division title.
Hart hasn’t won a CIF championship in football since 2003. In recent years, Hart and the rest of the Foothill League football teams have faced the tough teams from the Marmonte League in the Northern Division playoffs.
Westlake, Oaks Christian and St. Bonaventure in particular ended promising playoff runs for a number of teams from the Foothill League.
But this year is different. The Marmonte League will be playing in the Pac-5 Division, the top division in the Southern Section, in the playoffs.
That leaves Hart with a much easier path to a Northern Division championship.
But that path is far from clear. Teams from the Pac-7 League were moved into the Northern Division. Arroyo Grande, perennial favorites in the Western Division, San Luis Obispo and Righetti, are all formidable teams in the Northern Division.
But first things first. Hart still has to face Canyon and Valencia, both ranked in the top 10 in the Northern Division since Week Zero, before playoffs start.
The Indians are winning games by an average margin of 36.3 points. Their only loss is to Tesoro, ranked No. 7 in the state, by three points. Hart’s two-headed monster of Brady White and Connor Wingenroth have provided most of the offensive punch.
Sophomore wide receiver Trent Irwin, considered by many the best player on the Hart roster, has yet to have a huge game. If he ever catches fire, Hart might blaze its way through the Foothill League schedule and into the playoffs.
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Meanwhile, across town at Canyon, the Cowboys continue to put up gaudy numbers on offense, but can’t seem to stop anybody on defense.
Canyon is coming off a 49-49 tie against Steele Canyon from the San Diego Section. The Cowboys had a 20-point lead in the third quarter, but ended having to rally and score on a two-point conversion just to secure a tie.
After winning its first three games of the season by averaging more than 50 points a game, Canyon is 0-1-1 in its past two games.
On a positive note, Canyon opens Foothill League play against Golden Valley, which has never won a league game and is 0-5 to start this season.
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Canyon’s Zach Wims might be the best high school cross country runner in the Santa Clarita Valley. The Golden Valley boys are making their case for the best team in the valley.
Wims won his second cross country race in a row at the 45th annual Staub/Barnes Invitational at Crescenta Valley Park. He also won the first Foothill League meet race at Central Park.
In both races, Wims had to chase down Nolan Del Valle from Golden Valley to win. He passed Del Valle in the final 400 meters and won in 15 minutes, 33 seconds over the 3-mile course in the Staub/Barnes Invitational.
Golden Valley won the Division I race at the Staub/Barnes Invitational with Del Valle finishing second, three seconds behind Wims. The Grizzlies scored 71 points to win the team portion of the race. The Canyon boys were fifth with 104 points.
Not to be outdone, the Golden Valley girls won the Division I race at the Staub/Barnes Invitational. Chelsea Totten was the runner-up in the girls race and Golden Valley won the meet by one point over Crescenta Valley.
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The Izod IndyCar series will be making two stops in Southern California in 2013. The first is for the Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 21. The IndyCar Series season finale will again be at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Oct. 19.
Tim Haddock is the sports director for KHTS AM 1220. He also writes for the Santa Clarita Gazette, Ventura County Star and the Team USA website. He can be reached by e-mail at tim@hometownstation.com. Follow him on Twitter @thaddock.
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