Wolf Finally Gets His Postseason Shot

LOS ANGELES -- Randy Wolf and Mike Lieberthal are pals, a pair of Southern California kids who formed a battery for years in Philaelphia, a partnership they took to the Dodgers in 2007.

Through it all, they enjoyed a lot of good times on the baseball field, but none in October. Their Phillies teams finished second four of their last six years together, and in 2007 in Los Angeles, they managed to be there for the year in between playoff appearances.

Wolf said the jinx was either him or his former catcher. This year, he found out who.

"I'm not a big believer in that," Wolf said, "but luckily it went away."

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Wolf flashed a broad smile as he sat at the front of a press conference in advance of the Dodgers-Cardinals Division Series on Tuesday. After 10 seasons coming up short, Wolf is not only in the playoffs, but he's starting Game 1.

"It's been a long road," Wolf said.

Such a long road that only one other active pitcher has made more regular season starts without getting to the playoffs. Toronto's Roy Halladay has 287, Wolf 275.

The long road took Wolf from Los Angeles, where he grew up and pitched high school championship games at Dodger Stadium, all the way to Philadelphia, San Diego and Houston, before bringing him back into the spotlight.


He left Philadelphia just before the Phillies began a run of three consecutive postseason appearances, including last year's World Series championship.

"It was something that Liebby and I battled for in Philadelphia," Wolf said. "It was hard for us to watch and watch them go to the playoffs and World Series."

Wolf will have no time to work out the postseason butterflies in the dugout watching his teammates, since his first postseason exposure won't start until he throws the first pitch of the series.

He earned the honor of starting the first game by being the Dodgers' most consistent starter throughout the year, finishing 11-7 with a 3.23 ERA, his best since 2002. He could have won a few more, but the bullpen blew four of his victories. Thanks to an alarming number of no-decisions, he was still just 5-6 in early August, before he ripped off six wins over his next eight starts.

"To tell you the truth, I really wasn't doing that much better," Wolf said. "I just happened to be on the left side of the column instead of the middle, which I was a lot. And I think we played better baseball, and I happened to be out there pitching when we were playing better more consistently, scoring earlier. The main key was for me was I didn't let the early frustrations of the year really get to me."

Wolf was recently reunited with Jim Thome, who was his teammate in Philadelphia. Thome said Wolf has alwasy been one of those dependable starters, even though he never seemed to get much attention.

"He's a true professional," Thome said. "He knows what he's doing out there. He seems the same to me, from Philadelphia to here. He's very intelligent about how he goes about his business."

Although this will be the first time that business includes the postseason, Thome said he doesn't believe the pressure will be an issue.

"He'll be fine," Thome said. "He's a tough kid. He's one of those guys who doesn't talk about it a lot, but he's one of those guys who accepts that challenge and wants to be in that situation."