National League
Jose Lima sings, dances, and serves as the Los Angeles Dodgers' unofficial cheerleader, racing nonstop around the dugout and constantly pumping his teammates up.
Most important, Lima pitches -- and very well at Dodger Stadium. He'll pitch there today against the St. Louis Cardinals in the most important start of his life.
After beating Los Angeles by identical 8-3 scores in the first two games of the best-of-five NL division series in St. Louis, the heavy-hitting Cardinals can put the Dodgers away with another victory.
Ever the optimist, Lima sees a bright side.
"If we win and push the series to Sunday, anything can happen," he said on Friday -- an off day in the series. "I've got to come and give my heart to this team. If we lose, it's see you in spring training. I want to stay in the playoffs a little longer -- at least get to Sunday."
Lima sang "God Bless America" and the national anthem before the Dodgers' game against the Cubs on May 13. The Dominican also performed with his band, Banda Mambo, at the team's annual Viva Los Dodgers Hispanic Heritage festival, and performed at The Conga Room, a Los Angeles nightclub, later that night.
On the late-night flight from St. Louis to Los Angeles after the Dodgers lost Game 2, Lima behaved the same way he would have had his team won the first two games.
"He was thinking about this game at 4:30 this morning. He was playing his music on the bus, so he was getting fired up already," Dodgers closer Eric Gagne said. "He changed the mood a little bit because everyone was down."
Lima, who went 9-1 with a 3.08 ERA in Los Angeles and was 13-5 with a 4.07 ERA overall, will oppose Matt Morris, 15-10 with a 4.72 ERA.
The Dodgers haven't won a postseason game since winning the 1988 World Series over Oakland, dropping eight straight. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa managed the A's 16 years ago, and the first World Series game he ever managed was at Dodger Stadium.
"If we lose tomorrow, we'll tip our caps because we will be ready to play," La Russa said. "It's total respect for the game and respect for the Dodgers. We're in a good position, but Lima's been very tough in this ballpark."
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