It never feels bad taking a series off S.F.

For Man of the Hour Gonzo, the game winning single provided a sunny-ish potential curtain cull.  "Sunny" because the left fielder was obviously happy with the win.  "Ish" because there weren't enough to go around in 2007. "It's been a disappointing year for a lot of us," said a somewhat dejected Gonzalez.  "We all came in with high expectations and it's been a disappointment.   I'm more disappointed not even for our team, but for our fans. Playing here for the year and always coming in here as a visitor, I know how passionate our fans are to try to win.  Everybody's goal is to try to get into postseason play and to try to get into a World Series.  I really would have liked to have been a part of it here in Los Angeles." 

Save perhaps pinch hit duty, Gonzalez wasn't expecting to play at all during these last few games.  Thus, he has no idea if tonight's hit would be his last as a Dodger (or even his blue last at-bat).  But if that turns out to be the case, he certainly went out a winner.  But you may have to do the chest swelling for him, because the positive final note doesn't mean a whole lot compared against the whole. "It's going to go down as a disappointing year.  I take a lot of pride in (that) I was brought in here to try to help this team win and get into postseason play.  There's a reason that a lot of us have played this long, because we take a lot of pride in what we do.  I like to joke around and goof off in (the clubhouse), but out on the field, I'm a competitor and I want to win." 

"Individual moments for me are a nice milestone or something like that.  Overall, a good individual moment for me would have been if we got to postseason play, because that's what you play for.  The milestones and things like that are at the end of your career.  Those are always nice things to have, but I think most players are measured by how many championships they win and how they help wins." 

The notion of winning also prompted Gonzo to touch upon a clubhouse generation gap that's been described a lot of late as rather Hatfield/McCoy.  "A lot of times, people see (the older players) as selfish or like we don't want the young kids (around).  All that stuff is not true.  We want to win and whatever it takes to win.  We just kind of feel like the game plan wasn't to everybody's knowledge.  Lineups were different everyday and that makes it difficult.  Not just for players, but for everybody."

But for anyone concerned Gonzalez hated his time as a Dodger, fret not, because that was hardly the case.  Even if it didn't turn out quite as expected, in other ways, it was exactly what he hoped for.  "It's been wonderful.  I've gotten to associate myself with not only a lot of good people in the clubhouse, but staff and people that I've always run across.  I've been in the National League West for a long time, so you're familiar with a lot of faces and people.  Now you've actually worked with them, so for me, it's been a nice change."

-AK