twice upon a time, randy wolf was a dodger

[this is the twentyfifth installment in the double dippers posts.  here are the previous posts - brett butler, omar daal, eric young, nick willhite, chris gwynn, mickey hatcher, dave anderson, don zimmer, rafael landestoy, dave hansen, jose vizcaino, hideo nomo, greg maddux, mike maddux, jon garland, chan ho park, vicente romo, gene mauch, denny lewallyn, von joshua, joe moeller, dioner navarro, rudy seanez, and bart shirley.]

randy wolf pitched well for the brew crew the other night in game 4 of the nlcs.  he picked up the win with 7 strong innings.  it was the kind of performance the dodgers could have used many times this past season, and the kind that wolf occasionally gave them during his two tenures with the club (although not in the postseason).  yes, in case you have forgotten, randy wolf was a dodger double dipper.

the dodgers oiginally drafted the socal native in 1994, but he didn't sign, choosing to attend pepperdine instead.  he wound up with the phillies in the 1997 draft and worked his way up through their system with some good success before he was injured in 2004.  the dodgers signed him as a free agent prior to the 2007 season as he was still working his way back from arm surgery.  here's his 2007 bowman card offered as proof of his first go-around with the blue.

wolf was 9-6 for the dodgers in 2007, making 18 starts before getting shelved for the season by injury (and more surgery) in early july.  he had an era of 4.73 but turned in a few nice starts, including a scoreless 4-hit, 7-inning performance against the reds in which he struck out 11.  after the season, wolf once again hit the free agent market and was signed by the padres.  midway through the 2008 season, however, they traded him to the astros as seen on this 2008 topps update & highlights card

wolf went 12-12 overall in 2008 with an era of 4.30, but he was able to make 33 starts.  so, the dodgers took a flyer on him once again, and brought him back for the 2009 season.  this time, he made 34 starts for the dodgers, and was their best starter down the stretch.  he had an era of 3.23 for the year, and won 6 of his last 7 decisions as the dodgers won the nl west for the second year in a row.

wolf wound up making two starts for the dodgers in the playoffs, including game 1 of the nlds against the cardinals.  he lasted just 3.2 innings having allowed 6 hits and 5 walks.  fortunately, matt holliday forgot how to catch fly balls and the dodgers won the game.  wolf's next start came in game 4 of the nlcs against his former team, the phillies.  wolf pitched much better, and left the game with a 4-3 lead after 5.1 innings of work.  unfortunately, jonathan broxton couldn't get the 27th out, and the phillies won in walk-off fashion on jimmy rollins' double.

here's wolf's 2010 upper deck card, the last of his dodger cards unless he returns for another tour of duty

wolf has spent the last two seasons in milwaukee, and i hope he makes some more starts this year.

here's to you, randy wolf. a dodger double dipper.