[Hendu Style]

As luck would have it, the A's drew the LA Dodgers in the 2014 World Series. The trade that set Oakland down this path was now at the forefront of a series featuring two proud franchises which had last met in the postseason in the 1988 World Series.

All year long, Los Angeles had to hear about how they had been taken to the cleaners on a preseason trade with Oakland, as ex-Dodger Justin Turner flirted with .400 before finishing the season with a MLB-best .359 batting average. Sure, they were happy with the performances of Scott Kazmir (14-10, 3.27 ERA) and Jesse Chavez (12-5, 4.10 ERA), and yes, the end result was a 95-win regular season and NL West crown, but LA would never hear the end of it. Until now.

Oakland may have had its two studs Lester & Lackey at the top of their rotation, but it didn't compare to the two aces the Dodgers had been riding all season long. Clayton Kershaw struck out 292 batters during the regular season, and Zack Greinke fanned 253. Quite simply, it was one of the most potent 1-2 punches in MLB history, and it showed in the World Series. Kershaw & Greinke allowed a total of just two runs (1 earned) in Games 1 and 2, and the Dodgers held a commanding 3-0 Series lead after Hyun-jin Ryu baffled the A's in Game 3. Oakland's offense had been held to a scant three runs after three games. All that changed in Game 4, when they erupted for 15 hits in a 15-5 win over Scott Kazmir and company. But Kershaw would close the series out in Game 5 in a 4-1 victory. Just as they had done in 1988, the A's had lost to the Dodgers in 5 games in the World Series.