[AZTarHeel]

Whoever made up the 1999 schedule certainly didn't do the LA Dodgers any favors for the month of September.

After taking two of three from the Giants at home, and then losing two of three to the visiting Florida Marlins, Los Angeles players and coaches packed up for a four-city tour that would take them to Colorado (big series vs. other NL West contender), St. Louis, San Diego and then Houston. Each set was just two games (my bad for not downloading a better schedule generator), with only one off day, so the team was basically hopping from place to place.

Of course, 18-year-old Andrew Zarzour was having the time of his life. He was getting to see ballparks up close and personal, like Coors Field and Busch Stadium, that he had only watched on TV or seen pictures of in magazines.

As promised Zarzour's mom also became a team groupie, following the Dodgers from town to town, just in case one of those stops happened to be when Andrew got his first Big League experience. "I'm just not going to miss that," she kept telling folks.

She was the keeper of the books in the family and for the farm, and was a whiz at budgeting and saving. She had stashed away a tidy amount — actually quite a big amount — that she planned to use for her kids' college. But Mary Katherine had gotten a full ride to Peace College from basketball and now Andrew was off pursuing his MLB dreams (and, if he was smart with his newfound $$$ would be able to fund his own college). So she figured she had enough to "blow" some by following her son' baseball team around the country.

Actually, she didn't spend much time in hotels. She had to in San Diego, but used connections through her little Baptist Church in Bunn to find places to stay in all the other cities. Her pastor had friends from his seminary days that lived in Los Angeles. They were more than happy to open their home to Mrs. Zarzour. A friend's sister's aunt's daughter, or something like that, had a place she could stay in Denver. And on and on. Baptists certainly know how to network.

Alas, Mrs. Zarzour never saw her son take the mound, though she was like a kid entering brave new worlds as she traveled the country, really for the first time in her life.

When the No. 5 spot in the rotation rolled around at Colorado, Dodgers manager Davey Johnson gave the ball to Butch Henry, the 30-year-old right-hander, because of his experience. Henry, who stayed up with the Big Club as well because teams could have expanded rosters in September, was serviceable, giving up five runs, and the Dodgers got out of Coors with a 9-6 win (taking the important series 2-0).

Five days later, Johnson put the ball back in Henry's hands against San Diego. And this time Henry was as sharp as he'd been all season. He gave up just two runs, and the Dodgers won another important game 3-2.

Zarzour wasn't too upset. He was a team player and was glad to see Henry have a breakout night. The veteran pitcher had seemed so stressed the past few weeks and finally had a big smile on his face. He looked like a giant weight lifted from his shoulders.

All told, the Dodgers went 4-4 on their road swing. They moved their record to 83-68, now a comfortable six games up on the Rockies. Zarzour, though just a spectator through it all, stayed at the ready. After workouts or conditioning, and nearly every chance he got, he made sure to tell his coaches he would do whatever it took to help the team, even if that just meant fetching water or carrying bags.

But he also made sure to tell them that he really wanted the ball in a game, any time they wanted to give it to him...