PHOENIX - Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, drenched in champagne and beer, reached into the beer cooler Thursday afternoon, desperately looking for another can.
Nothing was left but ice water.
Gonzalez, who was ready to spray Dodgers president Stan Kasten, yelled across the room: "Stan, there's no more beer. What's going on here?
"Are you telling me we finally ran out of money?''
Kasten, who spent a National League record $234 million on their payroll, assured him there's plenty left in the coffers, vowing they'll do a better job of planning their next celebrations in October.
The Dodgers, who two years ago were bankrupt, and given up for the dead in May, emerged Thursday as kings of the National League West, becoming the first team to clinch a playoff berth with their 7-6 comeback victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
And, oh, how they celebrated the occasion.
They climbed the fence and jumped into the pool in full uniform, infuriating the Diamondbacks organization, who called it "classless.''
WATER WORKS: D'backs miffed at Dodger celebration
They sprayed, doused, poured, gulped and popped everything in their sights, turning the visiting clubhouse into a wading pool of their own.
"I am so happy, happy,'' said Cuban rookie sensation Yasiel Puig, the life of the party in the celebration. "We're just getting started now. We want the World Series.''
Get ready Hollywood, the Dodgers believe they have the most talented team in all of baseball, confident they can win their first World Series title since Ronald Reagan was president in 1988.
"The talent in this room is as good as any,'' Kasten said. "These guys could be as good as any team in baseball. They showed that when they're healthy all summer.
"I'm not making that up.''
This isn't some cheesy Hollywood script, but a team believing that no one's capable of stopping them but themselves. Hard to believe this is the same group that was a punchline through June, playing so badly that it nearly cost manager Don Mattingly his job.
"We never lost hope,'' Dodgers second baseman Mark Ellis said, "but we were terrible, no doubt about it.''
Then, along came Puig from the minors. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez got healthy. Starter Zack Greinke returned from his broken collarbone. Kenley Jansen became the closer.
They suddenly forgot how to lose, winning 42 of 50 games, and by the time the smoke cleared, the rest of the NL West was suffocating from their exhaust fumes.
The Dodgers are only the third team in the last 100 years to be in last place after July 1 and finish in first place.
"It's a testament to the talent assembled in this room,'' said Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis, who hit the go-ahead homer in the eighth inning. "You can't go on a run like that without being able to out-talent the other team. And when you add confidence to that talent, that's a lethal combination.
"We turned the division upside down.''
The dramatic turnaround left Mattingly wiping tears from his eyes during the raucous celebration, not from the stinging of the Korbel champagne and Budweiser, but a culmination from the raw emotions.
"I'm not a guy who shows a lot emotions,'' Mattingly said, "but we put a great team together with a big payroll and huge expectations. A lot of times, that falls apart. And we got off to that horrible start.
"We always knew that light was out there, it was just foggy. We didn't panic. We stuck together.
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