The Los Angeles Dodgers have not played in the Bronx since they clinched the 1981 World Series at the old Yankee Stadium. It was so long ago that Brian Cashman, who has spent his entire adult life working for the Yankees, was actively rooting against his future employer.

“Believe me, I know the rivalry,” Cashman said Monday, “because the Dodgers were always on the losing end of it until ’81.”

Cashman was 14 then, growing up in Kentucky among fans of the Cincinnati Reds. He preferred the Dodgers, maybe to be different from his friends, he said Monday, but probably because he just loved their players. The infield of Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell and Ron Cey played four World Series together in eight years.

The modern Dodgers had hoped similar success would follow their new owners’ spending spree, but the team lugs a 29-39 record into Tuesday’s game with the Yankees. Cashman, as the Yankees’ general manager, surely knows things could be worse.