Here’s a look at the wild-card race:

• Philadelphia (70-56)
• San Francisco (71-57)
• St. Louis (68-56)
• Colorado (66-60)
• Los Angeles (65-62)

Obviously, the team has a big hill to climb in getting to the top spot.  Jumping four teams in the standings with 36-37 games left is statistically improbable, but crazier things have happened.  Just ask Rod Barajas.

Stranger things have happened.  I was with the Phillies in ‘07 when were down 7 with 17 games to play.

The Dodgers will also have a chance to inflict damage upon their playoff foes.  They play a whopping 9 games against the Rockies, 6 against the Giants, and 3 against Philadelphia.  They face these opponents in the next three series and the outcome of these games will effectively determine whether the Dodgers have meaningful September games.  If they struggle against any of the three, you can pencil them out of the playoffs.  They will have to win all three series to stay in the playoff picture, a very tall task.  Whether they enlist Manny Ramirez to aid in this playoff push will be interesting.

Manny had his first breakout game since returning from the DL by getting on base four times in four plate appearances on Wednesday.  At least for a day, he reminded fans that he is the engine behind the team’s offense and that the Dodgers won’t come close to sniffing the post-season without him.

So, what will Ned decide?  Will the Dodgers listen to their heart and keep the big slugger to make a desperate playoff push?  Or will they use their head and trade him to bolster the farm?  Not an easy decision.  The guess here is that the team will see what others are willing to offer but eventually keep him after being underwhelmed by the potential return.  Sure, the Dodgers are cheap but interested parties are not going to give up significant talent whatsoever for a hundred or so Ramirez plate appearances.  And LA likely will not want to blow up their only shot at the post-season for a couple of average double-A pitchers.

After September 5th and nine games against the Rox, Phils, and Giants, we’ll know a lot more about the Dodgers’ playoff aspirations.

You can’t stop Ted Lilly; you can only hope to contain him.  The Torrance native ran his winning streak as a Dodger to five games (in five starts) by defeating the Brewers on Tuesday 5-3, aided by his battery mate and fellow recent acquisition Rod Barajas’ (who contributed a 3 run bomb).  The victory put the Blue Crew a “mere” 7 games back in the loss column behind wild card leading Philadelphia while providing the team with a spark that potentially can rev its fading playoff hopes.

Lilly has easily been the team’s ace in August, posting an impressive 1.82 ERA, highlighted by his dominant complete game shutout of the Rockies last week.  Just as importantly, he has displayed the bulldog mentality prevalent throughout his career, while refusing to concede the post-season after the win over the Brew Crew.

At this point I’m still not convinced that we’re out of it.  Crazier things have happened.  I’d like to be optimistic.

Keep pitching the way you are, Ted, and many Dodger fans will likely second that opinion.  Now, if that Barajas guy can keep producing extra base hits on a daily basis, we may be on to something (fingers crossed).