So, are the Dodgers going to be the kind of team that can withstand two head injuries, one of them major, and make the playoffs after seeing a 4 1/2-game lead in the wild card eliminated in about a week? Can they make the playoffs when forced to use injured millionaires, long relievers and/or minor-league pitchers in the starting rotation?

I have to say, I'm curious to find out. It's very interesting to me.

It has to be said that the hitting has been very shaky. Paul Lo Duca is not getting on base much at all, and his value on offense has dropped to an Eric Karros level, which isn't good. In Lo Duca's defense (literally and figuratively), he plays a much more important defensive position than Karros does. So it was tough to take last night when the Dodgers managed to score five runs, only to have the usually reliable pitching give up six. I cried out in frustration when Lo Duca's bid for a ninth-inning, game-tying single barely found the glove of Jeff Kent.

But I'm not depressed, yet...