The Dodgers have two monumental tasks ahead of them, well actually one monumental task and one monumental decision. The task, of course, is winning the National League West – and it’s not an easy one considering how well the Giants are playing right now and how poorly the Dodgers are. Should the Dodgers fail to do so, the thought of making the postseason via the Wild Card is terrifying, but if that becomes the only way in, they’ll take it. If and when they do make the playoffs the monumental decision comes into play – who will the Dodgers take as their fourth (and final) starter into postseason play?

While the answer to this might initially seem simple, with right-hander Dan Haren being the likely choice, history has shown us time and again that going with the hottest hand has trumped who is making the most money when it comes down to who goes to the playoffs and who does not. There is no greater example of this than in 2009 when then Dodgers manager Joe Torre excluded 2009 All-Star and Gold Glove winning second baseman Orlando Hudson from the playoff roster, opting to go with hot-hitting trade deadline acquisition Ronnie Belliard instead.

The argument in favor of Haren getting the nod as the Dodgers number four playoff starter is strong. In spite of his knack for allowing home runs (he is second in the MLB with 25 behind only Brewers right-hander Marco Estrada’s 29), Haren has pitched exceptionally well in his last five starts, going 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA while striking out 23 and walking five in 29.1 innings of work. He did, however, serve up one home run in three of those five games which, as luck would have it, were all solo shots.

Dodger fans never know what to expect when Haren takes the mound, this in spite of the fact that he has pitched exceptionally well in his last five starts. He certainly pitched well enough to win on Friday night against the Padres in San Diego but fell victim to the Dodgers all-to-frequent lack of run support.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The second guy fighting for that fourth playoff starter spot is recently acquired right-hander Roberto Hernandez, who is 2-1 with a 3.52 ERA in his four starts with the Dodgers. Hernandez has, at times, appeared brilliant on the mound for the Dodgers while, at other times, looks lost out there. In the 23.0 innings that Hernandez has pitched since joining the team on August 7, he has struck out 15 and walked eight but has yet to give up a home run. The one knock on Hernandez is that he makes a lot of pitches and seems to always be pitching from the stretch. In his four starts Hernandez has yet to go more than six innings while making 65, 118, 91 and 93 pitches respectively.

Although Roberto Hernandez has pitched well since joining the Dodgers, he has yet to go longer than six innings. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

The third and perhaps final guy hoping to make the playoff starting rotation, although quite the long shot, is 24-year-old Carlos Frias who was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque on August 4 to replace struggling (and injured) right-handed reliever Chris Perez. Although Frias was used exclusively as a starter for the Isotopes, he has yet to make even one start with the Dodgers but is expected to do so in Haren’s spot on Wednesday against the NL East first place Washington Nationals. The spot start is not because there is anything physically wrong with Dan Haren (or so we’re being told) but instead because Wednesday’s game has a 1:10 PM (PT) start time, thus denying Haren of a full four days off between starts by exactly six hours. There is, of course, the possibility that Haren’s chronic sore back is the real reason for moving Haren back two days (Thursday is an off day for the Dodgers) but this is not what is being reported from Dodger camp.

Thus far Frias has appeared in eight games with the Dodgers, all in relief, and he has yet to figure in a decision. In his 14.1 innings of work he has allowed nine earned runs (5.65 ERA) while striking out 10 and walking three (one intentionally). He has also given up two home runs in his short time in the big leagues. But to be fair, it is difficult to judge Frias’s potential as a starter based on only 14.1 innings of relief work. Although Frias was technically optioned back to Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday morning to clear a roster spot for Hyun-jin Ryu returning from the DL for a strained glute muscle, he undoubtedly never left Southern California and will return to the Dodgers on Tuesday when rosters expand – hence the probability of making his MLB debut as a starter on Wednesday (Kershaw starts Tuesday).

Postseason hopeful Carlos Frias pitched a perfect 10th inning in Friday night’s heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the Padres, including a huge strikeout of Yasmani Grandal on a cut fastball in the dirt to end the inning. Here Frias acknowledges the great block of the ball by Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis to secure the strikeout. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Here again, Frias is definitely the long shot to make the playoff roster, unless he performs beyond all expectations as a spot starter and can somehow convince Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti and Mattingly that he’s their man.

All of this is, of course, contingent upon the Dodgers even making the playoffs which, as of late, is proving to be anything but a sure thing.