It’s bad enough that the Dodgers will probably have to enter the postseason with only two-thirds of their starting rotation healthy, but the thought of going up against teams like the Cardinals, Nationals, Pirates or even the Giants with their current bullpen is absolutely terrifying.

It is unreasonable (if not impossible) to think that Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke are going to go eight innings in all of their postseason starts, which means that Dodgers manager Don Mattingly and general manager Ned Colletti better get it right when they make up their playoff roster.

In spite of a powerful Dodgers offense led by Adrian Gonzalez, the ineptitude of the Dodgers bullpen could make their trip to the postseason short lived. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Closer Kenley Jansen and lefty specialist J.P. Howell are no brainers, this in spite of Howell’s meltdown in Saturday afternoon’s ridiculous 8-7 loss to the last place Cubs after leading 7-2. Former closer Brandon League has also earned a spot on the postseason roster despite the anxiety that he causes Dodger fans whenever he enters a game. But the undeniable weakest link (except in Mattingly’s eyes) is the guy who has been consistently inconsistent throughout the entire season – Brian Wilson.

Sure it’s easy for those in Wilson’s camp to say that he has appeared in only nine games since August 20 (6.1 innings pitched) and had a BAA of .190 in those nine games before Saturday’s blown save and eventual loss, but giving up a two-run home to Cubs left fielder Chris Coghlan on a 1-2 count is inexcusable. It was Coghlan’s second home run of the game, having homered in the first inning off of Dodgers starter Roberto Hernandez.

The simple truth is that it is a mistake to keep Wilson as the 8th inning set-up man in the final week of the regular season and into the postseason. Wilson not only leads all Dodger relievers with his 28 walks (one ahead of Brandon League) but his 1.64 WHIP is dead last on the entire team. Clearly the better option is Pedro Baez who has been absolutely brilliant since rejoining the team on August 15. In his 21.1 innings of work, Baez has posted an incredible 1.69 ERA and even more incredible 0.84 WHIP. He has struck out 17 and walked only five.

It’s hard to believe that Mattingly and Colletti will leave Pedro Baez and starter-turned-long-reliever Carlos Frias off of the playoff roster, but if they choose to do so simply because Baez and Frias do not have postseason experience and instead take far less capable guys solely because they do (or because of their lofty contracts), it could be a very short postseason for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers would also be well advised to include Paco Rodriguez and exclude guys like Chris Perez and Kevin Correia. It’s pretty much a given that Jamey Wright will also make the cut. By the same token, it would be a stretch for the Dodgers to include new arrivals Yimi Garcia and Dan Coulombe, but bringing Scott Elbert along might be worth considering.

The point to all of this is that every one of the Dodgers remaining seven regular season games are ‘must-win’ game, so why not try to actually win them by using the best guys instead of using guys based on their tenure, salary or the length of their beard?