Despite the Dodger loss last night, the magic number is now down to four. Let's take a look at the playoff picture. If the season ended today, the matchups would look like this:
It's going to be that much tougher if we keep losing players. Hanley is out until next week with a sciatic nerve issue or some such. Ethier's ankle is jacked up. Kemp is Kemp. The bullpen is showing signs of wear. And Clayton has looked downright unlike Clayton lately.
The saving grace in all this is that we get to face Timmeh Lincecum tonight. He's had a mostly terrible year, with flashes of post-mediocrity tempered with what some might consider mildy-decent pitching. I have long suspected that his issue is related to the fact that he needs to wash his hair, and will likely remind him of that repeatedly in this Game Thread. If you can't beat 'em, taunt 'em, as I always say.
