Choke time?

It's not a certainty that the Dodgers will blow their playoff chance, but they've played like a third place team for more than a month — 18-18, five of those wins cheapies over Arizona — and the Giants are now just 1½ games behind. The Giants are also hot and the league's highest scoring team (a tie with the Cardinals), while the Dodgers' last reliable starting pitcher just got whacked bad last night. They'll throw Brad Penny (pictured) at the Padres tonght, but he hasn't seen action in six weeks. Recent hero Steve Finley is 0-for-a-week at bat and the second baseman is out of gas. They are struggling even with Adrian Beltre red hot at the plate, and Shawn Green has to sit out at least one of the upcoming six make-or-break games with the Giants for Yom Kippur. Other than that, things are good. Jon at Dodger Thoughts counsels "it's not over," but Phil Wallace at LAist recounts the bleak history of Dodger Septembers for the past decade or so.