With the Colorado Rockies on a tear in the last two weeks, in direct contrast to the sloppy play from the Los Angeles Dodgers, it looks like we might have a pennant race on our hands over in the National League West. Going into their mid-week three game series against each other, the Dodgers held a three game lead over the Coloradans; and after Tuesday night, the gap shrunk thanks to Troy Tulowitzki’s 10th inning walk-off single.

The Rox currently hold a decent four game lead over San Francisco for the National League wild card spot, and based on last weekend’s play, they probably will be able to hold that lead for the remainder of the season, but you can be sure in guessing that it’s not the wild card that they’ve set their sights on. They want to overtake the Dodgers for first place. But honestly, what’s the difference?

Wild card teams have actually gone 29-24 in series play since the eight-team format was introduced. Four of the wild card teams have gone on to win the World Series in the last 14 years as well. The point is that the season is 162 games long. The men are definitively separated from the boys in that time. Getting into the playoffs means the same thing whether you are a pennant winner or a wild card winner; if you win the division by one game or by 20. Once those eight teams are decided, anything can happen; especially in a best-of-five game divisional series.

Frankly, the Colorado Rockies should definitely be worrying more about who is behind them than who is in front of them at this point. Frustration over possibly not being able to overtake Los Angeles in the standings will only hurt them. If they do get into the playoffs with the wild card spot, they’ll face worthy teams, regardless. The only difference for the club will be the banner that they get to hang at Coors Field. It really comes down to a matter of who is hot and who is not in October; and at this point, it looks like not even the cold Colorado air can cool down the Rockies.