Can the Dodgers catch San Diego - as easily as Matt Kemp caught this fly ball against Chicago in the team's last homestand before the All-Star Break. AP / GUS RUELAS

The Dodgers and Angels resume the 2010 Major League Baseball season tonight. The Dodgers begin a four-game series in St. Louis, while the Angels host a four-game series with the Seattle Mariners.

I wrote back in April I didn't believe the Angels or Dodgers would make a playoff run this season, and might not make the playoffs at all. And I haven't seen anything so far to alter that belief.

I understand both teams are in second place in their respective divisions. The Dodgers are 49- 39, and trail front running San Diego in the National League West by only two games. The Angels, 47-44, trail first place Texas in the American League West by 4.5 games.

Here's the red flag - both teams are lagging behind last year's pace. At the same point of the 2009 season, the Dodgers were 55-31, and seven games clear of the Giants. The Angels were 47-37, and trailed Texas by only a half-game.

I realize the present deficits are surmountable. Still, it may take a division title for either team to reach the postseason.

The Angels are currently fifth in the AL wild card standings, and would have to climb over the Twins, Tigers, Red Sox and Rays. They currently trail leader Tampa Bay by 8.5 games.

The Dodgers are in better shape, tied with the Rockies atop the NL Wild Card standings. But the Mets and Phillies, Giants and Cardinals are in hot pursuit; a mere two games separate the six teams. And only one team among the Padres, Dodgers, Rockies and Giants can win the NL West.

I also realize you can interpret statistical data almost any way you want to. But there are numbers for both teams that gives one pause.

For the Angels, it's offense. Losing Kendry Morales for the season, due to a fractured left leg, has created a lineup hole the team hasn't yet filled. The Halos currently rank 11th among the 14 AL teams in team batting average, are tied for 11th in on-base percentage, eighth in hits and eighth in total bases.

They rank a more respectable fifth in runs scored and RBIs, but that suggests to me the Angels do take advantage of the run-scoring opportunities they get. And the other stats suggest they are not getting enough of them to keep up with the top teams. Even worse - so far the Angels have given up more runs (436) than they've scored (412).

It would be fine if the pitching weren't spotty. Jeff Weaver is the only starter who has allowed fewer hits than innings pitched. And only three AL teams - Baltimore, Cleveland and Kansas City - have a higher team ERA than the Angels' 4.50.

Meanwhile, Texas traded for topflight right-hander Cliff Lee to bolster its rotation. The Rangers haven't been in the postseason since 1999, but Lee - who won the AL Cy Young Award with Cleveland in 2008 and who pitched in the 2009 World Series for Philadelphia - could get them there in 2010.

Unless the Angels can find another veteran bat, the fits-andstarts rhythm of their offense may leave them stalled in trying to chase down the Rangers.

As for the Boys in Blue, their offense is healthier. The Dodgers rank second in the NL in team batting average, third in runs scored, third in hits, third in RBIs and are tied for third in on-base percentage. They have everything but game-changing power, ranking 10th in home runs.

I'm more concerned with their pitching.

On the surface, the numbers are barely passable. The Dodgers starters are 33-31 with a 4.30 earned run average. There are 18 major league teams with lower ERAs than that. In addition, the Dodgers and Pittsburgh are the only major league teams without a complete game.

But the Dodgers bullpen, which does have a collective 16-8 record and 3.74 ERA, has already thrown 286.2 innings this season, a total equaled by Washington and surpassed only by Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. That means the starters are averaging a little over six innings per game. If that doesn't improve, manager Joe Torre could be turning games over to a bunch of burned out relievers by late August and September, when the division and wild card races are decided.

And until actions (as in a trade or waiver wire acquisition) speak louder than Ned Colletti's words about being able to make a deal to solidify the staff, it's easy to see how the Dodger arms will get worn down trying to keep up in the second half.

I would love to be wrong. And both teams have plenty of time left to prove me wrong.

But, again, I don't think I am this year.