Finish May Be (40-)Something

Such is the lifespan of a baseball season that with three weeks left, the Angels wish they had another month and the Dodgers wish it could have ended Friday.

Early Friday. Like, say, lunchtime.

We’re just now beginning to understand why Ned Colletti agonized over the David Wells decision, because pitching Derek Lowe every day until October just wasn’t an option, not when Lowe has two more years left on his contract.

Ultimately, Colletti did the right thing, even if it costs him the National League West, the NL wild card, and small but meaningful pockets of his sanity.

If Wells does what Wells often does -- 4-1 last September, 3.91 ERA in all of his Septembers combined -- and Grady Little has to introduce himself to his own starting pitcher most nights, it still isn’t enough to justify a second well-regarded prospect for a second rental (See, Joel Guzman for Julio Lugo).

Internally, the Padres believe they won the West when they sent catcher George Kottaras off to be Jason Varitek’s intern, bringing Wells and dampening clubhouse speculation that ownership would tank the season and install Paul DePodesta and, presumably, Terry Collins in the Kevin Towers and Bruce Bochy roles.

Now, it looks as if they really want to win the thing. On cue, the Padres gained 3 1/2 games on the Dodgers in the first seven days of the Boomer era, Wells’ contribution so far being six sturdy innings in a win over the Reds and a solemn pledge not to hog the postgame chicken wings.

And the Dodgers?

Chad Billingsley fell victim to the 2006 Oblique Plague. Brad Penny’s ERAs in July, August and September are 6.00, 5.14 and 9.00, his fastball spending too much time in the middle of the plate. Mark Hendrickson has made us pine for the Jae Seo months. Even Greg Maddux, at times, has looked like a slightly less hittable version of Aaron Sele.

Here’s the thing: Although September could come down to the Dodgers with Maddux and without Wells, and to the Padres with Wells and not Mike Thompson, the Dodgers need Maddux a lot more than the Padres need Wells. The legend is nice. What the Dodgers require is innings. Good ones.

For what it’s worth, Leo Mazzone says Maddux, at 40, has it in him. Mazzone was the pitching coach for all of the Braves’ 14 consecutive division titles, managing one of the great staffs in baseball history. Now in Baltimore, managing one of the worst, Mazzone searches scoreboards all over the American League for John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Maddux.

So Maddux pitches into his 21st September, the 43-year-old Wells into his 20th, Maddux not sure if it’s his last, Wells seemingly headed for retirement, and all that’s riding on them is the outcome of a baseball season.

“Those 40-something guys,” Mazzone says, “are better than most 20-something guys.”

He loves the story of a game Maddux pitched against the Diamondbacks, when Luis Gonzalez was a guy who really worried him. Bobby Cox, Mazzone and Maddux decided before the game that they’d pitch around Gonzalez if the situation arose and, sure enough, in the seventh inning, Gonzalez came up with two out and first base open.

“You’d better go out there,” Mazzone told Cox, “find out what he’s going to do.”

Cox shuffled to the mound and returned with a wry smile.

“You’re not going to believe this,” he reported to Mazzone. “He says give him two pitches, he thinks he can pop him up to third.”

Cox sat down, Mazzone took to rocking, and the first pitch was Ball 1.

“Second pitch,” Mazzone says, “Gonzalez pops to third.”

Standing outside the Orioles’ dugout, Mazzone laughs.

“Tell Grady,” he says, smiling, “not to screw him up.”

Like every other manager Maddux has ever had, Little just hands him the ball. Wells has basically gotten the same treatment, because arms like his and Maddux’s are too rare and valuable to foul up with advice.

“The thing I admire about both those guys is they have the insides -- the guts -- to continue to not be afraid of contact, even though they’re where they are in their careers, as far as their stuff,” Angels pitching coach Bud Black said. “They pitch to contact, knowing they’re not in the prime of their stuff.

“There’s no doubt, even the pitchers who do feel good late in their careers, the ball in the hitting area isn’t the same as it once was. In their cases, they still have some of that left.”

They both pitched Saturday, Maddux taking an undeserved loss in New York and Wells getting a fortunate no-decision in San Francisco. If they stay on regular rest -- Maddux might pitch on three days’ rest at times -- each gets four more starts, beginning with a showdown of the 40-somethings Friday night at Dodger Stadium.

Wells’ advantage is having Jake Peavy, Chris Young and Woody Williams around him. Maddux has Lowe and the next-best available arm, which is becoming a bit of a crapshoot.

This doesn’t make the Dodgers all that different. Check out the Twins after Johan Santana, the White Sox after 2005, the Phillies after Curt Schilling.

It’s about pitching, particularly now, with October so close. It could be about Maddux and Wells. That’s what they’re here for.

tim.brown@latimes.com