JUST WHAT DODGERS WANTED.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

This is exactly what they were hoping for, right? A dramatic late-season series that truly means something.

It was -- until the Dodgers jumped out to a nice four-game lead and briefly appeared they might take the division by storm. Ah, what could have been.

For now, the Dodgers will try to look past their miserable road trip, absolutely blowing a pair of games in Wrigley and concentrate on the task at hand:

Their biggest series of the season.

The Dodgers do not exactly return to Chavez Ravine on a head of steam and whirl of momentum. Rather they stagger home, having gone a disappointing 4-6 on a trip that included stops with the lowly Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers.

The Dodgers' lead in the National League West has evaporated to a mere half-game over the San Diego Padres, and it is their neighbors to the south who arrive tonight for the start of a four-game showdown series.

That the Dodgers have positioned themselves to be in such a significant September series is the good news. That it's against San Diego is bad.

The Padres have beaten on the Dodgers this season like they were their own private Ludwig drum set. San Diego has won 11 of 14 meetings this year, including the past six. And the Padres are rolling at the right time, having won eight of their past 11.

They are the team that enters this series beaming with confidence borne of last season's division title, their momentum and season's success against the Dodgers.

There are 16 games left in the Dodgers' season. Every game huge, every game now carrying extra weight.

This is tension time in baseball, a stretch run with a postseason on the line.

All games might count the same in the standings, but you play well in May so the games in September still mean something.

And no series this season has meant more to the Dodgers than this one.

``All these games are like playoff games, especially when we're playing a team we have to beat,'' Dodgers manager Grady Little said in Chicago.

These four games against the Padres could settle little and simply set the stage for a final two weeks of high drama; a split, and nothing really changes. Or one team could take three, or even sweep, and ride the lead to the finish.

If any team believes it has the edge, it has to be the Padres. They have historically given the Dodgers trouble, but have never been more dominant than this season.

``I'm sure they're going into it thinking they have a chance to do it some more,'' Little said.

Yet everything starts fresh tonight. In the end, the Dodgers have what they always said they wanted: control over their outcome.

It doesn't matter if most left them for dead after the All-Star break -- some people are so clueless.

Doesn't matter if they've given back almost all of their lead, that the Padres have owned them, that over half their roster has turned over since spring training.

What matters is, the Dodgers have put themselves into position to participate in the biggest series of the year in the NLWest. That if they respond and finish well, they will win the division.

``It's a point in the season where you're glad to be involved,'' Little said.

The series starts tonight with the Dodgers' late-season, old-starting- pitcher acquisition (Greg Maddux) against the Padres' late-season, old- starting-pitcher acquisition (David Wells).

Wells remains a formidable pitcher, but for whatever it's worth, he's never enjoyed much success against the Dodgers. In three career starts vs. L.A. he's 1-1 with a 7.04 ERA.

That's just one more record that should probably be ignored. It's a 16-game season now, beginning with these four against the Padres.

``We're at a point in the season where we can't hide from that fact this series is a big part of our season,'' Little said.

There simply is no hiding now, just putting up or shutting up. No talk about next year, but getting it done this year.

``It's just like the playoffs started,'' Little said. ``It's a completely different sense now.''

The NL West has rotated leaders throughout the season, and it's almost appropriate that the stretch drive should turn nailbiter.

The Padres hold a slim wild-card lead. The wild card could prove to be the Dodgers-Padres division loser's consolation prize, but the Giants are hanging tough for both and the Phillies are making a late wild-card run.

There are no guarantees unless the situation is taken into their own hands. The opportunity is there.

After the Padres, the Dodgers play Pittsburgh, Arizona, Colorado, and then end the season with three games against San Francisco.

The final three games against the Giants might well prove pivotal, but for right now, the Dodgers begin their most important series of the year. It's step up, or start the laments.

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Grady Little