11 Games . 10 Days . 3 Teams . 1 Dream
With a Dodgers loss tonight the Phillies can take over sole possession of the Nation League Wildcard lead by a whole game in the National League standings. Last night, the Phillies were victorious against the Cubs to win their home series 2-1. The team piggy backed Brett Myers six hit, twelve strikeout complete game outing to the tune of a 6-2 finish. Offensively, the Phils were led by Pat Burrell…
… yes, Pat Burrell. Pat The "Sometimes" Bat went 1-2 with a single, two walks, a bomb to the Phillies bullpen while collecting two RBIs total on the night. We have been waiting for Pat to finally come up big in any spot of the ball game when his number is called. Last night, Burrell must have left his dancing shoes at home because there were no sightings of "The Burrell Shuffle" at all at home plate or even the "Grimace Face."
As I said earlier in the month , the Phillies would love to receive any charity if an NL West and/or Central team would man up and take a commanding lead in their respective divisions. Thank you Cincinnati Reds for falling out of the race for not only the wildcard but also the division. With 10 games to play they are seven games back in their division while being only five back in the wildcard. Though they have a mathematical chance at winning it’s safe to say that realistically they can start putting their tee times in at Scottsdale, Arizona.
Although my wisdom proved relevant in the Central the Wild West just reminds me of the 2000 Presidential Election, too close to call. As of September 7th, three teams in the West all had realistic shots at winning the West. Two weeks later here on September 21st, the case hasn’t changes for the Giants, Padres or Dodgers. Each have had mediocre September’s going 9-8, 9-7 and 8-11 respectively. Over that span the San Fran hasn’t gained any ground on either the Pads or Dodgers, though there is good news for the Giants. If they play a good 7 days of baseball going 5-2 or even 6-1 they’ll end the season at home against the Dodgers for their final series of the season. That series may have Division or even Wildcard implications going into those games to see if NorCal will be represented in the playoffs.
