- Nola had his worst performance of the season to a good-hitting Cubs club on Sunday afternoon, as the Phillies dropped 2 of 3 in the weekend series, and 4 of 6 in the all-important home. Atlanta moves ahead by 4 full games again in NL East, but all hope is not lost. This is a make-or-break week for the Phillies. They play the Marlins and Mets while the braves take on the much-stronger Red Sox and Diamondbacks. Those 7 head-to-head games with Atlanta won't mean a damn thing unless the Phils get close, and this is the week to make up ground, although the Phillies always seem to have problems with Miami and New York.
If the team is still 4 games out come this time next week, stick a fork in 'em. The Braves would just need tow ina few of those match-ups in late September to ward off the Phillies. Still too many teams to jump over for a wild card spot. Plus, most importantly, the Phillies just are not playing good ball. They aren't good enough yet.
- Live by the home run, die by the home run The Cubbies swatted 3 dingers off Nola yesterday, an outing surely to hurt his Cy Young chances,
- . No wonder the Cubs are the best team in the National League. They have experience and knows what it takes to win. Why the Phillies and other NL teams allowed Chicago to claim Daniel Murphy is beyond me.
- Around Baseball:
Boston has a commanding 7 1/2 game lead in AL East. Will the Red Sox meet up with the Yankees in the divisional series? Baltimore is 53 1/2 games out of first, with 97 losses. An embarrassment. How about Tampa Bay being 10 games over .500, playing in that brutal division? A good sign for their future.
The Indians, my pick to win the World series back in spring training, ran away with AL Central. They most likely would play the AL West winner, more likely the defending champion Astros. i like Cleveland because they came within a game of winning it all 2 years ago. They dominate their division. Boston and Houston, without a home field advantage, will be tough to overcome. Call it a hunch. Otherwise the AL Central is a sad thing to see.
Out west, Houston hangs onto a 2 1/2 game lead over surprising Oakland. Seattle has faded, now 8 games out.
In the National League, the Phillies are now 4 out in the East, but the real surprise has been the favored nationals, who have surrendered since they let go of Murphy and Gonzalez. The Nats are 8 1/2 games behind Atlanta.
The Cubs are the best team in the NL and are in command in NL Central. Milwaukee and St. Louis hover 5 and 5/12 games out, respectively. The fraud Pirates dropped quickly, 15 1/2 out.
The NL West is probably the most fascinating pennant race. Give the Dodgers credit for sweeping Arizona over the weekend to jump over the Diamondbacks and Rockies. Still, all 3 teams are within a game of each other.
In te wild card races, it looks like the A's will visit Yankee Stadium for a one-game playoff and the right to face the Red Sox in the playoffs.
In the NL, the wild card seems to change daily. Right now the Cards would visit the Brewers in a one-game playoff, but three teams are lurking: Colorado ( 1 1/2 out), Arizona ( 2 out) and Philadelphia ( 3 1/2 out).
Milwaukee has 4 at home against the Phillies at the end of September. I still like Arizona to win the NL division, so could it be a St. Louis and Los Angeles showdown in the wild card game?
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