NEWSLETTER
Last night, the St. Louis Cardinals lost in about the most embarrassing way imaginable – both literally and figuratively falling flat on their face – and it was all quite good for a chuckle (if I ever can’t manage to squeak out a laugh at the Cardinals’ expense, I’ll know it’s time to hang up the old keyboard). However, that loss wasn’t really all that good for the Chicago Cubs. In fact, that outcome, and the entire series sweep by the Brewers, really stunk for the Cubs.
On the one hand, I love seeing the Cardinals embarrass themselves and lose in explosive fashion, but on the other hand, I MUCH rather have seen the Brewers lose last night. With that win, Milwaukee kept themselves within a half-game of first in the NL Central with less than a handful of games left to play. The Cubs magic number is now 4.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals didn’t just choke at the end of last night’s contest, they seem to be choking at the end of this entire season. Just a few days ago it seemed like it was just a matter of time before they clinched as the second Wild Card team. But now, I’m not so sure.
Thanks to the Rockies’ 14-0 win over the Phillies and the Dodgers 7-2 loss to the D-Backs, Colorado is leading the NL West, Milwaukee holds the first Wild Card slot and Los Angeles has a full-game lead over St. Louis for that final postseason opening. In other words, the National League is absolutely nuts.
NL East: Braves clinched.
NL Central: Cubs lead Brewers by .5 game
NL West: Rockies lead Dodgers by .5 game
Wild Card 1: Brewers/Cubs clinch
Wild Card 2: Dodgers lead Cardinals by 1.0 game
There are still six teams in the mix for the National League’s side of the postseason and two divisions up for grabs. This is an all-out dogfight and the Cubs are right in the thick of it. Where do you think they’ll end up?
