NL Wild Card Races
By Joe Nelson
With football taking over and most division titles wrapped up, baseball is taking a backseat in the sports world. The sport suffers enough as it is from lack of interest but the start of the football season could not come at a worse time for the league. There is hope that a miracle run from a team could generate some interest and steal some national attention in the coming weeks and there are a few teams in position to do so, even if it is still a long shot. With apologies to the Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago White Sox, who still have as good of a shot to make the playoffs as many of the teams listed here, the NL Wild Card race appears to be the one battle that could provide some drama and steal some of the spotlight in the sports world. The schedule ahead is not created equally and although Colorado appears to be in the power position they will face a tougher path than some of the other competitors might.
Colorado Rockies: The Rockies appeared to have a firm grip on a wild card spot while even contending to overtake the NL West in the last few weeks but a recent slide has brought them back to the field. Colorado has a critical home stand coming up with nine games at Coor’s Field hosting the Padres, Cardinals, and Brewers. Those that have not been paying attention probably do not realize that San Diego has won 13 of the last 20 games including taking two of three in each of the last four road series, all against quality opponents. St. Louis is 32-13 in the last 45 games and has two Cy Young candidates in the rotation which will make that a tough series as well. The Brewers have fallen apart in the second half of the season but Milwaukee still owns a productive offense which will never make them an easy team to face in an offense-friendly park. The Rockies must close the season with three games in Los Angeles and what once appeared like a series where the NL West might be settled looks more and more like a series that the Rockies will need to hang on to the wild card.
San Francisco Giants: The Giants lost four straight games at home last week but a recent resurgence and a slide from Colorado has San Francisco relevant again. The Giants have six games remaining with Arizona so that match-up will be a key opportunity for the Giants to pick-up ground as Arizona is 3-9 in the last twelve games and has lost two of three in all four series between the teams this year. A four-game home set with the Chicago Cubs could be the real story however as Chicago has quietly crept back into the picture, even if as an extreme long shot. The final three games for the Giants are in San Diego however, where the Giants are 0-6 this season. San Diego has been a dangerous spoiler team of late including taking two of three in San Francisco early in September so it could be a tough finish for the Giants.
Florida Marlins: The Marlins are much closer to the wild card than the division title but they still have six games remaining against Philadelphia and great results in those games could make things interesting. The next series is on the road but facing Cincinnati for four games should be welcomed and the Marlins will also have a home series against the Mets and a road series in Atlanta. The Marlins are 6-2 in the last eight road games and 9-4 in the last 13 games overall so this is a team that should not be counted out just yet. The pitching is there with Josh Johnson continuing to have a great season and solid starts have been coming from Ricky Nolasco, Sean West, and Anibal Sanchez. Florida has been a streaky team and they are oddly 5-1 in Philadelphia this season but 0-6 at home versus the Phillies.
Atlanta Braves: The Braves have to be included in this group as the schedule ahead is the most favorable of all the teams that are still alive in the playoff chase. Five games remain with the Mets and seven games remain with Washington, the worst team in baseball. Atlanta also plays three each with the Phillies and Marlins but both series are at home where 12 of the remaining 18 games will be played. As of Wednesday, the Braves had also won five straight games, out-scoring opponents 32-15 in the process. With Jair Jurrjens and Javier Vazquez Atlanta has as good of a 1-2 punch as anyone right now and Tommy Hanson and Tim Hudson are pretty solid back-of-the-rotation starters. Offense has been the key issue for the Braves but a consistent stretch over the next two weeks against mainly favorable pitching match-ups is very possible.
Chicago Cubs: It may be painful Cubs fans to even see the team mentioned in this space but winning seven of the last eight games leaves Chicago still in the picture. Catching the Cardinals in the NL Central looks impossible but with the Rockies giving back a few games the wild card gap is not insurmountable though they will need help. The final seven games of the season are very favorable on the schedule, hosting Pittsburgh and Arizona but for those games to matter the Cubs will need to work some magic on a very difficult road trip. Chicago plays at St. Louis, Milwaukee, and San Francisco starting this weekend and to become a player in the race Chicago will need to post a very good record in those games, probably needing seven or eight wins. The disappointing and yet encouraging factor for Chicago is that the five-man rotation is now fully in tact and should rate as strong as any other team in the league. While most teams are scrambling in the #4 and #5 spots the Cubs have Rich Harden, Randy Wells, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster, and now even Carlos Zambrano making starts. That gives them a chance, as they should at least be in position to have a chance to win every night if the offense can finally get hot.
VegasInsider.com