2018 Standings and Playoff Race Discussion

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

What I like most, and is underrated and understated here... is that the Cardinals likely need to WIN OUT to make the playoffs. If they can get the fist game today, watch out... we may be clinching Sunday. Just saying. Hold on to your hats, this is fun. Worst case we host a WC game Tuesday. I like our chances in that at home.

 

Plus the Cardinals and Cubs are all day games, so while they could technically be eliminated by Saturday night, they won't know it until their game is long over. Being down one game, they know that they need to win to stay alive. This is shaping up t be a great weekend of baseball

[YelichPosse]

What I like most, and is underrated and understated here... is that the Cardinals likely need to WIN OUT to make the playoffs. If they can get the fist game today, watch out... we may be clinching Sunday. Just saying. Hold on to your hats, this is fun. Worst case we host a WC game Tuesday. I like our chances in that at home.

 

Plus the Cardinals and Cubs are all day games, so while they could technically be eliminated by Saturday night, they won't know it until their game is long over. Being down one game, they know that they need to win to stay alive. This is shaping up t be a great weekend of baseball

 

Exactly! Couldn't ask for a more hungry, with better starters, opponent to go in and try and take down the Cubs.

 

@Wrigley just did a weather look up:

WNW winds 10-15 today with chance of rain later in afternoon.

Saturday sounds cool with NE winds (blowing in)

Sunday nice weather chance of a shower and variable winds 5-10

 

WNW winds means left to right there I think?

 

None the less , no severe blowing out conditions so that is good for the STL starters. Then again the Cards sure seem to hit well at Wrigley.....

 

AHHH THE EXCITEMENT!

[Fear The Chorizo]

Took some time to read through the history of this thread, particularly posts made around 4-6 weeks ago - most of the divisional hopes were very tempered, giving the Crew a realistic shot only if the Cubs played sub-500 ball down the stretch. Cubs have gone 14-11 so far in September, far from having a bad month...but the Brewers have still made 3 games up on them in the standings on a 16-7 month heading into the final weekend. The Crew are just straight rolling right now!

 

Awesome that there will be day Cub/Cards games to track today and tomorrow before the Brewer game starts each night - to know whether it's time to make up ground or at minimum hold serve. With the pitching matchups for today/tonights games, the Brewers would do well to stay at 1GB heading into Saturday. If they can at least hold serve tonight, I think their chances of at least playing a game 163 for the division are better than 50% with Mikolas and Flaherty going for the Cards on Saturday and Sunday against Hamels and Montgomery for the Cubs.

[TURBO]

I just hope that the Flaherty start matters... I do not want to face that guy in a WC game.

[YelichPosse]

I just hope that the Flaherty start matters... I do not want to face that guy in a WC game.

 

That Flaherty start needs to matter for the Cards, or there is no way they will pass the Rockies/and/or the Dodgers ... thats why we are in such a nice position to sit back and see what happens!

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I just hope that the Flaherty start matters... I do not want to face that guy in a WC game.

 

That Flaherty start needs to matter for the Cards, or there is no way they will pass the Rockies/and/or the Dodgers ... thats why we are in such a nice position to sit back and see what happens!

 

If the Cubs take care of business against the Cardinals this weekend, I'm not going to begrudge them the division title. They earned it. Just the fact that they earned a split going up against four tough Pirate pitchers is impressive. I don't like the Cubs, but I appreciate good baseball.

[MrTPlush]

Just some info on the Tigers:

 

64-95

26-52 (Road)

21-50 (>.500)

3-7 (Last 10)

2 game losing streak

Terrible Offense

Miserable Pitching

 

Certainly could sweep them...they suck.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I appreciate the randomness that is baseball, but the Brewers should sweep them and I consider it failure if they don't unless a game is meaningless and we trot out the B team. That team sucks, the roster is gutted, it will be in front of the best crowd all year. If the division is alive and we lose to Detroit we deserve our fate.

[YelichPosse]

I appreciate the randomness that is baseball, but the Brewers should sweep them and I consider it failure if they don't unless a game is meaningless and we trot out the B team. That team sucks, the roster is gutted, it will be in front of the best crowd all year. If the division is alive and we lose to Detroit we deserve our fate.

 

I agree. I feel we either will earn a division title (or play for it Monday) or we will cost ourselves it.

 

I don't see how the Cubs can/will sweep the Cardinals.

 

That leaves so much in play for us to "take care of our house".

[topper09er]

Just some info on the Tigers:

 

64-95

26-52 (Road)

21-50 (>.500)

3-7 (Last 10)

2 game losing streak

Terrible Offense

Miserable Pitching

 

Certainly could sweep them...they suck.

 

....and they are in 3rd place!

[pacopete4]

The Tigers will be playing to wreck it. These are still pro baseball players. Sweeping teams is not an easy task and so it will be a huge battle this weekend. If they don't sweep, it will be okay. This Brewers team has answered the call each time this season so I won't be disappointed if they can't pull off another sweep.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Playing to wreck it, sure, but everybody out there is a human being too. There have got to be guys on that team ready to head back to San Diego/Miami/Maui for the offseason, sick of the grind, the losing and travel. I can't believe those sorts of things don't come into play for at least some of the roster when you're winning 60 games.

[EauClaireNWL]

Cards are only a game back of the Dodgers for the second wild card with three to play, so they have plenty to play for the next couple of days at least. Lets try to sweep a beatable Tigers club and see where the chips fall come Sunday.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Weird, I could have sworn the Cubs game Sunday was 1:10 or something, now I see it's 2:20, must have been seeing things. So if Sunday matters, both of us are playing simultaneously.

[bucks2281]

Every game on Sunday starts at 2

[YelichPosse]

Every game on Sunday starts at 2

 

Yea they started doing that to avoid "leaders in the clubhouse" I think . Makes sense. Makes every game important instead of a later game being useless!

[DaSpark]

Every game on Sunday starts at 2

 

Yea they started doing that to avoid "leaders in the clubhouse" I think . Makes sense. Makes every game important instead of a later game being useless!

 

Yea, I like it that way. Makes the final day very exciting for teams/fans that are in the hunt come the final day. You know that at the same time both your game and others being played at the same time matter. It can be very nerve wrecking though for those that haven't at least secured getting a WC spot.

 

Cubs up 3-0 early in their game. If they do pull off a win then the Brewers really need to win tonight, otherwise the best they can do is force game 163.

[Ennder]

It would be very Brewer like to play good enough to force a game 163, lose that game and then have to play the wild card game without a rested team.

[DaSpark]

It would be very Brewer like to play good enough to force a game 163, lose that game and then have to play the wild card game without a rested team.

 

Yea, good point. If the Cubs/Brewers have to play a game 163 it puts the loser at a big disadvantage in the WC game. 2nd spot will get to rest their guys.

[DaSpark]

Here's where we stand by the way. Both teams have 3 games left

 

Cubs go 0-3 : Brewers need 1 to tie, 2 to win

Cubs go 1-2 : Brewers need 2 to tie, 3 to win

Cubs go 2-1 : Brewers need 3 to tie

Cubs go 3-0 : Cubs win division

[DaSpark]

Cubs are gonna win which makes tonight's game almost a must win if the Brewers want to win the division. Cubs now have 2 games left, Brewers 3

 

Cubs go 0-2 : Brewers need 2 to tie, 3 to win

Cubs go 1-1 : Brewers need 3 to tie

Cubs go 2-0 : Cubs win division

 

If the Brewers lose tonight they will have to win out, including game 163 and the Cubs will have to lose out. Must win tonight in my book.

[MKECubsFan]

Isn't this exciting? It doesn't get much more tense than this. They say every team wants to play meaningful games in September. Well? I almost can't watch each game.

 

Well, in the spirit of sportsmanship, I raise a glass to you Brewers fans! Let's enjoy it while it lasts!

[MrTPlush]

I don’t see it as a must win. Sure they would have to win out and the Cubs lose out...but we only need to that to happen over 2 days. Not really that hard to happen.

 

I don’t foresee it happening just because the Cardinals are toast and are probably mentally checked out too now. I think we need a sweep and maybe the Cubs lose one. Then again who knows. The Cubs losing two days in a row has happened many times all season.

[Eye Black]

Random observation, the Cardinals are now closer in the standings to the Pirates than they are to the Brewers. Hard to believe considering they entered the week only 2.0 GB of the Brewers.

[obobo55new]

The AL has 2 teams that are going to finish in middle ground. 7 teams are at +14 and 6 are at -14. Only Minnesota and the Angels are going to finish with a "average" season. That seems to be stranger than any other occurrence.