2026 Magic Number Thread

[wiguy94]

5 hours ago, BruisedCrew said:

I think it’s 6 to eliminate the Padres because they have the tiebreaker over the Brewers and 5 to eliminate the DBacks. 89 Brewer wins plus 68 losses for both SD and AZ =157. 

Yes it’s 6 and 5 but those two teams play each other still so the Brewers will clinch a postseason spot as soon as the magic number gets to 2 for both teams because one of the them is guaranteed to lose two more games.

[BruisedCrew]

7 hours ago, wiguy94 said:

Yes it’s 6 and 5 but those two teams play each other still so the Brewers will clinch a postseason spot as soon as the magic number gets to 2 for both teams because one of the them is guaranteed to lose two more games.

I guess that’s one way of looking at it. 

But I think it is more straightforward to focus on the magic number with respect to one team at a time and reduce it as the Brewers win or the other team loses.

When you start getting into multiple team scenarios it can get tangled. I remember last year there was some difference of opinion about whether or not the Brewers had clinched a playoff spot because of how 3 team tiebreakers work. In a 3 team tie the Brewers tiebreaker over AZ might not be determinative  

Beacuase this will most likely resolve itself within a week, I can wait until then to see what the situation is  

 

[formerlybis]

2 hours ago, wiguy94 said:

Yes it’s 6 and 5 but those two teams play each other still so the Brewers will clinch a postseason spot as soon as the magic number gets to 2 for both teams because one of the them is guaranteed to lose two more games.

A loss only takes one off the total from the magic number against us (I suspect you are counting it as two - that only happens in head-to-head games, like with Cubs lately). If SD loses 2 of the 3 with AZ, they go down to 4, In that scenario, AZ would also be at 4.

 

***ETA: I re-read your quote, and we're saying the same thing. Sorry