At this point I trust Murphy. I think (hope) it's all strategic.
I'd prefer #1 but #2 is not that big of a deal. The division is what you need and that's a formality at this point. We're getting to close to where Philly is running out of time too though. They're going out West now for 6 games, 3 with LAD who has every reason to win those games. I think Philadelphia has at least 4 losses in them. In that scenario, a .500 finish lets us hold the pole position.
I would say I'm more interested in how we look the last few days of the season, but given that we will have a big layoff anyway, I'm not even sure that matters.