House That Hank Built
Fansided

The Weekly Playoff Update

By Alan Carpenter

facebooktwitterreddit

Yes – this is baseball’s form of torture:  to go ahead and slog through this process even while your head is telling you that your team has absolutely no realistic shot at passing both Milwaukee and Pittsburgh within the remaining two weekends of play.  It’s kinda like still having to play the full 9 innings despite being behind 14-0 in the 5th.

But that’s what we do:  torture is simply one of the services we provide here at TomahawkTake.com.   Real Baseball knows no ‘Mercy Rule’!

To the Chart!

So What has Changed?  The Pirates have been the team to go off and seize the opportunity:  8-2 over their last 10 games while (a) Atlanta has done exactly the opposite; and (b) no other contender for a Wild Card spot has produced a winning record over that period.  The Nationals are the only team that has clinched, as there may be a late battle for the division crowns since both the Central and West are still in play.

Live Feed

Phillies, Padres, and more: Lessons from the 2022 postseason
Phillies, Padres, and more: Lessons from the 2022 postseason /

Call to the Pen

  • In the end, three true outcomes doom Philadelphia PhilliesCall to the Pen
  • Heroes and goats: Key performances in the 2022 World SeriesCall to the Pen
  • The case that Astros closer Ryan Pressly was real World Series MVPCall to the Pen
  • With World Series power, Kyle Schwarber sets unique home run markCall to the Pen
  • Are fluke teams like the Phillies good for baseball?Call to the Pen

    • In the Central,

    the Cardinals nonetheless still have the advantage

    thanks to a creampuff final week:  after today, they see 3 of the 6 worst teams in the league to finish out while Pittsburgh still has Milwaukee and Atlanta… depending on how much ‘punch’ the Braves might actually have in them by next week.

    Out West, the Giants are surging, while the Dodgers are trying to hang on.  That lead of 2 games was at 4 just 2 days ago.

    For the Wild Card, the only real question left is whether Milwaukee can muster a battle this weekend vs. the Pirates.  If they can, then it’s truly in doubt over the final week – and Atlanta could also find itself in the mix if they can somehow sweep the Mets.  But if the Pirates take care of business vs. the Brewers, then only the division crowns are in play… it would be just a matter of shuffling the teams in the playoffs and not whether any spoiler could emerge.

    The magic number for the Pirates to eliminate the Braves?  6.

    Home/Braves News