Four games. That’s all the calendar has guaranteed the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 2018 season. What they do with those four games will determine if they extend their season, or suffer one of the biggest disappointments in recent memory. With only four games, or five for some, left in the season, and still, only ONE National league team has secured a playoff spot, while all of the American league participants have punched their cards.
With their lead in the NL West essentially gone, the Dodgers hold a half game lead over the Colorado Rockies, but the Rockies have an additional game Thursday, the Dodgers are doing double duty trying to play a ball game, while watching the scoreboard. Not really a position they thought they would find themselves this close to the finish line.
Things can, and likely will, get very wild and crazy between two to, as many as, five teams. The Milwaukee Brewers lead the wild card race, while the Rockies have a half game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for the second spot. Yet, the Brewers trail the Chicago Cubs by only a half game for the Central Division lead. I don’t see anything but a tie happening at this point, and it’s conceivable that tie will be amongst more than two teams.
The good news for the Dodgers, is that if they take care of business, they should do no worse than tied for the NL West and host the Rockies for a 1-game playoff. The bad news is they could just as easily miss out on the tie, and the postseason. The scoreboard watching will continue throughout the week and over the weekend, but it looks to only muddy the scenarios with every game that is completed.
One thing is certain, this is an exciting time to be baseball fan. Unless your teams are in the American league where everything is already settled. What a yawnfest.
Photo: CBSSports.com
