It is September and that means the Major League Baseball playoffs are just around the corner.
Unlike a couple of decades ago, the Wild Card means more teams are playing meaningful baseball this time of year. While many of the division races are, for the most part, settled, the Wild Card hunts are hot and heavy.
The National League is particularly intriguing. At the moment, the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs occupy the two Wild Card positions. They appear to be in firm control.
That, however, could be deceiving.
Washington is in the first spot and looks to have a spot locked up. The challenge for them is their schedule is very tough facing the division leading Braves 6 more times. The Nats, theoretically, are still in the hunt for the division but that is slipping.
The Cubs, on the other hand, are up by a few games on the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are a surprise team after apparently throwing in the towel with the trade of Greinke at the deadline. Since that time, the DBacks went on a run that got them back in the thick of things.
Meanwhile, the Cubs have 7 games left with the front running St Louis Cardinals. The Redbirds are pulling away after playing terrific ball the second half of the season. The Cubs seem to have some holes which could mean a free fall hits at any time.
They also have a weekend series against the Brewers. The Brew Crew swept the Cubs last weekend in Chicago. Last night, the Cubs pulled one out in Milwaukee with three left to play.
The Mets and Phillies match up this weekend for their final three games against each other. Both are struggling to stay in the race along with Milwaukee. The Mets and Brewers are 5 games behind the Cubs with the Phils 3.5.
To make things even more interesting, Arizona visits New York early next week for a 4 game series with the Mets.
Sweeps this time of year are devastating. With less than 25 games left, a 3 or 4 game slide can eliminate you from contention.
It is starting to get very interesting.