As MLB heads into its final weekend of the season, seven of the postseason's eight teams already have their tickets stamped and their bags packed.
The AL playoffs will consist of the New York Yankees, the champions of the east and the West-winning Oakland Athletics, and while the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins are battling it out for the Central title, the loser will still walk away with a wild card berth.
In the NL, however, the playoff picture is a bit foggier. The New York Mets are playoff-bound after clinching the NL East pennant last week, while the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres look poised to represent the Central and West, respectively.
And while the Cards and Pads finish off their division titles, there are two teams-the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies-vying for the NL wild card, with this weekend determining both teams' fates.
The past 10 days have been unforgettable ones for the Padres. After surrendering five home runs in late innings and blowing a big lead against the Dodgers on Sept. 18, the Pads bounced back in a big way. By rattling off six straight wins, San Diego has pulled away from the Dodgers in the NL West race and is one its way to back-to-back division titles.
But that's not all. As the Pads completed a weekend sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates Sunday with a 2-1 win, closer Trevor Hoffman etched his name amongst the best relievers in baseball history, passing Lee Smith en route to the all-time record for career saves. Hoffman took the field to his trademark entrance music of AC/DC's "Hell's Bells," and left to a standing ovation from 42,000 Padres fans after earning his 479th career save.
After a week of individual achievement and dominant team performance, the Padres have nowhere to go but up, as they now set their sights on the National League pennant. The Dodgers and Phillies, however, both have a big hurdle to climb before looking toward October baseball. The teams begin two crucial three-game series tomorrow night, and both should feel fairly confident about their chances, given their opponents. The Dodgers will play the San Francisco Giants, a team that they manhandled in August, winning five out of six games. L.A. is 10-6 against the Giants on the season. Meanwhile, the Phils will take on the Florida Marlins this weekend. Philly just swept the Marlins last week, improving to 5-3 against them in September, and 11-6 on the season.
In the end, the wild card race will come down to which team falters this weekend, and the Dodgers are looking vulnerable. Their rotation has a strong core of veteran leaders in Greg Maddux, Derek Lowe and Brad Penny-all three of whom already wear World Series rings. But there's a catch. All three starters pitched in this week's series against the Colorado Rockies, and now rest will certainly be an issue.
Meanwhile, the Phillies have the exact same problem. In their series with the Washington Nationals this week, the Phils used their top three starters-Brett Myers, Cole Hamels and Jon Lieber-and will have to take on the Marlins with their rotation at less than full-strength.
The Dodgers will turn to a pair of rookie starters, Chad Billingsley and Hong-Chih Kuo, to keep their playoff hopes alive in San Fran, while the Phils can fall back on a pair of established veterans, Jamie Moyer and Randy Wolf. If the race is deadlocked going into Sunday, fans can expect to see Maddux and Myers back in action for their teams' season finales.
On the offensive side, both clubs are led by a hot-hitting superstar looking to carry his team into the playoffs. Philadelphia hopes to ride the slugging Ryan Howard into October, and that may not be a bad horse to back. In his first full season, Howard is leading the majors with 58 home runs and 145 runs batted in. If he can come through in the clutch, he has a good chance to lead the Phillies past the Fish and into the playoffs.
In L.A., Howard's fellow first baseman Nomar Garciaparra has fired up the Dodgers over the past week. After ending the 11-10 slugfest with the Padres back on Sept. 18, with a walk-off home run, Nomar followed with another stellar showing last weekend.
In the ninth inning of Sunday's rubber match with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Nomar broke a 1-1 tie with a grand slam, giving the Dodgers the game and the series with a 5-1 win. As the Dodgers head into the season's final weekend, all eyes will be on Garciaparra to keep them in the race.
Regardless of how the weekend turns out, the victors are bound to have a tough test ahead in the first round of the playoffs. If the Phillies win, they will likely take on the Padres in the Division Series; if the Dodgers make it, they're bound for a showdown with the Mets.
