Official Magic Number Thread

[Gee!]

Padres tied with SF right now in the 3rd..

 

[AZZenny]

Such a weird time of year...rooting for teams and players I hate.

 

[crisper57]

7-3 Giants right now.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Such a weird time of year...rooting for teams and players I hate.

But it feels oh so sweet to be on this side of the fence for the first time in years.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

No champagne has been sprayed by any team in the National League yet. But it's just about safe to predict that the Mets (up 2½ in the NL East), the Diamondbacks (up 2½ in the West) and the Cubs (now leading by 3½ in the Central) will win their divisions. How do we know? History tells us. Those leads might seem small. But not at this stage of the year. We've gone back through every season since World War II. The evidence couldn't be more clear.

• In the previous 12 seasons of the wild-card era, there hasn't been a single team that was more than 1½ games out of a playoff spot with a week left in the season and came back to make the playoffs. Not one.

• To find the last team to blow a lead as large as the Mets and Diamondbacks' lead in the last week, we need to go back 20 years. That team was the 1987 Blue Jays, who coughed up a 2½-game pad over Detroit -- but had to lose their last seven games (four of them to the Tigers) to do it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3033679

 

[DesertDog2K1]

Padres lose. 3 up with 6 to go baby!!!

 

[Gee!]

Magic # is 4 to win NL West right?

 

[Stallion]

Magic # is 4 to win NL West right?

 

[scXfreakX]

Good. I have a bad feeling about tomorrows game though. But go D-Backs! BTW, whats the magic number to clinch a playoff berth? I don't feel like doing math right now.

 

[Dback Jon]

Magic # is 4 to win NL West right?

Yup

 

[Black Jesus]

its 4 also because the Padres and Phillies are tied for the WC race.

 

[Austin Zonie]

It would be nice to clinch the division before we face the Rockies.

 

[RedStorm]

The magic number is 4...

number of games remaining - diff in loss column + 1 = magic number
6 - 3 + 1 = 4

 

[Stallion]

3

 

[Black Jesus]

3 is great and all, but we should have this wrapped up by now, but instead we lost 2 of 3 to the pirates and head to road in Colorado. THANK GOD we won today. GO DBACKS!!!

 

[Austin Zonie]

Could be down to 2 tonight.

 

[Azlen]

To make the playoffs now, we need one win in Colorado and one loss by either the Mets or the Phillies.

 

[nativesunsfan]

If we win 2 outta the 3 do we win the division? Go Dbacks!!!!!

 

[crisper57]

If we win 2 outta the 3 do we win the division? Go Dbacks!!!!!

If we win 2 of 3 and the Padres win 3 of 3, we tie for the division. The head-to head tiebreaker would give us the division and the Padres the Wildcard.

The scenario only works if either the Mets or Phillies don't have the same number of wins as us and the Padres. Then we would have to have a playoff with the Padres (winner take all) and the loser would play the NL East team for the WC.

 

[crisper57]

A win tonight and a loss by the Padres would really loosen things up for us.

Too bad Ben Sheets can't go in this series against the Padres. Brewers pitching is a mess right now.

And their defense cost them that game! 5 errors? In a pennant race? Are you kidding me?

Win out D-Backs. Send the Rockies packing!

 

[Azlen]

If we win 2 of 3 and the Padres win 3 of 3, we tie for the division. The head-to head tiebreaker would give us the division and the Padres the Wildcard.

The scenario only works if either the Mets or Phillies don't have the same number of wins as us and the Padres. Then we would have to have a playoff with the Padres (winner take all) and the loser would play the NL East team for the WC.

If we win 2, then the Mets and the Phillies wouldn't be a factor and we would win the division regardless of what the Padres do because we own the tiebreaker against them.

The worst case scenario for us is that we get swept and the Padres win 2 of 3. We would drop to third in the division and be out of the playoffs regardless of what happens in the East.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

If we win 2, then the Mets and the Phillies wouldn't be a factor and we would win the division regardless of what the Padres do because we own the tiebreaker against them.

The worst case scenario for us is that we get swept and the Padres win 2 of 3. We would drop to third in the division and be out of the playoffs regardless of what happens in the East.

The tiebreaker only counts if the Padres still end up in the wild card, so it does still matter what the Mets and Phillies do even with winning two of three.

 

[Stallion]

2 for the outright division championship.

1 for the official division championship.

0 for the playoffs!!!!!

 

[Azlen]

The tiebreaker only counts if the Padres still end up in the wild card, so it does still matter what the Mets and Phillies do even with winning two of three.

If the Diamondbacks win two of three and end up tied with the Padres they would both have 91 wins and it wouldn't matter what the Phillies or the Mets do because the most wins either of them could have got before tonight was 90.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

If the Diamondbacks win two of three and end up tied with the Padres they would both have 91 wins and it wouldn't matter what the Phillies or the Mets do because the most wins either of them could have got before tonight was 90.

Correct, the post you quoted me on was written before the Mets lost.