N.L. Playoff race getting beautifully messy
| 5
|
by Bberg11
So with three teams within a game of each other for the Wild Card and each division leader sliding, leaving those titles up for grabs as well, things could get very very messy. I found these tiebreaker scenarios. The one for a three way tie for the Wild Card is extremely messy: Entering play Thursday, the Padres led the Phillies and Rockies by a game in the Wild Card; the Mets led the Phillies by a game in the East; the Cubs led the Brewers by two games in the Central; and the Diamondbacks led the Padres by one in the West. Here's where everything's muy murky, but we're here to help. The information provided below is based on the results of "Flip Friday," Sept. 7, when coins -were tossed to determine who'll play where in a variety of scenarios.
-If the Mets and Phillies finish tied atop the East: A one-game playoff will be played Monday at Philly's Citizens Bank Park.
-If the Cubs and Brewers finish in a tie atop the Central: A one-game playoff will be played Monday at Chicago's Wrigley Field.
-If the D-backs and Padres finish in a tie atop the West: A one-game playoff will be played Monday at Arizona's Chase Field.
-If the D-backs and Rockies finish in a tie atop the West: A one-game playoff will be played Monday at Chase.
-If the Rockies and Padres finish in a tie atop the West: A one-game playoff will be played Monday at San Diego's PETCO Park.
-If the Padres and Phillies finish in a tie for the Wild Card: A one-game playoff will be played Monday at PETCO.
-If the Padres and Rockies finish in a tie for the Wild Card: A one-game playoff will be played Monday at Colorado's Coors Field.
-If the Phillies and Rockies finish in a tie for the Wild Card: A one-game playoff will be played Monday at Coors.
-It's also possible that more than one game will be needed to break a tie.
-If the Padres, Rockies and Phillies finish in a three-way tie for the Wild Card: The head-to-head records among the three teams would be used to designate each club as A, B or C. The club with the best record would have the first choice, the club with the second best record would have the second choice, and the club with the worst record among the three would get the remaining option.
· The Phillies went 4-3 vs. the Padres and 3-4 vs. the Rockies (7-7 overall).
· The Rockies went 10-8 vs. the Padres and 4-3 vs. the Phillies (14-11 overall).
· The Padres went 8-10 vs. the Rockies and 3-4 vs. the Phillies (11-14 overall).
Thus, the Rockies would have the first choice to be designated as club A, B or C. The Phillies would have the second choice. The Padres would get the remaining option, and the games would then be played as follows: A hosts B on Monday, with the winner hosting C on Tuesday. If that's not bad enough, what happens if any/all of those three teams also tie for the division lead? For example, what if the Rockies and Phillies go 4-0 the rest of the way, and the Padres go 3-1, giving all three teams 90 wins. Then the Diamondbacks go 2-2 and Mets go 3-1, giving those teams 90 wins as well. You'd essentially have a five way tie for three playoff spots. I can't even fathom how those tie breakers would work out. I know that's a lot of "what ifs" but its completely possible for at least one Wild Card team to also tie for the division (Phillies/Mets for example). Whoever loses the tiebreaker for the division, should also have a shot at the Wild Card, right? My head hurts.
