No, the Phillies may never lose again. Yes, their MN to clinch the NL East is 10. But the Mets' is down to 11 following the Thursday night efforts of the Santana/Schneider exacta, and they still control their own fate -- if they win their last 10 games, they'll be NL East champs no matter what the Phillies do, because the two would be tied and both would be in the playoffs, so the Mets would be division champs based on their head-to-head record against the Philberts.
But perhaps more importantly, thanks to a loss befitting the Mets' bullpen, the Brewers have fallen a game and a half behind the Mets in the NL wild-card race, which makes the Mets' MN for clinching a playoff spot 9 -- any combination of Met wins and Brewer losses totaling 9 would ensure October baseball at Shea. But that doesn't mean anybody should get too comfortable. The Brewers' next six games are against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, and the Mets...well I don't know if you've heard, but they have some bullpen issues.
That Brewer loss, which came after they had a four-run lead with two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the ninth, was to the Cubs. And it dropped the Cubs' MN for clinching their second straight NL Central title to 2. If the Cubs win and the Brewers lose today, the Cubs will pop champagne and be the second team to enter the 2008 postseason derby. It would be the first time the Cubs made the postseason two years in a row since 1907-08.
In the NL West, the Dodgers dropped their MN to 7 with an afternoon win in Pittsburgh, then Arizona beat Tim Lincecum and the Giants to keep that MN right there.
The Rays blew a tough one against the Twins, so their MN to clinch the AL East remains 10 and their MN for clinching a playoff berth remains 3. The Red Sox were off, and since the Twins won, nothing happened to Boston's MN for clinching the wild card.
The Twins' victory, coupled with Chicago's ugly loss in the Bronx, moved Minnesota back within a game and a half in the Central and kept the White Sox' MN at 9. It also improved the chances that next week's series between those two teams in Minnesota will decide who wins the division.
The Yankees continued to push back their inevitable date of mathematical elimination, walloping the White Sox and ensuring that they can't be mathematically bounced before Saturday. They could be eliminated from the AL East race tonight, if they lose and the Rays win, but they'll still be alive for the wild card no matter what happens today.
The Dodgers' afternoon victory mathematically eliminated the idle Rockies from the playoff hunt, making Colorado the 13th team eliminated this year and ensuring that the National League will crown a new champion in 2008.
No other teams were eliminated Thursday, though a couple sit on the precipice. The Indians' Tragic Number is 2 -- they're out if they lose and the White Sox win tonight. After them, the Yankees and the Blue Jays are in the most trouble, but both are safe until at least Saturday.