Quick Pitch: Dreaming of a Three-Way Playoff

Right now it is a little after 6:00 in the east, and the Padres lead the Giants 4-1 in the 7th.  The Braves and Phillies are scoreless in the 6th.  When the weekend started, my dream scenario was a longshot, but with each passing inning, it becomes more and more possible.

Here is what I was hoping for when the weekend started:

• A Padres sweep of the Giants in Pac Bell
• The Phillies taking 2 of 3 from the Braves in Atlanta

If both of those (then unlikely) things happened, the Giants, Padres, and Braves would all finish with the same record and we would be in for a phenomenal situation where the Giants and Padres would play a one-game playoff on Monday for the NL West, with the loser playing a one-game playoff Tuesday night against Atlanta for the wild card.

Well, the Pads won last night and are just 9 outs away from another win today.  The Braves lost last night, so they need to sweep the final two games from the Phils to avoid their one-game playoff fate.

This playoff is good for two reasons:

1. As a baseball fan, it would be tremendous drama.  Can you imagine the intrigue of a one-game playoff on Monday, with the winner in and the loser to play a one-game playoff the next night?  Unprecedented…and fascinating!
2. As a Phillies fan, it would be fantastic to have these teams have to burn their pitching staff, considering that there is still a chance that the Phils can match up with one of those West teams in the first round (if the Braves don’t win the wild card).

Now, it’s most likely that it won’t matter because the Phils will probably get the Reds anyway, but a guy can dream, right?  And, my dream is to face the Padres as the wild card on zero days rest!  Imagine if they sweep the Giants this weekend, then lose to Lincecum on Monday, but rebound to beat the Braves on Tuesday, and then have to face a rested Roy Halladay and the Phils the very next night!  Like I said, a guy can dream, right?