You may have noticed that we haven’t blogged much since the Cubs were basically torn down and most of our favorites from the most memorable team in the past century were traded. Knowing what we know now, yeah, maybe it wouldn’t have mattered much since our favorites certainly had their flaws, but it was still a major blow to us as fans and that’s why we just haven’t had the heart to say much and to follow the games other than just reading box scores or checking up on the odd highlight.

Take this one, for example:

Ok #Cubs folks, so…
1. Infield fly called
2. Arenado didn’t catch, runners can advance at own risk (they shouldn’t have, was dumb)
3. Infield fly = no force play at 3B
4. Time called before tag at 2B
5. Everyone safe
6. Happ K so whatever https://t.co/eeZ7X0wiBA pic.twitter.com/roxO2olitl

— World Series Dreaming (@WSDreaming_Cubs) September 26, 2021

I guess I feel at least some comfort knowing that the Cubs, despite being swept at home in their final series of the season at Wrigley, were still sort of competitive until the end, but honestly, that Cardinal Devil Magic is a powerful force that is not easily overcome. Alas, the Cubs pretty much now have secured the seventh pick in next year’s Draft, with an outside shot at doing “better” if they just keep tanking. But alas, no more Wrigley Field Cubs games this year, and we have to wait the long winter to see whether the next iteration of Cubs will suck just as bad, or will try to get back to the postseason.

In the meantime, there is of course still meaningful baseball to be played by other teams, so I thought I’d just check out what’s going on with the standings…

American League

AL East –> Tampa Bay Rays have clinched the division.

AL Central –> Chicago White Sox have clinched the division.

AL West –> Houston Astros are up five games on the Mariners with a magic number of 2 to clinch.

AL Wild Cards –> Boston and New York are tied for the two wild card spots at the moment, with the Blue Jays within 2 games of whoever wins tonight and 1 game of the loser of the same game. Seattle and Oakland still have a slim chance of getting in if the three teams in front of them take a dump.

National League

NL East –> Atlanta is up a couple games on Philly right now, having just defeated the disappointing San Diego Padres. The top two teams in this division go head to head this coming week to basically decide the division.

NL Central –> The Milwaukee Brewers have clinched the division.

NL West –> The Giants are the first to 100 wins and kept winning this weekend, while the Dodgers are just two games behind. Both teams get to beat up on division rivals this week so I don’t know that this will change much. Whoever doesn’t win the division will have to beat the other wild card team and then meet up with the division winner in the first round anyway, which is kind of a dumb postseason setup in my opinion, but it is what it is.

NL Wild Card –> The Dodgers have secured the top wild card at the minimum, and if the Giants falter, they slip into the top wild card spot. The second wild card is commanded now by the pesky Cardinals, who are six games up on both the Reds and the Phillies with a magic number of 1, so they’ve at least guaranteed a one-game playoff before the one-game playoff should they suddenly crash and burn.

I’ll be rooting for the Giants and Blue Jays but of course I have no idea what’s going to happen.

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