I thought that if I didn't post anything this weekend, the Padres would come back and sweep the Giants to force a one-game playoff tomorrow night for the NL West title.
That superstition almost worked.
Unfortunately for the Padres, my willpower was not enough to save them from a 3-0 shutout in San Francisco this afternoon which gave the Giants the division. Leading by 6 1/2 games in late August, the Padres stumbled their way through September, and hung by a thread today as they faced a team who never let them run away with it. Now, they'll be sitting at home this October, while the Giants have a date with the wild-card winning Atlanta Braves starting Thursday.
The scary part of it is, the Giants actually have a very reasonable chance of winning that series. I've said all along that they won't get anywhere in the playoffs, but I didn't anticipate them meeting up with Atlanta in the NLDS. Atlanta is a favorable matchup for the Giants, especially with home field advantage. I like the Giants to win this series and advance to the NLCS, as much as it kills me to say it. Their pitching is better and they have a huge amount of momentum coming in. Meanwhile, the Braves have limped their way in after a sub par September. I really hope I'm wrong, and the Giants fade quickly into the autumn breeze, but I pick them to beat the Braves in four.
My other playoff picks will be coming in the next couple of days, but for now, this post concludes the Homestretch series. This definitely was not as exciting a homestretch as we have had in years past, but the NL West and wild card chases made it worthwhile. This week, the real tests begin. The dominant storylines unfold. Baseball's best team will commence their run at glory in its final act of 2010.
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