If you were to tell me that, entering the last week of the season, the Cardinals were not technically eliminated from the playoffs, I think I’d assume they’d have approximately 10 more wins than they do. The Mets continued their freefall with a loss yesterday and a win by the Reds. And more bad news: if the Mets and the Reds have the same record, Reds hold the tiebreaker. It’s not always the Mets – Braves famously collapsed to allow the Cardinals 2011 run to happen – but it sure feels like it’s the Mets way more than any other team.

The Cardinals are facing another team whose playoff hopes have mostly been dashed. And the Cardinals deserve a tiny bit of credit for it. They came into St. Louis having won 10 of their last 11 games and then crushed the Cardinals on Friday night. But then the

See Full Page