At 72-71 with 19 games to go, the Phillies are still in the hunt, but it's going to take a lot of work if they are going to make it to the playoffs.
| W | L | GB | Left | |
| San Diego (18) | 74 | 68 | -- | 20 |
| Philadelphia | 72 | 71 | 2.5 | 19 |
| San Francisco | 72 | 71 | 2.5 | 19 |
| Florida | 72 | 71 | 2.5 | 19 |
| Cincinnati | 71 | 72 | 3.5 | 19 |
| Houston | 70 | 72 | 4.0 | 20 |
Charlie Manuel still holds to the notion that it will take 85 wins to get into the playoffs. I think he's off by one -- 84 should do it. So lets pretend that the Phillies will have to go 12-7 the rest of the way to get in. How does that break down? Try this:
at Atlanta (Sept. 12, 13, 14): 2-1
at Houston (Sept. 15, 16, 17): 1-2
vs. Chicago (Sept. 18, 19, 20): 2-1
vs. Florida (Sept. 22, 23, 24): 2-1
vs. Houston (Sept. 25): 1-0
at Washington (Sept. 26, 27, 28): 3-0
at Florida (Sept. 29, 30, Oct. 1): 1-2
There's the 12-7 to get to 84-78. If the Phillies can do it as it's laid out, all they need is some help from San Diego, San Francisco, Florida and Cincinnati.
No problem, right?