Imagine the Cubs clinch the NL Central before the final weekend of the season and have a chance to knock the Cardinals out of a wild-card spot on the last day of the season at Wrigley Field.
Do you go for the jugular or give Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and Willson Contreras a day off to rest for the postseason and perhaps go with a bullpen day instead of using a starter?
The Cubs hope they're in a position to make that choice if the game still has meaning for the postseason picture, though they could just as easily be on the other side, needing to beat St. Louis for a wild-card spot to get into the playoffs.
Assuming the Nationals have been Bote'd into extinction since the walk-off grand slam on Sunday night, the Pirates have run out of steam after their trade deadline dash and the Giants have jumped the shark, eight teams remain in the jumbled National League race with six weeks left.
They're all in spitting distance of each other in the divisional and wild-card races, with the winningest team, the Cubs, only three games ahead of the Brewers in the Central and three ahead of wild-card co-leaders Brewers and Phillies. The contenders with the worst records, the Dodgers and Rockies, are only 5 { behind the Cubs.
"I know it's very close, I know a bad week for us and a good week for a lot of others could leave us out of the wild-card (spot)," Rizzo said. "Should be a fun, exciting finish to the season for all parties involved."
The way to avoid an "exciting finish" is for the Cubs to pull away from the pack, as everyone has been waiting for since the start of the second-half.
"That would be nice," Rizzo said. "I wouldn't mind that."
But they haven't proven themselves capable of doing so yet, letting the Cardinals creep to within 4 games Thursday after trailing by 8 { games as recently as July 27th. The Cardinals also are within one game of a wild-card spot as they take on the Brewers this weekend at Busch Stadium.
If the Cubs do win the division, which team would they least like to face in a Division Series matchup? Here they are, starting with teams they'd most like to face.
