N.L. Updated Wild Card Races

By Brendon Rosenau
Love of Sports Correspondent

After a full week of baseball there’s been zero movement in the N.L. wild card standings.

The Brewers and Cardinals are further away in the division, but other than that, things are status quo. That’s obviously good news for the Cubs, who continue to win.

Milwaukee - Leading Wild Card - 5.0 Back in Central

The Brew Crew rebounded from their sweep at the hands of the Cubs by going 4-2 against the Bravos and Reds. Tempers flared on Monday with Prince Fielder showing off his WWE style on rookie pitcher Manny Parra. However, the fight seemed to light a fire under the Brewers. They outscored the Reds 14-3 in the last two games.

One player who’s caused some grief is Ben Sheets, who hasn’t won since July 4th before they traded for CC Sabathia. Although, the big lefty is still undefeated (6-0) in seven starts with his new club.

Ryan Braun’s cooled down a bit since his torrid July (.366, 9 HR, 23 RBI), but he’s still one of the best hitters in the league. Fielder’s found his power in August with four homers in the first six games of the month.

The Brewers should remain in the lead for the wild card as Washington comes into down for four, then they travel to play three games at San Diego.

St. Louis – 2.0 Back of Milwaukee – 7.0 Back in Central

The Cards are in a tough patch of work, but put up a 3-3 mark against the Phillies and Dodgers.

The best thing to happen was the return of Chris Carpenter. He wasn’t dominant by any means, but he went nine innings in two games, both of which the Cards won.

The worst thing was the changing of the closer role once again. Ryan Franklin was demoted. Jason Isringhausen got a save against the Phillies in 1.1 innings, but followed that with a lackluster third of an inning in which he allowed four hits, three runs and a walk. Yuck! Chris Perez has now joined the dreaded closer by committee.

The team picked up shortstop Felipe Lopez, which gives the team an unusual amount of middle infielders, four. Things won’t be easy this week as the Cards are at Chicago over the weekend and at Florida after that.

New York - 3.5 Back of Milwaukee - 1.0 Back in East

Fans in New York are on suicide watch. Last weekend, the Mets got swept by the Astros, then thankfully won two against the Padres. That’s usually good news. However, both wins came after the bullpen blew a late inning lead.

Billy Wagner’s on the D.L. and no one in the pen looks like closer material. Aaron Heilman gave up eight earned runs in three straight appearances this week before finally getting a win Thursday. He was supposed to be the closer. Duaner Sanchez and Pedro Feliciano aren’t attractive options, either. This could be one of the worst bullpens in baseball.

The Mets are also playing with borrowed time in the field. How long can they expect Fernando Tatis to produce at the rate he’s going, and what do they get from Ryan Church when he comes back?

The Mets host the Marlins this weekend, then have the Pirates for a make up game before flying to Washington. They seem to have the advantage playing at home, then going to the baseball’s worst team. With this team, you never know.

Florida – 4.0 Back of Milwaukee - 1.5 Back in East

No fish story here. The Marlins are still afloat in the playoff race. After taking two of three from the Phillies, the Marlins are in second place in the East and are starting to make people nervous.

Chris Volstad and Josh Johnson each held the Phillies scoreless in their starts, and Ricky Nolasco won his 11th game of the year against the Rockies. The bullpen’s been doing its job as well. Reliever Kevin Gregg has converted nine straight save chances and has 24 on the season.

Dan Uggla’s slumped at the plate, but Josh Willingham and Jeremy Hermida have each picked up the slack. The Marlins have a gigantic series against the Mets this weekend and then are in St. Louis for four games. Is this the end of the Marlins run?

Los Angeles - 6.5 Back of Milwaukee - 0.5 Back in West

The Dodgers’ best chance for the playoffs still remains in their division. They made the move of the deadline getting Manny Ramirez, who’s been lights out since. He’s hitting .565 with four homers and nine RBI since coming to L.A. and led the team to two wins over the Diamondbacks last week. He could have the biggest impact on any pennant race.

Thursday, they got an impressive performance from Clayton Kershaw as well. Add in Brad Penny’s solid return from the DL on Friday night and the Dodgers will have a better rotation then most are aware of.

The Dodgers in San Fran this weekend. They will follow that with a four game set at home against the Phillies.