MLB Wednesday: The NL Wild Card Race Comes Back to Life.

In a September in which playoff races are looking pretty dead and all but settled, there is one race between two very different teams that gives us a reason to keep paying attention.

Currently, barring a miraculous comeback, the San Francisco Giants are about to take down the Colorado Rockies and cut their deficit in the NL Wild Card to 2.5 games.

So really, the only relevant question that remains in either league is which one of these teams is going to take the last playoff spot and play in October (although, since the regular season ends in October this year, I guess that’s not a great question).

The Giants have what every good postseason team needs to have when it counts; excellent starting pitching with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and the resurgent Barry Zito.  If the Giants make it into the playoffs, this is certainly a team to look out for because of how difficult its going to be to beat them in a short series.

Unfortunately for San Francisco, their great pitching is offset by an offense that at times, can be completely non-existent. 

Pablo Sandoval has been a huge part of the Giants’ offense throughout the year, and if guys like Aaron Rowand and Bengie Molina can provide some support, they might then have a chance to make a deep playoff run; but it’ll take an offensive output that we have yet to see on a consistent basis from this squad.

The Rockies, on the other hand, are looking to bring back “Rocktober” from the ‘07 season, when they went on a tear up until they were swept in the World Series by the Boston Red Sox. What they have going for them, is their offense which can score in bunches.

Their lineup has a great balance of speed in players like Dexter Fowler, average in Todd Helton, and power which can apply to anyone playing in Coors Field. All that makes them pretty dangerous and got them back into the NL West race with the Dodgers up until this recent slump. 

Again though, the Rockies pitching staff isn’t exactly one of the most spectacular in the league; although it is vastly improved from where its been at times in the past.

Ubaldo Jimenez is their ace; with Jason Marquis and Jorge De La Rosa after in the rotation. Jimenez got shelled by the Giants tonight, and that’s not a good sign for Colorado. 

So for now, there really is only one show in town if you're an MLB fan and the NL Wild Card race is it. 

Looking at the remainder of the schedule, it could become even more interesting if both teams can get hot and put some pressure on Los Angeles; but for now, we’ll assume that the Dodgers will avoid the collapse and win the NL West. 

Meanwhile, somewhere in the bowels of his personal office in Milwaukee or the MLB main offices in New York, Bud Selig is looking for ways to make the last three weeks of the regular season go faster. 

Playoff baseball could not come soon enough this year.