So it looks like we might have two more tickets getting punched to the baseball playoffs. The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago Cubs are pulling away in their divisions. At this rate, the Cubs and the D-Backs look like they’ll be able to bury their division rivals by the end of this coming week.

Much has been written (including in this blog) about the NL West being one of the worst divisions in baseball history, but though the division may be horrendous the winner still gets to go the playoffs. And it’s looking more and more like the winner will be the D-Backs. It certainly isn’t surprising that the reason for Arizona taking control of the division is because 2nd place Los Angeles has now lost 8 straight games.

Right now the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks are playing each other. So one of these two teams has to win. And so far the D-Backs gotten the better of the Dodgers. After winning last night the D-Backs now have a 4.5 game lead.

Meanwhile, over the National league Central there has been a great race going on all season. The Cubs have stood atop the division for much of the season but they’ve been chased closely by the Milwaukee Brewers and even the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards have fallen off but the Brewers are still in the lead for the Wild Card. But in the NL Central, the Cubs are riding a 7 game winning streak and they’ve now opened up a 6.5 game lead. The Cubs are looking like the best team in the National league.

So, it looks like there may be just one race left in the National league and that will be for the Nl East. of course, it’s not over in the Central or the West yet, but it’s very close.