NL Wild Card Standings: Mets right behind the Braves, concerned about the Cubs?

You either stayed up to see it or you woke up this morning to see the Philadelphia Phillies did the New York Mets another favor. They beat the Atlanta Braves in extra innings and took 3 out of 4 against them. It helped the Mets creep to one game behind Atlanta in the NL Wild Card standings.

This might not be as much of a two-horse race as it has seemed at times. The Chicago Cubs, who now sit two games behind the Mets and trail Atlanta by three, are a legitimate threat. They’ve gone 9-1 in their last 10 games to make themselves relevant again.

How concerned should the Mets be about the Cubs?

The Cubs will have to win against some big time opponent to stay relevant in the NL Wild Card standings

The Cubs have had one of the easier schedules of late. They swept the Washington Nationals over the weekend after doing the same to the Pittsburgh Pirates. They did take a loss to the Miami Marlins but only after winning the first two. Prior to that, they took 2 out of 3 each against the Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays. Neither of them will make the playoffs despite the former’s recent success.

An easy second-half schedule continues for Chicago with three more against the Pirates, this time at home. Then comes the wake-up call. They play the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers back-to-back.

Chicago has handled their business by beating the teams they should. Like just about everyone, they do have perceived easy matchups left on the schedule. After the Dodgers, they have 10 consecutive games against the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, and Nationals once more—four against them, in fact. They finish with three against the Philadelphia Phillies and then a trio versus the Cincinnati Reds.

Strength of schedule wise, they’re right around the middle of the pack. This becomes less important late in the year as rosters look much different than they did earlier in the year. The Mets have personally seen how difficult a team like the Athletics can be.

Concerns about the Cubs coming up the rear and making this more than a two-team battle for the final Wild Card spot are just, but don’t start sweating yet. How they do against the Yankees and Dodgers will be a true test of their might. Fall short and they could be all but forgotten in the NL Wild Card standings. Play well and it’s possible the Mets take care of the Braves only to see someone else storm in and become a problem.

The difficult part of the Mets schedule is how they finish. Four against the Phillies, three against the Braves, and finally three more against the Milwaukee Brewers. It’s one of the toughest finishes in baseball. Let’s hope the Phillies and Brewers have at least wrapped things up and are resting for the postseason.