Inside the Standings: How Will the Phillies Finish?

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The view from the cellar is depressing, and there isn't very much left to say. Obviously the Phillies can still catch Miami and New York and finish third in the NL East, yet we thought they were going to leave the Fish in the rearview mirror a couple weeks ago, and there they are. Still plenty of time to accomplish that much, I guess, and the way the Mets are plummeting, the Phils may not need to do anything to jump them.

My own goal for the Phillies of finishing .500 remains within reach as well, but becoming harder to fathom by the day. They've only made up two games on the mark since the All-Star break, and now would have to finish 31-20 to get there. That's a .620 winning percentage the rest of the way, which seems outrageous given the recent clubhouse clearance sale coupled with the injury to Carlos Ruiz -- not to mention the way they've played all season.

Obviously the team is going to go out and give it everything they've got every night. A bunch of these guys still have something to prove this season, either to themselves (Ryan Howard, Roy Halladay) or to the front office (Dom Brown, John Mayberry). Realistically though, we might be looking at 75 wins here, tops.

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