Oh what could have been. Friday night things were looking good for the Marlins. They had kept their winning streak alive, defeating the NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies 14-8. Then the Marlins playoff chase came crashing back to Earth. Heartbreaking losses to the Phillies on Saturday and Sunday (3-2 & 5-2), compounded by today’s loss to the Cincinnati Reds (7-5 after blowing a 4-0 lead) in a make-up game has left the Marlins on a 3 game losing streak.

The Marlins are all but eliminated from the NL East pennant race as they are now 7 games out of 1st place in the division. The Wild Card just got near impossible to achieve as well. The only thing working in the Marlins favor during their current losing streak is the continued mediocre play by the Wild Card leading New York Mets who have lost 2 in a row, leaving the Marlins 5 1/2 games out of the Wild Card spot.

The Marlins have 6 games left in the 2008 season, 3 games at Washington and 3 games at the Mets. Theoretically the Wild Card is not out of the question, but the Marlins must sweep their remaining 6 games to even have a shot. In addition to a 6 game win streak, the Marlins need the Mets to be swept by the Chicago Cubs and then sweep the Mets themselves. There are also the Milwaukee Brewers and Houston Astros in front of the Fish. It is possible, though not likely the Fish (with a 6 game win streak) could surpass the Brewers who face the Pirates and then Cubs. As for the Astros, they finish against Cincinnati and Atlanta.

The reality is though, the Marlins are more or less finished. The Chicago Cubs have locked up a playoff spot so are not likely to be playing their top talent, making it unlikely the Mets and Brewers will be swept in their meetings with the Cubs. It is also not a good thing when your playoff hopes rest on Pittsburgh actually winning baseball games. My advice, break out the Teal and Black, wear your jerseys, caps, and tshirts and cheer on your team for their final 6 games and hope they can make it interesting anyway. Then enjoy another South Florida winter and await the boys of summer when they return next March.