Phillies could wreak havoc on wild card race, especially the Mets

Although the Phillies were officially eliminated from playoff contention last night, they still could have a considerable effect on the race.

Specifically, they could have a considerable effect on the New York Mets.

(It took me a minute to determine, but there are enough Mets players currently not injured to still field a lineup. I'm not sure by how much at this point, but there are.)

Phillies fans obviously hope their team wins as many of those games as possible. But forgive me for wanting to see a very specific scenario.

The Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Francisco Giants could end up with the exact same record, creating a three-way tie for the National League's two wild card spots.

This would be glorious. It would also be a headache for Major League Baseball's schedule-makers, but who cares about that?

As the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore explains:

The Cardinals would host the Mets on Monday, Oct. 3, the day after the final day of the regular season. The winner would be declared the first wild card. The loser would fly to San Francisco to play the Giants on Oct. 4. The winner of that game would be declared the winner of the second wild card. On Oct. 5, the first wild card would host the second wild card for the right to play the Chicago Cubs in a best-of-five National League Division Series.

The zaniest possible travel schedule belongs to the Mets. They could play in Philadelphia on Sunday, St. Louis on Monday, San Francisco on Tuesday, back in St. Louis on Wednesday and Chicago on Friday. That would be six days, four flights, four cities and five games, all with massive stakes.

I don't know exactly what it will take for that chaos to happen, but I'm rooting for it. If the Phillies can't make the playoffs, at least they can make the Mets miserable.