Magic Number is 32

Assuming the Pirates hold on to their 3 run lead in the bottom of the 19th with the Cardinals, the Reds' magic number to win the NL Central is 35 with 40 games to go. I usually don't get excited about a pennant race until September 1, but....

Nice to hear, will feel better when it get in the teens.

My brother has been emailing magic number updates for a week and a half now. You're not alone, statman.

Today's update:

35

Pretty good weekend for the home team. You’ll all be happy to know Todd Redman has been safely returned to AAA Louisville. The Pirates got the best of the Cards 2 outta 3, but in reality, they were both the real losers as they both lost ground to the Reds and had to endure a 19 inning affair yesterday. The Reds played 4 games this weekend and got credit for all of them – and a 26th (Red)man on the roster thanks to the most recent collective bargaining agreement, the Pirates and Cardinals, they just got to burn up their entire bullpens. The Standings:


Team, W, L, Gms Left, Magic/Tragic #
Reds, 74, 48, 40, 35
Bucs, 67, 54, 41, 35
Cards, 65, 56, 41, 33
Crew, 54, 66, 42, 23
Cubs, 47, 73, 42, 16
Astros, 39, 83, 40, 6

I hope the Cardinals do not get a wild card spot. They scare me in a short series!

32....

Today's update:

32

Zach Cozart atones for his early sins on the base paths with a homer in the top of the ninth and finally someone on the Reds’ staff can hold a lead - Chapman. After years of Chase Utley killing the Reds it was particularly awesome to see him flail harmlessly at the 102 MPH gas to end the game. And again Hooray Padres. The Standings:

Team, W, L, Gms Left, Magic/Tragic #
Reds , 75, 49, 38, 32
Bucs, 67, 56, 39, 32
Cards, 66, 56, 40, 32
Crew, 56, 66, 40, 22
Cubs, 47, 75, 40, 13
Astros, 39, 84, 39, 4

Today's update:

31

Arroyo! Now that’s the pitcher I remember one out of every three starts in 2009. Making his case for game three of the NLDS. Padres did their job, but the Astros could not, and once again it’s the ole nemesis in the rearview mirror. The Standings:

Team, W, L, Gms Left, Magic/Tragic #
Reds, 76, 49, 37, 31
Cards, 67, 56, 39, 31
Bucs, 67, 57, 38, 30
Crew, 56, 66, 40, 21
Cubs, 47, 76, 39, 11
Astros, 39, 85, 38, 2

Originally Posted by sportsmaniac

I hope the Cardinals do not get a wild card spot. They scare me in a short series!

If they played it would be a 7 game series.

Today's update:

31

Still. Not a good night for the bullpen. Everyone not named Aroldis, seems to be going in the wrong direction (some – Ondrusek – all the way to AAA). And what actually ticks me off the most isn’t the lack of Magic Number needle movement, but that Johnny didn’t get his would-be league leading 17th victory, and Cole Trickle Hamels has still never lost to the Reds...7-0 in 10 starts. Bah! (that was a shout of frustration) That, and the Bengals are not in the same league as the Packers. Hopefully, the Reds sweep the Cards this weekend and take all the drama out of this thing right now. The Standings:

Team, W, L, Gms Left, Magic/Tragic #
Reds , 76, 50, 36, 31
Cards, 68, 56, 38, 31
Bucs, 67, 57, 38, 30
Crew, 57, 66, 39, 21
Cubs, 47, 76, 39, 11
Astros, 39, 86, 37, 1


Hey look, the Astros are almost mathematically eliminated!

At last count, the Reds are at a Magic Number of 29 with 33 games left. I felt at the beginning of the season that 97 wins would win the division. The Reds have to go 20-13 and the Cards would have to 27-8 for a tie. I feel as though the Pirates are done since they are unable to score runs at the same rate as the Cardinals do.

Reds are back to the Major League's best record thanks in part to the Nationals' 5-game losing streak. Magic number is 26 with 31 games remaining.

Today's Update:

26

Gotta love you some Johnny Cueto and Todd Frazier! Johnny notched win number 17 last night...5 days late (I’m looking at you bullpen) in typical Johnny style: 7-8 innings, 3-5 hits, 0-2 runs, 0-2 walks, no home runs allowed, no stolen bases allowed. Pretty simple really. Meanwhile with his two more hits including a clutch 2-run triple in the 8th, Todd Frazier has jumped both Chris Christie and Bruce Springsteen into 2nd place on my favorite New Jerseyites list (don’t worry, no one’s even approaching Danny DeVito). Almost as exciting as the Reds win/Cards loss double was the fact that everybody’s favorite Canadian started at first base for the Dayton Dragons – with high socks, I might add. AND, while we weren’t looking, the Nats have been floundering their way to 5 straight losses vaulting the Reds, once again, to the best record in baseball - however not vaulting them into a place where ESPN radio feels the need to report their scores in the morning – glad I know the 3rd place Mets beat the 4th place Phillies though, now, tell me some more about this Tim Tebow guy.

The Standings:

Team, W, L, Gms Left, Magic/Tragic #
Reds, 79, 52, 31, 26
Cards, 71, 58, 33, 26
Bucs, 69, 60, 33, 24
Crew, 61, 67, 34, 17
Cubs, 49, 79, 34, 5
Astros, 40, 89, 33, -5


Oh yeah, and this happened: Yadier Molina Collision with Pittsburgh SS Josh Harrison 8/28/2012 - YouTube

Originally Posted by statman

Reds are back to the Major League's best record thanks in part to the Nationals' 5-game losing streak. Magic number is 26 with 31 games remaining.

With the Reds winning earlier today, and the Cards losing (just now), I guess the number is down to 24 now.

Today's update:

24

Another good start by the rotation, another win for the Reds. These facts seem to be connected in some way. Somebody should look into that one. Good performances by Latos and Chris Heisey. And Brandon Phillips hit a ball that cleared a 20 ft high fence located 407 ft away from him (yeah that homerun trot did seem a bit more deliberate than usual – that’s called getting you some.) However, I’m giving this victory to Dusty. He kept Latos in 1 inning longer than I assumed he would, but Mat(t) had no problems getting through the 7th, even with 118 pitches. Then, as if in search for whatever bullpen members are trending hot rather than cold he went to JJ Hoover in the 8th, and Arredondo in the 9th, who collectively set down 6 straight in order to finish the off the game and make him look pretty smart. I know, I know it was a 4 run game by then, but he could have gone with LeCure, Simon, or Marshall (who I thought we’d see in the 9th.) Not to mention, Heisey’s insertion into the lineup that payed off big-time. People love hatin’ on Dusty for his often “unorthodox” managerial decisions, so I gotta give him some love after that one. (Even though his 1 and 2 hitters were 2 for 10…just sayin. Normally the guys hitting in the low .200 are at the end of the lineup.) And the Pirates flattened the Cardinals again 5-0. ‘Til Monday, The Standings:

Team, W, L, Gms Left, Magic/Tragic #
Reds, 80, 52, 30, 24
Cards, 71, 59, 32, 24
Bucs, 70, 60, 32, 23
Crew, 62, 67, 33, 16
Cubs, 49, 80, 33, 3
Astros, 40, 90, 32, -7

Tear down the lights! The Reds are a ridiculous 33-14 (.702 winning pct) in day games this year.

Magic number is 23 after the Cards' loss and the magic number for the Cubs not to finish in last place is 22.

Originally Posted by statman

Magic number is 23 after the Cards' loss...

The Cards lost again today? If not, the number is still 24.

Originally Posted by Birdsfan

The Cards lost again today? If not, the number is still 24.

No, they lost yesterday....It's 23.

Today's update:

23

The Reds may have been off but the Magic Number never sleeps. More movement in the good direction with the Cards dropping their 3rd straight (maybe that Molina fella is kind of a big deal to them.) Alas, the loss was at the hands of the Nationals putting them a scant .002 percentage points ahead of the Reds for the best record in baseball. I hear you, “But Magic Number Watch, does the best record overall really mean anything besides bragging rights?” I’m glad you asked. Best record in baseball? No. That doesn’t get you anything besides a bold typeface on this list. However, the best record in your particular league does get you the number one seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. (The NL won home field in the WS with their win in the All Star Game. Thanks Melky!) However, however, after looking at that list of the best yearly record in baseball, I’m not entirely certain you want that mantle. After a quick perusal of the last 10 years I noticed only twice has the NL team with the best record made it to the World Series, and it’s not much better in the AL were only 4 out of 10 years did the best record make it to the WS. Moreover, only 3 of those 6 teams won the Series. So bottom line: Who gives a crap about the best record? The real question would be playoff opponents. (Hey, no Phillies this year!) The Standings:

Team, W, L, Gms Left, Magic/Tragic #
Reds, 80, 52, 30, 23
Cards, 71, 60, 31, 23
Bucs, 70, 60, 32, 23
Crew, 62, 68, 32, 15
Cubs, 50, 80, 32, 3
Astros, 40, 91, 31, -8

Originally Posted by Jumper_Dad

Nice to hear, will feel better when it get in the teens.

Start feeling better, JD!! The magic number is 19 and from what I understand #19 will be back in the lineup tomorrow.