(Update: MLB finally made a decision and the Cubs-Astros series will be in Milwaukee, with single games being played on Sunday and Monday. Personally, I feel that there was too much of a delay in making a decision PLUS this was decided after the NFL swiftly came up with a plan for the Houston-Baltimore game that was affected by Ike)

The NL wildcard race just more interesting as Milwaukee isn't the only team in the NL Central doing a slow burn. Milwaukee once had I think was a maybe a 6 or 7 game lead; now it's down to 2 games over Philadelphia, 2 1/2 over Houston. Could Milwaukee being paying for Ned Yost's complaints about the hit that was or wasn't in CC Sabathia's recent near no hitter? Karma's a bitch...

As we are nearing the end of the season, we will take a look at candidates for the Hunter Flop Awards. This essentially covers the teams who exceeded expectations for the entire season.

Teams:

-Detroit. A lot of "experts" including myself fell for this team in the beginning. On paper, this team looked primed for a major run. Instead, Detroit is the top candidate for Flop of the year.

-Seattle. A lot of "experts" also thought Seattle would either win the AL West or at least win the wild card. I didn't go that far, but still picked them second for 90 wins. We all had no idea what a mess this team was in. Could take a while to clean up.

-NY Yankees. Not since 1993 have the Yanks missed the playoffs, but that's what will happen this season. They are closer to last place than first. Major retooling is in store.

-Cleveland. Based on last year, a lot of us fell for the Indians. If memory serves, I might have even had them in the wild card. They were out of it early enough that they traded their best pitcher.

-San Diego. For me, Flop of the year in the NL. I thought they were primed for a World Series run this year. Maybe the clue should have come from last year when they blew their playoff chances down the stretch.

-Arizona. Their pitching was to carry them. But I think it was clear as early as June, if not sooner, that their hitting would not. Frankly, I'm almost as disappointed in Arizona as I am in San Diego.

-Atlanta. They are now at pre 1991 levels. They were horrible a good chunk of the year and it surprised a lot of us how bad this team is now.

Players:

-Jeff Francoeur. 11 Hr and a .234 BA are way below this player's potential.

-Frank Thomas. Only 8 HR and a .240 BA. Way below what he did last year. End of the road?

-Ken Griffey. Only 16 HR. Hasn't been injured as much, but is being listed here because he's hit only a couple of HR since being traded to the ChiSox.

-Andruw Jones. .158 BA, only 3 HR. Flop Of The Year. Signed a big contract for this??

-Barry Zito. 9-16 and a 5.35 ERA earns Zito Pitcher Flop Of The Year.

-Nate Robertson. 6.08 ERA over 30 starts. Yuck.

-Justin Verlander. 10-15 with his vast talent is inexcusable.

The upcoming week is a key week in the playoff races. Can the Cubs right their ship and hang on? Will the Mets and the Phillies repeat last year? Can the Rays (the Rays???) make history and hang on? Who wins the AL Central? The last two weeks should be a doozy!