Three reasons why the Marlins have reali

When the returned from their COVID-19 outbreak, they got hot enough to start the season 7-1. At the time, most of us figured they'd come crashing back to Earth soon enough. They sort of did, too, losing eight of their next 10. They have, however, been able to win five of their last eight and there are circumstances all around the situation that say there is a legitimately Joe Delamielleure Jersey realistic path to the playoffs for the club with the longest NL postseason drought (2003).The banked 14-12 record as they near the halfway point helps. But here are three other reasons why Miami could sneak into the 16-team playoffs this October. Let's have a look: 1. The new playoff formatIf we were still under the five-team per league playoff format, I wouldn't be writing this. I'm pretty confident the Marlins won't win the NL East and there's a good shot they won't have the first- or second-best record of the non-division winners by the time we get 60 games in (I'll take the and whoever doesn't win the Central between the and ). Now, however, there are eight Dion Dawkins Jersey teams per league and it even helps the Marlins that the second-place team in each division makes the playoffs no matter its record. There are also two wild cards after the first- and second-place teams.2. Struggling NL East teamsThe expectation when this was to be a 162-game season was that the and were the legitimate contenders while the and were also likely to have a good shot at making the Isaiah McKenzie Jersey playoffs. The Braves are playing as expected. The Nationals are 11-17 and just as much a me s as that record would indicate. The Phillies have one of the worst bullpens we've seen in a while and are 12-14. The Mets are 13-16 and definitely can't be counted on for consistent winning baseball for myriad reasons. Add all that up and there's a very real path to second place, which would likely put the Marlins as the six seed. Heading into Thursday, SportsLine had the following win totals in the projections:Nationals: 28.9Phillies: 28.8Mets: 27.7Marlins: 27.2On Fangraphs it was:Mets: 30.3Phillies: 30.1Marlins: 28.3Nationals: 27If there's a margin for error, the Marlins are in it. They can steal a game or two. It's po sible. If they do, second place. Playoffs.3. Struggling 'contenders' in other divisionsIf the Marlins do mi s out on the second-place slot in the East, there are still two wild cards. Let's remove the , Braves, Cubs, Cardinals and Padres in addition to the other Von Miller T Shirts three NL East teams I listed above. Here's who is left for the Marlins to compete with for the wild card and their projected win totals heading into Thursday. Sportsline: : 30.6 : 29.3 : 28.1 : 26.5 : 25.5Fangraphs: Brewers: 30.3Rockies: 29.2Giants: 29.1Reds: 28.3Diamondbacks: 26.8SportsLine gives the Marlins a 27.6 percent chance of making the Buffalo Bills Hoodies Sweatshirts playoffs while Fangraphs has them at 30.7. They are absolutely in the discu sion thanks to their good play, the poor play of a litany of other expected contenders and the expanded playoff field.There is a po sible problem, though. The Marlins play the six times, the three times and the Braves seven more times. Those are going to be awfully tough games for a roster like the Marlins are fielding. They have stayed above water to this point, though, and they're almost halfway home.In doing so, they have created a situation where they have a real chance of making the playoffs.