Yeah, I prefer Manny being Manny...the guy can still produce at the plate with the best of them. His defense and attitude are crappy, but he brings his bat to every game.
That's actually the way you need to look at it. Phils losing would only subtract the magic number against them, but that's not the ONLY number to worry about. Marlins need to have their own set of numbers too since they're so close. Actually, any team that isn't mathematically eliminated has their own magic number. For example. If Phillies lose the remainder of their games (10 I believe), it doesn't mean that the Astros are in. If The Astros lose them all, Florida still catches up. 10 is only the max number, and it's the number you look at unless the Marlins overtake the Phillies.
You have mentioned this before and herein I ask - is that really a moderators call? Should a moderators be worried about superstition and the like? Has a rule been broken? Can that no be considered an abuse of power? I ask this sincerely because as a Christian, I do not believe in Karma. I do believe in seed time and harvest but that is not karma. So subjecting us (the members) to arbitrary calls like that is like forcing your faith on me. That is just the way I see. P.S. If we think anything like bad karma really exist and worst feel that a fan site can actually generate one to the detriment of our team then maybe it is time for us to see a shrink. Don't y'all think so?
Magic number is 9......and ONLY 9, it doesn't matter who is in 3rd place, just have to worry about who is in 2nd place....that is the ONLY number that matters. I was hoping that Atlanta would have won yesterday...but dang..... I can't wait to leave Pittsburgh those guys are murder on us this year. DD
Currently, the magic number for the Astros to be in the playoffs is 9. There is always only one number to worry about. If we win 9 games, we are in, regardless of anything else. It doesnt matter how many teams are in the hunt.
But a magic number is generally considered "your wins plus opponent losses". The problem here is that you have two opponents. If you always consider "opponent" to be whoever's in 2nd place at the time, then it works (but then if they are tied, both have to lose for it to count as 1 on the magic number). But it's not as simple as Astros wins + Phillies losses, which is the traditional magic number concept.
True, but for your premise to be relevant Florida would have to be tied, and right now they are 2 behind Philly, so still our Magic number is only 9, and only concerns Philly.
Since we always seem to have "algebraic discrepancies" every time a magic number thread goes up around here, perhaps I'll start posting this in all of them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_number_(sports)
Our number is 9, regardless. If Florida passes Philly, then our magic number takes that into account. The Astros need a combination of Astro's wins and the second place team's losses. For example, say that 2 days from now our magic number is 7 because we lost two, the Phil's lost two, and the Fish won two. If we lose the next day, and the phil's lose the next day, and the fish win again, Our magic number remains 7. The Phil's magic number would also be 7. The Fish's magic number would be 6. Your magic number is always constant.
You can't have a magic number if you're trailing a team. Basically, it'd be a number exceeding the number of games you have remaining. The Astros have a magic number for each team below them in the standings. This equates to the number of games the Astros would have to win to finish one game ahead of that team at the end of the year if the trailing team wins out.
No, the Astros have ONE Magic number, and an elimination number for the teams below them. There can be only one ! DD
This is a probably a dumb question, but in the unlikely event that the Astros finish with a better record than the Braves, would they have home field advantage? Or would Atlanta get it because they're a division winner?
I stand corrected, thanks DD. The Stros have on magic number which would clinch the berth. The other "magic numbers" are the numbers needed to eliminate the teams still mathematically alive.
Tis true. I guess the correct way to put it would be that Florida/Philadelphia are still mathmatically alive until their "elimination" number reaches 0. So the "elimination" number for Philly is 9 and Florida 7.
