The Last 40 Games (Or So)

So I was thinking about the NL East, watching game 2 against the Nats, and I decided to see who's got the toughest schedule for the remaining 40 games, among the Mets, Phillies, and Braves. It's possible that one of the teams would be playing the Pirates/Cincy a lot, and be able to clinch the NL East by beating up retards. Turns out it's pretty even. The NL East contenders, between the three of them, only play 14 different teams, and most of 'em are other teams in the NL East, including the other two contenders.

Anyway, the Mets have the easiest remaining schedule, while the Phillies have the hardest. But it's not that big a difference. Strength of remaining schedules:

Mets: .490
Braves: .493
Phillies: .502

The difference between the Mets remaining schedule and the Phillies remaining schedule is like the difference between a 79-83 team and an 81-81 team. Yeah. The Braves play out the season against an 80-82 team.

So, it'll basically come down to how well each of the three contenders plays the others. Which is pretty much what we thought before I went and fired up the ol' Strength of Schedule Spreadsheet. Sweet. Time well spent.