One of the best ideas baseball has had in years was introducing the second wild card.

While some debate surrounds the actual format of the wild card game, adding the extra playoff spot means you get crazy scenarios and situations like this year's NL wild card race. There are five teams that sit just 2 1/2 games back of the second wild card in the National League, and there will be a division settled in the last week of the season on top of that.

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Every team is playing for a playoff spot, but between the lines they're facing off against maybe something deeper, more existential, or philosophical. Baseball is that way. It's more than a sport. It's eternal. Eat Arby's.

That said, aside from just teams on their schedule, here are some of the other opponents NL teams face as the clock winds down on the 2019 MLB season.

Cubs vs. PECOTA

Forget the wild card, maybe Cubs fans are just hoping they'll prove PECOTA wrong. Eh, maybe not.

Chicago fans were displeased prior to the season when Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA rankings predicted them to finish sub.-500 in 2019. At 77-68, there's a really good shot they surpass the 79-83 record PECOTA projectio, but it's about more than just a winning record for Cubs fans.

This season is about keeping the hopes of another championship run alive. If the past 20 years have proven anything, it's that it's harder than ever to repeat as champions and that there isn't one way to build a team.

It might be fair to say that the idea of a "dynasty" is out of the question here, but Chicago is still a very talented team top-to-bottom, even with its perplexing issues, such as not being able to win on the road.

The Cubs are 30-44 on the road this year, and they're 9-11 in their past three road trips, including a sweep over the Mets at Citi Field in August. But there's still something just not clicking for the Cubs.

Since the beginning of August, the Cubs have scored two runs or fewer 14 times, and have been shut out four times. Their record in those games: 2-12. They've also had six games in which they've scored double-digit runs and, surprise, surprise, they're 6-0 in those games. So I guess the moral of the story is this: Score a lot of runs.

The Cubs have a massive four-game series coming up vs. the Cardinals that could decide the division. Something to watch as the NL wild card unfolds.

Brewers vs. Injuries

The Brewers lost Christian Yelich for the season with a fractured kneecap, which in and of itself is devastating. Milwaukee's middle-of-the-road offense got some reinforcements back on Monday, however; Keston Hiura is back from the IL and not a moment too soon. In 70 games this season, Hiura is hitting .301 with a 138 OPS+ and 16 homers to go along with it. The Brew Crew also got back Mike Moustakas, who had been dealing with a hand injury for the past few weeks.

The Brewers have dealt with lots of injuries this season: Gio Gonzalez has been on the shelf a few separate times after signing late, Corey Knebel is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John and Jeremy Jeffress was ineffective, injured then released.

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But there's more good news on the injury front: Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee's most consistent starter this season, is set to return to the big league squad in the coming days. Woodruff is pitching to a 3.75 ERA (3.09 FIP) in 20 starts this season but hasn't pitched since July 21.

Despite the injury to Yelich, the Brewers are hot, going 8-2 in September and forcing themselves back into not only the wild card conversation, but back into the division talks as well. Just four games back of the Cardinals, Milwaukee can chip away at that lead starting Friday, when they head to Busch stadium for a weekend set against the Cards.

Should Woodruff get back and pitch as he was before his oblique injury — a difficult ask and tough assumption to make — the Brewers stand as good a chance as any to grab hold of that lottery ticket in the NL.

Mets vs. Narrative

It wasn't long ago when Mets fans were doing their best Rob Schneider in "The Waterboy" impersonation:

It's been yet another eventful season in Flushing.

A player wanted to fight a reporter. Mickey Callaway has proven that maybe he's in over his head. Brandon Nimmo was out for the season — until he wasn't. Jed Lowrie lives! Yoenis Cespedes fell into a hole. Edwin Diaz was bad, then he was kinda good, then he was bad again.

The Mets jolted back into contention with a red-hot July until coming back down to Earth with a weak end of August vs. the Braves and Cubs, as they were handed consecutive sweeps by both squads, surely dooming them in the wild card race. Wrong again!

New York NL is getting hot again with six wins in the past nine games, and pulling ahead of the D-backs in the wild card race. There's been lots of "LOLMets" this season but unless 2019 ends with some kind of clown car series of events for New York (like batting out of order in the last game), they've dispelled that narrative. Thank Pete Alonso for a big part of that.

In fact, the Mets have a pretty favorable schedule the rest of the season: After a three-game series with the Dodgers at home, they play Colorado and Cincinnati on the road before finishing the season at home vs. Miami and … Atlanta. Playing the Braves could make or break the Mets' season, because New York is just 5-11 vs. Atlanta this season.

But if you were to say the Mets would be playing meaningful games here in September after a rough June, tough injuries and a horrendous bullpen? That's already something of a win. There's still a bit of a ways to go.

You can do it, Mets.

Phillies vs. inactivity

The Phillies were very active this offseason, bringing in Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto, Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper. There was a fatal flaw in the way they approached the offseason, though: None of them can pitch.

So, surely, in a market where Marcus Stroman, Trevor Bauer and others were available at the trade deadline, the Phillies wouldn't be afraid to open up the wallets and the farm system to bring someone in, right? *Price is Right fail sound.*

As the Phillies were so willing to spend so much money in the offseason in hopes of winning a championship, one has to ask why their front office failed to rectify any glaring issues at the deadline.

The worst part about what the Phillies didn't do: Stroman went to the Mets. Dallas Keuchel signed with the Braves. Patrick Corbin, who the Phils phlirted with, ended up with the Nats.

That the Phillies went into this season expecting Aaron Nola to be the 10-win player he was in 2018, an aging, regressing Jake Arrieta to be better than he was in 2018, and a rotation rounded out by Vince Velasquez and Zach Eflin to compete with Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin — or Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler — really seems like organizational malpractice. They also let six relievers — six relievers — head two both Washington and Atlanta at the trade deadline while they were dealing with injuries and mediocrity all season.

But wait! The Phillies brought in Jason Vargas and he's serviceable! You're wrong, Mr. Rivera! You should be fired! FAKE NEWS!

Well, Vargas has pitched to a 5.01 ERA with the Phils and certainly isn't the difference between a good rotation and a geat one.

If Philadelphia misses the playoffs, don't be surprised if there are major changes in Philly — from the front office on down — to make sure a lost season like 2019 doesn't happen again.

Diamondbacks vs. trade history

Not many expected the Diamondbacks to be in any race this late in the season, especially after trading Paul Goldschmidt last offseason. Then, they unloaded Zack Greinke to the Astros, pretty much ending any shot they had at being a surprise contender in 2019.

While Goldschmidt hasn't been his typical Goldschmidt self with the Cardinals, there's no denying that he and Greinke made this team better and offered a real chance to be a wild card team in 2019. Without those two guys, the Diamondbacks are relying on what they got back to make a push.

'Zona has to rely on Luke Weaver's potential health (sidelined until the end of the month, maybe). He was really good for them before dealing with the UCL sprain (3.03 ERA in 11 starts). And Zac Gallen, who Arizona got in a trade from Miami at the deadline, must continue to pitch as well as he has to give the Snakes a chance.