SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
It's time for sports.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
SIMON: Baseball enters the final week of the regular season. NL almost set. AL up for grabs. And is it the tush push or the brotherly shove? Sports writer Howard Bryant is back with us. Howard, good morning.
HOWARD BRYANT: Good morning, Scott. How are you?
SIMON: Fine, thanks. The National League, a little more stable right now. The Phillies have clinched the East Division. The Milwaukee Brewers are on the verge of clinching the Central. Cubs already have a playoff spot. In the West, the Dodgers clinched a playoff spot last night in Clayton Kershaw's last regular season game. Gosh, that was emotional. Howard, what are you looking forward to?
BRYANT: Well, I'm looking for the Padres and the Dodgers one more time. It's a good rivalry. It's a great rivalry in a lot of ways. The last several years, these two teams have gone at it. But, you know, the Dodgers are the defending champions. And it's funny when you have these rivalries. You know, obviously, they've got long history. Obviously, they're only - what? - 90 minutes apart. But it really has been a hammer-and-nail relationship, except for the fact that they have beaten the Dodgers once in the last couple of years in the playoffs. But the Padres haven't won the National League West since 2006. Anyway, no team has repeated as World Series champion since the Yankees did it in 1999 and 2000, and the Dodgers have a chance to do that.
SIMON: Just about two-thirds of American League teams are still alive, with little over a week to go.
BRYANT: Yeah.
SIMON: And look, the wild card possibilities are just mind-boggling. I think a couple of high school teams even have a chance.
BRYANT: (Laughter).
SIMON: How do you see the division races shaping up?
BRYANT: Well, I think that's what I really care about, because baseball has diluted itself so badly, anybody can make the playoffs. But you still have a great race. Obviously, the Yankees are chasing. They are the defending American League champions, and they are three games behind the Blue Jays, and the magic number is three. So they have a chance to catch them - not really slim - but they've got a chance to catch them. And then your favorite team, the Cleveland Guardians are suddenly making a push. They've won eight in a row, and now suddenly they can catch the Tigers. That one looked like it was locked up. And, of course, you've got a great battle in the West between the Mariners and the Astros. So everything up for grab in the American League - fun to watch. I'm hoping to see the Blue Jays hang on, Scott. I'd like to see that, simply...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...Because, you know, I just still just hearkened back to when that city was getting 4 million fans, and they...
SIMON: Oh, yeah.
BRYANT: ...You know. And they also went back-to-back...
SIMON: Yup.
BRYANT: ...In 1992...
SIMON: Great teams.
BRYANT: ...And '93. And when baseball is hot in Toronto, that city goes wild. It's really, really fun to watch.
SIMON: Finally, in the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles may love the tush push - I'm sorry - sorry, brotherly shove.
BRYANT: That's right.
SIMON: As it's known there.
BRYANT: Philadelphians would call it that, yes.
SIMON: But, you know, they're fans of other teams that are just getting a little bit tired of it. What do you make of the play?
BRYANT: Yeah. You know, I'm torn about this. Obviously, a lot of the - there's a movement to sort of get rid of it, and it's not - you know, it's aesthetically ugly. It's cheating because you're essentially pushing a player forward. But in football, these plays happen all the time. You see it, you know, when a guy, you know, makes a catch, and he's about to be stopped, and then somebody from behind pushes him a couple more yards to, you know, get a little bit of extra. I don't have as much of a problem with it as a lot of folks do, simply because nobody else is doing it. If it's such a difficult play...
SIMON: Yup.
BRYANT: ...I mean...
SIMON: Good point.
BRYANT: ...If everybody were doing it, if you could see teams really, really cheating and everybody was doing this...
SIMON: That's right. Yeah.
BRYANT: ...And it looked bad, then that's one thing. You know, it reminds me of the shift in baseball. The whole other side of the field was open, but they still banned the play. So if you really don't want teams to do it, if you don't want Philly to do it, stop them. That's all. You don't need to change the rules.
SIMON: Yeah, exactly. OK. Sports writer Howard Bryant, thanks so much, my friend. Talk to you in a couple of weeks.
BRYANT: Of course. My pleasure, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
