NL East

Both the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates will have something to play for as the teams begin a three-game series tonight in Pittsburgh.

The Mets, of course, just want to win two of three in order to win an NL road series. They haven't done that this season, nor have they won consecutive NL road games.

The Pirates just want to win, period. Pittsburgh enters tonight's game with a record of 40-81, the worst mark in the majors. Their next loss will clinch them their 18th consecutive losing season dating back to 1993.

For me it happened on July 22, a Thursday. I was sitting in traffic on my way to work. The sun was out.

That was the day I gave up on the Phillies and left them for dead.

They had just lost three in a row to the Cardinals, and six of seven coming out of the All-Star break. They were seven games behind the first-place Braves. They were a game behind the Mets.

Over the weekend I was laying by the pool, taking in some rays and listening to my iPod shuffle, when, after a steady stream of calming, relaxing music, the Colin Cowherd Podcast popped up out of nowhere. So much for relaxing, huh?

I'm sure most of you are familiar with Cowherd's work, but for those who aren't, Cowherd definitely knows how to get a debate going. He's equal parts stubborn and contrarian, but never ends a rant without making you think about something differently than you might have previously.

Last Thursday night, in the midst of the Philadelphia Phillies' comeback against Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Jonathan Broxton, Dodger manager Joe Torre came to the mound to speak with his closer.

Television cameras picked up what Torre was mouthing to Broxton. Simply put, Torre asked, "Do you trust your stuff?"

Minutes later, meltdown completed and Phillies victory in the bag, Broxton sulked from the mound. The Dodgers had just lost a seven run lead with two innings to play.

In case you haven’t noticed, the Atlanta Braves are beating people senseless at Turner Field. The Braves’ 42-16 record at home is the best in the majors and Atlanta shows no signs of slowing down.

The signing of Christian Yelich came last night for the Marlins although it didn't receive the hype of a Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg signing.

Yelich signed for $1.7 million as the deal got done with minutes left until the midnight deadline. Yelich was the Marlins' first-round pick in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

Taken out of Westlake High School in Westlake Village, California, Yelich stands at 6'4" and weighs 190 pounds.

With the news that New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez is done for the year, it’s only logical to look at the candidates to replace him.

I am going to venture to say that the last week has not been the best week in Francisco Rodriguez's life.

First he had the embarrassing incident with his stepfather last week, which resulted in Rodriguez being placed on the restricted list. Now adding insult to injury—or in this case, injury to insult—Rodriguez is done for the year in Flushing.

It's probably a bit of a reach, but it's possible the Phillies are able to add Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to the lineup as early as Tuesday's game against the San Francisco Giants.

Utley, who had thumb surgery back on July 1st, has a better shot of returning when the Phillies start their series against the Giants than Howard.