If the Cubs had beaten the Reds on Thursday instead of gagging again in extra innings, and hadn't lost again to the Braves on Friday, I was ready to hand them the National League wild card. Now, I’m not willing to give it to anybody.

Instead, the chances never have been better of arriving at the end of the season Sunday and finding that at least one more game still needs to be played before the playoffs are set. I think we’re looking at a tie. And I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a three-way deal.

I say that because none of the four contenders for the last playoff slot is likely to sweep their final series; two out of three is more likely.

The Giants are in Los Angeles, and whether the Dodgers have clinched the NL West or not, they’re not going to let the Giants into the playoffs without a ferocious fight. They hate their upstate rivals too much to kiss off the series.

The Astros are home against the Rockies, a team that has been out of it from the get-go and has one last free-swinging, hungover shot to make someone else as miserable as they are. Teams such as the Rockies can be deadly in a season’s final weekend.

The Cubs have the Braves in Wrigley, and Atlanta doesn't care about knocking Chicago out of the postseason. They don’t care about anything other than giving their starters five innings to warm up for the next week and keeping everyone healthy and rested. They’re there to be had, and they don’t care if you know it. Heck, they're not even worried that they might face the Cubs again in the playoffs. They'd rather meet them than Roger Clemens and the Astros.

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And the Padres are at Arizona, needing to sweep the Diamondbacks and get a lot of losing help from the other three contenders.

So, regardless of the Cubs’ proven ability to gag down the stretch, they have a legitimate chance at beating the Braves 2 out of 3, and that could be enough to make up the game they need to catch the Astros and Giants.

On the surface, that may not make sense. Houston, you can say, looks to have the best shot at a sweep. The Astros have been putting on a ferocious stretch run and have only to take three from the pathetic Rockies and the wild card is theirs. If they can beat St. Louis, how hard can Colorado be?

And that’s the problem. Teams such as the Rockies that play the last three games of the season on the road are probably the most dangerous opponents of all. They spend darned little time in their hotel rooms, because it’s vital to wring the last party out of the season before going home.

When they get to the ballpark, they’re running on little sleep and too many adult beverages, which means they swing and throw freely and do what comes naturally, their brains too fogged to think about what they’re doing. They want to win, but they don’t need to win. So they swing for the fences and their pitchers let it fly without worrying about nibbling on the corners. Those are the teams that can beat the tar out of a contender.

The contenders help them. Teams in pennant races always say they’re treating each day’s action just like any other game; that they’re not doing anything differently. It’s wishful thinking. In reality, they’re tighter than a toreador’s pants. They can’t help but be.

There’s too much on the line, and it’s impossible not to think about, because the minute you arrive in the clubhouse, there are three score or more media folks there who just stopped by to ask you – in the nicest way possible – whether you’re going to choke just like you always do.

So they go out telling themselves they have to win this game against a team that can’t beat them and they get their butts kicked.

Look what the Reds just did to the Cubs. Don’t be surprised if that happens to Houston.

If the Cubs win 2 of 3, the Astros and Giants tie if they win one of three. If the Rockies really cut loose – and this is a team that can put up runs – the Astros and Giants could lose two of three, which means the Cubs can lose a game and still force a playoff.

Either scenario wouldn’t be any more surprising than the script that may look more obvious, which is for the Cubs to keep choking, even against a team that’s just trying to get home healthy, and the Astros to continue their determined drive to the finish line.

The team that’s the wild card of wild cards then is the Giants. I don’t think they’ve shown that they can win games they have to win against teams determined to beat them. That would be L.A. But if the Dodgers tie on an epic celebration after clinching the West, they could just mail it in one day, or even two days, figuring that one more bottle of champagne is more important than visiting more depression on their rivals.

I don’t think the Dodgers will take that tack. They don’t want the Giants in the playoffs. Period. They don’t want to face them again, they don’t want their thunder stolen. No matter how bad their heads hurt, they’ll figure out a way to keep San Francisco out. They did it last weekend. They should do it again.

So that’s it. The Giants can’t do what they need to do against a team that hates them. The Astros can’t sweep a team that’s swinging for the fences. And the Cubs sweep a team whose only goal is to get home and play next week.

It’s a tie, and maybe a three-way one. And why not? It’s been one of the great September runs. It’s only right that it goes one more day.