Sept. 25 -- SCOREBOARD-WATCHING (plus, reader poll)

BY SCOTT LAUBER

It had been our intention here at The Blog to spend part of the Phillies' final regular-season off-day discussing things like the composition of the playoff roster and how, if we were Charlie Manuel or Rich Dubee, we might structure the starting rotation for the NL Division Series.

Well, so much for that.

The odds, according to Baseball Prospectus, are still overwhelmingly positive for the Phillies to both make the playoffs and win the NL East. But after back-to-back losses to the Braves, the bubbly remains in storage and the season's final weekend will be just a little more nerve-wracking.

And, really, did you expect anything else?

"It wouldn't be the Philly way," Jimmy Rollins said. "It doesn't matter what sport. We don't make things easy."

So, the Phillies will try to enjoy today's day off. I'm sure they'll sneak a peek at the Mets and Brewers scores. And then, they'll go back to work tomorrow. When they do, they'll have a team meeting. A note on the dry-erase boards in the Phillies' clubhouse last night indicated a team meeting at 3:15 p.m. Rollins said he isn't sure what it will be about, but presumably, Manuel wants to remind his players that they still control their own playoff destiny.

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Bobby Cox concurs with Chipper Jones: The Phillies have a slight edge over the Mets because of the reliability of their bullpen. The Braves would know. Over the past two weeks, they have played nobody but the Phillies and Mets. Also, within the notebook, we have more on Hot-Dog Gate and a few words about the near-brawl between chatty Shane Victorino and volatile Braves reliever Julian Tavarez.

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Since he pitched on three days' rest against the Brewers, Brett Myers is 0-2 with a 15.12 ERA. He was 7-2 with a 1.56 ERA in his previous 10 starts. But easily lost amid Myers' renewed struggles was another costly error by Ryan Howard, who leads major-league first basemen with a career-high 18 errors. It's the most errors by a Phillies first baseman since Dick Allen had 18 in 1975.

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It felt a lot like 2007 at Shea Stadium last night. The Mets had runners on third base and none out in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings and scored only one run in a 9-6 loss to the Cubs. "Man that's bad. That's bad. That's bad," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. Well, it certainly isn't good. Meanwhile, CC Sabathia pitched like a Cy Young Award winner -- on short rest, no less -- for the Brew Crew, who tied the Mets for the wild-card lead.

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READER POLL: If the Mets win the wild card, the Phillies would host the Dodgers in the first round. If the Brewers win the wild card (and the Phillies win the NL East), the Phils would host the Brew Crew in the first round. If the Mets win the NL East and the Phillies win the wild card, the Phils would travel to Chicago.

So, who is your preferred first-round opponent -- the Dodgers, the Brewers, or the Cubs?