FanPost

So, when will they win #82?

Amazingly, astonishingly, we hardly talk about .500 here anymore. I don't need to tell you why this is, but a comment on some thread or another mentioned how many we need to win to reach that magical 82nd win, and how badly we'd have to do to fall short*.

Which led me to wonder: when might we reach the promised land if we don't collapse? Let's discount a collapse, and start with mere regression: .500 play the rest of the way. That would mean 56 games to reach 28 wins, which gets us to September 18, at home against the Brewers. That would be kind of nice, and could lead to a rare mid-week sellout, although, again, it would be a sad comedown after the way we've played since late May.

Next up, .550 the rest of the way. That would suggest a 91 win season, which would be amazing, yet would also be roughly what coolstandings.com is projecting for us right now. Zowie. Anyway, that's less satisfying for the hometown fans, as win 82 would occur on or about Wednesday the 12th, in Cinci. That would put as at 82-63, which would feel awfully good coming after 3 days at Great American.

And if we shoot the moon? We've been playing at a .680 pace over the last 50 games. I'm not crazy enough to project that, but what about .600 the rest of the way? That takes us to Game #141, Saturday, September 8, at home against the Cubs. That's actually the tail end of a home stand against the Astros and Cubs. Depending on our record as we enter that stand, the rising excitement – no, hysteria – could be something else. People will be looking past .500 at that point, but there'll be no denying a celebration. Hell, we could sell out the entire homestand.

Just for fun, I've created a poll below the fold.

*for the record: .397 the rest of the way gets us to 81 wins; .412 gets us to 82. Needless to say, such an outcome would be devastating, leaving .500 the most dismal of consolation prizes

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