For the sixth year in a row, the Phillies aren't going to make the playoffs. Even if they win each of their next 43 games (something the Dodgers probably couldn't even do this year), they'd only finish with an 86-76 record. That .531 win percentage would still be short of the two current Wild Card leaders (the Rockies and the Diamondbacks), who are on pace to win 90 games. In other words, even in our wildest dreams, the Phillies are playing golf in October.
So that means we spend the last several weeks of the season doing what has become routine for us this time of year -- watching prospects join the big league team in September and watching the bottom of the standings to see where the Phillies are going to draft next year.