Cubs may be biggest winners from Dodgers' nightmare Wild Card scenario

Even if you're completely locked in on the Chicago Cubs and don't pay much attention to news around the league, odds are you've heard about the collapse that's going down in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Dodgers, long presumed to be the World Series favorites for a third consecutive year, are suddenly mired in a 3-8 stretch that has made them look more vulnerable than anyone thought possible.

Perhaps some will call this karmic retribution for throwing off the scales of balance by adding Tarik Skubal to a roster filled with Monstars at the trade deadline. Other might simply point out that this is a tired, veteran roster plagued by injuries; it's only natural for their to be ups and downs in a 162-game season. Cubs fans can certainly attest to that latter point.

But even if this swoon is put to halt soon, these lost games count the same in the standings. The Dodgers are no longer in possession of the top seed in the National League, sitting two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Likewise, they're no longer in position to grab a bye, meaning they could be forced to play an extra series in the Wild Card Round.

And perhaps most importantly, this also means the Cubs might be able to avoid seeing them on their path to the NLCS.

Dodgers' swoon is freeing up Cubs' best path back to World Series

In the same way that the Cubs are in pole position to grab the top Wild Card spot (i.e., the No. 4 seed), the Dodgers are still overwhelming favorites to take the NL West. That would leave them with the No. 3 seed -- which can't play the fourth seed until the NLCS -- and expose them to whoever grabs the final Wild Card, which is currently a three-way race between the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies.

For everyone else's sake, let's hope it's Philadelphia. They only went 2-4 against the Dodgers in the regular season this year, but their pitching staff is excellent at generating ground balls, which is the New Evil Empire's biggest weakness (they lead the league in double plays hit into). The Phillies are also one of few teams with the star power and starting rotation needed to take down the two-time reigning champs in October.

Of course, the Dodgers slipping into the third seed didn't matter last year, as they hammered the Reds in the Wild Card Round on their march to another title. But dates with Christopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler would at least be a significant hurdle on their championship path this time around.

Failing all that, perhaps it's best to just point Pete Crow-Armstrong in the direction of Shohei Ohtani and hope for the best.

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