What's Left for NL Playoff Contenders?

Somehow, only five weeks remain in the baseball season. Other than injuries, a contending team's schedule might be the biggest factor in determining which teams get a shot at postseason glory and which spend October on the golf course.

The following is a quick breakdown of what the NL teams still fighting for a playoff spot will face over the season's final weeks.

Brewers

The Good: There are plenty of bottom-feeding clubs left on Milwaukee's schedule. The Brewers will play six against the Pirates and Reds as well as four against the Padres down the stretch. In all, 16 of their final 31 games will be against sub-.500 competition. In addition, they only face the Cardinals -- the team chasing them in the wild-card race -- two more times.

The Bad: The Brew Crew still have six games left against the Cubs, including a three-game set to finish the season. Milwaukee might want to lock up the wild card before that final series.

Key Stretch: From Sept. 11-21, Milwaukee will embark on its final road trip of the season. The Brewers will head to Philadelphia for four games and then Wrigley Field for three before ending the trip in Cincinnati. They'll have a chance to catch the Cubs over the final 2 1/2 weeks of the season, but if they take care of business, the NL Central title should be a point of pride more than anything else.

Cardinals

The Good: St. Louis should be well-rested down the stretch. With only 30 games remaining, the Cardinals can use five off days to nurse any minor injuries and align their rotation.

The Bad: They're going to have to fight for everything because they're playing a lot of fellow contenders over the next five weeks. St. Louis plays Arizona seven times, Chicago six times, Florida three times and Milwaukee twice. Including a three-game set with Houston, the Cardinals will play 21 of their final 30 games against clubs that are over .500.

Key Stretch: From Aug. 26-Sept. 11, St. Louis will play five series and face only teams that are above .500. The schedule softens from there, but it might not matter. The Cardinals are fighting an uphill battle at this point.

Diamondbacks

The Good: Arizona will play only two teams above .500 the rest of the way -- Los Angeles and St. Louis -- and after finishing a series in Los Angeles Sept. 7 will play 16 of its final 20 games against the Giants, Reds and Rockies.

The Bad: The D'backs will play 17 straight games without an off day to close the season.

Key Stretch: From Aug. 29-Sept. 7, Arizona will play two weekend series against their only competition for a playoff spot, Los Angeles, sandwiched around a three-game set with St. Louis. If the Snakes can maintain or add to their edge over the Dodgers in the NL West during that stretch, they'll be awfully tough to catch.

Dodgers

The Good: Like the Diamondbacks, L.A. will get a steady diet of inferior competition over the final weeks of the season, facing only the Giants, Padres, Pirates and Rockies after Sept. 7.

The Bad: Only 12 of the Dodgers' remaining 32 games will be played at Chavez Ravine.

Key Stretch: From Aug. 29-Sept. 7, the Dodgers will play the Diamondbacks six times. Three games back in the NL West race right now, they'll have their work cut out for them. Splitting or worse in those games would be a major blow to Los Angeles' chances.

Marlins

The Good: Florida will have plenty of chances to feast on the two NL East clubs playing out the string. It will face the Braves and Nationals 12 times in its final 31 games.

The Bad: They'll play the final 13 games of the season without a day off and finish with seven games on the road, going from Cincinnati to Washington and lastly to New York to close the year.

Key Stretch: From Sept. 5-Sept. 10, the Marlins will head on a tough road trip facing the Cardinals and then the Phillies. They'll need to come out of that stretch in striking distance of the NL East lead or they won't have the juice to hang with Philadelphia and New York.

Mets

The Good: Shea Stadium will get a thrilling send-off, and it could be advantageous to the team that calls it home. Following a three-game set with the Brewers ending on Sept. 3, the Mets will play 15 of their final 22 games in Queens

The Bad: Though they'll play their final seven games at Shea, it doesn't figure to be an easy homestand. The Cubs will be in town for four games, followed closely by the Marlins in the final week of 2008.

Key Stretch: From Aug. 26-Sept. 7, the Mets will be on the road for eight of 11 games, and they won't face anyone but fellow playoff contenders. They'll head to Philadelphia for a pair of games, play a weekend set in Florida, then take on the Brewers in Milwaukee over Labor Day before finally returning home to face the Phillies again. If things go badly, New York will have time to recover, but it won't be easy.

Phillies

The Good: The final 14 days of the season should be easy on the Phillies. They have two off days and face the Braves and Nationals in nine of their last 12 games in 2008.

The Bad: A scheduling quirk means that in addition to facing the Mets six times down the stretch, Philadelphia will also face the Cubs and Brewers in one quarter of its remaining games.

Key Stretch: From Sept. 5-Sept. 14, the Phils won't have an off day and will have to face the Mets, Marlins and Brewers in succession. If they come out of that stretch atop the NL East, they could coast to the division title.

Writer's notes: The Cubs were omitted because they are a virtual lock for the postseason. To read a similar breakdown for the AL, please click here.