(posted by OMDQ)


The biggest story in baseball over the last couple of weeks has been the Philadelphia Phillies and their inexorable march toward the major league record 10,000th loss in team history. The Charlie Manuel Nine has been sitting on 9,999 since losing to the Rockies last Saturday; the next day was the famous tarp-blowing incident, then the All-Star break. All told, they've won their last three games.

What I found interesting wasn't that the next closest team to 10,000 losses is the Atlanta Braves (they're still more than 300 away - not that exciting yet), but that San Francisco holds the all-time record for franchise wins with 10,151 since 1883. Next in line? The Chicago Cubs, who are sitting on 9,945 right now and will likely reach 10,000 next season (to do it this year, they would have to win exactly 100 games, which means playing at a 55-19 clip the rest of the way).