We've got a heckuva wild-card race going on. The new rule to include the best two non-division winners (rather than both division runners-up) has created some drama that surely will continue to unfold over the next 30 or so games.
In the East, Finer Things Club (32-19) has pulled in front by three games and the Big Hebs (30-21) have a two-game edge out West despite Greg missing the Ganza. Biv's Harrison Cougars (29-22) have the best non-leading record. Let's look at the standings for the wild cards (top two advance):
Team .......................... W-L .... GB
Harrison (Biv) ................... 29-22 .... --
Hawaiian (Chad) ............... 28-23 .... 1
Surly (Brian) ..................... 26-22 .... 1.5
Army (Scott) ..................... 25-23 .... 2.5
Bob (Paul) .......................... 26-25 .... 3
Santa Poco (Biv) ................ 25-26 .... 4
Clean-Sweep (Kyle) .......... 23-28 .... 6
At least two of these teams will notch a playoff spot by season's end, and even the division leaders are not safe by a long shot. The team to watch right now is the Surly Nausicians. Seemingly riding a wave of good health and good fortune, Brian's lone squad has won eight in a row behind the beastly performance of David Ortiz (league-leading 17 homers and 45 runs scored).
Meanwhile, the Clean-Sweep Kinnicks have taken a turn for the worse and need to rebound soon. Kyle, already playing against a stacked deck by being in the West, got off to a fast 13-6 start and hung on to be 16-10 and in first place at one point. But since, the Kinnicks have slipped considerably, winning just seven of their last 25 games -- including a sweep last night at the hands of the red-hot Hebs, who have won five in a row and 10 of their last 11.
The Hebs were 11-13 after the Ganza, but an even-worse 7-12 at one point -- but have gotten their players out of the hospital and onto the diamond and are a stirring 23-9 since.
Another team on the downturn is the Santa Poco Amigos, who are 7-14 in their last 21 (.333).
Some big out-of-division games in Rounds 19-20 will surely be huge in crafting the wild-card push ... will a West team actually rise into the mix? Or will we get two East teams as expected? A big series between Army and Surly is scheduled for Wednesday night. A sweep by either one of them could present a worthy East challenger to FTC and Harrison.
Also: In the words of Frank "The Tank" Ricard .... "Keep on truckin'."
We're on a really nice pace now, so let's not lose it. I think we can tidy up this AL season by early July with some good effort, which means getting our NL season started in mid- to late-July, which puts us on target for a November finish. Keep scheduling your series one or two steps ahead so we don't get caught in any ruts. Great job so far.
Who's with me? Can we get this done?
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