Playoff Picture Coming Into Shape

With only 10 games remaining on the schedule for Season 3 of Doubleday, much of the playoff picture has already been decided. Barring an Rbedwell curse or a complete collapse; Boston, Jackson, Albuquerque, Ottawa, Durham, Louisville, and Omaha will win their respective divisions. Toledo and Wichita also seem to have a firm hold on the two NL Wildcard spots. So whats left after that? Didn't we just name every major contender and then some? Well, not quite.

In the AL North, three teams are within two games of each other and all of them will without a doubt finish under .500 on the season. Whichever team does emerge victorious will more than likely end up splattered on and around their first round opponents field. So why do we care who wins? Well... we don't. But I needed SOMETHING to write about. So we have make the best of what we've got to work with. Let's take a look at each team.

First, we have Toronto, who has somehow managed to stay atop the AL North for the majority of the season. They will finish up the season by heading to Jackson for a four game series, after which they will face rivals Montreal and Salt Lake City in three game sets at home. This writer expects them to be thoroughly knocked around by Jackson, who are rolling right now, and then finished off by Montreal. Fans will ultimately be furious that the team's front office lacked the initiative to put the team in the driver's seat, but as they've come to say in Philly season after season, "There's always next year."

Moving on, you might find yourself wondering, "What does Montreal have to offer?" and "Are they for real?" The answers, of course, are "Nothing" and "No." While they finish up against Toronto and Seattle, which should result in a split at worst, they must first go through Albuquerque. More questions arise here. "Why should they fear Albuquerque? They've sucked since the deadline passed." While you are 100% correct in that line of thinking, Albuquerque is still a force to be reckoned with. They have the most feared lineup in all of DoubleDay (sorry Boston). If Albuquerque can beat Montreal in convincing fashion, the Shamrocks will have a hard time recovering against Toronto and lowly Seattle. Expect them to finish out of the playoffs by a game.

And now we come to Salt Lake City. Let's cut to the chase here: SLC will win this division, period. How does one know this? Well, let's examine the facts. First, SLC finishes up the season against three teams under .500; Colorado, Toronto, and Seattle. The Trappers went a collective 13-7 against these teams in their previous meetings. If that easy schedule wasn't enough to convince you, try this one for size. SLC has already clinched the best division record within the North. While they've been slumping recently, expect SLC to wake up and see that they are only one game back and the division is theirs for the taking.

Now that we have the worst division in DoubleDay out of the way let's talk about some borderline-good teams. Fighting for the two wildcard spots in the AL are Philadelphia, Huntington, and St. Louis. A few weeks ago, one might have scoffed at the fact that Philly would miss the playoffs but it is becoming an increasingly possible scenario as each day passes. Philly has not been playing well as of late and will need to get it together against San Francisco, New York, and Baltimore. Not exactly the cream of the crop we're talking about, but consider that fact that the Stars have only posted a 23-22 record since the beginning of the month. This is not acceptable baseball for a team that many fans and owners considered a shoo-in after last season's division title and the acquisitions of Valerio Pizzaro and Cristobal Valazquez. This writer's guess is that Philly will do enough to sneak in as the top wildcard, as they've been expected to do.

That leaves us with two teams that share quite a lot in commonfighting for one playoff spot: Huntington and St. Louis. Once again, you're asking yourself questions like: "What the hell do these two teams have in common? Huntington has the fifth best offense in the league and boasts guys like Erv Hines! St. Louis couldn't reach base safely if they were playing T-Ball!" Well, smarty pants, they have a lot in common. They play in the same division. They currently have identical records. They both have elite closers. But the one thing they have in common above all others: An intense hatred for the other team. Whenever the Heroes and Maroons get together, you can expect some inside pitching and a bench-clearing brawl or two.

Ok, enough padding, let's talk about the facts. Huntington will finish the season by playing Baltimore, El Paso, and St. Louis; all at home. Meanwhile, the Maroons will have to go through Boston and Jackson before heading to Eble Park. St. Louis clearly has the tougher schedule. St. Louis has also been one of the streakiest teams this season and are currently in a terrible funk. Most baseball fans are hoping and expecting that last wildcard spot to come down to that final series, and it very well could if the Maroons can hold their own against two division leaders. When all is said and done, expect Huntington to emerge victorious and make their second postseason appearance in three seasons.