The AL is experiencing a very interesting season, one in which the top 2/3s of the league is simply beating up on the bottom one third. 8 teams are above .500, and the 'worst' of those eight has a very good winning percentage of .531, which would be good enough for 86 wins over 162 games.
Three teams are taking a drubbing, with the Hillbillies and Cyclones on track for 100 loss seasons, and the Brews on track for a 108 loss season. It leaves one team in no man's land - Helena - 7 games below .500 and and 8.5 games out of the Wild Card
Overall, each one of those 8 teams I mentioned are within two games of a playoff slot, the race for which promises to deliver a great stretch run.
Who has the edge?
In the East it appears the Gentleman Bastards will win the division comfortably. Seattle is sticking around, 7 games a back, but have put very little pressure on the Bastards all season long. The Bastards have the better run differential and even though they have 7 head to head games remaining, lets give Camorr the division for the sake of argument.
The Central is entirely up for grabs. St. Paul had a 6 game lead at one point recently, but have now dropped 5 in a row, giving South Boston and New Amsterdam a chance to get back in the race. They are 1 and 2 games back respectively. On paper, South Boston is the team to beat - sitting at +76, the best run differential in the league, and have a very well balanced attack. Despite a pen with great names - Dennis Eckersley, Cla Meredith, BJ Ryan - they are just 3-11 in contests tied in the 7th. Even an average showing here would have them leading the division.
The West is currently led by Hockenberry, who are clinging to a 4.5 game lead over Port Hawkesberry. Again using run differential, the Scholics are the better team but that is just part of the story. They've lost 5 of 9 against the Puffins, and have 13 head to head games left to play. Give Hockenberry the edge for now, but this division is up for grabs.
That leaves us with the 5 Wild Card contenders. Below is the standings as of the sims of Sunday night:
GB* W-L Team
0.0 53-43 St Paul Doppelgangers
0.0 54-44 Seatle Pilots
2.0 50-44 Port Hawkesberry Puffins
2.0 52-46 Fort Worth Hunters
2.0 52-46 New Amsterdam Highlanders
* Not official, remember, we have a current division leader in this list.
Should be a very exciting 2nd half of the season.
A centralized Diamond Mind Baseball league, using every full time player from 1871 'till today.
So frustrated with my South Boston team. I thought a strong pen would give me the edge in those close games. Grrr.
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