Author's Blog

 July 31, 2010

Season Winding Down in the Minor Leagues


Few Races Remain in the Golden State.


Thursday, August 27, 2009

With less than two weeks to go in the minor league season, most of the playoff pictures in the Golden State have already taken shape.  Following is a recap of the independent and minor leagues in California, and the outlook for California based teams to make it to their respective playoffs.

Golden Baseball League

The GBL will see its last full slate of games on Monday, August 31, with playoffs to begin the following day.  While the GBL North division is set, the South division is still up in the air.  Tucson currently has a four game lead over St. George, but as the first half winner, St. George is already guaranteed a place in the playoffs.  That makes Tucson’s competition Yuma, four games back, and Long Beach, four and a half games back, with five to play.  Tucson also has to be careful of St. George who they play the next five games.  If the Roadrunners should take four of those games, they will win second half title as well.  In such a case, overall records come into play.  That would put Tucson’s standings at just one and a half games over the Long Beach Armada.  If Tucson loses four of their last five, the Armada would need to win three of their last five to make it into the playoffs.

California League

The season ends on September 7.  With no games played on August 31, a total of 11 games remain.  That means San Jose, with its nine game lead, hasn’t officially clinched the second half North division, but the Giants are days away from doing so.  The only active race in the North comes for second and third place, the two teams that will compete for the right to play the Giants in the second half, although the participants in the playoffs are all but decided.  Visalia, who started the season strong but has suffered a poor second half, are out.  So too is Stockton who are currently tied for second in the second half of the season, but who had a poor first half.  That leaves Modesto and the surprising Bakersfield Blaze.  Modesto is in the driver’s seat for home field advantage with a four game lead over the Blaze, but with only a three game series in the playoffs, and the fact that Bakersfield is having a better second half, it’s anyone’s guess which of these teams will face San Jose in the division finals.

The story in the South is similar.  First half champion High Desert is a full six games up on Lake Elsinore.  Meanwhile, Lake Elsinore is clearly going to be a playoff participant, with a 10 game lead for second best overall record.  That leaves the only real race left, third place in the South.  Unfortunately, all three teams have subpar records, with the best of the group, Rancho Cucamonga (57-72) sporting a two game lead over Inland Empire.  Even Lancaster, which had a miserable first half and sub-.500 for the second half, are only four games out of it.

Pacific Coast League

Sacramento has almost secured yet another PCL Pacific South title.  With only 12 games left, the River Cats have a 12 game lead.  That means they can secure the division tonight with a win over Fresno or a loss by the second place Reno Aces.  In all likelihood, the River Cats will start their playoffs on September 9 against Colorado Springs or Tacoma.  Colorado Springs currently has a four game lead over Tacoma.


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