Sim #32 Completed

We're nearing the end of the 2003 season, having played up through September 10.

Seattle maintains its death grip on a 12-game lead atop the Platonic League. Maryland has opened up a three-game lead over Sylva for the wild card. Stockholm stands a game back of the Black Bears, and four out of the playoffs. (By the way, the magic numbers in the standings are blatantly wrong because they're based on 154-game season instead of the 162 games used in this year's schedule.) Pittsburgh remains comfortably in fifth place, seeing its five-game losing streak basically matched in futility by the other teams in competition for the top picks, including last-place Cairo.

However, for the first time in a while, there has been a major upheaval in the Socratic League. Marietta, who had held the top spot for weeks, lost five straight and slid into third place, out of playoff position. Winnipeg has won five in a row and now holds the division lead. Brooklyn is a game back and has taken the wild card position by two games over Marietta due to its own six-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Jersey City has moved back into playoff contention, four behind the division leader and three behind the wild card. The Helena Handbaskets are chasing down the Pisces, exceeding Pittsburgh's fall with a six-game losing streak of their own. New York is one game below Cairo, tenuously clinging to the top pick in next year's draft.

Miscellaneous notes:

No significant news beyond day-to-day injuries to a member of the Sylva and Seattle teams, although Sylva's starting pitcher Robert Gaertner is at 85% for seven weeks.

On September 6, Winnipeg's Reinaldo Salerno hit for the cycle against Helena. Meanwhile, Brooklyn's Stephen Hyer drove in seven RBI against Marietta.

Seattle's Darren Schmeltzer and Winnipeg's Jerry Brasher took home Player of the Week honors.

In notable games ...

On September 6, Stockholm hammered Maryland 13-1, in the last really good news for Stockholm this sim. Sylva scored three in the top of ninth to beat Cairo 4-1.

On September 7, New York defied owner Eric Lent's orders to "Lose, lose, lose" and beat Jersey City 6-3 in 12 innings.

On September 8, Brooklyn's Thomas Fleenor and Joseph Maul combined on nine-hit shutout of New York, as the owner's instructions took hold. Jersey City scored one in the eighth and two in the ninth to top Helena 3-1.

On September 9, Winnipeg beat Marietta 6-4 in 10 innings. Seattle blew out Cairo 12-1. Jersey City beat Helena 1-0 behind a four-hit shutout thrown by Tomas Folch, Wilfredo Solares, and Alfred Wickline.

On September 10, Seattle and Cairo played a classic game. Seattle scored in the top of the ninth to take a 2-1 lead but Cairo scored in the bottom of the ninth to extend the contest. Then, when Seattle scored in the top of the eleventh to take the lead, Cairo scored two in the bottom of the frame to win the game. Oh yeah, Brooklyn and Jersey City shut out New York and Helena too.

The next sim will be Wednesday by Nate. The league file is up and the web pages are en route. Good luck all!