On to Pawtucket; Playoffs Coming

The Bulls did just fine up in Pennsylvania, taking 2 out of 3 against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The important takeaway, for me, was that Chih-Wei Hu finally had a decent game. Seems like a very long time (it has been, since late June) that he's done well in a Bulls uniform. Here's hoping he can keep it up.

Meanwhile, time to think a bit about the playoffs. Here's how it works in the International League.

The West Division Champion hosts the South Division Champion to begin a  best of five series (after two games the site moves to opponent park). The North Division Champion hosts the Wild Card.

Winner of North v Wild Card hosts the winner of West v South for the start of a best of five Governors' Cup Championship.

So, it playoffs began today it would be the Durham Bulls at the Indianapolis Indians and the Columbus Clippers at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

But, notice how tight things are in the IL West (standings) and how tight they are in the Wild Card race. Could be some changes by the end of the month (or even tomorrow).

Matchup

The Pawtucket Red Sox are usually a much better team than we've seen this year. That seems especially true given the absolute dominance of their parent club in the American League. They've got the best pitching (measured by ERA) in the IL, but are still 15 games behind the IronPigs. What I don't know is how much turmoil they've undergone this year.