The regular season wraps up this holiday weekend, with everybody playing four-game sets from Friday through Monday. The playoff picture in the North is pretty straight-forward, but the South division is wide-open. At the risk of causing head-explosions, here’s a look at the playoff picture.
NORTH DIVISION
The two half-winners have been determined: Bakersfield (1st half) and Stockton (2nd half) are in. What’s still up for grabs is the wildcard spot, and that’s a two-team race between Visalia and San Jose. The Rawhide hold a 3-game lead on the Giants heading into the weekend.
SOUTH DIVISION
What’s clear at this point is that Lancaster is in as the first-half champion and Lake Elsinore is in as they have clinched the best overall record aside from the Jethawks. Therefore, Lake Elsinore is assured of a playoff spot and the fact that Lancaster has actually clinched the best overall record in the division doesn’t matter because they’re already in as a half-champion.
All that having been said, the second half title is still out there and nobody has been eliminated. Lancaster is currently in first place (34-32) with Inland Empire and Lake Elsinore (both 33-33) a game back. Rancho Cucamonga is three games back and High Desert is four games back with four to play.
Soooooo…..here’s the tricky part. From the Cal League Playoff Procedures webpage:
Mini-Series
(1-2 format)
- Game 1: Wed, Sept. 3: *Second Half Champion (or #2 Seed) at #3 Seed
- Game 2: Thurs, Sept. 4: #3 Seed at *Second Half Champion (or #2 Seed)
- Game 3: Fri, Sept. 5: #3 Seed at *Second Half Champion (or #2 Seed)
* #2 Seed if Second-Half Champion is also the First-Half winner
The first-half champ skips the Mini-Series. If there is a repeat winner of both halves (possible in the South with Lancaster), then the team with the next-best overall record gets in. In that scenario, High Desert would join Lancaster and Lake Elsinore.
Also, Lake Elsinore could win the second-half title, which would have the same result of bringing in the next-best record as a wildcard, currently High Desert.
But Lake Elsinore is safe, even if they don’t win the second-half title.
Just like that. And…ummm…there are tie-breakers too.
It will be much easier to explain Monday night after all the slots are filled. But here are the season-ending four-game matchups:
INLAND EMPIRE @ LANCASTER
RANCHO CUCAMONGA @ LAKE ELSINORE
SAN JOSE @ HIGH DESERT
STOCKTON @ MODESTO
VISALIA @ BAKERSFIELD
