AND THEN THERE WERE SIX

Two potential playoff teams remain in the East, but with three games to play, it is now clear that two of the perennial contenders in what has been aptly dubbed "the division of death" have been reduced to trivia questions.   With three games left, six teams remain amidst the carnage, and two are no longer able to control their own destiny.   The BARB 2012 playoff slate is nearly set, and the final weekend of play will determine the four that advance, and in what position!

THE ELIMINATED:

Has any club done so well during the regular season in making trades, and yet finish as sadly as the 2012 edition of the Worcester Eliminators?   The Elims had pulled off sensational deals to net the likes of Justin Upton and Yovani Gallardo, yet could only watch in disgust on Game Day 148 as starter Ian Kennedy (8-15, 5.53) gave up home runs to Jacoby Ellsbury, Colby Rasmus and Ryan Howard in the space of just a few batters in a sickening fifth inning as they fell, 5-2, to the visiting Brooklyn Moabs.   Their rival sibling's club 86th was particularly bitter: not only was it their seventh straight loss, and their eighth loss in their last nine games, it ensured that they would not even finish above .500.....and, to make things all the worse, essentially clinched a playoff berth for the East-leading Moabs, who road in-season acquisition Max Scherzer (4-6, 4.58) to victory.  With an 86-63 record, Brooklyn is in the playoffs and with one more win, will clinch their third Eastern crown.

Equally disgusted: the proud Frostbite Falls club, winner of so many playoff berths and world championships, who simply came up short in the final week after a mystifying stretch run that seemed to show that Squirrels can sometimes have "two minds": one convinced that they were falling out of the race, and the other making moves with the idea of getting back into it.  That same Game Day the Squirrels had dropped a tough 8-7 game with another Eastern club (Sin City), a game that had seen Albert Pujols (.320, 118 RBI) smack his club-leading 32nd HR, a game in which he and his teammates had scored in each of their final three innings, but fall tantalizingly short.   How bitter was it?  Rookie of the Year candidate Mike Trout, who homered with two out in the ninth, slumped when Aces closer J.J. Putz got Austin Jackson for the final out.....because he, and everyone else on the Squirrels roster knew that their former teammate, RHP Chris Perez, had just collected his 35th save for the Moabs.   Just like that, with a record of 81-68, Frostbite's chance of earning a playoff berth was over.

As is often the case for those diagnosed with schizophrenia,  Frostbite Falls was committed to the institution. One can only wonder what might've happened had the team dealt from strength, and been willing to shop one of the amazing teenaged outfielders. As it is, they could yet find themselves in the unfamiliar position of drafting in the middle of the BARB pack in 2013.

ON LIFE SUPPORT:

Due to the unbalanced schedule, the Casselton Horned Toads have no more games to play, and no way to earn themselves a playoff spot.   Yet, they are not so much dead as we go to press as locked in "suspended animation."   The Horned Toads, like Frostbite Falls, seemed to "two minds" at times this season but eventually made some moves, acquiring pricey but often-dominant southpaw Cliff Lee from the Aces.   But while Lee (14-7, 3.48) won his final decision of the year in the club's final series, their bullpen was already smarting from a marathon 14-inning loss to Yuma in the previous series, and they would need to win on the road to ensure contention.

But, when R.A. Dickey was knocked out in the second inning of their season finale against the .45's, the Horned Toads were staring up at a 6-0 deficit early.    Casselton forced extra innings thanks to an RBI double by Jay Bruce, but first Jose Valverde and Clay Hensley blew save opportunities.    In the bottom of the 15th, the home town .45's  trailed yet again, but this time rookie Danny Espinosa hit a three-run, walkoff bomb off Jeremy Affeldt (3-3, 5.91), a heartbreaking 11-9 loss.

Casselton's sputtering slide means that they must now hope for a historic Creepers collapse.   If Central-leading Pottsylvania were to lose their final three games,  that (improbable, but not impossible) scenario would force a one-game "play-in" to decide who wins the Central Division.   But even there, fortune favors the well-prepared mind, for the Creepers (by virtue of tie-breakers) would get the home field, where they are 22-14 against other Central clubs.

Casselton was not the other club to remain alive.   Sin City's strong finish (winning five of their last six) has been keyed by improved pitching depth down the stretch, with a healthier Adam Wainwright, and resurgences from Anibal Sanchez and James Shields.  Given the fades experienced by the Eliminators and Squirrels,  they probably wish their season was just a little bit longer. Another ten games could've made them not only a playoff team, but a team to be reckoned with in a short series.   As it is, however, their 83-66 mark holds three improbable paths to post-season glory:  in one scenario, East-leading Brooklyn fumbles away their three game lead in the division by losing their final three games, and Sin City catches them on the final day of the season, forcing a one-game playoff for the Eastern crown.   In another, Brooklyn wins the East outright, but a final weekend choke by Yuma leaves the Firebirds and the Aces tied with 86-69 marks, forcing a playoff for the wild-card spot.  In the most unlikely scenario, both Yuma and Brooklyn give away their last three games, and you have Commissioner Andrew Haynes reaching for the Pepto as he attempts to sort through three clubs with identical 86-69 marks.

THE LOCKS:

Brooklyn, Pottsylvania and New England are leading their respective divisions, and along with Yuma are effectively playoff teams, guaranteed a one-game "play-in" game even if everything else goes awry and they do not automatically win their division or earn the wild card.   A single win by the Firebirds, however, eliminates all other "wild card" scenarios from the Central or the East.   Why?  Becuase New England's strong 8-2 finish (best in the league) not only guarantees them a playoff berth, and lowers their magic number to two for winning the division outright, but means the best finish in team history and quite possibly only the third time that Yuma hasn't won the West.    Their 88-61 record is the league's best, with three to play, and right now they are healthy and hitting on all cylinders, at just the right time.   Anything can happen, but if Vegas placed odds on BARB clubs, they would be the favorite.