Down to the Wire

We're in for some exciting baseball as the regular season is about to close out this weekend. The Railroaders find themselves a half game back of the Pirates and their fate in their own hands. The doubleheader sweep of the Bobcats on Friday was just the beginning of the final stretch drive to win the season title. We have to face off with the Cats again today in a doubleheader which could put us ahead of the Pirates by a half game.

The Pirates play a doubleheader with the Middle TN Cougars today, in games that will not count towards a season title. Only games with KIT teams count toward final season standings and post season playoff positions.

Sunday's game with the Pirates will be an important one! There are 5 possible scenarios:

1) If we sweep the Bobcats today and win in Tradewater tomorrow, the title is ours.

2) Lose one today and win against the Pirates on Sunday would give us half game lead and force a game on Monday against the Oilers in Owensboro (a PPD game makeup). A Monday win would then tie Fulton & Tradewater (don't know what that would create).

3) If the Bobcats take both games today and we beat the Pirates tomorrow, a Monday win would also tie us with the Pirates for the title.

4) A sweep of the Bobcats and a loss to the Pirates would force a Monday game to play for a title tie.

5) Lose one today and a loss to the Pirates on Sunday would give the title to Tradewater.

So let's start it today with another double win over the Bobcats. We'll need all the fans out to cheer the Railroaders on. The guys are fired up and are finishing season strong. The road record has improved to .500 and our chances look good to take all the marbles.

Crunch Time

With the Browns putting down the Pirates on Wednesday 12-5, we find ourselves tied with Tradewater in the overall season standings. For Playoff seeding (based on Kitty League games only), the Railroaders are 0.5 games behind the Bucs. With 5 (maybe 6) games left, every game counts now. Thursday's another day off to rest, and rest is what we'll need as the weekend approaches. Friday a doubleheader with the Bobcats in Marion, and Saturday another doubleheader with the cats in Fulton. And then there's Sunday's single game in Tradewater and it could be a really big one depending how the teams do before the day arrives. The Railroaders may have to play on Monday in Owensboro if a decision in the standings is at steak.

The Bobcats are playing tough and will want to spoil our push for the Season title, while trying to better their Playoff position in Kitty League only standings. They want the 3rd spot from the Oilers. We are in control, so let's make the most of it as we push towards the #1 spot for 2010!

Final week regular season view

With the regular season in its final week, the Railroaders have a good chance to take first place in the standings. The post season playoffs will begin on Tuesday, July 27, and the #1 seed is up for grabs. Consider Fulton's position as stated on the Marion Bobcats' website,

". . . Fulton is 20-11 in KIT League play with eight games left against league opponents, including one with Tradewater and four with Marion. Tradewater is 24-12 in the circuit with only four KIT League games left, putting their magic number at 6 to clinch first place.

The Railroaders, however, control their own destiny. Even if the Pirates win their last four league contests, they are not guaranteed a first-place finish. Fulton would have to lose at least two of its remaining eight games to ensure the Pirates a regular season crown.

Owensboro also has an outside chance at first place, but must win all of its remaining nine games and hope for the Pirates to win no more than one of their remaining four games.

For Marion, a first-place finish is out of reach, but the Bobcats can still hope for a second-place finish. However, they must also win outright and hope for no more than one Fulton victory. To achieve third place, Marion is only 3.5 games behind Owensboro with three head-to-head match-ups with the Oilers remaining."

Pretty good words for the Railroaders to consider as they head into a busy week of baseball. Tonight, Monday, we have the Oilers in town and then on the road through Friday. Saturday a big final home season doubleheader with the Bobcats. Let all get out to the Yard and cheer the team on.

Now's the time to strike

While it may have rained us out on Friday night, the Pirates did play in Tradewater and dropped their second straight game with the Oilers. The Railroaders are now only 2 games behind the league leaders, and here they come to Fulton today for a doubleheader! The math seems simple and with the last full week of the regular season upon us it's time to strike. The Pirates are just where we want them. They have struggled of late and the Roaders are getting hotter. Let's all head to the Yard today at 5 p.m. to get the train rollin' early. A big double win today, and we're neck and neck with the Bucs. The weather should be fine, the food smelling good and some exciting baseball to watch.

A Man in the Moment

What a great performance by the Railroaders last night against the Oilers, particularly Mitch McClay! After dropping his batting average to .267 over the last week, in a single game he brought it back up to .310. McClay came back big going 5 for 6 consisting of 3 singles, 1 double and a 2 out walk-off 2 RBI homerun in the 10th to win the game. While he only stole 1 or 7 bases for the Railroaders on the night, Mitch's steal was the starter for a double steal in which Joe Pudlo on 3rd base took home. McClay certainly has a game to remember as his play became the decisive factor against the Oilers.

The entire team should be proud their performance as a team last night. There down moments, but that didn't stop them from making the highs points. Defense when we needed it, come back pitching, great base running and stealing, and clutch hits were all a part of a good night of baseball at the yard. Let's work hard and take this game play on the road in the second half of the season and great things will happen!

Again, thanks for the thrills!

Road Record Woes

Our away games’ standing is 2 wins and 7 losses. “What’s with that!” We have a home record of 12 and 4, a .750 average, while on the road we are .222. Someone needs to figure out what’s making our players so much less effective on the road. Could it be bus? If so, I have custom luxury Thompson bus ready to roll for hire. If includes everything a good baseball team needs. There’s even a hot tub (girls not included) for the after game aches and pains. From Internet access to a custom body job, what more could you ask for? Oh yea, a WIN on the road!

Pirates are Humans too

As mid season approaches, the standings appear to be tightening up somewhat. The Railroaders benefited a half game in the rankings from a record breaking defeat of the Pirates at the hands of the Bobcats, 20-7, Wow! So there's nothing superhuman about the Bucs and they have loss 4 of their last 6 games. But mind you, they are still a good team, no doubt. The tide could be changing though as the lower half teams are starting to play some better ball. That means we are going to have to push the engine even harder to take the season.

The last place Browns have improved of late, winning 4 of their last 7. For the most part, they are keeping the games close, and I think they are the wild card in the league. They've had their woes, but make no mistake about it, they're getting tougher every game they play. Let's not take them lightly on Wednesday.

The Oilers have taken 4 wins out of their last 6, including 2 of 3 over the Pirates. They are in 3rd place at this posting and only 2 games behind the Railroaders. They have played the fewest games in the league thus far, several PPD games to make up, but they are playing solid baseball and will be a force to reckon with.

The Bobcats are only a half game behind the Oilers. They, too, are playing improved ball. As with the Oilers, the Cats have taken 4 of their last 6 games and beat the Pirates 2 or 3. They are done with Bucs yet either, Tradewater must face the Bobcats 4 more games in a row starting tonight.

As for the Railroaders, we're in good position to make a move. The players have will have had 8 days rest out of the last 12 days before Wednesday's doubleheader with the Browns. Let's make sure there's no rust on board the engine and everything is greased for action. In the last 12 days, we are 3 or 6 games played, and we need to improve on that. Time to get down to work and win, Baby, win!