Into the thick of things

Hello, Spirit nation! It's Joe here- I've finally emerged from my nine-day Spirit hibernation. I'm back from Bermuda and ready for the Spirit's run to the Can Am Cup. Tonight, the Spirit open up their 3rd series in the 2nd half, as they welcome the Worcester Tornadoes to Fraser Field for a three-game set.

The Spirit are 3-4, coming off of a solid series against the New Jersey Jackals in which North Shore swiped 3 of 4 from the defending champs, a good comeback after being swept by the Rox. The 3-4 record is 3rd in the North, behind 6-1 Quebec and Brockton. Although it would be very, very good to run down Quebec for the 2nd half crown, for now, the important number is this: should Quebec win the 2nd half, to make the playoffs the Spirit must lose to the Grays by no more than 5 games and the Rox by no more than 7 in the 2nd half. If the season ended today, the Spirit would have the playoff berth to take on Quebec.

Worcester, the first half champions, playing for the right to have game 5 at home in the South Division championship, come into this game with a solid 4-3 mark, tied with Elmira for first in the South. The last time these two teams met at Fraser, the Spirit took 3 of 4 from Rich Gedman's club on opening weekend. The last time the two teams met were two heartbreaking doubleheader splits at Fitton Field where the Spirit saw their hopes at a 1st half crown slip further away each time. The Spirit will have to shake that, however, and run with this clean slate toward the 2nd half crown.

Tonight's game is at 7:05 PM at Fraser and kicks off a 7 game homestand in which the Spirit will also host Elmira. On the entertainment front, this homestand features car magnets (today), car flags (tomorrow), 80s night (Thursday), and of course Saturday's fireworks show. On the attendance front, the Spirit are a disappointing 5th in the league at 2,100 fans per game (IMO, an inflated number, making things even worse). Brockton obliterates the field in attendance, coming near 4,000 for an average crowd, with Quebec in 2nd at a cool 3,200. Worcester and New Jersey each top 2,300 for an average attendance, while Elmira and New Haven lag below the 1500 mark.

Let's hope for 7 big crowds and 7 big wins as the Spirit go into this homestand.