Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Spirit's hopes dwindle after disastrous Sunday in Brockton

The North Shore Spirit aren't MATHEMATICALLY elminated yet. So there is still hope tonight as the Spirit prep to take on the Elmira Pioneers tonight at 7:05 PM at Fraser Field. With 3 games remaining in the first half of the season, the Spirit trail Quebec by 3. That means Quebec's magic # is one- or, Quebec must lose three straight in Worcester while North Shore wins 3 straight vs. Elmira to force a one game playoff. So it's not TECHNICALLY over. But it's an unenviable task and Spirit Nation now looks toward the second-half or wild-card bids as the way into the playoffs. Still, the Spirit's renewed play late in the first half gives us hope for the 2nd that wasn't there just a few weeks ago.

The Spirit, however, were sitting pretty going into yesterday. They came all the way back to trail Quebec by just 1.5 games and led in Brockton 1-0 in the 7th inning, on the verge of sweeping their nemesis for the second time ever at Campanelli Stadium. But a tiring Jake Mullis, coming off the worst outing of his career, finally burst in the 7th, allowing Brockton to take the lead. They never looked back picking up the 4-1 win.

Meanwhile in Quebec the Capitales swept the Grays in a doubleheader, doubling the Spirit's deficit to 3.0 games and cutting the magic# to one. So it looks impossible to win Half #1.

But don't think these games against Elmira are unimportant. First of all, we need to keep momentum rolling into the 2nd half. Secondly, if Quebec keeps playing well, we may be looking to a wild-card to get in, which encompasses total record. We are going to be in a bitter dogfight with the Grays, Brockton, and possibly New Jersey (or even the resurgant New Haven) if Worcester wins the 2nd half. And the head to head games will balance out- it's how the teams clean up against the pitiful clubs that determines who gets the bids. So these games are vital- a sweep would be nice , obviously, and would keep faint 1st half dreams alive, but the goal here is 2 out of 3- anything less than that would be bitterly disappointing against the lowly Pios.