Twins and Red Wings trying to secure their spot in the playoffs

A month ago, everything was different. The Red Wings were sitting atop the Eastern division, seemingly on their way to another playoff berth. The Twins, on the other hand, were under .500, watching surging Hornell and Niagara teams top the charts. Now, everything has flip-flopped. 

The Twins have skyrocketed from the middle of the pack to second place in a strong Western division. Though, the Niagara Power are currently riding on an egregious 8-game skid which has moved them from a first place tie with the Hornell Dodgers, down to third place with a 2 game barrier between them and the Olean Oilers. That losing streak has helped push the Twins from third to second in the West. 

The Red Wings, on the other hand, have fallen from first to fourth place in the East. There's only a half-game difference between them and fifth placed Oneonta and for those who aren't familiar, the playoff system is the top 4 teams in each division. In other words, the Wings are in a tight situation. 

So what's been the cause for each? 

The Twins, it's pretty self-explanatory: they won 9 straight. It's hard to not climb the divisional ladder when you're not losing. If the season ended today, the Twins would happily find themselves in a series with the Niagara Power for the first round. Which, with the way each team has been playing, it would likely be a bloodbath. The Twins in their last 10 games have scored 56 runs. Compare that to Niagara's 34 runs in their last 10, and you can imagine the offensive clinic the Twins would put on. 

The Wings on the other hand have dropped 7 of their last 10. While their pitching has been phenomenal (see NYCBL Eastern Division pitching lineup), their bats have been quiet. Though, quiet is an overstatement. Silent is a better word. In the last 10 games, the team has accrued just 24 runs. Granted, their pitching has given up more than 5 runs twice in the last 10, which has kept them in games, but their bats haven't been able to back up the pitching corps most of the time. Vince Apicella pitched a stellar game against the Syracuse Salt Cats, and it was still a 0-0 game until the third hit for the Wings in the bottom of the ninth produced the first run of the game.

While the Red Wings were ruling the Eastern division in June, they were averaging 4.25 runs per game. In July, the Wings are averaging just under 3.5. That extra run per game has been what's been deciding games for the Wings, and unless they can find a spark for their bats, we may not see the Red Wings score a spot in the playoffs.