Northeast League playoffs set up

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After wrestling with the playoff format for more than a week, Northeast League officials have decided to go with a 2-3 format in which the playoff team holding the better overall season record will host the final three games of the best-of-five series.

That means if Bangor wins the independent league’s second half title, the Blue Ox would have to make up almost six games on first half champion Albany.

Albany won the first half with a 28-11 record while Bangor finished 20-18 to finish third.

The Diamond Dogs were 5 1/2 games ahead of Bangor with an overall record of 49-23 going into Monday night’s schedule. Bangor was 43-28 overall with eight games to go – four against Albany and four against first-place Newburgh, which Bangor trailed by a game.

Albany, only three games out of first place, could win both halves. If that happens, the team with the next best overall season record would play the Dogs in the playoffs.

Officials had toyed with the idea of having Albany host the first two games so team officials could have two firm game dates to sell tickets for well in advance.

A second proposal was made in the event Bangor won the second half. Since the Diamond Dogs finish the regular season in Bangor, Bangor would have hosted the first two games – saving travel costs for Albany. That idea was also nixed.

“It’s an eight-hour bus ride, which is not that bad in minor league baseball,” said league executive director Michael McGuire. “You’ve got a day off in between and you’re really only saving one trip for the Albany team. Bangor doesn’t save anything.”

McGuire also said he was concerned about the perception of the league if they allowed travel costs to dictate the playoff schedule.

If Bangor and Newburgh finish the season tied for first place, three tiebreakers will be used.

The first is each team’s record head-to-head in the second half. Second is each team’s record against the next best team in the second half (Albany). The third and final tiebreaking procedure is the dreaded coin flip.

Despite having missed a game against Elmira due to rain, Bangor will not be able to make up the game to break a tie unless the team did so before the regular season ends Aug. 26.

“We made a decision that we made early in the season that the season will end on that date,” said McGuire. “We didn’t want Elmira to have to incur the expense of driving up to Bangor for just one game. It’s about a $2,000 trip.”

In the event Bangor does make the playoffs, the Blue Ox will play with the same roster of players they’ve used most of the second half.

All team rosters were frozen by the Northeast League at midnight, Wednesday.

“Even if a player is injured, they cannot replace him,” said McGuire. “They do have a 28-man roster with five men on the inactive list.”

Bangor has only two players on its inactive list: Robert “Popeye” Cole and pitcher Matt Frias.

McGuire said there is a league hardship provision for a team that loses all its catchers to injury. If that happens, the team may add a catcher to the roster who is subject to league approval.

In other words, if Bangor loses Carlos Mota and Steve Puleo to injury, it could sign another catcher, but the league probably wouldn’t approve a “ringer” type of player like a Lance Parrish or Gary Carter.

The Northeast League has taken over the day-to-day operations of the Rhode Island Tiger Sharks.

Dismal attendance and a desire by Rhode Island owner Mike Palermo for an infusion of cash led the league to take over the team.

“The league took over the franchise Aug. 1,” McGuire said. “We will operate it until the end of the season, sell it, and then give Mike the balance after we pay all the team’s bills.”

McGuire, who said the team’s August operations cost will be about $50,000, expects there will be a “modest balance” after the bills are paid.

A prime example of the team’s attendance problems came Sunday, Aug. 11, when the actual paid attendance was four – Yes, four. Only four people paid money to attend the game. The actual attendance was 153 – the other 149 coming from 200 free tickets distributed to two local radio stations for promotional purposes.

The Sharks have averaged only 263 fans per game. The only other team in the league to average less than 1,000 fans per game is Bangor with 978.

McGuire added that the league has scheduled Sunday doubleheaders for Rhode Island in an effort to “try and create something to sell.”

The league does have something to sell after the season ends. McGuire confirmed that at least “four or five” parties have shown serious interest in buying the franchise and have submitted formal proposals.

The potential ownership group for a team in Augusta is not one of those parties.

“They really are looking at 1998, so they have no interest in taking over Rhode Island,” said McGuire.

McGuire said the league would like the franchise to remain in Rhode Island, but “there is no guarantee one way or the other.”

As unsuccessful as the season for Rhode Island has been, both on and off the field, it’s been completely the opposite for Bangor – the league’s other expansion team.

“We batted .500 with our two expansion groups this year. Bangor is doing great and Rhode Island not so great. We need more Vince Burns-types of ownerships,” said McGuire, referring to Bangor’s principal owner.

The Northeast League will go through its third season with a minimum of eight teams in 1997, but that number increasingly looks more like it will be 10.

“There are some options open to the owners right now. There are definitely eight. There could be 10,” said McGuire. “Personally, I think there will be 10. The question is whether its going to be in 1997 and 1998.”

The increasing discord in the North Atlantic League, another independent minor league which began operations this season, has led to speculation that at least two of the NAL’s teams will wind up in the Northeast.

“We’ve gotten overtures from Massachusetts and Altoona plus other areas like the Catskills; Augusta, Maine; and other places,” McGuire explained.