In what may be the wildest swings of any division, every fan of Heartland division teams finds themselves trying to catch their breaths and figure out what’s going to happen. The entire group of five squads is now 1.5 games apart from each other, with Des Moines, Omaha, and Yellow Springs effectively in a dead heat at the top.
Technically, the nine are ahead on points, registering a 31-30 record good for a .50819 winning percentage, while the Hawks and Kernels stand at 32-31, a .50793 rate. So, the difference is .00026 points—which, after the shitstorm of a start the Nine have laid down, is good enough for YS9 fans.
“Stop the season now,” chanted fans from the Bleed Nine Red fan club as they gathered around the commissioner’s office last night.
Twin Cities, a club that started the season like it may never lose a game, is a game back at 31-32, and Madison, whose opening frames have been Nine-like putrid, have bounced back to 31-33, a game a half back.
“This has traditionally been a strong division,” said Baseball Review analyst Gayle Combs, “so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that we’re seeing this kind of a tussle.”
Sources close to each team have become quite on the topic of what kinds of moves their clubs might be planning as the All-Star break, and then the trade deadline nears. “There’s a lot of baseball to be played,” said on anonymous Twin Cities representative. “What is the price of land in Portland?” asked another, adding that he was “asking for a friend.” Members of a third club said they weren’t sure what was happening, but it’s like someone in the front office finally woke up and remembered there was a season going on.
“Top to bottom, this is the closest division in the league,” Combs said. “And there’s a lot at stake here, given the restructuring that will be going on soon. GMs get trade fever at times like this, so you can probably expect some really stupid mistakes to come from any direction.”
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