1985 CDBL MID-SEASON PLAYOFF RACE REVIEW IF THE PLAYOFFS WERE HELD TODAY: Aaron Division Pennant - Manhatten Beach Mashers Paige Division Pennant - Springfield Isotopes Gehrig Division Pennant - Albuquerque Maul Tiant Division Pennant - Avila Dragons AP Conference Wildcard - Dewey Beach Lush GT Concerence Wildcard - Encinitas Surfers League Wildcard #1 - Tualatin Thunder League Wildcard #2 - Hong Kong Cavaliers Other teams in contention - Boston Bulldogs (3.5 games behind) - Orange Whoop (3.5 games behind) - Arkham Investigators (5 games behind) - Concord Minutemen (5.5 games behind) - Boulder County Trustafarians (6 games behind) - Savannah Shoeless Joe's (6.5 games behind) Aaron Division - The Mashers look like they are firmly in the driving seat. Tim Naehring (.317, 15 home runs, 60 runs scored) and Mark McGwire (19 home runs, 53 RBI) are creating the runs, and Kevin Ritz (3.53 ERA, 10-5 record) is winning games, and closer Rickey Bottalico (1.50 ERA, 22 saves) is saving them. The Arkham Investigators (44-44) are 11 games behind them, with Kevin Appier (2.73 ERA, 10-4 record) putting in a Cy Young worthy performance. Savannah (44-47) is 12.5 games behind, with slugger Tim Salmon hitting .362 with 20 home runs, 60 runs scored and 52 RBI. Better luck next year: Point Lomas Friars, Elk Grove Trout, California Kamados Paige Division - The Springfield Isotopes (55-34) maintain a slim 1 games lead over the Dewey Beach Lush for this division. For the Isotopes, Bernie Williams is hitting .343 with 73 runs scored, while Barry Bonds has 22 home runs, 74 runs scored and 67 RBI (along with 26 stolen bases). Springfield pitcher Scott Kamienecki is 9-4 with a 3.52 ERA. Dewey Beach has several sluggers mashing the ball, with Craig Biggio, Ron Gant, Sammy Sosa and Frank Thomas all with at least 20. The pitching staff has benefitted greatly from the run support, as their ERA is sitting at 4.73. Pitcher Chris Bosio is 10-6 despite a 5.22 ERA. The Tualatin Thunder are in the wild-card hunt, presently at 49-38, 5 games behind. Mike Piazza has 23 home runs and 62 RBI, while Jeff Bagwell has a 1.031 OPS with 69 runs scored and 57 RBI. Rickey Jordan has done equally well, scoring 61 runs and driving in 68. Starter Steve Avery is 11-5 with a 2.83 ERA, while Bill Risley has saved 17 games with a miniscule 0.62 ERA. Better luck next year: Largo Longshots, Seattle Decaf, White Rock Phantoms Gehrig Division - The Albuquerque Maul (56-33) have a high powered offense this year, scoring a conference high 545 runs. Albert Belle is hitting .330 with 25 home runs, 84 runs scored and 72 RBI, while Raul Mondesi has 25 home runs, 78 runs scored and 63 RBI. Speedster Lance Johnson has 78 runs scored and 45 stolen bases. Ace John Smoltz is 13-3 with a 3.08 ERA. The Encinitas Surfers are just 3 games behind Albuquerque in the division race. Greg Maddux has been a Hoss, going 12-4 with a 1.99 ERA. Kevin Brown is 9-4 with a 3.44 ERA, and closer Todd Worrell has 17 saves with a 3.45 ERA. Catcher Mickey Tettleton has 17 home runs and 50 runs scored, while shortstop Walt Weiss has a .395 on base average and 57 runs scored. The Cavaliers (49-39) were not expecting to contend until next year, but they are in the wildcard race this year. Vinny Castilla is hitting .330 with 22 home runs, 60 runs scored and 68 RBI, while Greg Colbrunn has 51 runs driven in. Closer Dennis Eckersley is 4-3 with 17 saves and a 2.70 ERA. The Concord Minutemen (44-45, 12 games out) and Boulder County Trustafarians (43-45, 12.5 games out) are hanging by a thread. 1B John Jaha has 25 home runs, 58 runs scored and 65 RBI for Concord, while SS Barry Larkin has 69 runs scored, 50 RBI and 43 stolen bases for the Trustafarians. Better luck next year: Topeka Stingers Tiant Division - The Avila Dragons are king of the league at the moment, posting a league best 65-23 record. 1B Chili Davis is hitting .361 with 17 home runs, 52 runs scored and 54 RBI, while 3B Wade Boggs is hitting .323 with 68 runs scored. Jim Edmonds has 20 home runs and 82 RBI. The pitching has been phenomenal, with a league best 3.16 team ERA. Starters John Smiley, Pete Schourek and Andy Ashby have averaged 12 wins each, and closer Jeff Nelson has saved 17 games with a 2.62 ERA. Hard to bet against Avila to win the division this year! Despite being 19.5 games behind, the Boston Bulldogs (45-42) are very much in the playoff hunt. Edgar Martinez has been playing like a man on fire, hitting .418 with 24 home runs, 85 runs scored and 90 RBI. Jeff Conine is hitting .346 with 22 home runs, 70 runs scored and 85 RBI. Cecil Fielder has 14 home runs and 55 RBI. Ace Randy Johnson has gone 13-2 with a 3.35 ERA. The Orange Whoop (47-44) are presently tied with the Bulldogs for second in the division. Juan Gonzalez has 33 home runs, 67 runs scored and 87 RBI. Also in the "67 runs club", Kenny Lofton (with 45 stolen bases) and John Olerud. Jay Buhner has been wielding a big bat, smacking 38 home runs with 72 runs scored and 101 RBI. Ace Tom Glavine is 9-5 with a 2.71 ERA. Better luck next year: Birmingham Cloverleafs, San Diego Stars, Dedham Destroyers