Are Fish losing by winning?

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Ace Walker came up big for the Fish, tossing a nifty four-hitter and coming within one out of a complete game at Canwest Park. Ace picked up his 11th win of the season. (BORIS.MINKEVICH@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)

The question to Winnipeg Goldeyes manager Rick Forney Wednesday evening was a simple one: Give me one good reason why your team wouldn't be best served by simply losing their four remaining regular-season games and finishing the season in third place?

Forney smiled, thought about the question for a long minute and said nothing.

Because what could he say? The vagaries of the four-team Northern League playoff system are such that the Goldeyes would appear to be better off in almost every way by not finishing first or second when the regular-season wraps up Monday.

The reason is simple: By finishing third (a position the Goldeyes have already clinched) next Monday, the Fish would open the playoffs with two games at home, beginning next Wednesday.

Which would mean they would get to put their feet up, enjoy a rare day off Tuesday and just generally show up at the ballpark Wednesday rested, relaxed and probably even a bit tanned for Game 1.

In contrast, their opponents in this nifty little scenario -- either Gary or Fargo -- will spend their Tuesday riding the bus on the longest trip in the Northern League circuit -- the dreaded 16-hour kidney buster from Gary to Winnipeg.

That's because Fargo finishes the season next Monday in Gary, meaning one or the other of those two teams would have to make the long trip up here as part of their big reward for finishing ahead of the Goldeyes in the standings.

Nice.

Of course, Winnipeg would be the team doing the travelling if they finish second. And if Winnipeg finishes first, the reward would be a Tuesday spent busing to either Kansas City or Schaumburg, one of whom is destined to finish in the fourth and final playoff spot.

Now, it's true that the teams who finish first and second next week would get the final three games of the opening round five-game series in their ballpark, beginning next Friday.

So that's an advantage. Except, that is, in the case of Gary, who might already be close to dead and buried before they even pulled out of Winnipeg.

Because in addition to battling a long road trip, Gary would also be taking on a bit of recent history in those potential first two playoff games in Winnipeg. The Goldeyes have a 9-4 home record against Gary this season, their best home record against any opponent this season.

And then there's this: Goldeyes slugger Juan Diaz, who set a franchise record Wednesday night with his 89th RBI of the season, reports he has hit just two of his league leading 29 home runs in Fargo and just two home runs in Gary this season, but 15 in the friendly confines of the Fishbowl.

"I like my hometown," Diaz said.

So, again: Give me one good reason why your team wouldn't be best served by simply losing all their remaining regular-season games and finishing the season exactly where they've been in the standings for much of the past week -- third?

"Yeah, I know, we were just talking about that," Fish starter Bear Bay reflected before Wednesday night's game. "You always want to win, of course. And it's important we're playing well and having fun heading into the playoffs.

"But would we mind finishing third? No, we wouldn't mind."

Which brings us back to Forney. After that long pause, he did come up with one reason the Goldeyes would benefit by finishing first or second. "Our owner," Forney smiled, "would make more money having us play at home next weekend than in the middle of the week."

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Here's how playoff picture could shake down

With just four games left in the regular season, the playoff picture for the Winnipeg Goldeyes is beginning to come into focus. What we know for sure is that the Fish have locked up a playoff spot and can finish no worse than third (the top four teams advance) and as high as first. Here are the various scenarios:

The Goldeyes finish first and open on the road next Wednesday against either Kansas City or Schaumburg. The Goldeyes would return home for Game 3 on Friday.

The Goldeyes finish second and open on the road next Wednesday against either Gary or Fargo. The Goldeyes would return home for Game 3 on Friday.

The Goldeyes finish third and open at home next Wednesday against either Gary or Fargo. Game 2 would be at Canwest Park on Thursday before the series would head south for Game 3 on Friday.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 27, 2009 C3