Down to the Wire in the CFL!!

A league seven-years unfolding has come down to the final few games ... 

With just a handful of games left in a 154-game schedule, the Classic Franchise League standings look like this:

	CFL EXTENDED LEAGUE STANDINGS
	YEAR	TEAM	WINS	LOSSES	PCT	G.B.
1	1954	Cleveland Indians	83	62	0.572	0
2	1950	New York Yankees	84	63	0.571	0
3	1962	Los Angeles Dodgers	76	72	0.514	-8.5
4	1957	Milwaukee Braves	69	75	0.479	-13.5
5	1962	New York Mets	36	110	0.247	-47.5

As in real-life, these Yankee and Indians teams from the 50s are quite well-matched. Each team features top-notch starting pitching (Vic Raschi, Allie Reynolds, and Eddie Lopat for NY, Bob lemon, Early Wynn, and Mike Garcia for Cleveland), excellent everyday players (Yogi Berra and Joe Dimaggio lead NY while Larry Doby and Al Rosen have taken turns carrying the Indians), and some terrific role players (a trio of first-basemen have clubbed a total of 35 HRS for the Yanks while Wally Westlake, Sam Dente, and Billy Glynn have made great contributions to Cleveland's record).  

Some highlights from each team:

- The Yanks fashioned a 16-game winning streak within a 19-2 window!

- Johnny Mize, one of NY's first-basemen, has been on a tear recently, homering at a Ruthian pace. He's currently hitting .322 and 25 HRs in 255 at bats have him slugging at a .690 rate.

Big Jawn, courtesy of sabr.org

- Whitey Ford, in limited action, has provided a 9-5 record on the mound to go along with a 2.83 ERA. Recently, he preserved Eddie Lopat's 17th victory against the 1962 Dodgers with a 2-inning save, stranding the tying run in the 8th inning.

Whitey, congratulated by the Ol' Perfessor

- In a critical game where the Yanks were in danger of falling three games behind the Indians, NY entered the bottom of the 9th trailing Cleveland 2-1. With Bob Lemon on the mound, things looked good for CLE. Second-baseman Jerry Coleman got things started with a single, just the 5th hit off Lemon all game. Yogi Berra then doubled Coleman to third, setting the stage for Joe Dimaggio. Joltin' Joe, near the end of his illustrious career, had just a bit more magic left in him, ending the game and Lemon's bid for a 15th win, with a 3-run homer.

Joe jolts it to end it
courtesy espn.com

- Bob Feller, at the end of his illustrious career, seems to be drinking from the fountain of youth! On top of recent hot streak, he's turned in these stellar performances: a 2-hit shutout of the Yanks and a complete-game, 2-1 victory over the all-world Sandy Koufax! Oh, and he homered in the shutout!

"I have no idea how I'm doing it!" says Bob
courtesy of cleveland.com

- Mike Garcia has been unhittable down the stretch, running his record to 17-5 while dropping his ERA to 2.31 on the season.

- Larry Doby has slugged 36 HRs, driven in 100 runs, and walked 83 times while playing a stellar CF.

Doby accepts congrats on #36

- Jim Hegan, topflight catcher for Cleveland, has stunned even the most ardent Indians fans by slugging 23 homers - twice the amount he popped in real life.

- Cleveland has 8 players with 10 or more home runs. SS George Strickland has 9 and their pitchers have also combined for 9. Power, up and down the lineup!

111-44, a .721 winning percentage

Stay tuned for updates on this race. The final ten games of the schedule feature the Yanks and Indians playing the 1957 Milwaukee Braves five times each. Should they be tied at the end of 154 games, there will be a 3-game playoff, with the first game played in New York and the remaining games in Cleveland.