After "hanging" around through the allstar break in the Billy Martin division, Maple made a huge splash in the ABL acquiring top notch SP Maurice Gould. The price was high in terms of top prospects being sent back to Montreal but, the Maple organization was poised to end their 4 year playoff drought.
Maple sent to Montreal SP Ramu Pavi, SP Jesus Ramirez, SP Yoshiaga Ueno and MR Manny Palma. All 4 of these pitchers were either R1 picks and/or top 100 OSA prospects at one point in their careers. In return Gould landed in Maple and is arguably one of the best all time players in the ABL history and without a doubt its most dominant pitcher during that time.
The addition of Gould along with SP Nelson, OF Dave Carlisle and MR arms Inman and Pena make Maple a true contender for a title this year in the ABL. Since the end of June, Maples record is 16-8 in July, 15-13 in August and 1-0 in September (32-21). Maple sits 1 game behind South Carolina and 2 games ahead of Jersey who is also "hanging" around.
The Schedule for September features:
1 @ JERSEY, 3 HOME vs. JERSEY
3 @ SOUTH CAROLINA, 3 HOME vs. SOUTH CAROLINA
3 HOME vs. MILE HIGH
3 HOME vs. GEORGIA
3 @ CABO SAN LUCAS
3 @ KANSAS CITY
4 @ SAN FRANCISCO
14 on the ROAD and 12 at HOME. The final 3 games at HOME vs. SOUTH CAROLINA should be a deciding factor for a playoff spot in the TML.
There is a chance that 2 teams in the Billy Martin Division may qualify for the post season. The Wild Card hunt is very close right now.
Maple / Georgia tied for the lead
Jersey / Boston 2 games back
Las Vegas 3 games back
Anything can happen in the ABL down the stretch as we have learned many times before.
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