NECBL Thoughts for a Wednesday morning

1. Sanford has forgotten how to lose. Seven consecutive wins have them atop the Northern Divsion by a game. Remember when the Mountaineers had a seven-game winning streak? They lost two in a row after that and haven't regained their top form- they did rattle off a three-game win streak however, and sit just a game out.

2. Speaking of Vermont, they have a big matchup tonight against Laconia. The Muskrats have taken the last two games from them, including a 5-4 win at Robbie Mills Field that featured a two-and-a-half hour rain delay. A very controversial call was present, but regardless- the Mountaineers are just 5-5 over their last ten games and a Laconia win would mean a season series split.

3. The Muskrats send Mariano Rivera III to the mound, the son of the Yankee legend. Referred to as Junior, he is 1-1 with a 3.96 ERA on the season with 22 strikeouts in 25 innings. He attends Iona and is not a closer- rather, he's a starter. Ironically, he was drafted by the Yankees in the 29th round this year but didn't sign. 

4. He does not posses a cutter. SB Nation interviewed him during the spring at Iona, and he attempted to- he said it wasn't consistent and it didn't feel unique. Rivera Jr. does have a slider.

5. The St. Louis Cardinals had back-to-back walkoffs the past two nights, the first one a walkoff home run from Matt Adams. Adams was the league MVP in the NECBL in 2008, hitting .351 with 16 doubles, seven home runs and 37 RBIs.

6. Braxton Martinez. NECBL Player of the Week, hitting .476 over his last ten games. More impressively, he's gone 13-for-21 (.619) over his last five games. Big reason this Laconia team is so hot right now.

7. Another reason might be teammates Colton Bottomley's ability to come through with runners in scoring position. He's hitting .650 with 16 RBIs in 20 at bats. The 16 RBIs rank second behind Vincent Guglietti and Blaise Salter- however, they both had more at bats.

8. Danbury finally won! Ended a season long 13-game losing streak with a 7-6 victory over North Adams.

9. Valley has lost eight in a row, a streak that is the second-longest. In a marquee matchup tonight, the Blue Sox take on Danbury.

10. The Southern Division playoff field is pretty much set in terms of the four teams in. Danbury and New Bedford won't be making the playoffs as they sit 13.5 and 14 games back.