The Chillicothe Paints have been tearing up the Prospect League, falling one game short of the Butler BlueSox’s consecutive wins record from last summer at 11 games after a 3-2 loss to Jamestown Tuesday night.

It’s a good thing, too.

If the Paints didn’t heat up, there was a possibility the Champion City Kings could sneak into the playoffs.

It’s nothing against the Kings organization, but the way the Prospect League does the playoffs is dumb.

The East and West Divisions first-place finishers in the first and second half of the season meet in the first round of the playoffs.

If the same team wins both halves — as Terre Haute is poised to do out west — the next team with the best overall record gets to go.

Champion City was woeful in the first half — finishing 8-19 — placing fifth in the six-team East Division.

Since the all-star break, the Kings have played better baseball, holding a 9-5 record and sit a game behind the 11-5 Paints.

The current system rewards teams that play one good half, while punishing teams that play consistent baseball over the full season.

When playing a 60-game schedule, shouldn’t all of the games count equally?

Teams that win the first half have no incentive to play aggressive baseball and can put on cruise control until the playoffs.

West Virginia, which won the first half in the East, has sunk to fourth in the division in the second half.

If you look at overall records, Champion City (17-24) still sits in fifth place.

The Kings are eight games behind West Virginia, 7.5 behind Chillicothe, 3.5 behind Butler and trail Jamestown by 4.5. This is the second straight year the Prospect League has used this format, after taking the top two finishers from each division in 2013.

A full-season division format is preferable.

The last two years, the Prospect League was supposed to have both teams split into 30-game halves.

Due to postponements — caused by rain delays and other factors — the league decided to pick an arbitrary date to halt the first half of the season.

The BlueSox played 27 games in the first half this season, meaning the second half of the season will be three games longer than planned.

Only two teams in the league — West Virginia and Jamestown — played the full 30-game slate in the first half.

Last season, the league had the same problem. Only two teams — West Virginia and Danville — actually played two equal halves.

The Prospect League needs to go back to taking first and second place teams.

That way teams are rewarded for excellence over a season. Not for a stretch of 30 (or so) games.

Josh Rizzo is a sports writer for the Butler Eagle.