Unlike the Cy Young awards, the MVP awards came out a bit surprisingly, particularly in the AL. I don't know if "real life" voters would have gone this way, but the differences in VORP were too big to ignore...
NL- Dolph Camilli: This was a two-man race much of the year, Camilli vs. Barry Bonds. Dolph led the NL in VORP and was at or near the top in most of the more traditional categories-- 2nd in batting average (.335, Ginger Beaumont led at .339), 2nd in slugging average (.633, Bonds was at .662), leading in on-base percentage (.442) and RBI (127, tied with Hank Aaron). He also hit 37 home runs (4th, Bonds led with 50). By most sabermetric measures Camilli and Bonds were equals, so the tie-breaker was the pennant race where Dolph led Brooklyn to a close 2nd place finish vs. the 6th place finish San Francisco had.
AL- George Sisler: I'm actually as surprised as you are. Of course, you're probably me if you're reading this. :) Albert Belle had a truly monstrous first half, and was a critical part of an Indians team that needed every contribution they got to eke out a division title over the Mariners, an ALCS win over the Yankees, and a 7-game Cloverland Series championship over the Cubs. Plus, he had 62 home runs and 138 RBI! Still, he placed a surprisingly low 5th in VORP. Of those ahead of him, Tris Speaker edged him out in VORP by placing well in many categories. Better yet were a pair of Philadelphia Athletics who put in huge years: Jimmy Foxx was 5th in slugging (.601, Belle led with .698), 4th in OBP (.423), and also in the top 10 in runs, RBI, doubles and triples. Al Simmons was better yet, finishing 2nd in batting (.374) and slugging (.674), leading the league in RBI (149), tied for third in triples (21, Gardner and Goslin led the league with 22) and in the top 10 in runs, OBP, runs, hits, and home runs. Any other year, Simmons would have been the winner.
But this season George Sisler hit .434. Now, I know there's some amount of disbelief that needs to be suspended here. And I know there's no way in the world Sisler hits .434 against the competition he had. Nobody has ever hit .434 for real even facing awful teams. But there it is- he hit .434 and given that and his other statistics (4th in slugging, 1st in OBP, leading in hits, top 10 in runs, RBI, and stolen bases), and that he led in VORP by 20 runs I don't see any rational way to deny he had the best season of anyone. Cleveland fans may argue, but I think the logic is irrefutable. So congratulations to the Browns fans!
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Cy Young Awards
Naturally, statistics are kept in the Cloverland Leagues. And naturally, awards are given. However, I get the only vote. :) I actually went to the trouble of determining VORP for all the players, and rely pretty heavily on that statistic, though I'm willing to use other info as appropriate. The Cy Young awards for the Cloverland Leagues this season have two relatively obvious winners.
AL: Lefty Grove. While the Philadelphia Athletics had a disappointing season (under .500 and tied for last in the AL Classic Division) Grove provided a bright spot, leading the league in wins (22), ERA (2.40), and shutouts (6, tied with the Yankees' Red Ruffing) while coming in second in strikouts and leading Philadelphia in saves. Baltimore's Jim Palmer was quite close, also winning 20 games with a better winning percentage and more quality starts, along with pitching in a pennant race, but Grove's across the board excellence gained him the nod.
NL: Ed Reulbach. Unlike Grove, Reulbach did not lead a lot of categories-- Kid Nichols (among others) had many more starts and unsuprisingly racked up the counting stats (Nichols led the league with 27, Don Sutton led the league in strikeouts). Reulbach did, however, run away with the ERA crown, finishing with 1.41 in 243 innings, nearly 2 runs better than the league average. He also finished second in shutouts (6, Mordecai Brown led the league with 8) and held opponents to a .164 batting average, way below the league average of .243 and by far the best for pitchers over 100 innings let alone over 200 innings. He held opponents to an average of 5 hits per game and allowed an astonishing 0.04 home runs per game, the league leader by a factor of 5. He pitched 6 two-hitters and a 1-hitter, single-handedly accounting for half of the Cubs number of two-hitters or better. Although not taken into account for these purposes, Reulbach continued to excel in the postseason, finishing 5-0 with 5 quality starts in 5 tries and an ERA of 0.63 as the Cubs almost won the Series. There was no particularly strong competition for this award, Brown was second in VORP but was only the second-best pitcher on the Cubs...
AL: Lefty Grove. While the Philadelphia Athletics had a disappointing season (under .500 and tied for last in the AL Classic Division) Grove provided a bright spot, leading the league in wins (22), ERA (2.40), and shutouts (6, tied with the Yankees' Red Ruffing) while coming in second in strikouts and leading Philadelphia in saves. Baltimore's Jim Palmer was quite close, also winning 20 games with a better winning percentage and more quality starts, along with pitching in a pennant race, but Grove's across the board excellence gained him the nod.
NL: Ed Reulbach. Unlike Grove, Reulbach did not lead a lot of categories-- Kid Nichols (among others) had many more starts and unsuprisingly racked up the counting stats (Nichols led the league with 27, Don Sutton led the league in strikeouts). Reulbach did, however, run away with the ERA crown, finishing with 1.41 in 243 innings, nearly 2 runs better than the league average. He also finished second in shutouts (6, Mordecai Brown led the league with 8) and held opponents to a .164 batting average, way below the league average of .243 and by far the best for pitchers over 100 innings let alone over 200 innings. He held opponents to an average of 5 hits per game and allowed an astonishing 0.04 home runs per game, the league leader by a factor of 5. He pitched 6 two-hitters and a 1-hitter, single-handedly accounting for half of the Cubs number of two-hitters or better. Although not taken into account for these purposes, Reulbach continued to excel in the postseason, finishing 5-0 with 5 quality starts in 5 tries and an ERA of 0.63 as the Cubs almost won the Series. There was no particularly strong competition for this award, Brown was second in VORP but was only the second-best pitcher on the Cubs...
Sunday, January 20, 2008
One curse ended/One curse continued: Game 7
Cleveland! Chicago! Game 7!
Two of the greatest teams in baseball history face off to determine the winner of the Cloverland League championship. Neither won the World Series in reality, each franchise represents the longest championship drought in their league.
Taking the hill for the Indians was El Presidente, Dennis Martinez, while the Cubs countered with Jack Pfiester. The Jake was packed and raucous as "Hometown Hero" Bob Feller, a member of the 1948 champion Indians, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Hall of Famer Earl Averill.
As has been the pattern through the series, the pitchers worked quickly through the first three innings. The Cubs broke through in the top of the 4th as the Peerless Leader, Frank Chance, manufactured a run on a single and stolen base, moving to third on a ground out and scoring on another ground out.
Pfiester looked like he would make that run count, retiring Cleveland without a run through the 5th. The sixth inning began with trouble, as Tony Peña doubled. The next three batters all hit the ball hard, climaxed by Carlos Baerga's clout to deep left, but all went at fielders save Baerga's (on which Slagle made a brilliant play, stealing a homer). Pfiester escaped the 6th with a 1-0 lead, but perhaps the Indians were catching up with him? The answer came after Martinez pitched a scoreless 7th.
AL MVP candidate Albert Belle had been having a pretty quiet series, but led off the 7th with a double. Jim Thome, whose series had been even more quiet, followed that up with an RBI double, and as quickly as that the Cubs lead was gone. After a strike out of Eddie Murray, and an intentional walk to the ubiquitous Manny Ramirez, pinch hitter Herbert Perry hit a comebacker to Pfiester that was just too slow to be a double play, extending the inning. Pinch hitter Sandy Alomar took advantage, singling to center and scoring Thome. 2-1 Cleveland. Carl Lundgren ended the inning without further damage, but Chicago, 6 outs away from winning the championship, was now 6 outs away from losing it.
Dennis Martinez gave way in the 8th after allowing only three hits and the one run to the Cubs. Assenmacher and Plunk shut down Chicago in the top of the 8th, the rapidly-heating Thome added an insurance run in the form of a homer off of Lundgren.
The Cleveland crowd went wild as Jose Mesa took the mound in search of his third save, to close out the Series. Unfortunately for them, this was Jose Mesa. Sheckard led off with a single and took second on fielder's indifference. With one out Chance walked, now representing the tying run with Steinfeldt and Schulte coming up. Mesa bore down, however and retired both, Schulte's popup to Baerga sealing the deal and making the 1995 Cleveland Indians the champions of the Cloverland League's Third Season.
Two of the greatest teams in baseball history face off to determine the winner of the Cloverland League championship. Neither won the World Series in reality, each franchise represents the longest championship drought in their league.
Taking the hill for the Indians was El Presidente, Dennis Martinez, while the Cubs countered with Jack Pfiester. The Jake was packed and raucous as "Hometown Hero" Bob Feller, a member of the 1948 champion Indians, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Hall of Famer Earl Averill.
As has been the pattern through the series, the pitchers worked quickly through the first three innings. The Cubs broke through in the top of the 4th as the Peerless Leader, Frank Chance, manufactured a run on a single and stolen base, moving to third on a ground out and scoring on another ground out.
Pfiester looked like he would make that run count, retiring Cleveland without a run through the 5th. The sixth inning began with trouble, as Tony Peña doubled. The next three batters all hit the ball hard, climaxed by Carlos Baerga's clout to deep left, but all went at fielders save Baerga's (on which Slagle made a brilliant play, stealing a homer). Pfiester escaped the 6th with a 1-0 lead, but perhaps the Indians were catching up with him? The answer came after Martinez pitched a scoreless 7th.
AL MVP candidate Albert Belle had been having a pretty quiet series, but led off the 7th with a double. Jim Thome, whose series had been even more quiet, followed that up with an RBI double, and as quickly as that the Cubs lead was gone. After a strike out of Eddie Murray, and an intentional walk to the ubiquitous Manny Ramirez, pinch hitter Herbert Perry hit a comebacker to Pfiester that was just too slow to be a double play, extending the inning. Pinch hitter Sandy Alomar took advantage, singling to center and scoring Thome. 2-1 Cleveland. Carl Lundgren ended the inning without further damage, but Chicago, 6 outs away from winning the championship, was now 6 outs away from losing it.
Dennis Martinez gave way in the 8th after allowing only three hits and the one run to the Cubs. Assenmacher and Plunk shut down Chicago in the top of the 8th, the rapidly-heating Thome added an insurance run in the form of a homer off of Lundgren.
The Cleveland crowd went wild as Jose Mesa took the mound in search of his third save, to close out the Series. Unfortunately for them, this was Jose Mesa. Sheckard led off with a single and took second on fielder's indifference. With one out Chance walked, now representing the tying run with Steinfeldt and Schulte coming up. Mesa bore down, however and retired both, Schulte's popup to Baerga sealing the deal and making the 1995 Cleveland Indians the champions of the Cloverland League's Third Season.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Championship Series, Game 6
The action switched back to Cleveland for Game 6. As expected, Ed Reulbach got the call for the Cubs in this must-win situation. The Indians opted to hold Dennis Martinez for Game 7 and trust in Charles Nagy to try and bring the Cloverland League championship to the Forest City.
The game was a taut one through 5. Chicago scratched out a run in the 2nd on a single by Johnny Kling (who took 2nd on a misplay by Manny Ramirez), a sacrifice by Frank Schulte, and a bloop single by Johnny Evers. The Indians threatened in the bottom of the inning, putting men on 2nd and 3rd with one out before Ramirez grounded hard to Tinker and Sorrento ended the inning with a strikeout.
Nagy ran into more trouble in the 6th, walking Steinfeldt to open the inning, who came around to score on a single by Schulte after a fielder's choice. Nagy again escaped without further damage thanks to yet another baserunner kill by Manny, who nailed Schulte at the plate after a single by Slagle to end the inning.
Nagy gave way to Alan Embree in the 7th, and Embree made the Indians' job much harder by walking the two men he faced, loading the bases. Julian Tavarez made matters that much worse by hitting Chance to drive in a run, giving up a single to Steinfeldt, and walking Kling before giving way himself to Assenmacher. One fielder's choice and one double play later, Cleveland had escaped, but with a 6-0 deficit.
Overall entered in the 8th and kept Cleveland down as the Cubs added another run off of Ken Hill in the 9th. In the end, Chicago held the Indians to 4 hits, setting up a climactic Game 7!
Carl Lundgren is slated to start for Chicago, Dennis Martinez for Cleveland. There was some speculation that Reulbach was lifted to allow him to pitch in relief in Game 7, but he's not likely to be available unless the Cubs have run out of pitchers.
The game was a taut one through 5. Chicago scratched out a run in the 2nd on a single by Johnny Kling (who took 2nd on a misplay by Manny Ramirez), a sacrifice by Frank Schulte, and a bloop single by Johnny Evers. The Indians threatened in the bottom of the inning, putting men on 2nd and 3rd with one out before Ramirez grounded hard to Tinker and Sorrento ended the inning with a strikeout.
Nagy ran into more trouble in the 6th, walking Steinfeldt to open the inning, who came around to score on a single by Schulte after a fielder's choice. Nagy again escaped without further damage thanks to yet another baserunner kill by Manny, who nailed Schulte at the plate after a single by Slagle to end the inning.
Nagy gave way to Alan Embree in the 7th, and Embree made the Indians' job much harder by walking the two men he faced, loading the bases. Julian Tavarez made matters that much worse by hitting Chance to drive in a run, giving up a single to Steinfeldt, and walking Kling before giving way himself to Assenmacher. One fielder's choice and one double play later, Cleveland had escaped, but with a 6-0 deficit.
Overall entered in the 8th and kept Cleveland down as the Cubs added another run off of Ken Hill in the 9th. In the end, Chicago held the Indians to 4 hits, setting up a climactic Game 7!
Carl Lundgren is slated to start for Chicago, Dennis Martinez for Cleveland. There was some speculation that Reulbach was lifted to allow him to pitch in relief in Game 7, but he's not likely to be available unless the Cubs have run out of pitchers.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Championship Series, Game 5
Rain! And more rain! The weather forced the cancellation of Game 5 in Chicago, and didn't allow a resumption the next day, either. Since there are no double-headers in post-season baseball, everything got forced a day later, screwing up everyone's travel and hotel reservations. Luckily, this is just a simulation. :)
It does, however, allow games to be played with the rotations. This will probably be seen for Game 6, but the best strategy will clearly depend on the situation after Game 5...
And this is a post about Game 5, though there's no evidence for that yet...
Knotted at two games a piece, the Cubs sent Miner Brown to the mound. While he was among the NL leaders in ERA during the season, his post-season has been less stellar: an ERA of 3.76 entering Game 5, with a 1-1 record. Since the Cubs have only been scoring 2.3 runs per game, this is not so good... The Indians countered with Orel Hershiser, whose postseason ERA of 1.19 augured much better results, or so the Cleveland fans hoped.
Chicago manufactured a run in the 2nd as the light-hitting Evers singled, stole 2nd, and scored on a single by the even lighter-hitting Slagle. The Cubs threatened to add more as Slagle stole 2nd and went to 3rd as Alomar's throw went into center field, but Hershiser ended the threat on Tinker's popout. Orel settled down thereafter, only allowing one more hit before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the 7th.
To that point, Brown had been throwing a gem, shutting down the Cleveland offense. With Manny Ramirez on first after a walk, Eddie Murray doubled for Hershiser. Brown bore down, inducing a grounder from Kenny Lofton. Ramirez, going with contact, was gunned down at the plate by Tinker. Could the Cubbies escape?
Omar Vizquel said no. His single scored Wayne Kirby, running for Murray. Carlos Baerga followed with a double, putting the Indians up 3-1. Tempting fate, or perhaps addled, the Cubs challenged Albert Belle rather than walking him with first base open. Luckily for Chicago, Belle could not capitalize.
The Cubs tried to come back in the 8th, but aggressive baserunning did them in. Fred Schulte reached first on a dropped popup by Alomar, who then airmailed yet another throw into the outfield as Schulte stole 2nd. This time, however, Manny Ramirez' alert backup (those words have never been written before) caught Schulte trying to take the extra base.
So it came to the 9th and Jose Mesa, who promptly allowed a single to Frank Chance. After a Steinfeld popout, and Chance taking 2nd on fielder's indifference, Johnny Kling's single closed the score to 3-2. Cleveland took control thereafter, however, as Alomar finally caught a runner at 2nd and Mesa retired Evers. The Indians are one win away.
Game 6 will be back at Jacobs Field. The Cubs will pretty clearly have to start Reulbach in an attempt to keep their season alive. Cleveland, by contrast, will likely keep Dennis Martinez for a possible Game 7. It's likely Nagy will get the start in recognition of his yeoman work in the post-season so far.
It does, however, allow games to be played with the rotations. This will probably be seen for Game 6, but the best strategy will clearly depend on the situation after Game 5...
And this is a post about Game 5, though there's no evidence for that yet...
Knotted at two games a piece, the Cubs sent Miner Brown to the mound. While he was among the NL leaders in ERA during the season, his post-season has been less stellar: an ERA of 3.76 entering Game 5, with a 1-1 record. Since the Cubs have only been scoring 2.3 runs per game, this is not so good... The Indians countered with Orel Hershiser, whose postseason ERA of 1.19 augured much better results, or so the Cleveland fans hoped.
Chicago manufactured a run in the 2nd as the light-hitting Evers singled, stole 2nd, and scored on a single by the even lighter-hitting Slagle. The Cubs threatened to add more as Slagle stole 2nd and went to 3rd as Alomar's throw went into center field, but Hershiser ended the threat on Tinker's popout. Orel settled down thereafter, only allowing one more hit before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the 7th.
To that point, Brown had been throwing a gem, shutting down the Cleveland offense. With Manny Ramirez on first after a walk, Eddie Murray doubled for Hershiser. Brown bore down, inducing a grounder from Kenny Lofton. Ramirez, going with contact, was gunned down at the plate by Tinker. Could the Cubbies escape?
Omar Vizquel said no. His single scored Wayne Kirby, running for Murray. Carlos Baerga followed with a double, putting the Indians up 3-1. Tempting fate, or perhaps addled, the Cubs challenged Albert Belle rather than walking him with first base open. Luckily for Chicago, Belle could not capitalize.
The Cubs tried to come back in the 8th, but aggressive baserunning did them in. Fred Schulte reached first on a dropped popup by Alomar, who then airmailed yet another throw into the outfield as Schulte stole 2nd. This time, however, Manny Ramirez' alert backup (those words have never been written before) caught Schulte trying to take the extra base.
So it came to the 9th and Jose Mesa, who promptly allowed a single to Frank Chance. After a Steinfeld popout, and Chance taking 2nd on fielder's indifference, Johnny Kling's single closed the score to 3-2. Cleveland took control thereafter, however, as Alomar finally caught a runner at 2nd and Mesa retired Evers. The Indians are one win away.
Game 6 will be back at Jacobs Field. The Cubs will pretty clearly have to start Reulbach in an attempt to keep their season alive. Cleveland, by contrast, will likely keep Dennis Martinez for a possible Game 7. It's likely Nagy will get the start in recognition of his yeoman work in the post-season so far.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Championship Series, Game 4
A fine autumn day in Chicago found another capacity crowd on hand for the Series. Down 2 games to 1, the Cubs put their trust in the right arm of Ed Reulbach, while the Indians countered with El Presidente, Dennis Martinez.
A triple by Frank Schulte and a sacrifice fly by Frank Chance put Chicago on the board in the bottom of the 1st inning. Martinez struck out Steinfeldt to escape further damage. In the 3rd, Wildfire struck again with another triple, driving in Sheckard. Chance drove him in again on a triple of his own, giving the Cubs a 3-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Reulbach was pitching in a way that would make even a 1-0 game insurmountable, and showing why he's one of the favorites to win the Cy Young award. Ed threw 4 innings of no-hit ball before Albert Belle doubled (and had the Indians' only extra-base hit), and was never particularly close to trouble. He was not dominant, striking out only 2, but Cleveland was unable to hit the ball with any authority.
Martinez gave way to Albie Lopez, making his first appearance since the epic ALCS finale, and finally Julian Tavarez. Both prevented further damage, though an errant pitch from Tavarez hit Chance in the 8th, knocking him out of the game. Chance is day to day.
In the end, Ruelbach made it look easy, getting the complete-game shutout and lowering his post-season ERA to 0.75 while improving his record to 4-0. With the win for Chicago, they even the series at 2 games a piece. The weather in Chicago looks iffy for Game 5, though of course the league offices will try and get the game in.... :)
A triple by Frank Schulte and a sacrifice fly by Frank Chance put Chicago on the board in the bottom of the 1st inning. Martinez struck out Steinfeldt to escape further damage. In the 3rd, Wildfire struck again with another triple, driving in Sheckard. Chance drove him in again on a triple of his own, giving the Cubs a 3-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Reulbach was pitching in a way that would make even a 1-0 game insurmountable, and showing why he's one of the favorites to win the Cy Young award. Ed threw 4 innings of no-hit ball before Albert Belle doubled (and had the Indians' only extra-base hit), and was never particularly close to trouble. He was not dominant, striking out only 2, but Cleveland was unable to hit the ball with any authority.
Martinez gave way to Albie Lopez, making his first appearance since the epic ALCS finale, and finally Julian Tavarez. Both prevented further damage, though an errant pitch from Tavarez hit Chance in the 8th, knocking him out of the game. Chance is day to day.
In the end, Ruelbach made it look easy, getting the complete-game shutout and lowering his post-season ERA to 0.75 while improving his record to 4-0. With the win for Chicago, they even the series at 2 games a piece. The weather in Chicago looks iffy for Game 5, though of course the league offices will try and get the game in.... :)
Monday, October 29, 2007
Season 4 Expansion Teams:AL
The expansion teams for the American League are somewhat less distinguished than their NL equivalents. In constrast to the NL teams, all of which won at least the pennant save the 100-win Diamondbacks, only one of the AL teams even made the postseason, with one not even actually ever playing any major league games...
1982 Milwaukee Brewers: Pretty much a toss-up between this team and the 1992 team, which consistently finished at or near the top of the qualification leagues by beating up on lesser Brewer teams. I finally played a 1600 game season between these two teams, which Harvey's Wallbangers won by a handful of games. On that basis, plus the relative merits of Yount, Molitor, Simmons, Fingers, Cooper, and Thomas vs. Yount, Molitor... um... Listach? Vaughn? It was an easy call. This team will probably get slaughtered when the season rolls around, but I don't think it'll be worse than the 1992 team would have done. Besides, the 1982 team won the pennant.
1969 Washington Senators: This team did not win the pennant. They finished 4th, a distant 23 games back. However, they did win 86 games, the only time this franchise was over .500 during their tenure in the District. Frank Howard was the big star, Ted Williams the manager. The Senators regressed the following year, and were in Texas shortly thereafter. I expect these guys to get slaughtered as well.
1958 Kansas City Athletics: Slaughter, that's where this team is going to be a Viking. Seventh place in real life, witha .474 winning percentage. But they're the best of the Kansas City A's franchise, and that franchise had a 13-year lifetime, plenty long enough to deserve representation. This is something of an experiment, just to see how such a team would do. They might be replaced in Season 5 with a KC A's all-star squad, but that's looking pretty far ahead. Bob Cerv was the big hitter for this team, which I suppose did finish closer to first place in terms of games behind than the Senators above did.
1937 Santo Domingo Dragons: This is the first team in the Cloverland Leagues that is... nontraditional, shall we say? This is based on a real-life Negro League all-star team that played in the Dominican Republic in a league organized by Trujillo. I'm not sure quite how this'll all work out- the players were grabbed from other teams (in the game sense, I mean, though in real life too), and they might be normalized oddly. But this is a game, I guess, so we'll just give it a shot. I suppose they might do extremely well, but I'd bet they'll be first-division but out of the playoffs. I guess it'll depend on what division they're in. If I go with chronologically-based
divisions, they'd probably end up with the '39 Yankees, '40 Tigers and '30 Athletics? Or the '58 A's? Potentially a very tough division, regardless. But with Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Cool Papa Bell, the upside is very high...
The Dragons are the team that would likely be punted if things change, though it'll depend on the change. If the Brewers have an amazing season in 2008, the '82 team might drop out and a putative '08 team show up in the NL. I'm debating whether the would-be Fremont A's will count as separate from the Oakland version. It may depend heavily on what they call themselves. This expansion will leave only the Devil Rays as an unrepresented long-term team. A good season from them in '08 might put them in Season 4. Or it might lead me to wait, in anticipation of a better Rays team by the time of Season 5...
1982 Milwaukee Brewers: Pretty much a toss-up between this team and the 1992 team, which consistently finished at or near the top of the qualification leagues by beating up on lesser Brewer teams. I finally played a 1600 game season between these two teams, which Harvey's Wallbangers won by a handful of games. On that basis, plus the relative merits of Yount, Molitor, Simmons, Fingers, Cooper, and Thomas vs. Yount, Molitor... um... Listach? Vaughn? It was an easy call. This team will probably get slaughtered when the season rolls around, but I don't think it'll be worse than the 1992 team would have done. Besides, the 1982 team won the pennant.
1969 Washington Senators: This team did not win the pennant. They finished 4th, a distant 23 games back. However, they did win 86 games, the only time this franchise was over .500 during their tenure in the District. Frank Howard was the big star, Ted Williams the manager. The Senators regressed the following year, and were in Texas shortly thereafter. I expect these guys to get slaughtered as well.
1958 Kansas City Athletics: Slaughter, that's where this team is going to be a Viking. Seventh place in real life, witha .474 winning percentage. But they're the best of the Kansas City A's franchise, and that franchise had a 13-year lifetime, plenty long enough to deserve representation. This is something of an experiment, just to see how such a team would do. They might be replaced in Season 5 with a KC A's all-star squad, but that's looking pretty far ahead. Bob Cerv was the big hitter for this team, which I suppose did finish closer to first place in terms of games behind than the Senators above did.
1937 Santo Domingo Dragons: This is the first team in the Cloverland Leagues that is... nontraditional, shall we say? This is based on a real-life Negro League all-star team that played in the Dominican Republic in a league organized by Trujillo. I'm not sure quite how this'll all work out- the players were grabbed from other teams (in the game sense, I mean, though in real life too), and they might be normalized oddly. But this is a game, I guess, so we'll just give it a shot. I suppose they might do extremely well, but I'd bet they'll be first-division but out of the playoffs. I guess it'll depend on what division they're in. If I go with chronologically-based
divisions, they'd probably end up with the '39 Yankees, '40 Tigers and '30 Athletics? Or the '58 A's? Potentially a very tough division, regardless. But with Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Cool Papa Bell, the upside is very high...
The Dragons are the team that would likely be punted if things change, though it'll depend on the change. If the Brewers have an amazing season in 2008, the '82 team might drop out and a putative '08 team show up in the NL. I'm debating whether the would-be Fremont A's will count as separate from the Oakland version. It may depend heavily on what they call themselves. This expansion will leave only the Devil Rays as an unrepresented long-term team. A good season from them in '08 might put them in Season 4. Or it might lead me to wait, in anticipation of a better Rays team by the time of Season 5...
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Championship Series, Game 3
The action shifts to West Side Park in Chicago for Game 3 of the Series. Ron Santo was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch after a brief rain delay, and the Old Styles were flowing. Knotted at a game a piece, the question remains as to which of these star-crossed franchises would provide this year's championship team.
Jack Pfiester took the hill for the Cubs, while Cleveland sent Charles Nagy to the mound, a move precipitated by the loss of Claude Ogea to injury during the ALCS. Indians fans prepared for the worst, as Nagy's regular season record did not give much cause for optimism (11-13, 4.67).
Cleveland struck first in the top of the 2nd as Manny Ramirez (there he is again) singled, moved to second on a fielder's choice, and scored on a throwing error by Joe Tinker. Pfiester bore down after that, but Nagy was pitching the game of his life, throwing 6 2-hit, shutout innings against the National League champions before being lifted for a pinch hitter. In the 8th, Albert Belle hit his first home run of the postseason, giving Cleveland a bit more breathing room.
They would need that breathing room. Chicago threatened against Poole in the 8th, putting two on by a walk to Slagle and a double by Tinker with one out before Solly Hoffman pinch hit for Pfiester. Hoffman sent the ball in the air to right, deep but not quite deep enough as Belle gave the Indians another baserunner kill to end the Cubs threat (and put the West Side Grounds into a stupor). In the 9th, Jose Mesa came on and got two quick outs before a single and miscue by Belle put Frank Chance on 2nd. Steinfeldt's single put the score at 2-1 with Cubs slugger Kling at bat, but Mesa managed to strike him out for the win.
The win put Cleveland up 2 games to 1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 will feature a rematch of Game 1's starters-- Ruelbach vs. Martinez.
Jack Pfiester took the hill for the Cubs, while Cleveland sent Charles Nagy to the mound, a move precipitated by the loss of Claude Ogea to injury during the ALCS. Indians fans prepared for the worst, as Nagy's regular season record did not give much cause for optimism (11-13, 4.67).
Cleveland struck first in the top of the 2nd as Manny Ramirez (there he is again) singled, moved to second on a fielder's choice, and scored on a throwing error by Joe Tinker. Pfiester bore down after that, but Nagy was pitching the game of his life, throwing 6 2-hit, shutout innings against the National League champions before being lifted for a pinch hitter. In the 8th, Albert Belle hit his first home run of the postseason, giving Cleveland a bit more breathing room.
They would need that breathing room. Chicago threatened against Poole in the 8th, putting two on by a walk to Slagle and a double by Tinker with one out before Solly Hoffman pinch hit for Pfiester. Hoffman sent the ball in the air to right, deep but not quite deep enough as Belle gave the Indians another baserunner kill to end the Cubs threat (and put the West Side Grounds into a stupor). In the 9th, Jose Mesa came on and got two quick outs before a single and miscue by Belle put Frank Chance on 2nd. Steinfeldt's single put the score at 2-1 with Cubs slugger Kling at bat, but Mesa managed to strike him out for the win.
The win put Cleveland up 2 games to 1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 will feature a rematch of Game 1's starters-- Ruelbach vs. Martinez.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Season 4 Expansion Teams:NL
Looking ahead to next season (whenever that will be-- sometime in 2008?), each league will add 4 more teams. I'll probably go with four divisions per league of five teams each, with two rounds of playoffs, but I haven't ruled out five divisions of four teams each, with a wild card and an extra round of playoffs.
The franchises represented here were relatively obvious teams to add. The specific teams were decided in the "usual" way, having all the candidates play one another in a qualification league. Still, one very team snuck in here at the end...
2007 Rockies: Before this month, it was looking like the 2000 team would be Colorado's entry. Though they finished a pretty mediocre 4th, they had the best run differential of any Rockies team. Happily, the current team came along, and in a head-to-head set of ~40 games they handily dispatched the 2000 entry. You know all about these guys. I don't know that they've got much of a chance (depending on the division they're in, I guess), but they're certainly not an embarrassment by any means.
1997 Marlins: World Series winners. They and the 2003 team were really the only competition for the Florida slot, and this team pulled it out. I wasn't a fan of either team, but I guess less Josh Beckett in the Cloverland Leagues is fine with me.
1999 Diamondbacks: Again, a happy acccident that Curt Schilling isn't around, though he's on the 1993 Phillies already. The 1999 team, only the second year for Arizona, stormed to their best record in the desert with over 100 wins (and even more expected). They lost in the playoffs but Randy Johnson had a great year. This is one of only two teams in the league that I've seen in person, the other being the 1986 Mets...
1896 Orioles: One of the most famous 19th century teams, and perhaps the only team in this group with a chance to win it all. They were the rivals of the Beaneaters, and are likely to end up in a killer division with Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and the New York Giants. Often considered the greatest team of all time (pre-1927 Yankees), this team was the last to bring a championship to Baltimore for 70 years.
Barring something crazy, these should be the teams added. There only a few other possibilities: the 1895 Cleveland Spiders, though the teams already present above trump them. If the Washington Nationals have an amazing season, they could displace somebody (Baltimore?). An amazing Milwaukee Brewers season could also do it, though that would cause issues for the American League... Finally, any moves on the part of the Marlins followed by an excellent season could cause their entrance, though all of these possibilities require me to be pretty pokey in getting things underway. Of course, that's a serious possibility...
The franchises represented here were relatively obvious teams to add. The specific teams were decided in the "usual" way, having all the candidates play one another in a qualification league. Still, one very team snuck in here at the end...
2007 Rockies: Before this month, it was looking like the 2000 team would be Colorado's entry. Though they finished a pretty mediocre 4th, they had the best run differential of any Rockies team. Happily, the current team came along, and in a head-to-head set of ~40 games they handily dispatched the 2000 entry. You know all about these guys. I don't know that they've got much of a chance (depending on the division they're in, I guess), but they're certainly not an embarrassment by any means.
1997 Marlins: World Series winners. They and the 2003 team were really the only competition for the Florida slot, and this team pulled it out. I wasn't a fan of either team, but I guess less Josh Beckett in the Cloverland Leagues is fine with me.
1999 Diamondbacks: Again, a happy acccident that Curt Schilling isn't around, though he's on the 1993 Phillies already. The 1999 team, only the second year for Arizona, stormed to their best record in the desert with over 100 wins (and even more expected). They lost in the playoffs but Randy Johnson had a great year. This is one of only two teams in the league that I've seen in person, the other being the 1986 Mets...
1896 Orioles: One of the most famous 19th century teams, and perhaps the only team in this group with a chance to win it all. They were the rivals of the Beaneaters, and are likely to end up in a killer division with Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and the New York Giants. Often considered the greatest team of all time (pre-1927 Yankees), this team was the last to bring a championship to Baltimore for 70 years.
Barring something crazy, these should be the teams added. There only a few other possibilities: the 1895 Cleveland Spiders, though the teams already present above trump them. If the Washington Nationals have an amazing season, they could displace somebody (Baltimore?). An amazing Milwaukee Brewers season could also do it, though that would cause issues for the American League... Finally, any moves on the part of the Marlins followed by an excellent season could cause their entrance, though all of these possibilities require me to be pretty pokey in getting things underway. Of course, that's a serious possibility...
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Championship Series, Game 2
Cleveland faced a must-win situation in Game 2-- after dropping the first game, they desperately did not want to travel to Chicago down 0-2. They turned to Orel Hershiser to try and hold the line, while the Cubs handed the ball to Miner Brown.
I suppose this is as good a place as any to note that if it's the Indians and Cubs in the 2007 World Series, I called it here (much as I'd rather see the Yankees, of course...). [note added later- I'm clearly wrong, though unhappily not because the Yankees made it...]
For the ceremonial first pitch, the Indians recognized their first world champions and honored Tris Speaker, manager of the 1920 team (which represented the franchise during Season 1 of the Cloverland Leagues).
Cleveland was able to score relatively quickly off of Brown, striking in the 2nd on singles by Eddie Murray and Paul Sorrento, followed up by an RBI double by the ubiquitous Manny Ramirez. The Cubs escaped the 2nd and 3rd, no outs situation without further damage, but the stage was set. The Indians scored again in the 5th on a double by Alvaro Espinoza and a triple by Kenny Lofton. A walk, a double, and a hit batsman led to another run for Cleveland and Brown's replacement by Carl Lundgren. After another walk and another hit batsman, Cleveland's lead had swollen to 4-0.
Meanwhile, Hershiser was rolling. Orel finished with 8 shutout innings and only allowed 2 hits. Jose Mesa finished with a 9th that was perhaps more dramatic than necessary, but in the end maintained the shutout. Jimmy Sheckard had 2 of Chicago's three hits. Cleveland knotted the series at 1 game a piece as action shifted to Chicago. Game 3 will feature Charles Nagy vs. Jack Pfiester.
I suppose this is as good a place as any to note that if it's the Indians and Cubs in the 2007 World Series, I called it here (much as I'd rather see the Yankees, of course...). [note added later- I'm clearly wrong, though unhappily not because the Yankees made it...]
For the ceremonial first pitch, the Indians recognized their first world champions and honored Tris Speaker, manager of the 1920 team (which represented the franchise during Season 1 of the Cloverland Leagues).
Cleveland was able to score relatively quickly off of Brown, striking in the 2nd on singles by Eddie Murray and Paul Sorrento, followed up by an RBI double by the ubiquitous Manny Ramirez. The Cubs escaped the 2nd and 3rd, no outs situation without further damage, but the stage was set. The Indians scored again in the 5th on a double by Alvaro Espinoza and a triple by Kenny Lofton. A walk, a double, and a hit batsman led to another run for Cleveland and Brown's replacement by Carl Lundgren. After another walk and another hit batsman, Cleveland's lead had swollen to 4-0.
Meanwhile, Hershiser was rolling. Orel finished with 8 shutout innings and only allowed 2 hits. Jose Mesa finished with a 9th that was perhaps more dramatic than necessary, but in the end maintained the shutout. Jimmy Sheckard had 2 of Chicago's three hits. Cleveland knotted the series at 1 game a piece as action shifted to Chicago. Game 3 will feature Charles Nagy vs. Jack Pfiester.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Championship Series, Game 1
The Series!
A capacity crowd welcomed their pennant-winning Indians home, hoping they could do what they could not do in 1995: win it all. Larry Doby threw out the ceremonial first pitch for Cleveland, and with that, the game was underway.
Game 1 pitted Dennis Martinez for the Indians vs. Ed Ruelbach for the Chicago Cubs. Ruelbach was the MVP for Chicago in the NLCS, who had a long layoff waiting for the end of the Yankees-Indians series.
Despite the difference in preparation, the two pitchers matched each other through five scoreless innings. Martinez worked in and out of trouble, loading the bases in the 1st before being saved by a Johnny Kling double play grounder. Ruelbach only allowed on base hit in five innings, but had control problems that led him to walk a few and take advantage of two double plays behind him.
In the 6th, Chicago broke through against El Presidente. A single by Steinfeld was followed by an RBI double by Kling, who scored on an infield single by Evers, following a sacrifice by Schulte. Cleveland came right back in the bottom of the inning, as a two out double by Baerga plated Kenny Lofton (ending Ruelbach's shutout streak at 22 2/3 innings), and Albert Belle drove Baerga in immediately after. Eddie Murray had a chance to break the game open after Ruelbach hit Thome (who is expected to miss 2-3 games), but he flied out to center, preserving the tie.
Martinez got in to further trouble in the 8th, putting runners on 1st and 3rd via a Steinfeld walk and a Kling single. Paul Assenmacher was called in from the pen to try and hold the Cubs down, but immediately gave up an RBI single to Wildfire Schulte. Assenmacher shut down Chicago afterward, but the damage was done. Ruelbach shut down the Indians the rest of the way, finishing the game with a strikeout of ALCS MVP Ramirez.
Cleveland hopes to even up the series in Game 2, pitting Orel Hershiser against Mordecai Brown, again in Cleveland.
A capacity crowd welcomed their pennant-winning Indians home, hoping they could do what they could not do in 1995: win it all. Larry Doby threw out the ceremonial first pitch for Cleveland, and with that, the game was underway.
Game 1 pitted Dennis Martinez for the Indians vs. Ed Ruelbach for the Chicago Cubs. Ruelbach was the MVP for Chicago in the NLCS, who had a long layoff waiting for the end of the Yankees-Indians series.
Despite the difference in preparation, the two pitchers matched each other through five scoreless innings. Martinez worked in and out of trouble, loading the bases in the 1st before being saved by a Johnny Kling double play grounder. Ruelbach only allowed on base hit in five innings, but had control problems that led him to walk a few and take advantage of two double plays behind him.
In the 6th, Chicago broke through against El Presidente. A single by Steinfeld was followed by an RBI double by Kling, who scored on an infield single by Evers, following a sacrifice by Schulte. Cleveland came right back in the bottom of the inning, as a two out double by Baerga plated Kenny Lofton (ending Ruelbach's shutout streak at 22 2/3 innings), and Albert Belle drove Baerga in immediately after. Eddie Murray had a chance to break the game open after Ruelbach hit Thome (who is expected to miss 2-3 games), but he flied out to center, preserving the tie.
Martinez got in to further trouble in the 8th, putting runners on 1st and 3rd via a Steinfeld walk and a Kling single. Paul Assenmacher was called in from the pen to try and hold the Cubs down, but immediately gave up an RBI single to Wildfire Schulte. Assenmacher shut down Chicago afterward, but the damage was done. Ruelbach shut down the Indians the rest of the way, finishing the game with a strikeout of ALCS MVP Ramirez.
Cleveland hopes to even up the series in Game 2, pitting Orel Hershiser against Mordecai Brown, again in Cleveland.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Series Preview
The championship comes down to one of the oldest teams in the Cloverland Leagues vs. one of the most recent. With 89 years between them, the Cubs and Indians played in very different eras-- Chicago playing in an era of segregated baseball, truly independent minor leagues, daytime games, and a dead ball. Cleveland's team only played a partial season due to a strike, and not only has players of many ethnicities, but also has citizens of several nations. Furthermore, no fewer than 5 Indians outhomered the Cubs team in real life, even in an abbreviated season. In the replay, Albert Belle hit more than three times as many home runs as the Cubs (finishing with an astonishing 62, one more than Babe Ruth's record set the season before).
So, who will win?
Beats me. I picked both of the playoff series incorrectly. If compelled to pick someone, I'll gave to go with Cleveland. Their pitching was good enough to mostly stifle the Yankees, and their hitting is pretty tremendous. Chicago's pitching is, of course, spectacular. But it wouldn't take much to get in a big hole against the Indians.
Having said that, a Cubs win wouldn't shock me. And of course, that's why I play the games...
So, who will win?
Beats me. I picked both of the playoff series incorrectly. If compelled to pick someone, I'll gave to go with Cleveland. Their pitching was good enough to mostly stifle the Yankees, and their hitting is pretty tremendous. Chicago's pitching is, of course, spectacular. But it wouldn't take much to get in a big hole against the Indians.
Having said that, a Cubs win wouldn't shock me. And of course, that's why I play the games...
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Scooter beats the traffic
http://yankees.lohudblogs.com/2007/08/14/breaking-news-phil-rizzuto-passes-away/
Maybe I'll have more to say later. But Phil Rizzuto's announcing is one of the vivid memories of my youth, and one of the real joys that made me a baseball fan, let alone a Yankees fan.
Maybe I'll have more to say later. But Phil Rizzuto's announcing is one of the vivid memories of my youth, and one of the real joys that made me a baseball fan, let alone a Yankees fan.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
ALCS Game 6: A Game for the Ages
I'll cut to the chase: the 1995 Cleveland Indians will be representing the AL in the Cloverland Series against the 1906 Chicago Cubs. Cleveland defeated and eliminated the 1939 New York Yankees in a see-saw Game 6 that went to the 17th inning before it was decided.
The Yankees staked Steve Sundra to a 1-0 lead on a leadoff triple by Red Rolfe and a single by King Kong Keller. Sundra and Charles Nagy, starting in place of injured Chad Ogea, traded zeros until the 4th, when Cleveland broke out for 5 runs, punctuated by a three-run home run by Yankee-killer Manny Ramirez. Facing elimination, Yankee manager McCarthy brought in Marius Russo to try and limit the damage.
New York came back in their next at-bats, scoring three to pull to within 1 of the Indians. Further trouble for Nagy in the 6th brought in Paul Assenmacher from the bullpen, but that did not prevent a Bill Dickey sacrifice fly from scoring Frank Crosetti with the tying run. A parade of further Cleveland relief pitchers worked in and out of trouble, but the Yankees just couldn't plate another run.
Meanwile, Russo worked 5.1 innings of two-hit relief. Oral Hildebrand came on with two on in the 10th and nobody out, and induced a double play from Kenny Lofton to keep the Yankees hope alive. Albie Lopez came in to put down a New York rally in the 13th. Cleveland nearly put the Yankees away in the 15th, but Manny Ramirez was thrown out trying to score on a ground ball to Crosetti.
Leading off the 16th, Keller hit a line shot home run into the right field stands. The still-packed stands fell silent hoping against hope the Indians could respond. Respond they did with one out in the 16th, as Carlos Baerga tied it up with a solo home run. And on to the 17th the game went.
Finally in the 17th, the game reached its climax. Eddie Murray opened the inning with a single, but Hildebrand, in his 8th inning of relief, struck out Ramirez and Paul Sorrento. As Tony Peña stood in, most spectators were probably thinking about the next inning. Peña refocused their attention by smacking a double down the left field line and scoring Murray on a close play at home. As suddenly as that, it was over and Cleveland was going to the Series.
Notes: The Yankees were victims of bad baserunning, both in cases where I had a choice to send or not send runners, and in cases where I had no choice. It's something of a problem with the game itself, though in theory it should even out. But it certainly felt like the Yankees got the short end during this series.
The ALCS MVP, much as it pains me, is Manny Ramirez. He finished with "only" a .286 average, but 2 HR, 7 RBI, and a .667 SLG. Dennis Martinez would be another plausible candidate (2-0, 0.56 ERA), but Manny's performance in Game 6 plus some outfield assists he made (even given the previous point) swung me to give him the vote.
This is the first time the Yankees won't be in the Series. They faced the '06 Cubs in Season 1, and defeated the 1934 Tigers in the playoffs en route to their shocking ouster by the 1897 Beaneaters in Season 2. They also were present in Season 0, the season I did with Strat-O-Matic cards back in the mid-80's, defeating the 1953 Dodgers to win that Series.
The Yankees staked Steve Sundra to a 1-0 lead on a leadoff triple by Red Rolfe and a single by King Kong Keller. Sundra and Charles Nagy, starting in place of injured Chad Ogea, traded zeros until the 4th, when Cleveland broke out for 5 runs, punctuated by a three-run home run by Yankee-killer Manny Ramirez. Facing elimination, Yankee manager McCarthy brought in Marius Russo to try and limit the damage.
New York came back in their next at-bats, scoring three to pull to within 1 of the Indians. Further trouble for Nagy in the 6th brought in Paul Assenmacher from the bullpen, but that did not prevent a Bill Dickey sacrifice fly from scoring Frank Crosetti with the tying run. A parade of further Cleveland relief pitchers worked in and out of trouble, but the Yankees just couldn't plate another run.
Meanwile, Russo worked 5.1 innings of two-hit relief. Oral Hildebrand came on with two on in the 10th and nobody out, and induced a double play from Kenny Lofton to keep the Yankees hope alive. Albie Lopez came in to put down a New York rally in the 13th. Cleveland nearly put the Yankees away in the 15th, but Manny Ramirez was thrown out trying to score on a ground ball to Crosetti.
Leading off the 16th, Keller hit a line shot home run into the right field stands. The still-packed stands fell silent hoping against hope the Indians could respond. Respond they did with one out in the 16th, as Carlos Baerga tied it up with a solo home run. And on to the 17th the game went.
Finally in the 17th, the game reached its climax. Eddie Murray opened the inning with a single, but Hildebrand, in his 8th inning of relief, struck out Ramirez and Paul Sorrento. As Tony Peña stood in, most spectators were probably thinking about the next inning. Peña refocused their attention by smacking a double down the left field line and scoring Murray on a close play at home. As suddenly as that, it was over and Cleveland was going to the Series.
Notes: The Yankees were victims of bad baserunning, both in cases where I had a choice to send or not send runners, and in cases where I had no choice. It's something of a problem with the game itself, though in theory it should even out. But it certainly felt like the Yankees got the short end during this series.
The ALCS MVP, much as it pains me, is Manny Ramirez. He finished with "only" a .286 average, but 2 HR, 7 RBI, and a .667 SLG. Dennis Martinez would be another plausible candidate (2-0, 0.56 ERA), but Manny's performance in Game 6 plus some outfield assists he made (even given the previous point) swung me to give him the vote.
This is the first time the Yankees won't be in the Series. They faced the '06 Cubs in Season 1, and defeated the 1934 Tigers in the playoffs en route to their shocking ouster by the 1897 Beaneaters in Season 2. They also were present in Season 0, the season I did with Strat-O-Matic cards back in the mid-80's, defeating the 1953 Dodgers to win that Series.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
ALCS Game 5: Advantage Cleveland
Yankee fans packed The Stadium to watch what they hope will not be New York's final home game until next season. Knotted at 2 games a piece, Game 5 was an important one for both teams before they headed back to Cleveland for the remainder of the ALCS.
The Indians started in quickly against Red Ruffing, the Yankees starter. A single by Kenny Lofton followed by a hit-and-run double by Omar Vizquel scored the first Cleveland run, Vizquel scoring on two groundouts before Ruffing was able to end the inning. Cleveland struck again in the second on a solo home run by Paul Sorrento. The Yankees started well in the bottom of the inning, with a single by Dickey and double by Gordon to start the inning. A flyout by Twinkeltoes Selkirk was not quite deep enough, as Kenny Lofton's arm passed the test Bill Dickey put it to, cutting him down at home. Orel Hershiser escaped trouble as a result.
Ruffing and Hershiser settled down after that point, giving up only two hits between them after that point. Ruffing gave way to Johnny Murphy in the 9th, but Hershiser was able to shut down the Yanks, finishing with a complete game, three-hit shutout. The teams return to Jacobs Field with Cleveland one win away from meeting the 1906 Cubs for the championship.
Charles Nagy will start for the Indians in Game 6, replacing the injured Chad Ogea (no record in the postseason, 11-13, 4.67 in the regular season). The Yankees counter with Steve Sundra (1-0, 1.00 in the ALCS, 9-3, 3.22 in the regular season).
The Indians started in quickly against Red Ruffing, the Yankees starter. A single by Kenny Lofton followed by a hit-and-run double by Omar Vizquel scored the first Cleveland run, Vizquel scoring on two groundouts before Ruffing was able to end the inning. Cleveland struck again in the second on a solo home run by Paul Sorrento. The Yankees started well in the bottom of the inning, with a single by Dickey and double by Gordon to start the inning. A flyout by Twinkeltoes Selkirk was not quite deep enough, as Kenny Lofton's arm passed the test Bill Dickey put it to, cutting him down at home. Orel Hershiser escaped trouble as a result.
Ruffing and Hershiser settled down after that point, giving up only two hits between them after that point. Ruffing gave way to Johnny Murphy in the 9th, but Hershiser was able to shut down the Yanks, finishing with a complete game, three-hit shutout. The teams return to Jacobs Field with Cleveland one win away from meeting the 1906 Cubs for the championship.
Charles Nagy will start for the Indians in Game 6, replacing the injured Chad Ogea (no record in the postseason, 11-13, 4.67 in the regular season). The Yankees counter with Steve Sundra (1-0, 1.00 in the ALCS, 9-3, 3.22 in the regular season).
Monday, August 06, 2007
NLCS Game 4: Cubs Win The Pennant
The 1906 Chicago Cubs, winners of 116 games in real life, finished a 4 game sweep of the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates and will represent the National League in the Cloverland League Series (for lack of a better term). The win ends the Pirates' wild run, where they edged a crowded NL East field to make the playoffs with a mere 87 wins, a full 10 fewer than the Cubs.
Game 4 featured a strong pitching performance by Ed Reulbach (2-0), who shut down the Pirates with only two hits. Jack Chesbro (0-2) matched Reulbach inning for inning until the 7th, when a single by Harry Steinfeldt and a triple by Johnny Kling put Chicago on the board. Kling was thrown out at the plate trying for an inside the park home run, but the damage was done.
Pittsburgh threatened in the bottom of the 8th, with singles by Leach and Bransfield putting men on 1st and 3rd with nobody out. Jack Sheckard saved at least one run with a running catch of a Paddy O'Connor drive followed by a perfect throw nailing Leach at the plate and deflating the Exposition Park field. For all intents and purposes, the pennant was won right there. The Cubs added an insurance run in the 9th, and with Claude Ritchey's foulout to Kling, the pennant was theirs. The Cubs now wait to see whether they will be visiting Cleveland or New York for game 1 of the Championship Series.
Notes: Ed Reulbach was named MVP of the NLCS, going 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA. The only other competition came from Steinfeldt, who batted .385 with two singles, a double, and two triples in the five games. Other than Steinfeldt, no player batted above .300 in the series. Thanks to four walks, however, Fred Clarke led all players with a .467 OBP. The Cubs batted .217 in the series, but their pitchers held Pittsburgh to an astonishing .126 batting average, averaging less than 4 hits a game.
Game 4 featured a strong pitching performance by Ed Reulbach (2-0), who shut down the Pirates with only two hits. Jack Chesbro (0-2) matched Reulbach inning for inning until the 7th, when a single by Harry Steinfeldt and a triple by Johnny Kling put Chicago on the board. Kling was thrown out at the plate trying for an inside the park home run, but the damage was done.
Pittsburgh threatened in the bottom of the 8th, with singles by Leach and Bransfield putting men on 1st and 3rd with nobody out. Jack Sheckard saved at least one run with a running catch of a Paddy O'Connor drive followed by a perfect throw nailing Leach at the plate and deflating the Exposition Park field. For all intents and purposes, the pennant was won right there. The Cubs added an insurance run in the 9th, and with Claude Ritchey's foulout to Kling, the pennant was theirs. The Cubs now wait to see whether they will be visiting Cleveland or New York for game 1 of the Championship Series.
Notes: Ed Reulbach was named MVP of the NLCS, going 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA. The only other competition came from Steinfeldt, who batted .385 with two singles, a double, and two triples in the five games. Other than Steinfeldt, no player batted above .300 in the series. Thanks to four walks, however, Fred Clarke led all players with a .467 OBP. The Cubs batted .217 in the series, but their pitchers held Pittsburgh to an astonishing .126 batting average, averaging less than 4 hits a game.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
ALCS Game 4
Game 4 found another full house in Yankee Stadium. This game featured a rematch between the Game 1 starters, Bump Hadley for New York and Dennis Martinez for Cleveland. Both teams saw this as an important game, the Yankees hoping to go up 3-1, the Indians hoping to tie up the series.
Hadley, burned for 6 runs in 2 2/3 innings in Game 1, pitched much better in this game. Through three innings he held Cleveland scoreless, with only a single hit. Martinez also denied the Yankees through three, though he worked through jams in the 2nd (Manny Ramirez threw out Selkirk trying to score) and 3rd (with bases loaded and 1 out, New York failed to score). In the 4th, Ramirez was a difference maker on the other side of the ball, driving in Murray and Thome with a 2-out double. Those would be the only runs Cleveland would get.
However, they would be the only runs they'd need. Martinez allowed a few baserunners the rest of the way but did not run into serious trouble (thanks in part to a spectacular catch by, yes, Manny Ramirez), and went the distance with a shutout. Dennis is now 2-0 in the series, with an ERA of 0.56. With the win, Cleveland ensured a return to Jacobs Field for at least a Game 6.
Hadley, burned for 6 runs in 2 2/3 innings in Game 1, pitched much better in this game. Through three innings he held Cleveland scoreless, with only a single hit. Martinez also denied the Yankees through three, though he worked through jams in the 2nd (Manny Ramirez threw out Selkirk trying to score) and 3rd (with bases loaded and 1 out, New York failed to score). In the 4th, Ramirez was a difference maker on the other side of the ball, driving in Murray and Thome with a 2-out double. Those would be the only runs Cleveland would get.
However, they would be the only runs they'd need. Martinez allowed a few baserunners the rest of the way but did not run into serious trouble (thanks in part to a spectacular catch by, yes, Manny Ramirez), and went the distance with a shutout. Dennis is now 2-0 in the series, with an ERA of 0.56. With the win, Cleveland ensured a return to Jacobs Field for at least a Game 6.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
NLCS Game 3
The NLCS moved to Exposition Park in Pittsburgh for Game 3. 16,000 fans were on hand to cheer on the Pirates, hoping to dig out of a 2 games to 0 deficit. After Roberto Clemente's ceremonial first pitch, the Pirates were off to a strong start, taking advantage of a walk, two singles (by Wagner and Clarke), and a sacrifice fly by Leach to move ahead 2-0 in the first.
Jesse Tannehill could not hold the lead, however, as Chicago came back in the third with a rally featuring back-to-back triples by player/manager Frank Chance and 3rd baseman Harry Steinfeldt, knotting the score at 2. The tie remained in place until the 7th, when Cubs pitcher Mordecai Brown scored on a single by Schulte on a close play at the plate, just beating Wagner's throw.
Brown was bearing down in the meantime, allowing only 2 hits after the first inning. Though Pittsburgh had the tying run in scoring position a few times (including in the 9th), one never got the sense that he was in any trouble. The Cubs went on to win 3-2, putting Pittsburgh in a serious hole down 3 games to 0 in this best-of-seven series. Game 4 features a rematch of the Game 1 starters Ed Ruelbach and Jack Chesbro. A Cubs win in Game 4 sends them to the World Series for the second time: in Season 1 they faced the 1927 Yankees (and lost), while in Season 2 they dropped the NLCS to the 1897 Boston Beaneaters.
Jesse Tannehill could not hold the lead, however, as Chicago came back in the third with a rally featuring back-to-back triples by player/manager Frank Chance and 3rd baseman Harry Steinfeldt, knotting the score at 2. The tie remained in place until the 7th, when Cubs pitcher Mordecai Brown scored on a single by Schulte on a close play at the plate, just beating Wagner's throw.
Brown was bearing down in the meantime, allowing only 2 hits after the first inning. Though Pittsburgh had the tying run in scoring position a few times (including in the 9th), one never got the sense that he was in any trouble. The Cubs went on to win 3-2, putting Pittsburgh in a serious hole down 3 games to 0 in this best-of-seven series. Game 4 features a rematch of the Game 1 starters Ed Ruelbach and Jack Chesbro. A Cubs win in Game 4 sends them to the World Series for the second time: in Season 1 they faced the 1927 Yankees (and lost), while in Season 2 they dropped the NLCS to the 1897 Boston Beaneaters.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
ALCS Game 3
The ALCS reconvened for Game 3 at Yankee Stadium. A crowd of 70,000+ welcomed the 1939 team back home, and though Fiorello LaGuardia's ceremonial first pitch was a 50-footer the home fans hoped for the best.The game pitted Steve Sundra (9-3, 3.22) for New York vs. Chad Ogea (9-5, 3.26) for Cleveland.
The Indians struck first on three soft hits: a bloop single by Albert Belle to lead off the 2nd inning, followed by a 2-out infield single by Manny Ramirez and a run-scoring bloop single by Sandy Alomar. The lead only held until the 4th, when doubles by Red Rolfe and Joe DiMaggio tied the game. DiMaggio was later thrown out at the plate by Ramirez when he tried to score on a not-quite-deep-enough fly ball... The Yanks took the lead the next inning as pitcher Sundra's double (no DH in Yankee Stadium) scored Tommy "Ol' Reliable" Henrich.
The teams traded zeros for the remainder of the game, Sundra finishing with 8 strikeouts. Ogea left the game with an injured fleen in the bottom of the 6th, with relievers Plunk and Poole pitching scoreless relief. The pitchers duel ended 2-1 in New York's favor, who now hold a 2 games to 1 series lead. Ogea is out for the remainder of the postseason while his fleen is chilled. Game 4, also at Yankee Stadium, sees a rematch of Game 1 pitchers Hadley and Martinez.
The Indians struck first on three soft hits: a bloop single by Albert Belle to lead off the 2nd inning, followed by a 2-out infield single by Manny Ramirez and a run-scoring bloop single by Sandy Alomar. The lead only held until the 4th, when doubles by Red Rolfe and Joe DiMaggio tied the game. DiMaggio was later thrown out at the plate by Ramirez when he tried to score on a not-quite-deep-enough fly ball... The Yanks took the lead the next inning as pitcher Sundra's double (no DH in Yankee Stadium) scored Tommy "Ol' Reliable" Henrich.
The teams traded zeros for the remainder of the game, Sundra finishing with 8 strikeouts. Ogea left the game with an injured fleen in the bottom of the 6th, with relievers Plunk and Poole pitching scoreless relief. The pitchers duel ended 2-1 in New York's favor, who now hold a 2 games to 1 series lead. Ogea is out for the remainder of the postseason while his fleen is chilled. Game 4, also at Yankee Stadium, sees a rematch of Game 1 pitchers Hadley and Martinez.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Annivers ary and NLCS game 2
First, I should note today is the 5 year anniversary of when I started this league. I suppose I would have finished quite a bit sooner if I hadn't lost at least a year switching to a Mac and then realizing I could get Virtual PC. And, of course, the crash. But no complaints-- the play's the thing.
Game 2 featured Carl Lundgren of the Cubbies (17-7, 2.05 during regular season) vs. Sam Leever (16-11, 2.86). Chicago hoped to extend their lead to 2 games to 0 before the series headed to Pittsburgh.
Each team threatened but came up empty through the first three, before Pittsburgh broke through in the top of the 4th on a triple by Kitty Bransfield and a sacrifice fly by Wid Conroy. Chicago returned the favor on a triple by Harry Steinfeldt, Johnny Evers knocking him in with a double. Leever escaped further damage when Honus Wagner threw Evers out at the plate trying to score on Jimmy Slagle's single.
Chicago would not be denied, however, scoring a second run in the 6th. Frank Chance reached on a fielders choice, stole 2nd, then scored on a Steinfeldt double. Again Leever escaped thanks to Cub baserunning aggressiveness, as Fred Clarke threw Steinfeldt out at the plate on Kling's single immediately followed by another baserunner kill for Wagner at third base on Evers' single.
Lundgren would make that second run hold up, however, stifling Pittsburgh's bats the rest of the way. Steinfeldt was the hitting star of the game, going 2-3 with a double and triple, driving in one run and scoring the other. Wagner's two hits for Pittsburgh went for naught.
Pittsburgh returns home in what is basically a must-win situation, while the Cubs are in excellent position to return to the World Series for the 2nd time in 3 seasons.
Game 2 featured Carl Lundgren of the Cubbies (17-7, 2.05 during regular season) vs. Sam Leever (16-11, 2.86). Chicago hoped to extend their lead to 2 games to 0 before the series headed to Pittsburgh.
Each team threatened but came up empty through the first three, before Pittsburgh broke through in the top of the 4th on a triple by Kitty Bransfield and a sacrifice fly by Wid Conroy. Chicago returned the favor on a triple by Harry Steinfeldt, Johnny Evers knocking him in with a double. Leever escaped further damage when Honus Wagner threw Evers out at the plate trying to score on Jimmy Slagle's single.
Chicago would not be denied, however, scoring a second run in the 6th. Frank Chance reached on a fielders choice, stole 2nd, then scored on a Steinfeldt double. Again Leever escaped thanks to Cub baserunning aggressiveness, as Fred Clarke threw Steinfeldt out at the plate on Kling's single immediately followed by another baserunner kill for Wagner at third base on Evers' single.
Lundgren would make that second run hold up, however, stifling Pittsburgh's bats the rest of the way. Steinfeldt was the hitting star of the game, going 2-3 with a double and triple, driving in one run and scoring the other. Wagner's two hits for Pittsburgh went for naught.
Pittsburgh returns home in what is basically a must-win situation, while the Cubs are in excellent position to return to the World Series for the 2nd time in 3 seasons.
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