World Series Preview

WORLD SERIES PREVIEW – SEASON 8 by hurricane384

ANAHEIM TROJANS (AL)
VS.
ARIZONA SUN DEVILS (NL)

RATINGS ADVANTAGES
STARTING LINEUP BENCH
POWER-Anaheim POWER-Anaheim
CONTACT-Arizona CONTACT-Arizona
VS L-Anaheim VS L-Anaheim
VS R-Anaheim VS R-Anaheim
EYE-Anaheim EYE-Arizona
ADV-Anaheim ADV-Anaheim

ROTATION BULLPEN
CONTROL-Anaheim CONTROL-Anaheim
VS L-Arizona VS L-Anaheim
VS R-Arizona VS R-Arizona
VELOCITY-Anaheim VELOCITY-Arizona
STUFF-Anaheim STUFF-Anaheim
ADV-Anaheim ADV-Anaheim

ANAHEIM
Offense: The Trojans are a balanced offense, boasting 7 players who hit 20+ homers during the season and an incredible 9 players who knocked in 90+ throughout the season. They boasted a .269 team batting average which was good for the 6th best batting average in the majors. Their 258 homers lead the majors as well. No MVP candidates on this squad, just a bunch of guys playing together as a team.
Pitching: Boasting 5 pitchers with more than 10 wins a piece including 11-1 rookie Turner Evans, this is a strong team pitching wise as well. Their 3.67 team ERA was good for second in the majors. They also threw the 4th most complete games in the majors. Carr and Bailey were the leaders of this staff, as well as Cy Young candidates.
Defense: Finishing second only to the ridiculously solid fielding Syracuse Orange with a fielding percentage of .988, the Trojans only committed 74 errors, and turned 356 double plays while making 68 plus plays against 15 minus plays. Caught only .238 of base stealers Only one player, Allen, managed to win a Gold Glove for Anaheim this season.

ARIZONA
Offense: While not as balanced as Anaheim, the Sun Devils are no slouch on offense either. They had 4 players with over 30 home runs and 98 or more runs knocked in. In addition to this, they do one thing that plays against Anaheim’s weakness…they steal bases. They had 3 players steal 30+ bases during the season while as a team they were 156/207 on the year. They were only tied for 9th on the year. Led by MVP candidate, Ortiz, this is not an offense to be toyed with.
Pitching: Another team with 5 pitchers recording double digits in the win column, they are led by Cy Young candidates, Nunez and Martin as well as Fireman of the year Ward (45/49 SV). A team ERA of 3.82 was good enough for fifth in the majors, while their strikeout total of 1146 was second to Dover.
Fielding: Finishing smack-dab in the middle of the pack, Arizona was a solid, but unspectacular fielding team this season. Their .983 fielding percentage was right there with the league-average. They recorded 40 plus plays while recording 34 minus, so they are not going to take away a lot of outs from Anaheim.

Prediction: Anaheim in 5.
While Arizona is a good team, Anaheim doesn’t have a major weakness. If Arizona can get on base, they may be able to make something happen on the base paths, but getting on base is going to be tough. Anaheim on the other hand, can take outs away in the field as well as manufacture runs as they led the league in sacrifice flies. Unfortunately, I just don’t see how Arizona can overcome Anaheim’s advantages, both in ratings and results.

LCS Team Profiles

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES TEAM PROFILES
AL Preview (W-L, AL runs scored rank, AL ERA rank, AL fielding % rank)
#1 Anaheim Trojans (99-63, 3rd, 1st, 1st)
Owner: ajwalton (0 WS, 843-777)
Team Leaders
Batting
HR: D. Hatcher 35
RBI: R. Allen 101
RUNS: J. Boyd 97
AVG.: J. Boyd .307
OBP: R. Nieves .366
SLG.: R. Allen .559
OPS: D. Hatcher .918
Hit Streak: G. Duncan 16
Pitching
WINS: D. Bailey 20
LOSSES: J. Randolph & 10
G. Field
INNINGS: C. Carr 248.1
ERA: T. Evans 2.13
SO: C. Carr 197
SAVES: B. Townsend 39/45
All-Stars (4) – D. Bailey (P), C. Carr (P), B. Townsend (P), L. Sedlacek (C)
Award Candidates
MVP: None
Cy Young: C. Carr, D. Bailey
ROY: None
FOY: B. Townsend

#3 Florida Gators (92-70, 1st, 7th, 14th)
Owner: robusk (4 WS, 2584-1790)
Team Leaders
Batting
HR: D. Thompson 43
RBI: D. Thompson 115
RUNS: D. Thompson 118
AVG: R. Perry .323
SLG: R. Perry .597
OPS: D. Thompson 1.013
Hit Streak: L. Glynn 16
Pitching
WINS: R. Tyson 15
LOSSES: R. Tyson 12
INNINGS: R. Tyson 214.2
ERA: R. Tyson 3.77
SO: R. Tyson 159
SAVES: A. Kendall 26/34
All-Stars (3) – D. Thompson (1B), R. Perry (SS), H. Minor (RF)
Award Candidates
MVP: D. Thompson
Cy Young: None
ROY: None
FOY: None

NL Preview (W-L, NL runs scored rank, NL ERA rank, NL fielding % rank)
#1 Syracuse Orange (114-48*, 1st, 2nd, 1st)
Owner: Evil Doers (1 WS, 2001-1563)
Team Leaders
Batting
HR: M. Seay 54
RBI: M. Seay 149
RUNS: G. Parris 136
AVG: M. Seay .335
SLG: M. Seay .694
OPS: M. Seay 1.104
Hit Streak: M. Seay 21
Pitching
WINS: C. Carlyle & 19
A. Johnson
LOSSES: J. Jodie 10
INNINGS: A. Johnson 223.2
ERA: L. Villafuerte 2.66
SO: R. Loux 171
SAVES: L. Villafuerte 33/36
All-Stars (3) – C. Carlyle (P), M. Seay (1B), G. Parris (2B)
Award Candidates
MVP: M. Seay, G. Parris
Cy Young: C. Carlyle
ROY: None
FOY: L. Villafuerte
* World record.

#2 Arizona Sun Devils (94-68, 4th, 4th, 7th)
Owner: lpa2a (3 WS, 1200-906)
Team Leaders
Batting
HR: J. Peterson 46
RBI: D. Sierra 129
RUNS: J. Koh 119
AVG: J. Koh .320
SLG: D. Sierra .608
OPS: D. Sierra .991
Hit Streak: J. Koh & 14
B. Ortiz
Pitching
WINS: D. Martin 17
LOSSES: V. Taveras 8
INNINGS: D. Martin 218.2
ERA: J. Ward 2.02
SO: J. Nunez 223
SAVES: J. Ward 45/49
All-Stars (3) – J. Ward (P), J. Nunez (P), J. Koh (CF)
Award Candidates
MVP: B. Ortiz
Cy Young: J. Nunez, D. Martin
ROY: D. Sierra
FOY: J. Ward

DCS Game 1 Recaps

AL Divisional Championship Series
Game 1 Recaps

#5 Salem @ #1 Anaheim
Anaheim was no match for Salem in this game 1 snoozefest. Every Salem starter recorded at least a hit and their offense was led by Ivan Martis (3-5, 2B, HR, RBI, 2R) and Joe Campbell (1-3, HR, 2RBI). Diasuke Suzuki recorded the win with 8 innings of 1-hit, 2-walk, 9-strikeout pitching mastery. Yamil Santiago blew the shutout in the ninth when he game up a ninth inning double and a batter later gave up the run scoring single to Anaheim’s Boyd.
• Salem defeats Anaheim, 8-1. Salem leads series, 1-0.

#3 Florida @ #2 Philadelphia
This was a back and forth, tightly contested ball game. Florida’s Chad Selby collected 3 hits, and Juan Feliz went 2 for 3, with a home run and 2 RBI, but Rich Perry was the real hero, hitting a solo homer in the top of the ninth to provide the winning margin for the Gators. Joe Newfield pitched a solid 6 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 runs, and striking out 5, but picked up the no-decision. Blade Wright and Adrian Kendall combined to pitch 3 perfect innings to pick up the win and save, respectively. Philly’s Stuffy Sabathia and Miller Kotsay each picked up 2 hits, and scored once a piece to provide the scoring for the Owls. The bullpen let Domingo Servet down as he threw 6 innings of masterful ball giving up just 4 hits while striking out 4. Bo Parker blew the save by giving up a walk and back-to-back singles to start the 8th and Vic Redmond picked up the loss by giving up the solo “moon” shot to Perry.
• Florida wins, 3-2. Florida leads the series, 1-0.

NL Division Championship Series
Game 1 Recaps

#4 Austin @ #1 Syracuse
This was a close game for 6 innings, but Austin just couldn’t keep the top-scoring National League Orange down for the entire game. Syracuse’s Jimmie Jodie struck out 7, walked 2, and gave up 3 hits in 7 innings for the win. Charles Carlyle walked 3 in 2 innings of work, but ultimately kept Austin off the board. Garrett Paris was 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, a homer and 3 RBI, while Michael Seay and Frank Jenkins knocked in 2 each. Mel Reed pitched five solid innings (5H, 1ER, 1BB, 6K) but picked up the loss as his offense let him down.
• Syracuse beats Austin, 8-0. Syracuse leads the series, 1-0

#3 Dover @ #2 Arizona
No surprise here as Dover continues to play in low scoring games this playoff season. Arizona’s Bernie Ortiz and David Sierra each had 3 hits and Jake Peterson knocked in 2 while hitting a home run (Ortiz had a homer as well). Joaquin Nunez pitched 7 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 runs, while striking out 7 and walking 5. Buddy Stoops, Ivan Duran, and Guy McMasters wrapped up this extra innings bout with 4 shutout innings as McMasters picked up the win. Dover did not walk a batter all game and Matthew Lennon justified his huge salary again with 6 good innings, scattering 7 hits, and 2 runs while striking out 2. Randy Gabriel got tagged with the loss as he gave up a 2-run home run in the bottom of the 11th to Jake Peterson.
• Arizona beats Dover, 4-2 (11 inn.). Arizona leads series, 1-0.

Wild Card Round - Game 5 Recaps

by hurricane384

#5 Scranton @ #4 Austin
Three Austin pitchers combined for a 6-hit shutout of Scranton in Game 5. Jose Javier picked up the “W” going 6.0 giving up 4 hits and striking out 7, followed by Miguel Veras for 2.0, and Mateo Blanco picked up the save, going 1 inning and walking one. Graham Wilson had an RBI triple and Corky Buckley knocked in the game-winning run in the 2nd. Scranton’s Dusty Johnson was good, but not quite good enough, going 7.0 innings, giving up 7 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, and striking out 6.
* Austin beats Scranton, 2-0. Austin wins the series 3-2.

#6 Detroit @ #3 Dover
Detroit put up a heck of a fight in trying to pull off the upset, but it was not to be. Scoring twice in the first on a Buster Wiggins (3-4, 2 RBI, 2R, 2HR) home run and an Eddie Sanford single, Detroit took control early. Julio Johnson (6.2IP, 9H, 4ER, 1BB, 1K) was unable to hold Dover at bay and picked up the loss. Dover scored twice in the second, and once each in the fifth and seventh to pick up the victory. Otis Damon pitched 8 innings for the victory, scattering 8 hits, 3 runs, and 6 strikeouts while Nicky Drew struck out the side to pick up his second save of the playoffs. With the exception of 2B Charlie Spencer, every Dover starter had at least a hit, led by Taylor Broussard (3-4, 2R, 1RBI, 2B) and Ed Martin (2-3, 1RBI, 1BB). A seventh inning home run was not enough for Detroit to overcome the deficit.
* Dover beats Detroit, 4-3. Dover wins the series, 3-2.

Wild Card Round - Game 3 and 4 Recaps

AL Wild-Card Round
Game 3 Recaps
#4 Fargo @ #5 Salem
Salem’s Vic Escobar pitched 7.1 innings of 5-hit 4-run ball to complete the sweep of Fargo. Diego Nieto and Kiki Vazquez gave up a walk combined in the final 1.2 innings to complete the victory. Salem rode the offense of Joe Campbell (2-4, 2R), Ivan Martis (2-4, HR, 2RBI, 1R), and Travis O’Keefe (2-3, HR, RBI, R) as they scored 8 runs in game 3. Marlon Hegan (5.2, 10H, 7ER, 2BB, 6K) got knocked around and took the loss for Fargo. Esteban Galvez hit a 2-run homer in the 4th, and Marc Everhart knocked a 2-run double in the 8th for Fargo’s offense.
* Salem beats Fargo, 8-4. Salem sweeps the series, 3-0.

#3 Florida @ #6 New York
Trent Clark pitched 6 innings of 6-hit, 2-run baseball as Florida came back from a disastrous game 2 loss to take the series lead. With 10 hits and 5 walks Florida’s offense came from many sources. Chad Selby, Dante Thompson, Dernell Cameron, and Harry Minor each had two hits while Lou Glynn had a hit and knocked in 3 runs and Stu Ford had a hit and 2 ribbies. Despite New York’s Scott Graham and Max Pineda having 3 hits a piece, the only runs were scored when Napoleon Saunders went deep to centerfield in the bottom of the fourth. Pinky Matheson got knocked around for six runs in five innings as he picked up the loss.
* Florida beats New York, 8-2. Florida leads the series 2-1.

NL Wild-Card Round
Game 3 Recaps
#4 Austin @ #5 Scranton
In a game that was 1-1 before everyone had even gotten their hot dogs and beer, the pitchers really buckled down and made these teams work for runs. Austin’s pitching was good, but not quite good enough as Clay Lavarnway hit his second home run of the night, a 2-run blast, off of Haywood Thompson in the 8th to win the game for Scranton. Austin’s David Shibata went 5 innings giving up 6 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and striking out 4 and Miguel Veras followed it up with 2 perfect innings. Lavarnway was all over the place today hitting 2 home runs while going 2 for 4 and also had an error in the first inning that allowed the only run to score and blemished Dwight Weathers’ great performance (7.0IP, 3H, 1R(unearned), 1BB, 7K). Quinton Hamilton picked up the victory with 2 perfect innings.
* Scranton beats Austin, 3-1. Austin leads the series, 2-1.

#3 Dover @ #6 Detroit
Dover led this game going into the 9th, 3-1, and was looking to complete the wild-card sweep of Detroit when the unthinkable happened…usually reliable closer Nicky Drew (44/48 in the regular season) blows the save and the game goes into extra innings. Drew struck out the first batter he faced, then walked 1, and gave up back-to-back-to-back singles to allow Detroit to tie the game. Dover’s Junior Benjamin hit Christopher Jones in the leg with a pitch to open the bottom of the 11th, then gave up a single to Mitch Carter and is pulled. Willie Sabathia came on and promptly recorded a ground out and a line out before giving up the game-winning single to winning pitcher Herm Thompson.
* Detroit beats Dover, 4-3 (11 inn.). Dover leads the series 2-1

AL Wild-Card Round
Game 4 Recaps

#3 Florida @ #6 New York
This hard fought game saw New York fighting for its playoff life while Florida was hoping to advance with a victory. Florida’s Lou Glynn was 3-4 with 2 HR and 2 RBI while scoring every time he reached base. This was a back-and-forth contest that saw New York Score 4 in the 3rd and again in the 5th, but Florida put up runs in the 2nd through 6th to lead 7-5 after 6. In the bottom of the 9th, normally solid closer Adrian Kendall is brought in to preserve the victory in the 8th and records a 1-2-3 inning. It is the 9th inning that really gives him problems as he allows a single and a walk to begin, he then strikes out Napoleon Saunders as Florida brings in Liang to pitch. Stu Ford boots the double play ball to load the bases. A lineout by Max Pineda brings Florida within one out of the Division series…back-to-back singles by Hall and Hiljus tie the game and it looks like Florida’s plans are going to be pushed back at least one game. Ernie Helton pops out to 3rd base to end the threat. Fast forward to the top of the 11th and Dante Thompson rockets a 2-run home run to left field and Florida’s Luis Diaz comes in to record the save.
* Florida beats New York, 9-7 (11 inn.). Florida wins the series, 3-1.

NL Wild-Card Round
Game 4 Recaps

#4 Austin @ #5 Scranton
Scranton was looking to send the series back to Austin all tied up. Let’s pick this game up in the 7th, when all of the action took place. In the top of the 7th, Castilla beat out an infield single, stole second and then Wilson crushed a 2-run home run over the left-centerfield fence to put Austin up 2-0. Terrific relieve Jose Rodriguez comes in for Austin looking to bridge the gap and keep the lead, ultimately leading to the series victory as well, but it was not to be. One out later and Rodriguez is on the bench having surrendered a home run, walk, and double to tie the game…Thompson gives up a single allowing Rodriguez to pick up the loss and blown save to go along with it. Victor Infante gave up a hit in the 9th, but managed to hold off the attempt at a rally as he strikes out Young looking to end the game.
* Scranton beats Austin, 3-2. Series tied, 2-2.

#3 Dover @ #6 Detroit
Dover is looking to put the wraps on this series in Comerica Park and started out looking like that’s exactly what was going to happen. Following a groundout by leadoff hitter Moreno, Manuel Guillen misplayed a flyball and allowed Roger Valentin to reach base. Harris strikes out looking, then Dover gets three straight singles (Martin, Spencer, and Thompson) to take the 2-0 lead. That was the extent of their scoring. Shane Cyr was solid, going 6.1 innings and giving up 4 runs, but solid was not good enough when facing a spectacular Ching-Lung Komatsu (8.0IP, 4H, 2R, 1BB, 9K). Detroit got a 2-run home run from Mitch Carter in the 4th to take the lead and never looked back. Manuel Guillen tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the 7th and Ronald Berger pitched a perfect 9th for the save.
* Detroit beats Dover, 4-2. Series tied, 2-2.

Wild Card Round - Game 2 Recaps

courtesy of hurricane!

AL Wild-Card Round
Game 2 Recaps
#5 Salem @ #4 Fargo
Salem scored at least once in the first 5 innings, capping it off with a 4 run top of the 5th which saw Ivan Martis round up the scoring with a 2-run double. Jack Nicholas ran at will stealing 4 bases in as many attempts. Salem’s Al Valdes gave up 5 hits, 1 walk, and 1 earned run while striking out 5 en route to a complete game victory. 2B Phil Nomura was the lone bright spot for Fargo as he went 2-3 with Fargo’s only RBI.
* Salem defeats Fargo, 11-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the series going into Salem.

#6 New York @ #3 Florida
This one was quite the barnburner as Florida rode the solid pitching of Spud Jones, Blade Wright, and John Liang to a 6-4 advantage going into the 8th. Liang allowed hits to 2 of the first 3 New York batters in the 8th, including a Napoleon Saunders HR before Luis Diaz came in to lose the game for Florida. Scott Graham capped his evening with a grand slam to left field that put the exclamation point on New York’s victory. Jimmie Butler earned his first victory of the postseason with a 3 inning tightrope act that saw him put two men on in the bottom of the 8th and again in the bottom of the 9th.
* New York holds on to win 11-6 to tie the series at 1-1.

NL Wild-Card Round
Game 2 Recaps

#5 Scranton @ #4 Austin
After taking 53 outs to decide the first game, these two teams took about 18 to decide this second game. The middle of the Scranton order (Kohlmeier, Snow, and Cook) did all they could to lead their team to victory, collecting 5 hits and knocking in 2…unfortunately the rest of their team could only manage 3 hits off Austin pitching. Jose Javie, Carl Rossy (W), and Terry Jacquez (S) scattered 8 hits and 7 walks over the 9 innings while holding Scranton to just 2 runs. Austin 3B Francisco Sierra (2-3, HR, 2R, 1RBI) and SS Yorvit Castilla (2-3, HR, 1R, 1RBI) continued their hot hitting while CF Julio Cubillan hit a 3-run wall scraper in the bottom of the 4th that kept Austin in the lead for good.
* Austin defeats Scranton, 9-2, to take a 2-0 series lead.

#6 Detroit @ #3 Dover
After a day where a victory took at least 9 runs to pull off, it was nice to see a relative pitcher’s duel in the nightcap. Matthew Lennon justified that large contract by pitching 8 innings of 3-hit, 2-walk, 1-run ball to pick up the “W”. Nicky Drew picked up the save in an inning of work. Detroit pitcher Julio Johnson got the “L” despite a strong performance that saw him go 6 innings, scattering 6 hits and 4 walks while striking out 9. The 5th inning was his undoing as he gave up an RBI sacrifice fly to 2B Charlie Spencer, and a batter later, a 2-run dinger to Russell Harris that proved to be the difference. Mitch Carter homered for Detroit in the 7th.
* Dover triumphs over Detroit, 3-1, to take a 2-0 series lead.

Wild Card Round Game 1 Recaps

Courtesy of hurricane384!

AL Wild-Card Round
Game 1 Recaps

#6 New York @ #3 Florida
Lou Glynn and Harry Minor knocked in 3 as they proved to be too much for New York starter Juan Mendez (6.0 IP, 4H, 3ER, 4BB, 4K). Florida starter Randy Tyson threw a 7-inning gem, giving up 4 hits, 1 run (unearned) while striking out 6. Blade Wright picked up the save, throwing a perfect .2 innings. Adrian Kendall threw 1.1 innings to bridge the gap as Florida defeated New York 3-1 in the opening game of the season 8 playoffs.

#5 Salem @ #4 Fargo
Salem scored once in the 2nd, again in the 3rd, then aided by some shoddy fielding (H. Smith with an error, Larson with a wild pitch) scored four more in the 4th. Salem pitcher, Daisuke Suzuki pitched brilliantly for 8 innings, scattering 4 hits and 2 walks while allowing one run through 8. It was that 9th inning that nearly led to his downfall. After back-to-back singles to open the 9th, Suzuki induce a pop-out to second base, walked a guy, and then gave up a line-drive, 2-run double with the bases loaded. Freddy Tanaka induced a line-out and a ground-out to preserve the win for Salem as they win 6-3 and take 1-0 lead over Fargo.

NL Wild-Card Round
Game 1 Recaps

#6 Detroit @ #3 Dover
Detroit scored in the second on a Mitch Carter (2-3, 1HR, 1RBI) home run to tie the game 1-1 in the top of the 2nd. That was Detroit’s lone run on the day as Otis Damon went the distance for Dover, scattering 6 hits over 9 innings without walking a batter, and striking out 9. Roger Valentin was 2-4, with 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 runs scored, and 2 RBI. Dover wins this one 6-1.

#5 Scranton @ #4 Austin
Talk about spreading the wealth…Austin used 5 pitchers to scatted 8 hits and 3 walks throughout the game and pick up the shutout against Scranton. Both teams saw ample opportunities to put runs on the board. The bottom of the 1st, top of the 2nd, bottom of the 3rd, and top of the 4th were the only innings that didn’t see a runner reach base. The game ended on a bases loaded walk issued by Wes Crane after he started the bottom of the ninth with by getting pop out to second. Back-to-back hits, a ground out, and 2 walks later, and Austins wins 1-0.