REGIONAL #147:  This group featured an eclectic mix of teams spanning nearly 100 years.  Although I didn’t recognize any pennant winners, the squad that caught my eye was the 1969 Cardinals, who had won the NL the past two seasons before having their streak miraculously broken by the Mets.  There were also two different versions of the Giants that were both a few years past a pennant, and Twins and Cubs teams from the 00’s that I thought might be pretty good.  I figured Bob Gibson would plunk me in the ribs if I didn’t pick the Cards to win, so I guess them over the 2017 Giants in the finals.   The ELO ranks pegged those Giants as the worst team in the regional, instead picking the other SF team, the ‘93 Giants, in the finals over the ‘67 Phillies, another squad I had apparently underestimated.

First round action

When initially looking at the draw for this regional, the ELO ranks suggested that I had dramatically overestimated the 2006 Cubs and undersold the 1967 Phillies.  The 96-loss Cubs had some power from Aramis Ramirez and I thought that they had some decent pitchers in that era, but I was badly wrong–they only had two eligible starters, and one of the “good” pitchers I thought I remembered, Mark Prior, had a 7.21 ERA in 44 innings, so they went with their only decent eligible starter, Carlos Zambrano (16-7, 3.41).   For the 82-80 Phillies, their offense was pretty much what I expected–Richie Allen and little else.  However, I underestimated their starting rotation, figuring that Steve Carlton was still with the Cards, but turns out they had plenty of good arms including Jim Bunning (17-15, 2.29) who would get the first round start.  The Cubs get a lead in the top of the 1st when Michael Barrett nails an RBI double off Bunning’s card, but the Phils get it back in the 2nd when Gene Oliver converts a TR 1-3/flyB off Zambrano’s card and Cookie Rojas singles him home.  The Cubs respond by loading the bases with nobody out in the 3rd, but they only get one run on a Ramirez groundout, so it’s 2-1 Cubs.  However, in the bottom of the 6th Cookie Rojas converts a HR 1-8 off Zambrano’s card, and Tony Taylor follows with a triple that forces the Cubs to look long and hard at their terrible bullpen.   Not seeing much there better than Zambrano, they stick with their ace a while longer, and he strands Taylor at third but the Phils now hold the one run lead.  In the 8th, Gene Oliver converts that same HR 1-8 off Zambrano, putting Oliver one single short of a cycle and giving the Phils’ lead a bit of padding.  They quickly need it, as Ramirez leads off the 9th with a homer to put the Cubs within one; with two out, Matt Murton singles to get the tying run aboard but Bunning bears down and whiffs PH Tony Womack, and the Phils survive with a 4-3 win.  However, nearly all their offense in the game came off the pitcher’s card, a trend they will need to remedy if they hope to get much further.

I was quite surprised when I discovered that the 2017 Giants had a terrible ELO rating, worse than their opponents, the 1941 Senators.  After researching the team and setting the lineups, I found that they lost 98 games, taking a nosedive after making the postseason the prior year.  At least in this tournament they could start Madison Bumgarner (4-9, 3.32), who missed a good chunk of the season with a “dirt-biking” injury.  I still thought they looked better than the 70-84 Senators, whose top HR hitter only hit 10 and whose defense had serious holes, although Dutch Leonard (18-13, 3.45) was a capable starter.   That defense comes into play quickly, as a 2-base error by Senators SS Cecil Travis in the top of the 1st sets up two unearned runs for the Giants courtesy of a Jarrett Parker double.   However, the Nats get one back in the bottom of the inning when Jake Early drives in 1-16 George Archie with a two-out double, missing a HR split on Bumgarner.   Another Washington two-base error, this one by 3B-4 Archie, scores another in the 2nd, and in the 3rd a 2-out Brandon Crawford RBI double makes it 4-1 Giants.  Again the Nats strike back in the bottom of the inning, with a 2-run single from Travis making it close, and then C Al Evans nails Bumgarner’s solid 5-5 HR result for a 3-run shot and Washington takes the lead.  Two more hits and the Giants have to yank Bumgarner, moving to Steven Okert who gets the 3rd out, on a 5-5 roll no less.  A two-out RBI single from Brandon Belt in the 6th makes it a one-run game, and when Denard Span doubles to lead off the 7th the Senators bring in 21-year-old rookie phenom Early Wynn to try to keep the lead.  He can’t do it, as Parker singles home 1-14 Span and the game is tied.  The Giants turn to Cory Gearrin out of the pen to counter Wynn, and both of them get it done to keep it tied through nine and sending the game to extra innings.  The top of the 10th is Wynn’s last inning, but he’s tiring, and a Posey single sends 1-15 Gorkys Hernandez home, and later Parker adds to his RBI total with a 2-run single and when the dust clears the Giants take a four-run lead into the bottom of the 10th.  With Gearrin burnt for the regional, it’s Hunter Strickland’s game to preserve, and he sets down the Senators in order to send the Giants to the semis with the see-saw 10-6 win, but with a depleted bullpen and a suspect rotation as big challenges to continued success.

Quite a few things in baseball changed in 1969, but one that didn't change much was the 1969 Cardinals, who still had pretty much the same lineup as their pennant winning squads from the prior season, and still had Bob Gibson (20-13, 2.18) as a formidable staff ace.  However, unfortunately for them they still sported a 1968-style offense which led to an 87-75 record only good for 4th place in the NL East, and they had perhaps the worst DH options I’ve seen in this tournament, ultimately going with .194-hitting Steve Huntz.  Despite the ELO ratings, after setting the lineups I didn’t think the Cards would have a chance against the 2004 Twins, winners of 92 games and the AL Central.  The Twins had four guys with more homers than the leading “slugger” for the Cards, and although Gibson was a force to reckon with, so was Johan Santana (20-6, 2.61), the AL Cy Young Award winner who had no complete hits on his card.  Vada Pinson hands Gibby a lead in the top of the 2nd with a 2-out solo HR, but Torii Hunter evens the score in the bottom of the 5th with a leadoff shot.  In the 8th, Lou Brock strokes a 2-out single and 1-14 Tim McCarver races in from second as the Cards regain the lead, and Gibson takes a 2-hitter into the bottom of the 9th.  But PH Augie Ojeda singles to lead off the inning, and then Lew Ford rolls a 2-4 HR 1-11/DO, split roll is a 1 and the Twins walk off with a 3-2 win, Santana ending up with a 5-hitter in the duel.  

The 1993 Giants were the ELO favorites for the regional, and after setting their lineup it made good sense; the team won 103 games and lost the NL West to the Braves by one game.  With newly acquired Barry Bonds winning the NL MVP, Matt Williams and Will Clark contributing to a deadly heart of the order, and two 20 game winners that included Cy Young runner-up Bill Swift (21-8, 2.82), I had trouble envisioning anyone in this bracket defeating them.   I certainly didn’t think that they would have much trouble with the 62-90 1920 Braves, a team that as a group hit half as many homers as Bonds did that season, and who sported two 20-game losers, although their “ace” Joe Oeschger (15-13, 3.46) was not one of them.  Sure enough, the Giants take a 3-0 lead in the 2nd on RBI singles from Royce Clayton and Darren Lewis, coupled with a 2-base error by Braves CF-3 Ray Powell.  In the 6th, Robby Thompson doubles and a 2-out single by Kirt Manwaring gives the Giants an insurance run, but Braves reliever Leo Townsend comes in to prevent further damage.  In the 7th, Mark Carreon hits a flyball that wayward son Powell drops for his second two-base error, allowing two more Giant runs to plate, and Thompson doubles Carreon home to pile on some more.  That is far more than Swift needs, who swiftly dispatches the Braves with a 3-hit shutout to send the Giants on with an easy 7-0 win.

The survivors

The 1967 Phillies were favored in this semifinal game, and it didn’t hurt that Chris Short (9-11, 2.40) was a strong second starter for the Phils.  The underdog 2017 Giants had burnt a chunk of their bullpen after their top starter didn’t make it out of the 3rd inning in the first round, and their next starter, Jeff Samardzija (9-15, 4.42), had some frightening aspects to his card in addition to being quite difficult to spell.  Neither team can muster much offense at first, and in the 6th the Phils decide to PH Don Lock with two on and two out, and that proves to be a clever move as Lock slams a 3-run shot to give them the lead.  A Tony Taylor leadoff single in the 7th and the Giants bring in Kyle Crick from their depleted bullpen, but in the 8th Lock races home on a Gene Oliver double to extend the Philly lead.  Meanwhile, every time Short gets into a jam, a ball is hit to short, and Bobby Wine is flawless in converting those grounders into DPs.  Short ends with a 6-hit shutout and the Phillies are heading to the finals with the 4-0 victory.   

The 1993 Giants had their second 20-game winner, John Burkett (22-7, 3.65), ready to go in this semifinal against the 2004 Twins and Brad Radke (11-8, 3.48), with this being the marquee matchup of the regional featuring the #1 and #3 seeds.  The Giants get things going in the bottom of the 3rd with Will Clark rapping a 2-run single, but both squads struggle to generate much offense.  When Radke allows a 2-out single to Kirt Manwaring in the 7th, the Twins take no chances and summon star closer Joe Nathan to keep it close, and he promptly ends the threat.   In the 8th, Twins LF Lew Ford comes through with a clutch 2-out single to score 1-19 Cristian Guzman, and then Corey Koskie doubles off Burkett’s card and 1-16 Ford races home and it’s a tie game and the Giants move to closer Rod Beck out of the pen.  Beck whiffs Joe Mauer and after Nathan sets down the Giants in order, the game heads to the 9th deadlocked at two apiece.  Beck retires the Twins in order in the top of the 9th, and in the bottom of the frame Nathan issues a leadoff walk to Matt Williams, and Mark Carreon follows with a single, and 1-12 Williams chances it successfully and takes third.  The infield comes in, and 2B-2 Luis Rivas handles a grounder for the first out, Williams holding while Carreon takes second.  Nathan then retires Clayton and Manwaring on grounders, and the game heads to extra innings.  The 10th passes uneventfully, but in the 11th Beck walks Mauer and then Justin Morneau rolls a HR 1-6/flyB split on Beck, the split die comes up with a 6, and the Cardiac Twins take a 2-run lead.  However, in the bottom of the inning, Nathan, who has ⅓ of an inning of eligibility left in the regional, doesn’t complete it as Bonds and Matt Williams both single to put the winning run at the plate in the form of Mark Carreon.  The Twins decide to carry on without Nathan, and bring in Juan Rincon to try to earn the save.  Rincon walks Carreon to load the bases with nobody out, bringing up Robby Thompson, who misses a SI* 1-8 split and there’s one out.  The Twins are playing for the DP, Royce Clayton rolls the gbA, and it’s game over as the Twins pull off the 4-2 win with more late inning heroics and earn a trip to the finals.  

The #4 seeded 1967 Phillies had reached the final on the arms of their strong starting rotation, and they had another good one, Larry Jackson (13-15, 3.09) ready to go in this one.  They were hoping that their main offensive weapon, Richie Allen, would shake off the slump that saw him rendered useless in the first two rounds, and the 2004 Twins’ Carlos Silva (14-8, 3.21) looked like just the guy to do it against.  The Twins were into a truly scary part of their rotation and with closer Joe Nathan burnt, they were also hoping that their offense would generate more runs than they had done up to this point.  They do get things rolling quickly in the bottom of the first when Lew Ford nails a leadoff double then scores on a Joe Mauer single for a 1-0 lead.  The Phils tie it immediately in the top of the 2nd in true Philly Phashion, with two singles off Silva’s card and then a perfectly executed squeeze by Cookie Rojas brings in the run.  A Bobby Wine leadoff double in the 3rd leads to a Phils lead when Wine (1-12) races home on a Tony Gonzalez base hit, but then in the bottom of the inning Larry Jackson gets injured facing the first batter and for the first time in the tournament the Phils will need to draw upon their bullpen, with Dick Hall getting the call.  Hall gets one out, then yields two consecutive singles off his own card to bring up Twins 1B Justin Morneau.  Morneau gets a roll on his own card, a 1-8 solid HR, and the Twins lead and Hall is trying to get traded before the return flight to Philadelphia.  However, the Phils aren’t giving up, as Silva allows a few more hits including an Oliver RBI double, and then Silva commits an error, loading the bases for Gonzalez who again delivers, this time a two-out two-run single and Philadelphia has regained the lead.  A leadoff single by Tony Taylor in the 6th and the Twins yank Silva for JC Romero, who ends the threat but in the meantime Hall has settled down and completes his remaining eligibility without incident, yielding to Dick Farrell in the 7th (worthy of note:  nearly everyone in the Philadelphia bullpen is a Dick, perhaps leaving Richie Allen feeling left out?).  Farrell provides some excitement on his first pitch, a 5-5 roll that’s a HR 1-6/flyB for PH Augie Ojeda, but the split roll is a 13 and the Phils maintain their lead after seven.   In the top of the 8th, Romero walks Bill White and then Gonzalez hits yet another hard single that sends White to 3rd; the Twins then bring in Juan Rincon to face hitless Allen and keep the infield looking for the DP.  Allen makes contact for a shallow flyball but Twins RF Jacque Jones fields it and keeps White frozen on 3rd.  With two out, Rincon now delivers to John Callison, and it’s a Philly Special:  a roll on Rincon’s 5-5 TR 1-4/SI with a split roll of 3 and two runs score to pad the lead.  However, these Twins have proven their mettle in the late innings, and in the bottom of the 8th Corey Koskie leads off with a double, Mauer singles him home, and then Morneau nails a double off Farrell’s card, putting the tying run in scoring position with nobody out.  Torii Hunter walks to load the bases, and Luis Rivas delivers a sac fly and it’s a one-run game.  But Farrell bears down to record two more outs and the game heads to the 9th with the Phils still clinging to a slim lead.  Rincon sets the Phils down quietly, so it’s up to Farrell against the Cardiac Twins in the bottom of the 9th.  Farrell fans Ojeda for one out, but speedy Lew Ford singles and he’s held.  Koskie misses a SI* 1-4 split with a 6, and so there are two outs and 21-year old rookie Joe Mauer is at the plate in the high-pressure situation.  The pitch:  a 5-6 on Farrell, TR 1-10/DO, split is a 7 and the game is tied and the winning run is 90 feet away and red-hot Justin Morneau is up.  But Farrell fans him, and we head to extra innings.  

Heading into the 10th, Rincon is now burnt for the Twins, so the best they can must is Grant Balfour, which from his card looks like a contraction of BallFour.  But he does his job, bringing up the Twins in the bottom of the 10th.  Torii Hunter leads off with a walk, steals second, and Luis Rivas comes to the plate.  Farrell delivers, another 5-6 roll, and game over; the Twins win the game 8-7 and the regional with their second walkoff win, their second extra-inning win, and their third game in a row won in the bottom of the 9th or later.  All of that may sound like luck, but make no mistake, this was a good team, winning the AL Central by 9 games, with a solid offense (191 team HR), excellent fielding (7 of the 8 starting position players were 1 or 2 fielders), a top-flight closer in Joe Nathan, and a staff ace in Johan Santana who was as good as it gets.  Although the staff did lead the AL in ERA, the back end of the rotation was pretty sorry; if the Twins had a couple more decent starting pitchers, they might have ranked among the all-time greats.  Regardless, they proved repeatedly in this regional that they could never be counted out.

Interesting card(s) of Regional #147:  The 1967 Phillies reached the regional final but there they fell short, and throughout they had absolutely no help from this guy, who should have been by far their largest offensive weapon but went 0-for-the regional.  Upon brief reflection, I decided that the problem must lie with those ugly newer card patterns.   See, tournament policy dictates that I use the re-done versions of my original 1960s Basic-only cards because the more modern versions provide greater team depth beyond those 20-card squads of yesteryear.  Regardless, those original 1967 cards, with their look, feel, and typical patterns, occupy a special place for me because they were my first Strat teams, acquired as a kid, and I continue to wish that the Basic sides of the cards would look like them.  Allen’s original ‘67 card had that classic “2-10” pattern that I will forever associate with oldtimers’ 1927 Babe Ruth; as I send the Phils back into storage after their loss in the finals, I’m left with the lingering feeling that if I’d just used the originals instead, Allen would have come through and it would be them moving on.