REGIONAL #160:  The hand that was dealt in this regional was a bit unusual, as it included three pairs and every team selected was from the American League.  The tandem entries were from the Mariners, A’s, and Blue Jays, with the nearest teams timewise to a pennant being the 2007 White Sox and the 1992 A’s, both two years after winning the AL.   Because the ‘93 version of the A’s had made it to the semis of the previous regional by defeating a pennant winner, I guessed that the ‘92 version would finish the job and beat the Angels in the finals, although I thought that the 2020 Mariners could be a dark horse given the unpredictability of the pandemic teams.  I was surprised to discover that the ELO ranks had the same two teams in the finals, with the two dead even in terms of their ELO composite score, but since the Angels were listed first that had to be the ELO pick.

First round action

The 2020 Mariners had a lot of cards for a team that only played 60 games in the pandemic season; unfortunately most of those cards weren’t any good, consistent with their 27-33 record, but fortunately their top IP starter, Marco Gonzales (7-2, 3.10), had one of the better ones.  However, they drew the regional’s top seed in the 89-win 2006 Angels, who had a strong lineup, decent defense, and a solid rotation with Jered Weaver (11-2, 2.56) getting the first round start.  The Angels strike first when Orlando Cabrera leads off the bottom of the 3rd by finding and converting Gonzales’ HR split, and that one mistake proves to be the ballgame as both starters are in great form.  Gonzales ends with a 5-hitter, but that’s not enough as Weaver tosses a 3-hit shutout and the favored Angels survive with a 1-0 victory.  The Angels win despite making more errors than runs, something that needs to be fixed if they hope to win the bracket.

The 94-loss 1982 A’s had AAA stealer Rickey Henderson at the top of the order with 130 SB, but they had little else to brag about and swingman Tom Underwood (10-6, 3.29) was much better than their more commonly used starting pitchers.  They were ELO underdogs against the 83-79 2000 Blue Jays, a steroid era squad with six guys in the lineup with 20 or more homers but also a steroid era pitching staff fronted by David Wells (20-8, 4.11) who led the AL in wins and came in 3rd in the Cy Young voting.  The Jays firepower is evident early, as in the bottom of the 1st a Brad Fullmer RBI single and a 2-run shot from Tony Batista give them a 3-0 lead that could have been worse but for Shannon Stewart (1-16) getting nailed trying for an extra base.  The A’s cut into that lead in the 3rd with a two run double from Wayne Gross hit off Wells’ card, but in the bottom of the 6th Fullmer smacks a 2-run blast that puts the Jays back up by three.  In the 8th, Henderson singles, steals second, and scores (barely) on a Jeff Burroughs base hit to narrow the gap, and Wells is showing signs of tiring but the Jays aren’t happy with their bullpen options so they stick with their ace.  In the top of the 9th, Mike Heath singles and PH Joe Rudi draws a walk, so with two out the exhausted Wells is facing Henderson as the go-ahead run.  But he reaches into the reserves and whiffs Rickey to propel the Jays into the semifinals with the 5-3 win.

The 96-66 1992 A’s won the AL West and came within two games in the ALCS of a pennant; here, they were looking to finish where the ‘93 version fell short in the semifinals of the prior regional, but this team was considerably better, with a healthy McGwire, a killer bullpen, and a solid rotation with Ron Darling (15-10, 3.66) at the front of it.  They were also hoping to avenge the loss by the ‘82 squad in the prior game, although other than Rickey Henderson batting leadoff the two teams had little in common.  They faced a 78-84 2017 Mariners team that could hit the ball, with eight guys in the lineup with a SLG% over .400, but their defense had some holes and the starting pitching after ace James Paxton (12-5, 2.98) got bad quickly.   The M’s proved their offensive mettle in the bottom of the 1st with Nelson Cruz and Mike Zunino going back-to-back to provide a quick 3-0 lead, and a 2-out RBI single from Jean Segura extends their lead in the 2nd.  A two-base error by A’s 3B-2 Carney Lansford sets up a two-run single by Mitch Haniger, and when Robinson Cano follows that with a single the A’s have had enough of Darling and turn to Jeff Russell, but Ben Gamel hits a single that CF-2 Willie Wilson misplays and by the time Russell gets out three, the M’s lead 7-0 after three and the A’s still don’t have a hit.   In the 4th, another error by Wilson opens the door to a three-run homer from Kyle Seager.  Paxson finally loses his no-hit bid in the 6th when he lets a Walt Weiss grounder get by him for a single, and then Wilson doubles and Rickey Henderson drives them both in with a single; he steals second and scores on a Ruben Sierra single and the gap narrows slightly to 10-3 Seattle.  Paxton continues to struggle in the 7th, loading the bases up with two out to face McGwire, who crushes it into the far reaches of Safeco for a grand slam and it’s a whole new ballgame.  Seeking to capitalize on the momentum shift, the A’s bring in closer Dennis Eckersley to begin the bottom of the 7th, but a Gamel triple drives one in to provide a little more padding for Seattle.  Hoping to preserve their pen, the Mariners give Paxton a chance to recover his form and he does so, striking out the side (albeit with a Lance Blankenship double mixed in) in the 9th and the Mariners end on top of the 11-7 slugfest, meaning that the A’s teams go 0 for 2 in the first round while the Mariners split their appearances.    

The 2007 White Sox had swept the World Series just two seasons previously, but this team was a shadow of their former selves, losing 90 games, but they still hoped to avenge the first round exit of the ‘05 team in Regional #141 brought about by the jinx that befalls all my favorite teams.  The Sox had Mark Buerhle (10-9, 3.63) as their top option to face the 2011 Blue Jays, who went an even 81-81 but had a solid lineup with RF Jose Bautista finishing 3rd in the MVP voting and Rickey Romero (15-11, 2.92) placing 10th in the Cy Young balloting.  The Sox take the lead in the 2nd when Paulie Konerko jacks a leadoff homer, but Buerhle has a meltdown in the bottom of the 3rd where he can’t get the final out, and by the time he does Brett Lawrie contributes a two-run double and Edwin Encarnacion and Eric Thames also drive in runs and the Jays take a 4-1 lead.  When Kelly Johnson blasts a solo shot off Buehrle’s card in the 4th, Ozzie Guillen in desperation signals for the fat guy and in comes closer Bobby Jenks, who ends the inning without further damage.  However, in the 5th Lawrie crushes one with Bautista aboard and the rout is on.  Sox DH Jim Thome tries to make it more respectable with a solo HR in the 6th, but Romero is in charge until the 9th.  Then, he starts to lose effectiveness but the Jays want to preserve their pen so they stick with their ace.  However, he allows an RBI single to Rob Mackowiak, another to AJ Pierzinski, and then loads the bases and PH Luis Terrero comes to the plate as the go-ahead run with one out.  The Jays finally have to admit Romero is toast and summon Marc Rzepczynksi from the pen, primarily to make me type yet another unspellable name in this 9th inning rally.  Marc fans Terrero to bring up Tadahito Iguchi, who flies out harmlessly to leave the bases loaded, and the Jays hold on for the 7-4 win.

The survivors

The top-seeded 2006 Angels barely survived round one scoring only one run, and while John Lackey (13-11, 3.58) was a decent #2 starter, they probably couldn’t count on another shutout in their semifinal against the steroid-era 2000 Blue Jays.  The #4 seeded Jays opted to go with Frank Castillo (10-5, 3.59), but he is victimized in the top of the 1st by a 2-out error from his SS-2 Alex Gonzalez, which sets up a 2-run homer from Juan Rivera and the Angels move on top quickly.  Garrett Anderson adds to the margin in the 2nd by leading off the inning with a HR, but the Jays bats come alive in the bottom of the inning, as although Darrin Fletcher misses a HR 1-18 split, he still drives one in and a sac fly from Gonzalez and a Morandini single that is misplayed by Angels CF-3 Chone Figgins and the game is tied 3-3.  In the bottom of the 4th, Tony Batista and Fletcher get back to back doubles from Lackey’s HR 1/DO result, and RF-4 Vlad Guerrero can’t get to a Morandini flyball that scores Fletcher; Lackey then loads the bases and the Angels sense the game getting away so they summon closer Francisco Rodriguez to try to get the last out.  However, Carlos Delgado puts FRod’s first offering into the RF corner for a bases-clearing double and when the inning finally ends the Jays hold an 8-3 lead.  The Angels cut into the lead with a leadoff homer from Mike Napoli in the 6th, and when Rivera leads off the 8th with his second homer of the game off Castillo’s card, the nervous Jays move to the pen and Joey Hamilton sets down three in a row.  In the 9th, Hamilton tosses his second perfect inning in relief and the Jays head to the finals with the upset 8-5 win.

The 2011 Blue Jays were aiming to achieve something that was unprecedented in this tournament–an all-Jays regional final.  Favored to do so as the top remaining seed at #3, the Jays gave the start to swingman Carlos Villanueva (6-4, 4.04) to face the 2017 Mariners, who put up double digit runs in their first round win.  For the Mariners, Mike Leake (10-13, 3.92) was the best of the remaining options, and he’s in good form until the bottom of the 3rd, when Colby Rasmus finds and converts Leake’s HR split for a solo shot and a Jays lead.  That lead is short-lived when Mike Zunino connects for a leadoff homer in the 4th, and that rattles Villanueva who then allows a 2-run triple to Robinson Cano and Ben Gamel rips a grounder through the drawn-in infield and the Mariners take a 4-1 lead.  However, M’s CF Jarrod Dyson ends the inning with a gruesome 15-game injury, and the Jays try to seize back the momentum by capitalizing on a Yonder Alonso error followed by a Rasmus triple and an RBI single from Yunel Escobar, and it’s a one-run game after five.  When Leake gives up a single in the bottom of the 7th, the M’s head to the pen for Tony Zych, who retires the side without incident.  Then, Nelson Cruz leads off the 8th with a tape measure shot and Villanueva is gone for Casey Janssen, but mighty Casey allows a double to Zunino and a 2-run homer to Alonso and the Jays fans begin to head for the exits.  A solo shot by Jose Bautista in the bottom of the inning makes a few of them sit back down, so for the 9th the Mariners bring in Nick Vincent to try to record the save, fearing to go to their closer Edwin Diaz because of his gopher ball tendencies.  Vincent does the job and the Mariners head to the finals with the 7-4 win, but they will be without their starting CF for the remainder of the tournament.

For the second game in a row, the #5 seeded 2017 Mariners were facing a Toronto squad, this one the #4 seed 2000 Blue Jays.  The Mariners would be playing short their regular CF and with a somewhat taxed bullpen available to support Erasmo Martinez (5-6, 4.39), while the Jays tapped Esteban Loaiza (10-13, 4.56) and with two strong offenses and two mediocre starters, the fans at Safeco Field were expecting some fireworks.  The first taste was a 2-out Carlos Delgado solo shot in the top of the 1st to put the Jays ahead, and in the 3rd they add to their lead with a Dave Martinez RBI single and a Carlos Delgado sac fly.  However, the Mariners get those latter runs back in the bottom of the inning courtesy of a Nelson Cruz double, and it’s 3-2 Jays after three.   Loaiza survives a threat in the 5th by whiffing Mike Zunino with the bases loaded and two out, but when he walks the first two batters of the 6th he’s gone for Joey Hamilton, who earned the save in their semifinal game.  Hamilton starts out by dropping a Kyle Seager grounder to load the bases with nobody out, but he then strikes out the next two batters and gets Jean Segura to fly out to end the inning with the Jays lead still intact.  In the top of the 7th, an Alex Gonzalez double drives in Jose Cruz Jr., and Martinez is pulled for Tony Zych who ends the inning but the Jays now lead by two.  Mitch Haniger then leads off the bottom of the inning by getting injured for 6 games, and the Mariners’ outfield resembles an infirmary.  With Hamilton’s eligibility now used up, the Jays bring in closer Billy Koch to begin the 8th, and he gets through it and through two outs of the 9th with no problem, but then Nelson Cruz doubles and defensive replacement LF-2 Dave Martinez drops a Zunino flyball for a two-base error and it’s a one-run game with the tying run in scoring position in the form of pinch runner Taylor Motter.  Koch delivers to Yonder Alonso, and it’s a groundout (plus meaningless injury, no less) and the Blue Jays hold on for a 4-3 win to take the regional crown, the fourth for the franchise joining 1985, 1989 and 2005.  The Jays award regional MVP honors to Joey Hamilton, a little used starter forced into relief who pitched four hitless innings with a save in round two and an all-important hold in the finals.

Interesting card of Regional #160:  Bill James described him as the best leadoff man in baseball history, and although I find that I disagree with James a fair amount, this may not be one of those times.  In 1982, the 23 year old Henderson stole 130 bases, breaking Lou Brock’s modern-era record for steals and that record still stands today.  We don’t see a lot of AAA stealers in Strat, but this card is one of the best of them, representing a season where Rickey was 10th in the MVP voting after having been the runner-up the prior season (at age 22).   The all-time career SB leader by nearly 500 steals, James points out that Rickey had the most steals of anyone before the age of 29 as well as the most steals after age 29–and that other than him, there was nobody else who appears on both lists of leaders.  Anyhow, despite sporting this card in the leadoff spot, the 1982 A’s made a first round exit in this tournament, managing to lose 94 games for Billy Martin in real life.  One has to wonder how many games they would have lost if Henderson wasn’t on the team.