REGIONAL #210:  After nearly 1,700 teams have played in this tournament, my random team selector program finally popped out one I’ve been dreading for a while–the pennant-winning Go Go Sox of 1959, one of my favorite teams.  If I like them so much, then why should I dread this draw?  It’s the jinx; all of my beloved Sox teams, the 2005 champs, the 1983 winning uglies, the 1977 South Side hit men, the 1967 hitless wonders, even the 1919 Black Sox–every one of them were knocked out in the first round, not a single victory among them.  The bracket even looked pretty winnable, with nobody else within immediate range of a pennant; the closest was probably a Red Sox team three years after the infamous Bill Buckner Series.  The rest of the bracket looked to me to be pretty middling, but I figured that the Chisox would exit in round one as is traditional, and that the Red Sox would go on to take the regional, with my guess of the Rockies losing in the final being a totally random selection.  The ELO ratings did have the White Sox as the favorite over an apparently good Mariners team in the final, but they also suggested that all of the other teams in the top half of the bracket were nearly as good as the Chisox, further reducing their odds of survival.  But, you gotta roll the dice and take your chances.

First round action 

The Friday Night Strat crowd agreed to humor me and allow me to try to beat the jinx by playing my 1959 White Sox live in the Zoom game of the week, with StratFan Rick agreeing to take the helm of the 2010 Padres.  The Go Go Sox won the AL with a 94-60 record, and they were all about speed, pitching and defense, led by AL MVP Nellie Fox; however, there were some rumblings in the crowd when I selected Bob Shaw (18-6, 2.69) for the start over their Hall of Famer Cy Young winner.  But I liked Shaw’s control against a good 90-72 Padres team that won 90 games, with Adrian Gonzales finishing 4th in the MVP voting with more homers than most of the Sox added together, and an unbelievably good bullpen ready to back up Mat Latos (14-10, 2.92) who got some Cy Young votes himself.  I wrestled with the decision about the DH for the Sox, with big Ted Kluszewski flexing his biceps while the lineup was being set, but at the last second I opted to put backup catcher John Romano at DH.  That decision proved to be an astute one as Romano blasts a solo shot in the bottom of the 1st to set off the exploding scoreboard  at Comiskey Park.  However, the celebration proved to be short-lived, as in the top of the 3rd the Sox defense looks more like the ‘62 Mets as errors by 3B-2 Bubba Phillips and SS-1 Luis Aparicio leave the crowd stunned and lead to three unearned runs for a 3-1 Padres lead.  Then, in the bottom of the 4th Romano comes to the plate and it’s another 2-4 roll, this one reaching the upper deck for another solo shot, and before the inning is out a Jim Landis RBI triple ties things up.  Both pitchers then settle in, but after the traditional 7th inning stretch trivia session Jim McAnany knocks a single, and first base coach Eaglesfly Roy calls for Jungle Jim Rivera as a pinchrunner.  He advances to 2nd on a grounder and then Phillips atones for his earlier error with a single, the fleet Rivera races home, and the Sox lead.  In the 8th, Rick pulls Latos for Joe Thatcher and his 1.29 ERA, but an RBI knock by Sherm Lollar adds an insurance run and Shaw holds on in the 9th for a jinx-defying 5-3 win, with all of the San Diego runs being unearned.

This was another first round matchup between two teams that were pretty highly ranked.  The 2014 Pirates surprised me by being the #3 seed, as they won 88 games and made a brief postseason appearance as a wild card.  Andrew McCutchen came in 3rd in the MVP votes and Josh Harrison also received some MVP support, while their bullpen was strong and the rotation was solid, fronted by Edinson Volquez (13-7, 3.04).  I was also surprised to discover that the 1989 Red Sox were only the #5 seed, as I had picked them to win the bracket, but they were barely over .500 at 83-79.  Still, with Wade Boggs leading the league in OBP and doubles (51!), and Roger Clemens (17-11, 3.13) on the mound this was not a team to take lightly.  However, an error by 3B-3 Boggs in the top of the 1st sets up an RBI single for Starling Marte, and Travis Snider adds another and the Pirates jump out to a 2-0 before many Fenway fans can get out of the T station.  However, they got there in time to watch the Pirates defense collapse, with errors from 3B-2 Harrison and SS-3 Jordy Mercer populating the bases for RBI hits from Ellis Burks and Danny Heep, and Jody Reed adds a sac fly and Boston takes a 4-2 lead after only one inning of play.  The Pirates are undaunted, as in the top of the 2nd they rake Clemens’ card for hit after hit, with RBI singles by Neil Walker and McCutchen and a 2-run double from Harrison quickly putting the Pirates back in the lead.  When Clemens allows two straight hits to start off the 5th, it’s apparent that he doesn’t have his stuff today and the Bosox trot out Lee Smith to try to keep the Pirates from adding to their total, but Pedro Alvarez greets Smith with an RBI single and then #9 hitter Ike Davis knocks a 3-run homer over the Green Monster prompting some fans to head  back to the T station.  They miss RBI singles from Heep and Reed in the bottom of the inning, and the game enters the 6th with the Pirates leading 10-6.  Ike Davis leads off the 7th with his second homer of the game, a 2-run shot that extends the gap, and meanwhile Volquez is cruising until the 9th.  Then, the Red Sox begin reeling off the hits, loading the bases for a squib RBI single from Burks followed by a grand slam from Nick Esasky, and don’t look now but suddenly it’s a one run game and there’s still only one out.  The Pirates then reluctantly have to turn the game over to closer Mark Melancon, and although Heep immediately finds a single on Melancon’s 1.90 ERA card, the reliever retires the next two in order to wrap up a wild 12-11 win for the Pirates.  

The 2017 Rockies had a decent 87-75 record with Nolen Arenado and Charlie Blackmon finishing 4th and 5th respectively in the MVP votes, and Jon Gray (10-4, 3.67) was a pretty good starter at the top of the rotation, at least by Colorado standards.   They faced the 1984 Indians, with a mirror image 75-87 record, who had Bert Blyleven (19-7, 2.87) finishing 3rd in the Cy Young ballots and Andre Thornton getting a few MVP votes as their main offensive threat.  Blyleven has a no-hitter going until the 4th, until a walk and a Trevor Story home run off Bert’s card ends that abruptly; the Indians try to respond quickly in the 5th but Brett Butler (1-16) is nailed at home trying to score on a Julio Franco single.  In the bottom of the inning, the Rockies load the bases with two out and Arenado rips a 2-run single past 2B-4 Tony Bernazard to extend their lead.  The Tribe get on the board in the 6th, although the run comes when Jerry Willard hits into a DP so it’s a bit of a mixed blessing.  Story adds a second 2-run homer to his resume in the 8th, this time off his own card, and Gray finishes out the game allowing 7 hits as the Rockies enjoy Story time en route to an easy 6-1 win.

I learned from Strat colleagues that the 1995 Mariners held a special place in the hearts of Seattle fans, as they won the AL West with a 79-66 record and were the first M’s team to reach the postseason, downing the Yankees but ultimately falling short in the ALCS.  They had Edgar Martinez finishing 3rd in the MVP votes, Jay Buhner was 5th, and Randy Johnson (18-2, 2.48) was 6th and an easy winner of the Cy Young award, although the remainder of the rotation would likely need a killer Norm Charlton to bail them out in relief.    They faced the 1996 Twins, who compiled a mediocre 78-84 record and although they had MVP vote-getters at the top of the order in Paul Molitor and Chuck Knoblauch, the rotation was a mess with Brad Radke (11-16, 4.46) sadly better than other options.  The M’s get off to a fast start in the bottom of the 1st as Vince Coleman singles, steals second, and scores on an Edgar single; Buhner then doubles and he and Edgar both score on a Tino Martinez single, and it’s the Martinez’s 3, Twins 0, with Carmelo phoning in requesting a tryout.  The M’s decide they don’t need Carmelo as the next batter, Mike Blowers, puts one in the seats for a two-run shot and the Kingdome is deafening.  Down 5-0 and still with only one out, the Twins pull Radke who has amassed a 135.00 ERA and try Mike Trombley, and he only gets out of the inning unscathed because Alex Diaz misses a SI 1-18 split.  The Twin get a leadoff double from Roberto Kelly in the 2nd and then a walk and a single load the bases with nobody out; that brings up Twins SS Pat Meares, who rolls a 1-12 for the LOMAX and it’s a triple play which is what the Big Unit was planning all along.   However, the bad Seattle defense rears its ugly head in the 3rd, as 2B-4 Joey Cora drops a Knoblauch grounder, who steals second and then scores when LF-4 Coleman manages to turn a Ron Coomer fly ball into a double.  A walk to Marty Cordova and then Kelly finds a DO 1-9/flyB at Johnson’s 6-3 result; he converts the split for a two out, two run two bagger and its a whole new ballgame.  In the 4th, Cora tries to make up for his terrible glove work with a two out RBI single; Coleman then singles Cora to 3rd and Trombley drops a Gar grounder to allow Cora to score for additional insurance.  Tino Martinez then leads off the 5th by wrapping one around the foul pole for another run and Trombley exits for a wild Dan Naulty, and that doesn’t go well, with two errors and a Luis Sojo triple making it 10-3.  Naulty finally gets out of the inning in an unusual way; with three A stealers in a row for the Mariners, Alex Diaz, Cora and Coleman all reach first consecutively, and with C-4 Greg Myers behind the plate, all three attempt a steal of second, and all three are thrown out consecutively–the first time I think I’ve ever seen that happen.  The Twins show signs of life in the 7th as Coomer and Cordova hit back to back doubles off Johnson’s card with two out, and when Cordova scores on a Kelly single the Seattle lead is cut to three and the Mariners are pondering whether their ace is going to be able to hold on. And he does, finally putting together a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th to finish out a sloppy 10-7 win, assisted by the Twins committing five errors and hitting into a triple play. 

The survivors

This was a semifinal final matchup of the top two seeds in the bracket.  The pennant winning 1959 White Sox had survived my jinx in a FTF zoom game in round one, but now it was time to see if they could do so in solitaire mode, which is where the bad mojo most strongly manifests.  On the bright side, the Sox would be able to trot out a Cy Young winner and Hall of Famer in Early Wynn (22-10, 3.16) to battle the 2014 Pirates, who put up a 12-spot in the first round but still barely managed to win.  However, the Bucs had a deep rotation and Vance Worley (8-4, 2.85) had a better ERA and better control than Wynn, so it was hard to argue the Sox had an advantage there.  In the top of the 5th, the Sox miss their third HR split of the game but Earl Torgeson’s 1-16 missed split still results in an RBI triple; Aparicio singles him home and is then caught stealing by C-1 Russell Martin, but the Sox now lead 2-0.  Travis Snider then leads off the bottom of the inning with a gruesome 10 game injury, and in the 7th Nellie Fox’s two-out double scores the 1-14+2 Torgeson to provide Wynn with a little insurance, forcing the Pirates to summon Tony Watson and his 1.63 ERA from the pen to put out the fire.   He does so, and is helped when Sherm Lollar leads off the 8th with the 4th missed HR split of the game for the Sox and is promptly stranded at second.  However, in the 9th Aparicio knocks a two-out single and this time successfully steals second; as designed, Nellie Fox responds with another hit and the 1-17+2 Aparicio dashes home–and is safe on a split roll of 19.  SS-1 Aparicio then makes his second error of the regional on the first ball of the bottom of the 9th, but Wynn bears down and retires the next three in a row to seal the two-hit shutout–with both hits coming from Andrew McCutchen.  The Sox thus pull out the 4-0 win in classic Go Go style and head for the finals, much to my surprise.  

The #2 seeded 1995 Mariners’ rotation got a lot worse after Randy Johnson, and with the shortened season the M’s only had two options to choose from for this semifinal, neither of them good.  The start went to Tim Belcher (10-12, 4.52), with Seattle hoping for five decent innings before going to some strong arms in the pen.  Although the #5 seed 2017 Rockies had more options, they were equally bad, with German Marquez (11-7, 4.39) getting the start despite having trouble keeping the ball in the park.  The top of the 1st starts bad for Seattle as DJ LeMahieu raps a leadoff single followed by a long homer by Charlie Blackmon, while in the bottom of the inning Joey Cora leads off reaching first on an error by C-3 Jonathan Lucroy, but then Lucroy promptly throws him out trying to steal second and the M’s swear off base-stealing forever.  However, Rockies 1B Mark Reynoldsis knocked out of the game with an injury to lead off the 2nd, and in the bottom of the inning Marquez issues a 2-out walk to Mike Blowers and then Dan Wilson finds Marquez’s solid HR result and the game is tied.  Not to be outdone, Blackmon finds and converts Belcher’s HR split to lead off the third for his second dinger of the game and the Rockies regain the lead, but a two-out double by Edgar in the 5th ties the game once again.  Jay Buhner follows with another double that scores two and the Mariners grab the lead for the first time, which puts Marquez at the 5-run threshold and the Rockies waste no time in bringing in Pat Neshek with his 1.59 ERA.  He gets out number three, but after five the Mariners lead 5-3 and a couple of promising youngsters in Griffey Jr. and ARod are free to enter the game to shore up the defense (and the offense).  Seattle is hoping that Belcher can go a little longer and preserve the pen, but injury replacement Pat Valaika hits a double in the top of the 6th after missing the HR split and the Mariners summon the unhittable Norm Charlton who quickly dispatches the Rockies to prevent any damage.  The Mariners get consecutive singles from their two kids and then Alex Diaz successfully beats out a bunt for the second time this game, loading the bases for EMart who clears them with a double and the Mariners are pulling away.  Buhner then puts the exclamation point on things with a 2-run homer and Neshek has to go after not recording any outs in the 7th.  Chris Rusin comes in to end the inning, but the Mariners are in double digits and to preserve Charlton the Mariners bring in Bill Risley.  That goes terribly wrong in the 9th, as an RBI single by Lucroy, a 2-run double from Gerardo Parra, and a 3-run homer by Ramiel Tapia off Risley’s card, and suddenly it’s a two run game with two out and powerful injury replacement Valaika at bat.  The Mariners can afford no more of that so in comes Jeff Nelson to try to get the one needed out; it’s a 6-12 roll but Valaika isn’t the DH and it’s an out on Nelson who earns the one-roll save to send the Mariners into the finals as they cling to the 10-8 win.  

With two core member favorites doing battle, it was time for an emergency Friday Night Strat zoom meeting between my 1959 White Sox and StratFan Rick’s 1995 Mariners for the regional crown.  Both teams had legacies of achievement that fell just short–the Go-Go Sox eliminated in six games in the Series by the Dodgers after winning their first pennant since the Black Sox fiasco, while the M’s lost in six in the ALCS to the Indians after making their first postseason appearance after becoming an expansion team.  I liked the pitching matchup of my Barry Latman (8-5, 3.75) against the Mariners’ only remaining option, Chris Bosio (10-8, 4.92), but Bosio starts the game with three perfect innings while Latman escapes jams, including one created by SS-1 Aparicio’s error that extends his streak of three straight games with an error.  But Little Looie atones with a single in the 4th, when he steals second on C-3 Dan Wilson and scores on a Nellie Fox single.  Sherm Lollar adds an RBI single but the Sox strand two runners to end the inning up 2-0.  In the 5th, Earl Torgeson rolls Bosio’s HR 1-11 result but misses the split for the 5th straight HR split missed by the Sox in this regional, and Torgeson is stranded at second to keep the game at 2-0.  In the 6th, Tino Martinez puts one into the seats for a solo shot and the Kingdome comes to life, with Rick heading to the bench to insert promising rookies with names like ARod and Griffey Jr.  And that pays rapid dividends, as Junior belts a 2-run homer in the 7th and Seattle leads, and the Chisox in desperation turn to Turk Lown for help.  Unfortunately, the Mariners pen has far better options, and Jeff Nelson tosses a hitless 8th while the literally unhittable Norm Charlton does the same in the 9th, closing out a combined 4-hitter as Seattle captures their third regional (joining 1990 and 2007) with the 3-2 win.  And my beloved Sox will Go-Go back into the storage drawers, hoping someday for the endless single elimination tournament-loser’s bracket edition.

Interesting card(s) of Regional #210:  This is a tale of two very different Cy Young winners from the two teams that made the finals in this regional.  39-year old Early Wynn won the award in 1959 when only one winner was named across both leagues; he captured 81% of the vote while also finishing third in the MVP voting, bested by two of his White Sox teammates.  Wynn led the league in wins but also in walks allowed, as reflected in his card.  31-year old Randy Johnson won his Cy Young with a 97% share and came in 6th in the MVP votes; he led the league in winning percentage, ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, and fewest HR/9, and he walked a little more than half as many as Wynn, finding remarkable control after leading the AL in walks issued three years in a row in the early 90s.  Johnson was so much better than the other pitchers in his rotation that it bordered on comical; for Wynn, I didn’t even start him in the first round as I felt that teammate Bob Shaw (third in the Cy Young votes) had a better card.  In short, I think Johnson’s card looks a lot more impressive than Wynn’s.  However, in this bracket it was Wynn with the far better performance, a 2-hit shutout of the #3 seed in the regional, while Johnson was battered for seven runs by the worst team in the bracket and his Mariners only won because their opponents committed five errors.  Still, both of these pitchers led their team to the edge of glory, in real life and in this tournament, although here it was really Johnson's bullpen teammates who pushed the Mariners to the regional crown.