REGIONAL #212:  I initially thought this draw was going to be entirely stocked from the 21st century, but at the last minute a White Sox team from the 90s snuck in to provide a little more variety.  I thought the Sox might have another shot to lose in the regional final, like they had in the previous two, because there were some squads in here that I suspected might be stinkers, such as an Orioles team from the early 2000s and last year’s Tigers.  Chronologically, the team closest to a pennant was a Yankees team three seasons after their most recent one (in 2009, can you believe that?), a version of the Dodgers five years before a flag, and a Rangers squad midway between their 2011 and 2023 wins.   My hunch was a Dodgers vs; Yankees matchup in the final, guessing that the Yanks would make up for a first round exit in the prior bracket by winning this one.  The ELO ratings apparently didn’t know about my jinx, because they predicted the White Sox to defeat the Dodgers in the final, seeding the Yankees third in a generally weak bracket.  

First round action

The 2014 Rockies lineup did not look like one that would lose 96 games, as eight of their nine were in double digit homers led by Nolen Arenado, Corey Dickerson and the oft-injured Troy Tulowitzki, and their DP combo involved two 1s; it was interesting to see that their Pythagorean projection was nearly 10 games better than their actual record.  Although their pitching staff suffered the typical Coors hangover, Jorge de la Rosa (14-11, 4.10) wasn’t a terrible option at the top of the rotation.  They were ELO underdogs to the 2017 Angels, who had an 80-82 record with Mike Trout finishing 4th for AL MVP with Andrelton Simmons and midseason acquisition Justin Upton also getting votes; however, like the Rockies the rotation was a mess and JC Ramirez (11-10, 4.15) was the best of the bunch.  But it was a different Justin making a name for himself in the top of the 1st, that being Justin Morneau with a two-run homer to make the Rockies mountain high.  Wilin Rosario wills a solo shot in the 2nd and Michael Cuddyer adds a run-scoring fielder’s choice in the 3rd and Colorado now leads 4-0.  The hits just keep coming, as a 2-out RBI single in the 4th by Franklin Stubbs is followed by a 2-run double from Morneau, and Ramirez exits without tossing a scoreless inning.  Yusmeiro Petit comes in to contribute a scoreless 5th and the Angels briefly have some hope, but Charlie Blackmon leads off the 6th by converting Petit’s HR split and the hole just keeps getting wider and deeper.  De la Rosa loses his shutout in the 8th when Martin Maldonado finds the pitcher’s HR result for a solo shot, and then with two out in the bottom of the 9th Luis Valbuena connects for a long 2-run homer, but it’s far too late to make a difference and the Rockies move on with the 8-3 win.  

The 2012 Dodgers were the 2nd seed in this bracket, going 86-76 behind Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and a couple of Ellises, but the real advantage was Clayton Kershaw (14-9, 2.53), who was runner-up in the Cy Young ballots although he won the award in both the prior and the following season.  The 2003 Orioles lost 91 games but they were not as bad as I’d first imagined, with an all “2” .300 hitting outfield led by Melvin Mora, although Pat Hentgen (7-8, 4.09) was their least frightening starter since they had traded away Sidney Ponson in midseason.  Mora launches a solo shot into the pavilions at Chavez Ravine in the top of the 1st for an early advantage, but in the bottom of the inning LA leadoff hitter Shane Victorino nails Hentgen’s solid HR result, and then back-to-back errors by O’s 3B-4 Tony Batista and 1B-3 Jeff Conine sets up Ethier for another roll on Hentgen’s solid big fly; the inning finally ends when #9 hitter Dee Gordon misses Hentgen’s split homer result for a flyB.  Undaunted, the Orioles find all the hits on Kershaw’s card, and RBI singles by Deivi Cruz and Brook Fordyce and a sac fly from Luis Matos immediately tie the game back up in the top of the 2nd.  In the 3rd, Hanley Ramirez locates Hentgen’s solid HR, the 3rd time in 3 innings, and the Orioles have to find someone in the pen with an out at 4-9, with BJ Ryan filling the requirement.  A two-out RBI single from Adrian Gonzalez provides additional padding in the 4th, although Ryan does the job in the 5th thanks to two consecutive 4-9 rolls.  Baltimore PH Jack Cust cuts the deficit to one with a long solo homer in the 8th.   Kershaw gets one out in the 9th but then allows two singles, and Kenley Jansen is summoned with the tying run on 3rd.  With the infield in, Matos rolls a gbB and the runner is nailed at the plate, so now there are two out and All-Star Melvin Mora at the plate.  Jansen blows it by him, recording the strikeout and the save as the Dodgers survive the 6-5 scare to advance.  

The 2014 Yankees went 84-78 as the last of the Jeter-era squads that have done so badly in this tournament.  Jeter was 40 years old here, as was his teammate Ichiro, and Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Beltran, and Brian Roberts were all well past their sell-by date as well.  The good news was that Masahiro Tanaka (13-5, 2.77) got votes for Rookie of the Year and although Mariano Rivera had retired the previous season, there were still some great arms in the pen.  They faced a 78-84 2017 Rangers team that had nobody in common with this year’s Series winner, with a 38 year old Adrian Beltre as their top weapon along with 7 big swingers in the lineup with over 100 whiffs, but Yu Darvish (6-9, 4.01) not looking too bad if he can manage to keep the ball in the Stadium.  The Yankees get off to a dubious start when Jacoby Ellsbury leads off the bottom of the 1st by getting knocked out of the game with an injury.  The Rangers get on the board first in the top of the 4th with a Mike Napoli single, and then a 2-base error from SS-4 Jeter opens the door for a two run double courtesy of Rougned Odor.  However, in the 6th the Yanks get a pinch hit RBI double from Francisco Cervelli, and then with two out Mark Teixeira lofts a 2-run blast to knot the game at 3-3.  A leadoff single by Odor in the top of the 7th and New York doesn’t mess around, pulling Tanaka for Dellin Betances and his 1.40 ERA; however, he is immediately greeted by a moon shot from new catcher Robinson Chirinos.  Three batters later and it’s Beltre’s turn for a 2-run homer and the mood in the Bronx is getting ugly.  It gets better in the bottom of the inning when Ichiro finds the solid HR result on Darvish for a two-run poke of his own, and when Brett Gardner follows that with a triple Darvish is gone for Jose “Wilder Thing” LeClerc.  To his credit, LeClerc doesn’t walk the next batter, Martin Prado–instead, he allows another 2-run homer and once again the game is tied.  The Yanks bring in Adam Warren to begin the 9th, but after a double and a walk they decide to end that experiment, summoning closer David Robertson to try to get out of the jam.  He whiffs Beltre for one out, but then walks Joey Gallo to bring up Elvis Andrus–and Elvis has left the building with the bases loaded for a grand slam.  It’s now the Rangers’ turn to try a 9th inning reliever, and Matt Bush survives an error by 2B-4 Odor to close out the 11-7 win for the Rangers, and the end of the Jeter years goes pretty much like the rest of the era with a first round exit for the Yankees.

This was a first round matchup between the top and bottom seeds in the regional, with the 1991 White Sox earning top billing with 87 wins in their crappy new ballpark, with Frank Thomas 3rd in the MVP ballots and Black Jack McDowell (17-10, 3.41) attracting some votes for Cy Young.   Although the Sox teams are typically jinxed in my tournament, this time they had the good fortune to draw the 2022 Tigers in the first round, who lost 96 games but still outperformed their Pythagorean projection.  It seemed to me that this Tigers team would have a hard time beating the ‘62 Mets, although Tarik Skubal (7-8, 3.53) was a credible option in the rotation–the only one.  However, it’s the Tigers who take the lead in the bottom of the 4th when DH Kerry Carpenter leads off the inning with a long homer, and that’s followed by back to back doubles from Eric Haase and Javier Baez that make it 2-0.   Because the Sox can’t muster any offense against Skubal, they feel compelled to pull McDowell when he issues a leadoff walk in the 6th, with Scott Radinsky assigned to keep it close and he retires the side without incident.  The mishaps continue for the Sox as Robin Ventura is knocked out of the game in the 7th with an injury, no doubt from getting punched by Skubal.  As a vague gesture of a threat, Lance Johnson gets a one-out single in the top of the 9th to bring up the Big Hurt as the tying run, and there is Hurt all right as Thomas grounds into a double play; the Sox are mere Skuby snacks for Skubal’s 2-hit shutout as the Tigers pull off the 1 vs 8 upset, 2-0, to head to the semifinals.  

The survivors

The 2012 Dodgers were the top remaining seed in the bracket although they barely survived the first round; they did benefit from the typical advantage of the better teams with having a deeper rotation for later rounds, and Chad Billingsley (10-9, 3.55) was just one of a number of viable options.  The 2014 Rockies hoped that Tyler Matzek (6-11, 4.05) could pitch well enough to allow their powerful offense to prevail, and it looked promising as the Rockies led off the top of the 1st with a Drew Stubbs double followed by a Justin Morneau single that allows the fleet Stubbs to beat the oft-uncooperative split die and score.  In the 2nd, Drew Stubbs drives a hanging Chad curveball for a 2-run triple, and Morneau picks up another RBI with a single that is also off Billingsley’s card, but the Dodgers show signs of life in the bottom of the 3rd with Bobby Abreu and Matt Kemp driving in runs to narrow the gap to 4-2.   Matzek gets wild in the 4th and Abreu draws a bases-loaded walk to make it a one-run game, and in the 6th an error by 3B02 Aranado sets up an RBI double for Andre Ethier that ties the game.  With runners now on 1st and 2nd and nobody out, the Rockies bring in the infield for Hanley Ramirez, who promptly get a gbA++ for a two-run single and Matzek is gone for closer Latroy Hawkins, but Ramirez steals second and scores on a Mark Ellis single; Shane Victorino replaces Ellis after a fielder’s choice so he steals second and scores on an Abreu single and by the time Hawkins gets the final out the Dodgers lead 8-4.  Corey Dickerson then leads off the 6th for the Rockies with a homer that begins to narrow the gap, and when Billingsley allows a couple of singles in the 7th the Dodgers move to the pen for Scott Elbert, but the Rockies get a run on a Tulowitzki fielder’s choice.   The Dodgers respond in the bottom of the inning when Ramirez singles, steals second again, and races home on a Victorino single; Victorino steals second and he scores on a double by Dee Gordon off Hawkins’ card.  With a solid lead, the Dodgers bring in Randy Choate for the ninth and he sets the Rockies down in order and LA moves to the finals with a 10-6 comeback win.  

The 8th seeded 2022 Tigers knocked out the bracket favorite with an excellent pitching performance, but as is typical of a 96-loss team the rotation got ugly quickly, with Drew Hutchison (3-9, 4.53) having some rough spots on his card.  For the 2017 Rangers, Andrew Cashner (11-11, 3.40) was a decent option and they were hoping he’d allow them to rest a bullpen that was needed to survive round one.  Rangers leadoff hitter Delino Deshields walks in the top of the 1st, steals second, and then scores on an Adrian Beltre hit; then Elvis Andrus, who won the opening game with a 9th inning grand slam, contributes a 2-run homer in his next at bat for a 3-0 Texas lead.  Carlos Gomez leads off the 3rd with a homer, and two batters later Beltre belts a solo shot and the Tigers withdraw Drew and try Jose Cisnero, who ends the inning quickly.  The Tigers try a comeback in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff homer by Jeimer Candelario who converts a HR 1-4/flyB split on Cashner, and Kerry Carpenter later adds a two out RBI single to narrow the deficit.   In the 4th, the Rangers respond by knocking hits past SS-3 Javier Baez and 1B-3 Harold Castro to score a run, and then both sets of bats cool down.  In the 9th the Rangers watch in horror as Gomez gets injured, but it’s apparently minor and he’ll be back for the final if Cashner can hold on.  And in the bottom of the 9th, he retires Harold Castro, he retires Willi Castro, and since Detroit can’t get Fidel to sign a contract, Cashner snuffs out Candelario and wraps up a six-hitter and a 6-2 win that sends the Rangers to the finals.  

The regional final featured the #2 seeded 2012 Dodgers and Aaron Harang (10-10, 3.61) against the #5 seed 2017 Rangers and Cole Hamels (11-6, 4.20), who was coming to the end of his experience in Texas.  Carlos Gomez, back from his injury suffered in the semifinal, makes a return in style with a solo homer in his first AB in the bottom of the 1st, and three batters later Joey Gallo makes contact for a 2-run shot and a quick 3-0 Texas lead.  Andre Ethier serves notice that this game isn’t over by converting Hamels’ HR split to lead off the 2nd, and after a couple of walks and an error by 1B-3 Mike Napoli loads the bases for the Dodgers, Bobby Abreu converts a two-out DO 1-12/flyB on Hamel’s card that clears the bases and LA vaults to a 4-3 lead.  That doesn’t last, as a 2-out 2-run homer by Adrian Beltre in the bottom of the inning returns the Rangers to the lead and the Dodgers decide to waste no time in going to their strong bullpen, Brandon League replacing Harang who doesn’t last two innings.  Beltre adds a 2-out RBI single in the 4th and that’s followed by Gallo’s second homer of the game, a 3-run blast and the Rangers are looking unstoppable as they climb to a 9-4 lead.  In desperation, the Dodgers summon closer Kenley Jansen in the 6th, and they try to cut into the lead in the 7th but are thwarted when Mark Ellis (1-12+2) is nailed at the plate trying to score on a Victorino double.  The Rangers score another in the bottom of the 7th courtesy of a 2-base error by Dodger 3B-4 Hanley Ramirez, and Hamels hangs on, surviving three Texas errors to close out the 10-4 win and provide the Rangers with their third regional title, their first for a team from this millennium.  These Rangers were built on the Dave Kingman model, a team that collectively either struck out or homered, and the latter worked for them in this bracket with 10 dingers in the three games. 

Interesting card of Regional #211:  I don’t believe I’ve ever selected a card from the “current” set for this feature, but with a bracket loaded with modern teams I figured that Jose Cisnero should get his moment in the sun, if he can locate it.  Sporting a gaudy 1.08 ERA, Cisnero had one of the lowest H/9 rates in the regional, but also had the highest BB/9 rate.  I found myself wondering if this might be the highest ratio of BB/9 to ERA in printed Strat card history, but my googling left me unable to determine the answer to that question.  It has to be close, though; Cisnero’s BB/9 of 6.8 was pretty much the same as the all-time career “leader” in that regard, Tommy Byrne, who holds that record by nearly a full walk per inning over his nearest competitor.   Byrne managed to assemble a winning career record despite accomplishing such feats as once walking 150 batters in 143 innings, although he developed better control later in his career, like some others such as Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Sandy Koufax.  However, Byrne’s career 4.04 ERA is more in line with what might be expected out of a pitcher with his (and Cisnero’s) control issues.  For this card, Cisnero was age 33 which might be a bit late to start developing pinpoint accuracy, although I should point out that in 2023 he managed to lower his BB/9 rate by a full three walks per game.  Unfortunately, his H/9 nearly doubled and his ERA climbed to 5.31, suggesting that maybe he’s better off when he doesn’t throw strikes.