SUPER-REGIONAL J:  This group of 64 had initially featured 5 pennant winners, but only one of them had won their regional:  the 1960 Yankees, the predecessor to the famed ‘61 M&M boys that had meekly exited in the first round in this tournament.  Not the 1960 version, however, who had blown through Regional #73 outscoring the opposition 17-4 and were substantial ELO favorites here.  However, one of the representatives here, the 1990 Giants, had defeated two of those pennant winners in their regional and certainly weren’t afraid of ELO rankings, which indicated that they were the most likely opposition for the Yanks in the super-regional final.   Judging by those rankings, other major obstacles would include Reds and Angels teams that both won more than 90 games; the rest of the bracket included middling teams that had each pulled off some upsets to get this far.  The Yanks were my sentimental favorite here, as they would add star power to the final field of 32 if they could pull it off, but being my favorite tends to be the kiss of death.  Furthermore, they were on the more challenging side of this bracket and would need those stars to produce if they hoped to advance.

Round 4 action

The 1960 Yankees won 97 games and the American League before losing the Series to Maz’s infamous walk-off homer in Game 7.   However, they had powered through their regional and although there was a little wear on their bullpen left over from the regional final, Bob Turley (9-3, 3.28) was a fine #4 starter as long as he could get the ball over the plate.  However, although the Yanks had the top ranking in the super-regional, their opponent had the second best:  the 1989 Angels who had gone 91-71, although a 2nd inning injury to starter Kirk McCaskill in the regional final had decimated the Angels bullpen, so they were putting their hopes on the arm of Jim Abbott (12-12, 3.92).  A Tony Kubek RBI single and a Roger Maris sac fly stake Turley to a 2-0 lead in the top of the 3rd, and Hector Lopez adds an RBI double in the 4th to extend the margin.  Abbott settles down some, but two walks to begin the 7th and he’s out for Angels closer Bob McClure; Kubek then misses a HR 1-10 for a double that scores one but 1-12 Clete Boyer is out trying to score from first.  In the bottom of the inning, the Angels finally get to Turley, loading the bases with two away, and then Devon White hits a grounder that SS-2 Kubek muffs and California is on the board.  Wally Joyner adds a sac fly in the 8th and the Yankees lead is down to two entering the bottom of the 9th, which makes them quite nervous given their prior experiences with that inning.  But there are no Mazeroskis in the Angels lineup, as Turley sets them down in order to wrap up a 4-hitter and a 4-2 win.  

The 2012 Reds won 97 games, the NL Central, and Regional #76 despite losing HOF 3B Scott Rolen in round one, a lingering injury that would persist through this super-regional if the Reds were able to survive.  For their #4 starter, they had Bronson Arroyo (12-10, 3.74) whose stats looked a lot better than his card, but their bullpen was in decent shape if they were needed.  The 1969 Astros had an even split at 81-81, but went 3-0 in Regional #75 and I liked the looks of the card for starter Don Wilson (16-12, 4.00) better than that of Arroyo.  Regardless, the Reds take a lead when injury replacement Chris Heisey leads off the bottom of the 2nd by converting Wilson’s HR split, and Wilson then issues four straight walks in the 2nd to add to the lead although he strands the bases loaded to prevent further damage.  A two out RBI single by Joey Votto in the 7th gives Arroyo some insurance, and the Astros don’t get on the board until the top of the 9th, when Marty Martinez begins the inning with a triple and Jim Wynn cannons a sac fly to bring him in.  Hoping the rest their pen, the Reds stick with Arroyo but a single by Denis Menke puts the tying run at the plate with one out, and Cincinnati moves to the nearly unhittable Aroldis Chapman to try to get the final two outs.  However, a Curt Blefary single puts the winning run at the plate and the Reds are starting to see how these Astros won a regional.  Chapman whiffs Doug Rader, but Norm Miller delivers a single to score Menke and the tying run is 90 feet away, while the winner is on first.  Up to the plate comes Jay Alou, and the roll is 5-5:  a solid homer on Arroyo, but a strikeout on Chapman and the Reds survive with a 3-2 win despite being held to 5 hits by Wilson.  Key to the victory were three inning-ending DPs initiated by Reds 2B-1 Brandon Phillips

The 2013 Indians won 92 games to make a brief postseason appearance as a wild card; they had only been the #5 seed in a strong Regional #78 but they had prevailed against a couple of very good teams to reach this super-regional, and Corey Kluber (11-5, 3.85) was a decent option for a fourth starter.  The Tribe faced the 1996 A's, who assembled a mediocre 78-84 record in real life but they had mashed their way through Regional #75 with 10 homers in the three games–five of them by an imposing Mark McGwire.   However, what steroids giveth, they also taketh away, and their pitching options bore the scars of the era, with Don Wengert (7-11, 5.58) serving as cannon fodder until the bullpen can come into play.  The A’s immediately load the bases with nobody out in the top of the 1st with a single and two walks, but Kluber somehow gets out of the jam with a whiff and a DP ball.  The Indians also load the bases in the bottom of the inning, but they also come away empty.  However, they break through for a two-out rally in the 3rd, taking advantage of Wengert’s generous card with run-scoring hits including a Mike Aviles double, a 2-run single by Michael Bourn, and another RBI single from Jason Kipnis for a 4-0 lead.  In the 4th, Nick Swisher finds Wengert’s solid HR result for a 2-out 2-run shot and Oakland tries to stop the bleeding with closer Billy Taylor.  It takes an unexpected error by LF-1 Michael Brantley for the A’s to get on the board, and after another 2-base error in the 8th, this one from P-3 Kluber, the A’s get another on a Rafael Bournigal sac fly.  But Kluber finishes out a 3-hitter and allows no earned runs (and no home runs) in a 6-2 win to propel the Indians to round five.  

Two of the three teams that the 85-77 1990 Giants defeated in Regional #80 were pennant winners, although every game was decided by a single run; they were hoping that a shaky Don Robinson (10-7, 4.57) would be able to keep things that close and turn the game over to a deep bullpen.   The 1991 Expos, on the other hand, lost 90 games and although they pulled off some upsets in Regional #79 with some young players who were a few years from greatness, those were against less formidable teams; even so, Oil Can Boyd (6-8, 3.52) could grease the path to victory.  The first blow of the game is struck in the bottom of the 4th when Matt Williams sends one deep into the fog at Candlestick Park for a solo homer, and Will Clark’s double in the 5th scores another although 1-14 Dave Anderson is out at the plate trying to pad the lead further.  A homer by Robby Thompson in the 6th and Boyd goes to rust in the showers as Jeff Fassero is called upon to try to keep the Expos in the game.  Robinson is meanwhile exceeding expectations, but then two doubles off his card in the 7th, the second by Dave Martinez breaking the shutout, and he’s out of the game for Jeff Brantley. Brantley yields an RBI single to Andres Galarraga and it’s now a one-run game.  However, in the bottom of the 8th a 2-out RBI single from Anderson is followed by a 2-run Will Clark triple, so Steve Bedroisan is brought in to finish out the 9th for the Giants.  He’s greeted by Tim Wallach who converts Bedrock’s HR 1-8/flyB split for one run, but 1B-1 Will Clark makes a highlight reel snag to end the threat and the Giants advance with a 6-3 win.  

The survivors:  Round 5

This round five game features two postseason teams each swinging around the rotation back to their number one starters.  For the pennant-winning 1960 Yankees, it would be Hall of Famer Whitey Ford (12-9, 3.08) who had tossed a 2-hit shutout in round one; the 2012 Reds were down a Hall of Famer with Scott Rolen still out with an injury, and they needed Johnny Cueto (19-9, 2.78) to improve upon his rather shaky first round performance because closer Aroldis Chapman only had one inning left in him.  Ford looks rough from the start, escaping some jams but finally yielding a run in the bottom of the 3rd when a Joey Votto double sets up a Jay Bruce sac fly for a 1-0 Reds lead.  Zack Cozart leads off the 4th for the Reds with a home run, although it could have been worse as Brandon Phillips misses Ford’s HR split and gets stranded at second.  The Yanks then lead off the 5th with three straight singles, one from Kubek driving in a run, but Maris and Mantle then combine to kill the rally and NY still trails by one.  Disaster strikes for the Reds in the 7th as Votto is injured for four games, meaning that Cincy is now missing two corner infielders, but Cueto is still hanging in there.  Finally, with two out in the bottom of the 9th and a pinch runner on 1st, I send up Johnny Blanchard to pinch hit for #9 hitter Clete Boyer.  The roll…..3-9, a solid homer on Boyer but a lazy fly on Blanchard and I personally kill the Yankees chances as the battered Reds hold on for the 2-1 win.  However, I refuse to accept full responsibility, as Maris and Mantle do nothing in the game but hit into DPs and it’s up to the stars to come through if you want to advance in this tournament.  

Although the 2013 Indians had the better record in this round five game, the 1990 Giants were higher ranked by the ELO rating, so this looked like a pretty even matchup between two teams sending out their top starters, Justin Masterson (14-10, 3.45) for Cleveland and John Burkett (14-7, 3.49) for San Francisco.  The Indians start off big in the top of the 1st with a 3-run homer from Nick Swisher, one that might have been a grand slam if leadoff hitter Jason Kipnis hadn’t been nailed by Giants’ C-4 Terry Kennedy trying to steal second.  Kennedy then throws out Michael Bourn attempting to steal in the 2nd to kill a rally, but Swisher knocks a 2-run shot for his second homer of the game in the 3rd and the Indians lead is 5-0.  Will Clark responds in the bottom of the frame with a 2-run blast of his own, but the Indians keep dumping lighter fluid on Burkett, who allows three straight hits to begin the 5th and SF moves to Jeff Brantley to try to end the rally.  But Swisher records his 6th RBI with a run-scoring grounder before the inning is over, and although Robby Thompson puts up an RBI single in the 7th for the Giants, Swisher crushes yet another 3-run homer in the 9th and Masterson is sufficient to close out a 10-3 complete game win to send the Cleveland Swishers to the super-regional final. 

Round 6: super-regional finals

The 2013 Indians had pounded their way through the super-regional, outscoring the opposition 16-5 behind the suddenly Ruthian Nick Swisher, and they would try to sustain that momentum with Zach McAllister (9-9, 3.75) on the mound.  The 2012 Reds came limping into the final with two of their best players injured, Scott Rolen and Joey Votto,  but they had Mat Latos (14-4, 3.48), who had tossed a 3-hit complete game in round two and they hoped he could be an equalizer.  McAllister allows four baserunners in the top of the 1st but is fortunate to escape with only one run on a Jay Bruce double, as 1-12 Ryan Ludwick is tossed out trying to score on the play.  The Indians get it back quickly as they lead off the bottom of the 1st with two straight hard singles, and although Ryan Raburn hits into a DP it scores a run to tie the game.  In the second the Reds walk Swisher, who gets singled to third and scores on a Michael Bourn grounder and the Indians take a 2-1 lead after two, but weak-hitting injury replacement Wilson Valdez raps a single past P-4 McAllister to drive in a game-tying run in the 4th.  The Reds load the bases with nobody out in the 5th, but McAllister recovers his control and whiffs one and is bailed out by a key DP turned by 2B-2 Jason Kipnis to sustain the tie.  The Indians lose RF Drew Stubbs (not to be confused with Reds CF Drew Stubbs) to injury and his only replacement is terrible with the glove and the bat, and when McAllister yields a single to begin the 6th the Indians quickly move to the pen for Bryan Shaw and he quickly ends the threat.  Sensing that this is going to be a struggle, the Reds bring in closer Aroldis Chapman in the bottom of the inning after Latos yields a hard 6-7 single for the third time of the game, and he does his job, while Ryan Ludwick puts the Reds ahead with a 2-out solo homer in the 7th.  However, in the bottom of the 8th, Carlos Santana, who has been Supernatural all tournament, continues to require guitarist puns with a clutch 2-run double, and Astrubal Cabrera follows with an RBI double of his own and the Indians have grabbed a two run lead against the previously untouchable Chapman.  The Indians go to Matt Albers to begin the 9th, but he fares no better against Ludwick than Shaw did, as Ludwick crushes another solo shot to make it a one-run game.  After Jay Bruce walks, it’s Chris Heisey’s turn, and he converts a HR 1-5 for a two run shot and a Cincinnati lead; Albers leaves with a 27.00 ERA and Danny Salazar ends the inning but the damage is done.  The Reds now try to preserve the ineffective Chapman and turn the game over to Sean Marshall for the bottom of the 9th; he retires the Indians in order and the battered Reds continue to perform their magic to repeatedly come from behind in the 6-5 win, capturing the super-regional and taking their place among the 32 most persistent Strat teams ever printed.

Interesting card(s) of Super-Regional J:  Two relievers in the group, linked through literature:  "Afterward in the outfield we talked about one-pitch pitchers.  Ryne Duren was a one-pitch pitcher.  His one pitch was a wild warm-up.  Ryne wore glasses that looked like the bottoms of Coke bottles, and he'd be sort of steered out to the mound and he'd peer in at the catcher and let fly his first warm-up pitch over the screen and the intimidation was complete.  All he needed was his fastball and hitters ducking away."   Jim Bouton, Ball Four, p. 67.