REGIONAL #222:  After the previous bracket, I was happy to see some diversity of eras in this group, with two seasons from the 1950s putting in their final tournament contestants, and other representatives from the 70s, 80s, and 90s in addition to a couple of 21st century squads.  In contrast, according to my memory the quality level of the group looked pretty consistent, teams that I was guessing were pretty decent although none were very close to a pennant year.   Some big names would make an appearance, such as pre-roid Barry Bonds and post-peak Ted Williams, but I found it difficult to pick a favorite in this group.  Other than assuming that the White Sox would fall victim to my usual jinx, I was totally in the dark but predicted an all-1992 final between the Pirates and the Cardinals, with the Pirates prevailing for what would be their most modern team to take a regional.  The ELO rankings came to the same conclusion, indicating that the toughest challenge for the favored Pirates would come in the first round against the Mariners.

First round action

This first round matchup between the top two seeds of the bracket was a natural for the Zoom game of the week; the favored 1992 Pirates winning 96 games and the NL East before losing a seven-game NLCS, while the 2014 Mariners won only 87 games but had a great equalizer on the mound in the form of Cy Young runner-up Felix Hernandez (15-6, 2.14).  However, as the guest managers of the M’s, ColavitoFan was unimpressed with a lineup that had some difficulty reaching base, while Nacster would skipper a Pirates team that boasted NL MVP Barry Bonds in his final year in Pittsburgh and Doug Drabek (15-11, 2.77) was 5th in the Cy Young votes.  Not surprisingly, the game begins as a pitcher’s duel, and with little action on the basebaths Nac decides to party like it’s 1909, reverting to deadball strategies and beating out two bunts (in Basic, mind you) in the bottom of the 5th to set up a 2-run single by Don Slaught for a Pirates lead.  That holds up until the top of the 8th, when Seattle finds Drabek’s weak spots and muster four hits, two of them RBI knocks from Michael Saunders and Kyle Seager, and the Mariners now possess a 3-2 edge and Hernandez is still looking strong.  However, Nac dips back into the John McGraw playbook and beats out yet another bunt, advances that runner into scoring position with a successful sacrifice–and Jeff King signals his displeasure with smallball by putting one into the Monongahela River and suddenly the Pirates have regained the lead.  Drabek comes out and sets down the Mariners in order in the top of the 9th and the top-seeded Pirates move on with a tightly contested 4-3 win.

The ELO ratings for the first round game between the 1954 Tigers and the 1976 Cubs portrayed the two teams as evenly matched, with neither being very good.  The Tigers finished 68-86 with little pop in the offense other than family patriarch Ray Boone, although besides Boone everyone else was a pretty good fielder and the rotation was solid, fronted by Ned Garver (14-11, 2.82).  The Cubs went 75-87 and had a bit more pop in the lineup, but less defense and pitching with Ray Burris (15-13, 3.11) good as long as he could avoid the longball.  Some smallball works for the Tigers in the bottom of the 2nd as a walk and a bunt sets up a run-scoring squib single by Bill Tuttle for a Detroit lead.  In the 3rd, it’s the Cubs defense that provides opportunities, as LF-2 Jose Cardenal misplays a Walt Dropo single that sets up a sac fly from Jim Delsing, and then Dropo scores when 1B-4 Rick Monday waves at a Frank House single as it goes by him.  The Cubs get on the board in the 4th when Manny Trillo misses Garver’s HR 1-13 split but 1-15+2 Joe Wallis is able to score on the resulting double; the Tigers get the run back in the bottom of the inning when Tuttle rolls his solid triple and then scores on a sac fly by Harvey Kuenn that almost bangs a wall.  The Cubs move to Bruce Sutter at the first sign of trouble in the 6th to try to keep the game within reach, and he holds as the Cubs make it a two-run game in the 7th on a sac fly from Mick Kelleher.  Sutter is lights out, striking out the side in the bottom of the 8th but it is to no avail as Garver finishes out a 4-hitter and the Tigers move forward, winning 4-2.  

This first round matchup featured two middling teams that were closely matched according to their ELO ratings.  The 1959 Red Sox went 75-79 but might have been much better if Ted Williams hadn’t suffered through an injury-plagued season in which he hit an un-Splinterlike .254; their rotation wasn’t bad with swingman Ike Delock (11-6, 2.96) as their choice for the opener.  The 1992 Cardinals had a better record at 83-79 but their most recognizable players were a bit past their prime, although Bob Tewksbury (16-5, 2.16) had his career year, finishing 3rd in the Cy Young sweepstakes and exhibiting his typically remarkable control (20 walks in 233 IP).  In the bottom of the 2nd, Cards 3B-3 Todd Zeile drops a grounder from Bob Costas’s nemesis Gary Geiger, which opens the door for a two-out two-run double from Sammy White on a missed HR split.  Pete Runnels is tossed out (1-13) at the plate in the 3rd trying to score on another missed HR split, but Williams does get across in the 4th after another missed HR split gets him a double and White drives him in.  That seems to distract Tewksbury, who allows RBI singles to Gene Stephens and Pete Runnels before he can end the inning and the Sox have a 5-0 lead after four.  A double by Dick Gernert in the 5th and Tewksbury is toast, with the Cards moving to closer Lee Smith in desperation to face Williams.  The Splinter is unimpressed and knocks an RBI single off Smith’s card, and as the 6th begins Boston makes some defensive adjustments with a substantial lead.  The Cards see that as an opportunity and push across two runs on a Luis Alicea sac fly and a Tom Pagnozzi single past Boston SS-4 Don Buddin, but St. Louis leaves the bases loaded and that’s their high water mark as Boston fastens Delock on the door for the Cards to win 6-2, in the process outhitting St. Louis 18-4 while missing splits and leaving numerous runners in scoring position, an issue they will need to remedy going forward.

This matchup looked gruesome as it featured the two teams with the worst ELO ratings in the bracket.  It looked to me like the 2017 White Sox wouldn’t need my jinx for an early elimination, as they were the bottom seed on the bracket with 95 losses and they traded away some of their regulars midseason after throwing in the towel, leaving Jose Quintana (4-8, 4.49) as the best of a bad rotation.  The 1987 Padres were the second-worst rated team with 97 losses, although their Pythagorean projection suggested that they underperformed and they did have the league batting leader and 8th in the MVP votes in Tony Gwynn, with Eric Show (8-16, 3.84) the best of a sorry rotation.  In the bottom of the 1st, Carmelo Martinez misses a 1-15 split for a grand slam but three runs score on the resulting double and the Padres quickly have a substantial lead.  The Sox get one back when a 2-base error by SS-2 Garry Templeton sets up a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Tim Anderson, and then RBI singles from Yolmer Sanchez and Alen Hanson tie it up in the top of the 4th.  The Padres reclaim the lead in the 5th when Randy Ready drives in Gwynn with a triple, but when Leury Garcia pokes a one-out single in the 7th, the Padres move to Goose Gossage who racks up two strikeouts that both would have been hits on Show’s card.  However, seeking to not cook the Goose, the Padres bring in Lance McCullers for the save in the 9th, and he allows three straight singles with the last one by Jose Abreu getting under SS-2 Templeton’s glove that scores the game-tying run.  Quintana holds in the bottom of the 9th and the game heads to extra innings, with the offensive ineptitude of both teams evident as the game proceeds.  Finally, in the bottom of the 14th the Padres mount a threat against Sox reliever Anthony Swarzak as two-out singles from Shane Mack and Templeton put the winning run on 3rd, with defensive replacement Chris Brown at the plate.  Swarzak delivers, and Brown puts it into the stands at Jack Murphy Stadium as the Padres survive with a walk-off 7-4 extra inning win.

The survivors

After surviving the second best team in round one, the top seeded 1992 Pirates saw a clear path to the regional title, but it would have to go through the 1954 Tigers and Steve Gromek (18-16, 2.74) against the Bucs’ Zane Smith (8-8, 3.06).  Smith donates the lead to the Tigers in the bottom of the 3rd with a double and an RBI single, both off his card, but Gromek returns the favor as the first batter of the 4th, Don Slaught, converts the pitcher’s HR split to tie the game.  Gromek is rattled, and a few batters later Alex Cole also converts that HR 1-18 split with an 18 for a three run homer and a 4-1 Pirates lead.   Gromek settles down but the limited Tigers offense can’t produce anything until the bottom of the 9th, when Harvey Kuenn leads off with his third hit of the game and Ray Boone follows by converting Smith’s HR 1-6 split and suddenly it’s a one run game with nobody out.  The Pirates don’t like the homers on closer Stan Belinda, so they opt for young knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, and he survives an error from 3B-3 Jeff King to close out the game as the Pirates hang on for a 4-3 win to move to the finals.

The semifinal between the #4 seed 1959 Red Sox and the #6 seeded 1987 Padres involved three Hall of Famers, although Boston’s one HOFer had perhaps his worst season, the Padres’ bullpen was seriously taxed from their 14-inning marathon in round one.  It was Boston’s Frank Sullivan (9-11, 3.94) against swingman Mark Davis (9-8, 3.99) for San Diego, but the first swing in the top of the 1st by leadoff man Gene Stephens converted Davis’ HR result for an immediate Red Sox lead.  However, in the bottom of the 3rd Padres HOFer Tony Gwynn returns the favor with a two-run shot off Sullivan’s card and San Diego moves in front 2-1.  In the 5th Boston regains the lead as Pete Runnels rips an RBI triple, and he scores when Frank Malzone knocks a single past 3B-4 Randy Ready; a rattled Davis then loads up the bases so Ted Williams can loft a sac fly that makes it 4-2 Boston.  However, in the top of the 6th Boston loses SS Frank Buddin to injury for the rest of the regional, and sensing weakness the Padres pull within one in the bottom of the inning with a Carmelo Martinez RBI single.  But in the top of the 7th the Splendid Splinter converts a double off Davis’s card to drive in a run and San Diego calls upon Goose Gossage to try to keep it close, but Williams ultimately scores on injury replacement Pumpsie Green’s sac fly to extend the Boston lead.  From there Sullivan only gets stronger and the Red Sox finish out the 6-3 victory to earn a berth in the bracket final.

The regional final matched the #1 seed in the bracket, the 1992 Pirates with Randy Tomlin (14-9, 3.41) on the mound, against the #4 seeded 1959 Red Sox and Tom Brewer (10-12, 3.77), with Boston playing shorthanded without their starting shortstop.  In the bottom of the 1st, Gene Stephens, who had led off their semifinal game with a homer off the pitcher’s card, again rolls Tomlin’s HR split, and although he misses it for a double he scores on another double from Frank Malzone.  Two batters later Dick Gerhert cracks a 2-run homer and it’s a quick 3-0 lead for the underdog Red Sox.  But the Pirates had come from behind in each of their previous games, and they begin the process in the top of the 4th as Barry Bonds finally makes some noise with a 2-run homer that unnerves Brewer, who walks two and then allows an RBI single to Alex Cole that ties the game.  The Red Sox respond in the bottom of the inning with a sac fly from Ted Williams that puts them ahead once again, but the Pirates tie it again in the 4th after Jose Lind doubles and ultimately scores on a Don Slaught fielder’s choice.  Things look grim for already shorthanded Boston in the 5th when they lose their star RF Jackie Jensen to injury for the rest of the tournament, but they rally around their fallen comrade with a barrage of hits in the 6th that doesn’t stop when young Tim Wakefield comes in to give up a 3-run homer to injury replacement Vic Wertz, and by the time Stan Belinda manages to eventually record the third out of the inning the Red Sox lead 11-4 and Fenway is rocking.  From there, Brewer just has to be adequate and he is, propelling the Red Sox to their 9th regional win and their third of the Ted William era.  However, they will be facing the first game of their super-regional, whenever that might be played, without two of their starting position players and with unexciting options for a #4 starter.

Interesting card of Regional #222:  This is another example of a card from a turning point in Strat card-dom.  This was the first season of the perforated cards, the first season with colored ink on the Basic side, one of the last seasons of the classic card patterns that I had grown up with, and the only season with the shaded diamond background designed to thwart photocopiers, although it proved to be more effective in being unreadable by the old eyes of their aging player base.  Still, if you put on the bifocals, you may see a rather nice specimen of a hitter’s card, with that solid three-column that I always loved (although I wonder why 3-4 wasn’t a solid triple?) and some nice results located in the other columns as well.  Throw in top-flight defense and speed and you’ve got yourself a pretty good ball-player.   This was probably the Hall of Famer’s best season, leading the league in hitting and hits and posting the best WAR in the National League, but he only finished 8th in the MVP voting, even finishing behind teammate Mark Davis on the 97-loss Padres.  In fact, Gwynn never won an MVP award and finished in the top five only once, when he was just 24 years old.  Despite this seeming lack of recognition during his career, he was elected to the Hall of Fame on his first try with the eighth-highest voting percentage in Hall of Fame history.  After his death at age 54 from salivary gland cancer, which likely resulted from his long-term use of chewing tobacco, MLB named the NL league batting title after the Padres icon, a recognition nicely exemplified in this card.

REGIONAL #221:  I began this tournament in 1980, and my slow off-and-on progress over the years has led to most pre-21st century teams having made their appearance among the 1,760 teams that have already played.  As such, the draw for this group consisted almost entirely of squads from 2000 on, and perhaps it’s a sign of my advanced age that the more recently a team played, the less I remember about them.  So my blind appraisal of this group was pretty blind indeed–I knew the Cubs entry was two seasons away from their first Series win since Moses parted the Red Sea, and most of the ‘98 Red Sox were probably familiar to me as I’d spend a year in Boston a season or two before and went to a fair number of Red Sox games and they were pretty good.  There was also a Cardinals team that had won the pennant in the prior season, and a pandemic year Mets squad that might prove interesting.  The multiple-entry franchise in this group was the Padres, with two shots including one from a few years back that I vaguely remembered being competitive in a very tough division.  My guess was that it would be a finals between arch-rivals, the Cubs and the Cardinals, and I went with the Cards to win just so I could root against the Cubs.  The ELO rankings mostly confirmed that my memories were bad (for example, the Cubs were in fact the bottom seed), other than the one that the Red Sox had some talent as they were favored to win over an Orioles team that I was surprised to see was ranked pretty well, given that I just played a terrible O’s squad from two seasons later in the last regional.    

First round action

The 2014 Cubs would win a championship in two seasons, but you’d never know it from this 73-89 last place team that had no real hitters other than Anthony Rizzo (who got some MVP votes), and a rotation that was terrible other than Jake Arrieta (10-5, 2.53), who finished 9th for the Cy Young and should have received a Purple Heart for pitching in front of this defense.  They were decided underdogs against the 2005 Padres, who actually managed to win the NL West with an 82-80 record although they were quickly eliminated in the postseason.  The Padres had a more balanced offense with some MVP support for Brian Giles, although like the Cubs their rotation was baked other than a Jake, this one Jake Peavy (13-7, 2.88) although Trevor Hoffman in the bullpen was also mentioned on a few MVP ballots.  Both Jakes are in fine form until the bottom of the 5th, when .169 hitting Cubs “DH” Javier Baez converts his HR 1-10/flyB split for a two run Cubs lead.  When Ryan Sweeney bounces a single in front of Padres RF-3 Brian Giles in the bottom of the 7th, San Diego decides it’s time for Hoffman, who immediately yields a triple to Baez off Hoffman’s card, and Baez scores on a Chris Coghlan single that’s also off the pitcher’s card, and my sense that Hoffman has a pretty crappy card for a closer with 43 saves seems to be validated.  However, it matters little, as Arrieta is dealing and finishes up a four-hit shutout in which he fans 11 to lead the Cubs to the semis with a 4-0 win.

This first round game featured two teams with good ELO ratings that would both be terrible within two years.  For the 81-81 2015 Orioles, it was pretty much the same players as the group that appeared in the prior regional, but with better years, with Manny Machado 4th in the MVP ballots and Chris Davis also getting votes while leading the league in homers (47) and strikeouts (208).  Wei-Yin Chen (11-8, 3.34) headed up a mediocre rotation but there were some strong arms in the bullpen.  Meanwhile, the 86-win 2021 A’s had a decent staff with Chris Bassitt (12-4, 3.15) getting the round one start, but after 8th place MVP contender Matt Olson there weren’t many threats in the lineup.  Bassitt gets hounded in the top of the 1st when a couple of singles and a walk sets up a two out grand slam by Steve Pearce off the pitcher’s card, and although he settles down to pitch a perfect 2nd, he’s injured on the last out of the inning and has to leave the game.  Matt Chapman homers to lead off the bottom of the inning to make it 4-1, and then in the 3rd the A’s use Andrew Chafin and his 1.83 ERA to replace Bassitt, but immediately Davis converts a TR 1-2/SI as the only solid hit on Chafin’s card.  Davis scores on a Caleb Joseph fielder’s choice to extend the O’s lead in the 3rd, but Oakland gets the run back in the 5th on an RBI double from Olson.  Machado greets new A’s pitcher Lou Trivino with a tape-measure homer to lead off the 7th and then the next batter Davis puts one even deeper into the stands for back to back blasts, but when Chen loads up the bases in the bottom of the inning with nobody out the Orioles call on Mychal Givens of the 1.80 ERA to bail them out.  That goes poorly, as Seth Brown crushes his first pitch for a grand slam and all of a sudden it’s a one run game. In the top of the 9th Baltimore gets a little insurance on an RBI single from defensive replacement David Lough, and it’s up to Givens to hang on.  But Starling Marte walks to lead off the bottom of the 9th and Olson misses a HR 1-10 split, but his double makes him the tying run with nobody out.  Not liking what they see from Givens, the O’s bring in Darren O’Day 1.59 ERA, who immediately walks Brown to load the bases.  Baltimore looks for the DP from slow-footed catcher Sean Murphy, but he smacks a single to score Marte and 1-11 Olson takes off for home to tie the game; he’s under the tag and the game is tied with nobody out and the winning run on 2nd.  O’Day records a whiff but then yield another single off his card, this one to Josh Harrison, and 1-13 Seth Brown dashes for home; he’s safe and the A’s stage a remarkable comeback, walk-off 9-8 win 

The Zoom game of the week featured the bracket’s top seed, the 1998 Red Sox, against a pandemic year 2020 Mets, with long-suffering Mets fan Frank directing traffic while I took the helm of the Red Sox, being pretty familiar with the team as I had gone to Fenway several times in the preceding seasons.  These Red Sox were a formidable team that won 92 games and made the postseason as a wild card, and they boasted two of the top five MVP candidates in Nomar Garciaparra (2nd) and Mo Vaughn (4th), and Pedro Martinez (19-7, 2.89) was the Cy Young runner-up.  Frank’s Mets went an unimpressive 26-34 but they had weapons in the lineup, with Domonic Smith getting MVP votes and some pandemic-fueled low AB wonders ready to join the fray after the 5th inning, but their defense was atrocious and their pitching staff frightening with an impressive exception in Jacob deGrom (4-2, 2.38), who finished third in the Cy Young and fortunately happened to be the Mets’ top IP starter, which on pandemic teams means that he automatically starts round one.  However, in the top of the 2nd Troy O’Leary notches an RBI double on a missed HR split and the Red Sox briefly take a lead, but Robinson Cano smacks a solo shot in the bottom of the inning to tie it up.  In the 4th, Reggie Jefferson moves it on up into the empty stands at Citi Field that makes it 2-1 Boston, and an RBI single from Darren Bragg in the 6th gives Pedro some additional insurance.   But it’s now the 6th inning and the Mets begin their parade of pandemic peculiarities, and Jake Marisnick, who came in to upgrade a CF-4 to a CF-1, also happened to have some pandemic power and he proved it with a 3-run homer and a Mets lead.  A solo blast from Dom Smith in the 8th and deGrom has all he needs to finish out a 5-3 win and oust the regional favorite, with Frank guiding the Mets to an upset and the semifinals.

I had blindly picked the 2014 Cardinals to win this regional because I knew they were coming off a pennant year, and indeed they won 90 games and made it to the NLCS.  They did so due to a very strong rotation fronted by Adam Wainwright (20-9, 2.38), finishing 3rd for the Cy Young; however, their lineup had way more guys named Matt (3) than players with more than 25 homers (0), so offensively they were basically a small ball team that had no team speed.  I had thought that the 2021 Padres finished better than 79-83, but that was probably because I remembered Fernando Tatis Jr. leading the NL in homers and finishing 3rd in the MVP votes before being suspended for PED use the following year; the San Diego rotation was not very good after Joe Musgrove (11-9, 3.18) and curiously most of their offense came from their infielders and not their outfielders.  The Cards quickly prove that they are no doorMatts as in the bottom of the 1st Matt Carpenter singles and Matt Adams launches a 2-run dinger, and after an out Matt Holliday adds a solo shot to make it 3-0, and the Cardinals front office immediately tries to sign as many inactive Matts as they can find, offering contracts to Matt Williams, Matty Alou, and Matt Lauer.  Jhonny Peralta leads off the 3rd with a gritty battle against the spellchecker, eventually converting Musgrove’s HR split; Matt Holliday follows with a double and he scores on a Yadier Molina single that makes it 5-0.  In the 4th, Tatis launches a tape measure solo shot that seems to rattle Wainwright, but he recovers in time to whiff Eric Hosmer with two runners in scoring position to keep a comfortable lead.  The Cards record two straight hits to lead off the bottom of the 5th and Musgrove must go, so wild Austin Adams comes in to try his hand and he induces two straight grounders to 2B-2 Adam Frazier, who wipes out the threat.  However, in the 8th Jon Jay adds some insurance with an RBI single, and although the Padres try to stage a 9th inning comeback with an RBI double from PH Austin Nola, it’s not enough as the Cards sew up a 6-2 win and move on as the top remaining seed in the bracket, while the Padres watch both of their entries in this group get bounced in the first round.  

The survivors

After having their starting pitcher injured in the second inning in the previous round, the 2021 A’s were hoping Frankie Montas (13-9, 3.37) would be able to go deep in this semifinal against the 2014 Cubs, who were fortunate that Jason Hammel (8-5, 2.98) squeaked over the 100 IP threshold to be eligible to start.  The Cubs take the lead when Justin Ruggiano converts a HR split to lead off the top of the 2nd, but they give it away when 3B-3 Luis Valbuena drops a Tony Kemp grounder allowing a run to score.  The A’s then take a lead when Seth Brown leads off the bottom of the 7th with a long blast, and when Sean Murphy follows with a single the Cubs bring Pedro Strop out of the pen to try to keep it close.  However, the A’s put another across on a Josh Harrison fielder’s choice, and Strop is bailed out when 1-14+2 Mark Canha is tossed out at the plate for the third out, but Oakland leads 3-1 heading into the 8th.  The Cubs waste no time getting back into the game as they load the bases in the top of the 8th with nobody out, and with the Oakland pen burnt it’s up to Montas to get out of his own mess.  And he does a decent job, only allowing a sac fly to Anthony Rizzo so the A’s lead is cut to one.  The Cubs then hand Oakland some insurance as errors by CF-3 Ruggiano and 1B-2 Rizzo produce a run, but Chicago then puts runners on 2nd and 3rd with one away in the top of the 9th.  A fielder’s choice by Ryan Sweeney brings the Cubs within one and the tying run is 90 feet away, but Montas bears down and whiffs game one hero Javier Baez and the A’s survive with a 4-3 win and head to the finals.  

After riding the arm of deGrom to survive the first round, the 2020 Mets were now faced with a significant step down to Rick Porcello (1-7, 5.64) as their second most prolific starter.  On the other hand, the 2014 Cardinals were blessed with four solid starters and Lance Lynn (15-10, 2.74) and the three Matts were clear favorites here.  But it doesn’t take long for the Mets to get going as Jeff McNeil walks and Pete Alonso crushes a long homer, and after Cards RF-3 Randal Grichuk misplays a Michael Conforto single the hits keep coming, with RBI singles from Robinson Cano and Amed Rosario putting the Mets up 4-0 as they bat around.  However, in the bottom of the 2nd the Cards make it a one-run game when Kolton Wong raps an RBI single followed by a 2-run double from Yadier Molina, and in the 4th the Mets ugly defense rears its head as errors from C-4 Wilson Ramos and LF-3 Jeff McNeil gift the Cards a run and the game is tied.  Lynn essentially walks the bases full in the 5th but is bailed out when Rosario hits into a rally-killing DP, and the game heads to the 6th still knotted at 4-4 and it’s time for the Mets’ supersubs to enter the fray.  Jake Marisnick is the first of those and he doubles, Brandon Nimmo pokes a single and the Cards go to the pen in the hope that Pat Neshek and his 1.74 ERA can hang on.  But they miscalculate and play Alonso at double-play depth, and they can’t convert his grounder and a run scores to put the Mets up.  The Cards respond with a couple of singles in the bottom of the inning, and it’s the Mets’ turn to call for help in the form of reliever Erasmo Ramirez, and he mows down the opposition with a card that has no complete hits on it.  Mets supersub Tomas Nido then belts a solo shot in the 7th to extend their lead, and in the 8th Marisnick leads off the inning with his second double in as many ABs and Nimmo singles him home for additional insurance.  The Mets again gift the Cards a run in the bottom of the inning on an error by defensive replacement SS-2 Andres Gimenez, but Cano gets that one back in the top of the 9th with a solo shot from Cano.  Jeurys Familia is brought in to close things out in the bottom of the 9th, and he deals the Cards three straight outs as the pandemic Mets survive four errors to win 8-5 and earn a berth in the finals.  

The bracket final matched two near-contemporaries, the #4 seeded 2021 A’s and Sean Manaea (11-10, 3.91) against the #6 seed 2020 Mets and a surprisingly solid David Peterson (6-2, 3.44) as their starter, which was determined for this pandemic team in strict order of IP.  The Mets’ bad fielding quickly costs them in the top of the 2nd, as a 2-base error by 3B-4 JD Davis allows a run to score and the A’s grab a lead.  In the 3rd, a Sean Murphy double extends the lead but 1-11+2 Matt Olson is out trying to score to end the rally.  However, in the bottom of the inning Manaea commits a two-out error that loads the bases for Pete Alonso, who delivers a two-run single and the game is tied–briefly, it turns out, as Matt Chapman opens the top of the 4th with a long homer into the cardboard fans at Citi Field.  Peterson never recovers from that, as the A’s proceed with a barrage of hits including two consecutive doubles allowed by the Mets outfield, and the only out Peterson can get is a successful squeeze play by Elvis Andrus.  The Mets dip into the pen for Justin Wilson and his first pitch is a 2-run homer to Olson, so by the time the inning is over the score is 8-2 and even the fan cutouts are heading for the subway. Chapman leads off the 5th with his second homer of the game, and come the 6th inning the Mets send out their pandemic wonders in an effort to claw back from a seven-run deficit.  However, the A’s are showing no signs of letting up as Olson smacks an RBI single past P-5 Wilson, and even the Mets’ supersubs don’t have an answer as Oakland cruises to the 10-2 victory and the A’s record their 7th regional title.   

Interesting card of Regional #221:  This card represents the second full season from a 24-year old shortstop that had won the Rookie of the Year award the prior season, and in this season he was the runner-up for the AL MVP in a year of remarkable performances.  If you were around at the time, you may remember that he immediately became a huge sensation in Boston, with chants of “Nomah” ringing through Fenway, and with cards like this it was easy to see why everyone assumed that he was on a straight path to the Hall of Fame.  However, over time his relationship with the Red Sox management soured, perhaps fueled by a rumor that they were attempting to acquire ARod to replace Garciaparra, and he became increasingly unhappy.  So, at the trading deadline in 2004, the Red Sox sent the fan favorite packing to the Cubs, and magically the Sox suddenly got much better, going 42-19 for the remainder of the season, and besting the Angels and Yankees in the playoffs and sweeping the Cardinals in the Series for their first championship since 1918.  Meanwhile, Nomar was never the same player even though he was only 30 years old; he did have one strong season with the Dodgers but whether it was injuries, steroids, or Fenway, his ticket to the Hall of Fame never got punched.  Even so, he is certainly the greatest player ever named “Nomar”, leading to the trivia question (no Googling!):  how did he get that name?

 

REGIONAL #220:  After the last regional where two Reds teams made the final, the draw for this group had me hopeful that I might see an all-White Sox culmination and defy my usual Sox jinx.  One of the Sox squads came right after their historic 2005 Series win (although that 2005 team was eliminated from this tournament in the first round, as is typical), so I figured they should have the best shot.   According to my hazy memory, I didn’t see a lot of tough competition for them with the exception of the ‘94 Braves, a strike year team that would win the NL for the next two seasons when play resumed.  I guessed that those Braves would meet the 2004 version of the Sox in the finals and that the Sox jinx would kick in, sending the Braves on as regional champs.  The ELO ratings agreed on the Braves as the favorites, ranking them as the best team in baseball that season, but those ratings indicated that the “moneyball” era in Oakland hadn’t ended by 2005 as I thought, and that those A’s were the #2 seed.  However, the two Sox teams were #3 and #4 with solid ratings and I was still holding out hope for them.

First round action

Although they would take the pennant the following season, the 2004 White Sox finished barely above .500 at 83-79 as they were still missing some important parts of that championship team.  Still, the lineup contained quite a bit of power led by Paul Konerko, who earned some MVP votes, and there were a couple of good starters in the rotation including Freddy Garcia (13-11, 3.81).  They faced the #7 seeded 2017 Orioles, who lost 87 games with a lineup that included 7 guys who struck out more than 100 times, led by the atrocity known as Chris Davis; Dylan Bundy (13-9, 4.24) was the closest thing to a decent starter but the O’s did have a strong bullpen to help out.  In the 3rd, an error by Baltimore LF-3 Seth Smith sets up a 2-run blast by Frank Thomas to put the Sox ahead, and in an effort to keep it close the O’s decide to move to their pen as soon as permitted with Darren O’Day beginning the 6th.  Meanwhile, Garcia is cruising along nicely until the bottom of the 8th, when #9 hitter Mark Trumbo crushes a 2-run homer of his own and the game is tied heading into the 9th.  Baltimore closer Brad Brach shuts down the Sox in the top of the 9th, Garcia does likewise in the bottom of the 9th, and the game heads to extra innings.  Brach tosses a perfect 10th, and Garcia starts out with two quick outs but then he walks Davis and Trumbo follows with a double to put the winning run on 3rd; the Sox send for star rookie Shingo Takatsu out of the pen, and it’s a flyball X out to LF-3 Carlos Lee, who makes a futile wave at a liner that gets by for a hit and Davis trots home with the winning run as the Orioles walk off a 3-2 extra inning win.  

The #2 seeded 2005 A’s won 88 games in the final years of the “moneyball” experiment, and according to the Pythagorean projection they should have won 93, although I wasn’t certain how.  They did have Eric Chavez receiving a few MVP votes, and a solid rotation with Rich Harden (10-5, 2.53) sporting a strong card, but overall I was rather unimpressed by the OBP that these teams were supposedly famous for, and their team SLG% was near the bottom of the league.  They faced the 1987 Rangers, a team with a lot of pop but not much defense or pitching, although 39 year old Charlie Hough (18-13, 3.79) did lead the AL in innings pitched.  However, Hough did have some problems with the gopher ball and in the bottom of the 1st the second batter, Dan Johnson, finds Hough’s solid HR result for a solo shot and a quick lead.  The Rangers tie it up in the 3rd when Jerry Browne takes time off from governing California to draw a walk, stealing second, and wins the race home on a two-out Pete O’Brien single.  The A’s get on base in the 5th with two walks, and then Jay Payton beats the throw to score from second on a 2-out Jason Kendall single and regain the lead.  When Hough issues a single and a walk to begin the bottom of the 7th, the Rangers move to workhorse reliever Dale Mohorcic, who promptly allows an RBI single off his card to Bobby Crosby and the A’s now lead by two entering the 8th.  Nick Swisher jacks a solo shot for some insurance in the bottom of the 8th, which is more than Harden needs as he closes out a two-hitter for the 4-1 win that sends the A’s to the semifinals.  

The 1990 White Sox won 94 games and had a slightly better ELO ranking than the 2004 team that had already been eliminated in this bracket, with 22-year old rookie Frank Thomas eligible to DH with an impressive initial Strat card, and a strong rotation with Eric King (12-4, 3.28) getting the round one start.  That other Sox team had been eliminated by the second worst team in the group, with these Sox now getting to face the bottom ranked squad in the 1965 Astros.  The Astros lost 97 games while discovering that there was no power to be had in their first season in the Astrodome.  They did have Jimmy Wynn in the lineup but nobody to load up the toy cannon other than a young Joe Morgan, who maybe they should have hung onto; Larry Dierker (7-8, 3.49) headed up a serviceable pitching staff that benefited from the ballpark.  King looks more like a knave in the bottom of the 2nd, allowing four hits and three walks that are good for a 4-0 Houston lead, and the Sox can do nothing until Thomas breaks up Dierker’s perfect game in the 5th with a single that amounts to nothing.  Another Houston walk and a single in the 6th and the Sox figure they may as well go to closer Bobby Thigpen, and he ends the threat without incident but the South Siders still trail by four.  That expands when Morgan leads off the bottom of the 7th with a homer, and the Sox bats don’t come alive until the 9th when they put together three singles, the last an RBI hit from Robin Ventura.  But PH Phil Bradley grounds into a double play to end the game and the Astros move on with the 5-1 win and the Sox accompany their 2004 brethren on the Ventura highway back to the storage drawers.

My recollections of the strike-shortened 1994 season was that it really shortchanged the White Sox and the Expos, who both had their best teams in quite a while, but according to the ELO the best team in baseball that season was the 1994 Braves even though their record of 68-46 was only good for second place in the NL East.  However, these Braves were beginning a streak of greatness that would last the rest of the decade, with Fred McGriff finishing 8th in the MVP votes, three places behind teammate Greg Maddux (16-6, 1.56) who was the unanimous Cy Young winner.  Using Maddux seemed like overkill against the 87-loss 2017 Pirates, who had little to brag about other than a somewhat declining Andrew McCutcheon and Josh Bell, who got some votes for Rookie of the Year; Pittsburgh’s best starter option Trevor Williams (7-9, 4.07) probably couldn’t have made the Braves rotation.  The Braves strike in the top of the 2nd with a two-run moonshot from Ryan Klesko, and they add another on a 2-out double from Rafael Belliard that could have been more if 1-14 Jeff Blauser hadn’t been thrown out.  A three-run edge for Maddux seems like it should be safe, but the Pirates respond with a run in the bottom of the inning on a 2-out triple by Adam Frazier who scores on a Gregory Polanco single to narrow the gap to 3-1.  Klesko is then injured to lead off the 4th but the next batter, Javy Lopez, crushes one in honor of his fallen teammate and then Terry Pendleton goes back-to-back and the Braves extend their lead.  A two-out RBI double by injury replacement Mike Kelly adds to the pile, and so with nothing to lose the Pirates turn the game over to their closer Felipe Rivero to begin the 6th.  Mark Lemke adds an RBI single in the 8th for more insurance, and the Pirates do come up with a run in the 9th on a Polanco fielder’s choice but it’s too late as the Braves move on despite a rather lackluster performance from Maddux, who scatters nine hits in the 7-2 win.    

The survivors

The Zoom game of the week involved the semifinal between the 2017 Orioles, managed by nacster who requested the worst team he could get, and the #2 seed 2005 A’s, with me at the helm having lost just about every game I’d played that week in various projects.  Nac decided that the secret lay in being unpredictable, so he fielded a lineup with Chris Davis’s 195 strikeouts as the leadoff hitter, and from the hair-raising remnants of the O’s starting rotation it was Ubaldo Jimenez (6-11, 6.81) and his gopher-ball collection on the mound.  I was on orders from Billy Beane to stay the course, and so Joe Blanton (12-12, 3.53) was the conventional selection to start.  Both starters began things in fine form, and neither offense could mount a sustained threat, with nac’s smallball efforts failing to produce results, and the A’s “get on base” strategy just producing a variety of runners stranded by an unexpectedly sharp Jimenez.  The game proceeded as a scoreless tie through the 7th inning stretch, but then a lengthy delay resulting from the Friday Night Strat crowd struggling with my trivia question (who was the NFL receiver who was the only person ever to pinch hit for Ted Williams?).   Distracted by the crowd’s inability to come up with the answer, Jimenez comes in for the bottom of the 7th and makes one mistake, and Jay Payton crushes that mistake into the far reaches of the urban blight of Oakland for a two run homer that breaks the ice.  Now armed with the lead, I sense that it isn’t going to get any larger and so I call for closer Huston Street and his 1.72 ERA to preserve the game.  Nac dings the reliever’s imposing card for a couple of hits, but none of them lead to a run and it’s a one-way Street to the finals for the A’s as Blanton and Street combine for a 6-hit shutout in the 2-0 win. 

This semifinal matched the top and bottom seeds of the bracket, the favored 1994 Braves with Steve Avery (8-3, 4.04) on the mound against the #8 seeded 1965 Astros and Turk Farrell (11-11, 3.50).  The Braves would still be without injured Ryan Klesko, but they could still bring plenty of artillery to bear against one toy cannon.  Neither team manages a hit until the top of the 4th, when the Astros put together three of them with an RBI double from Ron Brand providing the Turk with a 1-0 lead.  The Astros are just getting warmed up, as they barrage Avery with five hits and a couple of walks in the 5th and the Braves try Steve Bedrosian, but he’s little better and when the dust clears the Astros lead 9-0 and the stunned Braves are wondering, “who are these guys?”.  Atlanta finally gets on the board in the bottom of the 6th with a 2-run blast from Fred McGriff, and they get a pair of RBI singles from injury replacement Mike Kelly and Javy Lopez in the 8th to get a bit closer.  But the Astros get another run against Mark Wohlers in the top of the 9th and Farrell dispatches the Braves to seal the 10-4 win and propel the unlikely bottom seed to the finals. 

Having disposed of the top seed in the semifinals, the #8 seeded longshots known as the 1965 Astros were ready to take on the #2 seed in the 2005 A’s in the regional finals.  The A’s would have Barry Zito (14-13, 3.86) on the mound against Bob Bruce (9-18, 3.72) of the Astros, whose card was better than his won-loss record would suggest.  The A’s jump out to a lead in the top of the 2nd when Bruce issues two walks, and then a 2-base error by 1B-2 Jim Gentile and a Marco Scutaro double result in a 3-0 Oakland edge, the first time these Astros had been behind in this regional.  A 2-base error by Oakland CF-2 Mark Kotsay sets up a two-out RBI single from Bob Lillis that gets past A’s SS-3 Scutaro, but Joe Morgan leaves the bases loaded making his first out after garnering hits in his first two ABs.  However, in the top of the 5th Scott Hatteberg gets on (third) base with an RBI triple on a missed HR 1-14 split, and although he gets stranded on third the A’s now lead 4-1.  In the bottom of the 7th, Zito issues a two-out walk to AA stealer Jimmy Wynn, who swipes second and scores on a single by Rusty Staub; a followup single by Walt Bond puts the tying run on base and the Astrodome is roaring.  The A’s decide that Zito can’t be trusted and bring in Jay Witasick who retires Lee Maye for out number three.  He holds the fort, while A’s seek to preserve him for super-regional action and summon Octavio Dotel in the 9th who closes out the 4-2 win, and while Oakland GM Billy Beane’s moneyball experiment may never have gotten him a pennant, it does result in a regional title in this project.  

Interesting card of Regional #220:  The odd souls paying any attention to my endless tournament know that it’s all-Basic and that I rarely pay much attention to the flip side of the cards, but this one struck me as kind of unusual.  The Basic side is interesting in itself–I can’t think of very many cards that have FIVE solid home run results in the same column, let alone two solid doubles joining them.  Another peculiar aspect of Jose’s card is that his ratio of extra base hit outcomes to singles outcomes is, shall we say, rather high–no slap hitter, this Jose.  Curious to see if he was a typical wildly imbalance, low AB wonder, I flipped over his card and discovered that he had some pop against both lefties and righties, although against RHers he bests his Basic side with SIX solid HR outcomes in his one column.  Still, what struck me was that he actually had more chances to hit a single against both LH and RH on the advanced side; still not very many (particularly vs. LH), but I was curious why Strat would make him more likely to hit for singles in the advanced game, which doesn’t really fit with my card-making expectations.  At any rate, Oliva earned this card as a 23 year old rookie and if I was playing in a keeper league in 1995 I would have picked him up in the rookie draft, but his OPS went from 1.042 to .486 in ‘95 and that was the end of his career in the majors.  He signed minor league contracts with a few teams, and was under contract in the Mariners’ system when he sadly died in a car accident in the 1997 off-season at age 26. He left behind a formidable card that merits the humble recognition as the interesting card of the bracket.

REGIONAL #219:   The draw for this group had some interesting entries.  There was a recent Dodgers squad who didn’t win the pennant, but did in the prior season and in the subsequent one.  There were two Reds teams from the two seasons that immediately followed their unlikely 1990 pennant, as well a Mariners team a few seasons after their best performance and a Rangers team from a few years before their recent Series win.  Finally, there was a Cubs team that had the distinction of being the first team to finish last while having the league MVP on the roster.  My guess was that the Dodgers were the class of the bunch and that they would top the 1992 version of the Reds in the finals.  The ELO predictions matched mine, although I was surprised to see that the Dodgers season-ending ELO ranking was one of the 25 best in history; I also didn’t expect the Brewers to be the second seed, meaning that the top two ELO squads in the bracket would be facing off in the first round.

First round action  

In what might be the marquee matchup of the regional, the top seeded 2019 Dodgers faced the #2 seed in the 2018 Brewers.  The Dodgers crushed the opposition to the tune of 106 wins, and had NL MVP Cody Bellinger heading a heart of the lineup that featured five consecutive .500+ SLG% hitters.  Not only that, they had three starters getting Cy Young votes in the rotation, fronted by runner-up Hyun Jin Ryu (14-5, 2.32); however, they were upset in the NLDS and felt they needed to make up for that loss.  However, the Brew Crew had some motivation of their own, as this 96-win NL Central winner was eliminated in a seven-game NLCS against the Dodgers of a year before their opponent in this game.  The Brewers were led by their own NL MVP in Christian Yelich, but were nonetheless a pretty well-balanced team, with power, a decent rotation backed by solid defense, and some nice options in the bullpen in case Jhoulys Chacin (15-8, 3.50) should need help.  The Dodgers load the bases in the bottom of the 1st but Max Muncy hits into an inning-ending DP to end that threat, but Muncy makes up for it in the 3rd by putting it in the ravine for a 2-run blast and a Dodgers lead.  The Brewers respond in the 4th as CF-3 Alex Verdugo misplays a Bellinger liner into a single and an error, and then 2B-4 Muncy waves at a Jesus Aguilar RBI single that makes it a one run game.  However, in the bottom of the inning LA’s #9 hitter Tyler White finds and convert’s Chacin’s HR split for a 2-run shot, but Mike Moustakas responds for Milwaukee by leading off the 5th with a homer.  The Brewers then load the bases, but a diving stop by 3B-3 Justin Turner bails out the Dodgers and prevents further damage.  A walk and a squib single to lead off the 6th and Chacin is pulled for Jeremy Jeffress’s 1.29 ERA, but he immediately yields an RBI single to Alex Verdugo; however, he bears down and strands runners on 2nd and 3rd but LA now leads, 5-2.  Things just get worse for the Brewers, as MVP Yelich is injured and must leave the game to end the 7th inning, and the Dodgers try to shore up their bad defense as much as they can to begin the 8th.  But Ryu ends things with four hitless innings and he wraps up a 5-hitter as the Dodgers move on with a 5-2 win, and just as in their actual season, the Brewers can’t escape LA.  However, the Dodgers’ three errors reveals the Achilles heel that might keep them from getting far in this tournament.

The 1991 Reds had been a surprise Series winner in the prior season, but they seriously backtracked in this year by losing 88 games.  Even though the lineup was essentially the same and had Barry Larkin and Chris Sabo getting a few MVP votes, the rotation was painful after Jose Rijo (15-6, 2.51), who was 5th in the Cy Young votes, and the Nasty Boys bullpen might be getting a lot of work.  They were still ELO favorites over the 2002 Indians, even though the two teams had identical 74-88 records; Cleveland’s Jim Thome hit 52 homers and came in 7th in the MVP voting to lead a fearsome heart of the order, but the rest of the lineup wasn’t impressive, most couldn’t field, and there was little hope for the rotation other than big Bartolo Colon (10-4, 2.54).  The Reds strike first in the battle for Ohio as Barry Larkin nails Colon’s HR split in the bottom of the 1st for a 2-run shot; in the 4th, Jeff Reed doubles past 1B-4 Thome to set up a 2-out, 2-run single by Hal Morris and the Reds extend their lead to 4-0.  In the 5th Eric Davis walks, steals second and scores easily on a Billy Doran single, and Rijo cruises, striking out Thome to wrap up a 3-hit shutout and the Reds move on with a 5-0 win.   

With their version from the previous year winning in the prior first round game, it was the 1992 Reds now trying to do their part to achieve an all-Reds final.  This was essentially the same team but they put together a much better record, earning 90 wins with Barry Larkin and Bip Roberts receiving some MVP votes and a decent rotation with Jose Rijo (15-10, 2.56) once again at the front.   They faced the 1987 Cubs and NL MVP Andre Dawson, who the first MVP winner for a last place team.  In fairness, the Cubs only lost 85 games and had a much better ELO ranking than many cellar dwellers making them a #6 seed in this bracket.  Indeed, with a supporting cast in the lineup of Ryne Sandberg, Leon Durham and Keith Moreland, and Rick Sutcliffe (18-10, 3.68) on the mound as the Cy Young runner up, this squad looked plenty competitive.  Roberts proves his credentials by leading off the bottom of the 1st with a single, stealing second, advancing on a grounder and scoring on a Chris Sabo sac fly to provide an early Reds lead.  Jody Davis responds by converting Rijo’s HR split to lead off the top of the 3rd, but Bill Doran leads off the 5th by wrapping a shot around the foul pole and the Reds regain the lead.  Joe Oliver tries to extend the lead in the 6th attempting to score from second with two out (1-8+2) but he’s out by a mile, and the Cubs mount a threat in the top of the 8th getting two runners on with two out.  Rafael Palmiero is summoned to pinch hit, and the Reds get nasty in response with Rob Dibble brought in to face him.  Raffy launches one deep but LF-2 Reggie Sanders gets to it to retire the side, and the Reds still cling to a one-run lead that they carry into the top of the 9th, with Dibble trying to close things out.  Bob Dernier leads off with a single, but Joe Oliver nails him trying to steal for the first out.  SS-1 Larkin handles a Sandberg grounder for the second out, and it all comes down to MVP Andre Dawson.   Dibble delivers, and Dawson crushes it 450 feet, the game is tied, and Marge Schott immediately fires three minorities in response.  In the bottom of the 9th, Paul O’Neill draws a walk off Sutcliffe and then Dave Martinez hits a fly to CF-2 Dernier, and he misplays it for a two-base error so the winning run is now at 3rd with one away.  With Lee Smith warming up in the pen, the Cubs decide to stay with their veteran starter but with the infield in, Bill Doran rolls the gbA++ and it’s game over as O’Neill trots home and secures the 3-2 walkoff win.  

This game featured the two bottom seeds of the bracket, the 78-84 2019 Rangers against the 69-93 2005 Mariners.  These Rangers bore no resemblance whatsoever to the team that just won the Series, with way too many DHs and not enough pitching or fielding, although Mike Minor (14-10, 3.59) was a major asset.  The Mariners still had a few remnants of past glories like Ichiro and Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson got some MVP support, but Jamie Moyer (13-7, 4.28) was the only pitcher in the rotation with an ERA under five.  The game is scoreless until the top of the 4th when Asdrubal Cabrera raps a 2-out RBI single off Moyer’s card for a 1-0 Texas lead.  In the 7th Cabrera leads off the inning and rolls his solid 3-2 HR result, but Beltre quickly gets the run back in the bottom of the inning leading off by converting Minor’s HR split.  The Rangers then eye their bullpen but don’t like what they see, and Minor manages to complete the inning without further damage.  In the top of the 8th, a grounder by Rougned Odor ties up 1B-3 Sexson for a two-base error that allows a run to score, the third Mariner error of the game, and although it wasn’t his fault Moyer is pulled for Felix Hernandez, who whiffs Cabrera on a roll that would have been Moyer’s HR result.  In the bottom of the inning, Minor allows a pair of singles and the Rangers feel they have to go to the pen, and try Jose Leclerc who is wild but difficult to hit, and he ends the inning without incident.  It then comes down to Leclerc in the 9th facing a series of pinch-hitters, and although he walks two of them he retires Randy Winn for out number three and the Rangers move on with the 3-1 win.  

The survivors

The 2019 Dodgers were the top seed in this group in part because of an excellent rotation, with Walker Buehler (14-4, 3.26) one of three starters getting Cy Young votes.  In contrast, the #4 seeded 1991 Reds looked to have  a big dropoff for the semifinal as Tom Browning (14-14, 4.18) probably would not make the Dodgers’ rotation.  However, it’s Buehler that fails to impress in the 1st, yielding three hits off his card and spotting the Reds a 1-0 lead.  Things don’t get better for LA in the top of the 2nd, as Justin Turner is lost to injury, and then in the 5th it’s Buehler’s day off as he also gets injured and has to be removed, with Julio Urias replacing him to begin the 6th.  Urias is greeted by Barry Larkin with a double in the gap, and he scores on a Paul O’Neill single to provide a little insurance for Browning.  However, Browning might want a larger policy as Alex Verdugo leads off the top of the 8th by rolling Browning’s solid 5-9 HR result; that’s only the third hit allowed by Browning but the Reds decide it’s time for the Nasty Boys and Norm Charlton comes in to try to preserve the one-run lead.   Charlton gets into immediate trouble, allowing  a walk and a single but 2B-3 Bill Doran makes a stellar play to end the inning without further damage.  That sends the game to the 9th with the Reds clinging to the one-run lead; Charlton faces a succession of pinch hitters and mows them down, whiffing AJ Pollock for the 3rd out and these Reds do their part to set up an all-90s Reds final with the tight 2-1 win over one of the best teams in history according to their ELO rating.  

The 1992 Reds now had the responsibility of making it a pure Red final, with just the #7 seeded 2019 Rangers standing in their way.  Both teams had decent starters available for this semifinal, the Reds with Tim Belcher (15-14, 3.91) and the Rangers having Lance Lynn (16-11, 3.67).  Chris Sabo, irritated because his fielding dropped from a 2 to a 4 in one season, expresses his frustration by converting a HR 1-5 split to lead off the top of the 2nd, and then a rattled Lynn loads up the bases for a 2-run Bill Doran single while another scores on a Bip Roberts fielder’s choice and the Reds lead 4-0.  The Rangers reply by loading the bases themselves in the bottom of the 3rd, but only convert one run on a Danny Santana sac fly; in the 4th Belcher walks the first two batters and Delino Deshields pokes an RBI single to narrow the gap to 4-2.  In the 6th, Rangers 3B-3 Asdrubal Cabrera commits a 2-out 2-base error that allows Dave Martinez to score, and when Doran leads off the 7th with a single Lynn is pulled for Jose Leclerc, who earned the save in round one.  That goes poorly, as the Reds batter Leclerc for four runs, including a 2-run single from Martinez, and from there Belcher is in control as the Reds cruise to a 9-2 win and make it a finals between two highly related teams.

Although it’s not the first time in this tournament that two teams from the same franchise would meet in a regional final, it is the first time that the two teams are from consecutive seasons, with the #3 seed 1992 Reds facing off against the #4 seeded 1991 Reds.  This meant that one of them would achieve what the pennant-winning ‘90 Reds failed to do, which is to win their bracket.   One reason that the ‘92 team had a better rating was because they had a better rotation, with Greg Swindell (12-8, 2.70) a strong option to go against 91’s swingman Scott Scudder (6-9, 4.35).  But Swindell doesn’t look strong in the top of the 1st as he loads up the bases with a hit and a couple of walks, and a squib single by Eric Davis and a sac fly by the ‘91 version of Billy Doran (that’s Bill to you in ‘92, btw) makes it 2-0 for the ‘91s.  That lead proves short-lived, as Reggie Sanders smacks a 2-run homer in the bottom of the inning for a game reset.  In the 2nd, Scudder issues four consecutive walks and the ‘92s take a 3-2 lead, while the ‘91s lose Davis for the tournament with an injury to end the 3rd.  However, in the 4th Doran doubles off Swindell’s card and then another Billy, Hatcher, later hits the same split for a single and Doran scores to tie things up again.  Once again it doesn’t last long, as Bip bops a 2-run homer by converting Scudder’s HR split and the ‘92s take a 5-3 lead into the 5th.  When Scudder walks Sanders to begin the bottom of the 5th, the ‘91s feel the game slipping away and move to their version of Rob Dibble, and he ends the inning after a little excitement but with no damage.  When the ‘91s lead off the top of the 7th with consecutive singles from Hatcher and Hal Morris, it’s time for double Dibbles as the ‘92 version of Rob comes in to try to preserve their lead.   This Dibble whiffs ‘91 versions of Larkin and Sabo, bringing up Paul O’Neill with two away–and O’Neill crushes it somewhere in the vicinity of the Ohio River for a three-run blast and the first lead of the game for the ‘91s, to the delight of the younger versions of the fans in the stands.  It’s now ‘91 Dibble’s job to hold on, and his first batter of the 7th, Sabo, doubles on a missed HR 1-5 split, followed by Joe Oliver who doubles while missing Dibble’s HR 1-17 split, and the game is tied.  Oliver then scores on a Dave Martinez single to put the ‘92s ahead for the third time of the game, and although ‘92 Dibble allows two hits in the top of the 8th, he escapes with that lead intact.  By the bottom of the 8th, the ‘91s are done Dibbling and summon Norm Charlton for his final two innings of eligibility in the bracket, and he puts his future teammates down in order, bringing the ‘91s to the top of the 9th down by a run and the heart of the order is up.  The ‘92s elect to stick with their Dibble, but Larkin leads off with a single and Sabo follows with a double, the 1-17 Larkin races home, and the game is tied once again.  O’Neill walks, injury replacement Herm Winningham bunts to put runners on 2nd and 3rd, and in comes the infield for Doran.  He rips a grounder to 1B-3 Carmelo Martinez, who muffs it, Sabo scores, and the ‘91s now hold the lead and now it’s the ‘92 Charlton replacing a horrific Dibble, who managed to leave the game as the losing pitcher of record for both teams at once.  But Jeff Reed tags Charlton for a single and another run before finally ending the inning on a Martinez DP ball, while the ‘91 Charlton now takes a two-run lead into the bottom of the 9th.  And he sets the ‘92s down in order, bringing an end to the Clone Wars as the 1991 Reds take the regional with a 9-7 victory over their older selves.

Interesting card of Regional #219:  There were three MVPs in this regional, and their teams went a combined 1-3 with none of the three doing much to help.  However, only one of the three had the excuse of playing for a last place team, the first MVP in baseball history to do so.  But it was a remarkable season for Dawson in other ways as well.  After 11 years in Montreal during which he established himself as the greatest player in team history, the Expos offered the 32 year old Dawson a contract that represented a pay cut; Dawson then declared himself a free agent but remarkably not a single team was interested (not coincidentally, toward the end of the 1987 season arbitrator Thomas Roberts ruled that there was collusion among owners to not sign free agents, resulting in a 1990 settlement requiring owners to pay $280 million dollars to cover awarded damages).  Desperate to leave Montreal, Dawson approached the Cubs during spring training with a blank contract and told them to make whatever offer they wanted and he would sign for any salary that was fair.  Within 24 hours, he was a Cub, although he would be paid less than Montreal's insulting offer.  The Cubs certainly got their money’s worth, and Dawson started out the season thriving with Wrigley’s dimensions and natural turf.  However, his season was interrupted in July when, after hitting a homer off Eric Show, Show hit him in the face with a fastball, requiring 21 stitches to close the wound. Even so, he only missed a few games and picked up where he left off with a three homer game against the Phillies on August 1.  His selection as NL MVP made him the 8th player in Cubs history to receive the award; Dawson was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010 in his ninth year on the ballot.

REGIONAL #218:  The first team out of the draw for this group was another Jeter-era Yankee pennant winner, a classification that has been the kiss of death for them in this tournament.  The only other squad from the 20th century were their arch rivals in Boston from the same season, which could set up an interesting semifinal.  Among the other teams was a Rockies squad from the year after their lone NL pennant, and a dark horse pandemic year Phillies team that could be interesting.  Entries from the Dodgers, Nationals, and Mets were probably okay, while I guessed that the Orioles representative was too far before their current resurgence.  I figured that the Bronx Jeters would go down again, so I picked the Red Sox to eliminate them and best the Rockies in the finals.  The ELO rankings indicated that the two 1999 teams were by far the best in this bracket, with the Yanks in the top 40 of all time and favored to win over the pandemic Phils in the finals.

First round action

The 1999 Yankees won 98 games and the AL, swept the Braves in the Series, and garnered MVP votes for Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and closer Mariano Rivera, with a solid rotation that could send Orlando Hernandez (17-9, 4.12) out for what looked to be an easy matchup against the 2019 Orioles.  These Orioles apparently celebrated the 50th anniversary of their epic 1969 team by being epically terrible, losing 108 games with a motley collection of no-names and John Means (12-11, 3.60) being the only approximation of an MLB starter in the rotation.  Despite the quick exits historically made by the Jeter-era Yanks, surely this first-round game was one they couldn’t lose.  However, they certainly start off looking like they will try their best to do so, only garnering one baserunner in the first 5 innings and staying in the game because of great fielding in support of Hernandez.  They do get runners on 2nd and 3rd in the top of the 6th courtesy of a Jeter double, but Williams whiffs for the third straight time of the game and the game remains in a scoreless tie.  With two out in the bottom of the inning, Renato Nunez rolls but fails to convert Hernandez’s HR 1-10/DO split, but with the offense sputtering the Yanks feel compelled to go to Rivera to try to survive, and although Pedro Severino then rolls a DO 1-3/flyB on Rivera’s card, he fails to convert and Nunez is stranded to sustain the tie.  In the 7th, O’s LF-4 Dwight Smith Jr manages to commit a 3-base error on the leadoff hitter, but Means bears down and manages to strand the runner on 3rd for no score.  The Yanks get the leadoff hitter on 3rd again in the 9th, with Ricky Ledee cracking a triple, and with nothing but doom in the bullpen the Orioles are hoping Means has the means to pull off another miracle.  He gets one out, but then Scott Brosius lofts a sac fly and Ledee scores to break the ice at last.  That pushes the game into the bottom of the 9th, with the Yankees leading but facing the decision whether to stick with Rivera, which will burn him for the regional, or risk a much less reliable alternative.  Given their track record, they decide to take no chances, and Rivera sets down the Orioles to earn the 1-0 win but the Yanks, who only managed three hits against Means, will be without Rivera’s arm for the rest of the regional.  

Knowing that a semifinal with their arch-rival loomed on the horizon provided extra incentive for the 1999 Red Sox in their first round matchup with a bad 2022 Nationals team.  The Red Sox won 94 games and made the postseason as a wild card, only to lose in the ALCS to the very same Yankee team that had just won the previous round one game.  The Sox had one brilliant pitcher in Pedro Martinez, but in a controversial decision they decided to save him for the hated Yanks, going with Bret Saberhagen (10-6, 2.95) figuring that he and a strong pen would get adequate run support from MVP candidate Nomar Garciaparra and the un-named Brian Daubach.  It was difficult not to be optimistic against the Nationals, who had won the NL just three seasons earlier but now were a 107-loss team with a punchless lineup, big defensive holes, and a terrible rotation with winless Paolo Espino (0-9, 4.84) being the only starter sporting an ERA under five.  Regardless, it’s the Nats who take the early lead on a Maikel Franco sac fly in the bottom of the 2nd, while the Red Sox unerringly find the holes in their good columns and Espino doesn’t allow a hit until the 5th.  When Saberhagen allows two baserunners in the 6th, the Red Sox can feel the game slipping away and move to Rich Garces and his 1.55 ERA, and he ends the threat courtesy of a great play by SS-2 Nomar.  With two out in the top of the 7th, Mike Stanley finally finds some action on Espino’s rather terrible card with a double, but Espino retires PH Scott “he gets on base” Hatteberg to end the threat.  However, in the 8th Jose Offerman finds and converts one of Espino’s HR results for a game-tying solo shot and the Nats bring in Hunter Harvey, who has no such rolls on his card.  However, he issues two walks and a hit to Nomar, bringing up Troy O’Leary with the bases full, and he lofts a sac fly that puts Boston in the lead.  Now with two out, Harvey delivers to Jason Varitek, who crushes it for a 3-run homer.   Armed with a four run lead, the BoSox preserve Garces and bring in Rheal Cormier, who immediately issues a walk to Alex Call to set up a 2-run homer by Joey Meneses and the pitching change is looking like a poor choice.  However, Trot Nixon provides extra insurance in the top of the 9th with a two out, two run homer, and Cormier is able to hang on as the Red Sox overcome a slow start to win 7-3 and set up a semifinal duel with their rivals.

The 2021 Mets went 77-85 but they would certainly have won more if Jacob deGrom’s killer card had been available to them for the entire season.  As it was, deGrom only had 92 IP, setting up a unique situation given a confluence of various tournament guidelines.  Settle in, because this gets complicated:  First, tournament rules require starters to have at least 100 IP to start to be an option in the rotation, meaning that deGrom is not an option.  However, some teams don't have four such starters; for example, with pandemic and some strike year teams.  In that case, all 100+ starters must be used first in the rotation if there are any, and after they are used up it goes in strict order of IP.  It turns out the Mets only have three guys with 100+ innings (Strohman, Walker, Hill), and deGrom's 92 innings are the highest among the remainders, so he will have to be the #4 starter.  BUT, because he has fewer than 100 IP, by tournament rules he is also allowed to serve as a reliever.  AND, another rule is that starters who relieve must rest two games before starting.  FINALLY, another rule for relief usages says that a pitcher who tosses 3.1 to 4 innings (the max allowed) in a game must rest for two games before starting.  So, given all that, for this first round game I decided to start the WORST of the three 100+ IP starters for the Mets, Tajuan Walker (7-11, 4.47), in the hopes that he could survive 5 innings and I could then turn the game over to the unhittable deGrom.  That would need to happen against the 2005 Dodgers, who had an even worse 71-91 record (although a slightly better ELO rating) and had little to brag about other than Jeff Kent, who received a couple of MVP votes; Brad Penny (7-9, 3.90) was the first round choice from an unusually weak Dodgers rotation.  The Mets begin the top of the 1st by loading the bases with nobody out, and after a 2-run double from Javier Baez and a couple more RBI from the tandem of Villar and Pillar, the Mets lead 4-0 before the Dodgers can swing a bat.  In the 3rd Villar triples and scores on a Pillar sac fly, and when the Mets lead off the 4th with two straight singles the Dodgers decide they’ve gotten their money’s worth out of Penny and move to fireballer Greg Gagne who quickly ends the threat.  In the bottom of the inning Kent lofts a towering solo homer to narrow the gap to 5-1, but in the 5th Baez finds an unexpected home run result at 4-11, converting a 1-13 split with a 13 and gets the run back.  Walker is wild in the bottom of the inning and hands the Dodgers another run with a bases loaded walk to JD Drew, but then whiffs Kent who represented the tying run to end the inning.  With Walker apparently tiring, there is no reason for the Mets not to move to deGrom in the 6th.  Brandon Nimmo finds an RBI single in the 9th for additional insurance for NY, but it’s unnecessary as deGrom closes out four hitless innings and the Mets cruise to the 7-2 win.

The Zoom game of the week featured Philadelphia’s own Tall Tactician in charge of the pandemic 2020 Phillies, meaning that I would guide the 2008 Rockies in a battle of two teams close to pennants that both should have been better.  The Phils went 28-32 in the pandemic season but had many of the cogs in place that would lead them to the Series in a few years, with Bryce Harper leading the offense and a rotation where their highest-use starters were also their best, such as Aaron Nola (5-5, 3.28) who finished 7th in the Cy Young votes.  The 74-88 Rockies had essentially the same team that had won the NL in the prior season, but these guys had substantial declines in performance, such as Matt Holliday who still received some MVP support after nearly winning the award the prior season; even so, Aaron Cook (16-9, 3.96) had a fine year for a pitcher working in Coors.  The  Phillies take a quick lead in the top of the 1st on a Rhys Hopkins RBI single, but in the bottom of the inning Chris Iannetta answers with a two-out two-run homer and it’s looking to be a typical high-scoring affair in the Mile High city.  A solo shot from JT Realmuto ties things up in the 3rd, and in the 5th he records a sac fly to add to his RBI total and push the Phils back into the lead.  Meanwhile, Nola is throwing bullets past the Rockies batters until the 6th, when Clint Barmes drives in a run with a two-out game tying single; Garrett Atkins then follows with a HR 1-16/DO roll and misses the split with a 20, but Barmes (1-13+2) heads for home for the lead–and is nailed at the plate with an 18 split.  With the game now tied heading into the 7th, I quickly pull Cook at the first sign of trouble and bring in setup man Taylor Buchholz, which does not go well as he’s tagged for a two-run moonshot by Harper and the Phillies are back in the lead.  Buchholz allows a couple more baserunners in the 8th and I decide to end that experiment, summoning closer Brian Fuentes, who promptly serves up a three-run homer to Realmuto; the only response the Rockies can muster is losing Troy Tulowitzki and Ryan Spilborghs to injuries.  The surviving Rockies don’t fare any better, as Nola doesn’t allow another hit after Atkins’ diet of missed homer splits, and Nola finishes up with 14 strikeouts in a complete game 8-3 win as the Phils survive and advance.

The survivors

A highly anticipated semifinal paired archrivals with the 1999 Yankees and the 1999 Red Sox facing off.  The Yankees won the AL and the Series, and might seem to have an advantage here over the wild card Red Sox whom they defeated in the ALCS, but the Red Sox had Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez (23-4, 2.07), who certainly seemed like a great equalizer although NY’s David Cone (12-9, 3.44) wasn’t chopped liver as he came in 6th in the votes.  The Sox stake Pedro to a quick lead in the bottom of the 1st with a 2-run double from Brian Daubach on a missed HR split, but he scores regardless on a Mike Stanley single and Fenway is rocking with a three run lead.  In the 4th, Daubach decides not to leave it up to the split die and nails a solid homer result for another two runs, and meanwhile the Yanks, who only had three hits in their first round game, don’t get one until the 5th and that leads to an RBI single by Scott Brosius that makes it 5-1.  An RBI double by Trot Nixon in the 6th and Coneheads for the dugout, but with Rivera burnt it’s Jason Grimsley who gets the assignment, but a Daubach sac fly and RBI hits from Jose Offerman and Stanley extend the Boston lead even further.  The barrage continues in the 6th with a leadoff homer from John Valentin and a 2-run double on a missed HR split by Nixon, and Grimsley is gone and Allen Watson gets a turn in the barrel.  He is greeted by an single from O’Leary that scores Nixon and then Jason Varitek puts it over the Green Monster to make the Boston lead 15-1.  Even Boston number nine hitter Darren Lewis gets in the action, hitting Watson’s solid HR result for a solo shot in the top of the 9th, and Martinez wraps up a 6-hitter as the Red Sox avenge their 1999 ALCS loss with a 16-1 humiliation that puts them in the finals.  

It was a semifinal Zoom as partisan Friday Night Strat participants squared off, with TT resuming command of the 2020 Phillies after guiding them to a win in round one, and long-suffering Mets fan Fgabs taking the helm of the 2021 Mets.  It looked like good pitching matchup with the Phils fortunate to have Zack Wheeler (4-2, 2.92) available to go against his former teammates, while Marcus Strohman (10-13, 3.02) was pitching on behalf of his future former Mets teammates.  The Mets take a 1-0 lead in the top of the 2nd assisted by a 2-base error from RF-2 Bryce Harper, but their own gloves return the favor in the bottom of the inning as a 2-base error from SS-2 Javier Baez lead to a pair of unearned runs and a Phillies lead.  Another error in the 3rd puts the Mets deeper in the hole at 4-1, but Strohman still pitching well with none of the runs being earned.  However, the Phils continue their knack of finding his hits, so when he allows a double in the bottom of the 7th Fgabs moves to Aaron Loup and his 0.95 ERA out of the pen.  With first base open and Bryce Harper at the plate, Fgabs signals for some chin music and Harper responds with a colossal blast that decapitates a cardboard fan cutout in the stands, and the piped-in crowd noise is deafening.  The Phils put another couple of runners on in the 8th but the Mets breath a sigh of relief when Jay Bruce lofts a flyball to NY’s best fielder, CF-1 Kevin Pillar; but nope, Pillar rolls the 2-base error with a 1 on the split die and it’s another two unearned runs in Philly.  That’s far more than Wheeler needs as he closes out a 6-hitter and the Phils head to the Phinals as they “earn” an 8-1 victory.

There would be no TT to lead the #3 seeded 2020 Phillies in their quest for the regional crown, as this game would be solitaire after two consecutive live/Zoom wins for TT and the Phils.  They faced a formidable obstacle in the #2 seed 1999 Red Sox, fresh off a massacre against their hated rivals, and although the seedings were close Boston had a far better ELO rating. I would be keeping TT’s seemingly magic batting order, and despite the pandemic-year IP limitations it worked out that Zach Eflin (4-2, 3.97), who had to start, was their best available regardless.  For the Red Sox, it would be Pat Rapp (6-7, 4.12) backed by a fully rested bullpen, and the Red Sox began where they left off, leading off the top of the 1st by having Jose Offerman find and convert Eflin’s HR split.  Trot Nixon follows with a solid double off Eflin’s card; two outs on the Red Sox cards and then Troy O’Leary also locates and converts that Eflin HR split and even the cardboard fan cutouts in Philadelphia are looking for the exits.  The Phils get one back with a 2-out rally that culminates in a Didi Gregorius RBI single, and he saves some runs in the top of the 4th with a stellar defensive play after Eflin walks the bases loaded.  Eflin then settles in and get stronger as the game wears on, and when JT Realmuto leads off the bottom of the 8th with a squib single the Red Sox are taking no chances and turn the game over to Rich Garces to close it out.  However, he walks two to load the bases, and then 3B-2 John Valentin can’t complete the DP and the Phils draw within a run on an Alec Bohn fielder’s choice, although defensive replacement Adam Haseley is knocked out of the game with an injury to end the inning, creating a big hole in left field.  When Eflin allows a one-out single to John Valentin in the top of the 9th, the Phillies leaf through their minefield of a bullpen and opt for Tommy Hunter, who keeps it a one-run game entering the bottom of the 9th.  Garces strikes out the first two Philly batters to bring up Jean Segura; with the game on the line, he rolls his HR 1-12/flyB and the split comes up with a 6 and the game is tied and the piped-in crowd noise roars its approval.  Garces then retires Bryce Harper and we head to extra innings.  In the top of the 10th, Brian Daubach singles and with 2 out Jason Varitek misses his HR 1-5/DO split; with two out the 1-10+2 Daubach heads for home with the go ahead run, but the split is a 17 and it’s inning over.  The Phils do nothing against Garces in the bottom of the inning, and Mike Stanley walks to lead off the top of the 11th; Hunter gets two quick outs but then defensive replacement Jeff Frye knocks a single, sending Stanley to third and bringing up Trot Nixon.  Hunter discovers that Nixon’s the one, as he connects for a three-run moonshot as the cardboard cutouts look on in disbelief.  Boston summons Rod Beck for the bottom of the inning against the bottom of the order, and this time the Phils have no magic in them and they go down in order.  The Red Sox take the 6-3 extra-inning victory and the regional title, their 8th in tournament history, and in doing so became the first regional winner that I’d successfully predicted in a while.

Interesting card(s) of Regional #218:  It was the best of cards; it was the worst of cards, it was the age of wisdom in not pitching a reliever with a 12.54 ERA, it was the age of foolishness in not protecting your best pitching arm.  These, of course, are the opening lines to A Tale of Two Pitchers, a drama that played out in several acts in this regional.  On the one hand, you have a starting pitcher, one with as good a pitching card as has ever been printed, for whom it requires invoking nearly every pitcher-related rule in this tournament to get him into the game.  On the other hand, you have a relief pitcher whose gopher ball tendencies should instill a terror in his pitching coach not seen since the French Revolution.  One thing that the contrast between these two cards brings to mind is discussing Strat with friends of mine who played the primary competition at the time in APBA.  I myself have never played a single game of APBA, but I’ve seen plenty of the cards, and they look like lottery tickets to me; I couldn’t tell you who was a good player or a bad player if you hid their name.  On the other hand, I could show these two cards to Charles Dickens, and even he could probably figure out which pitcher would be a better choice.  Hint for Chucky D:  it isn’t Hembree.

REGIONAL #217:  The first team to get picked by the random team selector was a pennant-winning Indians team, although it looked to me like they would have some stiff competition in the bracket.  There was a Cardinals team that had won the NL two years earlier, and entries from the Yankees, Mariners, and A’s that were all in the middle of some pretty good runs.  A Reds team and a contemporary version of the Brewers felt like they could be dark horses, and I suspected that the Tigers were likely to be pretty bad.  My guess was that the Indians would be the favorite and that they would prevail over the Mariners in the finals; the ELO rankings had the same predictions, while also highlighting that the Tribe could face a serious challenge from a highly rated Yankees team in the semifinals.  

First round action

The 1995 Indians won 100 games and the American League, and were ELO ranked as the 30th best team in baseball history.  They had Albert Belle as the MVP runner-up and Manny Ramirez also got votes, while Cy Young runner-up Jose Mesa as the closer could back up a rotation with Dennis Martinez (12-5, 3.08) getting the round one start.  The Tribe weren’t a perfect team, however, as defensively they were a combination of great and terrible fielders, with little in-between.  The 2022 Brewers couldn’t match the firepower of the Cleveland lineup but they still won 86 games with a pretty good pitching staff fronted by Corbin Burnes (12-8, 2.94), who finished 7th in the Cy Young votes.  Manny launches a solo shot in the top of the 2nd to afford Cleveland the early lead, while Martinez is shaken up in the bottom of the inning but to the relief of the Indians is able to remain in the game.  However, in the bottom of the 3rd the Brewers’ .199 hitting catcher Victor Caratini is able to turn a 1-1-1 roll into a solo homer that ties the game, and two batters later Hunter Renfroe crushes a 2-run shot and the Indians are wondering if Martinez is more hurt than he appears. Brewers DH Keston Hiura adds another solo shot in the 4th, but they lose Renfroe who is knocked out of the game with an injury in the next inning.  When Martinez issues a leadoff walk in the 6th, he’s taken out and Mesa gets the call to preserve the fading hopes of the Indians, and he does his job but the Tribe can’t get anything off Burnes.   So Burnes faces the top of the Cleveland order in the top of the 9th for the win, and he whiffs the first two batters to face Albert Belle; Burnes tries for the trifecta and Belle deposits the attempt deep in the outfield of the former Miller Park.  That brings up Jim Thome, who flies out harmlessly and the favorites fall to the Brewers 4-2, with Burnes allowing only two hits–both solid homers–while striking out 10.

The 2017 Yankees were the #2 seed in the bracket, as they won 91 games and lost the ALCS in 7 games from a wild card spot.  They were armed with the Rookie of the Year in Aaron Judge, who finished 2nd in the MVP vote and put up 52 homers to lead a lineup where everybody exceeded .400 SLG%, while Luis Severino (14-6, 2.98) was 3rd in the Cy Young ballots.  All of this spelled trouble for the #8 seeded 2004 Tigers, who lost 90 games but that was one of the biggest improvements of all time given that they had lost 119 the year before.  This team had a couple of big bats in Carlos Guillen and Pudge Rodriguez, who was 10th in the MVP votes, but their rotation was painful with Jeremy Bonderman (11-13, 4.69) the best of bad options.  Bonderman doesn’t allow a hit until the top of the 4th, but the second hit of that inning was a 3-run homer by Todd Frazier, and after a two-base error from Bonderman himself, Jacob Ellsbury nails a two-run double and the Yanks lead 5-0.  Frazier comes up again in the 5th, and the result is the same as he knocks his second 3-run blast of the game; the Tigers get on the board in the bottom of the inning on a Pudge sac fly, and they decide to burn up closer Ugueth Urbina in an effort to get back in the game for the 6th.  RF-2 Trout misplays a single in the 8th that sets up an RBI hit for Brandon Inge, but that’s nowhere near enough as Severino closes out a 5-hitter and the 8-2 win.  The Yanks move on despite committing four errors and having Trout go hitless, issues that may need to change if they hope to advance against better competition in later rounds.

The #3 seeded 1996 Mariners were a potent offensive squad, with ARod 2nd and Griffey Jr. 4th in the MVP ballots and Jay Buhner also receiving votes.  However, they only won 85 games, largely because of a gruesome rotation with Jamie Moyer (13-3, 3.98) the only starter with an ERA under five.  The 2011 Reds were the #6 seed with but weren’t far behind with 79 wins, although offensively only Joey Votto had much of a season to brag about, finishing 6th for MVP, while Johnny Cueto (9-5, 2.31) headed a rotation that looked considerably better than that of the Mariners.   In the top of the 2nd, Joey Cora hits into a bases loaded double play to kill an inning, and then the first batter in the bottom of the frame, Jay Bruce, knocks one out of the park to add to the pain.  A two-out single by Dan Wilson in the top of the 4th scores Junior to tie the game, but in the bottom of the 5th a Moyer error sets up a 2-run homer from Drew Stubbs and the Reds regain the lead, but lose LF Chris Heisey for the tournament with an injury to end the inning.  In the top of the 8th Griffey Jr. launches a 2-run moon shot that ties the game again, and the M’s take no chances with Moyer’s gopher ball and summon Norm Charlton to begin the 8th.  Charlton tosses two scoreless innings but so does Cueto and the game heads to extra innings.  Cueto begins the 10th by fanning ARod but then Griffey launches a long solo shot and Jay Buhner follows with a double and it’s obvious Cueto is spent, and he is replaced by the wild Aroldis Chapman, who strikes out two in a row to end the inning.  However, the Mariners take their first lead of the game into the bottom of the 10th, and decide to stick with Charlton although the Big Unit is warming up in the pen.  He gets two quick outs but then Votto singles and injury replacement Todd Frazier draws a walk, and the winning run is now on base with two away and Bruce at the plate.  Charlton delivers, Bruce grounds it back to him and Norm tosses it to Paul Sorrento for the easy out and the Mariners survive a come-from-behind 4-3 win and advance.  

The last first round game of the regional paired two teams that I had thought would be better before I set their lineups.  The 2008 Cardinals did win 86 games and they did have the MVP in Albert Pujols, but there were some holes in the lineup and the rotation wasn’t that great after a decent Adam Wainwright (11-3, 3.20).  The 1998 A’s lost 88 games, with sluggers like Jason Giambi and Matt Stairs getting far eclipsed in that infamous steroid year, but it wasn’t much of a gamble to start Kenny Rogers (16-8, 3.17) in one of his best seasons.  The A’s begin the top of the 1st according to plan, as 39-year-old Rickey Henderson draws a leadoff walk, steals second, and scores on a Giambi single, and in the 2nd a Wainwright error sets up an RBI single from Ben Grieve that makes it 2-0 A’s.  From there, Wainwright is in command but it’s to no avail as Rogers knows when to hold ‘em against the Cards, and Kenny retires Pujols for the final out and finishes up a 4-hit shutout as the A’s head to the semifinals with the 2-0 win.  

The survivors

The 2022 Brewers had already eliminated the top seed in the first round and now had their sights set on the #2 seeded 2017 Yankees in the semifinals.  The Brewers were back to full strength with Hunter Renfroe back from his game one injury, and they had a solid Brandon Woodruff (13-4, 3.05) on the hill backed by a rested bullpen.  However, the Yanks were also 100% with Sonny Gray (10-12, 3.55) tapped for the start.  New York gets an RBI single from Didi Gregorius in the bottom of the 1st for an early lead, but in the top of the 4th a passed ball by NY C-3 Gary Sanchez and a sac fly from Tyrone Taylor put the Brewers on top 2-1.  From there, Woodruff is dominant, whiffing Yankees left and right until he runs into Aarons in the bottom of the 8th, when PH Aaron Hicks doubles with two out and then Aaron Judge knocks an RBI single off Woodruff’s card to tie the game going into the 9th.  A leadoff double by Willy Adames off Gray’s card and the Yankees head to the pen for Adam Warren, who strikes out the first two batters he faces but then Luis Urias pokes a single and Adames (1-13+2) slides under the tag with a 15 split to give the Brewers the lead.  Milwaukee then hands the ball to Woodruff for the bottom of the 9th to close out his effort, and he retires the side in order to finish with 12 strikeouts in a 3-2 Brewer win that propels them to the finals.  

The 1996 Mariners were now the top remaining seed in the bracket, and they were facing the #7 seeded 1998 A’s who had made the semifinals courtesy of a great pitching performance.  Unfortunately for Oakland, they were now looking at a huge dropoff in the rotation to Tom Candiotti (11-16, 4.94) and it only gets worse from there; however, pitching prospects in Seattle were even more frightening, with Sterling Hitchcock (13-9, 5.35) on the mound and closer Charlton burnt for the game.  Hitchcock appears to be directing a horror movie in the bottom of the 1st, allowing a 2-run homer to Ben Grieve and then loading the bases to set up a run-scoring walk to Ryan Christenson for a quick 3-0 A’s lead.  The Mariners respond in the top of the 2nd, as although Jay Buhner misses a HR split, he scores on a Joey Cora double that makes it a one-run game.  Although at this point it was looking like a high-scoring affair, both starters settle in and make it through the 5th with no further incident, but both are on a short leash in a tight elimination game.  Hitchcock’s leash is the first to be yanked when he allows a 2-out double in the 6th, and he’s replaced by the limited-inning Randy Johnson in an effort to stay in the game, who does the job in whiffing PH Bip Roberts to end the inning.  A leadoff single by Buhner in the 7th and Candiotti is replaced by Gil Heredia, but Cora hits his second double of the game and a gamble by the Mariners pays off as 1-10 Buhner beats the throw home to tie the game.  Dave Hollins follows with a single and 1-14 Cora also takes the extra base successfully and Seattle has their first lead of the game.  In the bottom of the inning, Rickey Henderson leads off with a walk and steals second, but the Big Unit bears down and strikes out the heart of the A’s lineup in order to end the threat.  ARod then leads off the top of the 8th by converting a TR 1-3 split off Heredia’s card, and Oakland has seen enough and summons closer Billy Taylor, who looks like he will strand the runner at third with two quick outs, but then Buhner rolls a no-doubt solid homer for another two runs.  Now armed with a three run lead, the Mariners seek to preserve Johnson and risk Mike Jackson to close things out, but the second batter he faces, Miguel Tejada, finds Jackson’s solid 4-5 HR result for a solo shot that narrows the gap.  Things get even worse for Seattle in the bottom of the 9th, as defensive replacement 3B-2 Andy Sheets commits a 2-base error to put the #9 hitter for the A’s in scoring position, and then Henderson converts a HR 1-8/flyB for a game-tying two-run shot and there is still nobody out.  With nothing but nightmares left in the pen, Seattle is stuck with Jackson, and he recovers to retire three straight and the game heads to extra innings.  In the top of the 10th, Taylor starts out in trouble with a walk and an ARod single, and he never gets out as RBI singles from Paul Sorrento, Buhner, and Cora stake Jackson to a three run lead entering the bottom of the 10th.  He allows a leadoff single but Tejada hits into a DP and the cardiac Mariners survive their second straight extra-inning game to head to the finals with the 9-6 win.

The 2022 Brewers had eliminated the #1 and #2 seeds in the bracket to reach the finals, and now they had the chance to continue the streak in facing the #3 seeded 1996 Mariners.  As the #4 seed themselves, the Brewers were no slouch and their deep rotation made a decent Eric Lauer (11-7, 3.69) available, while the Mariners were hoping that Bob Wells (12-7, 5.30) could keep the ball in the park long enough for a tired bullpen to take over.  Wells does record two quick outs in the top of the 1st, but then the wheels come off, as a couple of hits and an error by 3B-3 Dave Hollins scores one run and fills the bases with Brewers, and Tyrone Taylor clears them with a mammoth blast and the Kingdome is deathly quiet.  The volume gradually grows as the M’s lead off the bottom of the inning with two straight singles and the ARod puts one in the stands for a 3-run shot and the fans begin to remember that this Seattle team had to come from behind to win both of their first-round games in extra innings.  The Mariners load the bases in the 2nd with nobody out, and after a sac fly by Edgar Martinez that makes it a one-run game, ARod hits his second 3-run homer of the game in as many at-bats.  With a fully rested pen, Milwaukee wastes no time in using it with Devin Williams and his 1.93 ERA picked to stop the bleeding.  Williams walks a couple in the 4th and then faces ARod’s third AB, and he rips it into the gap for a double that scores one although 1-11 EMart is out at the plate by a mile.  Wells gets through five innings without allowing additional runs, but when he issues a walk in the 6th the Mariners take no chances and summon the Big Unit out of the pen, who has two innings of eligibility remaining, and he retires the side without damage.  However, in the 7th Hunter Renfroe finds and converts Johnson’s HR result for a solo shot that brings the Brewers within two, and in the bottom of the inning Mariner 1B Paul Sorrento has to leave the game with an injury.  The Mariners bring on Norm Charlton to try to close things out, and he gets two outs in the 9th but Kolten Wong doubles and Renfroe drives him in with a sharp single, making it a one-run game with the tying run on first and cleanup hitter Rowdy Tellez at the plate.  Charlton delivers, Tellez lofts it deep to CF but Griffey Jr hauls it in at the warning track to give the Mariners the 8-7 win and their 5th franchise regional title, joining the 1995 team to form a mini-dynasty in the tournament.  

Interesting card of Regional #217:  It seems like if I were assembling a team of the greatest rookie seasons in baseball history, I think this card would definitely make the squad..  Aaron Judge was unanimously elected Rookie of the Year for 2017, and he finished 2nd in the MVP ballots to Jose Altuve; I would argue that he was more deserving of the MVP award that season than were either of the only two rookies ever to be named MVP in baseball history (trivia alert:  who were they?).  He tied the Yankees rookie record for home runs, held by Joe DiMaggio, before the All-Star break, and during that break he won the Home Run Derby just for good measure.  In September he hit longball number 49 to break Mark McGwire's record for most homers by a rookie; however, that record didn’t last very long as it was bested by Pete Alonso in 2019.  Unlike Alonso, who bashed his way to lead the Mets to win Regional #61, Judge couldn’t muster a single homer in this bracket and his Yankees bowed out in the semifinals.  However, he’ll get a few chances for redemption in this tournament in future regionals, including Judge’s infamous 2022 MVP season in which he eclipsed Roger Maris’ AL home run record.