REGIONAL #235:  For the third regional in a row, the draw included two Red Sox teams, giving the franchise a good chance to follow up on their triumph in the previous bracket; they looked particularly good because one had won the AL the prior season, while the other had taken the pennant two years earlier.  Other squads that captured my eye were a steroid-era Giants team that had someone a few doses away from the HR record, and a Marge Schott-era Reds a few years before they took the NL pennant.  There was also a White Sox team that would try to survive the first round, which seemed doable against a Tigers team that was in the midst of some seasons of record-setting ineptitude.   In the last group I picked the wrong Red Sox team to win it all, so I figured I’d try again, selecting the 2014 version of Boston to handle the Giants in the final.  According to the ELO rankings, it would actually be an all-Red Sox final, but those ratings picked the other Red Sox entry as the favorite.

First round action

The 2014 Red Sox turned out to have a pretty good ELO ranking considering they lost 91 games, but aside from David Ortiz’s 35 homers the lineup wasn’t much to brag about, and John Lackey (11-7, 3.60) was pretty much the only good starting pitcher they had.  They still looked more than two wins better than the 93-loss 2022 Marlins, who only had one regular with an OBP over .300, although Jesus Luzardo (4-7, 3.32) was not a terrible option on the hill.  Boston shows its issues in the bottom of the 1st when a 2-base error by RF-3 Daniel Nava turns into a run on a Bryan De La Cruz single, but they are denied another run in the 2nd when 1-12 Miguel Rojas is nailed at the plate on a 13 split.  Big Papi Ortiz leads off the top of the 4th with a moon shot HR that ties the game, and AJ Pierzynski leads off the 5th with a knock that barely clears the wall but counts just as much, and the Red Sox move in front.  Four batters later, Ortiz crushes another, this one a 2-run shot, and then Yoenis Cespedes goes back to back and Jesus just left the mound, with Steven Okert getting a try.  Errors by 3B-2 Joey Wendle and P-5 Okert lead to two more Boston runs in the 7th, and Cespedes adds an RBI single in the top of the 9th that leaves him a triple short of a cycle.  Meanwhile, Lackey doesn’t allow a hit after the 6th and he cruises to an 8-1 victory as this version of the Red Sox does their job and moves on.  

The 2009 White Sox were well into decline after their only championship in my lifetime, finishing under .500 at 79-83; they were hoping to get some more mileage out of Paul Konerko and Jim Thome, while they tapped Gavin Floyd (11-11, 4.06) for the start.   Although the Sox might have had better starting options and a jinx to overcome, they couldn’t help but be somewhat confident against a bad 2002 Tigers team that lost 106 games, with nobody over 20 homers, plenty of fielding holes, and a rotation that got pretty gruesome after Mark Redman (8-15, 4.21).   But it’s the Sox bats that start out in full jinx mode, while the Tigers get a run in the bottom of the 4th on a Shane Halter RBI double to draw first blood.  Robert Fick singles in another in the 5th to make it 2-0 Tigers, but Gordon Beckham gets the Sox on the board in the 6th with a solo homer that barely clears the wall.  A leadoff single off Floyd’s card in the bottom of the 6th and the Sox can’t afford any more damage, so Matt Thornton is brought in and he immediately yields a triple to Halter, although Thornton does manage to strand Halter to keep the score at 3-1 Detroit.  In the top of the 8th, Scott Podsednik raps a 2-out double and races home on a Beckham single to make it a one-run game, and the Tigers move to closer Juan Acevedo but Jim Thome greets him with a colossal two-run homer and the Sox take the lead on the two-out rally.  The Sox ponder trying to preserve Thornton for later rounds, but opt to burn him for the regional, and he closes out the bottom of the 9th despite allowing a double on a missed HR 1-4 split to Brandon Inge, and the Sox survive the first round with a come from behind 4-3 win.  

According to the ELO rankings, this was the marquee matchup of this regional with the #1 seed 1988 Red Sox facing off against the #2 seeded 1999 Giants in the first round.   Those Red Sox went 89-73 to win the AL East but were swept in the ALCS; they had three guys in the top 10 MVP vote getters including Mike Greenwell (2nd), the league’s leading hitter in Wade Boggs (6th), and Dwight Evans (9th), and to add to the mix Roger Clemens (18-12, 2.93) led the league in strikeouts to finish 6th for the Cy Young.  For the 86-76 Giants, Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds, who seemed to miss a good chunk of the season given his 1-10 injury roll, both received MVP votes, although after Russ Ortiz (18-9, 3.81) the rotation began to look like a product of the steroid era.  Round one of the juiced Clemens/Bonds matchup goes to the not-yet-nameless one, who crushes a two-run homer in the top of the 1st to quickly quiet the Boston crowd.  However, they rapidly recover as Ortiz walks the first three Red Sox batters in the bottom of the inning, and then Dwight Evans raps a 2-run single and the game is tied.  Another walk re-loads the bases, and this time it’s Marty Barrett with a single and a pair of RBI, which is then followed by a missed Rich Gedman HR split that’s still good for a double and another two runs.  Ortiz settles down after that, but when the Bosox start the 6th with a walk and a single the Giants move to Alan Embree out of the pen, but Wade Boggs slaps an RBI single to extend Boston’s lead to 7-2.   Clemens doesn’t allow a hit for five innings but in the 9th he has trouble getting the 3rd out, as Ellis Burks (starting in the outfield for both teams) hits a 2-run homer for the Giants and then they poke a couple more hits until 3B-2 Boggs makes a stellar defensive play to finally record the final out in the 7-4 Red Sox win.  

The 1986 Reds were the #3 seed in this bracket with an 86-76 record, and they would be carrying the torch as one of the final teams with die-cut cards to enter the tournament.  Their offense was led by Dave Parker and Eric Davis who finished 5th and 12th, respectively, in the MVP votes, and although their rotation fronted by Bill Gullickson (15-12, 3.38) was not spectacular, there was quality in the bullpen.  The 2006 Orioles were hardly a formidable opponent; they did have a pretty good DP combo with Brian Roberts and MVP vote getter Miguel Tejada but the rotation after Erik Bedard (15-11, 3.76) was pretty sorry.  Parker puts the Reds up quickly in the bottom of the 1st with a two run single, and in the 3rd Kal Daniels triples past terrible LF-4 Brandon Fahey and the O’s try to cut off damage by bringing in the infield, which promptly results in a ++ RBI single for Davis.  The Orioles can’t get anything going against Gullickson until the 8th, when they get a run as PH Jeff Conine grounds into a DP, and although Bedard holds the Reds to five hits despite his rough start, the Reds wrap up the 3-1 win and head to the semifinals.  

The survivors

A semifinal between Sox of the different color, the 2014 Red Sox and 2009 White Sox were pretty evenly matched by ELO ratings that seemed better than their W-L records deserved.  Although the ChiSox had a jinx to overcome, they had a pitching advantage with Mark Buehrle (13-10, 3.84) sporting a better card than Rubby de la Rosa (4-8, 4.43), although Boston’s pen was fully rested while Chicago’s best reliever was burnt for the duration of the bracket.  Boston begins the top of the 2nd with four straight baserunners, and two of them score, one on a DP ball hit by AJ Pierzynski who is the starting catcher for both teams. The Red Sox get another run in the 3rd when Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz both double off Buerle’s card, and next time around in the 5th Ortiz converts Buerle’s HR result for a two-run shot and a 5-0 Boston lead.  The White Sox break the ice with a run on a pair of doubles from Alexei Ramirez and Chris Getz in the bottom of the frame,   Getz continues his hot hand with a homer to lead off the bottom of the 8th, but Pedroia counters with an RBI single in the top of the 9th and Chicago has no answer as Boston aims for an all-Red Sox final with the routine 6-2 win.  

It was up to the top seeded 1988 Red Sox to try to make it an all-Boston final, but their Rocket was spent in the first round and Mike Boddicker (13-15, 3.39) wasn’t bad but he was no Clemens.  Standing in their way were the 1986 Reds and Tom Browning (14-13, 3.81), but Boston begins the top of the 1st with two straight singles against Browning and then Mike Greenwell clears the fence, Dwight Evans goes back to back, and there is a 4-0 Red Sox lead before the Reds can get anybody out.  However, Boston leaves the bases loaded in the 2nd without scoring a run and you can feel the momentum shift, as the Reds rattle off three straight singles to begin the bottom of the inning followed by a missed HR split from Nick Esasky, but three runs score on the resulting double and it’s a one run game.  Boston reclaims the momentum in the top of the 3rd as Rich Gedman finds his 2-11 homer result for a 2-out 2-run shot to extend their lead, but the Reds get one of those back when Eric Davis doubles past 1B-4 Larry Parrish and scores on a Buddy Bell single.  Browning seems to have settled down but in the 6th Ellis Burks finds Browning’s solid HR result for a solo blast and John Franco is summoned from the pen to try to keep the Reds in the game.  Boston is denied a run in the 7th when Marty Barrett misses a 2-out HR 1-10 split and then 1-12+2 Jody Reed is out at the plate with a 15 split, but Barrett gets some measure of revenge by turning a key DP to end the bottom of the inning.  Gedman is injured to lead off the 8th and he’s likely out for the tournament, but Burks avenges that loss with his second solo HR of the game and Boddicker hangs on to complete the 8-4 Red Sox win, so it’s time to decorate Fenway for a regional final between two home teams.  

Two of Boston’s finest pair off for the regional crown with the top-seeded 1988 Red Sox facing the #4 seeded 2014 Red Sox to determine which version would follow up on the regional win by yet another Red Sox squad in the previous bracket.  The strong ranking of the ‘88s was evidenced by their third round starter, Bruce Hurst (18-6, 3.66), actually finishing 5th in the Cy Young balloting; the 2014s were less fortunate as Jake Peavy (1-9, 4.72) didn’t have one of his better years and his .100 winning percentage didn’t exactly inspire confidence.  However, I didn’t like the placement of Hurst’s HR split at 5-8, and sure enough Big Papi Ortiz rolls and converts the split in the top of the 1st for a 2-run shot and a quick lead for the underdog 2014s.  It doesn’t last long as Mike Greenwell finds and converts Peavy’s HR split for a game-tying two-run shot in the bottom of the inning, and in the 2nd a walk and an error by 1B-3 Mike Napoli set up a roll on Peavy’s solid 6-5 HR result for a three-run blast from Marty Barrett.  Before the inning is over, Dwight Evans adds a 2-run double and that’s all for Peavy as Alex Wilson is needed to get the final out.  In the bottom of the 4th, Greenwell victimizes Wilson for his second two-run homer of the game to pad the lead further, but back to back doubles from Mike Napoli and Brock Holt in the 6th followed by a Xander Bogaerts RBI single and the 2014s get those runs back quickly to make the score 9-4 in favor of the elder statesmen.  When Ortiz leads off the 7th with his second homer of the game, the 88s decide to move on from Hurst and summon Bob Stanley from the pen, but he’s victimized by some shoddy fielding and Bogaerts racks up another RBI single to push the score to 9-6.  An RBI single by Yoenis Cespedes narrows the gap even further and Stanley is yanked for Lee Smith, who records a clutch strikeout to maintain the two-run lead.  In the meantime, 2014 closer Koji Uehara has been keeping the ‘88s at bay with three hitless innings, so the game enters the 9th with 2014 still down by two and Lee Arthur Smith trying to hold serve.  Smith walks PH Christian Vazquez but he goes nowhere and the 1988 Red Sox take the regional as the top seed with the 9-7 win, the 12th for the franchise and the second from the 80s, joining 1983.  Mike Greenwell’s three homers and seven RBI in the bracket make him the choice for regional MVP, although a solid team effort was essential to successively knock off the #2, #3, and #4 seeds on the challenging path to the bracket crown.

Interesting card of Regional #235:  After playing 1,880 different teams in this tournament thus far, I have just about run out of teams from the die-cut era of cards, which regretfully ended with the 1986 season.   This feature will honor that milestone with a pretty good “additional player” from that year, rookie Tracy Jones, who saw very limited action in the Reds’ two games in this regional because (a) he was not eligible to start with under 100 AB and (b) they already had a formidable DH candidate in younger rookie Kal Daniels.  Of course, manager Pete Rose might have been advised to play Jones at 1B instead of himself, wasting 237 AB on his feeble .219 batting average; I would wager Rose was trying to put some distance between himself and Ty Cobb, whose hit record he had just broken in the previous September.   But Rose finally retired at the end of ‘86 and Jones did pretty well in more appearances the following season, but at that point he seemingly became trade fodder, getting shipped off in mid-season in three straight seasons from 1988 to 1990 with his hitting skills getting worse with each move before he finally hung up the spikes in probable frustration in 1991.  Aside from having that attractive old-style card pattern, the card is noteworthy in that it was badly centered, as were many of the additional players in 1986; his bottom row of statistics is barely on the card.  I’m wondering if these issues had anything to do with the game company’s decision to go to the perforated card sheets for the following season–although I’m not a fan of the perfed cards, I have to admit that I haven’t seen printing alignment issues comparable to these in the 37+ season sets that I’ve bought from Strat since then.