REGIONAL #246:   This bracket involved a collection of quite modern teams with one die-cut outlier from LA, including a couple of pandemic-year squads and a couple that I thought might be pretty good.  The teams that stood out most to me were a Rays team from shortly after their Series appearance, and a pandemic Braves teams shortly before their, and my guess was that those two squads would meet in the finals, although sentimentality would make me pull for the Dodgers from the final year of the classic cards.  As far as guessing the winner was concerned, I figured that the pandemic restrictions might do weird things to the Braves rotation and that the Rays would duplicate the feat of their team from the prior season and take the bracket.  The ELO rankings had those Rays losing to the pandemic-year A’s in the final, which was not something I would have considered possible given how bad Oakland has been in the recent past.

First round action

The 2015 Padres were the #8 seed in this group, although they weren’t a terrible team with a 74-88 record and Tyson Ross (10-12, 3.26) on top of a rotation that was decent enough.  However, they drew the #2 seed in the 2020 Braves, who went 35-25 to win the pandemic NL East but lost the NLCS in seven games; these Braves had NL MVP Freddie Freeman with Marcel Ozuna also finishing among the top ten, and Max Fried (7-0, 2.25) was 5th for the Cy Young, although the mandated rotation would be a whole lot worse after Fried’s turn.  Things start auspiciously for the Padres when the second batter in the top of the 1st, Yonder Alonso, is knocked out of the game with an injury.  The Braves threaten in the early innings but can’t score, while in the top of the 5th Jedd Gyorko gyorks a double off Fried’s card but Yangervis Solarte (1-12+2) is cut down at the plate for out number three. That seems to wake up the Atlanta offense for the bottom of the inning, as back to back RBI doubles by Dansby Swanson and Freeman precede a two-run homer from Ozuna and the Braves lead 4-0 after five.  And that’s how it ends up, with Fried whiffing Derek Norris for his 12th strikeout to complete the 4-0 shutout on a 5-hitter and the Braves ride their one productive inning to the semifinals.

The 2020 A’s were the top seed in this group with a 36-24 record that won the pandemiced AL West, although they didn’t get past the ALDS in the post-season.  Number one starter Chris Bassitt (5-2, 2.29) and reliever Liam Hendriks both received Cy Young votes, while Matts Chapman and Olson provided home run threats.  The 2021 Reds were over .500 at 83-79 and they garnered a few MVP votes for Nick Castellanos and Joey Votto, while Tyler Mahle (13-6, 3.75) fronted a pretty good rotation.  A’s catcher Sean Murphy is knocked out of the game with an injury in the top of the 2nd; in the bottom of the inning the Reds get a walk and two squib singles to load the bases for Eugenio Suarez, and Bassitt walks him to put Cincinnati up although SS-3 Marcus Semien turns a key DP to prevent further damage.  A 2-out RBI single by Tommy La Stella in the top of the 3rd quickly ties it up, while Bassitt loads the bases again with three straight walks in the bottom of the inning but escapes unscathed, assisted by a nice catch from CF-1 Ramon Laureano.  In the top of the 7th, it’s the A’s turn to load the bases, but this time Matt Chapman takes full advantage with a colossal grand slam, and Art Warren and his 1.29 ERA come out of the pen to end the inning, but Oakland leads 5-1.   In the bottom of the inning Castellanos pokes a 2-run shot and Votto follows with a solo homer and the A’s lead is down to one.  The A’s desperately want to save their pen and so Bassitt takes the game into the 9th; he gets two quick outs but then walks Jonathan India to bring up Castellanos, who rips a solid double and 1-15+2 India scores easily and the game is tied.  Bassitt then retires Votto and the game heads to extra innings, where both Warren and Bassitt survive their final inning in the 10th.  The Reds bring in Tejay Antone for the 11th, but he walks Robbie Grossman and then allows a 2-run homer as Chapman adds to his totals.  The A’s then hand the game to Joakim Soria and he does the job to wrap up the 11-inning 7-5 win, with the A’s moving on and will get Murphy back in the lineup for the semifinal.  

The 2018 Pirates had an 82-79 record that was better than many of their efforts over the past decades, and it was good enough to make them the favorite in this first round matchup, particularly with Trevor Williams (14-10, 3.11) being a solid starter at the top of the rotation.  The 2023 Red Sox went a disappointing 78-84, three games under their Pythagorean projection, and they had Rafael Devers receiving some MVP support, while Nick Pivetta (10-9, 4.04) had two primary challenges, his gopher ball tendencies and his teams’ terrible infield defense.  Gregory Polanco caps off a two-out rally in the top of the 3rd with a three-run homer, and the Bucs get another run in the 5th on a two-out RBI double from Corey Dickerson.  When Pivetta gets into a jam in the 6th, the Red Sox summon reliever Chris Martin and he puts out the fire with no damage, and Devers pokes a solo shot in the 7th to bring Boston a little closer.  But that was only the second hit off Williams, and it turns out that’s all the Red Sox will get as the Pirates move on with a 4-1 win.

The 1986 Dodgers would be one of the last teams of the 80s to enter the tournament, although not a particularly good one with a 73-89 record despite a typically strong rotation led by Cy Young runner-up Fernando Valenzuela.   The 2022 Rays had a much better record at 86-76 and made a brief postseason appearance as a wild card, but aside from Yandy Diaz, who got a couple of MVP votes, the offense wasn’t great at getting on base, although Shane McClanahan (12-8, 2.54) was 6th in the Cy Young ballots.  Valenzuela has a rough spot in the bottom of the 3rd, walking three including one with the bases loaded, and then a fielder’s choice and a 2-out 2-run single by Manny Margot and the Dodgers are suddenly looking at a 4-0 deficit.  However, in the top of the 4th they respond with a Greg Brock solo shot and a Mike Marshall two-run homer that makes it a one-run game, although a 2-out RBI single from Wander Franco in the 6th gives the Rays a little padding.  A Bill Madlock single in the 8th and the Rays decide to go to their fairly deep bullpen for Jason Adam’s 1.56 ERA, and he records two quick strikeouts to end that threat.  He also tosses a perfect 9th and the Rays move on with a 5-3 win; even though they could only muster six hits against Valenzuela, they were timely ones.    

The survivors

The top two teams in the bracket, both from the pandemic season, match up in this semifinal between the top seeded 2020 A’s and the #2 seed 2020 Braves.  With the constraint of limited innings, neither team had a choice of their starter and both the A’s Jesus Luzardo (3-2, 4.12) and the Braves’ Josh Tomlin (2-2, 4.76) had some trouble with the long ball.  The Braves see a long ball from Freddie Freeman in the top of the 1st that gives them a quick 1-0 lead, and then Adam Duvall leads off the 2nd with another solo shot to extend that margin.   A two out RBI double from Matt Chapman makes it 2-1 Atlanta after three, but in the top of the 4th A’s SS-3 Marcus Semien makes a two-base error that sets up a 2-run double by Austin Riley.  Luzardo comes unglued, and after a few walks he gets a DP ball that scores another, but it only clears the bases for a solo shot from Dansby Swanson.   That’s it for Luzardo as the desperate A’s summon closer Liam Hendriks to record the final out, but they are now down 6-1.  The Braves put in defensive replacements in the 6th, but that looks like it may be premature as Ramon Laureano finds Tomlin’s solid HR results for a two-run shot in the bottom of the inning to make things more interesting;  A leadoff single in the bottom of the 8th chases Tomlin for Jacob Webb, who yields a squib single but then strikes out three straight to prevent any damage.  Defensive replacement Ozzie Albies then leads off the 9th by converting his HR split and the cardboard cutout fans in the stands begin packing for Las Vegas.  Webb yields another hit in the bottom of the 9th but otherwise strikes out the side once again to earn the save in the 7-3 win that propels the Braves to the finals.  

The #3 seeded 2022 Rays and a very solid Jeffrey Springs (9-5, 2.46) would take their shot at the bracket finals against the 2018 Pirates and Jameson Taillon (14-10, 3.20).  Pirates 2B Josh Harrison leaves the game with a minor injury in the 3rd, but they get a run in the 4th on a Corey Dickerson sac fly to strike first.  Jose Siri leads off the bottom of the 5th by converting Taillon’s HR split to tie the game, although the Rays strand two in scoring position to squander a chance for more.  A leadoff single by Yandy Diaz in the bottom of the 8th chases Taillon for Kyle Crick, who ends the threat uneventfully.  Both pitchers toss perfect 9th innings and we head to extra frames, where Springs winds up his eligibility to give the Rays a chance to finish it.  But they can’t paddle against Crick and so Pete Fairbanks and his 1.13 ERA takes the mound for the Rays in the 11th.  That immediately goes badly as Josh Bell misses a triple split for a single to lead off the inning, and then Gregory Polanco sends one into the dim recesses of the Trop for a 2-run shot.  The Bucs then bring in Keone Kela to close things out in the bottom of the 11th, but he promptly throws a Brandon Lowe grounder into the dugout for a 2-base error, and then yields a double to Manuel Margot to make it a one run game with the tying run in scoring position and one out.  He strikes out Siri, but PH Ji-Man Choi converts a DO 1-8/flyB off Kela’s card and the game is tied.  In the 12th, Randy Arozarena also converts that same split off Kela but 1-11 Diaz is out at the plate and we head to the 13th.  In the top of that frame, Corey Dickerson hits a 2-out double and 1-11+2 Josh Bell heads for home–he’s safe, and again the Pirates move ahead.  However, a leadoff double by Brandon Lowe and an error by SS-2 Wander Franco and Kela is in another jam with nobody out.  He bears down and gets two out, but Franco atones with a 2-out RBI single and once again the game is tied and heads to the 14th.  Fairbanks is perfect in his last inning of eligibility, as is Kela and things move to the 15th with two new pitchers.  For the Rays, it’s the unhittable JP Feyereisen and his 0.00 ERA, and he gets in and out of a jam to send things to the bottom of the inning with Felipe Vezquez the new Pittsburgh pitcher.  Siri gets injured hitting into a DP and we’re off to the 16th and beyond.  When the game hits the 19th it’s time for new relievers for both squads, and Brooks Raley for Tampa and Richard Rodriguez for the Pirates continue the offensive futility.  In th top of the 20th Adam Frazier misses a HR 1-12 split with a 13 roll, and in the bottom of the inning Brandon Lowe misses a HR 1-4 split with a 5 roll, and the game marches on.  In the bottom of the 21st Harold Ramirez doubles and 1-15 Margot sets sail for home, and he’s out on a 17.  Finally, in the top of the 22nd Starling Marte lofts a sac fly that scores Polanco, and Rodriquez strikes out the side in the bottom of the inning and the Pirates manage to survive the 22-inning marathon for the 5-4 win, but they will have no bullpen to speak of for the bracket final.  

I almost predicted the regional final matchup accurately, but a 22-inning win by the 2018 Pirates got them the task of facing the 2020 Braves for the bracket crown.  Both teams would be facing pitching challenges; with the pandemic inning limitations, the Braves’ Tommy Milone (1-4, 6.69) would have one of the worst cards ever to start a regional final, while Joe Musgrove (6-9, 4.06) of the Pirates had better do well because the Pittsburgh bullpen was toast after the marathon semifinal. A 2-base error by Bucs SS-3 Jordy Mercer gives the Braves a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st, but the Pirates immediately go to work on Milone’s terrible card in the bottom of the inning, recording a double followed by a solid HR from Gregory Polanco and Pittsburgh moves ahead 2-1.  In the 4th, Starling Marte also rolls Milone’s solid HR result for a solo shot, but Milone makes it through his mandatory 5 innings without further damage, so Ian Anderson picks up the flute to begin th e 6th, but Marte drives an RBI single and the Bucs’ lead is now thick as a brick.  Or so it appears, as the Braves load the bases against Musgrove in the top of the 8th, and a glance at the bullpen reveals no help so Musgrove stays in and delivers to Ronald Acuna, who slaps a 2-run single and it’s a one-run game with the tying run on 3rd and one away.  The infield comes in, Acuna sets off for second, and he’s out on a 19 split and Polanco hauls in a long fly and the Pirates still lead by a run.  That puts the game in Musgrove’s hands for the 9th, and although he yields a single to the quick Ozzie Albies, he fans PH Tyler Flowers for the game’s final out.  This is the 9th bracket win for the Pirates franchise, but their first from the 21st century, and it was mainly due to regional MVP Gregory Polanco, who homered in all three rounds while driving in seven to lead the Pirates to the win as a #5 seed.

Interesting card of Regional #246:  Tommy Milone, the starter for the 2020 Braves in the regional final, received two cards for that pandemic-shortened season–one for his combined stats and one for his performance only with the Braves.  According to tournament guidelines, the card with the higher IP/AB must be used in such cases; the bad news was that Milone’s combined card IP was third highest among Braves starters and thus he had to start the final, but the good news is that at least the Braves didn’t have to use this card.  It looks like Milone made three starts for the Braves, and they must have been ugly, although somehow he managed to avoid earning the loss in any of the three.   Milone was not without some career highlights–for example, he homered in his first major league at-bat for the Nationals in 2011.  Bouncing around nine different teams in a 13-year career, he ended up with a .500 record and last played in the majors in 2023.  However, he didn’t have many opportunities to play in the postseason, and it’s pretty easy to see why the Braves opted not to use him in their 2020 playoff run.

REGIONAL #245:  Another parade of 21st century teams, with the main entry that caught my attention being a Nationals team that would win the pennant the following season.  There were two Cubs teams, one probably similar to their entry from the previous bracket that did pretty well, and the other a pandemic-year box of chocolates.   I guessed that the Braves were starting to get good in 2018, and that the A’s were pretty terrible in 2022, and the other representatives from the Mariners, Rays, and Angels I figured were mediocre.  Given their proximity to the pennant I selected the Nats to defeat the earlier version of the Cubs in the finals; the ELO rankings had it being an all-Cubs final, with the earlier version prevailing.

First round action

In a matchup of #1 and #7 seeds, the 2004 Cubs were the bracket favorite with a stronger version of the team that made the semifinals of the last regional; they won 89 games and projections indicated that they should have won five more, with MVP votes for Aramis Ramirez and Moises Alou and Carlos Zambrano (16-8, 2.75) finishing 5th for the Cy Young.   The 2008 Mariners lost 101 games to contest for the bottom seed in this group, and featured a lackluster offense headed by Adrian Beltre in an off year, although Felix Hernandez (9-11, 3.45) wasn’t a bad round one starter.  It’s Zambrano who gets roughed up in the top of the 1st, as a sac fly by Yuniesky Betancourt and an RBI single by Jeremy Reed puts Seattle up 2-0, but Ramirez narrows the gap with a long solo homer in the bottom of the inning.  However, a two out error by Cubs SS-3 Neifi Perez opens the door for a Beltre RBI single and a two-run double from Betancourt, and Seattle moves out to a formidable lead.  In the 5th, back to back errors by Cubs 3B-3 Ramirez and 2B-4 Todd Walker sets up an RBI single from Jose Vidro and that’s it for Zambrano, who gives way for Kent Mercker but another unearned run scores on a fielder’s choice from Kenji Johjima and it’s now 7-1 Mariners.  The Cubs then get a leadoff homer from Corey Patterson in the bottom of the inning and they eventually score another on an error by C-3 Johjima, but Beltre responds in the top of the 6th by leading off with a homer of his own to provide more padding.  However, Ramirez crushes a three-run homer in the bottom of the 7th and suddenly it’s a ballgame and the Mariners reluctantly pull their ace for Roy Corcoran from a not-very-good bullpen, and he sets the Cubs down in order.  Mercker is perfect in his final inning of eligibility in the 8th, with the M’s missing two HR 1-4/flyB splits on his card, but his replacement Mike Remlinger is greeted with disaster in the 9th, as a 2-base error from RF-3 Todd Hollandsworth scores one, followed by a 2-run triple from Miguel Cairo.  Ichiro then walks and steals second, so the Cubs try the infield in only to be greeted by the gbA++ from Raul Ibanez for two more.  Now with a 13-6 lead, the Mariners bring in Brandon Morrow to preserve Corcoran and he sets down the Cubs in order so the 100-game losers eliminate the top ranked squad as Seattle heads to the semifinals.  

The 2015 Rays had a middling 80-82 record, but they looked pretty good with Kevin Kiermaier getting some MVP votes, a couple of lower AB wonders (but still over 100 AB)  available to DH, and a solid rotation topped by Chris Archer (12-13, 3.23) who finished 5th in the Cy Young voting.  The 2022 Angels went 73-89 and apparently required 45 Strat cards to do so, more than double the allotment from my trusty Old Timer teams, but unlike those teams only two of these players were any good:  MVP runner-up DH/P Shohei Ohtani (15-9, 2.33) and Mike Trout, who finished 8th in the MVP voting.   Trout leads off the 4th by putting a ball into the dim reaches of Tropicana Field, and Matt Duffy later contributes a 2-out single with 1-10+2 Jared Walsh successfully lumbering home to give the Angels a 2-0 lead.   Trout leads off the 6th with another long blast, but Logan Forsythe gets Tampa on the board with a 2-out RBI single in the bottom of the inning.  In the 7th,, Archer allows two singles and a walk to load up the bases for Trout, which of course proves to be a mistake as Trout converts his own HR 1-9 split for his third homer of the game, a grand slam that emphatically demonstrates that Trout’s recent terrible injury in real life can’t put a damper on his Strat performance.  The Rays send in Xavier Cedeno in what seems to be a lost cause, although the Rays do get a run back in the bottom of the inning with one scoring on a Kiermaier DP ball.  Ohtani yields a 2-run homer to PH Joey Butler with two away in the bottom of the 9th, but it’s too little too late as the Angels close out the 7-4 win to advance.

The 2018 Nationals were a season away from a pennant, while the 2022 A's were a season away from one of the worst in history.  This Nats team only went 82-80, but Cy Young runner-up Max Scherzer (18-7, 2.53) led the league in wins, innings, and WHIP, and he was backed by strong up the middle defense and a deep bullpen and Anthony Rendon received some MVP support.  As for the A’s, they lost 102 games, which was still 10 games better than they would do the next season, but it was hard to imagine how they could be much worse, with their leading hitter posting a .250 average and nobody on the team fitting the “hitter” part of the DH role; Cole Irvin (9-13, 3.98) probably deserved better than this team.  The game quickly develops into a pitchers duel; the A’s don’t get a hit until the bottom of the 5th, when Ramon Laureano converts a double split off Scherzer’s card and races home on a 2 out single by Sheldon Neuse.  Then, in the 6th RF-3 Bryce Harper misplays a Shea Langeliers single that allows another run to score, and Laureano pokes a single under the glove of SS-2 Trea Turner to put the A’s up 3-0 as both of the fans at the Oakland Coliseum look on in disbelief.  However, in the top of the 7th Matt Wieters cracks a 2-run single that makes it a one-run game, and the A’s summon “closer Dany Jimenez to try to hang onto that lead, and he retires the side without further damage.  In the 8th, Juan Soto rips a 2-out double and 1-13+2 Harper slides under the tag at home to tie the game, and the Nats threaten again in the 9th but 3B-4 Neuse makes a stellar play to get Jimenez out of the jam.  Both Scherzer and Jimenez hold serve through the 10th and at that point both are burnt for the regional, so it’s Zach Jackson for the A’s and Sean Doolittle for the Nats in the 11th, and they both do the job through the 11th and 12th.   However, in the 13th Juan Soto leads off with a walk and Ryan Zimmerman follows with a double that puts two Nats runners in scoring position with nobody out; in comes the infield but Wieters comes through again by ripping a single under the glove of 1b-3 Seth Brown and two runs score.  Brown tries to atone in the bottom of the 13th but misses a HR 1-9 split and Doolittle then whiffs Laureano for the final out as the Nats survive a 5-3 scare to move on.    

In probably the best matchup of the first round of the regional, it was the pandemic-year 2020 Cubs against the 2018 Braves.  The Cubs went 34-26 to win the NL Central but they were rapidly eliminated from the postseason; Ian Happ got a few MVP votes and Kyle Hendricks (6-5, 2.88) also got some for Cy Young although he finished well behind teammate Yu Darvish, with Hendricks mandated to start with more IP.   The Braves won 90 games and the NL East, but like the Cubs they made a rapid exit from the playoffs, but Freddie Freeman was 4th in the MVP votes with Ronald Acuna and Nick Markakis also receiving some support, and Mike Foltynewicz (13-10, 2.85) finished 8th for the Cy Young in fronting a very strong rotation.  The Braves normally excellent defense goes haywire as they commit three errors in the first four innings, the last one setting up a 2-run homer by Javier Baez, although the Braves get one back in the bottom of the inning courtesy of a sac fly from Johan Camargo.  The Cubs lose C Willson Contreras to injury in the 5th for the rest of the regional, and they lose the lead to an RBI single from Ender Inciarte in the bottom of the 7th.  The Cubs move to Jeremy Jeffress and his 1.54 ERA out of the pen to try to get out of the jam, but Markakis lofts a sac fly and the Braves move ahead 3-2.  However, in the 8th PH Cameron Maybin finds and converts Foltynewicz’s HR split to tie the game once again, and both pitchers hold to send the game into extra innings.  Both pitchers successfully conclude their eligibility in the 10th, so in the 11th it's Shane Carle from the pen for the Braves, who yields a double off his card to Baez but strands him at second.   For the Cubs, it’s on to the rather wild Adbert Alzolay, but both relievers hang on until the top of the 13th, when injury replacement Victor Caratini doubles and 1-13 Jason Kipnis beats the throw home to put the Cubs up by a run.  It’s now up to Alzolay, but he walks Inciarte and then a single by Dansby Swanson puts the tying run at 3rd with nobody out.  The infield comes in for Markakis, but he rips a single to tie the game and Swanson dashes to 3rd as the winning run, still with nobody out.  Freeman hits a grounder and Swanson is out trying to score on the fielder’s choice, so one is away with runners on 1st and 2nd.  Up to the plate steps Acuna; he knocks a single, 1-10 Markasis sets sail for home, and he’s safe as the Braves pull off the 5-4 comeback win in the bottom of the 13th.  

The survivors

Two upset winners from the first round, this semifinal matched the 2022 Angels and Reid Detmers (7-6, 3.77) against the 2008 Mariners and swingman Ryan Rowland-Smith (5-3, 3.42) selected over various other terrible options.  Seattle’s offense picks up where it left off with Raul Ibanez crushing a solo shot in the top of the 1st, and they pile on four more in the 3rd, including a two-run single from Jose Lopez and an RBI double by Adrian Beltre.  The Angels don’t even get a baserunner until Max Stassi walks in the bottom of the inning, but he goes nowhere and Ichiro converts Detmers’ HR split for a 2-run shot in the 4th that chases the LA starter for Ryan Tepera.   A double by Brandon Marsh in the bottom of the 5th is the first hit for the Angels, and he scores when 3B-1 Beltre drops a Stassi grounder with two out; Taylor Ward then follows with an RBI single but P-4 Rowland-Smith surprises with a stellar fielding play on an Ohtani grounder to prevent further damage.  But Beltre adds a sac fly and Lopez adds a 2-run homer as the M’s offense hits double digits for the second game in a row.  Ward hits a two-run shot in the bottom of the 8th to try to get back into it, but the Mariners are determined to stick with Rowland-Smith to grant their pen some needed rest.  He lasts until the 9th, when he gets two quick outs but then 1B-2 Miguel Cairo drops a grounder and Rowland-Smith walks two to load the bases for Mike Trout.  Trout swings so hard he injures himself while striking out to end the game, and the Miracle Mariners move to the finals with a 10-4 win.  

This semifinal features two decent and evenly matched teams from the same season and league, with the 2018 Braves and Anibal Sanchez (7-6, 2.83) against the 2018 Nationals with Stephen Strasburg (10-7, 3.74), with both teams having bullpens depleted from matching 13-inning wins in the first round.   The Nats jump out to a lead on a Juan Soto 2-run homer in the top of the 1st, but the inning ends with an injury to DH Mark Reynolds.  However, a 3-run homer in the 2nd by Trea Turner is good medicine as Washington climbs to a 5-0 lead.  Michael Taylor extends that in the 3rd with a run-scoring fielder’s choice,   Sanchez then settles down for a while, but when Anthony Rendon misses Sanchez’s HR split for a double that puts two runners in scoring position in the 7th, the Braves move to Johnny Venters from the pen but Soto rips a single through the drawn-in infield for two more runs and the hole just gets deeper.  Meanwhile, Strasburg is continuously getting out of jams, but with two out in the 9th he allows two consecutive doubles on two missed HR splits, but he hangs on to strike out Ender Inciarte for the final out and the Nats cruise to the finals with an easy 8-1 win.  

By the ELO rankings, the regional final was a lopsided matchup between a good 2018 Nationals team and a not-so-good 2008 Mariners team, although Seattle was averaging over 11 runs a game in the bracket.  It seemed like both offenses could flourish as both rotations were pretty much out of good options, with the Nats Tanner Rourk (9-15, 4.34) being their final 100 inning starter and Seattle’s Jarrod Washburn (5-14, 4.65) being their final option with an ERA south of five.  Once again, the M’s offense picks up where it left off, as Ichiro leads off the top of the 1st by finding Rourk’s solid 5-9 HR result, and Raul Ibanez and Yuniesky Betancourt both double before the inning is over to push Seattle to a 2-0 lead.  In the 2nd, a two out rally loads the bases for a 2-run single by Adrian Beltre, and meanwhile Washburn doesn’t allow a hit until the 4th, but it goes a long way as injury replacement Victor Robles converts Washburn’s HR split for a solo shot that makes it 4-1 Seattle.  However, Beltre immediately responds in the 5th with a 2-run homer and the Nats move to the nearly unhittable Sean Doolittle in desperation, and he quickly ends the inning.  He tosses four perfect frames to end his eligibility, and Wander Suero replaces him in the 9th and promptly yields a double and a Kenji Johjima triple that adds to the Mariner’s lead.  Washburn then strikes out the side in the bottom of the 9th to finish out a 7-1 win on a 1-hitter, that being a solo homer, and the 7th seeded, 101-loss Mariners come from nowhere to blow out favored opponents in three straight games and clinch the 6th regional in franchise history, joining the 2007 team to form an unlikely mini-dynasty for Seattle.  Adrian Beltre proves his mettle as the Mariner’s MVP with two homers and eight runs driven in across the three games.  

Interesting card of Regional #245:   His Nationals team fell short in the finals, but it wasn’t for lack of effort from Sean Doolittle, who tossed seven shutout innings in the regional while earning the win in their round one game in extra innings.  I described him as “nearly unhittable” because there isn’t much of a shot of getting a hit off of him, although I did roll that 4-5 result a couple of times which is just enough of a shot to provide a few moments of excitement.  However, consistent with the odds, that homer split was never converted and Doolittle did a lot to give his team a chance.  This was his career year, making the All-Star team to earn his spot as the Nats closer, and in the following year he led the NL champion Nats in saves despite an ERA over four.  From there the bottom dropped out of his career, and he bounced around a few teams with no success until 2022, when he made the Nats during spring training.  He was off to an excellent start but was injured before the end of April, and not able to come back from that setback he retired at the end of that season.

REGIONAL #244:  An all-21st century draw here as the number of pre-2000 teams that haven’t yet appeared in the tournament continues to dwindle.  Since I remember less about the modern teams than the older ones, this group of teams was pretty anonymous to me.  There was a Cardinals team that had won a pennant a few seasons before, as had the Red Sox entry; the rest of the group I collectively lumped into a “might be decent” mass, meaning that for me picking a winner here was basically flipping a coin.  Given that four of the last six finalists in these regionals were Red Sox teams, I figured that I’d go with the 2009 version included here, picking them to best the Cards in the finals.  The ELO ratings indicated that my picks weren’t bad, but it seemed that I had overlooked what appeared to be a very good Blue Jays team; those ratings favored the Jays but they would have to get past a first round faceoff against the Red Sox matching the top two squads in the bracket. 

First round action

The Zoom game of the week featured two squads who were decent according to the ELO rankings, with ColavitoFan assuming the helm of his hometown 2006 Indians, who went 78-84 but underplayed by a remarkable 11 games according to their Pythagorean projection.  Both Grady Sizemore and Travis Hafner received MVP support, with the latter leading the league in slugging percentage and sporting a card of Ruthian proportions; CC Sabathia (12-11, 3.22) was their obvious round one starter.  I managed the 2005 Cubs, even though I warned CF that the Cubs would do well just to spite this Sox fan.  The Cubs had a similar 79-83 record and they also had a big bat in Derrek Lee, who finished 3rd for NL MVP while also leading the league in SLG%, and Carlos Zambrano (14-6, 3.26) would get the first round assignment.  Things get off to a quick start when Matt Murton swats a solo shot in the top of the 1st for the Cubs, but then Zambrano struggles in the bottom of the inning and a sac fly by Hafner and an RBI double from Casey Blake make it 2-1 Indians.  In the 4th, Aramis Ramirez cracks another solo shot to tie the game, but again the Indians respond in the bottom of the inning with a matching shot from Blake, and in the 6th a run-scoring single from an aging Aaron Boone pushes the Indians to a 4-2 lead.  Sabathia holds up until the 8th, when he develops a sudden inability to get anybody out; after a 2-run double by Todd Walker CF tries Rafael Betancourt from the pen, but that doesn’t go well as Michael Barrett smacks a three-run homer and when the dust settles the Cubs lead 8-4.  Blake adds another RBI single in the bottom of the inning, and while Bob Wickman holds the Cubs at bay in the top of the 9th, the Indians threaten against Chicago closer Ryan Dempster, who yield a run scoring single to Ronnie Belliard that brings the winning run to the plate.  However, there is no Dempster fire as he strikes out the final batter and the Cubs survive the 8-6 win, despite three errors from their atrocious defense. 

The 2015 Cardinals won 100 games and the NL Central and were the #3 seed in the bracket, with a very strong rotation led by John Lackey (13-10, 2.77), who earned a vote for Cy Young.  The matchup looked a bit lopsided against the worst team in the regional, the 2009 Orioles, who lost 98 games and the pitching staff after Brad Bergesen (7-5, 3.43) was alarmingly bad.  However, Baltimore gets off to a quick start with a solo homer by Nolan Reimold off Lackey’s card in the top of the 1st, and meanwhile in the bottom of the inning the Cards lose one of their best hitters, Randal Grichuk, to injury.  In the 3rd, the O’s CF Adam Jones is hurt for the tournament and extra ambulances are called to Busch Stadium as it looks like it will be one of those games.   But it turns into a pitcher’s duel as both aces are in top form, and the Cards simply can’t stay off Bergesen’s card, where they don’t find anything in the 5 and 6 columns.  And so it goes for nine innings, as Bergesen finishes out a three-hitter and the lowly Orioles sneak into the semifinals with a 1-0 win to spoil a fine outing by Lackey.  

The 2008 Twins were the #3 seed in this group, winning 88 games with Joe Mauer coming in 4th for MVP; Scott Baker (11-4, 3.45) led a rotation that would need the help of a dominating Joe Nathan if the team were to get very far.  The 2015 Dodgers squeaked past .500 with 82 wins, thanks mainly to Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw (21-5, 2.28) and MVP runner-up Matt Kemp making the Dodgers basically a two-man show.  The Twins get to Kershaw in the top of the 1st in the form of an RBI single by Jason Kubel that scores the fleet Denard Span, but a sac fly by Rod Barajas in the bottom of the inning quickly resets the game.  But Kershaw continues to struggle in the 2nd, as the Twins load the bases for a 2-run single from Span, then followed by a 3-run blast by Justin Morneau and Minnesota moves out to a sturdy 6-1 lead.  Things don’t look any better for the Dodgers when Barajas has to exit the game with an injury to end the 3rd,  Kershaw then seems to regain his stuff, and Kemp’s sac fly in the 5th narrows the gap a bit, but Baker is good enough even though he yields a run on a fielder’s choice by PH Casey Blake in the 9th.  Nonetheless, he whiffs Jamey Carroll for the final out to preserve the pen and send the Twins to the semis with a 6-3 win over a Cy Young winner.  

The top matchup of the regional was taking place in the first round, with the #1 seeded 2015 Blue Jays facing the 2009 Red Sox.   The Jays won 93 games and the AL East before succumbing in the ALCS, and they boasted a formidable lineup led by AL MVP Josh Donaldson and an excellent rotation with midseason pickup David Price (18-5, 2.45) being the runner-up for the Cy Young award.  But the Red Sox were no slouch, winning 95 games to make the postseason as a wild card; Kevin Youklis and Jason Bay both finished in the top 10 for MVP, and although their rotation led by Jon Lester (15-8, 3.41) was not as deep as the Jays, their team defense was considerably better.  Price runs into trouble quickly, allowing a single and three walks in the top of the 1st, but Boston can only convert one run that scores on a Bay double play ball.  The Jays get a rally from the bottom of the order in the 2nd and Jose Reyes ties it with a two-out single, and I cost them another run in the 3rd as 1-13 Jose Bautista is out trying to score on a Donaldson double.  However, Edwin Encarnacion then comes through with a two out single to score Donaldson and the Jays do take the lead nonetheless.  They get another run in the 5th on a Donaldson homer, which could have been more if Bautista hadn’t hit into a DP immediately prior.  Still, that allows the Jays to enter the 6th with a 3-1 lead where they can begin to make some defensive adjustments.  Bautista continues his all-around bad day in the 7th by getting injured, which doesn’t help the Jays defensive situation, and when JD Drew leads off the 8th with a homer it’s now a one-run game.  Toronto tries to stick with Price, but he’s undone by a two-out, three-base error by injury replacement RF-4 Ezequiel Carrera that drives in another to tie the game and Mark Lowe is summoned from the pen to get the third out.  With the game now tied, a leadoff walk to Encarnacion and the Red Sox waste no time going to closer Jonathan Papelbon; he gets two outs but then issues a walk and defensive replacement Ben Revere then gives the ball a midnight ride for a double that scores Encarnacion and the Jays hold a slim lead heading into the 9th.  Lowe whiffs two straight to bring up the top of the Boston order; speedy Jacob Ellsbury singles but the AA stealer doesn’t risk the SB against C-1 Russell Martin, and that proves wise as Drew laces a double into the corner and Ellsbury races home with the tying run.  That means it’s now up to Papelbon, and he gets two quick outs but then Donaldson draws a walk and the red-hot Encarnacion singles, with Donaldson stopping at second as the winning run.  That brings up DH Chris Colabello; it’s on his card for a single, and the 1-13+2 Donaldson is waved home; the split roll is a 15, Donaldson evades the tag with Boston catcher Victor Martinez yelling for a review, but it’s to no avail as the Blue Jays advance with a walk-off 5-4 win in which they make three errors.

The survivors

The 2009 Orioles managed to sneak into the semifinals as the worst-seeded team in the group, but the pitching gem that got them this far was not likely to be duplicated by a bad rotation with Mark Hendrickson (6-5, 4.37) far better than the remaining options.  The 2005 Cubs were in much better shape with Mark Prior (11-7, 3.67) on the hill, and they provide him with a lead in the top of the 3rd with three straight singles to lead off the inning, with Matt Murton driving in a run on the third one, and a wild pitch brings in another for a 2-0 Cubs lead.  However, in the bottom of the inning Melvin Mora exploits Prior’s gopher ball tendencies with a solo shot to cut the lead to one, and Nolan Reimold leads off the bottom of the 4th with another blast and the plucky O’;s have tied it.  They aren’t done, either, and they take the lead in the 5th with a run that scores on a Mora DP ball, but Michael Barrett leads off the 6th with a homer for the Cubs to draw back even, and Baltimore wastes no time in summoning closer George Sherrill to try to keep them in the tournament.  With two out in the bottom of the 7th, Mora rolls Prior’s HR split but misses for a double; Cesar Izturis follows with a single and Mora beats the throw as the O’s regain the lead.  That sends the Cubs to the pen for Mike Wuertz, who had a strong appearance in round one, and he records the last out and strikes out the side in the 8th to do his job.  However, the Cubs are stymied by Sherrill, who burns his eligibility but earns the win as the #8 seeded Orioles head to the finals with the 4-3 victory.  

The top-seeded 2015 Blue Jays had squeaked by in round one against their toughest competitor, and they were hoping that their semifinal matchup against the #4 seed 2008 Twins would prove to be less challenging.  Jays fan Eaglesfly had had remotely signaled for Mark Buehrle (15-8, 3.61) to make the start, a controversial selection, and they would still be without injured RF Jose Bautista which further complicated an already ugly defense.  For the Twins rotation it would be Kevin Slowey (12-11, 3.99) and then pray for rain, but unlike the Jays they had a fully rested pen to work with.  Justin Morneau gets things started in the top of the 1st with a two run blast on his own card, and Denard Span leads off the 5th by converting Buehrle’s HR split to make it 3-0 Minnesota.  When Span singles in the 7th, the Jays summon Mark Lowe from the pen and he prevents any damage, but the Jays are struggling offensively.  Injury replacement Ben Revere converts a TR 1 to lead off the bottom of the 7th, but Slowey strands him at 3rd, and in the top of the 9th Span doubles against reliever Roberto Osuna to drive in a run and a Delmon Young single scores Span for two insurance runs.  They are not needed as the Jays go down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th as Slowey finishes out the 5-0 shutout while the Jays end up with more errors (3) than hits (2).

The bottom-seeded 2009 Orioles had used smoke, mirrors, and unexpectedly good pitching to get to this regional final, but they were still without their injured starting CF and their best reliever was burned so would not be available in the rather likely event that Jeremy Guthrie (10-17, 5.04) were to get into trouble.  They were underdogs against the #4 seeded 2008 Twins, who were at full strength with a rested bullpen to support Nick Blackburn (11-11, 4.05).   But Nolan Reimold quickly cuts off any premature celebrations by the Minnesota crowd with a solo homer off Blackburn’s card in the top of the 1st,.  However, things get more complicated for the O’s in the 2nd when injury replacement CF Felix Pie is himself injiured, creating even more holes in an already porous Baltimore defense, although Ty Wigginton commemorates the fallen CFs with a solo homer later in the inning and the O’s lead 2-0.  In the bottom of the inning, Jason Kubel leads off with a triple and he scores on a Brendan Harris single to cut the lead to one, and in the bottom of the 4th the Orioles defense rears its ugly head.  A two-base error by 1B-4 Wigginton leads off the inning, setting up an RBI double from Kubel, and then a Delmon Young liner gets past CF-4 injury replacement Jeff Fiorentino for a two-run triple; Young scores on a Harris sac fly that makes it 5-2 and Guthrie is gone for Koji Uehara.  But Alexi Casilla adds an RBI single in the 6th to extend the Twins lead, although Reimold hits his second solo shot of the game, and 4th solo shot of the regional, in the 8th to get the run back.  The Twins lose DH Kubel to injury in the 8th, which may prove problematic should they hold the lead and continue on in the tournament, but Nick Markakis leads off the top of the 9th with a homer and when Fiorentino singles the Twins move to Craig Breslow out of the pen to try to insure that they do move on.  He makes short work of the O’s to seal the 6-4 Twins victory, securing the 9th regional win for Minnesota even though Nolan Reimold’s solo act for the O’s earns him regional MVP honors.  

Interesting card of Regional #244:   I haven’t played in a Strat league using the “current” cards of the time at all in this millennium, and as a result a lot of the teams and players from 2000 on are only vaguely familiar to me relative to my older days in highly-researched draft leagues.  In my vague recollections of one Travis Hafner, I remembered him as a DH type who was maybe good for 20 homers a season.  If required for a trivia question, I never would have guessed him as somebody who led the AL in SLG% and OPS, as it just seemed that there were so many higher-profile sluggers during that era to choose from.  Yet, sure enough, Hafner led the league in both categories despite missing the last month of the season with a hand injury.  Those percentages were good enough to produce a Ruthian card, even though ColavitoFan largely managed to avoid rolling on it during the Indians’ quick exit from the tournament.  Brought to the Indians in 2003 to replace departed free agent Jim Thome, this season was a nice facsimile of a top Thome year.  Unfortunately, Hafner never really had another season like it, with most of his career actually quite consistent with my vague recollections of his record.  Still, when shuffling through the 2006 Indians for this regional, I had to do a double-take when I ran across this one.