Round 3 Game 5 - On to the Semi-Finals for....

Alexander Cartwright Bracket

• Mort Cooper and Tim Burke combined to 4-hit the Brighton Shadows in an all important game 5 victory for the Niagara Frontier Blackbirds.  Tommy Tucker and Nomar Garciaparra provided the offense, clouting home runs off of Joe Wood.  The series heads back to Brighton for Game' 6 and 7.

Ed Barrow Bracket

• The Newark Slam Dumps won't go away, clobbering the NY Blues 11-2 behind a 17 hit attack. With three hits including a home run, Red Schoendeinst was at the top of his game driving in 3.  Sheree Magee, Wade Boggs, and and Johnny Mize added 3 hits to the effort as well.  Starter Randy Johnson pitched into the 9th, striking out 7 to record the win.

Walter O'Malley Bracket

• In the battle of two Tannehills, the Spanish Harlem Pinata beaters advance to the semi-finals with a 5-4 win over the Manetheren Red Eagles.  Neither Jesse was particularly good on the night, but the Spanish Harlem version was certainly better.  The Beater batters hit 3 out of the park and King Kelly had 2 RBI.  For the series John Olerud batted .409 with a .636 slugging

Branch Rickey Bracket

• The Death Speakers squeak by the Fanclub, 2-1, to take a 3 games to 2 series advantage.  Starter Kevin Millwood held John McDonald to 4 hits over 7 innings of work and timely hitting from Ted Williams and Pete Browning provided what little offense as needed for Lusitania.

Round 3 Game 4's - Signs of Life

Alexander Cartwright Bracket

• The Blackbirds, down 2-1 and in trouble for the first time this tournament, had every right to pack it in and rest on their laurels.  After all, nobody expected them to get this far and they've already accomplished a great deal - any wins after this point would be gravy.  Van Mungo didn't feel this way, and he pitched his heart out, winning 4-1 with a complete game 6 hitter over Brighton..  Duke Snider and Mel Ott provided the offense, each homering to help tie the series at 2-2.

Ed Barrow Bracket

• The Slam Dumps avoid an embarrassing sweep, winning 4-1 behind a strong showing from Teddy Higuera.   A 3-run 5th on a walk and three singles proved to be the game winner.  The Blues lead the series 3 games to 1.

Walter O'Malley Bracket

• After a 6-5 extra inning win over the Red Eagles, Spanish Harlem is in the drivers seat leading the series 3 games to 1. John Olerud doubled twice and drove in 3 while Nellie Fox knocked in the winning run with 10th inning sac fly.

Branch Rickey Bracket

• With a 9-4 win, Lusitania tied their series against John McDonald at 2's .  Ted Williams had 4 hits, 3 RBI, and a home run in the win.  Starter Johnny Podres was effective, but not specatacular, scattering 8 hits and 3 runs over 6.  

Round 3, Game 3's - Some Blowouts

Alexander Cartwright Bracket

• With a 10-run 8th inning, the Shadows broke open a tight game to win going away, 14-5 over the Blackbirds.  The inning featured 7 singles, 2 doubles, a hit by pitch, and an untimely error.  Pete Reiser smacked 3 doubles and drove in 5.  The Shadows lead the series 2-1.

Ed Barrow Bracket

• The NY Blues are in the drivers seat, opening up 3-0 lead over the Newark Slam Dumps.  7 of the 9 starters collected 2 hits for the Blues in their 9-5 win.

Walter O'Malley Bracket

• In one of the best 9 inning games one can hope to watch, the Pinata Beaters got past the Red Eagles, 6-5.  The game ended when Gary Gaetti made a spectacular play off a Tip O'Neil laser ground ball, starting a bases loaded 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.  Oscar Charleston had three hits, while Jesse Burkett and King Kelly each added 2 RBI in the win.  Spanish Harlem leads 2 games to 1.

Branch Rickey Bracket

• Another blowout here, with John McDonald pummeling Lusitania by a score of 10-0.  The Fanclub recorded 6 doubles and two triples, with Carl Yastrzemski adding 3 RBI to the ledger.  Mark Fidrych improved to 3-1 with the 7 hit shutout. 

Round 3, Game 2's

Posted.  Sorry, no write-up tonight.

Round 3, Game 1s

Alexander Cartwright Bracket

• The Blackbirds continue to impress, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after three, and holding on to a 4-3 win over the Shadows.  Mort Cooper (7 IP, 6 H, 3 R) was solid in the win while Josh Gibson and Judy Johnson provided the offense.

Ed Barrow Bracket

• In a game much closer than the 12-4 score indicates, the NY Blues jumped out to a 1-0 series lead over the Newark Slam Dumps.  The Blues version of Mickey Mantle was the star, banging out 4 hits including a double and home run.  The center fielder drove in 3..

Walter O'Malley Bracket

• For the third time this tournament, the Manetheren Red Eagles scored 13 runs, this time in a 13-3 blowout of Spanish Harlem.  The Red Eagles blasted 5 home runs, two from Larry Doyle, and Tip O'Neill extended his hitting streak to 12 games.  The 'old' version of O'Neill is sorely missed, and he's yet to go hitless in the tournament.

Branch Rickey

• A four run fourth proved to be the difference maker in a 5-3 John McDonald victory over Lusitania.   The power laden Fanclub lineup played small ball, hitting 5 singles and recording a hit-by-pitch to break open the scoreless game.  Mike Mussina completed 8 innings of effective ball to earn the win.

The 10 greatest baseball comedy bits

I love Jim Baker.  He compiled this list of Top 10 Baseball Comedy hits.  Please read and watch it, great stuff.  And anything that links Kids in the Hall is worth a look!

http://www.baseballnation.com/2013/9/26/4771116/10-all-time-favorite-baseball-comedy-bits

Round 3 Tales of the Tape

The Cartwright Finals seem to be an uneven match-up on paper, just don't tell the Blackbirds as they apparently don't believe in 'on paper' analysis.  They had just a 7.8% chance of winning their first two series and if you ask Brighton, their time has now run out.

With OPS scores within 6 points of each other, at first glance the two offenses are fairly similar.  Digging deeper though, Niagara plays in much more of a hitters park and thus Brighton has a clear edge.  Pitching wise, there is very little similarity between the two.  Brighton has one of the best staffs in the tournament and the best staff of all remaining teams.

Favorites:  Shadows

Who to Watch
Lou Gehrig (BS) - .271 / .375 / .583 with 4 HR
Dan Haren (BS) - 28 IP, 23 H, 14 K, 3.25 ERA

Mel Ott (NFB) - .326 with a .721 SLG, 5 HR and 12 RBI
Mort Cooper (NFB) - 31 IP, 24 H, 17 K, 2.35 ERA

Playing their home games in Coors Field, the Blue's of course rely heavily on the home run.  Their team 254 mark is easily the best of any team left in the tournament and their solid team .351 OBP means many of their shots come with men on base.  The Slam Dumps counter with less power, and after adjusting for park, have the edge in raw batting average and double/triple threat.

Pitching favors the Slam Dumps by a wide margin.  Their ERA is almost a full run better than the Blues and when looking at personnel, the difference is not just due to park factors.

Favorites:  Slam Dumps

Who to Watch
Sammy Sosa (NYB) - .326 / .354 / .826, 6 HR, 10 R, 10 RBI
Ron Guidry (NYB) - 26 IP, 24 H, 28 K, 2.10 ERA

Mickey Mantle (NSD) - .333 / .424 / .431
Bill Bernhard (NSD) - 38 IP, 19 H, 0.68 WHIP, 1.42 ERA

The Red Eagles are the only team I can find in ATB history to crack the 1,000 runs scored mark but that may not matter against the Pinata Beaters.  After adjusting for park differences the two teams are much closer than those raw stats above indicate, though Manetheren still has the edge.  No matter how you slice it, a .394 team OBP is quite incredible.

Spanish Harlem has the pitching edge, but again, once adjusting for parks the differences become very small.  These two teams are quite evenly matched, and the 10 win difference in the regular season is likely due to differences in league quality.  Winning 94 games in ATB IX is a much easier feat than winning 94 games in ATB XV.

Edge:  Toss Up

Who to Watch
MRE is batting .349 / .423 / .543 as a team.
Rob Murphy - 16 IP, 9 H, 1.65 ERA in relief

Oscar Charleston - .404 / .473 / .787, 4 HR, 12 RBI
Ed Siever - 25 IP, 26 H, 3.24 ERA

This is a series I am looking forward to watching.  I do think Lusitania is the better team, it's arguably the 2nd best team of all time, but at the same time I think John McDonald of ATB 11 is one of the most underrated teams in ATB history.  109 wins is remarkable.  

On offense, Lusitania has the edge thanks to a 30 point edge in on base percentage.  However, they hit the fewest home runs of any team left in the tourny and will need to rely heavily on the walk.

And that will be the main issue for the Fanclub, their staff walks a ton of batters.  Countering this however, is Lusitania's staff which coughs up a ton of home runs, which of course, is what the Fanclub batters specialize in.

Edge:  Lusitania by a nose

Who to Watch

Ted Williams - .318 / .444  / .614

Johnny Podres - 26 IP, 30 H, 1.75 ERA

Dick Allen - .348 / .400 / .761, 6 HR, 13 RBI

Mike Mussina  - 35 IP, 26 H, 24 K, 1.53 ERA

Round 2, Game 7's

Cartwright

• The lowest seed in the draft continues the Cinderella story, winning 6-4 over the Miners in extra innings.  The Blackbirds took the lead in the top of the 9th on Mel Ott's 2nd home run in as may at bats, but a half an inning later Dick Allen tripled and soon scored, tying the game at 4.  After three scoreless frames, Niagara scored 2 in the 9th to win the series.  
• Down 2-1 in the 8th, the Shadows Lou Gehrig slammed a 3-run bomb that held up, helping his squad defeat the Philbens 4-2.  Starter Dizzy Dean was very wild, walking seven in 8 innings, but he gave up just 6 hits and 2 runs to record the win.  
• The 8th seeded Brighton Shadows will face the 32nd seeded Niagara Frontier Blackbirds in the third round.  The winner advances out of the Cartwright Bracket to face the victors of the Barrow Bracket.

Barrow

• If only every series was as good as the classic confrontation between Gold Country and Newark. It's unfortunate someone had to win, and one can't help have the feeling that over the course of 100 games the two teams would have split at 50.  The fourth time the series, extra innings were needed, and for the 4th time the game was decided by 2 runs or less.  Newark won behind a great 10 inning, 5 hit start from Bill Bernhard.  The game winning runs were plated thanks to an 11th inning Johnny Mize two run shot.  Rob Murphy had some trouble nailing down the save, but got out of 1 out, 1st and 2nd situation, to give Newark the game 7 win.
• The 12th seeded Newark Slam Dumps will face the 20th seeded New York Blues in the third round.  The winner advances out of the Barrow Bracket to face the victors of the Cartwright Bracket.

Rickey

• Well, that was anti-climactic.  Roaring back from a 3-0 series deficit, and 1 night after bypassing ace starter Addie Joss in an elimination game, the ace spit the bit and couldn't get more than 1-out before being removed.  Joss gave up 4 runs on 18 pitches, and never looked comfortable.  Worse still, reliever Dizzy Dean was just as bad, giving up 4 consecutive hits and 3 runs of his own, putting Otherton in a 7-0 hole at the end of 1.  The Death Speakers  rode the 1st inning crooked number to an 8-4 win.  Starter Bill Bernhard was effective (9 IP, 4 R, 9 H) in the victory.
• Down 3 games to 1, John McDonald capture their third consecutive and advance over Helena with an easy 7-1 win.  Honus Wagner banged out 3 hits and 2 RBIs, while starter Mark Fidrych won his 2nd game of the tournament, holding Helena to 7 hits in a complete game win.
• The 3rd seeded Lusitania Death Speakers will face the 6th seeded John McDonald Fanclub in the third round.  The winner advances out of the Rickey Bracket to face the victors of the O'Malley Bracket.

O'Malley

• No games this night, but just a note the the 2nd seeded Manetheren Red Eagles will face the 7th seeded Spanish Harlem Pinata Beaters in the third round.  The winner faces off against the Rickey Bracket victors.

Round 2, Game 6's - Holy Mackerel, that is a lot of Game 7s

Cartwright

• As improbable as it seems, the Miners have won their third in a row, forcing a Game 7 in this brother vs brother duel.  It was a tight 3-2 game until the 8th when the Miners blew it open with home runs from Jeff Bagwell and Dick Allen.  Their 8-2 win forces a game 7.  Probable starters are Jack Chesbro (Shamokin) vs. Bill Swift 1935 (Niagara)
• Not to be outdone, the Philbens force their own Game 7 with a an 8-5 win over Brighton.  Down by a run, Van Nest scored 4 in the 8th to win the game.  Eddie Collins and Rickey Henderson were the hero's while reliever Rafael Soriano was the goat.  Sori's 1-out error on a ground ball back to the mound led to the opening of the floodgates.  Game 7 will feature Jimmy Key (Van Nest) and Dizzy Dean (Brighton)

Barrow

• The Gossamers defeated the Slam Dumps 2-1 in extra innings, forcing a game 7 and the right to face the NY Blues in the next round.  This is the third extra inning affair of the series.  A Commerce Comet single tied it for Newark in the 9th, but they couldn't hold on thanks to a Johnny Mize error and some timely two-out hitting by Richie Ashburn.  Bill Bernhard will take the hill for Newark, and he'll square off against Jesse Tannehill.

O'Malley

• Someone advanced today, and that's the Spanish Harlem Pinata Beaters.  Their 3-2 win over the Black Sox propel them into a Round 3 match-up with Manetheren.  Tied at 2s in the 9th, Gary Gaetti's pinch hit single, the team's third consecutive, won the hard fought game (and series).

Rickey

• Not to be outdone by the Miners, the Otherton Fishbiscuits won their third in a row, forcing an unexpected game 7 with the #3 seeded Lusitania Death Speakers.  With team ace Addie Joss demanding the ball and ready to go, Otherton instead turned to back-up starter Tommy Glavine in order to save Joss for a potential game 7.   It worked, Glavine was masterful, tossing a 5 hit shutout with only 2 runners reaching scoring position all night.  Hank Aaron homered and drove in 3 in win.  Game 7 will be a match-up between Joss and Andy Pettitte.
• And finally, and it should come as no surprise at this point, John McDonald Fanclub were 6-4 winners over Helena and will enjoy a game 7 as well.  It was a disaster of a 4th inning for Helena.  With a 4-0 lead, starter Luis Tiant ran into serious trouble, and left the game after coughing up a grand slam to Dick Allen.  Jason Schmidt entered in relief, but starting with hist first batter, gave up consecutive bombs to Carl Yastrzemski and Jack Clark before settling down.  3 consecutive home runs, can't ever remember seeing that in a playoff scenario.  Scheduled starters for Game 7 are Mark Fidrych (Fanclub) and Teddy Higuera (Helena).

Round 2 Game 5's - Two Advance

Cartwright

• The Miners win their second straight and are making their series with the Blackbirds interesting.  Niagara scored 4 in the 7th and 8th innings to take a 4-3 lead, but Shamokin came back in the top of the ninth and took the lead for good on a Jeff Bagwell RBI double.  The Blackbirds lead 3-2 with the series heading back to Niagara.
• Fun series here.  Brighton won the first two games at home, but lost the next two at Van Nest.  In the all important game 5, Brighton wins a squeaker 4-3 and own a 3-2 series advantage.  Joe Wood was effective and Ben Zobrist homered in the win.

Barrow

• The NY Blues defeated the Colorado Green Sox 7-0, taking the series 4-1.  They advance to the round of 8 behind Frank Thomas and Albert Belle, each of whom homered and together they drove in 5.  Jack Pfiester tossed an 8-hit, 7 strikeout shutout.
• The Slam Dumps Randy Johnson struck out 13 Gossamers in 6 2/3 innings before tiring, but Frank Robinson (double, home run, 3 RBI) provided all the offense for the Big Unit to nail down the 3-0 win.  Newark leads the series 3 games to 2.

O'Malley

• Manetheren is our second team to advance, besting the Beau Brummels 6-2.  Jesse Tannehill coughed up 11 hits, but scattered them over 9 innings to capture the clincher.  Norm Cash homered and drove in two.
• After losing two in a row, Spanish Harlem has now won 2 in a row, and after winning 3-0 behind another Jesse Tannhell game.  He was a bit better for the beaters, yielding 8 hits over 9 innings.  Oscar Charleston had 2 RBI and a home run in the win.  Spanish Harlem leads the Black Sox 3-2.

Rickey

• Like the Miners, the Fishbiscuits are also making their series interesting, winning their 2nd in a row after falling behind 3-0 to Lusitania.  This one took 11 innings to decide and consecutive singles followed by a Fred Clarke double ultimately won it.
• Down 3 games to 1 to Helena, John McDonald kept their bracket hopes alive, winning handily 7-2, and scoring all their runs in the 6th and beyond.  Mickey Cochrane, Dick Allen and Jack Clark hit home runs in he win.

And finally, who needs Babe Ruth when one has Oyster Burns.  The Green Sock can hold his head high, knowing he did everything possible to win; his team lost despite herculean efforts from the third basemen.  In 10 games Burns batted .541 / .600 / .946 with 4 doubles, a triple, 3 home runs, 10 runs scored, and 18 RBI.  Teammate Ruth recorded a 1.321 OPS but that was well off the mark of Burns' 1.546