The DC Chips are one of two teams to reach the 100 win plateau this season and after a late season run are the #1 seeded team in the Greenhorn Division. They face off against the 83 win Big Mac Special Sauce. On paper, this is a 4 or 5 game series. The Chips outscored their opponents by 163 runs, while Special Sauce ended the season with a very low +14 Run Differential.
Pitching
15 different pitchers made starts this year for DC, attesting to the fact that Steve C is one of the most hands on owners in the game. Much of the work fell upon his “Big 3” however, Ben Sanders (17-5, 2.30), Garland Braxton (13-10, 3.82), and Mike Scott (10-6, 3.29). Pete Conway may also see some starts in the playoffs – in limited duty due to several injuries, the righty held down a 3.78 ERA in 11 starts.
With a good starting three, one could argue that the key to the Chips team 3.58 ERA was their bullpen. Frank Killen and Joe Neale are among the best in the game, combining for an incredible 346 innings and a 2.53 ERA out of the pen. Both act as part time closers, setup men, and middle relievers. Additionally, the Chips can throw Nick Maddox (2.88 RCER in 75 IP), Steve Howe (3.26 RCERA in 55 IP), and Mike Jackson (3.55 RCERA in 102 IP) into the fray at any point in the game.
Countering this formidable attack is a a trio of top notch relievers and a quartet of league average starters. Pete Alexander is likely the best starter winning 13 of 22 decisions on the year and holding down a 4.16 ERA. Curt Schilling also had 13 wins, but was shaky at times with a 4.94 ERA. Russ Ford and Randy Johnson each went 9-15, odd for a playoff team, but had RCERA’s in the low to mid 4.20’s meaning they were very unlucky for stretches at at time. It's clear that DC has the better rotation, but it must be noted that the Big Mac pitching staff suffers through home games at the 1917 Polo Grounds, a homer haven.
Their bullpen features two elite members – Rafael Perez (2.12 ERA in 81 IP) and Jack Quinn (2.44 ERA in 85 IP) and two solid relievers in Tom Niedenfuerer (2.96 ERA) and closer Takashi Saito (3.13 RCERA). Still, DC holds a distinct advantage from top to bottom.
Offense
With Tip O’Neil and Duke Snider anchoring the lineup, it’s no surprise that the Chips led their division in Runs per game at 5.1. O’Neill is a viable MVP candidate and batted .379 with 45 doubles and a.983 OPS during the regular season. Snider, a great center fielder, batted .327 / .380 / .536 and led the team in HR (tied) and RBI. Arky Vaughan, Jackie Robinson, and Johnny Mize each had OPS scores over .750 to balance the lineup from top to bottom. Eddie Mathews added some pop with 28 HR and 104 RBI, though he batted just .216 with a ,316 OBP.
Big Mac’s strategy from day 1 was to pound their opponents into submission. Mike T drafted some of the best single season home run hitters of all time – Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Reggie Jackson, Willie Stargell, and Mike Schmidt. Even their middle infielders – Rico Petrocelli and Jeff Kent – hit a historically high number of home runs for their positions.
McGwire, plagued by a low batting average, hit 50 HR’s but it resulted in a slugging percentage under .500. Still, he’s a force to be reckoned with and he drove in 114 runners. Jackson and Stargell hit 36 and 35 out of the park respectively, with Stargell also recording 116 RBI to lead the team.
The best hitter on the team however, might just be Mike Teirnan. The 22 year old right fielder batted .307 / .423 / .471 to lead the team in OPS, RC/27, and triples.
Defense
On defense, the Chips hold another advantage. Their most common lineup feature Vg defenders across the entire infield and throughout most of the outfield. Their bench players can also improve defense to Ex in a few positions.
Special Sauce fields an average defending team. Their only plus defenders are at center field, middle infield, and third base.
Ballparks
As mentioned, Big Mac plays their home games at the Polo Grounds, which has a home run rate of 322 from both sides of the plate. The rest of the offense is reduced between 2-4% for both righties and lefties.
DC chose to go in another direction, reducing home runs by 28% tahnks to the 1992 Houston Astrodome. The rest of the offense is exactly average.
Prediction
The Chips score more often and allow fewer runs to cross the plate for the opposition. As a result, they won 17 more games in the regular season than Big Mac. They should win the series easily.
However, the Chips also have the third worst mark in all of ATB for yielding home runs. Coupled with the fact Big Mac hit more home runs than every other team in ATB, we find an area that may be exploited. Joe Neale yielded 23 home runs out of the pen and if the underdogs can find their way deep into the DC pen, the result could be the equivalent of the German breakout during Operation Barbarossa. Pay particular attention the score if Pete Conway starts – he’s given up 8 HR in just over 50 innings.
No comments:
Post a Comment