Back by popular demand (ie I actual thought about it and have a little time to squeeze in, don't know if anyone actually cares) its time for the first round of this season's playoff Heros and playoff chumps.
Burlington over St Louis (3-2):
Hero: Charles Tamura. It wasn't all that long ago that Tamura was considered one of the elite center fielders in this world; a 3 time all star and twice silver slugger from seasons 3 thru season 6, Tamura was a solid combination of speed, power, defense the day he entered the majors. What once looked like a promising hall of fame career, started to hit the skids around the same time the Black Lightening franchise started to hit the skids. A late season trade to Burlington last season allowed Tamura to flash signs of his old self, however this season was another dissapointment, until now that is. Despite hitting just .252 and being forced over to RF, Tamura saved his best for the playoffs. A key 2 run homer in the 4th inning lead Burlington to a 3-1 game 2 lead and evened the series. 2 nights later, with the scene shifted back to the arched city, Tamura picked up a key rbi double to help push Burlington out to a 2 run lead. Burlington 2-1 series lead was short lived, as St Louis bounced back to trounce Burlington in game 4. A quick 3-0 St Louis lead in game 5 looked like the death nail, however Tamura help lead the come back by driving in their first run after getting hit with a pitch. During his next trip to the plate, with Burlington now down 5-1, Tamura drove a pitch over the wall to pull Burlington back to w/n 3 runs. During his next trp, Tamura would draw a walk and later scored to tie the game at 5 helping Burlington force extra innings where they'd win the series with a dramatic walk off 2 run homer in the bottom of the 12th.
Chump: Art Conner. With everything going St Louis way in game 5, up 5-2 with 2 outs in the 7th Conner gave up a line drive double to score Tejada from 1st. Conner remained on the mound for the 8th where he promptly loaded the bases before giving up a game tying double and handing the ball off to the next reliever. A had a feeling at the begining of the year, as well as at the begining of the playoffs that this was St Louis' year to take home the big prize. Their time is coming, there is little doubt of that, but thanks to Conner's game 5 performance, like the cubs, they're going to have to wait until next season.
Syracuse over Jacksonville (3-2)
Hero: This is a series that had a bit of eveything. Dominate pitching, offensive explosions, clutch hits, big comebacks and long homers. With so many heros, its hard to pick just one, Hic Hartley jumps to the front of the line by hitting .286 with a homer, 7 rbi and 4 runs scored. Hic drove in the 1st or 2nd run of each Syracuse victory in this series, helping to set an early tone for each win as well as driving in 2 key runs to bring Syracuse to w/n 8-7 in game 5, then later scoring the tying run in the next at bat.
Chump(s): Jacksonville's key sluggers Jolbert Mieses, Frank Donovan & kent Stinnett, all regulars to the mid season classic, hit a respective .167, .100 and .111 on the series. With so many other picking up the slack, just 1 or 2 key hits would from any of these 3 heart of the order batters would have won the series for Jacksonville.
Fresno over Boston (3-0)
Hero: For all the drama in the AL, the NL 1st round was quick and easy for both series winners. Fresno's offense did a fine job of dispatching Boston, but Connie LeMaster's 1 hit 13-0 shut out to open the series gave clear signal that Boston wasn't about to make a cinderella run. LaMaster's 9 ks and 0 walks proved that he wasn't just getting lucky, but clearly outmatching Boston on this early October evening.
Chump: Its not Boston's fault that they made the playoffs a season or two before they were ready. Ridney's made great strides the last couple of season rebuilding the franchise and despite the .500 record the poor division allowed him to sneak in a season or two early. With a roster full of young developing talent, and plenty more coming thru the ranks, I expect to see Boston in the playoffs many times the next 5+ seasons, however since we have to award a goat we'll share the blame to the entire offense that managed just 6 hits, 2 walks in no runs in back to back home shutouts in games 1 & 2.
Pittsburgh over Little Rock (3-0)
Hero: Another quick series highlighted by Alex Pineda's pinch hit grandslam in the top of the 9th to send Pittsburgh to a series clinching 8-6 victory. Limited by low durability, Pineda made the most of his limited action, catching game 2's victory and the key pinch hit to send Little Rock packing.
Chump: If Pineda is your hero, then Jeremy Cintron is your resident chump. The left handed closer was entrusted with a 3 run lead in the top of the 9th. After retiring the first batter, Cintron gave up 3 straight singles, then nearly escaped with a strikeout of Lee for out number 2. However a walk of McPherson brought Pittsburgh to w/n 2 runs, then the pinch hit grand slam by Pineda sealed the deal.
No comments:
Post a Comment