2011 DIVISION SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

For Immediate Release
October 5, 2011

Fremont vs. Chicago –

Written by Chicago Mobsters – John “Stray” Corrado – Games played head to head on September 9th, 2011 – VIA – Join.me

Game #1 –Chad Billingsley (13-14 3.84) of the Fremont Cannons would take on Adam Wainwright for the Chicago Mobsters (26-4 1.64 ERA).
In the bottom of the second with no one out, Buster Posey bloop single and a Maggilo Ordonez infield single moving Posey to second, Placido Polanco would drive home the first run with a single to right. Ordonez would wind up on third; Polanco would take second on the throw home. B.J. Upton would ground out to first, but Ordonez would come in to make it 2-0, and Polanco would end up at third. A Derek Jeter Suicide Squeeze would score Polanco making it 3-0 Chicago.
Polanco would add a grand slam in the 4th inning and Chicago would take game #1 by the score of 8 to 3.

Game #2 – Freddy Garcia (12-13 4.30) would take on C.C. Sabathia (25-4 2.58)
Rod Barajas would crank two solo home runs, and Corey Patterson would tack on another solo as the Cannons shock Sabathia with the longball.
Final score puts the Cannons on top 5-3.

The series heads to Fremont for three games.

Game #3 – Chicago would send out its third 20 game winner with King Felix Hernandez (21-8 2.79) taking on Roy Oswalt (19-8 2.06).
It wouldn’t take the Mobsters long as following a Andrew McCutchen double, long time Mobsters veteran Chipper Jones would hit a two run shot two batters into the game.
In the 2nd inning with B.J. Upton & Alex Avila aboard Andrew McCutchen would hit a shot down the line in right, Upton and Avila would come around to score and McCutchen would slide in safely at third. Polanco would sacrifice McCutchen home, and the Mobsters would have a 5-0 lead after two innings of play. Fremont would get a 2-run Home Run for Brandon Phillips in the 4th, and a solo shot from Justin Morneau.
Chicago would take on two runs in the 6th and one in the 8th and firmly lock it down for a final score of 8 to 3.

Game #4 – would have Francisco Liriano (15-5 3.03) for the Mobsters up against Ricky Nolasco (15-11 4.12) for the Cannons.
Two costly errors by the Cannons would cost them four unearned runs, as the Mobsters would tack on four more for eight total.
Jim Thome would drive in two with a homer, and Neil walker starting for Chipper Jones at 3B would drive in a pair as well.
Liriano would be dominant and allow only two runs on eight hits over seven and two-third innings.
Final score would have Chicago up 8 to 2, and 3 games to 1 in the Series.

Game #5 – Would be do or die for the Cannons of Fremont. They would throw their ace in Chad Billingsley (13-14 3.84) against Adam Wainwright for the Chicago Mobsters (26-4 1.64 ERA).
This would be a rematch of game one in the Division Series. Wainwright would go eight dominant innings and have a lead of 3 to 1 when Chicago turns it over to Billy Wagner to nail it down in the 9th.
Final score would be Chicago 3 – Fremont 1. Chicago would talk the series 4 games to 1. Chicago heads home for a few days rest before taking on the winner of the Hollywood / Severn series that would go seven games.

Hollywood vs. Seven

Games played head to head VIA – Join.me

Game 1 – Featured Brett Anderson vs Roy Halladay. The game is scoreless until the bottom of the 4th when Miguel Cabrera hits a homerun to give the Express a 1-0 lead. The Express come back and score another in the 5th on a Matt Holliday homer for a 2-0 advantage. With two outs in the 8th and Ryan Spilborghs on 1st, Renteria steps to the plate and lines one off of Halladay’s leg, both runners are safe. Looking for the lefty-lefty match up, the Express call on Scott Downs to face Ichiro. Ichiro greets Downs with a base hit to center to make the score 2-1. Hollywood would call on David Ross to pinch hit and the Express make another change and counter with closer Joaquin Benoit.
Benoit would win this battle and strike out Ross to end the inning.
Matt Holliday would lead off the 9th with a double and advance to 3rd on a fielders choice and 1 out. Neither Werth or Arod could plate the runner. Top of the 9th – Betemit would lead off the 9th with a ground out. Jason Kubel would then double to make the game interesting. Don Kelly would be sent in to pinch run. Benoit then strikes out McGehee for the 2nd out. The next batter Colby Rasmus would greet Benoit with a 2 run homer to give Hollywood a 3-2 lead. Spilborgh’s would then fly out to left for the 3rd out. Kuo finishes the game and earns the save to give Hollywood a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 – David Price vs Tim Hudson. Angel Pagan would leg out an infield single and later advance to 3rd on a single by Holliday.
Pagan would score on a wild pitch to give the Express a 1-0 lead. In the 3rd, Carlos Pena would score on an RBI double by John Jaso to tie the score 1-1. Game 1 star, Colby Rasmus would come to the plate with Kubel and McGehee on 1st and 2nd and promptly deliver a 3 run blast to put the Werwolves up 4-1. At this point Severn was not feeling too good about possibly heading on the road down 2-0. In the bottom of the 4th, ARod would hit a solo homerun to cut the lead to 4-2. With 1 out in the 4th, Ramon Hernandez would get on 1st thanks to a Wilson Betemit error. The next batter Marco Scutaro would look at strike 3 for the 2nd out. Ryan Raburn would then hit a 2 run homer just inside the foul pole to tie the game at 4-4. The score would remain tied until the bottom of the 6th. With 2 outs, Scutaro would single.
Raburn would then hit an RBI double to give the Express a 5-4 lead and that is the way game 2 would end.

Heading to Hollywood with the series tied at 1.

Game 3 – Saw Jon Garland vs Clayton Kershaw. Hollywood would get things going with a Kubel homerun in the 2nd to take a 1-0 lead. Viciedo would then follow that up with a double. Garland would force Rasmus to ground out, but Viciedo would move up to 3rd with 1 out.
Spilborghs would draw a walk and Renteria would then smack an RBI double to make the score 2-0 with runners on 2nd/3rd. Pena would walk to load the bases. Viciedo would score on an RBI single to make the score 3-0. Garland would strike out Kinsler to force the 2nd out, but then walk Jaso to increase Hollywood’s lead to 4-0. Kubel would strike out to end the inning. The score would remain 4-0 until the top of the 6th. Raburn would lead off the 6th with a homerun, 4-1 Hollywood. With 1 out, Holliday would double and later score on a double by Konerko to end the scoring and cut the Hollywood lead in half, 4-2. Severn would manage to score 4 in the 8th and 9th innings to win the game 10-5 and regain home field advantage. Severn leads 2-1.

Game 4 – Roy Halladay vs Jered Weaver. In the top of the 1st, Matt Holliday would hit a homerun with 2 outs to give Severn a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the 3rd, Renteria would draw a leadoff walk and move to 2nd on a ground out by Ichiro. Kinsler would single and Renteria would move to 3rd. Jaso’s single would score Renteria and move Kinsler to 3rd with 1 out. The next batter Kubel would deliver a single to score Renteria and give Hollywood a 2-1 lead. That is how the inning ended and the rest of the game. Weaver would go on to pitch a complete game 1 hitter and strike out 13 to tie the series at
2 games apiece.

Game 5 – Hudson vs Anderson. Pagan started off the game with a double and moved to 3rd on a single by Holliday. Konerko would deliver an RBI single and Holliday would move to 3rd, 1-0 Express. Holliday would score on a ground out double play by Cabrera, 2-0 Express.
Bottom 5, Rasmus would draw a walk and Betemit would follow with a single, no outs. Renteria would sacrifice them to 2nd/3rd. Ichiro would hit a sac fly to score Rasmus and end the scoring inthe 5th, 2-1 Express. Bottom 6, Jaso would walk and be replaced by Kelly as a pinch runner. Hudson would plunk Spilborgh’s to make it 1st/2nd no outs. Kubel would walk to load the bases. McGehee would hit a sac fly to score Kelly and tie the game. Rasmus would strkeout and Betemit pop up to end the inning. With two outs in the 7th, Scutaro would walk and that is followed up by a 2 run homer by Raburn giving the Express a 4-2 lead. The Express would score 2 more to close out the scoring in a 6-2 win and 3-2 series lead heading back to Severn.

Game 6 – Price vs Gallardo. A very good pitchers duel. Ichiro would lead off with a single and advance to 2nd base on a ground out.
Jaso’s single would score him to give Hollywood a 1-0 lead. The Werewolves would strike again in the 4th as Rasmus hits a leadoff double. With 1 out, Rasmus would score on a Pena single to increase the lead, 2-0. In the bottom 6, ARod would hit a leadoff double and score on a Ramon Hernandez single to make the score 2-1. The score would remain the same until the bottom of the 8th when ARod blasted a homerun to tie it at 2. In the first extra inning affair of the series, David Ross would lead off the 12th with a double and score on an RBI single by none other than Colby Rasmus to give Hollywood a 3-2 lead. Medlen closed out Severn in the bottom half of the inning to tie the series at 3.

Game 7 – Kershaw vs Halladay. With 1 out in the 2nd, Werth beats out an infield single. Ramon Hernandez would then hit a 2 run homer to open the scoring, 2-0 Severn. Hollywood would come right back in the 3rd as Rasmus drew a leadoff walk. Renteria would pop out. Rasmus would then advance to 2nd on a ground out and then score on an RBI single by Ichiro, 2-1 Severn. Bottom 4 saw Konerko lead off with a double and Cabrera get called out on strikes. Werth would single to make it 1st and 3rd with 1 out. On a hit and run play, ARod would ground to 1st allowing Werth to move to 2nd and keeping Konerko on 3rd with 2 outs.
With Hernandez batting, Kershaw delivers a wild pitch that allows Konerko to score and make it 3-1 Severn. The next pitch saw Hernandez bloop one to RF that scored Werth increasing Severn’s lead to 4-2.
Hollywood would score once more in the 8th, but that is how the scoring would end, 4-2 Severn as they win the series 4-3.

Congratulations to Steve and his Hollywood team as they could have very easily won this series. Severn gets ready for the Chicago/Fremont winner.

Jersey vs. Tempe

Games played head to head VIA – Join.me

On Thursday night Tempe and Jersey squared off in Round 1 in what must be considered one of the great playoff series in League history. I know, I’ve only been in the League one year but it doesn’t take experience to recognize a great, great series. Chris and I played just shy of 4 hours in an epic 7 game series using Join Me to play head to head. Pitching dominated the series, two games had less than 10 total hits between the 2 teams. There were 4 games decided by one run and three games by 2 runs. There were 3 extra-inning games. Five games were decided in the winning team’s last at bat, three of them walk-off’s. The Nor’easters jumped out to take a 3 games to 1 advantage. Tempe wins the next two games coming from behind in their last at bats to win both evening the series at 3 games each. By game seven Jersey’s bullpen is shot, Tempe is out of bench players and the potential series winning run for Tempe is thrown out at the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning forcing extra innings. In the top of the 10th Mark Teixera homers to give the Nor’easters a 2-1 lead and they hang-on, barely, to win. The Jersey Nor’easters win their first ever playoff series in the MWBL 4 game to 3.

My compliments to Tempe and especially Chris Douglas who showed me some extraordinary game management skills. He always had the right reliever available, the best defense alignment, and a good pinch-hitter available at all times. He used his roster at maximum efficiency. I feel lucky to have won the series.

Game One: It started with a bang for Jersey as Andres Torres and Torii Hunter exchange doubles in the top of the 1st and Jersey takes a 1-0 lead. It stayed that way until the 6th when Shin-Soo Choo hits a 2-run homer for Jersey increasing the lead to 3-0. Alexei Ramirez homers for the Tempers in the 9th but Jersey hangs on and wins 3-1. Ricky Romero gets the win. Tim Stauffer the loss with Evan Meek the save.

Game Two: Jersey sends out Tommy Hunter and Tempe Matt Cain. Kendry Morales hits a solo homer for Tempe in the second and that 1-0 score lasts until the 5th when Yunel Escobar homers for the Nor’easters to tie it at 1-1. Doesn’t last long as Granderson homers for Tempe in the bottom of the 5th to regain the lead the lead 2-1. Andres Torres doubles home a run in the 8th for Jersey to tie it at 2-2. Vernon Wells settles it for Tempe with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th and Tempe wins 4-2.

Game Three: This one goes 15 innings. The Nor’easters jump out early on Torii Hunter’s 2-run homer off starter Jhoulys Chacin. Tempe gets on back and it’s 2-1 Jersey going to the bottom 9th. Travis Ishakawi, in for his defense, hits a double scoring Molina and send the game to extra innings. In the 15th Teixeira walks and Ian Stewart ends the game with a walk of double. Jersey wins 3-2. Sean Burnett picks up the win in relief. There were only 11 total hits in 15 innings in this game.

Game Four: This one continues to follow the script as each team gets only 3 hits. Jersey’s Andres Torres and Miguel Montero homer and that’s all there is. Jersey wins 2-0, Derek Lowe out-duels Tim Stauffer making his 2nd start of the series. Meek with the save.

Game Five: The Temper’s aren’t dead. On the brink of elimination they come from behind twice. Tempe’s Hunter Pence homers in the 5th to tie the game at 1-1. Pinch hitter Jorge Posada homers for the Nor’easters to regain the lead 2-1 and that’s the way it stands going into the 9th. Tempe scratches 2 runs across, one on a fielder’s choice and the eventual winning run on a suicide squeeze bunt by David Eckstein. Chris Young nails down the save for Tempe. A bad loss for Jersey and a bad omen.

Game Six: The only game of the series with a little offense. The Temper’s jump out early with 4 runs in the first inning. Jersey ties it with 4 in the 4th inning. The game see-saws back and forth with Jersey scoring a run in the 9th on 3 consecutive walks to tie the game at 8-8 and force extra innings. The Tempers have character. In the 11th with an exhausted bench Chris calls on Jhoulys Chacin to pinch-hit for Ryan Madsen. The decision was based on one bad batting average being microscopically higher than the other bad batting average. Chacin makes contact and hits a walk-off sac fly. Tempe evens the series 3-3.

Game Seven: It’s near 11 PM and the series is almost 4 hours long. Both managers are exhausted. All of Jersey’s relief pitchers are tired or worn out by the 8th inning. Tempe has used all their bench players in this last chance chess match. The game is scoreless until the 6th when Jersey’s Ian Stewart homers to make it 1-0. In the bottom of the 6th Tempe has a chance to tie but Melky Cabrera is thrown out at home. It stays 1-0 until the bottom of the 9th. Tempe has a golden opportunity to the game and series. Pedroia leads off with a walk, steals second and comes around on a hit by Jose Molina. Game tied 1-1. Molina is cut down trying for second. Bases now empty but Adrian Beltre singles with one out. Vernon Wells follows with a double and Beltre is thrown out at the plate with what have been the series winning run. On to extra innings. In the 10th Mark Teixeira hits a 2-out solo homer for the Nor’easters and they take a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the 10th. Tempe has character. They get the tying run on 3rd with one out and have first and third with 2 out. Derek Lowe nails the final out for Jersey and the Jersey Nor’easters win!

Camarillo vs. Sacramento

Games played head to head VIA – Join.me

Division rivals Sacramento and Camarillo—the NL’s two top offensive teams—face each other in what many anticipated being a power-packed best-of-seven. It was a very close series. Both teams finished with similar ERAs (Sacramento 3.17 and Camarillo 3.23) and similar offensive stats (Sacramento .207, .347, .342; and Camarillo .211, .294, .381). The series was a nail-biter every inch of the way, but unexpectedly, it was a series determined by pitching in each and every game. In the end, Sacramento outscored Camarillo 20-19—a difference of 1 unearned run—in the series.

Game 1: Sacramento struck first, with Zambrano hitting Youkilis and Pujols doubling in the hobbling Youk for a 1-0 first-inning lead. But, that was all Sacramento could muster. Camarillo subsequently scored 4 runs over the next 4 innings, taking a 4-1 lead in the 6th—enough to shut me up. Belisle gets the win, Franklin the save, and Verlander the loss.

Game 2: A slow game until the 3rd inning, when in the top of the 3rd Camarillo’s Keppinger doubled with one out, and Bautista smacks a two-out double for a 1-0 lead. Camarillo wasn’t done there, following up with Snyder’s solo shot in the 4th to take a 2-0 lead. Not about to be shut out, Sacramento answers back: Camarillo loads the bases in the the bottom of the 4th by hitting Youkilis, giving up an infield single to Pujols, and walking Thames—a bunt by Molina and pinch hit by Bay tie it up at 2-2. That would be it for Sacramento. Camarillo continued to score in the 5th and again in the 9th for a 5-2 Camarillo victory. Camarillo just took the 1st two games on the road, putting serious pressure on Sacramento. Wilson gets the win, Lyon the save, and Arroyo the loss.

Game 3: Sacramento changes the tide in a hurry by scoring 4 runs in the 1st, batting around the order with the help of several hit batters. Two solo shots by Votto and Bautista in the 2nd and 4th cut the lead in half, but it was all Camarillo could put together in Game 3. Sacramento wins 5-2; Cliff Lee gets the win, Mariano Rivera the save, and Dempster the loss.

Game 4: Sacramento picked up in Game 4 where it left off, scoring 2 in the 1st off Ramirez and Pujols RBI to give the Capitals the early lead—a lead the Capitals would lose by giving up 2 runs in the 6th off a Luke Scott triple. Tied 2-2, Edmonds answers back for the Capitals with a solo shot in the top of the 7th, giving Sacramento a 3-2 lead … only to see Bautista hit a solo shot and Matt Stairs hit a pinch-hit solo shot in the bottom of the 7th and 8th innings to give Camarillo a 4-3 lead. But Sacramento wasn’t done yet; relying on its veteran talent, Manny Ramirez launched a 3-run shot in the top of the 9th to give Sacramento a 6-4 lead and win. Francisco Rodriguez gets the win, Rivera gets the save, and Casilla the loss.

Game 5: Game 5 didn’t even get started until the 6th when Carl Crawford smoked a triple to lead off the inning; a Keppinger single brought him home to lead Camarillo 1-0. Sacramento answers in the top of the 7th with a walk to Cust—who is replaced by Greg Golson—and a walk to Willingham; a sac fly advanced Golson to 3rd, and a throwing error on Willingham’s attempted steal allowed Golson to score, tying the game 1-1. Camarillio quickly answered back with another Keppinger RBI in the bottom of the 8th, to take a 2-1 lead into the 9th. But, the 1-run lead simply wasn’t enough. Pinch-hitter Thames led the inning with a walk, pinch-runner Brignac advanced to third, and with two outs, Youkilis launched a shot over the centerfield wall. The 3-2 lead was enough for Rivera. Dessens gets the win, Rivera gets the save, and Belisle the blown save and loss.

Game 6: Camarillo jumped out to an early lead in the top of the 1st, playing small-ball with Carl Crawford’s leadoff walk and Votto’s RBI single. Camarillo 1-0. Sacramento answered back in the 3rd, when Camarillo walked Molina and Uribe to start the inning; Cliff Lee advanced them with a sacrifice bunt; and Camarillo intentionally walked Willingham to load the bases. Ramirez sacrifice tied the game at 1-1, but Youkilis couldn’t do anything more to help the cause. The game stayed tied until the 7th, when Camarilo relied on small-ball again to take the lead: Boesch singled off Cliff Lee, steals 2nd and is replaced by Castillo, who is bunted over by Aybar. With the go-ahead run on 3rd with one down, Aviles hits the sac fly to take the lead. Not to be outdone, Sacramento answers back in the bottom of the 7th with a leadoff double by Molina, an RBI single by Uribe, and an RBI double by Manny Ramirez to take the lead 3-2. Cliff Lee gets the win, Rivera gets the save, and Wilson the loss.

Camarillo’s pitcher of the series is Zambrano, who started two games with a 0.87 ERA—though going 0-0—and MVP was Carl Crawford, who hit .316 and scored 4 runs.

Sacramento’s co-pitcher of the series were Cliff Lee (2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings) and Mariano Rivera (5 G, 5.1 IP, 4 Saves, and 0.00 ERA). Sacramento’s MVP was a difficult decision. No one did particularly well, but despite batting .227, Sacramento simply wouldn’t have won the series without Manny Ramirez two game-winning hits and 6 RBI.

Congrats to Jason on a fantastic series, and best of luck next year.