2007 DIVISION SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

For Immediate Release
October 5, 2007

Fremont vs. Chicago – CAN YOU SAY “UTTER COLLAPSE”

Game #1 John Smoltz (14-12 3.32) vs. Francisco Liriano (11-4 2.32)

Chicago jumps out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning on a David Ortiz two run shot.  After a Ray Durham Sacrifice fly which scored Vernon Wells, Derek Jeter singles home Nomar Garciaparra and the Mobsters have a 4-0 lead after two full innings.  Two errors in the top of the 3rd allows Fremont to scratch back in it with 2 runs of their own.  Nomar hits a solo HR in the 4th, and Chicago.  Chicago adds on two more in the 5th, and from this point on the bullpens take over and no more runs are scored.
Final Score Chicago 7 – Fremont 2.
W – F. Liriano (1-0 1.50)
L – J. Smoltz (0-1 11.25)
HR – D. Ortiz 1,  N. Garciaparra 1

Game #2 Ted Lilly (12-13 4.39) vs. C.C. Sabathia (21-4 3.08)

Ted Lilly doesn’t see the the end of the 1st as Chicago pounds out 7 runs in the bottom of the 1st and never looks back.  Derek Jeter goes 4 for 5 with 2 RBI’s, Vernon Wells & Ray Durham both drive in 3 RBI’s apiece.
W – C.C. Sabathia (1-0 2.70)
L – T. Lilly (0-1 94.50)
HR – D. Young 1,  R Barajas 1

ON TO FREMONT FOR GAMES 3, 4, & 5

Game #3 Roy Oswalt (14-10 2.70) vs. Barry Zito (14-9  4.14)

As the series switched to Fremont the streak of the Mobsters scoring in the 1st inning continued.   Fremont tied it at 1 in the bottom of the 2nd, and from that point on the Mobsters scored in every inning but the 8th.  Chicago’s bats came alive, and reliever Chad Billingsley was left out on the hill to “Take one for the Team”.  Billingsly did just that.  5.1 Innings, 16 Hits allowed, 15 earned runs, seven walks.  Chicago’s Barry Zito wasn’t impressive but picked up the win (1-0 9.53) with the final score being 24-12 Chicago.  Big hitters for the Mobsters were Andruw Jones, David Ortiz, and Nomar Garciaparra all who drove in 5 runs.  Barry Bonds and Chipper Jones both contributed with 4 RBI’s apiece. Oritz and Vernon Wells had 4 hits each.  Nick Swisher had a 4 RBI game for the Cannons, and Placido Polonco had 3 hits in the drubbing.

W – B. Zito (1-0 9.53)
L – R. Oswalt (0-1 20.25)
HR – A. Jones (2) 2, C. Jones 1, D. Ortiz 2

From here on out is what we call – “UTTER COLLAPSE”

Game #4 John Smoltz (14-12 3.32) vs. Cole Hamels (6-8 5.72)

Fremont came out in the 1st inning with bats a blazing and scored two.  They followed that up in the 5th with two more and added a single run in the 6th.  Two costly errors by the Mobsters sure didn’t help matters.  Chicago got one in the 8th, but Fremont countered with one of their own.  Nick swisher was the catalyst for the Cannons.  3 for 3, 2 HR’s, 3 RBI’s.  John Smoltz pitched like an ace should do allowing only 5 hits in 8 innings.  Pat Neshak came on and stuck out 3 Mobsters in the 9th to seal the deal for the Cannons.

W – J. Smoltz (1-1 4.50)
L – C.Hamels (0-1 2.25)
HR – N. Swisher (2) B. Bonds 1

Game #5 Ted Lilly (12-13 4.39) vs. F. Hernandez (14-6  3.75)

The lowest scoring game of the series was this one.  King Felix was dominant allowing only 2 Runs, 4 hits and 2 walks in 6+ innings of work.  On the other side of the bump was Ted Lilly who was just his equal if not better.  Lilly allowed only 1 Run, 4 hits and 2 walks in 6+ innings of work.  Bonds had the lone RBI for the Mobsters, and Brandon Phillips and Chris Burke chipped in a RBI apiece to take the game 2-1.

W – T. Lilly (1-1 9.45)
L – F. Hernandez (0-1 3.00)
S – B. Ryan 1
HR – None

BACK TO CHICAGO FOR GAMES 6 & 7

Game #6 Roy Oswalt (14-10 2.70) vs. C.C. Sabathia (21-4 3.08)

Chicago held a 3-1 lead after 5innings of play, but in the 6th a Home Runs by Wes Helms plus a 6 spot put the Cannons up 7 to 3.  The Cannons went on to score 3 more in the when Cody Ross went yard for Fremont in the 7th, with the final score being 10-3 Cannons.

W – R. Oswalt (1-1 7.59)
L – C.C. Sabathia (1-1  6.00)
HR – C. Ross 1, W. Helms 1

Game #7 John Smoltz (14-12 3.32) vs. Francisco Liriano (11-4 2.32)

Chicago scored 2 runs in the second inning, but the Cannons chipped away with single runs in the odd innings (3,5,7,9) to make this a very odd and crazy collapse by the Mobsters of Chicago.  Cody Ross belted his 2nd HR of the series. Hank Blalock went 3 for 4 and scored 2 runs.  Adam Melhuse went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI’s, and 2 Doubles.

W – J. Smoltz (2-1 3.32)
L – F. Liriano (1-1  2.63)
S – B. Ryan 2

The Cannons move on to face Severn for the AL Championship Series.

Severn vs. Yonge Street –

Severn is the home team, so they hosted the first 2 games:

Game #1 – Carlos Zambrano went 6 innings and pitched around 8 walks. Halladay went 6 as well, surrendering 4 walks of his own. Yonge Street is dealt a massive blow, losing David Wright in game one for 3 days. Severn gets no homers, but makes 4 well timed doubles hold up. The bullpens for both sides contribute 2 perfect innings.
SEV 4 W – Zambrano Sv – Rivera
YSS 2 L – Halladay

Game #2 – Brandon Webb gave up a single run in his 6 IP. The Express bullpen kept rolling with 3 scoreless thereafter. Chris Carpenter may have stayed in for one too many hitters. Pat Burrell hit a 2 run homer (his 2nd of the game) in the 7th to provide the final score. Yonge Street managed just 4 hits, although one was a rare Travis Hafner triple.
SEV 4 W – Webb Sv – Rivera 2
YSS 1 L – Carpenter

Game #3 – The clubs travel north for game 3. The battle of the young lefties didn’t really pan out. Olsen went 4 innings, allowed 4 ER and K’d 5. Kazmir went 3 innings, allowed 6 H, 4 BB, and 5 ER w/ only 2 K’s. The bullpens made the difference. Sampson, Ray, and Broxton combine to allow 2 runs in 4 innings for Severn. Hector Carrasco and Papelbon toss 3 scoreless innings apiece to get YSS on the board. Pat Burrell hit his 3rd HR of the series for SEV, and Jeff Kent was injured for 5 days. ouch.
YSS 6 W – Papelbon
SEV 5 L – Broxton

Game #4 – An extra base hit extravaganza. Zambrano comes back to start this one, while YSS calls on Maddux. An Austin Kearns Grand Slam in the 6th gives YSS a 4-3 lead, but the killer blow was delivered by Ty Wigginton. The 3 run shot in the 8th was the decider. Travis Hafner hit a solo shot in the 8th, but it wasn’t quite enough.
SEV 6 W – F. Rodney Sv – Rivera 3
YSS 5 L – Feliciano

Game #5 – Halladay gave up a run in the first and 2 in the second via solo homers from Morneau and Wigginton, but Garland couldn’t make it out of the second inning. The Stalkers scored 5 times before an out was recorded and Halladay made it stand up.
YSS 7 W – Halladay
SEV 3 L – Garland

Game #6 – Back to Severn for Game 6. Carpenter goes the distance for YSS, allowing 4 ER. A Pat Burrell 3 run homer in the 2nd gives Severn an early lead. Yonge Street tallies in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th to put the game away. Hafner and Edmonds both homer, while Nick Johnson hit his 5th double of the series.
YSS 7 W – Carpenter
SEV 4 L – Webb

Game #7 – I don’t think either manager wanted it this way, but game 7 was a rematch of the young lefties. They both pitched well, but neither would be invoved in the decision. The bullpens would decide this one. Excluding a slight misstep from Trevor Hoffman (walked the only 2 hitters he faced), the Severn pen was stellar. 2 scoreless innings each from Brandon League and Mariano River sandwiched the Hoffman slip. Joe Nathan was the goat for YSS, giving up 2 ER in his 2 innings. Rivera saved 4 games for the Express in the series.
SEV 4 W – League SV – Rivera 4
YSS 3 L – Nathan

Overall, a pretty balanced attack from Severn. Burrell led the way with 4 HR and 10 RBI, but close behind were Cabrera (3 HR, 4 2B, 6 RBI), Wigginton (3 HR, 5 RBI), and Morneau (2 HR, 3 2B, 4 RBI). Yonge Street was paced by Hafner (2 HR, 6 RBI), Nick Johnson (5 2B, 4 RBI), and Jimbo Edmonds (1 HR, 2 2B, 4 RBI).   A side note,  ARod went 0-29 in the series, with 1 walk and 1 run scored? Also, he left 12 runners in scoring position.

Congrats to Mike. The Express is a strong squad. Good luck to them!!

 

Midland vs. Tempe – MWBL Division Series – (Played via logmein on 9/16/07)
The Midland Mud Hens and Tempe Tempers faced off in rematch of last year’s first round divisional series.

Game #1 – Clemens vs Hensley
The score was 0-0 until the 6th when Hensley walked three Tempers but escaped only giving up one run on a FC. The score remained 1-0 until the 9th win Tempe added what they thought was an insurance run on a Rob Quinlan double. In the bottom of the 9th Littleton came on to close out the game.
He allowed a single to Kendall then recorded two outs. He then gave up a double to Roberts and a game tying two run RBI single to Steven Drew.  Beltran then doubled in Drew to win it!   Midland 3-2

Game #2 – Sowers vs Arroyo
Tempe gets on the board first in the 2nd with doubles by Konerko and Lowell
1-0 TEM. In the 4th Teixeira ties it up with an RBI single. Roberts
doubles in a run in the 5th to give the Mudhens the lead. Tempe rallies with a two run homerun by Manny in the 8th to take a 3-2 lead. In the 9th Tempe adds an insurance run on a Matsui doubles and Iguchi rbi single.   Brian Bruney records the final five outs to preserve the win for Tempe.  Tempe 4-2

Game #3 – Harang vs. Clemens
Manny hits a solo shot and Young singles in Matsui to give Tempe a 2-0
lead in the bottom of the 3rd. Tempe adds another run off Haran in the 5th
on a two out double by Lowell. Clemens goes 6 scoreless innings and then
turns the ball over to Matt Smith who pitches a scoreless 7th and 8th. In
the bottom of the 8th uses the bench to build on the lead. Alou gets a pinch hit RBI single, Bloomquist pinch runs for Alou and steals second, Quinlan pinchhits for the pitcher and is IW, Defensive replacement Doug Mientkiewicz is forced to come to the plate and promptly hits a two run double to put the game away.
Tempe 6-0

Game #4 – Bedard vs. Arroyo
This game was all Beltran and Midland. The scoring started with a Crede sac-fly in the top of the 2nd. Midland added another run in the 3rd when Manny dropped the 3rd out and allowed Roberts to score from 2B. In the top of the 4th Tori Hunter took Arroyo deep with a two run jack to make it a 4-0 game. The Beltran show started in the top of the 5th when he hit a three run shot to put Midland up 7-0. Tempe admitted defeat at this point and brought in the backups and they got to watch him hit two more homeruns in the 7th and 9th. I think this is the first time I’ve seen one player hit three homeruns in the same playoff game.  Midland 9-0

Game #5 – Hensley vs. Martinez
Beltran continued to punish the Tempers with a 2 run shot in the 1st off Pedro. Johjima singled in a run in the bottom of the 2nd to make it a 2-1 game. In the top of the 3rd, Vizquel singled and Beltran doubled to put runners at 3rd and 2nd. Teixeira then singled to right field to score Vizquel but Matusi gunned Beltran at home to keep the game close 3-1. In the bottom of the 3rd Konerko connected on a two run homerun to tie it up.  3-3. In the top of the 4th Pedro gave up his 7th hit so Tempe decided to go to the pen. Duchsherer came on and beaned Kendall injuring him for the rest of the series. The move didn’t pay off as Roberts singled in a run.  Duchsherer then loaded the bases before getting Beltran to pop up to end the inning. Midland 4-3. In the bottom of 4th Johjima doubled with two out and the big hurt got single as a pinch hitter for the pitcher to tie it up.
4-4. In the top of the 5th, Littleton (G1 Chump) walked Teixeira and then let Hunter take him deep. 6-4 Midland. In the bottom of the 5th Reed Johnson answered Hunter with his own two run HR to tie the game for the 3rd time. 6-6 Tempe. In the bottom of the 6th Jojima started Tempe again, this time with a leadoff solo shot off Oliver. Then the Tempe machine woke up – Manny doubled and was pinch run for by Finely. Rowand pinch hit for Matsui and singled in the speedy Finely. Young then singled in Rowand and Lowell doubled in Johnson and Young. Iguchi doubled in Bloomquist who pinch ran for Lowell. Johjima finally maked the 3rd out in his 2nd at bat of the inning. 12-6 Tempe! Shields picked up the save pitching the last three innings and only giving up 1 run.

Game #6 – Clemens vs Sowers
This game turned into an outstanding pitcher’s duel. After 5 innings the score was still 0-0. Clemens had only given up 2 hits and Sowers was throwing a no hitter. In the top of the 6th, for the third time in the series, Johjima leaned into a pitch and took one for the team. Finley was asked to pinch run and steal 2B. However, Redmond (who was playing for the injured Kendall) stepped up and gunned him. Sowers got Clemens to pop up for the 2nd out but then walked Manny. Tempe again went to the bench and brought in Bloomquist to run for Manny. He successfully stole 2B and then Johnson singled him home with Tempe’s first hit of the game. 1-0 Tempe. In bottom of the 6th Tempe brought in a couple of defensive subs and put their trust in “Veteran Leadership” and the 45 year old Rocket! He delivered pitching a scoreless 6th, 7th, and 8th. Houston Street came on in the top of 9th to try and keep the game close. He gave up a leadoff single to Johnson who promptly stole 2B. He then got defensive subs Matheny and Mientkiewicz to ground out. With two outs Michael Young doubled in Johnson to make it a 2-0 game. Midland made the decision to IW Tempe’s hottest hitter Lowell and face Iguchi. Tempe decided to pinch hit with Quinlan and Mr. clutch doubled in Young and Lowell. 4-0. In the bottom of the 9th Clemens turned the ball over to Bruney. Bruney allowed Beltran to double but that was it. Tempe wins 4-0.

Just like last year, the MVP Award for the Divisional series goes to the Rocket!
Clemens was 2 – 0, 0.00 era, 18 inn, 15 SO, 9 H, 1 BB

Runners up for MVP
Midland – Carlos Beltran .333 avg, .889 slg, 4 HR, 3 2B, 8 RBI and Brian Roberts .400 avg, 600 slg, 5 2B, 4 Runs  Tempe – None

Kentucky vs. Los Angeles –
Kentucky almost upsets the Riots, and pulls off some great come from behind wins.

Game 1, the Riots blow a 4-0 lead in the 9th while it’s bullpen walk 7, give up a wild pitch and a passed ball, and allow 7 runs to crush the Riots’ spirits.

Game 2, Riots win it in a close one 3-2. Great pitching.

Game 3, the Riots blow a 6-3 lead in the 8th when its bullpen gave up 4 runs. The Riots manager cried as Scott Proctor’s ERA shot up to 135.00.

Game 4, Riots win another close one 2-1. Great pitching, again.

Game 5, Riots manager pours himself a glass of scotch, and then remarks “hey, these games are too close. it’d be easier if one of us were just blown out.” Damn my tongue. Kenny Rodgers pitches 5 innings, and gives up 11 hits and 6 runs. The Riots manage to score 3, but just couldn’t keep up with the Headhunters.
I think it’s safe to say, the better manager won 3 of 5 … with maybe a wee bit of luck 😉
Well folks, it looks like the winds have changed. After realizing we were playing a 7 game series 🙁 , Brian and I finished off the last two games. As you recall, the Riots were down 3 games to 2. What we didn’t realize was that we were heading back to LA for the final two games.

Game 6, two doubles and a triple from Pujols and great pitching (still not from the bullpen) give the Riots a 5-3 victory over Kentucky.
On we go to a decisive Game 7. After thinking it was all over, the Riots can only be glad to still be alive …

Game 7, not wanting to face yet another early exit from the playoffs, the Riots manager pours another glass of scotch. As was the case throughout the series, this game was dominated by pitching. The Riots chased the Headhunters in the 5th and 7th innings to match a 2-2 score through 12 innings. For the 13th inning, the Headhunters, after relying heavily on 17* grade Dan Wheeler for two of Kentucky’s come-from-behind victories, keep Wheeler in for a second inning. In the bottom of the 13th, the Riots finally figured him out. With one out, Pujols hits a double; Kentucky intentionally walks Bay; and Ibanez, amid season pick-up from New River, gets his first hit in 6 AB – a three-run walk-off home run to win Game 7 5-2.

Kentucky played a great, pitching-dominated series, with a stellar bullpen that put up a 2.66 ERA, a 2-1 record and 3 saves; and an overall 3.50 team ERA. Of special note, Glaus put up a .318 BA with 2 HR, 6 R, and 4 RBI; Posada put up a .222 BA, 1 HR, but put up 11 RBI (shit!); and Hanley Ramirez, acquired from LA (under duress), put up a .185 BA, 3 key runs, and 2 RBI. But, overall, the Headhunters put up a .189 BA, a .302 OBP and a .320 SLG, and a .970 fielding percentage.

With a .979 fielding percentage, the Riots bullpen lost two games and ended the division series with 5.75 R/9, while its offense ended with a .208 BA, a .263 OBS, and a .403 SLG. Like I said, pitching dominated. Of special note, Jason Schmidt pitched 3 games and 21 innings with a 1.29 ERA, while earning only 1 win; Pujols hit a .345 BA, with 2 HR, 8 runs and 3 RBI; and LA finished with an ERA of 3.18 and a smile.

Still, lucky to be alive, LA sends a HUGE congrats to Kentucky (thankful for a very exciting and close series). Of course, we look forward to the Midland-Tempe series … with dread.

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