2001 LCS and FOOL Classic Thread
 

Well...how about this?

In the Continental League Championship, we have Toronto and Napa Valley facing off and in the RL Championship Series, Hartford and Boston will take on each other in the first-ever Battle of New England against two original franchises who fortunes used to be linked by how much they lost, but now, seems to be reflected in the dominance of one and the surge of the other.

I'm excited for what promises to be an exciting test of wills between these clubs, with one team being crowned FOOL Champions tonight! I'll live-sim starting at 10pm eastern time.

Eeeee. Can't wait!

I'll probably be in bed by then, so I'll check on things in the morning. Good luck to all!

Exports from: Boston, Colorado, Columbus, Napa Valley, Toronto, Valdosta

LCS Schedule:
29-30 @ Boston, @ Toronto
1-2 @ Napa Valley, @ Hartford
4-6 @ Boston, @ Toronto

During the regular season, Boston was 15-18 against Hartford and Napa Valley went 15-17 against Toronto.

None of that matters at all now, though. We're about to embark on another journey.

Good luck everyone!

Egad! I was busy writing code and almost forgot it was playoff time!

Let's roll!

Good luck, RL!

GAME 1

CLCS: Napa Valley 6, Toronto 5
Don Holt got the save in the 9th, despite a 2-run rally in the bottom of the 8th that brought Toronto within a run. Napa leads the series 1-0

RLCS: Hartford 7, Boston 2
Orlando Gonzalez was dominant, throwing 9 strikeouts in a complete game effort, to give the Pooners a 1-0 series lead.

7 game LCS, right?

dola,

Crap. I just realized I left my pitchers on most rested.

Oh well. :/

GAME 2

CLCS: Napa Valley 6, Toronto 3
A 4-run 7th inning gave the Winemakers crushed enough grapes to ensure victory. Eduardo Munoz threw 7 innings, striking out 4 and giving up 2 earned in the win. Napa Valley leads 2 games to 0 in the series.

RLCS: Hartford 7, Boston 3
Art Vachon got the win behind Bob Fitzgerald's 3 RBI performance that included a double and a home run. Pooners lead the series 2 games to 0.

yessir.

Feh. One win. I just want one win after my long playoff drought.

GAME 3

CLCS: Napa Valley 5, Toronto 1
Nacho Lozano threw a complete game 4 hitter, giving up just 1 earned run and struck out four, as the Winemakers are now just one game away from their first FOOL Classic since 1983.

RLCS: Boston 12, Hartford 7
James Moore and Stan McNeal both went 4 for 5 for the Settlers, who weren't content to settle for anything less than a win in Game 3 of the Republic League Championship Series. Moore had 4 RBI and hit for the cycle in the victory, cutting Hartford's series lead now to 2 games to 1.

So... we called the CL runner-up trophy the Continental Cup, right? Gotta prep my new sig. :P

GAME 4

CLCS: Napa Valley 8, Toronto 3
Doug Frazier propelled the Winemakers to their first Continental League title since 1983 after throwing 8 innings of 5 hit ball, striking out 6 and walking no one in the victory. Martin Lewis went 2 for 4 with a HR and an RBI, as Napa Valley now awaits the winner of the RL Championship Series.

RLCS: Hartford 11, Boston 2
Generation Pooner is back with a whole new crop of kids ready to terrorize the league. Trevor O'Brien threw a complete game striking out 5 and walking 3 in the dominant performance. Alfredo Garcia went 3 for 4 with a home run and 4 RBI, as the Pooners are just a win away from the Classic for the first time since 1991.

Well...no. You wouldn't be Continental Cup winners. You are Continental League Regular Season champions. The 2nd place team is the cup winner.

;)

Man. Truly handed it to me. Good on ya, Teach!

Give 'em a what-for in the Classic. :)

Aha! That's right. I didn't manage to win in the expanded playoff era until now, and it's been a while anyway. Hee.

Ah well. Next year is just a week away!

GAME 5

RLCS: Hartford 6, Boston 4
Another year and yet, the result remains the same. The Hartford Harpooners have won their 13th Republic League championship in the 40 years of FOOL, after dispatching the Boston Settlers in Game 5 of the Republic League Championship Series.

Pat Clary threw for 8 2/3 innings and struck out six in the win. Cullen O'Reilly went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI in the win.

2001 FOOL CLASSIC PREVIEW

Well here we go. The Winemakers of Napa Valley seek their 3rd FOOL Classic title in franchise history. Now here's a history tidbit for you. Even though this would be Hartford's 7th FOOL title, Napa Valley is the last team to win back to back titles, doing it in 1982 and 1983. No team has done it since. Another interesting tidbit, is that Napa Valley's titles have come against Hartford both times. So that'd mean three titles against the biggest juggernaut on FOOL's block.

Well, let's go.

2001 FOOL CLASSIC


GAME 1:
Napa Valley 12, Hartford 11
The Winemakers were up 12-8 after 8 7 innings, before the Harpooners scored three in the top of the 8th to bring it within 1, but that's as close as they got.

Floyd Moore went 3 for 4 with 2 HRs and 2 RBI in the win for the Winos, as they take a 1-0 lead in the best of nine championship series.

Javier Costello got the win, after pitching 1 2/3 innings of mopout after both starters were replaced.

2001 FOOL CLASSIC


GAME 2:
Napa Valley 9, Hartford 5
The bullpen was again the key for the Winemakers, as the offense tacked on a bunch of runs. Henry O'Neil went 2 for 3 with a home run and 3 RBI in the win. Hartford's Xavier Welsh went 2 for 3 with a HR and 4 RBI in the loss.

Christian Russell left the game after 3 innings for the Winemakers, leaving reliever James Frazier with the mantle. He gave up just 1 hit over 3 innings of relief work, notching the victory and giving his team a 2-0 series lead.

2001 FOOL CLASSIC


GAME 3:
Napa Valley 6, Hartford 5
After going down 5-1 after 3 innings, most thought the Winos were drunk and out of it. But they pushed back, scoring 2 in the 6th and 3 in the 7th to win the game 6-5. Adam Bancroft went 3 for 4 with two doubles and 2 RBI in the win. Javier Costello threw 2 2/3 innings of relief to get the win, giving Napa Valley a 3-0 series lead.

2001 FOOL CLASSIC


GAME 4:
Hartford 4, Napa Valley 3

Deadlocked at 3-3 into the 8th, Hartford scored during the home half in what proved to be the game winning run. Cullen O'Reilly went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and an RBI in the win.

Napa Valley leads 3 games to 1 and with that win, Hartford averts being the first team to get swept in the Classic since 1972.

2001 FOOL CLASSIC


GAME 5:
Napa Valley 3, Hartford 2

A two-run bottom of the 8th, gave the Winemakers a 3-2 win on the arm of Doug Frazier who threw 6 strikeouts and just two earned over eight innings of work. Jim Whitman went 3 for 4 with an RBI for Napa Valley, who are now just a game away from their first FOOL Classic title in 18 years.

Is the Classic back to Best of 7, or is it still Best of 9?

Never mind, question answered. ;)

GAME 5
Bottom of the 9th inning (Hartford 6, Napa Valley 1, 1 out.)

Adam Bancroft started the inning off with a single, advanced to second after Henry O'Neil walked. Floyd Moore walked to get the bases loaded and Ian Corneilssen entered the game after Hartford's manager decided he'd seen enough of Don Trent.

Corneilssen walked the first batter he faced in Barry Holmes to make the score 6 to 2, Hartford.

Jim Whitman hit an RBI single, to make the score 6 to 3 Hartford with just one out.

Bernard Houle flies out to score another run, making the game magically 6 to 4 in favor of the Hartford Harpooners with two outs. Would it be enough? Would Hartford finally nail this thing down?

Mike Heller came to the plate and hit a single on a 1-1 count to make the game 6 to 5, Hartford. The Winemakers faithful were out of their seats in amazing splendor and felt the victory was within their grasp, but with two on and two out, Martin Lewis, the catcher was up to bat.

Lewis hit .261 this year with 7 HRs and 62 RBI. The first pitch was a called strike, second pitch was fouled off, making the count 0 and 2.

In the bottom of the ninth of Game 5 of the 2001 FOOL Classic, Napa Valley --trailing 6 to 5 -- rested their hopes on the bat of Martin Lewis, who now had a 1-2 count against Ian Corneilssen of the Hartford Harpooners, who just needed one more strike to end this game and to give his team new life.

He threw the pitch...

...and watched it sail 363 feet. The 3-run home run ended the game and corks flying as the Napa Valley Winemakers bested the Hartford Harpooners in the most improbable finish in FOOL Classic history, 8-6 and as a result, vaulted to their first FOOL Classic title since 1983.

Napa Valley wins the series 5 games to 1.

Heh...this last game reminds me to go look up the whereabouts of the once clutch-anxious Cracker John "K-Rod" Martland, who never saw a critical late season-postseason lead he couldn't blow.

The FOOL MVP awad will now be known as the Hideaki Tanaka Award. Tanaka was FOOL's first real power hitter, notching 3227 hits in his career and belting 482 home runs. He was the first player to make a splash changing teams during free agency and was the reason that both the New York Highlanders AND the Rio Grande Roadrunners claimed FOOL Classic titles during the 1960s. He managed the Roadrunners in the 1990s until the franchise was retired in 1999. He is a three-time recipent of the MVP award that now bears his name.

(No one else merits being named for any other awards, at least not yet, but..I think this is a good nod to our past, as we move towards the future.)

2001 AWARD WINNERS
CL MVP
1. Gerald Phipps, Toronto
2. Domingo Vega, Brooklyn
3. Jesus Ramirez, Atlanta

RL MVP
1. Frank Wallacae, Boston
2. Fernando Oliveira, Ann Arbor
3. Xavier Welsh, Hartford

CL Pitcher of the Year
1. Darren Lyons, Atlanta
2. Chris Pollock, Valdosta
3. Terry Jones, Toronto

RL Pitcher of the Year
1. Tony Ibarra, Columbus
2. Andres Aguilar, Boston
3. Jose Bruno, Colorado

CL Rookie of the Year
1. Guy Thomas, Baltimore
2. Bart Carlson, Toronto
3. Clarence Hicks, Atlanta

RL Rookie of the Year
1. James Moore, Boston
2. Pablo Rivera, Colorado
3. Stanley McNeal, Boston

He was in Atlanta until 1989, was in Rio Grande until 1999 and is now in Baltimore and has been since 2000. Seems to be just a middle reliever, not a closer. ;)

Congrats to Teach on winning the FOOL championship. Go RL!

OK, I was on the phone during all of that, so let me catch up.

1) I would have started by wishing kaos luck.
2)Then I would have made some comment about how he was going to come back like he did in the regular season.
3) Then I would have congratulated kaos for a good season.
4) Then I would certainly tell Hartford nice job.
5) Then I would nail bite in anticipation.
6) Then I would exclaim joyfully, "Hooray I won!" :D

Way to go, Lyons! That was unexpected.

Good going for Ramirez and Hicks, too--both of whom, I think, can actually play better than they did this past season.

Thanks Chief!

Yeah, I looked him up while you posted this. 258 saves by the time he was 28--and then he was a setup man for the next 11 years. That's got to be annoying.

I'm prepping the file now and I have to do it manually, but it'll be out there in a little bit.

You should be able to download the file in-game now.

You can download the .zip version of the league file here. The link is always on the front page of the FOOL web site on the left sidebar where it says "League File"

In-game, it's telling me "Error: Cannot open connection to FTP server".

I was just connected to it via FTP, so it might've been blocking you. Try it now, as it just worked for me.

Yup, that musta been it, since it worked now. Thanks, DC!

Exported and gone for the day. See you after the draft, kiddies.