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Young Drachma · 09-27-2007, 12:10 AM

WORLD SERIES QUARTERFINALS (BEST-OF-FIVE)
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Code:

(1) Chicago Comets v. St. Louis Cardinals

(2) Boston Yankees v. New York Bombers

(3) Los Angeles Angels v. New York Mets

(4) Cincinnati Reds v. Brooklyn Cyclones

Wow, well this is a far cry from the past few years when I would just sim through the playoffs since my team wasn't involved.

I think I built this team for the playoffs and now, we'll just have to see if the theory I've put together holds up.

We have quite possibly the meanest middle of the order you'd ever hope to see in Ricardo Serrano (37 HR/124 RBI/.340), Dan Warren(.310/47 HR/146 RBI) and Vic Ross (.260/48/113)

When you consider that only Ross was with us last year, it tells me my pursuit to upgrade the roster was a wise one, even if Andrew Cooper (who I dealt to Salt Lake for Warren) led the majors in home runs this year with 54. I submit that wasn't as much about his pure talent, as much as that bandbox they play in Salt Lake City. He hit 31 HRs at home and only 23 on the road and his batting average was about 45 points higher at home than on the road. We'll just say the trade worked out for both teams, we're going to the playoffs and they're not.

But back to the Yanks roster.

In terms of our pitching staff, we've got two 20-game winners in Alvaro Vega (20-9, 3.20) and Jeremy Thompson (21-5, 3.72), Ralph Oliver (19-7, 3.20) and Luis Manuel Morales (15-8, 4.08) weren't slouches either.

Coupled with Franciso Ortiz and his 42 saves this year, I think we're in good shape.

The real question will be whether the guys show up or not. In terms of playoff experience, we have just three pitchers with post-season experience and among them, only late season acquisition Jose Portillo as any real sizable experience. Portillo, 40, played on the bulk of those San Antonio Aviators squads in the 90s that dominated baseball. In 23 playoff starts, he's 9-10 with a 3.32 ERA. Having him on the roster during this time of year should be a boon from a maturity perspective for our young ballclub.

On the offensive side, Spencer Jacobs plays the same role that Portillo does on the defense. In 52 career playoff games, he's got 14 HRs, 49 RBI and is hitting .355. I hope he can be a shell of himself in this playoffs. Ricardo Serrano is another one that came over in the Aviators deal and has a career .373 average in 39 playoff games. Besides that, there are just a few other guys with some sparse at-bats at the postseason level.

So we're not completely devoid of experience, but...it'll be interesting to see how it goes this year.

The Bombers
New York comes to town with a roster the opposite of ours. Experience flows through this ballclub.

They're led by one of my favorite players in the game who doesn't play for me Bobby Stewart. He's a 25-year old lefty who plays right field. 2002 was home to his second straight 40 home run season (40 HR/133 RBI) and he hit .284 for the Bombers. They live and die by him.

First baseman Zi Gui is in his first year in New York after being dealt from the Dodgers in the off-season and he's a star. He hit 22 HR and 114 RBI this season.

One weakness that New York has, it strikes out a lot. Five guys in their lineup struck out 110+ times this year. That's a weakness we hope to exploit.

On the pitching side of the house, their rotation is anchored by free agent signee Lorenzeo Negron who came over from Columbus after signing a four-year deal worth $62 million over the off-season. He's paid off so far, going 21-10 this year with a 3.26 ERA.

He was the only guy they had who won more than 15 games. Dave Watson is a 21-year old hurler from Chicago who is paying dividens for the Bombers despite his youthfulness. He won 15 games this year (15-12, 5.43).

On paper, we should be fine against these guys. We have a lot more strength than they do and even our weaknesses are still stronger than anything they can throw at us.

But in a short series, truly anything can happen. So we want to jump on them early and often.

09-27-2007, 12:10 AM	#83
Young Drachma Dark Cloud Join Date: Apr 2001	WORLD SERIES QUARTERFINALS (BEST-OF-FIVE) --- Code: (1) Chicago Comets v. St. Louis Cardinals (2) Boston Yankees v. New York Bombers (3) Los Angeles Angels v. New York Mets (4) Cincinnati Reds v. Brooklyn Cyclones Wow, well this is a far cry from the past few years when I would just sim through the playoffs since my team wasn't involved. I think I built this team for the playoffs and now, we'll just have to see if the theory I've put together holds up. We have quite possibly the meanest middle of the order you'd ever hope to see in Ricardo Serrano (37 HR/124 RBI/.340), Dan Warren(.310/47 HR/146 RBI) and Vic Ross (.260/48/113) When you consider that only Ross was with us last year, it tells me my pursuit to upgrade the roster was a wise one, even if Andrew Cooper (who I dealt to Salt Lake for Warren) led the majors in home runs this year with 54. I submit that wasn't as much about his pure talent, as much as that bandbox they play in Salt Lake City. He hit 31 HRs at home and only 23 on the road and his batting average was about 45 points higher at home than on the road. We'll just say the trade worked out for both teams, we're going to the playoffs and they're not. But back to the Yanks roster. In terms of our pitching staff, we've got two 20-game winners in Alvaro Vega (20-9, 3.20) and Jeremy Thompson (21-5, 3.72), Ralph Oliver (19-7, 3.20) and Luis Manuel Morales (15-8, 4.08) weren't slouches either. Coupled with Franciso Ortiz and his 42 saves this year, I think we're in good shape. The real question will be whether the guys show up or not. In terms of playoff experience, we have just three pitchers with post-season experience and among them, only late season acquisition Jose Portillo as any real sizable experience. Portillo, 40, played on the bulk of those San Antonio Aviators squads in the 90s that dominated baseball. In 23 playoff starts, he's 9-10 with a 3.32 ERA. Having him on the roster during this time of year should be a boon from a maturity perspective for our young ballclub. On the offensive side, Spencer Jacobs plays the same role that Portillo does on the defense. In 52 career playoff games, he's got 14 HRs, 49 RBI and is hitting .355. I hope he can be a shell of himself in this playoffs. Ricardo Serrano is another one that came over in the Aviators deal and has a career .373 average in 39 playoff games. Besides that, there are just a few other guys with some sparse at-bats at the postseason level. So we're not completely devoid of experience, but...it'll be interesting to see how it goes this year. The Bombers New York comes to town with a roster the opposite of ours. Experience flows through this ballclub. They're led by one of my favorite players in the game who doesn't play for me Bobby Stewart. He's a 25-year old lefty who plays right field. 2002 was home to his second straight 40 home run season (40 HR/133 RBI) and he hit .284 for the Bombers. They live and die by him. First baseman Zi Gui is in his first year in New York after being dealt from the Dodgers in the off-season and he's a star. He hit 22 HR and 114 RBI this season. One weakness that New York has, it strikes out a lot. Five guys in their lineup struck out 110+ times this year. That's a weakness we hope to exploit. On the pitching side of the house, their rotation is anchored by free agent signee Lorenzeo Negron who came over from Columbus after signing a four-year deal worth $62 million over the off-season. He's paid off so far, going 21-10 this year with a 3.26 ERA. He was the only guy they had who won more than 15 games. Dave Watson is a 21-year old hurler from Chicago who is paying dividens for the Bombers despite his youthfulness. He won 15 games this year (15-12, 5.43). On paper, we should be fine against these guys. We have a lot more strength than they do and even our weaknesses are still stronger than anything they can throw at us. But in a short series, truly anything can happen. So we want to jump on them early and often.