DICE Baseball 2008 Tournament - Page 2

collegesportsfanms · 12-05-2014, 10:37 AM

I have decided that I am going to go ahead and have a 14 team consolation bracket as well. I'm still deciding the formats for each, the triple elimination idea still interests me, but I'm not sure if I want to give the consolation bracket that much attention. I think I'll probably go double elimination for the consolation bracket, and for the championship bracket, either triple elimination, or single elimination series. I'm still open to suggestions and advice.

collegesportsfanms · 12-10-2014, 07:53 PM

Pool A, Round 10

LA Angels- 2, Minnesota- 1 -- An unearned run in the top of the 8th won this game for the Angels, as Minnesota misses a chance to win the pool outright and now must wait for the results of other games.

Washington- 9, Houston- 4 -- Ryan Zimmerman hit a grand slam in the top of the 3rd to give Washington a 5-2 lead. They would add 2 in the 4th and 2 in the 6th. Houston got 2 runs back in the bottom of the 7th on a Darin Erstad home run, but it wasn't near enough.

Kansas City- 5, Cincinnati- 4 -- Both teams put up a 4 spot in the 4th (how ironic) and the Royals took a 5-4 lead in the top of the 5th on a Ross Gload groundout. Neither team scored for the rest of the game and Kansas City finishes pool play off on a high note.

Here are the final Pool A standings:

1. Washington 6-4 (+4)

2. Minnesota 6-4 (+1)

3. LA Angels 5-5 (+8)

4. Cincinnati 5-5 (-8)

5. Kansas City 4-6 (+2)

6. Houston 4-6 (-7)

So we had 3 separate tiebreakers to work out in this pool. For first place, since Washington and Minnesota split their 2 games, each winning by a score of 8-3, the pool was decided by overall run differential, which gives it to Washington, who will be a top 5 seed in the championship bracket. Amazing since they were among the worst teams in MLB in the actual 2008 season. Minnesota is in and will get a seed of 6-10. For 3rd and 4th place, the LA Angels and Cincinnati split their games. But the Angels beat Cincinnati by 4 runs, while Cincy won the rematch by just 2, giving the Angels 3rd place and a spot in the championship bracket. Cincinnati must hope for a shot at the wildcard. Kansas City and Houston are both going to the consolation bracket, but whoever finishes 5th in the pool is guaranteed a higher seed in that bracket (for the consolation bracket, the 4 4th place teams that don't get the wildcard are seeded 1-4, 5th place teams 5-9, 6th place teams 10-14). Kansas City and Houston split, but Kansas City won by 3 while Houston only won by 1, so Kansas City gets 5th place, Houston 6th.

collegesportsfanms · 12-13-2014, 08:29 PM

Pool B, Round 10

Chicago White Sox- 11, Chicago Cubs- 3 -- Alexei Ramirez had 2 homers and 6 RBIs to lead the White Sox to an easy victory, as the Cubs now know they'll be headed to the consolation bracket.

Toronto- 8, Seattle- 3 -- Things started out good for Seattle as Jose Lopez hit a 3 run homer in the top of the 1st, but those would be their only runs of the game. Toronto scored single runs in the first and second, then put up a 4 spot in the 4th as they had 17 hits in the game. This clinches a spot in the championship bracket for the Blue Jays.

Oakland- 9, Detroit- 2 -- For a while, it looked like it might be the first run to score wins the game, as we were scoreless through the first 3, then Oakland scored all 9 of their runs in the next 5 innings and Greg Smith shut down the Tigers for 7 1/3 innings. Detroit got 2 runs in the 8th but that was it.

Here are the final Pool B standings:

1. Toronto 6-4 (-2)

2. Seattle 5-5 (-10)

3. Detroit 5-5 (+5)

4. Chicago White Sox 5-5 (+17)

5. Oakland 5-5 (-5)

6. Chicago Cubs 4-6 (-5)

Toronto wins the group but has a negative point differential which could see them getting the 4 or 5 seed in the championship bracket. Then we had a 4 way tiebreaker for 2nd place. The tiebreaker needed to decide this was best record against the other teams involved. Seattle went 5-1 against the White Sox, Detroit, and Oakland, while the White Sox and Detroit were both 2-4 against the other teams involved, while Oakland was 3-3 against the other teams involved. So Seattle gets the 2nd spot out of Pool B, but that -10 point differential will probably have them as a 10th seed in the championship bracket. Hard to imagine any of the other 3 group runner-ups having that bad of a point differential. So now we are down to a 3 team tiebreaker for 3rd place. Record against the other teams involved didn't fly here, as they all went 1-1 against each other. So we went to the next tiebreaker, in this case, who had the best record against the pool winner, which in this case was Toronto. While both Oakland and the White Sox split with Toronto, Detroit beat Toronto both games, so the Tigers get 3rd place in Pool B and a spot in the championship bracket. 4th place came down to a tiebreaker between the White Sox and Oakland. This was a simple head to head battle. The teams split their 2 meetings, but while Oakland only won by 1, the White Sox won by 8, so the White Sox get 4th place in Pool B and a chance at the wildcard. Speaking of which, we will have at least 1 wildcard game since both the White Sox and Cincinnati finished 5-5 as 4th place finishers in their group. I said earlier I would not let run differential decide the wildcard and if teams had identical records we would play it out on the field. In this case, the White Sox should have home field advantage in almost any wildcard game due to that +17 run differential. Poor Oakland, who worked so hard to beat Detroit, ends up losing all the tiebreakers and still finishes 5th, while the Cubs, who were the top seed in pool B, finish last in the pool. Both Oakland and the Cubs will be going to the consolation bracket guaranteed.

One other note, even though we have tiebreakers to decide places among pools, those could be subject to change. The reason being, I am not going to have a first round game between teams that came from the same pool in either the championship or consolation bracket. If this were to happen, I may have to adjust seedings around a little bit. Hopefully it's not an issue, but we'll see.

collegesportsfanms · 12-15-2014, 10:24 PM

Pool C, Round 10

NY Yankees- 6, Tampa Bay- 2 -- Wilson Betemit drove in 4 of the 6 Yankee runs as they scored 3 in the 1st, 3 in the 3rd. Nobody scored after the 3rd inning as pitching took over.

St. Louis- 7, San Diego- 3 -- This game was decided in the bottom of the 6th when St. Louis batted around and scored 4 runs on back to back homers. First a 3 run shot by Rick Ankiel followed by a solo shot from Joe Mather as the return of Jake Peavy didn't go so well as he didn't get out of the 6th inning.

Colorado- 7, Texas- 5 -- It looked like this was set for a wild one as the teams traded leads, with the Rockies dealing the final blow in the bottom of the 7th on a Chris Iannetta 3 run homer. Jeff Francis went 7 innings for Colorado and Luis Vizcaino, Mark Redman, and Taylor Buchholz shut down the Ranger bats for the last 2 innings.

Final Pool C standings:

1. St Louis 7-3 (+13)

2. New York Yankees 6-4 (+20)

3. Colorado 6-4 (-9)

4. Texas 6-4 (+19)

5. San Diego 3-7 (-16)

6. Tampa Bay 2-8 (-27)

Thanks to Texas losing, St. Louis gets the group and right now stands as the #1 seed with their 7-3 record, but don't expect that to hold up as we have 2 teams that stand at 7-2 in pool D. The Yankees win the 3 team tiebreaker for second, going 3-1 against Colorado and Texas, while Colorado went 2-2 against the Yankees and Texas, and Texas went 1-3 against the Yankees and Colorado. Their 6-4 record gives them a great shot to be seeded 6 or 7, especially with that run differential. Colorado gets 3rd place thanks to sweeping Texas. The 6-4 record will help them as their run differential is not good. Texas falls all the way to 4th place, but as of right now the 6-4 record is good enough for the wildcard with 2 pools to go. Unfortunately, that does eliminate Cincinnati and the Chicago White Sox from wildcard and championship bracket contention. They will both go to the consolation bracket. San Diego takes 5th and might end up with the worst record of the 5th seeds. Meanwhile Tampa Bay completely underachieved in this tournament and might finish with the worst record and the worst seed in the consolation bracket.

collegesportsfanms · 12-18-2014, 03:12 PM

OK guys, there's 5 games left in pool play, and I've finally made a decision on how to run the brackets, after a lot of thinking and a lot of mind changing, here's how it's going to be.

The 14 team consolation bracket is going to be triple elimination (I am just curious about how it works out, plus another reason that I'll mention later.)

The 16 team championship bracket will be single elimination series play. The first round and quarterfinals will be best 3 out of 5, the semifinals and championship series will be best 4 out 7.

This makes it universal in that every team will get at least 3 more games in bracket play.

I do have some rules of course. While I will not be honoring suspensions like I did in pool play, I will still be using ejections, but there will be no mandatory 1 game suspension for an ejection. Also, injuries will apply, but if a person gets injured it will only be for that game only.

Pitching rotations will for the most part stay the same, although I may change it up a little depending on rest situations. Relief pitchers will be used just like I've been using them, trying to give every relief pitcher close to the same amount of appearances if possible.

Position players: every position player on every team must start at least 1 game. In the game they start, they must get an official at-bat (which means if their first AB is a walk, sacrifice, HBP, they have to bat for a second time, and so on). And, during that start, each position player must play in the field a minimum of 4 innings.

With these rules it'll be interesting to see how things shape out.

collegesportsfanms · 12-20-2014, 07:46 PM

Pool D, Round 10

Boston- 4, NY Mets- 3 -- Carlos Delgado led the scoring in the bottom of the 1st with a 2 run homer for the Mets, but Kevin Youkilis answered with a 2 run homer for Boston in the top of the 2nd. David Ortiz got an RBI groundout in the top of the 5th to give Boston a 3-2 lead, and both teams got a run in the 6th, but that was it for the scoring as Mike Timlin and Jonathan Papelbon shut down the Mets in the 8th and 9th.

Florida- 6, Pittsburgh- 2 -- Despite 2 errors, the Marlins spread out 13 hits, getting a hit in every inning but the 8th. 4 pitchers combined to shut down Pittsburgh after the 2nd inning, as the Pirates finish pool play 0-10.

San Francisco- 8, Cleveland- 7 -- This game was wild, as Cleveland started strong, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings, but San Francisco got 5 in the 3rd, the big blow coming on a 3 run homer from Aaron Rowand. Both teams batted around in the 5th, adding 3 runs, but nobody could get anything across after that as San Francisco relievers allowed just 3 runners in the last 4 innings.

Final Pool D standings:

1. Boston 8-2 (+16)

2. Cleveland 7-3 (+9)

3. San Francisco 6-4 (-1)

4. Florida 5-5 (-3)

5. NY Mets 4-6 (+5)

6. Pittsburgh 0-10 (-26)

So Boston wins the pool and has clinched the top seed in the championship bracket with their 8-2 record, as the winner of Pool E will have a record of no better than 7-3. Cleveland gets 2nd place and clinches the 6th seed in the championship bracket with their 7-3 record, as no other 2nd place finisher has a chance to finish 7-3. San Francisco gets 3rd place thanks to their win over Cleveland in round 10, and with their 6-4 record can do no worse than the 12th seed in the championship bracket, since only the team taking 3rd in pool E can finish with a 6-4 record and a better point differential than the Giants. Florida gets 4th place but their 5-5 record puts them out of wildcard contention. They are locked into the championship bracket. The Mets take 5th and that point differential is the best of the 4-6 teams, but there is a 5-5 5th place team in the mix. And lowly Pittsburgh has done the opposite of Boston, in that they have clinched the lowest (14th) seed in the consolation bracket with their 0-10 pool play finish. They'll have 3 chances to get their first win of the tournament.

collegesportsfanms · 12-25-2014, 10:48 AM

Pool E, Round 10

Milwaukee- 5, Philadelphia- 1 -- The Brewers scored 3 runs in the first and added 1 in the 2nd and 1 in the 5th. David Bush went 8 1/3 innings for Milwaukee, finally giving up a run in the top of the 9th, as the Phillies' implosion continues.

Baltimore- 6, LA Dodgers- 4 -- It looked good for the Dodgers early on as they batted around in the bottom of the 2nd, scoring 4 runs. Baltimore got 3 of those runs back in the top of the 3rd, then tied the game in the 5th. In the 6th, Baltimore manufactured 2 runs to take a 6-4 lead and the game ended that way. LA had just 6 baserunners in the last 7 innings. Radhames Liz pitched 5 innings for Baltimore. After his disasterous 2nd inning, he allowed just 1 baserunner in his last 3 innings of work.

Atlanta- 2, Arizona- 1 (10 innings) -- Kelly Johnson batted in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th with a bases loaded single in this incredible pitchers duel to finish off pool play.

Final Pool E standings:

1. Philadelphia 6-4 (+18)

2. Baltimore 6-4 (+5)

3. LA Dodgers 5-5 (-1)

4. Milwaukee 5-5 (-8)

5. Arizona 4-6 (-12)

6. Atlanta 4-6 (-2)

Despite losing their last 3 games, the Phillies back into the Pool E title thanks to tiebreakers. Since Baltimore beat the Dodgers in round 10, the Phillies had a tiebreaker with Baltimore. They split their meetings, but Philly won their meeting by 2, while Baltimore only won by 1, so Philly gets the Pool E title and a surprising Baltimore finishes second. We also had a tiebreaker for 3rd place, between the Dodgers and Milwaukee. This one was much easier to solve, as the Dodgers wept Milwaukee, giving them 3rd place in Pool E and a trip to the championship bracket. Milwaukee goes to the consolation bracket with their 5-5 record. Despite Atlanta beating Arizona in the final game of pool play, it wasn't enough. Arizona won the first meeting by 2, while Atlanta only won by 1, so Arizona takes 5th, Atlanta 6th, both to consolation bracket.

collegesportsfanms · 12-25-2014, 11:08 AM

Now what you've all been waiting for.. the seedings for the championship and consolation brackets. First, the championship bracket.

1- Boston

2- St. Louis

3- Philadelphia

4- Toronto

5- Washington

6- Cleveland

7- NY Yankees

8- Baltimore

9- Minnesota

10- Seattle

11- Colorado

12- San Francisco

13- LA Angels

14- Detroit

15- LA Dodgers

16- Texas

First Round series matchups:

(16) Texas vs. (1) Boston

(9) Minnesota vs. (8) Baltimore

(12) San Francisco vs. (5) Washington

(13) LA Angels vs. (4) Toronto

(11) Colorado vs. (6) Cleveland

(14) Detroit vs. (3) Philadelphia

(10) Seattle vs. (7) NY Yankees

(15) LA Dodgers vs. (2) St. Louis

I had to make a couple adjustments to the original seedings, otherwise we would have had 3 first round series between teams in the same pool. Of the group winners, I had to swap Toronto and Washington. With both having a 6-4 record, Washington actually had the better run differential which would have had them seeded 4th and taking on the LA Angels in the first round, both from Pool A. I also had to swap Colorado and San Francisco in the 3rd place finishers. San Francisco had the better point differential between them and Colorado, but that would have put them as the 11th seed taking on Cleveland in the first round, both coming from Pool D. I thought there was a third switch I had to make, but I can't seem to recall it now. Oh well, on to the consolation bracket seedings!

1- Chicago White Sox

2- Florida

3- Cincinnati

4- Milwaukee

5- Oakland

6- NY Mets

7- Kansas City

8- Arizona

9- San Diego

10- Atlanta

11- Chicago Cubs

12- Houston

13- Tampa Bay

14- Pittsburgh

The White Sox and Florida get byes into the next round, so here are the first round match-ups for the consolation bracket:

(9) San Diego vs. (8) Arizona- winner plays (1) Chicago White Sox

(12) Houston vs. (5) Oakland

(13) Tampa Bay vs. (4) Milwaukee

(14) Pittsburgh vs. (3) Cincinnati

(11) Chicago Cubs vs. (6) New York Mets

(10) Atlanta vs. (7) Kansas City- winner plays (2) Florida

Fortunately, from what I can tell, no changes needed to be made here. Remember this is triple elimination, so it's almost a certainty that at some point, teams that played in the same pool will meet.

collegesportsfanms · 12-25-2014, 11:15 AM

Plan of attack is as follows, I will do the entire consolation bracket first, game by game. Should be about 40 games.

Then we move to what mostly everyone cares about, the championship bracket. A reminder, each series is a "best of" series. First round and Quarterfinals are Best 3 of 5, Semis and Championship Series are Best 5 of 7. Winners of each series advance, losers are done. With the 2 different formats, this guarantees every team 3 more games. With this championship bracket, I will stagger the games, meaning I will play the first game of the Texas/Boston series, then play the first game of the Minnesota/Baltimore series, until all first games are done. Then move to the second game of each series and so on, until all the series' are completed. Hopefully this won't confuse anybody.

I will also be using a different reporting format for these bracket games, consisting of a short pregame with the teams involved, then for the game report, it will be more of a quick recap like they have been, but I will also be adding in the following:

Scoring summary, detailing how every run in the game scored, plus winning and losing pitchers, and what pitcher saved the game if necessary. I won't do a full out box score unless requested. Hope you all enjoy, I know I'm excited!

collegesportsfanms · 12-25-2014, 08:51 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 1

(9) San Diego @ (8) Arizona

Pregame

These NL West foes meet for the first time in this 2008 DICE baseball tournament. San Diego took 5th place in Pool C with a 3-7 record and a -16 run differential. Their pool play was marred by an early tournament incident which saw SP Jake Peavy suspended for a number of games. Despite that, the Padres won 2 of their first 5 to remain in the hunt for the championship bracket, but lost 4 of their last 5. Arizona was 5th place in Pool E with a 4-6 record and a -12 run differential. Had Atlanta scored just 1 more run in the last game of pool play, the D-Backs would have been last in Pool E. 1 win in the second half of pool play doomed Arizona, as they finished the first half of pool play with a 3-2 record. Neither of these teams are known for a potent offense, with Arizona having a team .251 average in the actual 2008 season, and the Padres having a team .250 average. The pitching was slightly better for Arizona though.

Pitching Match-Up

Josh Banks (SD) vs. Micah Owings (ARI)

Game Report

The moral of this game? Bad hitting still trumps bad pitching every time. Forget the scouting reports that neither team had a better than .251 batting average. Arizona and San Diego combined for 20 runs and 29 hits as San Diego put up 4 spots in the 1st, 4th, and 9th innings in route to a 13-7 victory. Arizona starting pitcher Micah Owings was gone after 3 1/3, as the Padres batted around in the 1st and 4th innings, jumping out in front 9-0 going into the bottom of the 7th. Arizona would keep things interesting though, scoring 3 in the 7th and 4 in the 8th, forcing Padre closer Trevor Hoffman to start warming up. But San Diego sealed the deal in the top of the 9th scoring 4 more runs, and Hoffman sat down. Justin Germano pitched the bottom of the 9th for San Diego, giving up a walk to Chris Snyder but otherwise having no troubles. San Diego advances in the undefeated bracket and will travel to Chicago to face the top seed White Sox next, while Arizona drops to the 1 loss bracket and will face an opponent TBD (either Kansas City, Atlanta, or Florida.)

WP: Josh Banks (SD)
LP: Micah Owings (ARI)

Players of the Game

San Diego- RF Brian Giles (2-5, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB)
Arizona- RF Justin Upton (3-5, 1 HR, 5 RBI)

Scoring Summary

Top 1st- 0 out, Kevin Kouzmanoff singles, scoring Jody Gerut (1-0 SD)
1 out, Edgar Gonzalez singles, scoring Brian Giles (2-0 SD)
Nick Hundley singles, scoring Kouzmanoff and Adrian Gonzalez (4-0 SD)

Top 4th- 1 out, Kouzmanoff singles, scoring Gerut, and error on Justin Upton allows Giles and Kouzmanoff to score (7-0 SD)
Edgar Gonzalez grounds out to catcher, scoring Adrian Gonzalez (8-0 SD)

Top 5th- 0 out, Gerut doubles, scoring Luis Rodriguez (9-0 SD)

Bot 7th- 1 out, Justin Upton homers, scoring Augie Ojeda, Orlando Hudson, and Upton (9-3 SD)

Bot 8th- 0 out, Chris Snyder doubles, scoring Mark Reynolds and Conor Jackson (9-5 SD)
1 out, Upton singles, scoring Ojeda and Hudson (9-7 SD)

Top 9th- 1 out, Brian Giles hits Grand Slam, scoring Sean Kazmar, Rodriguez, Gerut, and Giles (13-7 SD)

collegesportsfanms · 12-30-2014, 09:26 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 2

(12) Houston @ (5) Oakland

Pitching Match-Up

Shawn Chacon (HOU) vs. Dana Eveland (OAK)

Pregame

The Astros finished 6th place in Pool A with a 4-6 record and -7 run differential. They got off to a bad start in pool play by losing their first 4 games before winning 4 of their last 6, so they are on a bit of a hot streak right now even though they lost by 5 in their last pool game against Washington. Oakland finished in 5th place in pool B, the victim of a 4 team tiebreaker in which all the tiebreakers went against them, from the 4 team tiebreak, then the 3 team tiebreak, then the head to head tiebreak. They are the only 5th place team to finish with a 5-5 record, and they had a -5 run differential and beat Detroit easily in their last pool game to give themselves a chance at the championship bracket, but again, tiebreakers got them. Houston has a better batting average, but a worse ERA, so this game is really pretty even, and the pitching match-up doesn't really help me make a prediction in this one.

Game Report

For 8 innings, the Astros pitching staff held Oakland to 3 hits. Then came the 9th, in which Oakland mounted a rally after being down 5-0. Geoff Geary started the 9th for Houston and struggled, giving up a single and a walk before getting a pop up and a line drive. Oakland turned to their bench, calling on Gregorio Petit, who walked. Oakland went to the bench again, and with the bases load, Jack Hannahan unloaded them with a 2 out, 3 RBI double. Having no choice, Houston went to closer Jose Valverde to try and get that final out. All it took was 1 batter, as Valverde got Mark Ellis to fly out to center field and Houston, after leading 5-3 going into the bottom of the 9th, had to hold on for a 5-3 win. Oakland ended up with 6 hits in the game, they had as many hits in the 9th as they did in the first 8 innings combined, but it wasn't enough. Houston advances to take on the Milwaukee/Tampa Bay winner, while Oakland goes to the 1 loss bracket and takes on the loser of the Milwaukee/Tampa Bay game.

WP: Shawn Chacon (HOU)
LP: Dana Eveland (OAK)
SV: Jose Valverde (HOU)

Players of the Game

Houston- SP Shawn Chacon (7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K)
Oakland- PH Jack Hannahan (1-1, 2B, 3 RBI)

Scoring Summary

Top 2nd- 1 out, Geoff Blum grounds to second, scoring Brad Ausmus (1-0 HOU)
Miguel Tejada singles, scoring Hunter Pence (2-0 HOU)

Top 7th- 1 out, Miguel Tejada homers, scoring Tejada (3-0 HOU)
2 outs, Carlos Lee homers, scoring Ty Wigginton and Lee (5-0 HOU)

Bot 9th- 2 outs, Jack Hannahan doubles, scoring Aaron Cunningham, Kurt Suzuki, and Hannahan (5-3 HOU)

collegesportsfanms · 12-31-2014, 07:43 AM

Consolation Bracket Game 3

(13) Tampa Bay @ (4) Milwaukee

Pitching Match-Up

Jason Hammel (TB) vs. Manny Parra (MIL)

Pregame

Tampa Bay finished in 6th place in Pool C with a 2-8 record and -27 run differential, but don't let that fool you. Tampa Bay was one of the best teams in baseball in the 2008 season, and definitely underachieved so far in this tournament. Now is their chance to turn it around. Milwaukee finished in 4th place in Pool E with a 5-5 record and -8 run differential. They fell to 4th place thanks to a tiebreaker with the Dodgers. Both teams were 5-5, but the Dodgers won both games against Milwaukee. The Brewers also a strong team, in fact this matchup really should be taking place in the consolation bracket rather than the championship bracket, but that's how things go. Milwaukee holds a bit of an edge as far as the pitching match-up goes, but Tampa Bay was a slightly better hitting team. This should be a heck of a game.

Game Report

The struggles for Tampa Bay continued as the lack of a true long reliever showed in this one. Jason Hammel, with a stamina of 19, had to pitch to 27 batters and by the end was throwing nothing more than batting practice. Milwaukee got things started early by batting around in the 1st inning and scoring 4 runs, then finally knocking Hammel out of the game after scoring 3 more against him in the 5th inning. Had Tampa Bay had a long reliever to go to, Hammel wouldn't have even pitched the 5th inning. But it didn't stop there. Chad Bradford, who has a control of 80, pitched the 7th inning for Tampa Bay, but got rocked, giving up 3 runs, again due to a short Tampa Bay bullpen. The final result: a 12-6 Milwaukee win in which they had 4 home runs. The Brewers move on in the undefeated bracket and will face Houston in the next round, while Tampa Bay and their short bullpen fall to the 1 loss bracket and will face Oakland next.

WP: Manny Parra (MIL)
LP: Jason Hammel (TB)

Players of the Game

Tampa Bay- 3B Evan Longoria (3-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI)
Milwaukee- CF Mike Cameron (3-3, 2 BB, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI)

Scoring Summary

Top 1st- 2 out, Evan Longoria singles, scoring Jason Bartlett (1-0 TB)

Bot 1st- 0 out, Prince Fielder singles, scoring Ray Durham (1-1 tie)
Russell Branyan doubles, scoring Gabe Kapler and Ryan Braun (3-1 MIL)
2 out, Mike Cameron walks, scoring Fielder (4-1 MIL)

Bot 3rd- 0 out, Mike Rivera homers, scoring Rivera (5-1 MIL)

Top 4th- 0 out, Longoria doubles, scoring Ben Zobrist (5-2 MIL)
1 out, Rocco Baldelli homers, scoring Longoria and Baldelli (5-4 MIL)

Top 5th- 2 out, Longoria doubles, scoring Mike Difelice and Bartlett (6-5 TB)

Bot 5th- 0 out, Branyan homers, scoring Branyan (6-6 tie)
2 out, Cameron homers, scoring J.J. Hardy and Cameron (8-6 MIL)

Bot 6th- 2 out, Rivera singles, scoring Kapler (9-6 MIL)

Bot 7th- 1 out, Cameron homers, scoring Cameron (10-6 MIL)
2 out, Branyan singles, scoring Kapler and Braun (12-6 MIL)

collegesportsfanms · 01-01-2015, 09:46 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 4

(14) Pittsburgh @ (3) Cincinnati

Pitching Match-up

Tom Gorzelanny (PIT) vs. Johnny Cueto (CIN)

Pregame

Another game involving teams which in reality play in the same division. In this case, both teams are in the NL Central. Pittsburgh is still looking for their first win of the tournament, finishing 6th in pool D with an 0-10 record and a -26 run differential. It's not all bad though, as the Pirates only lost by an average of 2.6 runs a game, and their worst loss was their opening loss, 10-4 to Boston. They've had 3 games where they've only lost by 1 run, so if they can put it together, they can get a few wins in this triple elimination bracket. Cincinnati finished 4th in Pool A with a 5-5 record and a -8 run differential. They lost their last pool game to Kansas City, then lost a tiebreaker to the LA Angels for 3rd place in the pool, as the Angels and Reds split their 2 games, but the Angels won their game by more runs. If not for that loss to Kansas City to end pool play, Cincinnati would have been in the championship bracket. Neither starting pitcher is going to wow you with their stuff, so I wouldn't be surprised if this game turned into a slugfest. However, with the Reds having a .247 batting average in the actual 2008 season, this is another case where we have bad pitching against bad hitting.

Game Report

This was not the game for Pittsburgh to break their losing streak, as 3 Pirate errors contributed to 4 Cincinnati unearned runs. Well, technically only 3 unearned runs, as the last error came from Pirate reliever Tyler Yates which allowed a run to score, and I believe for official scoring purposes, since the error was on the pitcher, that makes the run earned. Never mind all that, Pittsburgh was still let down by their defense, as well as 2 timely home runs for the Reds, both coming off the Pittsburgh bullpen, which led to an 11-6 Cincinnati win. While neither starting pitcher was incredibly sharp (both only lasted 5 innings), the Reds bullpen allowed no runs in the last 4 innings, while the Pirate bullpen allowed 6 runs in the last 4 innings. The offense was still on display though, as I thought it might be, as the teams combined for 24 hits. Cincinnati advances in the undefeated bracket to take on the winner of the NY Met/Chicago Cubs game, while Pittsburgh stays winless in the tournament and will drop to the 1 loss bracket and take on the NY Mets/Chicago Cubs loser.

WP: Gary Majewski (CIN)
LP: Ross Ohlendorf (PIT)

Players of the Game

Pittsburgh- C Ryan Doumit (3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI)
Cincinnati- CF Ryan Freel (2-4, 1 HBP, 1 2B, 3 RBI)

Scoring Summary

Bot 1st- 1 out, Edwin Encarnacion singles, scoring Ryan Freel (1-0 CIN)
Chris Dickerson flies out to deep left field, scoring Jerry Hairston (2-0 CIN)

Top 3rd- 1 out, Johnny Cueto throws wild pitch, scoring Nyjer Morgan (2-1 CIN)
2 out, Ryan Doumit doubles, scoring Adam LaRoche and Nate McLouth (3-2 PIT)

Bot 4th- 1 out, Ryan Freel doubles, scoring Chris Dickerson, Paul Bako, and Jay Bruce (5-3 CIN)

Top 5th- 2 out, Jason Michaels homers, scoring McLouth, Doumit, and Michaels (6-5 PIT)

Bot 6th- 2 out, Hairston homers, scoring Bruce, Freel, and Hairston (8-6 CIN)

Bot 7th- 1 out, Paul Janish grounds out to third base, scoring Dickerson (9-6 CIN)

Bot 8th- 0 out, Bruce homers, scoring Bruce (10-6 CIN)
2 out, Tyler Yates error on pickoff attempt scores Votto (11-6 CIN)

collegesportsfanms · 01-02-2015, 11:24 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 5

(11) Chicago Cubs @ (6) New York Mets

Pitching Match-Up

Jason Marquis (CHC) vs. John Maine (NYM)

Pregame

A match of 2 teams that definitely underachieved in pool play. In reality, in the actual 2008 season, the Cubs won the NL Central and the Mets were 2nd in the NL East. In this tournament, they are relegated to the consolation bracket. The Cubs finished in 6th place in Pool B with a 4-6 record and a -5 run differential, losing their last 4 games in pool play after being 4-2 after 6 games. The Mets finished 5th in Pool D with a 4-6 record and a +5 run differential, but also had the advantage of having Pittsburgh in their pool. They did the opposite of the Cubs in pool play, losing 4 of their first 5 before winning 3 of their last 5, and their only 2 losses in the second half of pool play were by 1 run each. The Cubs, statistically, are the better team, with a .278 team average and a 3.87 team ERA, compared to the Mets who have a .266 team batting average and 4.07 team ERA. The pitching matchup is pretty even in this one. Maine had a better ERA in the actual 2008 season, but the interesting thing about Marquis is that he actually fared a lot better against left handed hitters, which is unusually because Marquis is a righty. It'll be interesting to see if that holds true in this game, as the Mets starting lineup has 7 players that will bat left handed against Marquis.

Game Report

As has been the theme of all the consolation bracket games so far, offense trumped pitching. The Cubs got off to a great start, leading 6-2 after 3, but they would not score again for several innings. The Mets got 1 in the 4th and 3 in the 5th to tie it. Neither starting pitcher lasted through the 5th innings, as both managers decided to trust their bullpen. For the most part it paid off, as only 3 runs were scored after the 5th inning. In the top of the 8th, with southpaw Pedro Feliciano pitching for the Mets, Alfonso Soriano came off the bench to pinch hit and delivered an RBI single that gave the Cubs the lead. Chicago would add 1 in the top of the 9th, then in the bottom of the 9th, the Cubs lost control, literally. Carlos Marmol walked Fernando Tatis to open the inning, then got Brian Schneider to ground out to short, advancing Tatis to second. Sweet Lou Pinella opted to bring in Kerry Wood to finish the game, and it almost led to disaster, as Wood walked 3 batters in a row, which drove in a run for the Mets to cut the deficit to 1. Wood settled down though, getting Angel Pagan to line to center and Jose Reyes to pop up to third, as the Cubs break their losing streak by surviving to win 8-7! The Cubs advance in the undefeated bracket and will take on Cincinnati in the next round, while the Mets drop to the 1 loss bracket and will face Pittsburgh.

WP: Jeff Samardzija (CHC)
LP: Pedro Feliciano (NYM)

Players of the Game

Chicago Cubs- SS Ryan Theriot (3-5, 1 BB, 1 SB, 1 3B, 3 RBI)
New York Mets- 2B Luis Castillo (2-3, 2 BB, 1 2B, 3 RBI)

Scoring Summary

Bot 1st- 2 out, Carlos Delgado homers, scoring David Wright and Delgado (2-0 NYM)

Top 2nd- 2 out, Ryan Theriot triples, scoring Mark DeRosa, Mike Fontenot, and Micah Hoffpauir (3-2 CHC)
Ronny Cedeno singles, scoring Theriot (4-2 CHC)

Top 3rd- 2 out, Reed Johnson singles, scoring Geovany Soto (5-2 CHC)
Cedeno walks, scoring Hoffpauir (6-2 CHC)

Bot 4th- 2 out, Luis Castillo doubles, scoring Fernando Tatis (6-3 CHC)

Bot 5th- 0 out, Brian Schneider doubles, scoring Wright and Delgado (6-5 CHC)
1 out, Castillo singles, scoring Tatis (6-6 tie)

Top 8th- 2 out, Alfonso Soriano singles, scoring Theriot (7-6 CHC)

Top 9th- 2 out, Johnson doubles, scoring Fontenot (8-6 CHC)

Bot 9th- 1 out, Castillo walks, scoring Tatis (8-7 CHC)

collegesportsfanms · 01-05-2015, 06:29 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 6

(10) Atlanta @ (7) Kansas City

Pitching Match-up

Jo-Jo Reyes (ATL) vs. Luke Hochevar (KC)

Pregame

I'm going to have fun with this one, as Kansas City and Atlanta are 2 of my favorite teams. I became an Atlanta fan in the 90's when they made those great World Series runs, and who can forget that pitching staff: Glavine, Smoltz, Maddux, Avery, Leibrandt, just to name a few. Unfortunately that was the 90's, and this tournament is being held with the 2008 teams, and Atlanta has fallen mightily since then. They finished 6th (last) in Pool E, with a 4-6 record and a -2 run differential. They were in a tie for 5th with Arizona, and since both teams won a game in the series, Arizona got the 5th seed based on the fact they won their game by 2 runs while Atlanta won theirs by 1. A 3 game losing streak in pool play (games 7,8,9) cost them a better seed. They lost those 3 games by a grand total of 4 runs. Hard luck for the Braves. Kansas City finished 5th in Pool A with a 4-6 record and a +2 run differential. They were in a 5th place tiebreaker with Houston, again both teams won a game in the head to head series. Kansas City won theirs by 3, Houston won theirs by 1, so the Royals got 5th place. For them to even be in that spot was a miracle, as they had to win their last 3 games. At one time they had a 1-6 record. They come into this game on that 3 game winning streak. Statistically, both teams are about as even as you can get. Team batting average is .269 for KC, .270 for Atlanta. Team ERA is 4.50 for KC, 4.47 for Atlanta. The pitching match-up probably favors Kansas City, as Hochevar (if I recall) was a star pitcher at Tennessee, but it didn't translate into the pro game. This game also has the makings to be a slugfest.

Game Report

Catchers usually aren't known for their speed or base stealing ability, so when Kansas City catcher Miguel Olivo led off the bottom of the 4th inning with a single then promptly stole second base, Atlanta starter Jo-Jo Reyes had no idea what to think. What he should have been thinking was that his time in this game was about over. The Royals batted around in the 4th, sending 10 men to the plate getting 6 runs and 7 hits in the inning. As for Reyes? Well he was able to get 1 out in the inning before being chased. That 6 run inning for the Royals was more than enough, as Kansas City went on to an 8-3 win. This was big for the Royals in another sense, as they were able to use Jimmy Gobble on the mound in the 9th inning. Gobble is rarely used, thanks to his almost 9 ERA in the actual 2008 season, but he pitched the entire 9th inning tonight, giving up a meaningless home run. The Royals had 13 hits in the game, with 7 of those coming in that fateful 4th inning and 4 more coming in the 7th inning when they scored their other 2 runs. Those 2 innings were enough, but Kansas City knows they'll need to spread it around in future games, as they advance in the undefeated bracket and will take on Florida next, while Atlanta drops to the 1 loss bracket and will take on the Chicago White Sox-San Diego loser. Meanwhile, Arizona, who lost the first game of this tournament and had 3 potential opponents to play next, has had that narrowed down to 2, as they will take on the loser of the Kansas City-Florida game in the 1 loss bracket. That completes the first round of the undefeated bracket. Next up, the undefeated bracket quarterfinals.

WP: Luke Hochevar (KC)
LP: Jo-Jo Reyes (ATL)

Players of the Game

Atlanta- SS Yunel Escobar (2-4, 1 HBP, 1 HR, 1 RBI)
Kansas City- LF Mark Teahen (2-3, 1 HBP, 2 RBI)

Scoring Summary

Top 3rd- 2 out, Greg Norton singles, scoring Josh Anderson and Yunel Escobar (2-0 ATL)

Bot 4th- 0 out, Alberto Callaspo singles, scoring Miguel Olivo (2-1 ATL)
Mitch Maier hits into fielders choice, scoring Jose Guillen (2-2 tie)
1 out, Mike Aviles triples, scoring Callaspo and Maier (4-2 KC)
Mark Grudzielanek doubles, scoring Aviles (5-2 KC)
Ryan Shealy doubles, scoring Grudzielanek (6-2 KC)

Bot 7th- 2 out, Mark Teahen singles, scoring David Dejesus and Olivo (8-2 KC)

Top 9th- 2 out, Yunel Escobar homers, scoring Escobar (8-3 KC)

collegesportsfanms · 01-11-2015, 08:19 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 7

(9) San Diego @ (1) Chicago White Sox

Pitching Match-up

Shawn Estes (SD) vs. Jose Contreras (CWS)

Pregame

The Padres beat Arizona 13-7 to open up this tournament, and will be looking to keep the bats hot. The White Sox are playing their first game after having a bye in the first round. They finished 4th in Pool B with a 5-5 record and a +17 run differential. They were involved in a 4 way tie for second, and lost that tiebreaker, then lost the 3 team tiebreaker for third place. The 4th place tiebreaker came down to the White Sox and Oakland. While the White Sox beat Oakland by 8, Oakland only beat the White Sox by 1. Of course, Chicago wouldn't have even been in a tiebreaker situation had they not won their last 2 games by 8 runs a piece. The lineup is set for success, with Estes being a southpaw for San Diego, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has 7 right handed hitters and 1 switch hitter in the lineup. The only left handed hitter probably won't have much success at the plate, but 8 out of 9 are good odds. With that in mind, the pitching matchup should definitely favor the guys from Chi Town.

Game Report

The strategy was good for the White Sox. Load up on right handed hitters and take batting practice on San Diego starting pitcher Shawn Estes. The problem was the execution. After a first inning which saw Chicago get a run on 3 hits off Estes, he and 2 relievers combined to shut out the White Sox the rest of the game on just 4 more hits. On the other hand, San Diego stayed hot, getting 15 hits, and putting the game away with 5 runs in the last 4 innings. The result of this? A 9-1 San Diego win. The irony of this win? After defeating their last 2 opponents by 8 runs, the White Sox were defeated by 8 runs themselves tonight. Margins of 8 seem to be a trend for Ozzie Guillen's team. San Diego moves on in the undefeated bracket and will take on the Houston-Milwaukee winner in an undefeated bracket semifinal. Regardless of who wins that game, San Diego will be hosting the winner since they haven't had a home game yet, and both Houston and Milwaukee will have. Not sure if I mentioned it or not, but every team in this consolation bracket is guaranteed at least 1 home game. The White Sox, on the other hand, will have to get over this one, as they travel to Atlanta next to take on the Braves in the 1 loss bracket.

WP: Shawn Estes (SD)
LP: Jose Contreras (CWS)

Players of the Game

San Diego- CF Will Venable (5-6, 2 2B, 3 RBI)
Chicago White Sox- 1B Paul Konerko (1-4, 1 RBI)

Scoring Summary

Top 1st- 2 out, Chase Headley doubles, scoring Kevin Kouzmanoff and Adrian Gonzalez (2-0 SD)

Bot 1st- 2 out, Paul Konerko singles, scoring Toby Hall (2-1 SD)

Top 3rd- 1 out, A. Gonzalez singles, scoring Will Venable (3-1 SD)

Top 6th- 2 out, Venable singles, scoring Scott Hairston (4-1 SD)

Top 7th- 2 out, Edgar Gonzalez singles, scoring A. Gonzalez (5-1 SD)

Top 8th- 2 out, A. Gonzalez doubles, scoring Venable and Luis Rodriguez (7-1 SD)

Top 9th- 2 out, Venable doubles, scoring Hairston and Josh Bard (9-1 SD)

StLee · 01-11-2015, 09:05 PM

That's three big upsets so far in the consolation bracket: Houston, the Cubs, and now San Diego over the top seed.

I'm curious to see how this works out. I might change some of my tournaments in my OOTP dynasty ( Tournament of Champions: Promotion, Relegation, and Forced Relocation - OOTP Developments Forums) to match it. I am looking for a few dynamic changes to just simple series tournaments. My Spring Bowl could maybe use the triple elimination treatment.

collegesportsfanms · 01-12-2015, 01:53 PM

StLee, thanks for posting. Yea I was a bit disappointed, as Kansas City, Atlanta, and the Cubs are probably my 3 favorite teams, and all of them ended up in the consolation bracket. So far my tournament definitely has not mirrored how the actual 2008 season went, with Tampa Bay, the Cubs and the Mets all in consolation games. I'm enjoying doing this, and I'm glad somebody is following it.

I'll have to check out your dynasty in the ootp forums. I may have looked at it once thinking it was a dynasty involving real teams and players, then never got back to it. I'll definitely check it out though.

StLee · 01-12-2015, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by collegesportsfanms

StLee, thanks for posting. Yea I was a bit disappointed, as Kansas City, Atlanta, and the Cubs are probably my 3 favorite teams, and all of them ended up in the consolation bracket. So far my tournament definitely has not mirrored how the actual 2008 season went, with Tampa Bay, the Cubs and the Mets all in consolation games. I'm enjoying doing this, and I'm glad somebody is following it.

I'll have to check out your dynasty in the ootp forums. I may have looked at it once thinking it was a dynasty involving real teams and players, then never got back to it. I'll definitely check it out though.

Lots of real players, but no real teams.

collegesportsfanms · 01-14-2015, 10:12 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 8

(4) Milwaukee @ (12) Houston

Pitching Match-Up

Yovani Gallardo (MIL) vs. Runelvys Hernandez (HOU)

Pregame

Milwaukee won their first game 12-6 and the bats came to life. Houston won their first game 5-3, relying on pitching. This will be an interesting match-up of NL Central opponents. Well, at the time Houston was in the NL Central, as we know, now they are in the AL West. The Astros were a decent team in 2008, but Milwaukee had more star power. The pitching match-up definitely favors Milwaukee. Even though Gallardo only made 4 starts in the 2008 season, his 1.88 ERA gives him an incredible 79 control rating, while Hernandez has just a 30 control rating, as he had an 8.38 ERA in his 4 starts. However, as we know, anything can happen with the roll of the dice.

Game Report

This game went the way I thought it would for the first 5 innings, as Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo had a no-hitter going through the first 5 innings. Houston got to him in the sixth inning however, as they hit 2 homers accounting for 3 runs. Milwaukee still led going to the bottom of the 8th, and Gallardo was finally replaced with 1 out in the 8th. Seth McClung came in with a runner on first and promptly gave up a double to Carlos Lee. Milwaukee right fielder Corey Hart misplayed the ball, and not only did the runner at second score, but so did Lee. This led to a bit of a meltdown as McClung gave up another run, and by the time the damage was done, Houston came all the way back from a 4-0 deficit to win 6-4, wasting the good effort by Gallardo. Nobody feels worse than Hart does, as it was the only error of the game, but it led to the game winning run for the Astros. Neither team really pounded the cover off the ball, as both teams had 7 hits each. Walks were a problem however. The teams combined for 12 base on balls in the game. So Houston, with their comeback victory, will travel to San Diego for an undefeated bracket semifinal. Milwaukee will have to recover from this loss as they will take on the winner of the Pittsburgh/New York Mets game in the 1 loss bracket. More than likely it will be the Mets, but who knows?

WP: Doug Brocail (HOU)
LP: Seth McClung (MIL)

Players of the Game

Milwaukee- SS J.J. Hardy (2-4, 2 RBI)
Houston- 1B Lance Berkman (2-3, 1 BB, 1 HR, 1 RBI)

Scoring Summary

Top 1st- 2 out, Mike Cameron walks, scoring Russell Branyan (1-0 MIL)
J.J. Hardy singles, scoring Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun (3-0 MIL)

Top 6th- 0 out, Rickie Weeks flies out to deep right field, scoring Hardy (4-0 MIL)

Bot 6th- 0 out, Miguel Tejada homers, scoring Michael Bourn and Tejada (4-2 MIL)
1 out, Lance Berkman homers, scoring Berkman (4-3 MIL)

Bot 8th- 1 out, Carlos Lee doubles, scoring Tejada, followed by a Corey Hart error allowing Lee to score (5-4 HOU)
2 out, Humberto Quintero walks, scoring Berkman (6-4 HOU)

collegesportsfanms · 01-16-2015, 12:34 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 9

(3) Cincinnati @ (11) Chicago Cubs

Pitching Match-Up

Homer Bailey (CIN) vs. Rich Hill (CHC)

Pregame

Cincinnati is playing their second straight game against an NL Central opponent after taking care of Pittsburgh in their first game, while the Cubs ran by a very good New York Mets team in their first game. Chicago has a much better offense than Cincinnati, but the pitching match-up in this one doesn't leave a lot to be desired. Bailey had a 7.93 ERA in the 2008 season, while Rich Hill had a 4.12 ERA. The problem with Hill is that his stamina rating is only 18.. so he's only good for 2 trips through the lineup without losing any control. If he gets in any kind of trouble, he may not make it 3 innings, let alone 5. That could play to Cincinnati's advantage. The Cubs will have to hope the offense is sharp tonight, as I expect a lot of runs to cross the plate in this one.

Game Report

As I thought, this was a wild one, lots of offense. As I also thought, it would be a short outing for Rich Hill, who lasted just 2 innings of work. In those 2 innings he gave up 8 runs, but with only 1 long reliever available for the Cubs, it was imperative to get him through at least 2. With the Cubs down 8-0 after 2 innings, they had to rely on the bullpen to get the job done.. and the bullpen came through giving up just 2 runs the rest of the game. Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey got through 5 innings, giving up 5 runs, but the Cincinnati bullpen wasn't nearly as sharp, giving up 2 in the 6th and 3 in the 7th to tie the game at 10 going into extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, Micah Hoffpauir led off the inning with a double, but Francisco Cordero and Bill Bray combined to get the next 2 Cub hitters out. Cubs manager Lou Pinella went into panic mode, knowing his bullpen was down to Kevin Hart, who has a 30 control and would rather not be used in pressure situations. Had we gone to an 11th inning, it would have been Hart's game which could have spelled disaster. But it never got that far, as Kosuke Fukudome doubled to right as Red's right fielder Jerry Hairston just missed a sensational diving catch, but the ball got down and the Cubs, down 8-0 after 2, completed a miracle comeback, winning 11-10 in 10 innings! The Cubs will get some time to rest and recover as the undefeated bracket gets a break for a few games (after 1 more quarterfinal of course), but they will take on the Kansas City-Florida winner in an undefeated bracket semifinal. Location TBD. That is game 22 on the bracket. Cincinnati also gets a bit of a break, as they will play in game 16, but will have to mentally recover after blowing an 8 run lead. They take on the Oakland-Tampa Bay winner, location TBD.

WP: Jeff Samardzija (CHC)
LP: Francisco Cordero (CIN)

Players of the Game

Cincinnati- 2B Brandon Phillips (2-6, 2 HR, 4 RBI)
Chicago Cubs- RF Kosuke Fukudome (3-4, 1 BB, 1 2B, 2 RBI, game winning RBI)

Also want to give consideration to Cub's 1B Derrek Lee who was 2-5 with a double, homer, and 5 RBI's. But Fukudome gets the POTG award for the game winning RBI double.

Scoring Summary

Top 1st- 0 out, Jeff Keppinger doubles, scoring Jerry Hairston (1-0 CIN)
Edwin Encarnacion homers, scoring Keppinger and Encarnacion (3-0 CIN)

Top 2nd- 1 out, Keppinger singles, scoring Hairston (4-0 CIN)
Brandon Phillips homers, scoring Keppinger, Encarnacion, and Phillips (7-0 CIN)
2 out, Chris Dickerson doubles, scoring Joey Votto (8-0 CIN)

Bot 3rd- 2 out, Derrek Lee homers, scoring Kosuke Fukudome, Mike Fontenot, and Lee (8-3 CIN)

Top 4th- 1 out, Votto singles, scoring Encarnacion (9-3 CIN)

Bot 5th- 2 out, Lee doubles, scoring Fukudome and Fontenot (9-5 CIN)

Top 6th- 1 out, Phillips homers, scoring Phillips (10-5 CIN)

Bot 6th- 0 out, Reed Johnson doubles, scoring Alfonso Soriano (10-6 CIN)
2 out, Fukudome singles, scoring Johnson (10-7 CIN)

Bot 7th- 0 out, Fontenot homers, scoring Fontenot (10-8 CIN)
2 out, Soriano homers, scoring Soriano (10-9 CIN)
Micah Hoffpauir doubles, scoring Johnson (10-10 tie)

Bot 10th- 2 out, Fukudome doubles, scoring Hoffpauir (11-10 CHC)

collegesportsfanms · 01-17-2015, 12:17 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 10

(7) Kansas City @ (2) Florida

Pitching Match-Up

Brandon Duckworth (KC) vs. Josh Johnson (FLA)

Pregame

Kansas City beat Atlanta in their first game, quite easily might I add, but they are in for a much tougher challenge tonight. Florida had a first round bye as the #2 seed. They finished in 4th place in Pool D with a 5-5 record and a -3 run differential, good enough to get them a bye in the consolation tournament. Of course it helped having Pittsburgh in their pool. The Marlins have an interesting dilemma in this consolation bracket.. with the rule that every player must start a game, get an official at-bat and play 4 innings in the field, and the Marlins having 5 catchers, this also creates a dilemma for me. Technically, the DH doesn't play in the field.. so do I give them credit for a start? Normally I would say no, but with Florida having 5 catchers, if I make all of them start a game and play 4 innings in the field, that would mean Florida would have to play 5 games. I'll have to mull over this one. Do I credit the DH with a start every game even though they don't play in the field, or do I give them credit for a start as long as they get an official AB? Anyways, back to this one, the Marlins have a weapon, who for whatever reason only played 8 games in the actual 2008 season. Cameron Maybin had a .542 average against right handers, and 00-65 on his card vs. RH are all a positive result. Combine that with his 94 speed and 93 steal rating, and he had to start this game. The Royals are going to have trouble in the sense that the pitching match-up favors Florida. Johnson's ERA is almost a full run lower than Duckworth's. However, as a team, the Royals have better bats. It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out.

Game Report

To say this was a strange game would be an understatement. The Royals jumped out early to score a run in the 1st inning off Josh Johnson. Florida responded with 2 in the 2nd, 2 in the 4th. The most interesting thing about those 4 runs? They were all scored of rolls that favored the pitcher card. Just bad luck for Duckworth. Johnson, meanwhile was almost untouched for the next 4 innings. Then in the 6th, the bad luck turned his way, as he gave up 3 runs in the 6th, and a couple of the hits in that inning for Kansas City.. well they came off the fielder range chart. So, the game was in the hands of the bullpens, who did a sensational job getting out of jams. The Marlins had a great chance to go ahead in the 8th, but Yasuhiko Yabuta worked out of a jam. The Royals had a chance to go ahead in the 9th, but Matt Lindstrom worked out of a jam. So for the second straight game, we go to extra innings. David Dejesus led off the 10th for Kansas City with a lead-off double, and Mike Aviles hit a slow ground ball to short that got Dejesus to third with 1 out. Out went Lindstrom, in came Joe Nelson, who got a strikeout and a line drive to second to get out of the jam. We moved to the bottom of the 10th, when Royals manager Trey Hillman made a very curious move (obviously it was my decision, but I wanted to include the real life managers into the game as far as decision making goes). With right handed hitter Cody Ross leading of the bottom of the 10th for Florida, Hillman elected to put southpaw Horacio Ramirez on the mound. Hillman cited Ramirez's 72 control rating as the deciding factor, as the only right hander available was Joel Peralta who has a control rating of 37. So basically, he went against the normal righty-righty percentages and trusted the dice roll to go in favor of Ramirez. It didn't, instead giving Ross the advantage. Had Peralta been in the game, it would have been a strikeout off the hitter card. But since Ramirez was in, it turned out to be a home run. As Homer Simpson says... DOH! (or something like that). So Cody Ross gave Florida the walk-off win, 5-4. Florida will move on to the undefeated bracket semifinals and take on the Chicago Cubs in game 22. Since Florida hasn't had a road game yet, they will travel to Wrigley Field for this one. Kansas City will have to shake off the bad luck of this game, as they move to the 1 loss bracket and will take on Arizona in game 14. As Arizona has not had a road game yet, they will travel to Kansas City for this one.

So that completes the undefeated bracket quarterfinals. Next up on the agenda: the first 6 games of the 1 loss bracket, followed by 4 elimination games in the 2 loss bracket. So San Diego, Houston, the Cubs, and Florida (all NL teams, how about that?) have a while to wait before they see action again.

WP: Joe Nelson (FLA)
LP: Horacio Ramirez (KC)

Players of the Game

Kansas City- SS Mike Aviles (2-5, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR)
Florida- LF Josh Willingham (3-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI)

Ross definitely got consideration for his walk-off homer, as did Cameron Maybin who was 4-5 with 2 RBI. The last few games, picking a POTG from each team has been a little tough.

Scoring Summary

Top 1st- 0 out, Alberto Callaspo singles, scoring Joey Gathright (1-0 KC)

Bot 2nd- 2 out, Josh Willingham homers, scoring John Baker and Willingham (2-1 FLA)

Bot 4th- 2 out, Cameron Maybin singles, scoring Willingham and Jeremy Hermida (4-1 FLA)

Top 6th- 1 out, Mike Aviles doubles, scoring Alex Gordon and Ryan Shealy (4-3 FLA)
Mark Teahen singles, scoring David Dejesus (4-4 tie)

Bot 10th- 0 out, Cody Ross homers, scoring Ross (5-4 FLA)

StLee · 01-17-2015, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by collegesportsfanms

Consolation Bracket Game 9

(3) Cincinnati @ (11) Chicago Cubs

Pitching Match-Up

Homer Bailey (CIN) vs. Rich Hill (CHC)

Pregame

Cincinnati is playing their second straight game against an NL Central opponent after taking care of Pittsburgh in their first game, while the Cubs ran by a very good New York Mets team in their first game. Chicago has a much better offense than Cincinnati, but the pitching match-up in this one doesn't leave a lot to be desired. Bailey had a 7.93 ERA in the 2008 season, while Rich Hill had a 4.12 ERA. The problem with Hill is that his stamina rating is only 18.. so he's only good for 2 trips through the lineup without losing any control. If he gets in any kind of trouble, he may not make it 3 innings, let alone 5. That could play to Cincinnati's advantage. The Cubs will have to hope the offense is sharp tonight, as I expect a lot of runs to cross the plate in this one.

Game Report

As I thought, this was a wild one, lots of offense. As I also thought, it would be a short outing for Rich Hill, who lasted just 2 innings of work. In those 2 innings he gave up 8 runs, but with only 1 long reliever available for the Cubs, it was imperative to get him through at least 2. With the Cubs down 8-0 after 2 innings, they had to rely on the bullpen to get the job done.. and the bullpen came through giving up just 2 runs the rest of the game. Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey got through 5 innings, giving up 5 runs, but the Cincinnati bullpen wasn't nearly as sharp, giving up 2 in the 6th and 3 in the 7th to tie the game at 10 going into extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, Micah Hoffpauir led off the inning with a double, but Francisco Cordero and Bill Bray combined to get the next 2 Cub hitters out. Cubs manager Lou Pinella went into panic mode, knowing his bullpen was down to Kevin Hart, who has a 30 control and would rather not be used in pressure situations. Had we gone to an 11th inning, it would have been Hart's game which could have spelled disaster. But it never got that far, as Kosuke Fukudome doubled to right as Red's right fielder Jerry Hairston just missed a sensational diving catch, but the ball got down and the Cubs, down 8-0 after 2, completed a miracle comeback, winning 11-10 in 10 innings! The Cubs will get some time to rest and recover as the undefeated bracket gets a break for a few games (after 1 more quarterfinal of course), but they will take on the Kansas City-Florida winner in an undefeated bracket semifinal. Location TBD. That is game 22 on the bracket. Cincinnati also gets a bit of a break, as they will play in game 16, but will have to mentally recover after blowing an 8 run lead. They take on the Oakland-Tampa Bay winner, location TBD.

WP: Jeff Samardzija (CHC)
LP: Francisco Cordero (CIN)

Players of the Game

Cincinnati- 2B Brandon Phillips (2-6, 2 HR, 4 RBI)
Chicago Cubs- RF Kosuke Fukudome (3-4, 1 BB, 1 2B, 2 RBI, game winning RBI)

Also want to give consideration to Cub's 1B Derrek Lee who was 2-5 with a double, homer, and 5 RBI's. But Fukudome gets the POTG award for the game winning RBI double.

Scoring Summary

Top 1st- 0 out, Jeff Keppinger doubles, scoring Jerry Hairston (1-0 CIN)
Edwin Encarnacion homers, scoring Keppinger and Encarnacion (3-0 CIN)

Top 2nd- 1 out, Keppinger singles, scoring Hairston (4-0 CIN)
Brandon Phillips homers, scoring Keppinger, Encarnacion, and Phillips (7-0 CIN)
2 out, Chris Dickerson doubles, scoring Joey Votto (8-0 CIN)

Bot 3rd- 2 out, Derrek Lee homers, scoring Kosuke Fukudome, Mike Fontenot, and Lee (8-3 CIN)

Top 4th- 1 out, Votto singles, scoring Encarnacion (9-3 CIN)

Bot 5th- 2 out, Lee doubles, scoring Fukudome and Fontenot (9-5 CIN)

Top 6th- 1 out, Phillips homers, scoring Phillips (10-5 CIN)

Bot 6th- 0 out, Reed Johnson doubles, scoring Alfonso Soriano (10-6 CIN)
2 out, Fukudome singles, scoring Johnson (10-7 CIN)

Bot 7th- 0 out, Fontenot homers, scoring Fontenot (10-8 CIN)
2 out, Soriano homers, scoring Soriano (10-9 CIN)
Micah Hoffpauir doubles, scoring Johnson (10-10 tie)

Bot 10th- 2 out, Fukudome doubles, scoring Hoffpauir (11-10 CHC)

Wow! Hell of a comeback for the Cubs.

collegesportsfanms · 01-19-2015, 12:15 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 11

(6) New York Mets @ (14) Pittsburgh

Pitching Match-Up

Claudio Vargas (NYM) vs. Jeff Karstens (PIT)

Pregame

This is our first game in the consolation bracket involving teams that played in the same pool. Pittsburgh gets the home game since they were on the road in their first game and the Mets were at home. Both of their pool meeting were fairly close, of course the Mets won both, but only by scores of 10-8 and 5-2, so 2 different games. As both teams are into the 1 loss bracket, it is imperative that they start some guys they wouldn't normally start, since the rule is that everybody has to qualify for at least 1 start by getting an official AB and play 4 innings in the field. Therefore, there could be a lack of offense at the bottom of the lineup for each team. For the DH, I've decided to go ahead and keep using the DH since I have all tournament, but since DH doesn't play the field, they only get credit for 1/2 a game started. I think that's a fair way to handle it. Pittsburgh is still looking for their first win of this tournament, and they've got the home field advantage in this one. The Mets have definitely underachieved so far, and are looking to right the ship here. The pitching match-up is fairly even, but overall the Pirates may have a better chance. Vargas only has a 20 stamina, and both of the Mets' long relievers are unavailable this game due to the need for rest, so Vargas is going to have to tough it out as long as he can. Now, if they can get him through 5, then they've still got enough fresh arms in the bullpen to be ok. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has 2 long relievers available in case Karstens gets into trouble early, so overall, I'm saying the pitching favors Pittsburgh. The key is who can get more out of the bottom of the lineup. To the field we go!

Game Report

After the game was over, the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrated like they had just won the World Series. It didn't matter that starting pitcher Jeff Karstens left the game with an injury in the top of the 4th, because the injury wasn't serious. What mattered more was that Karstens, Phil Dumatrait, and Denny Bautista allowed just 1 run against a very good hitting New York Mets team. Although the Mets had 10 hits in the game, clutch pitching and great defense kept them off the scoreboard until pinch hitter Brian Schneider doubled to drive in a meaningless run in the top of the 9th. The Pirate offense wasn't great, but it did enough, as the Pirates get their first win of this entire tournament, beating the New York Mets 4-1. Both teams finished the game with 10 hits, but Pittsburgh just took better advantage of their chances, and who would have known that their pitching staff would hold New York in check like they did? Certainly not this guy. As a result of their win, the Pirates will stay in the 1 loss bracket and be rewarded with a game against another NL central foe, as they'll face Milwaukee in game 15, meaning a short turnaround. With the rule that each team must play a home game and a road game, since Milwaukee has only had a home game so far, this game will be played in Pittsburgh. The Mets, meanwhile, continue to struggle and underachieve in this tournament, but have 1 more chance in this triple elimination bracket. They do fall to the 2 loss bracket and will take on the Arizona/Kansas City loser in game 17. That will be an elimination game, location TBD.

WP: Phil Dumatrait (PIT)
LP: Claudio Vargas (NYM)

Players of the Game

New York Mets- PH Brian Schneider (1-1, 1 2B, 1 RBI)

Hard to give it to anybody else considering Schneider came off the bench (which is always tough anyways) and delivered a pinch hit RBI double to break the shutout.

Pittsburgh- RF Brandon Moss (3-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI)

Also give a lot of credit to Phil Dumatrait, who came on after the injury to Jeff Karstens, pitched 5 innings, and allowed no runs. He was huge.

Scoring Summary

Bot 4th- 1 out, Freddy Sanchez doubles, scoring Nate McLouth (1-0 PIT)

Bot 5th- 1 out, Doug Mientkiewicz triples, scoring Luis Cruz (2-0 PIT)

Bot 8th- 1 out, Brandon Moss homers, scoring Ryan Doumit and Moss (4-0 PIT)

Top 9th- 2 out, Brian Schneider doubles, scoring Nick Evans (4-1 PIT)

collegesportsfanms · 01-28-2015, 12:31 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 12

(5) Oakland @ (13) Tampa Bay

Pitching Match-Up

Gio Gonzalez (OAK) vs. Scott Kazmir (TB)

Pregame

Both teams come into this game after tough losses in their opening game of the consolation bracket. In Tampa Bay's case, their lack of a long reliever got their pitching staff shelled. Oakland on the other hand, gave up clutch hits at the wrong time in their loss to Houston. The pitching matchup is a good one, with 2 left handers battling it out. On the surface, it would look like Kazmir and his 63 control would have the advantage of Gonzalez and his 30 control. For Tampa Bays sake, they better hope Kazmir is on it today because their bullpen is toast! Both teams have the lineup stacked with players that hit southpaws well, including a fair amount of left handed hitters in the lineup. I've always been of the mindset that if you're a good hitter, you can hit off both left and right handed pitchers. Both of these managers today seem to agree. The key is going to be how Gonzalez comes out. He's got to stay on par with Kazmir.

Game Report

Offense took a back seat in this one, as both starting pitchers were sharp, as well as the bullpens. There were 10 hits total in this game, a far cry from some of our other games where a single team has more than 10 hits in a game! Tampa Bay struck early and relied on Kazmir to keep Oakland in check, and that he did, pitching into the 8th inning before he finally gave way to J.P. Howell. Howell had an auspicious debut, giving up an immediate homer to Rajai Davis, but then sat the next 4 batters down in order as Tampa Bay gets a much need 3-2 win, and gives their bullpen a much needed rest. Oakland had just 3 hits in the game, 2 of those coming from Davis, but nobody else could get on track. The game really wasn't as close as the final score indicates, as Tampa Bay had chances to really blow it open, but Oakland pitchers got out of jams. With the win, Tampa Bay stays in the 1 loss bracket and will take on Cincinnati in game 16. Location TBD. The loss sends Oakland to the 2 loss bracket where they will play an elimination game against the Atlanta-Chicago White Sox loser, that will be game 18, location TBD.

WP: Scott Kazmir (TB)
LP: Gio Gonzalez (OAK)

Players of the Game

Oakland- CF Rajai Davis (2-4, 2B, HR, RBI)

Tampa Bay- SP Scott Kazmir (7 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 8 K)

Scoring Summary

Bot 2nd- 1 out, Willy Aybar homers, scoring Jonny Gomes and Aybar (2-0 TB)

Top 3rd- 2 out, Mike Sweeney singles, scoring Rajai Davis (2-1 TB)

Bot 7th- 1 out, Dioner Navarro doubles, scoring Carl Crawford (3-1 TB)

Top 8th- 2 out, Davis homers, scoring Davis (3-2 TB)

collegesportsfanms · 01-28-2015, 02:15 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 13

(1) Chicago White Sox @ (10) Atlanta

Pitching Match-Up

Clayton Richard (CHW) vs. Charlie Morton (ATL)

Pregame

The White Sox came into this bracket as the #1 seed with a very high point differential and a first round bye, but were knocked around by San Diego in their first bracket game. They will be looking to get back on the right track. Atlanta, as many have pointed out, was not very good in the actual 2008 season, and lost their opening game to Kansas City in pretty convincing fashion. The pitching matchup has drawn.. well.. no fans to the seats, as neither Richard nor Morton offered a lot in the 2008 season. Fortunately, if either starter gets knocked around, both teams have plenty of arms in the bullpen ready to come in and take over. With the way Atlanta hits the ball against southpaws, you'd think they would hold a decided advantage there, but let's get to the field to find out.

Game Report

The White Sox staff picked up right where they left off last game, as Richard gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st. Then in the second inning, Atlanta starter Charlie Morton left the game due to injury. This could have been a big moment in the game, as John Smoltz came out of the bullpen. The fans were content knowing that a former Cy Young award winner would shut down the White Sox. And he did, for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th innings. But the 2nd and 7th innings proved to be the downfall, as Smoltz gave up 7 runs in those 2 innings, finally leaving the game after giving up the last of those 7 runs. As for Richard, he settled down nicely after giving up 4 runs in the first 2 innings, facing 1 batter over the minimum in his next 3 innings of work to get through 5. He then turned it over to the bullpen and 5 White Sox relievers kept Atlanta off the scoreboard the rest of the way as Chicago gets back on the winning track by beating the Braves 7-4. Had Smoltz not wanted to play Jekyll and Hyde for 2 innings, this might have been a completely different ball game. It's disappointing as Smoltz has a 72 control, but he did see limited action in the actual 2008 season, and the dice just weren't working in his favor in this one. The White Sox advance in the 1 loss bracket and will take on the Milwaukee/Pittsburgh winner in game 23, location TBD. Atlanta drops to the 2 loss bracket where they will take on Oakland in game 18, an elimination game, location TBD. At this point, most of the home teams in each game should be decided by coin flip, as my rule was everybody has to get 1 road game and 1 home game, and I believe all 14 teams have met that requirement. I'll have to check.

WP: Adam Russell (CHW)
LP: John Smoltz (ATL)
SV: Bobby Jenks (CHW)

Players of the Game

Chicago White Sox- DH Jim Thome (3-4, RBI)
Atlanta- 2B Kelly Johnson (4-5, HR, RBI)

Scoring Summary

Bot 1st- 1 out, Matt Diaz homers, scoring Kelly Johnson and Diaz (2-0 ATL)
Brandon Jones singles, scoring Chipper Jones (3-0 ATL)

Top 2nd- 2 out, Jim Thome singles, scoring Jermaine Dye (3-1 ATL)
Nick Swisher homers, scoring Thome and Swisher (3-3 tie)

Bot 2nd- 0 out, Johnson homers, scoring Johnson (4-3 ATL)

Top 7th- 0 out, Orlando Cabrera doubles, scoring Alexei Ramirez and Thome (5-4 CHW)
A.J. Pierzynski flies out to center field, scoring Swisher (6-4 CHW)
1 out, Joe Crede doubles, scoring Cabrera (7-4 CHW)

collegesportsfanms · 02-01-2015, 06:16 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 14

(8) Arizona @ (7) Kansas City

Pitching Match-Up

Max Scherzer (ARI) vs. Gil Meche (KC)

Pregame

Arizona looks to get their first win in bracket play after getting hammered by San Diego, while Kansas City has already played 2 games, beating Atlanta and losing to Florida. Not much to separate as far as seed go, as it's 8 vs. 7. Both teams have the ability to cause problems offensively, but with both starting pitcher being fairly high in control, this has the potential to be a pitching duel. Then again, anything can happen.

Game Report

Gil Meche was hot today, shutting down the Arizona bats, as Meche went 7 1/3 innings giving up 2 runs in the 7th before giving way to the bullpen, who held the lead as Kansas City gets a 4-2 win. As a team Arizona only had 4 hits in the game, and Kansas City had 10. The Diamondbacks made a run in the top of the 9th, or tried to anyways, as they used 3 pinch hitters in a row, unfortunately only 1 was able to get on. With the win, the Royals advance in the 1 loss bracket and will take on the Cincinnati/Tampa Bay winner in game 24, location TBD. Arizona drops to the 2 loss bracket and will take on the New York Mets in an elimination game, game 17, location TBD. Short turnaround for the D-Backs.

WP: Gil Meche (KC)
LP: Max Scherzer (ARI)
SV: John Bale (KC)

Players of the Game

Arizona- CF Alex Romero (2-3, 2 singles)
Kansas City- SP Gil Meche (7 1/3 innings, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K)

Scoring Summary

Bot 4th- 1 out, Jason Smith doubles, scoring Alex Gordon and Kila Ka'aihue (2-0 KC)
Joey Gathright flies out to center field, scoring Smith (3-0 KC)

Top 7th- 1 out, Chad Tracy singles, scoring Conor Jackson (3-1 KC)
2 out, Gil Meche throws wild pitch, scoring Jeff Salazar (3-2 KC)

Bot 8th- 2 out, Mike Aviles singles, scoring Gordon (4-2 KC)

collegesportsfanms · 02-15-2015, 10:37 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 15

(4) Milwaukee @ (14) Pittsburgh

Pitching Match-Up

C.C. Sabathia (MIL) vs. Matt Morris (PIT)

Pregame

These 2 conference foes take each other on in a 1 loss bracket game. Pittsburgh got their first win of the entire tournament in their last game, and is looking to make it 2 in a row. Milwaukee holds a huge advantage in this one, as Sabathia is on the mound and his 80 control rating should shut the Pirates down. However, C.C. does have a tendency to be inconsistent, and the Pirates are banking on that tonight. They'll have to take advantage of their opportunities to win this one however.

Game Report

A 7 run 5th inning was the difference in this one, as the game was tight otherwise, but Milwaukee batted around and scored those 7 5th inning runs. On the other side, C.C. Sabathia was as good as advertised, going the distance and saving the Milwaukee bullpen as the Brewers won 9-0. The complete game from Sabathia is a tournament milestone in that it is the first one of the tournament. I find them incredibly hard to get based on stamina ratings and how fast the control ratings drop after you've reached your batter limit, especially if you've given up a run. What saved C.C. is his starting control rating of 80, and the fact he didn't give up a run. His stamina rating is 26, and he pitched to 33 batters. With the win, Milwaukee advances in the 1 loss bracket and will play the Chicago White Sox in game 23, location TBD. The loss drops Pittsburgh to the 2 loss bracket. They will take on the Oakland/Atlanta winner in an elimination game, that will be game 20, location TBD.

WP: C.C. Sabathia (MIL)
LP: Matt Morris (PIT)

Players of the Game

Milwaukee- SP C.C. Sabathia, complete game victory, no runs, 5 hits, 7 K, 2 BB
Pittsburgh- 1B Adam LaRoche, 2-3, 2 singles

Scoring Summary

Top 4th, 1 out, Prince Fielder singles, scoring Ryan Braun (1-0 MIL)

Top 5th, 0 out, Mike Rivera homers, scoring Corey Hart and Rivera (3-0 MIL)
2 out, Braun homers, scoring Joe Dillon, Ray Durham, and Braun (6-0 MIL)
Russell Branyan homers, scoring Fielder and Branyan (8-0 MIL)

Top 7th, 0 out, Fielder grounds out, scoring Gabe Kapler from third (9-0 MIL)

collegesportsfanms · 02-16-2015, 06:40 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 16

(13) Tampa Bay @ (3) Cincinnati

Pitching Match-Up

James Shields (TB) vs. Matt Belisle (CIN)

Pregame

Tampa Bay is looking for something, anything, to break them out of the slump they've been in this tournament, and this might be the game that it happens. The pitching match-up definitely favors the Rays, with James Shields having a control rating of 62 against just 30 for Matt Belisle. In case either starter gets into trouble, both teams have a long reliever ready and waiting in the pen. Cincinnati will be looking to jump on Shields early, because they know if they don't, they could be in for a long game.

Game Report

It was already going to take a heck of a 9th inning for Tampa Bay to come back in this one, but the 7 run 8th inning by Cincinnati all but sealed the deal. The Reds sent 11 men to the plate in the bottom of the 8th, as 8 batters in a row reached. In the inning, the Reds had 2 doubles, 3 singles, and drew 3 walks. Combine that with the 4 run 1st inning the Reds had, and it led to a final score of 14-3 Cincinnati. Both starters only went 5 innings, as Tampa Bay manager Joe Madden elected to use long reliever Edwin Jackson for only 1 inning in this one, freeing him up for the elimination game. In fact, Madden all but threw in the towel after the 5th inning in this one. With the loss, the Rays drop to the 2 loss bracket and will play in game 19, which is an elimination game. They'll take on the survivor of the New York Mets/Arizona game, location TBD. Cincinnati stays in the 1 loss bracket and will face Kansas City in game 24, location TBD.

WP: Matt Belisle (CIN)
LP: James Shields (TB)

Players of the Game

Tampa Bay- CF Carl Crawford (2-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI)
Cincinnati- LF Jay Bruce (2-4, 1 BB, 2 HR, 3 RBI)

Scoring Summary

Bot 1st- 0 out, Ryan Hanigan flies to deep left field, scoring Jerry Hairston from third (1-0 CIN)
1 out, Jay Bruce homers, scoring Ryan Freel and Bruce (3-0 CIN)
Jolbert Cabrera doubles, scoring Javier Valentin (4-0 CIN)

Top 2nd- 0 out, Dioner Navarro singles, scoring Eric Hinske (4-1 CIN)

Bot 5th- 0 out, Bruce homers, scoring Bruce (5-1 CIN)
Wilkin Castillo hits into a double play, scoring Valentin (6-1 CIN)

Bot 7th- 1 out, Scott Hatteberg flies out to right field, scoring Cabrera (7-1 CIN)

Top 8th- 0 out, Carlos Pena homers, scoring Pena (7-2 CIN)

Bot 8th- 1 out, Valentin walks, scoring Freel (8-2 CIN)
Cabrera walks, scoring Hanigan (9-2 CIN)
Castillo singles, scoring Bruce (10-2 CIN)
Hatteberg doubles, scoring Valentin and Cabrera (12-2 CIN)
Corey Patterson doubles, scoring Castillo and Hatteberg (14-2 CIN)

Top 9th- 0 out, Carl Crawford homers, scoring Crawford (14-3 CIN)

collegesportsfanms · 02-18-2015, 10:42 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 17

(8) Arizona @ (6) New York Mets

Pitching Match-Up

Brandon Webb (ARI) vs. Johan Santana (NYM)

Pregame

This is our first elimination game of the tournament, 1 of these 2 teams will be done after tonight. Both teams are good enough that they shouldn't be in this position, but the Mets really have something to prove as they are the only team in this whole tournament that has lost to Pittsburgh. This being an elimination game, both teams have had to insert players in the lineup to meet the minimum 1 game rule, so expect to see a fair amount of substitutions after the 5th inning on, as players only have to play 4 innings in the field and get an official AB to meet the standard for a game played. Based on the pitching match-up, one would think we will have a pitchers duel, but in this case, it's not how the ball bounces, but how the dice rolls. So which team is ending their tournament after this game? We'll find out in about an hour.

Game Report

Through the first 3 innings, it looked like we might not get that pitchers dual that I was figuring on. After that though, both starters settled down, and not another run was scored. The Mets put up a 4 spot in the 3rd inning, sparked by a dropped fly ball from Arizona's Justin Upton. Johan Santana got through 7, Luis Ayala gave up a leadoff triple in the top of the 8th but stranded Conor Jackson on third, and Billy Wagner finished it off in the 9th as the Mets get a little bit of respect back by eliminating Arizona from the tournament 4-2. We thank Arizona for participating, and they get the duvious honor of being the first team eliminated, not something any team wants. The Mets, meanwhile, live to play another day. They'll take on Tampa Bay in another elimination game. That will be game 19, location TBD.

WP: Johan Santana (NYM)
LP: Brandon Webb (ARI)
SV: Billy Wagner (NYM)

Players of the Game

Arizona- SP Brandon Webb (losing pitcher, but only gave up 3 earned runs in 7 IP)
New York Mets- SP Johan Santana (winning pitcher, gave up 2 earned runs in 7 IP, 6 K)

Scoring Summary

Top 1st- 2 out, Mark Reynolds homers, scoring Chris Young and Reynolds (2-0 ARI)

Bot 3rd- 0 out, Moises Alou singles, scoring Nick Evans (2-1 ARI)
Jose Reyes grounds out to first base, scoring Robinson Cancel from third (2-2 tie)
1 out, Fernando Tatis doubles, scoring Angel Pagan and Alou (4-2 NYM)

collegesportsfanms · 02-27-2015, 11:43 AM

Guys, I have played 4 games since my last post, but unfortunately I have lost the scoresheets for those games. In an effort to start spring cleaning early, somehow they got lost in the shuffle. Fortunately I was able to recover the tournament bracket with the scores from the last 4 games, but they won't have the glamorous posts that the others have had.

Consolation Bracket Game 18- (10) Atlanta defeated (5) Oakland 10-5. Heh, how ironic, the final score was the same as the seeds. Oakland is eliminated, Atlanta advances in the 2 loss bracket to take on Pittsburgh in Game 20.

Consolation Bracket Game 19- (6) New York Mets defeated (13) Tampa Bay 8-6. Tampa Bay ends a horrendous tournament by being eliminated, and the Mets advance to game 27 to take on the loser of the Miwaukee/Chicago White Sox game.

Consolation Bracket Game 20- (14) Pittsburgh shocks (10) Atlanta 4-1. Atlanta is eliminated, and both of Pittsburgh's wins in this tournament have been against NL East teams. They advance to game 28 to take on the Kansas City/Cincinnati loser.

Consolation Bracket Game 21- (9) San Diego defeats (12) Houston 5-1 in a winners bracket game. San Diego advances to game 31, which is the undefeated bracket final, and will take on the Chicago Cubs/Florida winner. Houston drops to the 1 loss bracket and will take on the Kansas City/Cincinnati winner in game 26.

Game 22, which is the Chicago Cubs/Florida game, should be played tonight barring any unforeseen circumstances.

collegesportsfanms · 03-14-2015, 07:18 PM

In an effort to get through the consolation bracket and get to the meat of the tournament, which is the 16 team championship series bracket, I'm just going to quick recap the rest of the games in the consolation bracket. I've got 5 more done, so here we go.

Consolation Bracket Game 22- (2) Florida defeated (11) Chicago Cubs 5-4 in a winners bracket semifinal. The Marlins will take on San Diego in the winners bracket final, while the Cubs drop to the 1 loss bracket to take on the Milwaukee/Chicago White Sox winner.

Consolation Bracket Game 23- (4) Milwaukee defeated (1) Chicago White Sox 2-1. Milwaukee advances to take on the Cubs in the 1 loss bracket, while the top seed White Sox move to the 2 loss bracket, and will next face the New York Mets in game 27, an elimination game.

Consolation Bracket Game 24- (3) Cincinnati defeated (7) Kansas City 2-1. The Reds will take on Houston in game 26 in the 1 loss bracket, and the Royals drop to the 2 loss bracket, taking on Pittsburgh in game 28, an elimination game.

Consolation Bracket Game 25- (11) Chicago Cubs defeated (4) Milwaukee 6-4. The Cubs advance in the 1 loss bracket to take on the Cincinnati/Houston winner in game 32, while Milwaukee advances to the 2 loss bracket and will take on the Kansas City/Pittsburgh winner in game 30, an elimination game.

Consolation Bracket Game 26- (12) Houston defeated (3) Cincinnati 7-6. The Astros advance in the 1 loss bracket to take on the Chicago Cubs in game 32, while the Reds drop to the 2 loss bracket and will take on the White Sox/Mets winner in game 29, an elimination game.

collegesportsfanms · 03-23-2015, 09:04 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 27- New York Mets beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 in a great game. They advance to take on Cincinnati in an elimination game, which will be game 29.

Consolation Bracket Game 28- Pittsburgh keeps their run going by beating Kansas City 8-7, advancing to get another chance at Milwaukee. This will be game 30, an elimination game.

Consolation Bracket Game 29- New York Mets defeat Cincinnati 8-7, advancing to game 33, an elimination game where they will play the Milwaukee/Pittsburgh winner.

Consolation Bracket Game 30- A heck of an effort for the Cinderella Pirates, but the run ends with a 4-2 loss to Milwaukee. The Brewers will take on the Mets in game 33, an elimination game.

Consolation Bracket Game 31- Florida beat San Diego 5-3 in the winners bracket final. The Marlins advance to game 36 where they will take on an opponent to be named, either San Diego, the Chicago Cubs, or Houston. If Florida wins game 36 they advance to the championship series where they would have to be beaten 3 games in a row. If Florida loses, they'll turn right around and play the same team in game 37, with the winner advancing to the championship series. A bit confusing I know. San Diego now has 1 loss and will take on the Chicago Cubs/Houston winner for the right to knock Florida off of undefeated status. That game will be Game 35.

Consolation Bracket Game 32- The Chicago Cubs beat Houston 7-5 to advance in the 1 loss bracket. They will take on San Diego in Game 35.

collegesportsfanms · 04-05-2015, 02:47 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 33- The New York Mets beat Milwaukee 11-4. Milwaukee is eliminated, the Mets will take on Houston, who lost Game 32. That is an elimination game and is Game 34.

Consolation Bracket Game 34- Houston beat the New York Mets 9-8. The Mets are eliminated, Houston advances to Game 38, an elimination game, where they will take on the loser of Game 35 between San Diego and the Chicago Cubs.

Consolation Bracket Game 35- The Chicago Cubs hammered San Diego 10-0 to advance to face undefeated Florida in Game 36. San Diego drops to the elimination bracket where they will take on Houston in game 38.

Consolation Bracket Game 36- The Chicago Cubs beat Florida 6-4 to give the Marlins their first loss. Each team now has a loss, and the 2 teams will turn around and play again in Game 37 for the right to advance to the championship series.

Consolation Bracket Game 37- The Cubs beat Florida again, 5-0. Chicago has won 2 of 3 against Florida now in this tournament. The Cubs advance to the championship series where they will have to win just 1 game to win the consolation bracket. On the other hand, they'll have to be beaten twice in a row to lose the bracket. Their opponent will be TBD. Florida drops to the elimination bracket, Game 39, where they will take on the San Diego/Houston winner.

Consolation Bracket Game 38- San Diego beat Houston 5-0. Houston is eliminated, San Diego will face Florida again in Game 39. The loser is eliminated, the winner takes on the Cubs in the championship series.

collegesportsfanms · 04-15-2015, 10:03 PM

Consolation Bracket Game 39- Florida beat San Diego 8-5 to advance to the championship series against the Chicago Cubs, where they must win twice in a row. First game is at Wrigley Field. The Marlins put up 4 in the 4th and 4 in the 7th.

Consolation Bracket Game 40 (Championship Series Game 1)- Florida again used the big inning, scoring 4 in the 1st and 5 in the 9th to win 9-3 over the Chicago Cubs, forcing Game 41, a winner take all consolation bracket Championship. This game will be at Dolphin Stadium.

Consolation Bracket Game 41 (Winner Take all Consolation Bracket Final)- The Chicago Cubs beat Florida 4-1 to claim the title of the Best of the Worst, by winning the consolation bracket.

And now, finally, it is time to get to the main event, what you've all been waiting for, the 16 team Championship Bracket!

12-31-2014, 07:43 AM	#62
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 3 (13) Tampa Bay @ (4) Milwaukee Pitching Match-Up Jason Hammel (TB) vs. Manny Parra (MIL) Pregame Tampa Bay finished in 6th place in Pool C with a 2-8 record and -27 run differential, but don't let that fool you. Tampa Bay was one of the best teams in baseball in the 2008 season, and definitely underachieved so far in this tournament. Now is their chance to turn it around. Milwaukee finished in 4th place in Pool E with a 5-5 record and -8 run differential. They fell to 4th place thanks to a tiebreaker with the Dodgers. Both teams were 5-5, but the Dodgers won both games against Milwaukee. The Brewers also a strong team, in fact this matchup really should be taking place in the consolation bracket rather than the championship bracket, but that's how things go. Milwaukee holds a bit of an edge as far as the pitching match-up goes, but Tampa Bay was a slightly better hitting team. This should be a heck of a game. Game Report The struggles for Tampa Bay continued as the lack of a true long reliever showed in this one. Jason Hammel, with a stamina of 19, had to pitch to 27 batters and by the end was throwing nothing more than batting practice. Milwaukee got things started early by batting around in the 1st inning and scoring 4 runs, then finally knocking Hammel out of the game after scoring 3 more against him in the 5th inning. Had Tampa Bay had a long reliever to go to, Hammel wouldn't have even pitched the 5th inning. But it didn't stop there. Chad Bradford, who has a control of 80, pitched the 7th inning for Tampa Bay, but got rocked, giving up 3 runs, again due to a short Tampa Bay bullpen. The final result: a 12-6 Milwaukee win in which they had 4 home runs. The Brewers move on in the undefeated bracket and will face Houston in the next round, while Tampa Bay and their short bullpen fall to the 1 loss bracket and will face Oakland next. WP: Manny Parra (MIL) LP: Jason Hammel (TB) Players of the Game Tampa Bay- 3B Evan Longoria (3-4, 2 2B, 4 RBI) Milwaukee- CF Mike Cameron (3-3, 2 BB, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI) Scoring Summary Top 1st- 2 out, Evan Longoria singles, scoring Jason Bartlett (1-0 TB) Bot 1st- 0 out, Prince Fielder singles, scoring Ray Durham (1-1 tie) Russell Branyan doubles, scoring Gabe Kapler and Ryan Braun (3-1 MIL) 2 out, Mike Cameron walks, scoring Fielder (4-1 MIL) Bot 3rd- 0 out, Mike Rivera homers, scoring Rivera (5-1 MIL) Top 4th- 0 out, Longoria doubles, scoring Ben Zobrist (5-2 MIL) 1 out, Rocco Baldelli homers, scoring Longoria and Baldelli (5-4 MIL) Top 5th- 2 out, Longoria doubles, scoring Mike Difelice and Bartlett (6-5 TB) Bot 5th- 0 out, Branyan homers, scoring Branyan (6-6 tie) 2 out, Cameron homers, scoring J.J. Hardy and Cameron (8-6 MIL) Bot 6th- 2 out, Rivera singles, scoring Kapler (9-6 MIL) Bot 7th- 1 out, Cameron homers, scoring Cameron (10-6 MIL) 2 out, Branyan singles, scoring Kapler and Braun (12-6 MIL) Last edited by collegesportsfanms : 12-31-2014 at 07:43 AM.

01-05-2015, 06:29 PM	#65
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 6 (10) Atlanta @ (7) Kansas City Pitching Match-up Jo-Jo Reyes (ATL) vs. Luke Hochevar (KC) Pregame I'm going to have fun with this one, as Kansas City and Atlanta are 2 of my favorite teams. I became an Atlanta fan in the 90's when they made those great World Series runs, and who can forget that pitching staff: Glavine, Smoltz, Maddux, Avery, Leibrandt, just to name a few. Unfortunately that was the 90's, and this tournament is being held with the 2008 teams, and Atlanta has fallen mightily since then. They finished 6th (last) in Pool E, with a 4-6 record and a -2 run differential. They were in a tie for 5th with Arizona, and since both teams won a game in the series, Arizona got the 5th seed based on the fact they won their game by 2 runs while Atlanta won theirs by 1. A 3 game losing streak in pool play (games 7,8,9) cost them a better seed. They lost those 3 games by a grand total of 4 runs. Hard luck for the Braves. Kansas City finished 5th in Pool A with a 4-6 record and a +2 run differential. They were in a 5th place tiebreaker with Houston, again both teams won a game in the head to head series. Kansas City won theirs by 3, Houston won theirs by 1, so the Royals got 5th place. For them to even be in that spot was a miracle, as they had to win their last 3 games. At one time they had a 1-6 record. They come into this game on that 3 game winning streak. Statistically, both teams are about as even as you can get. Team batting average is .269 for KC, .270 for Atlanta. Team ERA is 4.50 for KC, 4.47 for Atlanta. The pitching match-up probably favors Kansas City, as Hochevar (if I recall) was a star pitcher at Tennessee, but it didn't translate into the pro game. This game also has the makings to be a slugfest. Game Report Catchers usually aren't known for their speed or base stealing ability, so when Kansas City catcher Miguel Olivo led off the bottom of the 4th inning with a single then promptly stole second base, Atlanta starter Jo-Jo Reyes had no idea what to think. What he should have been thinking was that his time in this game was about over. The Royals batted around in the 4th, sending 10 men to the plate getting 6 runs and 7 hits in the inning. As for Reyes? Well he was able to get 1 out in the inning before being chased. That 6 run inning for the Royals was more than enough, as Kansas City went on to an 8-3 win. This was big for the Royals in another sense, as they were able to use Jimmy Gobble on the mound in the 9th inning. Gobble is rarely used, thanks to his almost 9 ERA in the actual 2008 season, but he pitched the entire 9th inning tonight, giving up a meaningless home run. The Royals had 13 hits in the game, with 7 of those coming in that fateful 4th inning and 4 more coming in the 7th inning when they scored their other 2 runs. Those 2 innings were enough, but Kansas City knows they'll need to spread it around in future games, as they advance in the undefeated bracket and will take on Florida next, while Atlanta drops to the 1 loss bracket and will take on the Chicago White Sox-San Diego loser. Meanwhile, Arizona, who lost the first game of this tournament and had 3 potential opponents to play next, has had that narrowed down to 2, as they will take on the loser of the Kansas City-Florida game in the 1 loss bracket. That completes the first round of the undefeated bracket. Next up, the undefeated bracket quarterfinals. WP: Luke Hochevar (KC) LP: Jo-Jo Reyes (ATL) Players of the Game Atlanta- SS Yunel Escobar (2-4, 1 HBP, 1 HR, 1 RBI) Kansas City- LF Mark Teahen (2-3, 1 HBP, 2 RBI) Scoring Summary Top 3rd- 2 out, Greg Norton singles, scoring Josh Anderson and Yunel Escobar (2-0 ATL) Bot 4th- 0 out, Alberto Callaspo singles, scoring Miguel Olivo (2-1 ATL) Mitch Maier hits into fielders choice, scoring Jose Guillen (2-2 tie) 1 out, Mike Aviles triples, scoring Callaspo and Maier (4-2 KC) Mark Grudzielanek doubles, scoring Aviles (5-2 KC) Ryan Shealy doubles, scoring Grudzielanek (6-2 KC) Bot 7th- 2 out, Mark Teahen singles, scoring David Dejesus and Olivo (8-2 KC) Top 9th- 2 out, Yunel Escobar homers, scoring Escobar (8-3 KC) Last edited by collegesportsfanms : 01-05-2015 at 06:29 PM.

01-11-2015, 09:05 PM	#67
StLee High School Varsity Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Daegu, Korea	That's three big upsets so far in the consolation bracket: Houston, the Cubs, and now San Diego over the top seed. I'm curious to see how this works out. I might change some of my tournaments in my OOTP dynasty ( Tournament of Champions: Promotion, Relegation, and Forced Relocation - OOTP Developments Forums) to match it. I am looking for a few dynamic changes to just simple series tournaments. My Spring Bowl could maybe use the triple elimination treatment. __________________ Lifelong fan of LSU sports and Saints football! ------------ Author of NCAA 128: Battle to ONE: http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...ad.php?t=85730 Softball in Korea 1 and 2: http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...softball+korea + http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...ad.php?t=83736 Last edited by StLee : 01-11-2015 at 09:07 PM.

01-14-2015, 10:12 PM	#70
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 8 (4) Milwaukee @ (12) Houston Pitching Match-Up Yovani Gallardo (MIL) vs. Runelvys Hernandez (HOU) Pregame Milwaukee won their first game 12-6 and the bats came to life. Houston won their first game 5-3, relying on pitching. This will be an interesting match-up of NL Central opponents. Well, at the time Houston was in the NL Central, as we know, now they are in the AL West. The Astros were a decent team in 2008, but Milwaukee had more star power. The pitching match-up definitely favors Milwaukee. Even though Gallardo only made 4 starts in the 2008 season, his 1.88 ERA gives him an incredible 79 control rating, while Hernandez has just a 30 control rating, as he had an 8.38 ERA in his 4 starts. However, as we know, anything can happen with the roll of the dice. Game Report This game went the way I thought it would for the first 5 innings, as Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo had a no-hitter going through the first 5 innings. Houston got to him in the sixth inning however, as they hit 2 homers accounting for 3 runs. Milwaukee still led going to the bottom of the 8th, and Gallardo was finally replaced with 1 out in the 8th. Seth McClung came in with a runner on first and promptly gave up a double to Carlos Lee. Milwaukee right fielder Corey Hart misplayed the ball, and not only did the runner at second score, but so did Lee. This led to a bit of a meltdown as McClung gave up another run, and by the time the damage was done, Houston came all the way back from a 4-0 deficit to win 6-4, wasting the good effort by Gallardo. Nobody feels worse than Hart does, as it was the only error of the game, but it led to the game winning run for the Astros. Neither team really pounded the cover off the ball, as both teams had 7 hits each. Walks were a problem however. The teams combined for 12 base on balls in the game. So Houston, with their comeback victory, will travel to San Diego for an undefeated bracket semifinal. Milwaukee will have to recover from this loss as they will take on the winner of the Pittsburgh/New York Mets game in the 1 loss bracket. More than likely it will be the Mets, but who knows? WP: Doug Brocail (HOU) LP: Seth McClung (MIL) Players of the Game Milwaukee- SS J.J. Hardy (2-4, 2 RBI) Houston- 1B Lance Berkman (2-3, 1 BB, 1 HR, 1 RBI) Scoring Summary Top 1st- 2 out, Mike Cameron walks, scoring Russell Branyan (1-0 MIL) J.J. Hardy singles, scoring Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun (3-0 MIL) Top 6th- 0 out, Rickie Weeks flies out to deep right field, scoring Hardy (4-0 MIL) Bot 6th- 0 out, Miguel Tejada homers, scoring Michael Bourn and Tejada (4-2 MIL) 1 out, Lance Berkman homers, scoring Berkman (4-3 MIL) Bot 8th- 1 out, Carlos Lee doubles, scoring Tejada, followed by a Corey Hart error allowing Lee to score (5-4 HOU) 2 out, Humberto Quintero walks, scoring Berkman (6-4 HOU) Last edited by collegesportsfanms : 01-17-2015 at 12:21 PM.

12-10-2014, 07:53 PM	#52
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Pool A, Round 10 LA Angels- 2, Minnesota- 1 -- An unearned run in the top of the 8th won this game for the Angels, as Minnesota misses a chance to win the pool outright and now must wait for the results of other games. Washington- 9, Houston- 4 -- Ryan Zimmerman hit a grand slam in the top of the 3rd to give Washington a 5-2 lead. They would add 2 in the 4th and 2 in the 6th. Houston got 2 runs back in the bottom of the 7th on a Darin Erstad home run, but it wasn't near enough. Kansas City- 5, Cincinnati- 4 -- Both teams put up a 4 spot in the 4th (how ironic) and the Royals took a 5-4 lead in the top of the 5th on a Ross Gload groundout. Neither team scored for the rest of the game and Kansas City finishes pool play off on a high note. Here are the final Pool A standings: 1. Washington 6-4 (+4) 2. Minnesota 6-4 (+1) 3. LA Angels 5-5 (+8) 4. Cincinnati 5-5 (-8) 5. Kansas City 4-6 (+2) 6. Houston 4-6 (-7) So we had 3 separate tiebreakers to work out in this pool. For first place, since Washington and Minnesota split their 2 games, each winning by a score of 8-3, the pool was decided by overall run differential, which gives it to Washington, who will be a top 5 seed in the championship bracket. Amazing since they were among the worst teams in MLB in the actual 2008 season. Minnesota is in and will get a seed of 6-10. For 3rd and 4th place, the LA Angels and Cincinnati split their games. But the Angels beat Cincinnati by 4 runs, while Cincy won the rematch by just 2, giving the Angels 3rd place and a spot in the championship bracket. Cincinnati must hope for a shot at the wildcard. Kansas City and Houston are both going to the consolation bracket, but whoever finishes 5th in the pool is guaranteed a higher seed in that bracket (for the consolation bracket, the 4 4th place teams that don't get the wildcard are seeded 1-4, 5th place teams 5-9, 6th place teams 10-14). Kansas City and Houston split, but Kansas City won by 3 while Houston only won by 1, so Kansas City gets 5th place, Houston 6th.

12-13-2014, 08:29 PM	#53
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Pool B, Round 10 Chicago White Sox- 11, Chicago Cubs- 3 -- Alexei Ramirez had 2 homers and 6 RBIs to lead the White Sox to an easy victory, as the Cubs now know they'll be headed to the consolation bracket. Toronto- 8, Seattle- 3 -- Things started out good for Seattle as Jose Lopez hit a 3 run homer in the top of the 1st, but those would be their only runs of the game. Toronto scored single runs in the first and second, then put up a 4 spot in the 4th as they had 17 hits in the game. This clinches a spot in the championship bracket for the Blue Jays. Oakland- 9, Detroit- 2 -- For a while, it looked like it might be the first run to score wins the game, as we were scoreless through the first 3, then Oakland scored all 9 of their runs in the next 5 innings and Greg Smith shut down the Tigers for 7 1/3 innings. Detroit got 2 runs in the 8th but that was it. Here are the final Pool B standings: 1. Toronto 6-4 (-2) 2. Seattle 5-5 (-10) 3. Detroit 5-5 (+5) 4. Chicago White Sox 5-5 (+17) 5. Oakland 5-5 (-5) 6. Chicago Cubs 4-6 (-5) Toronto wins the group but has a negative point differential which could see them getting the 4 or 5 seed in the championship bracket. Then we had a 4 way tiebreaker for 2nd place. The tiebreaker needed to decide this was best record against the other teams involved. Seattle went 5-1 against the White Sox, Detroit, and Oakland, while the White Sox and Detroit were both 2-4 against the other teams involved, while Oakland was 3-3 against the other teams involved. So Seattle gets the 2nd spot out of Pool B, but that -10 point differential will probably have them as a 10th seed in the championship bracket. Hard to imagine any of the other 3 group runner-ups having that bad of a point differential. So now we are down to a 3 team tiebreaker for 3rd place. Record against the other teams involved didn't fly here, as they all went 1-1 against each other. So we went to the next tiebreaker, in this case, who had the best record against the pool winner, which in this case was Toronto. While both Oakland and the White Sox split with Toronto, Detroit beat Toronto both games, so the Tigers get 3rd place in Pool B and a spot in the championship bracket. 4th place came down to a tiebreaker between the White Sox and Oakland. This was a simple head to head battle. The teams split their 2 meetings, but while Oakland only won by 1, the White Sox won by 8, so the White Sox get 4th place in Pool B and a chance at the wildcard. Speaking of which, we will have at least 1 wildcard game since both the White Sox and Cincinnati finished 5-5 as 4th place finishers in their group. I said earlier I would not let run differential decide the wildcard and if teams had identical records we would play it out on the field. In this case, the White Sox should have home field advantage in almost any wildcard game due to that +17 run differential. Poor Oakland, who worked so hard to beat Detroit, ends up losing all the tiebreakers and still finishes 5th, while the Cubs, who were the top seed in pool B, finish last in the pool. Both Oakland and the Cubs will be going to the consolation bracket guaranteed. One other note, even though we have tiebreakers to decide places among pools, those could be subject to change. The reason being, I am not going to have a first round game between teams that came from the same pool in either the championship or consolation bracket. If this were to happen, I may have to adjust seedings around a little bit. Hopefully it's not an issue, but we'll see.

12-15-2014, 10:24 PM	#54
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Pool C, Round 10 NY Yankees- 6, Tampa Bay- 2 -- Wilson Betemit drove in 4 of the 6 Yankee runs as they scored 3 in the 1st, 3 in the 3rd. Nobody scored after the 3rd inning as pitching took over. St. Louis- 7, San Diego- 3 -- This game was decided in the bottom of the 6th when St. Louis batted around and scored 4 runs on back to back homers. First a 3 run shot by Rick Ankiel followed by a solo shot from Joe Mather as the return of Jake Peavy didn't go so well as he didn't get out of the 6th inning. Colorado- 7, Texas- 5 -- It looked like this was set for a wild one as the teams traded leads, with the Rockies dealing the final blow in the bottom of the 7th on a Chris Iannetta 3 run homer. Jeff Francis went 7 innings for Colorado and Luis Vizcaino, Mark Redman, and Taylor Buchholz shut down the Ranger bats for the last 2 innings. Final Pool C standings: 1. St Louis 7-3 (+13) 2. New York Yankees 6-4 (+20) 3. Colorado 6-4 (-9) 4. Texas 6-4 (+19) 5. San Diego 3-7 (-16) 6. Tampa Bay 2-8 (-27) Thanks to Texas losing, St. Louis gets the group and right now stands as the #1 seed with their 7-3 record, but don't expect that to hold up as we have 2 teams that stand at 7-2 in pool D. The Yankees win the 3 team tiebreaker for second, going 3-1 against Colorado and Texas, while Colorado went 2-2 against the Yankees and Texas, and Texas went 1-3 against the Yankees and Colorado. Their 6-4 record gives them a great shot to be seeded 6 or 7, especially with that run differential. Colorado gets 3rd place thanks to sweeping Texas. The 6-4 record will help them as their run differential is not good. Texas falls all the way to 4th place, but as of right now the 6-4 record is good enough for the wildcard with 2 pools to go. Unfortunately, that does eliminate Cincinnati and the Chicago White Sox from wildcard and championship bracket contention. They will both go to the consolation bracket. San Diego takes 5th and might end up with the worst record of the 5th seeds. Meanwhile Tampa Bay completely underachieved in this tournament and might finish with the worst record and the worst seed in the consolation bracket.

12-18-2014, 03:12 PM	#55
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	OK guys, there's 5 games left in pool play, and I've finally made a decision on how to run the brackets, after a lot of thinking and a lot of mind changing, here's how it's going to be. The 14 team consolation bracket is going to be triple elimination (I am just curious about how it works out, plus another reason that I'll mention later.) The 16 team championship bracket will be single elimination series play. The first round and quarterfinals will be best 3 out of 5, the semifinals and championship series will be best 4 out 7. This makes it universal in that every team will get at least 3 more games in bracket play. I do have some rules of course. While I will not be honoring suspensions like I did in pool play, I will still be using ejections, but there will be no mandatory 1 game suspension for an ejection. Also, injuries will apply, but if a person gets injured it will only be for that game only. Pitching rotations will for the most part stay the same, although I may change it up a little depending on rest situations. Relief pitchers will be used just like I've been using them, trying to give every relief pitcher close to the same amount of appearances if possible. Position players: every position player on every team must start at least 1 game. In the game they start, they must get an official at-bat (which means if their first AB is a walk, sacrifice, HBP, they have to bat for a second time, and so on). And, during that start, each position player must play in the field a minimum of 4 innings. With these rules it'll be interesting to see how things shape out.

12-20-2014, 07:46 PM	#56
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Pool D, Round 10 Boston- 4, NY Mets- 3 -- Carlos Delgado led the scoring in the bottom of the 1st with a 2 run homer for the Mets, but Kevin Youkilis answered with a 2 run homer for Boston in the top of the 2nd. David Ortiz got an RBI groundout in the top of the 5th to give Boston a 3-2 lead, and both teams got a run in the 6th, but that was it for the scoring as Mike Timlin and Jonathan Papelbon shut down the Mets in the 8th and 9th. Florida- 6, Pittsburgh- 2 -- Despite 2 errors, the Marlins spread out 13 hits, getting a hit in every inning but the 8th. 4 pitchers combined to shut down Pittsburgh after the 2nd inning, as the Pirates finish pool play 0-10. San Francisco- 8, Cleveland- 7 -- This game was wild, as Cleveland started strong, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after 2 1/2 innings, but San Francisco got 5 in the 3rd, the big blow coming on a 3 run homer from Aaron Rowand. Both teams batted around in the 5th, adding 3 runs, but nobody could get anything across after that as San Francisco relievers allowed just 3 runners in the last 4 innings. Final Pool D standings: 1. Boston 8-2 (+16) 2. Cleveland 7-3 (+9) 3. San Francisco 6-4 (-1) 4. Florida 5-5 (-3) 5. NY Mets 4-6 (+5) 6. Pittsburgh 0-10 (-26) So Boston wins the pool and has clinched the top seed in the championship bracket with their 8-2 record, as the winner of Pool E will have a record of no better than 7-3. Cleveland gets 2nd place and clinches the 6th seed in the championship bracket with their 7-3 record, as no other 2nd place finisher has a chance to finish 7-3. San Francisco gets 3rd place thanks to their win over Cleveland in round 10, and with their 6-4 record can do no worse than the 12th seed in the championship bracket, since only the team taking 3rd in pool E can finish with a 6-4 record and a better point differential than the Giants. Florida gets 4th place but their 5-5 record puts them out of wildcard contention. They are locked into the championship bracket. The Mets take 5th and that point differential is the best of the 4-6 teams, but there is a 5-5 5th place team in the mix. And lowly Pittsburgh has done the opposite of Boston, in that they have clinched the lowest (14th) seed in the consolation bracket with their 0-10 pool play finish. They'll have 3 chances to get their first win of the tournament.

12-25-2014, 10:48 AM	#57
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Pool E, Round 10 Milwaukee- 5, Philadelphia- 1 -- The Brewers scored 3 runs in the first and added 1 in the 2nd and 1 in the 5th. David Bush went 8 1/3 innings for Milwaukee, finally giving up a run in the top of the 9th, as the Phillies' implosion continues. Baltimore- 6, LA Dodgers- 4 -- It looked good for the Dodgers early on as they batted around in the bottom of the 2nd, scoring 4 runs. Baltimore got 3 of those runs back in the top of the 3rd, then tied the game in the 5th. In the 6th, Baltimore manufactured 2 runs to take a 6-4 lead and the game ended that way. LA had just 6 baserunners in the last 7 innings. Radhames Liz pitched 5 innings for Baltimore. After his disasterous 2nd inning, he allowed just 1 baserunner in his last 3 innings of work. Atlanta- 2, Arizona- 1 (10 innings) -- Kelly Johnson batted in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th with a bases loaded single in this incredible pitchers duel to finish off pool play. Final Pool E standings: 1. Philadelphia 6-4 (+18) 2. Baltimore 6-4 (+5) 3. LA Dodgers 5-5 (-1) 4. Milwaukee 5-5 (-8) 5. Arizona 4-6 (-12) 6. Atlanta 4-6 (-2) Despite losing their last 3 games, the Phillies back into the Pool E title thanks to tiebreakers. Since Baltimore beat the Dodgers in round 10, the Phillies had a tiebreaker with Baltimore. They split their meetings, but Philly won their meeting by 2, while Baltimore only won by 1, so Philly gets the Pool E title and a surprising Baltimore finishes second. We also had a tiebreaker for 3rd place, between the Dodgers and Milwaukee. This one was much easier to solve, as the Dodgers wept Milwaukee, giving them 3rd place in Pool E and a trip to the championship bracket. Milwaukee goes to the consolation bracket with their 5-5 record. Despite Atlanta beating Arizona in the final game of pool play, it wasn't enough. Arizona won the first meeting by 2, while Atlanta only won by 1, so Arizona takes 5th, Atlanta 6th, both to consolation bracket.

12-25-2014, 11:08 AM	#58
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Now what you've all been waiting for.. the seedings for the championship and consolation brackets. First, the championship bracket. 1- Boston 2- St. Louis 3- Philadelphia 4- Toronto 5- Washington 6- Cleveland 7- NY Yankees 8- Baltimore 9- Minnesota 10- Seattle 11- Colorado 12- San Francisco 13- LA Angels 14- Detroit 15- LA Dodgers 16- Texas First Round series matchups: (16) Texas vs. (1) Boston (9) Minnesota vs. (8) Baltimore (12) San Francisco vs. (5) Washington (13) LA Angels vs. (4) Toronto (11) Colorado vs. (6) Cleveland (14) Detroit vs. (3) Philadelphia (10) Seattle vs. (7) NY Yankees (15) LA Dodgers vs. (2) St. Louis I had to make a couple adjustments to the original seedings, otherwise we would have had 3 first round series between teams in the same pool. Of the group winners, I had to swap Toronto and Washington. With both having a 6-4 record, Washington actually had the better run differential which would have had them seeded 4th and taking on the LA Angels in the first round, both from Pool A. I also had to swap Colorado and San Francisco in the 3rd place finishers. San Francisco had the better point differential between them and Colorado, but that would have put them as the 11th seed taking on Cleveland in the first round, both coming from Pool D. I thought there was a third switch I had to make, but I can't seem to recall it now. Oh well, on to the consolation bracket seedings! 1- Chicago White Sox 2- Florida 3- Cincinnati 4- Milwaukee 5- Oakland 6- NY Mets 7- Kansas City 8- Arizona 9- San Diego 10- Atlanta 11- Chicago Cubs 12- Houston 13- Tampa Bay 14- Pittsburgh The White Sox and Florida get byes into the next round, so here are the first round match-ups for the consolation bracket: (9) San Diego vs. (8) Arizona- winner plays (1) Chicago White Sox (12) Houston vs. (5) Oakland (13) Tampa Bay vs. (4) Milwaukee (14) Pittsburgh vs. (3) Cincinnati (11) Chicago Cubs vs. (6) New York Mets (10) Atlanta vs. (7) Kansas City- winner plays (2) Florida Fortunately, from what I can tell, no changes needed to be made here. Remember this is triple elimination, so it's almost a certainty that at some point, teams that played in the same pool will meet.

12-25-2014, 11:15 AM	#59
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Plan of attack is as follows, I will do the entire consolation bracket first, game by game. Should be about 40 games. Then we move to what mostly everyone cares about, the championship bracket. A reminder, each series is a "best of" series. First round and Quarterfinals are Best 3 of 5, Semis and Championship Series are Best 5 of 7. Winners of each series advance, losers are done. With the 2 different formats, this guarantees every team 3 more games. With this championship bracket, I will stagger the games, meaning I will play the first game of the Texas/Boston series, then play the first game of the Minnesota/Baltimore series, until all first games are done. Then move to the second game of each series and so on, until all the series' are completed. Hopefully this won't confuse anybody. I will also be using a different reporting format for these bracket games, consisting of a short pregame with the teams involved, then for the game report, it will be more of a quick recap like they have been, but I will also be adding in the following: Scoring summary, detailing how every run in the game scored, plus winning and losing pitchers, and what pitcher saved the game if necessary. I won't do a full out box score unless requested. Hope you all enjoy, I know I'm excited!

12-25-2014, 08:51 PM	#60
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 1 (9) San Diego @ (8) Arizona Pregame These NL West foes meet for the first time in this 2008 DICE baseball tournament. San Diego took 5th place in Pool C with a 3-7 record and a -16 run differential. Their pool play was marred by an early tournament incident which saw SP Jake Peavy suspended for a number of games. Despite that, the Padres won 2 of their first 5 to remain in the hunt for the championship bracket, but lost 4 of their last 5. Arizona was 5th place in Pool E with a 4-6 record and a -12 run differential. Had Atlanta scored just 1 more run in the last game of pool play, the D-Backs would have been last in Pool E. 1 win in the second half of pool play doomed Arizona, as they finished the first half of pool play with a 3-2 record. Neither of these teams are known for a potent offense, with Arizona having a team .251 average in the actual 2008 season, and the Padres having a team .250 average. The pitching was slightly better for Arizona though. Pitching Match-Up Josh Banks (SD) vs. Micah Owings (ARI) Game Report The moral of this game? Bad hitting still trumps bad pitching every time. Forget the scouting reports that neither team had a better than .251 batting average. Arizona and San Diego combined for 20 runs and 29 hits as San Diego put up 4 spots in the 1st, 4th, and 9th innings in route to a 13-7 victory. Arizona starting pitcher Micah Owings was gone after 3 1/3, as the Padres batted around in the 1st and 4th innings, jumping out in front 9-0 going into the bottom of the 7th. Arizona would keep things interesting though, scoring 3 in the 7th and 4 in the 8th, forcing Padre closer Trevor Hoffman to start warming up. But San Diego sealed the deal in the top of the 9th scoring 4 more runs, and Hoffman sat down. Justin Germano pitched the bottom of the 9th for San Diego, giving up a walk to Chris Snyder but otherwise having no troubles. San Diego advances in the undefeated bracket and will travel to Chicago to face the top seed White Sox next, while Arizona drops to the 1 loss bracket and will face an opponent TBD (either Kansas City, Atlanta, or Florida.) WP: Josh Banks (SD) LP: Micah Owings (ARI) Players of the Game San Diego- RF Brian Giles (2-5, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB) Arizona- RF Justin Upton (3-5, 1 HR, 5 RBI) Scoring Summary Top 1st- 0 out, Kevin Kouzmanoff singles, scoring Jody Gerut (1-0 SD) 1 out, Edgar Gonzalez singles, scoring Brian Giles (2-0 SD) Nick Hundley singles, scoring Kouzmanoff and Adrian Gonzalez (4-0 SD) Top 4th- 1 out, Kouzmanoff singles, scoring Gerut, and error on Justin Upton allows Giles and Kouzmanoff to score (7-0 SD) Edgar Gonzalez grounds out to catcher, scoring Adrian Gonzalez (8-0 SD) Top 5th- 0 out, Gerut doubles, scoring Luis Rodriguez (9-0 SD) Bot 7th- 1 out, Justin Upton homers, scoring Augie Ojeda, Orlando Hudson, and Upton (9-3 SD) Bot 8th- 0 out, Chris Snyder doubles, scoring Mark Reynolds and Conor Jackson (9-5 SD) 1 out, Upton singles, scoring Ojeda and Hudson (9-7 SD) Top 9th- 1 out, Brian Giles hits Grand Slam, scoring Sean Kazmar, Rodriguez, Gerut, and Giles (13-7 SD)

12-30-2014, 09:26 PM	#61
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 2 (12) Houston @ (5) Oakland Pitching Match-Up Shawn Chacon (HOU) vs. Dana Eveland (OAK) Pregame The Astros finished 6th place in Pool A with a 4-6 record and -7 run differential. They got off to a bad start in pool play by losing their first 4 games before winning 4 of their last 6, so they are on a bit of a hot streak right now even though they lost by 5 in their last pool game against Washington. Oakland finished in 5th place in pool B, the victim of a 4 team tiebreaker in which all the tiebreakers went against them, from the 4 team tiebreak, then the 3 team tiebreak, then the head to head tiebreak. They are the only 5th place team to finish with a 5-5 record, and they had a -5 run differential and beat Detroit easily in their last pool game to give themselves a chance at the championship bracket, but again, tiebreakers got them. Houston has a better batting average, but a worse ERA, so this game is really pretty even, and the pitching match-up doesn't really help me make a prediction in this one. Game Report For 8 innings, the Astros pitching staff held Oakland to 3 hits. Then came the 9th, in which Oakland mounted a rally after being down 5-0. Geoff Geary started the 9th for Houston and struggled, giving up a single and a walk before getting a pop up and a line drive. Oakland turned to their bench, calling on Gregorio Petit, who walked. Oakland went to the bench again, and with the bases load, Jack Hannahan unloaded them with a 2 out, 3 RBI double. Having no choice, Houston went to closer Jose Valverde to try and get that final out. All it took was 1 batter, as Valverde got Mark Ellis to fly out to center field and Houston, after leading 5-3 going into the bottom of the 9th, had to hold on for a 5-3 win. Oakland ended up with 6 hits in the game, they had as many hits in the 9th as they did in the first 8 innings combined, but it wasn't enough. Houston advances to take on the Milwaukee/Tampa Bay winner, while Oakland goes to the 1 loss bracket and takes on the loser of the Milwaukee/Tampa Bay game. WP: Shawn Chacon (HOU) LP: Dana Eveland (OAK) SV: Jose Valverde (HOU) Players of the Game Houston- SP Shawn Chacon (7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K) Oakland- PH Jack Hannahan (1-1, 2B, 3 RBI) Scoring Summary Top 2nd- 1 out, Geoff Blum grounds to second, scoring Brad Ausmus (1-0 HOU) Miguel Tejada singles, scoring Hunter Pence (2-0 HOU) Top 7th- 1 out, Miguel Tejada homers, scoring Tejada (3-0 HOU) 2 outs, Carlos Lee homers, scoring Ty Wigginton and Lee (5-0 HOU) Bot 9th- 2 outs, Jack Hannahan doubles, scoring Aaron Cunningham, Kurt Suzuki, and Hannahan (5-3 HOU)

01-01-2015, 09:46 PM	#63
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 4 (14) Pittsburgh @ (3) Cincinnati Pitching Match-up Tom Gorzelanny (PIT) vs. Johnny Cueto (CIN) Pregame Another game involving teams which in reality play in the same division. In this case, both teams are in the NL Central. Pittsburgh is still looking for their first win of the tournament, finishing 6th in pool D with an 0-10 record and a -26 run differential. It's not all bad though, as the Pirates only lost by an average of 2.6 runs a game, and their worst loss was their opening loss, 10-4 to Boston. They've had 3 games where they've only lost by 1 run, so if they can put it together, they can get a few wins in this triple elimination bracket. Cincinnati finished 4th in Pool A with a 5-5 record and a -8 run differential. They lost their last pool game to Kansas City, then lost a tiebreaker to the LA Angels for 3rd place in the pool, as the Angels and Reds split their 2 games, but the Angels won their game by more runs. If not for that loss to Kansas City to end pool play, Cincinnati would have been in the championship bracket. Neither starting pitcher is going to wow you with their stuff, so I wouldn't be surprised if this game turned into a slugfest. However, with the Reds having a .247 batting average in the actual 2008 season, this is another case where we have bad pitching against bad hitting. Game Report This was not the game for Pittsburgh to break their losing streak, as 3 Pirate errors contributed to 4 Cincinnati unearned runs. Well, technically only 3 unearned runs, as the last error came from Pirate reliever Tyler Yates which allowed a run to score, and I believe for official scoring purposes, since the error was on the pitcher, that makes the run earned. Never mind all that, Pittsburgh was still let down by their defense, as well as 2 timely home runs for the Reds, both coming off the Pittsburgh bullpen, which led to an 11-6 Cincinnati win. While neither starting pitcher was incredibly sharp (both only lasted 5 innings), the Reds bullpen allowed no runs in the last 4 innings, while the Pirate bullpen allowed 6 runs in the last 4 innings. The offense was still on display though, as I thought it might be, as the teams combined for 24 hits. Cincinnati advances in the undefeated bracket to take on the winner of the NY Met/Chicago Cubs game, while Pittsburgh stays winless in the tournament and will drop to the 1 loss bracket and take on the NY Mets/Chicago Cubs loser. WP: Gary Majewski (CIN) LP: Ross Ohlendorf (PIT) Players of the Game Pittsburgh- C Ryan Doumit (3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI) Cincinnati- CF Ryan Freel (2-4, 1 HBP, 1 2B, 3 RBI) Scoring Summary Bot 1st- 1 out, Edwin Encarnacion singles, scoring Ryan Freel (1-0 CIN) Chris Dickerson flies out to deep left field, scoring Jerry Hairston (2-0 CIN) Top 3rd- 1 out, Johnny Cueto throws wild pitch, scoring Nyjer Morgan (2-1 CIN) 2 out, Ryan Doumit doubles, scoring Adam LaRoche and Nate McLouth (3-2 PIT) Bot 4th- 1 out, Ryan Freel doubles, scoring Chris Dickerson, Paul Bako, and Jay Bruce (5-3 CIN) Top 5th- 2 out, Jason Michaels homers, scoring McLouth, Doumit, and Michaels (6-5 PIT) Bot 6th- 2 out, Hairston homers, scoring Bruce, Freel, and Hairston (8-6 CIN) Bot 7th- 1 out, Paul Janish grounds out to third base, scoring Dickerson (9-6 CIN) Bot 8th- 0 out, Bruce homers, scoring Bruce (10-6 CIN) 2 out, Tyler Yates error on pickoff attempt scores Votto (11-6 CIN)

01-02-2015, 11:24 PM	#64
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 5 (11) Chicago Cubs @ (6) New York Mets Pitching Match-Up Jason Marquis (CHC) vs. John Maine (NYM) Pregame A match of 2 teams that definitely underachieved in pool play. In reality, in the actual 2008 season, the Cubs won the NL Central and the Mets were 2nd in the NL East. In this tournament, they are relegated to the consolation bracket. The Cubs finished in 6th place in Pool B with a 4-6 record and a -5 run differential, losing their last 4 games in pool play after being 4-2 after 6 games. The Mets finished 5th in Pool D with a 4-6 record and a +5 run differential, but also had the advantage of having Pittsburgh in their pool. They did the opposite of the Cubs in pool play, losing 4 of their first 5 before winning 3 of their last 5, and their only 2 losses in the second half of pool play were by 1 run each. The Cubs, statistically, are the better team, with a .278 team average and a 3.87 team ERA, compared to the Mets who have a .266 team batting average and 4.07 team ERA. The pitching matchup is pretty even in this one. Maine had a better ERA in the actual 2008 season, but the interesting thing about Marquis is that he actually fared a lot better against left handed hitters, which is unusually because Marquis is a righty. It'll be interesting to see if that holds true in this game, as the Mets starting lineup has 7 players that will bat left handed against Marquis. Game Report As has been the theme of all the consolation bracket games so far, offense trumped pitching. The Cubs got off to a great start, leading 6-2 after 3, but they would not score again for several innings. The Mets got 1 in the 4th and 3 in the 5th to tie it. Neither starting pitcher lasted through the 5th innings, as both managers decided to trust their bullpen. For the most part it paid off, as only 3 runs were scored after the 5th inning. In the top of the 8th, with southpaw Pedro Feliciano pitching for the Mets, Alfonso Soriano came off the bench to pinch hit and delivered an RBI single that gave the Cubs the lead. Chicago would add 1 in the top of the 9th, then in the bottom of the 9th, the Cubs lost control, literally. Carlos Marmol walked Fernando Tatis to open the inning, then got Brian Schneider to ground out to short, advancing Tatis to second. Sweet Lou Pinella opted to bring in Kerry Wood to finish the game, and it almost led to disaster, as Wood walked 3 batters in a row, which drove in a run for the Mets to cut the deficit to 1. Wood settled down though, getting Angel Pagan to line to center and Jose Reyes to pop up to third, as the Cubs break their losing streak by surviving to win 8-7! The Cubs advance in the undefeated bracket and will take on Cincinnati in the next round, while the Mets drop to the 1 loss bracket and will face Pittsburgh. WP: Jeff Samardzija (CHC) LP: Pedro Feliciano (NYM) Players of the Game Chicago Cubs- SS Ryan Theriot (3-5, 1 BB, 1 SB, 1 3B, 3 RBI) New York Mets- 2B Luis Castillo (2-3, 2 BB, 1 2B, 3 RBI) Scoring Summary Bot 1st- 2 out, Carlos Delgado homers, scoring David Wright and Delgado (2-0 NYM) Top 2nd- 2 out, Ryan Theriot triples, scoring Mark DeRosa, Mike Fontenot, and Micah Hoffpauir (3-2 CHC) Ronny Cedeno singles, scoring Theriot (4-2 CHC) Top 3rd- 2 out, Reed Johnson singles, scoring Geovany Soto (5-2 CHC) Cedeno walks, scoring Hoffpauir (6-2 CHC) Bot 4th- 2 out, Luis Castillo doubles, scoring Fernando Tatis (6-3 CHC) Bot 5th- 0 out, Brian Schneider doubles, scoring Wright and Delgado (6-5 CHC) 1 out, Castillo singles, scoring Tatis (6-6 tie) Top 8th- 2 out, Alfonso Soriano singles, scoring Theriot (7-6 CHC) Top 9th- 2 out, Johnson doubles, scoring Fontenot (8-6 CHC) Bot 9th- 1 out, Castillo walks, scoring Tatis (8-7 CHC)

01-11-2015, 08:19 PM	#66
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 7 (9) San Diego @ (1) Chicago White Sox Pitching Match-up Shawn Estes (SD) vs. Jose Contreras (CWS) Pregame The Padres beat Arizona 13-7 to open up this tournament, and will be looking to keep the bats hot. The White Sox are playing their first game after having a bye in the first round. They finished 4th in Pool B with a 5-5 record and a +17 run differential. They were involved in a 4 way tie for second, and lost that tiebreaker, then lost the 3 team tiebreaker for third place. The 4th place tiebreaker came down to the White Sox and Oakland. While the White Sox beat Oakland by 8, Oakland only beat the White Sox by 1. Of course, Chicago wouldn't have even been in a tiebreaker situation had they not won their last 2 games by 8 runs a piece. The lineup is set for success, with Estes being a southpaw for San Diego, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has 7 right handed hitters and 1 switch hitter in the lineup. The only left handed hitter probably won't have much success at the plate, but 8 out of 9 are good odds. With that in mind, the pitching matchup should definitely favor the guys from Chi Town. Game Report The strategy was good for the White Sox. Load up on right handed hitters and take batting practice on San Diego starting pitcher Shawn Estes. The problem was the execution. After a first inning which saw Chicago get a run on 3 hits off Estes, he and 2 relievers combined to shut out the White Sox the rest of the game on just 4 more hits. On the other hand, San Diego stayed hot, getting 15 hits, and putting the game away with 5 runs in the last 4 innings. The result of this? A 9-1 San Diego win. The irony of this win? After defeating their last 2 opponents by 8 runs, the White Sox were defeated by 8 runs themselves tonight. Margins of 8 seem to be a trend for Ozzie Guillen's team. San Diego moves on in the undefeated bracket and will take on the Houston-Milwaukee winner in an undefeated bracket semifinal. Regardless of who wins that game, San Diego will be hosting the winner since they haven't had a home game yet, and both Houston and Milwaukee will have. Not sure if I mentioned it or not, but every team in this consolation bracket is guaranteed at least 1 home game. The White Sox, on the other hand, will have to get over this one, as they travel to Atlanta next to take on the Braves in the 1 loss bracket. WP: Shawn Estes (SD) LP: Jose Contreras (CWS) Players of the Game San Diego- CF Will Venable (5-6, 2 2B, 3 RBI) Chicago White Sox- 1B Paul Konerko (1-4, 1 RBI) Scoring Summary Top 1st- 2 out, Chase Headley doubles, scoring Kevin Kouzmanoff and Adrian Gonzalez (2-0 SD) Bot 1st- 2 out, Paul Konerko singles, scoring Toby Hall (2-1 SD) Top 3rd- 1 out, A. Gonzalez singles, scoring Will Venable (3-1 SD) Top 6th- 2 out, Venable singles, scoring Scott Hairston (4-1 SD) Top 7th- 2 out, Edgar Gonzalez singles, scoring A. Gonzalez (5-1 SD) Top 8th- 2 out, A. Gonzalez doubles, scoring Venable and Luis Rodriguez (7-1 SD) Top 9th- 2 out, Venable doubles, scoring Hairston and Josh Bard (9-1 SD)

01-12-2015, 01:53 PM	#68
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	StLee, thanks for posting. Yea I was a bit disappointed, as Kansas City, Atlanta, and the Cubs are probably my 3 favorite teams, and all of them ended up in the consolation bracket. So far my tournament definitely has not mirrored how the actual 2008 season went, with Tampa Bay, the Cubs and the Mets all in consolation games. I'm enjoying doing this, and I'm glad somebody is following it. I'll have to check out your dynasty in the ootp forums. I may have looked at it once thinking it was a dynasty involving real teams and players, then never got back to it. I'll definitely check it out though.

01-16-2015, 12:34 PM	#71
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 9 (3) Cincinnati @ (11) Chicago Cubs Pitching Match-Up Homer Bailey (CIN) vs. Rich Hill (CHC) Pregame Cincinnati is playing their second straight game against an NL Central opponent after taking care of Pittsburgh in their first game, while the Cubs ran by a very good New York Mets team in their first game. Chicago has a much better offense than Cincinnati, but the pitching match-up in this one doesn't leave a lot to be desired. Bailey had a 7.93 ERA in the 2008 season, while Rich Hill had a 4.12 ERA. The problem with Hill is that his stamina rating is only 18.. so he's only good for 2 trips through the lineup without losing any control. If he gets in any kind of trouble, he may not make it 3 innings, let alone 5. That could play to Cincinnati's advantage. The Cubs will have to hope the offense is sharp tonight, as I expect a lot of runs to cross the plate in this one. Game Report As I thought, this was a wild one, lots of offense. As I also thought, it would be a short outing for Rich Hill, who lasted just 2 innings of work. In those 2 innings he gave up 8 runs, but with only 1 long reliever available for the Cubs, it was imperative to get him through at least 2. With the Cubs down 8-0 after 2 innings, they had to rely on the bullpen to get the job done.. and the bullpen came through giving up just 2 runs the rest of the game. Cincinnati starter Homer Bailey got through 5 innings, giving up 5 runs, but the Cincinnati bullpen wasn't nearly as sharp, giving up 2 in the 6th and 3 in the 7th to tie the game at 10 going into extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, Micah Hoffpauir led off the inning with a double, but Francisco Cordero and Bill Bray combined to get the next 2 Cub hitters out. Cubs manager Lou Pinella went into panic mode, knowing his bullpen was down to Kevin Hart, who has a 30 control and would rather not be used in pressure situations. Had we gone to an 11th inning, it would have been Hart's game which could have spelled disaster. But it never got that far, as Kosuke Fukudome doubled to right as Red's right fielder Jerry Hairston just missed a sensational diving catch, but the ball got down and the Cubs, down 8-0 after 2, completed a miracle comeback, winning 11-10 in 10 innings! The Cubs will get some time to rest and recover as the undefeated bracket gets a break for a few games (after 1 more quarterfinal of course), but they will take on the Kansas City-Florida winner in an undefeated bracket semifinal. Location TBD. That is game 22 on the bracket. Cincinnati also gets a bit of a break, as they will play in game 16, but will have to mentally recover after blowing an 8 run lead. They take on the Oakland-Tampa Bay winner, location TBD. WP: Jeff Samardzija (CHC) LP: Francisco Cordero (CIN) Players of the Game Cincinnati- 2B Brandon Phillips (2-6, 2 HR, 4 RBI) Chicago Cubs- RF Kosuke Fukudome (3-4, 1 BB, 1 2B, 2 RBI, game winning RBI) Also want to give consideration to Cub's 1B Derrek Lee who was 2-5 with a double, homer, and 5 RBI's. But Fukudome gets the POTG award for the game winning RBI double. Scoring Summary Top 1st- 0 out, Jeff Keppinger doubles, scoring Jerry Hairston (1-0 CIN) Edwin Encarnacion homers, scoring Keppinger and Encarnacion (3-0 CIN) Top 2nd- 1 out, Keppinger singles, scoring Hairston (4-0 CIN) Brandon Phillips homers, scoring Keppinger, Encarnacion, and Phillips (7-0 CIN) 2 out, Chris Dickerson doubles, scoring Joey Votto (8-0 CIN) Bot 3rd- 2 out, Derrek Lee homers, scoring Kosuke Fukudome, Mike Fontenot, and Lee (8-3 CIN) Top 4th- 1 out, Votto singles, scoring Encarnacion (9-3 CIN) Bot 5th- 2 out, Lee doubles, scoring Fukudome and Fontenot (9-5 CIN) Top 6th- 1 out, Phillips homers, scoring Phillips (10-5 CIN) Bot 6th- 0 out, Reed Johnson doubles, scoring Alfonso Soriano (10-6 CIN) 2 out, Fukudome singles, scoring Johnson (10-7 CIN) Bot 7th- 0 out, Fontenot homers, scoring Fontenot (10-8 CIN) 2 out, Soriano homers, scoring Soriano (10-9 CIN) Micah Hoffpauir doubles, scoring Johnson (10-10 tie) Bot 10th- 2 out, Fukudome doubles, scoring Hoffpauir (11-10 CHC)

01-17-2015, 12:17 PM	#72
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 10 (7) Kansas City @ (2) Florida Pitching Match-Up Brandon Duckworth (KC) vs. Josh Johnson (FLA) Pregame Kansas City beat Atlanta in their first game, quite easily might I add, but they are in for a much tougher challenge tonight. Florida had a first round bye as the #2 seed. They finished in 4th place in Pool D with a 5-5 record and a -3 run differential, good enough to get them a bye in the consolation tournament. Of course it helped having Pittsburgh in their pool. The Marlins have an interesting dilemma in this consolation bracket.. with the rule that every player must start a game, get an official at-bat and play 4 innings in the field, and the Marlins having 5 catchers, this also creates a dilemma for me. Technically, the DH doesn't play in the field.. so do I give them credit for a start? Normally I would say no, but with Florida having 5 catchers, if I make all of them start a game and play 4 innings in the field, that would mean Florida would have to play 5 games. I'll have to mull over this one. Do I credit the DH with a start every game even though they don't play in the field, or do I give them credit for a start as long as they get an official AB? Anyways, back to this one, the Marlins have a weapon, who for whatever reason only played 8 games in the actual 2008 season. Cameron Maybin had a .542 average against right handers, and 00-65 on his card vs. RH are all a positive result. Combine that with his 94 speed and 93 steal rating, and he had to start this game. The Royals are going to have trouble in the sense that the pitching match-up favors Florida. Johnson's ERA is almost a full run lower than Duckworth's. However, as a team, the Royals have better bats. It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out. Game Report To say this was a strange game would be an understatement. The Royals jumped out early to score a run in the 1st inning off Josh Johnson. Florida responded with 2 in the 2nd, 2 in the 4th. The most interesting thing about those 4 runs? They were all scored of rolls that favored the pitcher card. Just bad luck for Duckworth. Johnson, meanwhile was almost untouched for the next 4 innings. Then in the 6th, the bad luck turned his way, as he gave up 3 runs in the 6th, and a couple of the hits in that inning for Kansas City.. well they came off the fielder range chart. So, the game was in the hands of the bullpens, who did a sensational job getting out of jams. The Marlins had a great chance to go ahead in the 8th, but Yasuhiko Yabuta worked out of a jam. The Royals had a chance to go ahead in the 9th, but Matt Lindstrom worked out of a jam. So for the second straight game, we go to extra innings. David Dejesus led off the 10th for Kansas City with a lead-off double, and Mike Aviles hit a slow ground ball to short that got Dejesus to third with 1 out. Out went Lindstrom, in came Joe Nelson, who got a strikeout and a line drive to second to get out of the jam. We moved to the bottom of the 10th, when Royals manager Trey Hillman made a very curious move (obviously it was my decision, but I wanted to include the real life managers into the game as far as decision making goes). With right handed hitter Cody Ross leading of the bottom of the 10th for Florida, Hillman elected to put southpaw Horacio Ramirez on the mound. Hillman cited Ramirez's 72 control rating as the deciding factor, as the only right hander available was Joel Peralta who has a control rating of 37. So basically, he went against the normal righty-righty percentages and trusted the dice roll to go in favor of Ramirez. It didn't, instead giving Ross the advantage. Had Peralta been in the game, it would have been a strikeout off the hitter card. But since Ramirez was in, it turned out to be a home run. As Homer Simpson says... DOH! (or something like that). So Cody Ross gave Florida the walk-off win, 5-4. Florida will move on to the undefeated bracket semifinals and take on the Chicago Cubs in game 22. Since Florida hasn't had a road game yet, they will travel to Wrigley Field for this one. Kansas City will have to shake off the bad luck of this game, as they move to the 1 loss bracket and will take on Arizona in game 14. As Arizona has not had a road game yet, they will travel to Kansas City for this one. So that completes the undefeated bracket quarterfinals. Next up on the agenda: the first 6 games of the 1 loss bracket, followed by 4 elimination games in the 2 loss bracket. So San Diego, Houston, the Cubs, and Florida (all NL teams, how about that?) have a while to wait before they see action again. WP: Joe Nelson (FLA) LP: Horacio Ramirez (KC) Players of the Game Kansas City- SS Mike Aviles (2-5, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR) Florida- LF Josh Willingham (3-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI) Ross definitely got consideration for his walk-off homer, as did Cameron Maybin who was 4-5 with 2 RBI. The last few games, picking a POTG from each team has been a little tough. Scoring Summary Top 1st- 0 out, Alberto Callaspo singles, scoring Joey Gathright (1-0 KC) Bot 2nd- 2 out, Josh Willingham homers, scoring John Baker and Willingham (2-1 FLA) Bot 4th- 2 out, Cameron Maybin singles, scoring Willingham and Jeremy Hermida (4-1 FLA) Top 6th- 1 out, Mike Aviles doubles, scoring Alex Gordon and Ryan Shealy (4-3 FLA) Mark Teahen singles, scoring David Dejesus (4-4 tie) Bot 10th- 0 out, Cody Ross homers, scoring Ross (5-4 FLA)

01-19-2015, 12:15 PM	#74
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 11 (6) New York Mets @ (14) Pittsburgh Pitching Match-Up Claudio Vargas (NYM) vs. Jeff Karstens (PIT) Pregame This is our first game in the consolation bracket involving teams that played in the same pool. Pittsburgh gets the home game since they were on the road in their first game and the Mets were at home. Both of their pool meeting were fairly close, of course the Mets won both, but only by scores of 10-8 and 5-2, so 2 different games. As both teams are into the 1 loss bracket, it is imperative that they start some guys they wouldn't normally start, since the rule is that everybody has to qualify for at least 1 start by getting an official AB and play 4 innings in the field. Therefore, there could be a lack of offense at the bottom of the lineup for each team. For the DH, I've decided to go ahead and keep using the DH since I have all tournament, but since DH doesn't play the field, they only get credit for 1/2 a game started. I think that's a fair way to handle it. Pittsburgh is still looking for their first win of this tournament, and they've got the home field advantage in this one. The Mets have definitely underachieved so far, and are looking to right the ship here. The pitching match-up is fairly even, but overall the Pirates may have a better chance. Vargas only has a 20 stamina, and both of the Mets' long relievers are unavailable this game due to the need for rest, so Vargas is going to have to tough it out as long as he can. Now, if they can get him through 5, then they've still got enough fresh arms in the bullpen to be ok. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has 2 long relievers available in case Karstens gets into trouble early, so overall, I'm saying the pitching favors Pittsburgh. The key is who can get more out of the bottom of the lineup. To the field we go! Game Report After the game was over, the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrated like they had just won the World Series. It didn't matter that starting pitcher Jeff Karstens left the game with an injury in the top of the 4th, because the injury wasn't serious. What mattered more was that Karstens, Phil Dumatrait, and Denny Bautista allowed just 1 run against a very good hitting New York Mets team. Although the Mets had 10 hits in the game, clutch pitching and great defense kept them off the scoreboard until pinch hitter Brian Schneider doubled to drive in a meaningless run in the top of the 9th. The Pirate offense wasn't great, but it did enough, as the Pirates get their first win of this entire tournament, beating the New York Mets 4-1. Both teams finished the game with 10 hits, but Pittsburgh just took better advantage of their chances, and who would have known that their pitching staff would hold New York in check like they did? Certainly not this guy. As a result of their win, the Pirates will stay in the 1 loss bracket and be rewarded with a game against another NL central foe, as they'll face Milwaukee in game 15, meaning a short turnaround. With the rule that each team must play a home game and a road game, since Milwaukee has only had a home game so far, this game will be played in Pittsburgh. The Mets, meanwhile, continue to struggle and underachieve in this tournament, but have 1 more chance in this triple elimination bracket. They do fall to the 2 loss bracket and will take on the Arizona/Kansas City loser in game 17. That will be an elimination game, location TBD. WP: Phil Dumatrait (PIT) LP: Claudio Vargas (NYM) Players of the Game New York Mets- PH Brian Schneider (1-1, 1 2B, 1 RBI) Hard to give it to anybody else considering Schneider came off the bench (which is always tough anyways) and delivered a pinch hit RBI double to break the shutout. Pittsburgh- RF Brandon Moss (3-4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI) Also give a lot of credit to Phil Dumatrait, who came on after the injury to Jeff Karstens, pitched 5 innings, and allowed no runs. He was huge. Scoring Summary Bot 4th- 1 out, Freddy Sanchez doubles, scoring Nate McLouth (1-0 PIT) Bot 5th- 1 out, Doug Mientkiewicz triples, scoring Luis Cruz (2-0 PIT) Bot 8th- 1 out, Brandon Moss homers, scoring Ryan Doumit and Moss (4-0 PIT) Top 9th- 2 out, Brian Schneider doubles, scoring Nick Evans (4-1 PIT)

01-28-2015, 12:31 PM	#75
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 12 (5) Oakland @ (13) Tampa Bay Pitching Match-Up Gio Gonzalez (OAK) vs. Scott Kazmir (TB) Pregame Both teams come into this game after tough losses in their opening game of the consolation bracket. In Tampa Bay's case, their lack of a long reliever got their pitching staff shelled. Oakland on the other hand, gave up clutch hits at the wrong time in their loss to Houston. The pitching matchup is a good one, with 2 left handers battling it out. On the surface, it would look like Kazmir and his 63 control would have the advantage of Gonzalez and his 30 control. For Tampa Bays sake, they better hope Kazmir is on it today because their bullpen is toast! Both teams have the lineup stacked with players that hit southpaws well, including a fair amount of left handed hitters in the lineup. I've always been of the mindset that if you're a good hitter, you can hit off both left and right handed pitchers. Both of these managers today seem to agree. The key is going to be how Gonzalez comes out. He's got to stay on par with Kazmir. Game Report Offense took a back seat in this one, as both starting pitchers were sharp, as well as the bullpens. There were 10 hits total in this game, a far cry from some of our other games where a single team has more than 10 hits in a game! Tampa Bay struck early and relied on Kazmir to keep Oakland in check, and that he did, pitching into the 8th inning before he finally gave way to J.P. Howell. Howell had an auspicious debut, giving up an immediate homer to Rajai Davis, but then sat the next 4 batters down in order as Tampa Bay gets a much need 3-2 win, and gives their bullpen a much needed rest. Oakland had just 3 hits in the game, 2 of those coming from Davis, but nobody else could get on track. The game really wasn't as close as the final score indicates, as Tampa Bay had chances to really blow it open, but Oakland pitchers got out of jams. With the win, Tampa Bay stays in the 1 loss bracket and will take on Cincinnati in game 16. Location TBD. The loss sends Oakland to the 2 loss bracket where they will play an elimination game against the Atlanta-Chicago White Sox loser, that will be game 18, location TBD. WP: Scott Kazmir (TB) LP: Gio Gonzalez (OAK) Players of the Game Oakland- CF Rajai Davis (2-4, 2B, HR, RBI) Tampa Bay- SP Scott Kazmir (7 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 8 K) Scoring Summary Bot 2nd- 1 out, Willy Aybar homers, scoring Jonny Gomes and Aybar (2-0 TB) Top 3rd- 2 out, Mike Sweeney singles, scoring Rajai Davis (2-1 TB) Bot 7th- 1 out, Dioner Navarro doubles, scoring Carl Crawford (3-1 TB) Top 8th- 2 out, Davis homers, scoring Davis (3-2 TB)

01-28-2015, 02:15 PM	#76
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 13 (1) Chicago White Sox @ (10) Atlanta Pitching Match-Up Clayton Richard (CHW) vs. Charlie Morton (ATL) Pregame The White Sox came into this bracket as the #1 seed with a very high point differential and a first round bye, but were knocked around by San Diego in their first bracket game. They will be looking to get back on the right track. Atlanta, as many have pointed out, was not very good in the actual 2008 season, and lost their opening game to Kansas City in pretty convincing fashion. The pitching matchup has drawn.. well.. no fans to the seats, as neither Richard nor Morton offered a lot in the 2008 season. Fortunately, if either starter gets knocked around, both teams have plenty of arms in the bullpen ready to come in and take over. With the way Atlanta hits the ball against southpaws, you'd think they would hold a decided advantage there, but let's get to the field to find out. Game Report The White Sox staff picked up right where they left off last game, as Richard gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 1st. Then in the second inning, Atlanta starter Charlie Morton left the game due to injury. This could have been a big moment in the game, as John Smoltz came out of the bullpen. The fans were content knowing that a former Cy Young award winner would shut down the White Sox. And he did, for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th innings. But the 2nd and 7th innings proved to be the downfall, as Smoltz gave up 7 runs in those 2 innings, finally leaving the game after giving up the last of those 7 runs. As for Richard, he settled down nicely after giving up 4 runs in the first 2 innings, facing 1 batter over the minimum in his next 3 innings of work to get through 5. He then turned it over to the bullpen and 5 White Sox relievers kept Atlanta off the scoreboard the rest of the way as Chicago gets back on the winning track by beating the Braves 7-4. Had Smoltz not wanted to play Jekyll and Hyde for 2 innings, this might have been a completely different ball game. It's disappointing as Smoltz has a 72 control, but he did see limited action in the actual 2008 season, and the dice just weren't working in his favor in this one. The White Sox advance in the 1 loss bracket and will take on the Milwaukee/Pittsburgh winner in game 23, location TBD. Atlanta drops to the 2 loss bracket where they will take on Oakland in game 18, an elimination game, location TBD. At this point, most of the home teams in each game should be decided by coin flip, as my rule was everybody has to get 1 road game and 1 home game, and I believe all 14 teams have met that requirement. I'll have to check. WP: Adam Russell (CHW) LP: John Smoltz (ATL) SV: Bobby Jenks (CHW) Players of the Game Chicago White Sox- DH Jim Thome (3-4, RBI) Atlanta- 2B Kelly Johnson (4-5, HR, RBI) Scoring Summary Bot 1st- 1 out, Matt Diaz homers, scoring Kelly Johnson and Diaz (2-0 ATL) Brandon Jones singles, scoring Chipper Jones (3-0 ATL) Top 2nd- 2 out, Jim Thome singles, scoring Jermaine Dye (3-1 ATL) Nick Swisher homers, scoring Thome and Swisher (3-3 tie) Bot 2nd- 0 out, Johnson homers, scoring Johnson (4-3 ATL) Top 7th- 0 out, Orlando Cabrera doubles, scoring Alexei Ramirez and Thome (5-4 CHW) A.J. Pierzynski flies out to center field, scoring Swisher (6-4 CHW) 1 out, Joe Crede doubles, scoring Cabrera (7-4 CHW)

02-01-2015, 06:16 PM	#77
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 14 (8) Arizona @ (7) Kansas City Pitching Match-Up Max Scherzer (ARI) vs. Gil Meche (KC) Pregame Arizona looks to get their first win in bracket play after getting hammered by San Diego, while Kansas City has already played 2 games, beating Atlanta and losing to Florida. Not much to separate as far as seed go, as it's 8 vs. 7. Both teams have the ability to cause problems offensively, but with both starting pitcher being fairly high in control, this has the potential to be a pitching duel. Then again, anything can happen. Game Report Gil Meche was hot today, shutting down the Arizona bats, as Meche went 7 1/3 innings giving up 2 runs in the 7th before giving way to the bullpen, who held the lead as Kansas City gets a 4-2 win. As a team Arizona only had 4 hits in the game, and Kansas City had 10. The Diamondbacks made a run in the top of the 9th, or tried to anyways, as they used 3 pinch hitters in a row, unfortunately only 1 was able to get on. With the win, the Royals advance in the 1 loss bracket and will take on the Cincinnati/Tampa Bay winner in game 24, location TBD. Arizona drops to the 2 loss bracket and will take on the New York Mets in an elimination game, game 17, location TBD. Short turnaround for the D-Backs. WP: Gil Meche (KC) LP: Max Scherzer (ARI) SV: John Bale (KC) Players of the Game Arizona- CF Alex Romero (2-3, 2 singles) Kansas City- SP Gil Meche (7 1/3 innings, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K) Scoring Summary Bot 4th- 1 out, Jason Smith doubles, scoring Alex Gordon and Kila Ka'aihue (2-0 KC) Joey Gathright flies out to center field, scoring Smith (3-0 KC) Top 7th- 1 out, Chad Tracy singles, scoring Conor Jackson (3-1 KC) 2 out, Gil Meche throws wild pitch, scoring Jeff Salazar (3-2 KC) Bot 8th- 2 out, Mike Aviles singles, scoring Gordon (4-2 KC)

02-15-2015, 10:37 PM	#78
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 15 (4) Milwaukee @ (14) Pittsburgh Pitching Match-Up C.C. Sabathia (MIL) vs. Matt Morris (PIT) Pregame These 2 conference foes take each other on in a 1 loss bracket game. Pittsburgh got their first win of the entire tournament in their last game, and is looking to make it 2 in a row. Milwaukee holds a huge advantage in this one, as Sabathia is on the mound and his 80 control rating should shut the Pirates down. However, C.C. does have a tendency to be inconsistent, and the Pirates are banking on that tonight. They'll have to take advantage of their opportunities to win this one however. Game Report A 7 run 5th inning was the difference in this one, as the game was tight otherwise, but Milwaukee batted around and scored those 7 5th inning runs. On the other side, C.C. Sabathia was as good as advertised, going the distance and saving the Milwaukee bullpen as the Brewers won 9-0. The complete game from Sabathia is a tournament milestone in that it is the first one of the tournament. I find them incredibly hard to get based on stamina ratings and how fast the control ratings drop after you've reached your batter limit, especially if you've given up a run. What saved C.C. is his starting control rating of 80, and the fact he didn't give up a run. His stamina rating is 26, and he pitched to 33 batters. With the win, Milwaukee advances in the 1 loss bracket and will play the Chicago White Sox in game 23, location TBD. The loss drops Pittsburgh to the 2 loss bracket. They will take on the Oakland/Atlanta winner in an elimination game, that will be game 20, location TBD. WP: C.C. Sabathia (MIL) LP: Matt Morris (PIT) Players of the Game Milwaukee- SP C.C. Sabathia, complete game victory, no runs, 5 hits, 7 K, 2 BB Pittsburgh- 1B Adam LaRoche, 2-3, 2 singles Scoring Summary Top 4th, 1 out, Prince Fielder singles, scoring Ryan Braun (1-0 MIL) Top 5th, 0 out, Mike Rivera homers, scoring Corey Hart and Rivera (3-0 MIL) 2 out, Braun homers, scoring Joe Dillon, Ray Durham, and Braun (6-0 MIL) Russell Branyan homers, scoring Fielder and Branyan (8-0 MIL) Top 7th, 0 out, Fielder grounds out, scoring Gabe Kapler from third (9-0 MIL)

02-16-2015, 06:40 PM	#79
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 16 (13) Tampa Bay @ (3) Cincinnati Pitching Match-Up James Shields (TB) vs. Matt Belisle (CIN) Pregame Tampa Bay is looking for something, anything, to break them out of the slump they've been in this tournament, and this might be the game that it happens. The pitching match-up definitely favors the Rays, with James Shields having a control rating of 62 against just 30 for Matt Belisle. In case either starter gets into trouble, both teams have a long reliever ready and waiting in the pen. Cincinnati will be looking to jump on Shields early, because they know if they don't, they could be in for a long game. Game Report It was already going to take a heck of a 9th inning for Tampa Bay to come back in this one, but the 7 run 8th inning by Cincinnati all but sealed the deal. The Reds sent 11 men to the plate in the bottom of the 8th, as 8 batters in a row reached. In the inning, the Reds had 2 doubles, 3 singles, and drew 3 walks. Combine that with the 4 run 1st inning the Reds had, and it led to a final score of 14-3 Cincinnati. Both starters only went 5 innings, as Tampa Bay manager Joe Madden elected to use long reliever Edwin Jackson for only 1 inning in this one, freeing him up for the elimination game. In fact, Madden all but threw in the towel after the 5th inning in this one. With the loss, the Rays drop to the 2 loss bracket and will play in game 19, which is an elimination game. They'll take on the survivor of the New York Mets/Arizona game, location TBD. Cincinnati stays in the 1 loss bracket and will face Kansas City in game 24, location TBD. WP: Matt Belisle (CIN) LP: James Shields (TB) Players of the Game Tampa Bay- CF Carl Crawford (2-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI) Cincinnati- LF Jay Bruce (2-4, 1 BB, 2 HR, 3 RBI) Scoring Summary Bot 1st- 0 out, Ryan Hanigan flies to deep left field, scoring Jerry Hairston from third (1-0 CIN) 1 out, Jay Bruce homers, scoring Ryan Freel and Bruce (3-0 CIN) Jolbert Cabrera doubles, scoring Javier Valentin (4-0 CIN) Top 2nd- 0 out, Dioner Navarro singles, scoring Eric Hinske (4-1 CIN) Bot 5th- 0 out, Bruce homers, scoring Bruce (5-1 CIN) Wilkin Castillo hits into a double play, scoring Valentin (6-1 CIN) Bot 7th- 1 out, Scott Hatteberg flies out to right field, scoring Cabrera (7-1 CIN) Top 8th- 0 out, Carlos Pena homers, scoring Pena (7-2 CIN) Bot 8th- 1 out, Valentin walks, scoring Freel (8-2 CIN) Cabrera walks, scoring Hanigan (9-2 CIN) Castillo singles, scoring Bruce (10-2 CIN) Hatteberg doubles, scoring Valentin and Cabrera (12-2 CIN) Corey Patterson doubles, scoring Castillo and Hatteberg (14-2 CIN) Top 9th- 0 out, Carl Crawford homers, scoring Crawford (14-3 CIN)

02-18-2015, 10:42 PM	#80
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 17 (8) Arizona @ (6) New York Mets Pitching Match-Up Brandon Webb (ARI) vs. Johan Santana (NYM) Pregame This is our first elimination game of the tournament, 1 of these 2 teams will be done after tonight. Both teams are good enough that they shouldn't be in this position, but the Mets really have something to prove as they are the only team in this whole tournament that has lost to Pittsburgh. This being an elimination game, both teams have had to insert players in the lineup to meet the minimum 1 game rule, so expect to see a fair amount of substitutions after the 5th inning on, as players only have to play 4 innings in the field and get an official AB to meet the standard for a game played. Based on the pitching match-up, one would think we will have a pitchers duel, but in this case, it's not how the ball bounces, but how the dice rolls. So which team is ending their tournament after this game? We'll find out in about an hour. Game Report Through the first 3 innings, it looked like we might not get that pitchers dual that I was figuring on. After that though, both starters settled down, and not another run was scored. The Mets put up a 4 spot in the 3rd inning, sparked by a dropped fly ball from Arizona's Justin Upton. Johan Santana got through 7, Luis Ayala gave up a leadoff triple in the top of the 8th but stranded Conor Jackson on third, and Billy Wagner finished it off in the 9th as the Mets get a little bit of respect back by eliminating Arizona from the tournament 4-2. We thank Arizona for participating, and they get the duvious honor of being the first team eliminated, not something any team wants. The Mets, meanwhile, live to play another day. They'll take on Tampa Bay in another elimination game. That will be game 19, location TBD. WP: Johan Santana (NYM) LP: Brandon Webb (ARI) SV: Billy Wagner (NYM) Players of the Game Arizona- SP Brandon Webb (losing pitcher, but only gave up 3 earned runs in 7 IP) New York Mets- SP Johan Santana (winning pitcher, gave up 2 earned runs in 7 IP, 6 K) Scoring Summary Top 1st- 2 out, Mark Reynolds homers, scoring Chris Young and Reynolds (2-0 ARI) Bot 3rd- 0 out, Moises Alou singles, scoring Nick Evans (2-1 ARI) Jose Reyes grounds out to first base, scoring Robinson Cancel from third (2-2 tie) 1 out, Fernando Tatis doubles, scoring Angel Pagan and Alou (4-2 NYM)

02-27-2015, 11:43 AM	#81
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Guys, I have played 4 games since my last post, but unfortunately I have lost the scoresheets for those games. In an effort to start spring cleaning early, somehow they got lost in the shuffle. Fortunately I was able to recover the tournament bracket with the scores from the last 4 games, but they won't have the glamorous posts that the others have had. Consolation Bracket Game 18- (10) Atlanta defeated (5) Oakland 10-5. Heh, how ironic, the final score was the same as the seeds. Oakland is eliminated, Atlanta advances in the 2 loss bracket to take on Pittsburgh in Game 20. Consolation Bracket Game 19- (6) New York Mets defeated (13) Tampa Bay 8-6. Tampa Bay ends a horrendous tournament by being eliminated, and the Mets advance to game 27 to take on the loser of the Miwaukee/Chicago White Sox game. Consolation Bracket Game 20- (14) Pittsburgh shocks (10) Atlanta 4-1. Atlanta is eliminated, and both of Pittsburgh's wins in this tournament have been against NL East teams. They advance to game 28 to take on the Kansas City/Cincinnati loser. Consolation Bracket Game 21- (9) San Diego defeats (12) Houston 5-1 in a winners bracket game. San Diego advances to game 31, which is the undefeated bracket final, and will take on the Chicago Cubs/Florida winner. Houston drops to the 1 loss bracket and will take on the Kansas City/Cincinnati winner in game 26. Game 22, which is the Chicago Cubs/Florida game, should be played tonight barring any unforeseen circumstances.

03-14-2015, 07:18 PM	#82
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	In an effort to get through the consolation bracket and get to the meat of the tournament, which is the 16 team championship series bracket, I'm just going to quick recap the rest of the games in the consolation bracket. I've got 5 more done, so here we go. Consolation Bracket Game 22- (2) Florida defeated (11) Chicago Cubs 5-4 in a winners bracket semifinal. The Marlins will take on San Diego in the winners bracket final, while the Cubs drop to the 1 loss bracket to take on the Milwaukee/Chicago White Sox winner. Consolation Bracket Game 23- (4) Milwaukee defeated (1) Chicago White Sox 2-1. Milwaukee advances to take on the Cubs in the 1 loss bracket, while the top seed White Sox move to the 2 loss bracket, and will next face the New York Mets in game 27, an elimination game. Consolation Bracket Game 24- (3) Cincinnati defeated (7) Kansas City 2-1. The Reds will take on Houston in game 26 in the 1 loss bracket, and the Royals drop to the 2 loss bracket, taking on Pittsburgh in game 28, an elimination game. Consolation Bracket Game 25- (11) Chicago Cubs defeated (4) Milwaukee 6-4. The Cubs advance in the 1 loss bracket to take on the Cincinnati/Houston winner in game 32, while Milwaukee advances to the 2 loss bracket and will take on the Kansas City/Pittsburgh winner in game 30, an elimination game. Consolation Bracket Game 26- (12) Houston defeated (3) Cincinnati 7-6. The Astros advance in the 1 loss bracket to take on the Chicago Cubs in game 32, while the Reds drop to the 2 loss bracket and will take on the White Sox/Mets winner in game 29, an elimination game.

03-23-2015, 09:04 PM	#83
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 27- New York Mets beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0 in a great game. They advance to take on Cincinnati in an elimination game, which will be game 29. Consolation Bracket Game 28- Pittsburgh keeps their run going by beating Kansas City 8-7, advancing to get another chance at Milwaukee. This will be game 30, an elimination game. Consolation Bracket Game 29- New York Mets defeat Cincinnati 8-7, advancing to game 33, an elimination game where they will play the Milwaukee/Pittsburgh winner. Consolation Bracket Game 30- A heck of an effort for the Cinderella Pirates, but the run ends with a 4-2 loss to Milwaukee. The Brewers will take on the Mets in game 33, an elimination game. Consolation Bracket Game 31- Florida beat San Diego 5-3 in the winners bracket final. The Marlins advance to game 36 where they will take on an opponent to be named, either San Diego, the Chicago Cubs, or Houston. If Florida wins game 36 they advance to the championship series where they would have to be beaten 3 games in a row. If Florida loses, they'll turn right around and play the same team in game 37, with the winner advancing to the championship series. A bit confusing I know. San Diego now has 1 loss and will take on the Chicago Cubs/Houston winner for the right to knock Florida off of undefeated status. That game will be Game 35. Consolation Bracket Game 32- The Chicago Cubs beat Houston 7-5 to advance in the 1 loss bracket. They will take on San Diego in Game 35.

04-05-2015, 02:47 PM	#84
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 33- The New York Mets beat Milwaukee 11-4. Milwaukee is eliminated, the Mets will take on Houston, who lost Game 32. That is an elimination game and is Game 34. Consolation Bracket Game 34- Houston beat the New York Mets 9-8. The Mets are eliminated, Houston advances to Game 38, an elimination game, where they will take on the loser of Game 35 between San Diego and the Chicago Cubs. Consolation Bracket Game 35- The Chicago Cubs hammered San Diego 10-0 to advance to face undefeated Florida in Game 36. San Diego drops to the elimination bracket where they will take on Houston in game 38. Consolation Bracket Game 36- The Chicago Cubs beat Florida 6-4 to give the Marlins their first loss. Each team now has a loss, and the 2 teams will turn around and play again in Game 37 for the right to advance to the championship series. Consolation Bracket Game 37- The Cubs beat Florida again, 5-0. Chicago has won 2 of 3 against Florida now in this tournament. The Cubs advance to the championship series where they will have to win just 1 game to win the consolation bracket. On the other hand, they'll have to be beaten twice in a row to lose the bracket. Their opponent will be TBD. Florida drops to the elimination bracket, Game 39, where they will take on the San Diego/Houston winner. Consolation Bracket Game 38- San Diego beat Houston 5-0. Houston is eliminated, San Diego will face Florida again in Game 39. The loser is eliminated, the winner takes on the Cubs in the championship series.

04-15-2015, 10:03 PM	#85
collegesportsfanms Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2004	Consolation Bracket Game 39- Florida beat San Diego 8-5 to advance to the championship series against the Chicago Cubs, where they must win twice in a row. First game is at Wrigley Field. The Marlins put up 4 in the 4th and 4 in the 7th. Consolation Bracket Game 40 (Championship Series Game 1)- Florida again used the big inning, scoring 4 in the 1st and 5 in the 9th to win 9-3 over the Chicago Cubs, forcing Game 41, a winner take all consolation bracket Championship. This game will be at Dolphin Stadium. Consolation Bracket Game 41 (Winner Take all Consolation Bracket Final)- The Chicago Cubs beat Florida 4-1 to claim the title of the Best of the Worst, by winning the consolation bracket. And now, finally, it is time to get to the main event, what you've all been waiting for, the 16 team Championship Bracket!

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