DICE Baseball 2008 Tournament

[collegesportsfanms]

One of my other projects that I haven't posted on this forum is a game called DICE Baseball, for those of you that are familiar with Statis Pro Baseball, DICE Baseball is pretty much the same type of game, only it uses dice instead of cards. I have been posting this on the main delphiforums Gen1400 section, but right now gen1400 gaming is up in the air, so the forums don't get a lot of attention. I'm going to copy and paste this dynasty over to these forums, because I'm at a dilemma on something and I need some help deciding. So I will get this dynasty copied and pasted over here soon.

[collegesportsfanms]

The pools for the 2008 MLB tournament are set:

Pool A: LA Angels, Minnesota, Houston, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Washington

Pool B: Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Toronto, Oakland, Detroit, Seattle

Pool C: Tampa Bay, NY Yankees, St. Louis, Texas, Colorado, San Diego

Pool D: Boston, NY Mets, Florida, Cleveland, San Francisco, Pittsburgh

Pool E: Philadelphia, Milwaukee, LA Dodgers, Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore

I ranked the teams 1-30 based on number of wins for the 2008 season. If multiple teams had the same number of wins I drew for their rank out of a hat. Then I started an S curve to decide the pool matchups.

The way I will report on this is I will play one round from Pool A, then report on it, then do the same for Pool B, and so on. So every report will have 3 games covered. Any questions or comments, bring em forward.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool A, Round 1

The first 3 games in Pool A are completed, and here are the results.

LA Angels- 8, Washington- 2 -- Kendry Morales led the way with a 2B, a 3B, and 4 RBI's, and Howie Kendrick added a HR and 3 RBI as the top seed Angels rolled in their first game. Injury news... Washington's Austin Kearns left the game late and will miss the next 10 games, which ultimately ends his tournament unless the Nats make it to the 16 team double elimination portion of the tourney.

Minnesota- 10, Cincinnati- 5 -- Carlos Gomez hit a grand slam in the 5th inning for the Twins in a wild inning. The Reds scored 3 in the top half of the inning and then Gomez had the granny in the bottom half. Minnesota added another 4 runs in the 6th to win going away.

Kansas City- 4, Houston- 1 -- The Royals got 2 runs in the first, one of them being a gift run as the umpire ruled Michael Bourn trapped a ball that was actually caught. This gave KC their second run of the inning and got Bourn ejected from the game without even getting an at-bat. Reggie Abercrombie took his place. Gil Meche was brilliant on the mound, giving up just 1 run in 6 2/3 innings pitched.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool B, Round 1

Chicago Cubs- 4, Seattle- 2 -- The Cubs scored all 4 of their runs in the first 2 innings, and the pitching was just solid enough. Kerry Wood had a little bit of a problem in the 9th inning as he gave up a run, but the Cubs hang on for the win.

Chicago White Sox- 4, Detroit- 1 -- Detroit drew first blood on a solo shot in the first inning by Miguel Cabrera, but Mark Buehrle shut down the Tiger bats, going 8 innings and giving up just the 1 run.

Oakland- 11, Toronto- 4 -- Roy Halladay was rolling along until the 5th. He got the first 2 outs easily in the 5th, then gave up 2 singles, and with Ryan Sweeney up for Oakland, Halladay injured himself and had to come out of the game. The Toronto bullpen proceeded to give up 11 runs in the last 5 innings, including allowing the 2 baserunners to score that were on when Halladay left the game. Halladay's injury isn't serious, he'll make his next start, but the Blue Jays will definitely have to shape up their bullpen.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool C, Round 1



Tampa Bay- 5, San Diego- 3 -- This game was marred by 2 incidents that really took away from the actual game. First, in the bottom of the fifth, with tensions mounting already, San Diegos Jake Peavy hit Tampa Bays Eric Hinske in the neck with a pitch, causing a bench clearing brawl. Hinske and Peavy were both ejected, along with San Diego starting catcher Nick Hundley. The aftermath saw a 2 game suspension for Hinske, a 6 game suspension for Hundley, and an 8 game suspension for Peavy. That means Peavy is not able to start again until game 10 of the tournament for San Diego, which would most likely be their last game. Another incident happened in the top of the 8, as San Diego starting 2B Tadahito Iguchi tore his hamstring running the bases. His prognosis: out 10 games, which makes this most likely the second tournament ending injury already. Ugh, ugly game for San Diego.

NY Yankees- 6, Colorado- 1 -- Mike Mussina pitched 6 strong innings and Bobby Abreu had a double, a HR, and 3 RBI's to lead the Yankees in this one.

St. Louis- 9, Texas- 8 -- Another wild one, as St. Louis put up a 7 spot in the third, chasing Texas starter Kevin Millwood after just 2 2/3 innings. Adam Kennedy hit a grand slam in the inning and at that point St. Louis led 8-0. Texas rallied back though, down 9-5 going into the 9th, the Rangers got 3 runs, but St. Louis closer Ryan Franklin got Ian Kinsler to strike out and end the game and the rally for the Rangers.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool D, Round 1

Boston- 10, Pittsburgh- 4 -- Pittsburgh jumped out to an early lead in this one but Coco Crisp would not be denied. He had 2 HR and 5 RBI for the Red Sox, who eventually pulled away and sealed the deal with 4 runs in the 8th.

San Francisco- 6, NY Mets- 5 (11 innings) -- This game was a classic, as Rich Aurilia gave the Giants a 3-0 lead in the first with a HR, but the Mets fought back with a run in the 8th to tie the game at 5. In the top of the 11th, Bengie Molina got an RBI single to give San Fran the lead, and Brian Wilson got 3 quick outs in the bottom of the inning to get the save.

Cleveland- 9, Florida- 4 -- All the scoring in this game came in the first 4 innings. Marlins started Ricky Nolasco got rocked, giving up all 9 runs in 3 innings before being relieved by Burke Badenhop, who pitched 4 scoreless. By then the damage was done, as Cliff Lee struggled through 7 innings for Cleveland to get the win. Grady Sizemore had 2 solo HRs.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool E, Round 1

Baltimore- 2, Philadelphia- 1 -- Solo runs in the first and second inning, combined with an 8 inning, 1 run performance by Jeremy Guthrie, gives Baltimore the upset. It did come at a cost though, as Jim Johnson, relief pitcher for the Orioles, was injured trying to save the game in the bottom of the 9th. He will miss 7 games.

Milwaukee- 5, Atlanta- 4 (10 innings) -- Milwaukee jumped out to a 4-1 lead after 4 innings, but Atlanta battled back, tying the game at 4 in the top of the 9th on a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the 10th, the Braves' bullpen faltered, as Blaine Boyer gave up a single, a walk, and a triple to end the game. Corey Hart hit the walk off triple.

Arizona- 2, LA Dodgers- 0 -- Brandon Webb was sensational in this game, as he pitched a complete game shutout, allowing just 1 hit and 2 walks. Best pitching performance so far in the tournament, and it keeps Arizona's bullpen totally fresh. Chris Snyder had both RBI's for the D-Backs, one on a solo HR, and 1 on a double.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool A, Round 2

Minnesota- 5, Houston- 4 -- Houston led 4-3 going into the top of the 9th, and had 1 out to get, but Kaz Matsui threw away an easy grounder to second, allowing runners to get to second and third. After a walk, Jason Kubel lined a 2 run single into center to give Minnesota the lead, and Joe Nathan nailed down the save in the bottom 9th. Adam Everett from Minnesota and Geoff Blum from Houston were both injured in this game. Everett is D2D and Blum is out 3 games.

Washington- 2, Kansas City- 0 -- John Lannan went 7 shoutout innings, with Steven Shell and Jon Rauch pitching the last 2 innings. Rauch got the save. Nick Johnson hit a solo shot in the first, then got a triple in the 4th, followed by a Willie Harris RBI single, accounting for the 2 runs. That was all the Nats needed. Another injury in this game, as Miguel Olivo was injured in the second, and he is out for 8 games. That means he is not eligible to come back unless the Royals advance out of pool play and into the 16 team double elimination tourney. This also means John Buck is the Royals only catcher for the rest of pool play, so automatically no injuries or ejections for him. Speaking of ejections, Alex Gordon was tossed in this game. A rule I made was that if any player gets ejected, they automatically sit the next game, so he is out for the Royals for game 3.

LA Angels- 7, Cincinnati- 3 -- The Angels got 4 in the 3rd and 3 in the 5th, chasing Reds starter Edinson Volquez after 4 innings. They batted around in the 3rd inning, getting 6 singles in the inning. Joe Saunders struggled his way through 6 2/3 innings. Chris Dickerson of Cincinnati was thrown out of this game, meaning he sits game 3 for Cincy. Meanwhile, Maicer Izturis was injured for the Angels, he will miss 3 games.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool B, Round 2

Chicago White Sox- 3, Toronto- 1 -- Juan Uribe hit a 3 run homer in the 7th to account for the 3 White Sox runs, and Gavin Floyd was sharp in 7 innings of work.

Oakland- 2, Seattle- 1 (12 innings) -- Oakland got a solo shot from Daric Barton in the bottom of the 2nd and made that hold up until the top of the 9th, when Miguel Cairo doubled home Ichiro after a throwing error by Donnie Murphy got Ichiro on base. Nobody could get anything going in extra innings until the bottom of the 12th. With 1 out, Mike Sweeney double, then Chris Denorfia singled. Sweeney could not come home on the single, but with 1 out and runners at second and third, Donnie Murphy atoned for his 9th inning error by hitting a deep fly ball to center. Ichiro had no chance to throw out Sweeney, and that ended the game on a walk off sac fly.

Chicago Cubs- 7, Detroit- 2 -- The Cubs got 6 of their runs in the second inning, as both Geovany Soto and Mike Fontenot homered in the inning. Detroit starter Jeremy Bonderman actually stayed in the game and pitched 4 1/3 innings before he was pulled, as he was sharp in the second and third innings. Soto added another solo homer in the 5th, and Cubs' starter Ryan Dempster, while he wasn't the sharpest, did get through 6 2/3 innings.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool C, Round 2

St. Louis- 3, NY Yankees- 2 -- St. Louis got 2 runs in the 8th to come from behind and win this game. Cesar Izturis drove in 2 of the 3 runs for the Cards.

Texas- 13, San Diego- 11 -- San Diego had a golden chance to win this game, leading 9-5 halfway through, but in the bottom of the 5th they self destructed. 2 Padre errors led to 5 unearned runs in the inning. Texas hung on, as the teams combined for 35 hits in the game. 2 more injuries for the Padres, Scott Hairston is DTD, and Jim Edmonds is out through game 5, in which he will begin his time with the Chicago Cubs in game 6, so he is done with San Diego.

Colorado- 9, Tampa Bay- 7 -- The teams combined for 5 homers in this game, as Colorado jumped out to a 9-4 lead and held on.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool D, Round 2

Florida- 6, NY Mets- 4 -- All the damage for Florida was done in the third inning, as they got 2 homers, 2 doubles, and 2 singles in the inning to chase Mets starter Pedro Martinez. David Wright hit a 2 run shot in the 7th to make the score 6-4, but that was as close as it would get.

Cleveland- 4, Pittsburgh- 1 -- C.C. Sabathia dominated, going 7 1/3 innings of scoreless ball. Ryan Garko drove in 3 of the 4 Cleveland runs.

Boston- 3, San Francisco- 2 -- Tim Lincecum was rolling along for the Giants before tiring out and being replaced in the top of the 8th with 1 out and runners on 1st and 3rd for Boston. His replacement Keiichi Yabu promptly threw a wild pitch to allow Boston's first run to score. Then with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 3rd again, Yabu struck out David Ortiz, but Giants catcher Bengie Molina couldn't handle the third strike. It went to the backstop allowing the second of 2 unearned runs in the inning to score. In the 9th, Brandon Moss hit a solo shot for the Red Sox, and Jonathan Papelbon pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th to get the save and give Boston the comeback win.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool E, Round 2

LA Dodgers- 10, Milwaukee- 8 -- Milwaukee did most of their damage in the 7th inning, scoring 7 of their 8 runs, but Blake Dewitt helped the Dodgers with a home run, a double, and 4 RBIs on the day.

Arizona- 4, Baltimore- 2 -- Miguel Montero had a 2 run homer in the 4th to put Arizona on top for good. 1 injury of note, Baltimore catcher Ramon Hernandez was injured and will be out the next 4 games.

Philadelphia- 6, Atlanta- 2 -- Philadelphia batted around in the 6th, getting 2 doubles, 3 singles, and drawing a walk in the inning. They ended up scoring 4 runs as Atlanta starter Tim Hudson didn't get out of the 6th.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool A, Round 3

LA Angels- 5, Kansas City- 2 -- Ervin Santana pitched 8 1/3 innings in this game and was pulled in the 9th after an Esteban German homer.

Cincinnati- 10, Houston- 9 -- Ty Wigginton from Houston was injured in this game and will be out 6 games. Cincinnati scored 8 of their 10 runs in the last 2 innings. Houston had a chance to tie the game in the 9th but Brad Ausmus struck out with runners on 2nd and 3rd.

Minnesota- 8, Washington- 3-- Washington actually led this game 3-1 going into the bottom of the 7th, then Minnesota erupted to score 4 in the 7th and 3 more in the 8th. Ryan Langerhans from Washington was ejected in the first inning after striking out.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool B, Round 3

Chicago Cubs- 4, Oakland- 3 -- Oakland scored 2 runs in the top of the 8th to take a 3-2 lead, but an RBI double by Mark DeRosa in the bottom of the 9th tied the score at 3, then Kosuke Fukudome hit a walk-off double, scoring DeRosa, as the Cubs get the come from behind win.

Detroit- 6, Toronto- 5 -- Not a well played game, as the teams combined for 5 errors. Detroit batted around in the 6th, scoring 4 runs on 4 walks and 3 singles. Toronto got back into it in the 8th, scoring 3 runs. In a play you hardly ever see in a major league game, Rod Barajas led off the inning by striking out, but Detroit catcher Brandon Inge couldn't handle the pitch, so Barajas made it to first safely. Later in the inning, Curtis Granderson dropped a fly ball, making all 3 of the Blue Jays' 8th inning runs unearned. Todd Jones sent Toronto down 1-2-3 in the ninth though.

Seattle- 7, Chicago White Sox- 6 -- Seattle jumped on White Sox starter Javier Vazquez early, getting 3 in the first, and the Mariners led 7-2 going into the 7th inning stretch. Paul Konerko tightened things up with a 3 run blast in the bottom of the 7th, but Arthur Rhodes and J. J. Putz pitched the 8th and 9th, shutting down the Sox and getting an upset win.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool C, Round 3

Texas- 11, Tampa Bay- 4 -- Texas batted around in the 3rd, scoring 6 runs in the inning as Tampa Bay starter Edwin Jackson got through 5 by necessity, as the Rays were short on arms in the pen. Ramon Vazquez had 2 HR and 7 RBI for the Rangers in the game.

Colorado- 3, St. Louis- 2 -- A Matt Holliday 5th inning HR gave Colorado a 3-2 lead, and the bullpen made it hold up, as they get a big win.

San Diego- 5, NY Yankees- 4 -- The Padres got 3 of their 5 runs in the first inning, as Adrian Gonzalez and Jody Gerut had 2 RBI's a piece for the game in the upset win.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool D, Round 3

Boston- 5, Cleveland 3 -- Boston stays undefeated in their pool, getting a 2 run homer in the first from J.D. Drew. Trailing 5-1 going into the 7th, the Indians got 2 back but could get no closer.

San Francisco- 5, Florida- 4 -- The big moment in this game happened in the top of the 3rd, as Barry Zito left the game injured, he is day to day and hopefully will be able to make his next start. Brad Hennessey filled in nicely for the Giants, relieving Zito and throwing 5 innings of 1 run ball after Zito gave up 3 runs in his 2 innings of work. Florida's Jorge Cantu got ejected during the game, and per my rules, will automatically miss Floridas next game. I decided to put in a rule that if a player gets ejected, he can't play the next game. Just a way to maybe get a guy a start that normally wouldn't get one.

NY Mets- 10, Pittsburgh- 8 -- This one was wild! Pittsburgh scored all 8 of their runs in the second inning, sending 13 men to the plate against Oliver Perez. The Pirates would not score again, as Perez pitched the next 2 innings perfectly before leaving. Nelson Figueroa pitched the next 4 innings for the Mets, giving up just 2 hits as the Mets slowly began to come back. They finally took the lead back in the bottom of the 7th on a Carlos Beltran 2 run homer to put them ahead 10-8. Nobody scored the last 3 innings of the game, but the game did have 3 ejections: Brian Schneider of the Mets, and Doug Mientkiewicz and Jose Bautista of Pittsburgh were all tossed and will miss game 4 for their squads.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool E, Round 3

Philadelphia- 15, Arizona- 4 -- The Phillies scored 3 runs a piece in the first 3 innings, chasing Randy Johnson after just 2 1/3 innings. Philadelphia did have a couple casualties in this game.. Brett Myers, the starting pitcher, was injured in the 5th and had to leave, he is DTD. Also, Shane Victorino was ejected in the 5th inning and will miss the next game.

Atlanta- 5, LA Dodgers- 1 -- The Braves pitching staff held the Dodgers to just 1 run for the game, and Jeff Francoeur had the big blow with a 2 run shot in the second, getting Atlanta their first win of the tourney.

Milwaukee- 7, Baltimore- 6 -- The game started off great for Baltimore, as Brian Roberts led off with a solo shot, but Orioles starter Garrett Olson left the game after 1 1/3 innings, he's DTD. The Brewers ended up scoring 4 runs in that second inning, and had a 7-4 lead going into the top of the 9th. Eric Gagne gave up 2 solo shots in a row to start the inning, but was determined to finish what he started. With first and second and 2 outs, Guillermo Quiroz hit a single to right. Kevin Millar came around third for the game tying score, but Milwaukee right fielder Corey Hart unleashed a perfect throw to the plate, gunning Millar down and getting Gagne off the hook, leaving Baltimore just inches away from tying the game.

[collegesportsfanms]

A couple notes, I only copied and pasted my posts from the other forum, out of respect of privacy, I didn't copy and paste and posts from other forum members.

The way I started out with injuries was to use the injury chart, but I had to make some changes since the injury chart was based on a full 162 game season, so players with low injury ratings would miss the tournament, and I wanted everybody from every team to have a chance to play. After a while, I just changed it again so that anybody that was injured would miss the next game only. Same with ejections, if a player got ejected, he would sit the next game.

The only rule I had was that every position player from every team had to start at least 1 game, and every pitcher from every team either had to start or appear in 1 game. I think it worked well. I'm actually through 9 of the 10 rounds in pool play, I'll get rounds 4-9 copied and posted yet this morning.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool A, Round 4

Cincinnati- 5, Washington- 4 -- Washington was up 4-2 going into the top of the 9th, but a 2 run homer by Jeff Keppinger tied the game at 4, then Wilkin Castillo doubled singled home Jerry Hairston to give the Reds a 5-4 lead. Francisco Cordero pitched the ninth to get the save for the Reds.

Minnesota- 3, Kansas City- 2 -- Kyle Davies hurt himself in this one, as he gave up 2 runs in the first inning, 1 on a wild pitch, and the other came on a line drive that he dropped and couldn't recover to throw Michael Cuddyer out at first. Mike Aviles got a solo shot in the top of the 5th to tie it at 2, but a Mike Lamb triple drove in Nick Punto with the game winning run in the bottom of the 9th.

LA Angels- 6, Houston- 4 (11 innings) -- Carlos Lee had 3 RBIs for Houston, but it wasn't enough, as the Angels got 2 in the top of the 11th to remain undefeated.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool B, Round 4

Seattle- 5, Detroit- 4 (11 innings) -- The Mariners used 2 pitchers all game, as Carlos Silva started and went 5 innings, then Cesar Jimenez went the last 6 innings, giving up just 3 hits. 3 singles in the bottom of the 11th won it for Seattle, with Adrian Beltre getting the game winning RBI.

Oakland- 2, Chicago White Sox- 1 -- A great pitching duel today, as Joe Blanton went 7 innings for Oakland. Jack Hannahan was the offensive MVP, accounting for both Oakland runs, as he had 2 solo HRs. Huston Street struck out all 3 batters he faced in the 9th to get the save.

Toronto- 5, Chicago Cubs- 3 -- A 3-3 game going to the bottom of the 8th, and the Cubs brought in Carlos Marmol, who is usually very effective. Not this game, as he walked 3 straight, then gave up a single to give Toronto the lead. The Blue Jays would get an insurance run on another single by Alexis Rios, and B.J. Ryan pitched the 9th for the save.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool C, Round 4

Colorado- 8, San Diego- 1 -- The Rockies scored 6 runs in the first 3 innings, and Garrett Atkins had 2 HR's and 5 RBI's for Colorado.

Texas- 8, NY Yankees- 4 -- Texas scored 6 runs in the last 3 innings, as the Yankees had to pitch by committee after starter Darrell Rasner was injured in the 1st inning. He pitched 2/3 of an inning and is day to day for the rest of the tournament.

St. Louis- 5, Tampa Bay- 3 -- Nobody scored in the first 4 innings, them both teams scored 3 runs in the 5th. That was all the scoring for the Rays, and St. Louis added a run in the 6th and got an insurance run off a Chris Duncan HR in the 7th. Albert Pujols will miss the next game for St. Louis as he was ejected in this game. By my rule, an ejection requires sitting out the next game.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool D, Round 4

San Francisco- 3, Pittsburgh- 2 -- A good pitching duel in this one, as San Francisco's Rich Aurilia broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the 7th with a single, and the Giants bullpen held that 1 run lead.

Cleveland- 6, NY Mets- 1 -- Cleveland's David Delucci had a base clearing 3 RBI double in the top of the 7th to finally chase Mets starter Mike Pelfrey from the game. This made the score 6-0. The Mets got a token run in the bottom of the 8th, but were shut down otherwise.

Florida- 6, Boston- 4 -- It looked like it was going to be a long game for the Marlins, as Boston scored 3 runs in the first of Marlins starter Josh Johnson. He labored through the first 3 innings, but in innings 4-8 he allowed just 2 baserunners, keeping Florida in the game. Matt Lindstrom pitched a rocky 9th, giving up a run, but it didn't matter by this point. Florida scored 5 of their 6 runs in the 5th and 6th innings. A couple notes, Coco Crisp was injured for Boston and is DTD, and Florida's Luis Gonzalez was ejected in the same inning for arguing balls and strikes. Gonzalez will automatically sit out the next game for Florida, who handed the Red Sox their first loss of the tournament.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool E, Round 4

Atlanta- 10, Baltimore- 8 -- A wild game as Atlanta scored 6 in the 1st, helped by a 3 run HR by Jeff Francoeur. It got to 8-0 before Baltimore started coming back with 5 in the 4th and 3 in the 6th, making it 9-8 after 6. Kelly Johnson from Atlanta hit a solo shot in the 8th to give the Braves an insurance run, and the Atlanta bullpen was spotless in the last 3 innings.

Milwaukee- 4, Arizona- 3 -- A tough loss for the D-Backs, who gave Milwaukee their first run on a wild pitch, and their 4th and game winning run on a balk from Yusmeiro Petit. Tough way to lose a game.

Philadelphia- 6, LA Dodgers- 5 -- Ryan Howard hit a 3 run homer in the 6th to give the Phillies the 6-5 lead and held the lead from there.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool A, Round 5

Minnesota- 4, LA Angels- 3 -- Minnesota scored 4 runs in the first 2 innings and Francisco Liriano pitched 7 innings. Gary Matthews had the big blow for the Angles with a 3 run homer, but it wasn't enough.

Houston- 8, Washington- 7 -- A Felipe Lopez error in the top of the 9th opened the door for Houston to score 2 in the inning. This was big, as Washington took the lead in the bottom of the 8th on a Carlos Lee error, so Houston gets their first win of the tournament in a game neither team wanted to win.

Cincinnati- 7, Kansas City- 5 -- Walks were the theme of this game, as both teams scored 3 runs off the walk. The final blow came in the top of the 7th on an Edwin Encarnacion 2 run homer that gave the Reds the 7-5 lead. Encarnacion had 4 RBIs in the game.

Here are the standings halfway through Pool A:

Minnesota 5-0 (+13)

LA Angels 4-1 (+14)

Cincinnati 3-2 (-5)

Kansas City 1-4 (-5)

Houston 1-4 (-6)

Washington 1-4 (-11)

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool B, Round 5

Chicago White Sox- 5, Chicago Cubs- 4 (10 innings) -- Brian Anderson hit a solo HR in the top of the 10th to give the Sox the win in this crosstown battle, the first of 2.

Toronto- 8, Seattle- 7 -- A 7 run fourth inning for the Blue Jays saw them bat around, and the big blow came on a grand slam from Matt Stairs. Seattle got to within 8-7 with 4 runs in the eighth, but B.J. Ryan closed the door for the Blue Jays in the ninth.

Detroit- 11, Oakland- 1 -- This game was highlighted by 3 run homers by Miguel Cabrera and Dusty Ryan for the Tigers. Detroit started Armando Galarraga went 8 1/3 innings before giving up the only Oakland run of the game, a solo homer by Jack Cust. 2 injuries in this one, both for the Tigers. Ramon Santiago will miss just 1 game, while Carlos Guillen is DTD.

Here are the standings halfway through Pool B:

Chicago Cubs 3-2 (+5)

Chicago White Sox 3-2 (+4)

Oakland 3-2 (-2)

Detroit 2-3 (+2)

Seattle 2-3 (-2)

Toronto 2-3 (-7)

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool C, Round 5

New York Yankees- 10, Tampa Bay- 5 -- The bats were alive in this one... at least for 4 innings. The score going into the 5th was 6-5 Yankees, then nobody scored again until the top of the 9th, when the Bronx Bombers added 4 insurance runs. 6 of the 9 Yankee hitters had RBIs, led by Melky Cabrera with 3.

San Diego- 6, St. Louis- 3 -- Josh Banks was very sharp for the Padres in this one, as he didn't allow a run until the 7th inning, those runs coming on a 2 run shot by Chris Duncan. That tied the game at 2, but the Padres got their next 4 runs in the bottom of the 7th, thanks to back to back homers from Chase Headley and Kevin Kouzmanoff. The bullpen wasn't sharp after Banks left, but it was good enough to preserve the win.

Colorado- 8, Texas- 7 -- You'd have thought this game was in Colorado, but it was actually in Texas. There were 5 homers in the game, but oddly enough, the winning run scored in the top of the 9th when with runners on 1st and 3rd and nobody out for the Rockies, Garrett Atkins hit into a double play, allowing Ryan Spilborghs to score. Tough way to lose a ball game.

Here are the Pool C standings after Round 5:

Colorado 4-1 (+6)

St. Louis 3-2 (0)

Texas 3-2 (+11)

San Diego 2-3 (-7)

NY Yankees 2-3 (+4)

Tampa Bay 1-4 (-14)

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool D, Round 5

Boston- 4, NY Mets- 2 -- The Mets struck first on back to back doubles from Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran, but Boston scored single runs in the 4th and 7th, then in the 8th, got doubles from Julio Lugo, Jacoby Ellsbury, and J.D. Drew, accounting for 2 runs in the inning. That proved to be the difference.

Florida- 4, Pittsburgh- 3 -- Jeff Karstens pitched brilliantly for the Pirates, making only 1 mistake in the 4th inning. That mistake was a grand slam hit by Florida's Matt Treanor. Pittsburgh got a couple back in the 6th but it wasn't enough, as the Florida bullpen allowed just 1 baserunner in the last 3 innings.

Cleveland- 4, San Francisco- 3 (11 innings) -- With Cleveland leading 3-1 going into the 8th, the Giants' bats woke up as they got a double and 3 singles in the inning to tie the game at 3. In the top of the 10th, San Francisco's Rich Aurilia was thrown out arguing a call at first, The bottom of the 11th proved to be the difference, as Sal Fasano singled, Ryan Garko hit into a fielders choice, Asdrubal Cabrera singled, then Jamey Carroll lined a shot in the gap that just missed being caught, but it led to the winning run.

Here are the standings halfway through Pool D:

Boston 4-1 (+9)

Cleveland 4-1 (+12)

San Francisco 3-2 (+1)

Florida 3-2 (-1)

NY Mets 1-4 (-8)

Pittsburgh 0-5 (-13)

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool E, Round 5

Philadelphia- 12, Milwaukee- 2 -- Pat Burrell had 2 homers in this game, and the Phillies scored 8 of their 2 runs in the 7th and 8th innings to put this one away. The only down spot for Philadelphia is the loss of So Taguchi, who was injured and will miss the next 2 games.

Baltimore- 5, LA Dodgers- 1 -- Jeff Kent started the scoring in the first inning for the Dodgers, hitting a solo HR, and that would be their only run of the game. Baltimore tied it up in the bottom half of the inning, then scored 4 in the 7th to get a big win.

Arizona- 6, Atlanta- 4 -- Arizona got 2 run homers in the 6th and 7th innings from Miguel Montero and Stephen Drew to take a 6-1 lead, but in the top of the 8th, the Braves got to reliever Doug Slaten. Martin Prado doubled, Chipper Jones singled, and Brian McCann hit a 2 run homer. That was the difference though, as Juan Cruz and Brandon Lyon came in to shut the door.

Here are the standings halfway through Pool E:

Philadelphia 4-1 (+25)

Milwaukee 3-2 (-9)

Arizona 3-2 (-6)

Atlanta 2-3 (-1)

Baltimore 2-3 (0)

LA Dodgers 1-4 (-9)

This gets us to the halfway point of pool play in this tournament. 75 games down, 75 more to go. Now we get to the point where players change teams, then team reference sheets need to be redone. Shouldn't be a long delay, as most teams shouldn't have significant roster changes.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool A, Round 6

Washington- 4, LA Angels- 3 -- An upset here, as the Nats scored the winning run in the 6th and relied on Shairon Martis to shut the Angel bats down in relief. Martis pitched 3 2/3 innings and gave up just 2 hits.

Minnesota- 6, Cincinnati- 1 -- The Reds had 3 errors in the ball game but were still in it, down just 2-1 going to the 9th. The Twins batted around in the 9th, adding 4 insurance runs to seal the deal.

Houston- 7, Kansas City- 6 (12 innings) -- This one was a classic, as Houston scored 3 in the first, then Kansas City got 3 in the third. Kansas City then trailed 6-3 going to the 7th, got 2 in the 7th, then a John Buck homer in the 8th tied the game. Nobody could get anything across until the 12th, when Lance Berkman homered. Berkman was the MVP of this game, as he missed out on hitting for the cycle, only needing a single.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool B, Round 6

Chicago Cubs- 12, Seattle- 0 -- The Cubs jumped on Seattle for 6 runs in the first and never looked back, as 8 of the 9 players in the lineup had an RBI, the only one that didn't was Alfonso Soriano.

Detroit- 6, Chicago White Sox- 5 -- Detroit got 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to come from behind and win, with Matt Joyce driving home the winning run on an RBI single.

Toronto- 3, Oakland- 1 -- An old fashioned pitchers duel in this one, as Toronto pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts on Oakland hitters.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool C, Round 6

Tampa Bay- 6, San Diego- 5 (11 innings) -- Regulation wasn't enough to decide this one, as it took an Eric Hinske solo HR in the top of the 11th to finally win it for the Rays.

NY Yankees- 12, Colorado- 2 -- The Yankees took full advantage of playing in one of the easiest ballparks to hit home runs in, as they hit 4 homers as a team. Richie Sexson had the game of his life for the Yankees, hit 2 of those HRs and finishing with 6 RBIs for the game.

Texas- 5, St. Louis- 1 -- Brandon McCarthy pitched 7 innings of 1 run ball for the Rangers, who scored 3 of their 5 runs in the first on a Josh Hamilton 2 RBI triple followed by a David Murphy RBI double. The other 2 runs were nothing more than insurance runs.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool D, Round 6

Boston- 9, Pittsburgh- 7 -- Boston scored all 9 of their runs in the first 3 innings, chasing Pittsburgh starter Matt Morris after 2 1/3. Phil Dumatrait and John Grabow did not allow a run the rest of the game, and Pittsburgh almost completed the comeback, but not quite.

NY Mets- 5, San Francisco- 1 -- Jose Reyes had 2 solo homers for the Mets, and David Wright added a homer and had the other 3 RBIs, as Mets starter Claudio Vargas went 8 1/3 innings before giving up a run.

Cleveland- 6, Florida- 5 -- 3 Cleveland errors led to 3 unearned runs as the Marlins jumped to a 4-0 lead, but the Indians kept fighting back, tying the game at 4 in the sixth. In the eighth, Jorge Cantu gave the Marlins the lead back with a solo HR, but in the bottom of the 9th, the Indians got 2 doubles and 2 singles in the inning. Shin-Soo Choo had the walk off single to save the shaky Cleveland defense.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool E, Round 6

Philadelphia- 8, Baltimore- 6 -- Shane Victorino had 2 HR and 3 RBI in the game for Philadelphia, who led 8-2 going into the bottom of the 9th, but a furious rally by Baltimore, including back to back homers by Nick Markakis and Aubrey Huff, led Philadelphia to turn to Brad Lidge to close the game out. In all, 6 homers were hit in this wild game.

Atlanta- 4, Milwaukee- 2 -- This game was just as wild, as Atlanta got 2 in the 2nd and 2 in the 3rd. This game was marred by 2 ejections (Tony Gwynn for Milwaukee and Casey Kotchman for Atlanta, each are suspended for the next game), and an injury to Corey Hart (he will also miss the next game). The Hart injury forced Milwaukee DH Mike Cameron into CF, causing the pitcher to have to bat in Harts spot. Fortunately, Milwaukee had pinch hitters available so the pitchers didn't have to bat.

Just a recap as I had decided that I would not use pinch hitters unless there was an ejection or injury, which in this case there was. Also, anybody that gets injured or ejected during a game misses the next game automatically, but that's it. This will be the way I do it when I do this project with the 2011 rosters, whenever that may be!

LA Dodgers- 5, Arizona- 1 -- The Dodgers used 3 in the 5th to break it open, and added an insurance run in the 8th when James Loney hit a double which Arizonas Justin Upton misplayed, allowing Loney to come all the way around to score.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool A, Round 7

Houston- 7, Minnesota- 3 -- There are no more undefeated teams left after Houston scored 6 in the first 2 innings, with leadoff hitter Kaz Matsui hitting 2 homers and Hunter Pence adding 1. Every team in this tournament now has at least 1 loss.

Washington- 7, Kansas City- 6 -- The Royals jumped to a 5-1 lead after 3, but the bullpen couldn't get the job done. Washington tied it at 6 in the 8th inning, then in the 9th got a double, a single, and a sac fly to walk off and pretty much end all hopes of the Royals advancing to bracket play.

Cincinnati- 7, LA Angels- 5 -- Some fireworks in this one, as Jay Bruce was hit in the neck by a Jon Garland fastball, this after a homer and a double in his first 2 at bats. The benches cleared, warnings were issued, and Bruce had to leave the game. No matter though, as the Reds bullpen pitched shutout ball for the last 3 innings.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool B, Round 7

Toronto- 5, Chicago White Sox- 4 -- This game was back and 4th in the late innings, with Toronto leading 3-1 in the bottom of the 7th, Orlando Cabrera hit a 3 run homer to give the Sox the lead. Then in the top of the 8th, John McDonald hit a solo shot to tie the game, and 3 straight hits by Marco Scutaro, Jose Bautista, and Rod Barajas gave the Blue Jays a 5-4 lead which they would hold on.

Seattle- 2, Oakland- 1 -- A great pitching duel in this one, as Felix Hernandez gutted his way through 7 innings. He might have gone the distance if not for 6 walks in those 7 innings. While not the sharpest, he was sharp enough to get the job done.

Detroit- 13, Chicago Cubs- 4 -- The Tigers got some batting practice in this one, as they scored 9 runs in 4 innings off Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano. Miguel Cabrera and Marcus Thames each had 4 RBIs for the Tigers, and Thames had 3 amazing catches in LF.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool C, Round 7

Texas- 7, Tampa Bay- 6 -- After 4 innings Tampa Bay led 6-5, there was no more scoring until the bottom of the 9th. Michael Young led off the inning with a single, and Milton Bradley stepped up to the plate with 1 out........ and ended the game with a walk off 2 run HR, as Tampa Bay continues to struggle.

St. Louis- 6, Colorado- 5 -- Ryan Ludwick was the hero in this one for the Cards, as he went 3 for 4 with a single, a double, and the game winning 2 run homer in the bottom of the 7th, as Randy Flores and Jason Isringhausen pitched the 8th and 9th innings for St. Louis, respectively.

New York Yankees- 7, San Diego- 1 -- The Yankees got revenge on the Padres for that upset victory the first time these 2 met. They scored 6 of their 7 runs in the first 4 innings, chasing San Diego starter Josh Geer after 3 2/3. Yankee starter Phil Hughes pitched just 2 innings due to an injury, but Sidney Ponson came out of the bullpen to pitch 6 strong innings, as he was perfect through his first 4 and allowed just 2 baserunners in 6 innings, 1 of those coming on an error.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool D, Round 7

Florida- 3, NY Mets- 2 -- Johan Santana pitched 8 1/3 innings, but ran into trouble in the 9th. He turned it to Billy Wagner with the Mets up 2-1 and a runner on first. 2 singles, a wild pitch, and a walk later, and Florida had a 3-2 lead which they would hold in the bottom of the 9th.

Cleveland- 8, Pittsburgh- 5 -- Freddy Sanchez had a game for the Pirates with 2 homers and all 5 Pittsburgh RBIs, but he was matched by David Dellucci for Cleveland, who was 3 for 5 with a double, a homer, and 4 RBIs, keeping the Pirates as the only winless team in this tournament.

Boston- 5, San Francisco- 4 -- A David Ortiz 2 run homer in the 1st got things started. This game was back and forth, tied going into the bottom of the 9th. Vinnie Chulk couldn't record an out for the Giants, as he gave up 2 singles and a walk off double to Sean Casey.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool E, Round 7

LA Dodgers- 9, Milwaukee- 7 (15 innings) -- This never ending game saw both teams use 7 pitchers, and out of necessity have to use guys much longer than anticipated, pretty much depleting both teams bullpens' for their next game. Chin-lung Hu led the way for the Dodgers with 4 RBIs, as LA scored 4 runs in the top of the 15th to get the win.

Baltimore- 9, Arizona- 4 -- Baltimore erupted for 7 runs in the bottom of the 8th, as the D-Backs bullpen couldn't get anybody out. Both starting pitchers pitched into the 8th, and a great start by Arizonas Brandon Webb was wasted.

Philadelphia- 5, Atlanta- 4 (12 innings) -- Yet another extra inning game, as the Braves jumped out to a 4-1 lead after 5. The Phillies battled back, scoring 3 in the 8th, then in the bottom of the 12th, a Ryan Howard walk was followed by a Pat Burrell triple to walk off. Amazingly, the Phillies have a 3 game lead in their pool with 3 to play, so the next Philadelphia win clinches the pool for them.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool A, Round 8

Kansas City- 1, LA Angels- 0 -- The Angels came into this tournament as the #1 ranked team, but are in jeopardy of even making it out of pool play, after a 1-0 loss in which they had 8 hits but couldn't put a run on the board. Zack Greinke wa sharp for the Royals, pitching 8 1/3 innings before handing it off to Joakim Soria, who got 2 quick outs with a runner on 2nd to preserve the win.

Cincinnati- 10, Houston- 6 -- This game was a wild one, going into the 8th inning the Reds led 6-1, then batted around and put up 4 more in the top of the 8th to lead 10-1, but the Astros did one better, batting around and scoring 5 runs in the bottom half to give themselves a chance. Both teams went 1-2-3 in the 9th though, as Cincy stays in the hunt for the pool title.

Washington- 8, Minnesota- 3 -- The Twins find themselves hanging on to just a 1 game lead in pool A now, thanks to Scott Baker getting hammered. He gave up 7 runs in 4 1/3 innings, the big blow coming in the bottom of the 5th, as Ron Belliard smacked a 3 run homer for the Nats, ending Baker's day. Tim Redding pitched 7 solid innings for Washington, who still has a chance to advance in pool play, even though they were one of the worst teams in reality in 2008.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool B, Round 8

Oakland- 2, Chicago Cubs- 1 (10 innings) -- A classic pitching duel in this one, as a Kurt Suzuki homer in the 1st gave Oakland a 1-0 lead. The Cubs got that run back in the 5th, and both teams had chances to win it, but Oakland got it done in the bottom of the 10th as Ryan Sweeney hit a walk off single.

Detroit- 10, Toronto- 3 -- Despite 3 fielding errors, the Tigers ran away with this game, helped by a 5 spot in the top of the 7th. Matt Joyce was unstoppable, as he was 3-5 with 2 homers and 6 RBIs.

Seattle- 5, Chicago White Sox- 4 -- Jeff Clement and Jose Lopez each homered for Seattle, and with the Sox cutting the lead to 5-4 in the top of the 8th, Cesar Jimenez and J.J. Putz combined to record the last 4 outs of the game without giving up a baserunner.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool C, Round 8

St. Louis- 6, NY Yankees- 0 -- Braden Looper pitched 7 1/3 innings of 5 hit ball, completely shutting down the Bronx Bombers before giving way to Kelvin Jimenez who finished off the game, retiring all 5 batters he faced. Troy Glaus added the insurance runs with a 3 run homer in the 8th.

Texas- 10, San Diego- 3 -- The Rangers scored all 10 of their runs in the last 4 innings, getting 1 in the 6th, and 3 each in the 7th, 8th, and 9th. Little used Max Ramirez provided the hot bat with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs.

Colorado- 6, Tampa Bay- 3 -- The Rays continue to struggle in this tournament, and have all but been eliminated. Ian Stewart had 2 homers for Colorado in the winning effort.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool D, Round 8

Cleveland- 4, Boston- 2 -- A Mike Lowell error in the 8th inning opened it up for Cleveland, who got 2 runs to break a 2-2 tie, then Juan Rincon pitched to 4 batters in the 9th for the save, as Cleveland moves to the top of Pool D.

San Francisco- 2, Florida- 1 (10 innings) -- A great pitching duel needed an extra inning to be decided, but the Giants scratched home a run in the top of the 10th to get the win.

NY Mets- 5, Pittsburgh- 2 -- It took 7 innings for the Mets to get the bats going, as they scored all 5 of their runs in the last 3 innings, but they got it done to keep Pittsburgh winless.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool E, Round 8

Arizona- 3, Philadelphia- 0 -- So the Phillies haven't clinched the division yet, thanks to 8 1/3 innings of 5 hit ball from Arizona's Dan Haren. The D-Backs scored 1 in the 2nd and 2 in the 3rd, and let Haren and Jon Rauch take it from there.

LA Dodgers- 6, Atlanta- 5 (12 innings) -- Neither starting pitcher fared well, as both were gone by the 6th inning, but Atlanta's John Smoltz and LA's Chan Ho Park kept the scoring in check after that, with the winning run not scoring until the bottom of the 12th, a Jeff Kent walk-off homer for LA.

Baltimore- 3, Milwaukee- 2 -- Another solid pitching duel in this one, with the winning run scoring on an Adam Jones sac fly in the bottom of the 6th. Matt Albers pitched the last 3 innings for the Orioles, who stay alive for now.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool A, Round 9

Washington- 5, Cincinnati- 2 -- Jesus Flores led the Nats in this one as he had 2 HRs and 4 RBIs.

Kansas City- 9, Minnesota- 2 -- The Royals scored 7 of their 9 runs in the first 5 innings, completely shelling Glen Perkins, who had to go 5 innings because of a depleted Minnesota bullpen.

Houston- 5, LA Angels- 2 -- The big blow came in the top of the 7th, as Lance Berkman hit a 2 RBI triple to give Houston a 4-2 lead, as the Angels, the top seed in this tournament, are in real jeopardy of not making it to bracket play.

Here are the Pool A standings with 1 game left:

Minnesota 6-3 (+2)

Washington 5-4 (-1)

Cincinnati 5-4 (-7)

LA Angels 4-5 (+7)

Houston 4-5 (-2)

Kansas City 3-6 (+1)

The schedule for Round 10 is as follows:

LA Angels @ Minnesota

Washington @ Houston

Kansas City @ Cincinnati

2 scenarios that we know for sure are that Kansas City can not finish in the top 3 of their pool. They must win and get A LOT of help to have a chance at the wildcard spot. Also, if Minnesota beats the Angels, they are the Pool A champion and a guaranteed top 6 seed in bracket play. It's not out of the realm of possibility to have a 3 way tie at the top if Minnesota loses and Washington and Cincinnati both win. It's also possible that if the Angels beat Minnesota, Kansas City beats Cincinnati, and Houston beats Washington, that we could have 4 teams at 5-5, fighting for 2nd and 3rd place in the pool. Simply put, there is still much to play for in Week 10, as nothing is decided.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool B, Round 9

Seattle- 10, Detroit- 3 -- The Tigers were done in by 3 errors which led to 6 unearned runs for Seattle.

Chicago White Sox- 10, Oakland- 2 -- All 9 players had at least 1 hit for the White Sox, as Oakland used 3 pitchers to get through the 8th inning in which Chicago scored 7 of their 10 runs.

Toronto- 5, Chicago Cubs- 1 -- This game was wild, as Toronto hit a leadoff homer in 3 of the 9 innings, and 3 players were ejected. Jim Edmonds and Aramis Ramirez left early for the Cubs, while Scott Rolen left early for the Blue Jays.

Here are the Pool B standings with 1 round left:

Detroit 5-4 (+12)

Seattle 5-4 (-5)

Toronto 5-4 (-7)

Chicago White Sox 4-5 (+9)

Chicago Cubs 4-5 (+3)

Oakland 4-5 (-12)

Here is the Round 10 schedule:

Chicago Cubs @ Chicago White Sox

Seattle @ Toronto

Oakland @ Detroit

We will have at least one 6-4 team, at least one 5-5 team and at least one 4-6 team. There is a possibility we could have 4 teams at 5-5.

If Detroit, Seattle, and/or Toronto win, they will stand at 6-4 and ensure themselves of a top 3 finish in pool B and a trip to bracket play. Obviously a loss puts them at 5-5 in which case tiebreakers will more than likely come into play. We know for a fact either Seattle or Toronto will finish 6-4 since they are playing each other.

If the White Sox, Cubs, and/or Oakland lose, they will finish 4-6 and be out of the top 3, having to rely on 4th place and the potential wild card. This will be the case for either the Cubs or the White Sox.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool C, Round 9

San Diego- 9, Colorado- 0 -- A 5 spot in the 2nd and 3 more in the 9th did in the Rockies, as San Diego hit 3 homers in the game.

NY Yankees- 6, Texas- 4 (10 innings) -- A huge error by Brandon Boggs on a Jason Giambi single caused Giambi to score on the play. Cody Ransom also scored as he was on 1st when Giambi came up. That error happened in the 10th which led to the win for the Yankees.

St. Louis- 8, Tampa Bay- 2 -- Albert Pujols had 2 homers and 4 RBIs in the game.

Here are the Pool C standings with 1 round remaining:

Texas 6-3 (+21)

St. Louis 6-3 (+9)

NY Yankees 5-4 (+16)

Colorado 5-4 (-11)

San Diego 3-6 (-12)

Tampa Bay 2-7 (-23)

Round 10 schedule is as follows:

Tampa Bay @ NY Yankees

San Diego @ St. Louis

Texas @ Colorado

San Diego and Tampa Bay have officially been eliminated from the tournament, they have no chance of advancing to bracket play, and will be looking to play the role of spoiler in their last game.

If Texas wins and St. Louis loses their game, Texas wins the pool.

If St. Louis wins and Texas loses, St. Louis wins the pool.

If both win or both lose, there will be a tiebreaker situation. If Colorado were to beat Texas, San Diego beats St. Louis, and the Yankees beat Tampa Bay, we'd have 4 teams in 1st place at 6-4, and more than likely all 4 of them would advance to bracket play. Ay yi yi. We could also have an outright pool winner and a 3 team tie for second. As with the other pools, teams still have a lot to play for and nothing is decided.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool D, Round 9

San Francisco- 2, Pittsburgh- 1 -- A great pitching duel, but the Giants scratched home the winning run in the bottom of the 9th on a 2 out single from Aaron Rowand.

NY Mets- 9, Cleveland- 1 -- The Mets finally woke up their bats, getting a 5 spot in the 2nd as David Wright and Ryan Church each homered. Oliver Perez threw 7 2/3 innings for New York.

Boston- 10, Florida- 5 -- It looked bleak for Boston when Dustin Pedroia was ejected in the top of the 5th, then Mike Jacobs hit a grand slam to give Florida a 5-3 lead. But Boston would score 7 runs in the next 4 innings to win easily.

Here are the Pool D standings with 1 round left:

Boston 7-2 (+15)

Cleveland 7-2 (+10)

San Francisco 5-4 (-2)

Florida 4-5 (-7)

NY Mets 4-5 (-6)

Pittsburgh 0-9 (-22)



Round 10 Schedule:

Boston @ NY Mets

Pittsburgh @ Florida

Cleveland @ San Francisco



It goes without saying that Pittsburgh will be done after their game at Florida. We also know that both Boston and Cleveland have advanced to the 16 team bracket tournament and will be the top 2 seeds out of Pool D. If Boston beats the Mets and Cleveland loses to San Francisco, Boston wins the pool. If Cleveland beats San Fran and the Mets beat Boston, Cleveland wins the pool. If both win or both lose, then we go to a tiebreaker. San Francisco just needs to beat Cleveland to take 3rd place in the pool and advance to the 16 team bracket tournament. If San Francisco loses and Florida or the Mets, or both Florida and the Mets win, we have a tiebreaker situation. Could be as much as a 3 team tiebreaker for 3rd place in Pool D.

[collegesportsfanms]

Pool E, Round 9

Baltimore- 5, Atlanta- 3 -- Things looked good early for Atlanta as Matt Diaz had a 3 run homer to open the scoring in the bottom of the 3rd, but in the top of the 5th, Baltimore scored 4 runs, batting around in the inning and hitting for the cycle, as they had 2 singles, 2 doubles, a triple and a homer. The homer came from Nick Markakis, who added another solo homer in the top of the 9th as an insurance run.

Milwaukee- 6, Arizona- 4 (10 innings) -- Arizona jumped out to a 4-1 lead after 6, but in the top of the 7th, Randy Johnson gave up back to back solo homers to Corey Hart and Prince Fielder. In the top of the 9th, Fielder homered again to tie the game at 4, then in the top of the 10th, Mike Cameron and Gabe Kapler hit back to back solo homers for a 6-4 lead and Brian Shouse pitched a perfect bottom half of the 10th. Amazing, 5 of the 6 Milwaukee runs came off solo homers.

LA Dodgers- 5, Philadelphia- 2 -- The Phillies again miss a chance to clinch Pool E, as the game was tied at 1 going into the top of the 7th when the pitching had an implosion. Casey Blake homered, Andruw Jones doubled, Delwyn Young singled, Blanton threw a wild pitch and then Chin-Lung Hu singled. Just like that it was 4-1 Dodgers. They added a run in the top of the 8th, Philly got 1 back in the bottom of the 9th but it wasn't enough.

Here are the Pool E standings with 1 round left:

Philadelphia 6-3 (+22)

Baltimore 5-4 (+3)

LA Dodgers 5-4 (+1)

Arizona 4-5 (-11)

Milwaukee 4-5 (-12)

Atlanta 3-6 (-3)



Round 10 Schedule:

Philadelphia @ Milwaukee

Baltimore @ LA Dodgers

Arizona @ Atlanta

Here's what we know, even if Atlanta beats Arizona they are eliminated from the 16 team playoff bracket. Philadelphia has yet another chance to clinch Pool E, all they have to do is beat Milwaukee. If that happens, Milwaukee is done. The Phillies can't rely on both Baltimore and the Dodgers to lose, since they are playing each other. However, that game has a lot of importance, as the winner will be 6-4 and clinch a top 3 finish in pool E, which would mean a trip to the 16 team playoff. If Philadelphia were to lose, then they would be tied for the top of Pool E at 6-4 with the Baltimore-Dodgers winner. Now, if Arizona and Milwaukee both win, they would be tied at 5-5, and the Dodgers-Baltimore loser would also be 5-5 creating a 3 way tie, so everybody but Atlanta has something to play for.

[collegesportsfanms]

I just realized I didn't set the scene. The 16 team playoff will feature the top 3 teams in each pool. First place teams in each pool will be seeded 1-5, second place teams seeded 6-10, and third place teams seeded 11-15, all based on record and run differential. The 16th team would be the wildcard team, which would be the 4th place team with the best record. With the wildcard being fairly important, I will not allow run differential to decide it. For instance, if we have 2 teams in 4th place in their pool that both have a record of 5-5, they will play a play-in game to decide who gets the wildcard spot, and run differential would decide the home team. If we have a 3 or more team tie (god forbid that happens), then we'll have a series of play-in games. We'll cover that if and when it becomes a reality.

Now, there are 2 things that I am debating over, and I would like and appreciate all you loyal readers to help me out by giving me your advice and opinions.

The first thing is how to set up the 16 team elimination bracket. I have 4 possible scenarios:

1. A straight double elimination tournament, with just 1 game series. Winner advances, loser either goes to the losers bracket or if it is a losers bracket game, is eliminated, until all but 1 team has lost twice.

2. Single elimination, but every series for the first round is best 2 of 3, quarters best of 5, and semis and championship series best of 7.

3. Combine the 2. Double elimination, with every series being best of 3 in each the winners and losers bracket.

4. A new concept I have recently discovered is a 16 team triple elimination bracket. Obviously there's not much difference between that and double elimination except every team is allowed 3 losses instead of 2. But, I have never actually seen a triple elimination bracket used, and I gotta say I'm very curious how it would play out.


Once we get that covered, the other dilemma I have is this:

What do you guys think about me having a consolation bracket for the teams that don't advance out of pool play? In other words, I have it set up so that the top 3 teams from each pool plus a wildcard team make it to the 16 team championship bracket. What if I had a consolation type bracket involving the other 14 teams to see who the "best of the worst is?" And if you guys are up for this idea, how should I set it up.

I know it will take some time for everybody to get caught up on this, but all responses are appreciated, thanks.

[collegesportsfanms]

Anybody have any opinions or comments on the 2 questions I posted last week? I'm still torn on exactly how to do things, and any advice would be appreciated, thanks.