Champs Are Champions Once Again

The drought is over, the Champs are once again Champions of the IAL.  Chicago had won ten championships in the first twenty two years, then there were a dozen years (six years no playoff berth) with no rings.  There were only two other years in team history when the Champs did not qualify for postseason play.  Fourteen years the Champions have either finished first or won the World Series.  But they have never had a 100 win campaign.  It was great to win it all again, in a season in which the franchise achieved it’s 3,000 victory (ending the 2009/10 year with 3,063 total wins.  Speaking of milestones, future Hall of Fame hurler Greg Maddux announced he would be hanging it up when postseason play ended, with a league record of 354 career wins.

PLAYOFFS

Game 1: Featured a matchup of aces, C.C. Sabathia for the Three Rivers Gamblers, opposed by Chicago Champions phenom Tim Lincecum.  The Gamblers opened the scoring in the 4th when Derek Jeter scored, after reaching base on an error, on a Dustin Pedroia double.  Justin Morneau went yard & Ryan Doumit clubbed a two run shot in the bottom of the 4th to put Chicago up two.  Another error led to another unearned run off The Freak, a walk & an error put runners at the corners, a doubleplay produced the fifth inning run that cut the lead to 3-2.  Rookie Matt Joyce, pinch hitting for B.J. Upton, nailed a two run triple in the bottom of the 7th, then scored on a Jimmy Rollins base knock to put the Champs up four.  In the top of the 8th, with runners on 2nd & 3rd and only one out, Lincecum gave way to Joey Devine.  Pedroia got one in with a sac fly and Ryan Braun followed with a run driven in on a single & a steal.  A double by Felipe Lopez in the bottom of the 8th expanded the lead to three, who knew that one run would prove to be the difference.  Cory Wade was called on to close it out after Devine, feeling a little jittery, walked Jason Bay to open the 9th.  Big Hurt, Frank Thomas (also a future HOF’er calling it quits at postseason’s end) came through with a two out two run monster blast to cut it to one.  But it wasn’t to be, when Jeter bounced out the game was over, 7-6 Champs.

Game 2: Scott Kazmir didn’t have it for the Gamblers as the Champions got to him for five first inning runs.  Giving Greg Maddux a five run cushion, is like money in the bank.  In the 2nd, after Troy Glaus hit a two out solo blast off the leftfield foul pole, Chicago responded scoring a run to keep the lead at five.  A two run shot by Doumit in the 7th, 4 RBI’s on the day, put the game officially on ice, as Maddux allowed only the one run over six innings.  Thomas hit another pinch homer in the 8th, but it was much too little, far too late, 8-2 Champs.

Game 3: Rookie Armando Galarraga took the hill for the Gamblers, facing elimination.  Chicago took an early 1-0 1st inning lead when an error by Maggs Ordonez, with 2 outs, allowed JRoll to score, it would be a foreshadowing of things to come.  With runners on 2nd & 3rd, nobody out, against a tiring Galarraga, pinch hitter Matt Joyce stepped in, team trailing by two.  Joyce lined a basehit to left, when Ordonez airmailed his throw plateward, far too late, two runners scored, two tie the game, and the potential winning run moved into scoring position.  Armando got back to work, retiring the next three Champ batters in order, and when Prince Fielder’s moonshot came down to earth, far into the night, the Gamblers manager was off the hook for not replacing Maggs with a defensive replacement, 4-3 Gamblers.

Game 4: When Matt Joyce clubbed a two run homer in the 4th, Chicago was in front 3-0, but Three Rivers was not done yet, coming up with three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, courtesy of a two run Jason Bay longball & a Prince RBI single.  It quickly became a battle of the bullpens, still knotted at three, heading into the 9th.  Pinch hitter Miguel Bombon Olivo connected on a high Jensen Lewis fastball & drove it high over the centerfield wall for a two run homer, and when Jose Valverde pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th, it was time to get ready for the World Series, 5-3 Champs.

World Series

Game 1: The Champs would score four runs off Daisuke Matsuzaka in the 2nd thanks to a Ryan Doumit two run longball & a 2-RBI single by Jimmy Rollins, just like that Tim Lincecum was staked to a four to zip lead.  Dan Uggla would cut the lead to two in the sixth, when his deep drive landed on the righfield foul line for a 2-RBI triple, moments later scoring an a Brian Giles sac fly to left.  Back to back doubles by The Freak & JRoll in the bottom of the 6th, put Chicago up by a couple.  The Rising Bamm Beanos, in their 1st World Series appearance, were not done yet, tying the game at 5 in the eighth.  In the bottom of the tenth, El Caballo facing a tiring Brad Lidge (entering his 3rd inning of work), and sent the home humans home happy by hitting a walkoff homer, 6-5 Champs (in extras).

Game 2: Jair Jurrjens had a one run lead on Greg Maddux, thanks to a two out RBI double off the bat of senior citizen, Giles.  Rookie Ian Stewart tied into one in the bottom of the 5th to tie the ballgame at one.  Former Champion outfielder Matt Kemp came up with one out, runners on 2nd & 3rd, & battled Joey Devine for a sac fly as Alex Gordon was able to slide in just ahead of the throw by B.J. Upton, and the Bamm Beanos took that one run lead into the bottom of the 9th.  Jonathan Papelbon was trying for a two inning save, Grady Sizemore lined a single to right, followed by a one out single by Carlos Lee (Bobby Crosby was sent in to run for the big man), & Crosby would score on a 2-run game winning double off the bat of ARod, 3-2 Champs.

Game 3: Alex Rodriguez started over where he left off, turning around a 3-0 fastball with two on in the first off rookie starter Chris Volstad (Datslov backwards), staking Josh Beckett to a three run lead.  Mark Teixeira lined an RBI single in the 4th to close the gap to two, not long after Beckett was lifted for a pinch hitter and the game was turned over to the bullpen.  Champ hitters exploded for 5 runs off Volstad in the 6th, 2-run doubles by Lee & Doumit.  They scored another five spot in the 8th, Grady Sizemore with a 3-run bomb, 13-3 Champs.

Game 4: Doumit’s RBI double provided The Freak with a 1-0 2nd inning lead over The Ageless Wonder Jamie Moyer.  Garrett Anderson, the Little Dog BEING the Big Dog, lined a homer to right in the 6th to tie it at one.  Neither starter would answer the 8th inning bell.  Moyer was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 7th.  Victor Martinez was called on to bat for Lincecum with the go ahead run on 3rd with one out, but was given an intentional pass, Felipe Lopez went in to run, and up stepped JRoll.  Jimmy ripped a single to leftcenter off Lidge, putting the Champs up one, with runners still at the corners.  Lidge fanned Sizemore, before Justin Morneau knocked the stuffing out of one, for a three run blast, the game, and the World Series Championship, 5-2 Champs!

Ryan Doumit was the postseason MVP, going 5 for 15, with three doubles & two homers, 7 RBI’s & 4 runs in the playoffs, and 5 for 14, with three doubles & a homer, & five ribbies in the World Series.

Champs Tune Up for the Playoffs

The Chicago Champions ended the regular season strong, finishing with 99 wins on the year. Never in the history of the IAL have the Champions reached the coveted century mark. Ace Greg Maddux, the all time winningest pitcher in league history won his 19th game in his second to last start, a one hit shutout. The veteran failed to win in his final start before the playoffs, missing the 20 win plateau by one win. Some other notable achievements are as follows, leadoff man Jimmy Rollins stole 56 bases, scoring 112 times, with power numbers of 41-12-12, to go along with a .282 batting average, all the while playing Gold Glove caliber shortstop. Grady Sizemore was the #2 hitter for the Champs, all he did was score 118 runs & drive in 109, with 47 steals, walking 80 times, with big time power of 35-6-35, a batting average of .250, he was an excellent fielder in the outfield, if there was a chink in his armor it was the fact that he fanned 134 times. Answering the bell everyday for Chicago at Firstbase was Justin Morneau, Paul Bunyan led the team in ribbies with 124 knocked in on 49 doubles, five triples, & 17 home runs, often times shortening up his swing on the hit & run. El Caballo, Carlos Lee was injured much of the season, but really turned it loose down the stretch, taking over the cleanup spot, launching 30 long balls in only 113 games played, he even held his own with the glove in the outfield. ARod provided the big stick in the middle of the order, leading the ballclub with 44 homers, driving in 111, scoring 100 runs, hitting a respectable 284, with 76 bases on balls, for a nearly .400 on base percentage of .397. The catching tandem of Ryan Doumit & Miguel Olivo provided solid production, with 55 doubles & 27 long balls, with a batting average above .250. B.J. Upton was the third member of the outfield, the youngster didn’t disappoint, as the speedster had 48 SB’s to go along with 31 doubles, patiently walking 75 times, batting .250, scoring 67 runs. Newcomer Felipe Lopez turned it up as the season wore down, ending the year with a .220 batting average, after batting below the Mendoza line for much of the campaign. Buckeye Nick Swisher was often the first man off the bench and the switch hitter used his good eye to walk 40 times, although his batting average was just .193, he did manage 11 doubles & five home runs in 171 at bats, with an onbase mark of .346. Rookies Ian Stewart & Matt Joyce combined for good power, filling in at third & the outfield respectively, with power numbers of 26-6-18. Victor Martinez was relegated to bench duty by a series of nagging injuries throughout the season, but that didn’t stop this veteran from batting .310 in very limited action. Jose Guillen brought his potent bat to the plate, when a home run or a double was in order, he notched 3 of each in 76 at bats, driving in 14 runners. Bobby Crosby was the team’s pinch runner, along with playing shortstop when JRoll needed a blow.

In addition to Maddux, his mound mates were stellar when their turns came to toe the rubber. Tim Lincecum, assumed the #1 spot in the rotation, striking out 234 men in 227 innings, with a mark of 17-6, and an ERA of 2.74, allowing only 140 base hits. Following The Freak was lefthander Mark Buehrle, who narrowly finished above .500 with a record of 15-14. Righthanded hard throwing Matt Cain won nearly twice as many games as he lost, finishing with 17 wins against nine defeats, striking out 170 men. The aforementioned Maddux held down the 4th spot in the rotation. That left the five hole to be plugged by the talented Josh Beckett, who won 15 while losing seven. Rookie relievers Joey Devine & Cory Wade shared the closer’s role, saving 38 ballgames. Jose Valverde brought the heat to the setup role, fanning 66 out of the pen. Another rook, Sergio Romo joined Matt Capps in middle relief. Last, but not least, was Brett Allen Myers, known by his teammates as BAM, who pitched magnificently in long relief, coming up big with an ERA of 3.67, logging 162 innings, almost exclusively out of the pen, starting one ballgame.

So now it’s time for the second season to begin, while the postseason has not been kind to the Champions in recent years, there’s not the same sense of angst or urgency that has been there for many Chicago teams of the past. The Champions have shown themselves to be a quality baseball team, over the long haul of a 162 game season. Anything can happen in the playoffs, still the Champions are looking for more, a fitting end would be to be crowned with the IAL Championship, #11 for the Champs, still it has been a long time, and they’re not taking anything for granted & will certainly savor victory, if it were to come over the painful sting of defeat.

Champs Solidify Playoff Spot

Although we had an eight game lead on first place, with 18 games to play, anything can happen, so we were wary as Rob Moore brought his Highlanders to town. Luck was on our side as the Champs jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, then dropped the next two, before taking the last five games for a 7-2 series win. The series win upped our season record to 91-62, with nine games to go versus Kentucky, so it looks like another season in which we come up just short on reaching 100 wins. Last year’s ball club finished with 98 wins, the Champions have never won 100 games in a season. If we hold onto our lead, this will be the first time we’ve finished in first place in back to back seasons. 1996/97 was the last time we struck playoff gold in the form of a championship, got my fingers crossed, which makes it difficult to type.

Mike Bunch has once again put on his Santa Claus and delivered early Christmas presents to all the managers in the IAL, whether we were naughty or nice. APBA has just gotten the disk out for the computer game, and Papa Bunch has assembled that info into each of our teams, plus the rookies, way to go Bunchie! Believe it or not, I’m already toying with possible lineups for the upcoming season, I’m such a geek. A happy surprise was seeing Josh Beckett’s grade of B-XZ. Also Felipe Lopez & Ian Stewart received 2B-7 (Stewart also received a 3B-4), and Miguel Olivo was rated as an 8 behind the plate. On a sad note, Carlos Lee lost his 2 in the outfield.

Half a Season in Under 24 Hours

October baseball, ya gotta love it! MLB is down to four teams standing, two from LA, one from NY, and then there’s the defending champion team from Philadelphia. There is a big contrast played between games on the east coast and those played in sunny California. The Angels have had to battle the elements as well as the Bronx Bombers, they’re currently down 2-0 heading back to Anaheim. While Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino needed to change his jersey during game two because it was soaked with sweat, the two teams head to the City of Brotherly Love with their series knotted at one. Of the teams left playing ball, I’m probably more of a Phillies fan than anything else, because I watch them a lot during spring training in Clearwater, FL, although I think the Yankees will win it all, money talks!

The Illowa APBA League is finally on its way to achieving parity, there is no longer such a thing as the big two. Before our two October series, nine games each, we were fortunate enough to have amassed a seven game lead, with 36 games to play. Three teams were tied for 2nd place, followed closely by a team eight games out, with another ballclub ten games behind. Our October opponents featured two heavyweights, the Three Rivers Gamblers (8 out) and the Northside Hitmen (7 out). More nerve racking was the fact that we would be playing these series Friday night/Saturday morning, within a 24 hour window.

First up a Skype series from Pittsburgh to Chicago, the Gamblers against the Champions. Both teams started their aces in the opener, C.C. Sabathia for them, Tim Lincecum for us. Sabathia nailed a homer off Lincecum, Justin Morneau jacked one off Sabathia for us, but the winning run scored in the bottom of the 9th when Morneau lined an RBI double off Jensen Lewis, 4-3 win. Mark Buehrle didn’t have it for the Champs, Armando Galarraga had it for them, Victorino hit two long balls & drove in four, one game apiece, 9-3 score, bad guys. Three Rivers outlasted the Champs in 11, 7-6, Jose Arredondo blew the save, but picked up the win, and Joey Devine picked up the L, another bad guy winner, 7-6. Champion hitters pulled out the big lumber against John Lannan in game quatro, evening up the series at two, two homers each by ARod & Ryan Doumit, driving in all 9 runs, for a 9-5 victory, Greg Maddux went five for the win. Game #5: Josh Beckett was in charge, taking no prisoners, 3-1 Chicago winner, now leading the series 3-2, we were the home team for the first half, now it was time to take our act on the road. Freak Lincecum got lit up for six runs (a three run dinger for Gregg Zaun & a two run shot by Sabathia) in five innings and the Gamblers held on to the "pitcher’s dual" win, C.C. got the victory, Craig Breslow got the save, taking over the team’s closer role, 6-5, even at three, with three games to go. In the 7th game Buehrle again got clocked for eight extra base hits in four innings, including four homers, accounting for 12 runs, as Galarraga cruised to a 12-4 win, 4-3 them. Matt Cain & three relievers brought the series back to even with a 2-1 win. Lannan faired much better in his rematch against Maddux in the series finale, we couldn’t overcome 2 two run homers, losing 4-3, and dropping the series 5-4.

Now the race for postseason in the IAL was tightening up a bit, no time to lick our wounds, the Northside Hitmen were dropping by Crackerjack Park to play shum APBA. JRoll hit the first pitch over the wall off Boof Bonser, and we never looked back, Josh Beckett cruised to the complete game victory, even hit a two run tater, 8-4 us. JRoll again hit a leadoff homer, a two run 8th inning blast by Ryan Doumit provided the difference as Lincecum notched the 6-4 win, 2-0 series lead. Maddux went the first five & Lincecum pitched the last four, for a 2-0 victory, three zip good guys. The Hitmen scored seven unearned runs, they counted none the less, ARod’s two HR & 5 RBIs weren’t enough, 9-5 them, 3-1 in Chicago, time to head over to the Northside. Neither starter Cole Hamels, nor Lincecum were around when the 5th game was decided, in 12 the Champs won 5-3, Sergio Romo picked up his 1st career victory going two, ARod ripped a two run double, 4-1 us. Beckett went six, Devine got the save, 4-2 Champions, 5-1 in the series. Cain didn’t have it in the 7th game, down 4-0 after one, Carlos Delgado with a three run first inning Del-got-it shot, bad guys win it 5-2, series at 5-2 still us. Maddux got ripped for five runs in three innings, 4 coming courtesy of a Miggy Cabrera big fly with the bags juiced, 6-3 winner for Jake Peavy, series slips to 5-3 lead, still us, but barely. Now with one game to go the Champs were in danger of kissing their sister BIG TIME, an 18 game split, which wouldn’t be the worst thing, but it could’ve been better. We hit for the cycle of A.J. Burnett in the 2nd inning, a 3 run blast by JRoll, another by B.J. Upton in the 3rd, and a complete game win by Mark Buehrle, for a 6-3 series winner, good guys, YES!