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Westheim · 01-26-2015, 04:31 PM

Notes:
• For the second time, three ABL teams finished the season with 100 wins or more. The only other time this happened was in 1988, when the Stars, Blue Sox, and Indians all won 100 or more. Also, for the first time a team with 100 wins or more misses the postseason.
• Previous teams to win 100 games or more (* indicates champions, # indicates missed postseason):
113-49 (1991 WAS*)
108-54 (1996 POR, 2000 SFW)
107-55 (1986 DAL)
106-56 (1979 CIN, 1990 WAS*, 2000 OCT)
105-57 (1988 DAL*)
104-58 (1988 NAS)
102-60 (1986 VAN, 1989 NAS, 2000 SFB#)
101-61 (1978 SFW*, 1982 CHA, 1985 DEN*, 1996 SAC)
100-62 (1978 NYC, 1985 VAN, 1988 IND, 1993 TIJ, 1993 WAS)
So far, 100-win teams have won the championship at a 25% clip. Given that no 100-win team has ever missed the playoffs before, winning 100 wins in the regular season means squid in October, apparently.

The 2000 playoffs feature three former world championship teams, including the twice successful Blue Sox, who could tie their division rivals, the Capitals for the most titles among all ABL franchises. They will have to beat the Warriors first, though.

The 98-64 Blue Sox played mostly OBP ball, hitting only 88 home runs and instead slowly squished their enemies by constriction. Their lineup is dense, although they also have sluggers available in veteran Preston O’Day (.316, 23 HR, 109 RBI), who is 36 and has never won a title, and Pedro Edralín (.299, 14 HR, 82 RBI) and Cesar Gonzalez (.237, 16 HR, 75 RBI), who was acquired from the Raccoons mid-season. They will miss one of the best two or three centerfielders in the game, John Hensley (.267, 15 HR, 88 RBI), who sprained his ankle and will not be able to play in October.

Their rotation is solid, but lacks a #1 shutdown guy. They might well be described as having four #2 pitchers. Their bullpen was sturdy, and was especially untouchable in September, with closer Jorge Escobar running a 0.59 ERA, Francisco Rodriguez an 0.53 ERA, and Steven Anderson a 0.55 ERA in the last few weeks. Of note is their ability to draw the most walks in the Federal League, but at the same time walking the least opposing batters.

Throughout the bank, the 101-61 Warriors posted the more impressive numbers in 2000, beating the Blue Sox at their own OBP game, ranking first in that category, and fielding the best pitching staff in the Federal League, ranking outside the top 3 only in strikeouts. The offense also helped mask some slight issues with their rotation, or rather made them look better than they really were. 19-6 Lucio Munoz, 16-11 Pat Cherry, 15-7 Johnny Collins, and 16-8 Blair Taylor all won 15 or more games, but only the first two posted ERA’s better than four.

One interesting quirk about their lineup is that one of their best power hitters, Luis Arroyo (.274, 15 HR, 75 RBI), is out with a torn labrum, and now the top 2 home run hitters on the club are their two catchers: David Vinson (.226, 15 HR, 65 RBI) and Ruben Melendez (.283, 12 HR, 46 RBI), with Vinson getting the nod in most games, strangely. Infielders Jaime Mateo and Ramón Garza both got on base at roughly a .400 clip, but nobody came close to Hjalmar Flygt. The veteran will turn 38 during the FLCS, and has put down a .354/.455/.457 slash line with 4 HR and 61 RBI this year, posting the top OBP mark for the seventh time in his career, and the fourth year in a row. The back end of their bullpen is almost as impressive as the Blue Sox’ with William Henderson saving 40 games during the season.

All in all, the Warriors have an edge in most categories, but it is not a big edge, and this series could easily go either way.

In the Continental League, the 94-68 Loggers won a weakish Northern Division with repeat triple crown winner Martin Garcia (23-9, 2.28 ERA) rowing the boat out there. While they have an impressive bullpen, which ranked first in the CL, the rest of their rotation besides Garcia is actually porous, with none of the guys besting even a 4.50 ERA!

They survived merely on offense, but were quite impressive in that regard, with Leon Ramirez, Bartolo Hernandez, Cristo Ramirez, Jerry Fletcher, and Bakile Hiwalani (who hit 23 HR and drove in 137 runs) all batting over .300 during the year. They ranked first or second in most categories offensively, and not worse than sixth in any. However, they are a much, much better team against left-handed pitching, with the preferred lineup holding only one left-handed bat (Cristo Ramirez). While they have no significant injuries besides SP Davis Sims, who missed most of the season, they were basically a one-trick pony.

The 108-54 Thunder, with home field advantage throughout the playoffs, sport two right-handers in Aaron Anderson (22-9, 2.80 ERA) and Vaughn Higgins (15-9, 3.16 ERA), who might be tough nuts to crack for the Loggers offense, while they might have trouble with keeping southpaws Lou Corbett (17-8, 3.69 ERA) and Fabien Armand (14-11, 4.31 ERA) in the game. Their bullpen lacked reliable options besides Javier Navarro (0.79 WHIP) and closer Jimmy Morey (6-2, 1.73 ERA, 43 SV). Overall however, this combo still produced the lowest team ERA in the Continental League.

The offensive department of the Thunder was built all around slugging, with six guys hitting 15 home runs or more, and Sonny Reece and Takahashi Higashi leading the team with 21 each. Reece also drove in 117, and comes in with his share of playoff fame already under his belt, as he drilled the Thunder to the world championship with not one, but TWO game 7 walkoff home runs in 1994. They ranked first in most batting categories except runs scored (2nd), walks (3rd), and extra-base hits (4th), but they really can’t steal bases, mustering only 43 bags all season long. Despite that, they can build a well balanced lineup, platoon against either variation of pitcher, and are generally assumed to finish the Loggers in six games or less (probably less).

2000 CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Blue Sox @ Warriors … 3-1 … (Blue Sox lead 1-0) … NAS SP Dennis Fried 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, W;
Loggers @ Thunder … 3-2 … (Loggers lead 1-0) … MIL SP Martin Garcia 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W; Leon Ramirez’ 3-run homer makes the difference, despite the Thunder outhitting the Loggers 8-3

Blue Sox @ Warriors … 4-7 … (series tied 1-1) … SFW Javier Encarnación 2-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI;
Loggers @ Thunder … 4-5 … (series tied 1-1) … OCT Aaron Anderson has a 3-0 lead go away with three unearned runs, but the Thunder strike back

Warriors @ Blue Sox … 5-0 … (Warriors lead 2-1) … SFW Johnny Collins 9.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, W;
Thunder @ Loggers … 9-7 … (Thunder lead 2-1) … OCT Bob Grant 3-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI;

Warriors @ Blue Sox … 0-7 … (series tied 2-2) … NAS SP Dennis Fried 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, W;
Thunder @ Loggers … 2-3 (10) … (series tied 2-2) … OCT Lou Corbett 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K; OCT Yohan Bonneau 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Loggers walk off on a Rodrigo Morales single off Jimmy Morey

Warriors @ Blue Sox … 4-5 … (Blue Sox lead 3-2) … William Henderson takes the walkoff loss when Leborio Catalo singles home Jose Ramirez
Thunder @ Loggers … 5-3 … (Thunder lead 3-2)

Blue Sox @ Warriors … 1-5 … (series tied 3-3) … SFW Pat Cherry 8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, W; SFW David Vinson 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI;
Loggers @ Thunder … 3-2 … (series tied 3-3) … MIL Vicente Perez 8.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W;

Uh my god, this was tense. Who’s gonna make it? The Blue Sox? The Loggers? The Thunder? The Warriors? Just who!?

Blue Sox @ Warriors … 1-2 (12) … (Warriors win 4-3) … NAS Francisco Rodriguez walks Ramón Garza with the bases loaded to exit his team from the playoffs
Loggers @ Thunder … 1-5 … (Thunder win 4-3) … OCT Vaughn Higgins 9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W; OCT Yohan Bonneau 2-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI;

(exhales)

That was certainly closer in a lot of aspects than anybody would have dared to dream. The Thunder struggled to score on the Loggers, and in the CLCS there was very little scoring going either. If you noticed, most winning pitchers didn’t even allow an earned run.

But, this is the top stage after all! Can’t have no losers here!

Neither team suffered any injuries in their championship series, but also neither team did get any hitting done. The team to wake up their bats first, might well win! The Thunder might still have a tiny edge, but it’s really nothing to bet your house on.

2000 WORLD SERIES

Warriors @ Thunder … 1-5 … (Thunder lead 1-0) … OCT Lou Corbett 9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W;

Warriors @ Thunder … 2-5 … (Thunder lead 2-0) … OCT Fabien Armand 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W;

Thunder @ Warriors … 2-4 … (Thunder lead 2-1) … SFW Roberto Vargas 3-4, 2 RBI; SFW Ramón Garza 2-2, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Vargas hits the game-winner in the bottom 8th in which Aaron Anderson blows up along with his 2-1 lead

Thunder @ Warriors … 11-3 … (Thunder led 3-1) … SFW Dafe Heffer 4-4, 2B; OCT Rob Guidry 2-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI;

Thunder @ Warriors … 5-2 … (Thunder win 4-1) … OCT Lou Corbett 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W; OCT Joey Humphrey 2-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI; SFW Dave Heffer 2-4, 3B, RBI;

In the end, it went a little quicker than anyone had thought, but it was Oklahoma to regain their swing first, while the Warriors slumped out to score just 12 runs in five games.

2000 WORLD CHAMPIONS
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
2nd title

01-26-2015, 04:31 PM	#1128
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,744	Notes: • For the second time, three ABL teams finished the season with 100 wins or more. The only other time this happened was in 1988, when the Stars, Blue Sox, and Indians all won 100 or more. Also, for the first time a team with 100 wins or more misses the postseason. • Previous teams to win 100 games or more (* indicates champions, # indicates missed postseason): 113-49 (1991 WAS) 108-54 (1996 POR, 2000 SFW) 107-55 (1986 DAL) 106-56 (1979 CIN, 1990 WAS, 2000 OCT) 105-57 (1988 DAL) 104-58 (1988 NAS) 102-60 (1986 VAN, 1989 NAS, 2000 SFB#) 101-61 (1978 SFW, 1982 CHA, 1985 DEN, 1996 SAC) 100-62 (1978 NYC, 1985 VAN, 1988 IND, 1993 TIJ, 1993 WAS) So far, 100-win teams have won the championship at a 25% clip. Given that no 100-win team has ever missed the playoffs before, winning 100 wins in the regular season means squid in October, apparently. The 2000 playoffs feature three former world championship teams, including the twice successful Blue Sox, who could tie their division rivals, the Capitals for the most titles among all ABL franchises. They will have to beat the Warriors first, though. The 98-64 Blue Sox played mostly OBP ball, hitting only 88 home runs and instead slowly squished their enemies by constriction. Their lineup is dense, although they also have sluggers available in veteran Preston O’Day (.316, 23 HR, 109 RBI), who is 36 and has never won a title, and Pedro Edralín (.299, 14 HR, 82 RBI) and Cesar Gonzalez (.237, 16 HR, 75 RBI), who was acquired from the Raccoons mid-season. They will miss one of the best two or three centerfielders in the game, John Hensley (.267, 15 HR, 88 RBI), who sprained his ankle and will not be able to play in October. Their rotation is solid, but lacks a #1 shutdown guy. They might well be described as having four #2 pitchers. Their bullpen was sturdy, and was especially untouchable in September, with closer Jorge Escobar running a 0.59 ERA, Francisco Rodriguez an 0.53 ERA, and Steven Anderson a 0.55 ERA in the last few weeks. Of note is their ability to draw the most walks in the Federal League, but at the same time walking the least opposing batters. Throughout the bank, the 101-61 Warriors posted the more impressive numbers in 2000, beating the Blue Sox at their own OBP game, ranking first in that category, and fielding the best pitching staff in the Federal League, ranking outside the top 3 only in strikeouts. The offense also helped mask some slight issues with their rotation, or rather made them look better than they really were. 19-6 Lucio Munoz, 16-11 Pat Cherry, 15-7 Johnny Collins, and 16-8 Blair Taylor all won 15 or more games, but only the first two posted ERA’s better than four. One interesting quirk about their lineup is that one of their best power hitters, Luis Arroyo (.274, 15 HR, 75 RBI), is out with a torn labrum, and now the top 2 home run hitters on the club are their two catchers: David Vinson (.226, 15 HR, 65 RBI) and Ruben Melendez (.283, 12 HR, 46 RBI), with Vinson getting the nod in most games, strangely. Infielders Jaime Mateo and Ramón Garza both got on base at roughly a .400 clip, but nobody came close to Hjalmar Flygt. The veteran will turn 38 during the FLCS, and has put down a .354/.455/.457 slash line with 4 HR and 61 RBI this year, posting the top OBP mark for the seventh time in his career, and the fourth year in a row. The back end of their bullpen is almost as impressive as the Blue Sox’ with William Henderson saving 40 games during the season. All in all, the Warriors have an edge in most categories, but it is not a big edge, and this series could easily go either way. In the Continental League, the 94-68 Loggers won a weakish Northern Division with repeat triple crown winner Martin Garcia (23-9, 2.28 ERA) rowing the boat out there. While they have an impressive bullpen, which ranked first in the CL, the rest of their rotation besides Garcia is actually porous, with none of the guys besting even a 4.50 ERA! They survived merely on offense, but were quite impressive in that regard, with Leon Ramirez, Bartolo Hernandez, Cristo Ramirez, Jerry Fletcher, and Bakile Hiwalani (who hit 23 HR and drove in 137 runs) all batting over .300 during the year. They ranked first or second in most categories offensively, and not worse than sixth in any. However, they are a much, much better team against left-handed pitching, with the preferred lineup holding only one left-handed bat (Cristo Ramirez). While they have no significant injuries besides SP Davis Sims, who missed most of the season, they were basically a one-trick pony. The 108-54 Thunder, with home field advantage throughout the playoffs, sport two right-handers in Aaron Anderson (22-9, 2.80 ERA) and Vaughn Higgins (15-9, 3.16 ERA), who might be tough nuts to crack for the Loggers offense, while they might have trouble with keeping southpaws Lou Corbett (17-8, 3.69 ERA) and Fabien Armand (14-11, 4.31 ERA) in the game. Their bullpen lacked reliable options besides Javier Navarro (0.79 WHIP) and closer Jimmy Morey (6-2, 1.73 ERA, 43 SV). Overall however, this combo still produced the lowest team ERA in the Continental League. The offensive department of the Thunder was built all around slugging, with six guys hitting 15 home runs or more, and Sonny Reece and Takahashi Higashi leading the team with 21 each. Reece also drove in 117, and comes in with his share of playoff fame already under his belt, as he drilled the Thunder to the world championship with not one, but TWO game 7 walkoff home runs in 1994. They ranked first in most batting categories except runs scored (2nd), walks (3rd), and extra-base hits (4th), but they really can’t steal bases, mustering only 43 bags all season long. Despite that, they can build a well balanced lineup, platoon against either variation of pitcher, and are generally assumed to finish the Loggers in six games or less (probably less). 2000 CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Blue Sox @ Warriors … 3-1 … (Blue Sox lead 1-0) … NAS SP Dennis Fried 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, W; Loggers @ Thunder … 3-2 … (Loggers lead 1-0) … MIL SP Martin Garcia 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W; Leon Ramirez’ 3-run homer makes the difference, despite the Thunder outhitting the Loggers 8-3 Blue Sox @ Warriors … 4-7 … (series tied 1-1) … SFW Javier Encarnación 2-3, BB, HR, 3 RBI; Loggers @ Thunder … 4-5 … (series tied 1-1) … OCT Aaron Anderson has a 3-0 lead go away with three unearned runs, but the Thunder strike back Warriors @ Blue Sox … 5-0 … (Warriors lead 2-1) … SFW Johnny Collins 9.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, W; Thunder @ Loggers … 9-7 … (Thunder lead 2-1) … OCT Bob Grant 3-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; Warriors @ Blue Sox … 0-7 … (series tied 2-2) … NAS SP Dennis Fried 9.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, W; Thunder @ Loggers … 2-3 (10) … (series tied 2-2) … OCT Lou Corbett 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K; OCT Yohan Bonneau 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Loggers walk off on a Rodrigo Morales single off Jimmy Morey Warriors @ Blue Sox … 4-5 … (Blue Sox lead 3-2) … William Henderson takes the walkoff loss when Leborio Catalo singles home Jose Ramirez Thunder @ Loggers … 5-3 … (Thunder lead 3-2) Blue Sox @ Warriors … 1-5 … (series tied 3-3) … SFW Pat Cherry 8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, W; SFW David Vinson 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; Loggers @ Thunder … 3-2 … (series tied 3-3) … MIL Vicente Perez 8.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W; Uh my god, this was tense. Who’s gonna make it? The Blue Sox? The Loggers? The Thunder? The Warriors? Just who!? Blue Sox @ Warriors … 1-2 (12) … (Warriors win 4-3) … NAS Francisco Rodriguez walks Ramón Garza with the bases loaded to exit his team from the playoffs Loggers @ Thunder … 1-5 … (Thunder win 4-3) … OCT Vaughn Higgins 9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, W; OCT Yohan Bonneau 2-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; (exhales) That was certainly closer in a lot of aspects than anybody would have dared to dream. The Thunder struggled to score on the Loggers, and in the CLCS there was very little scoring going either. If you noticed, most winning pitchers didn’t even allow an earned run. But, this is the top stage after all! Can’t have no losers here! Neither team suffered any injuries in their championship series, but also neither team did get any hitting done. The team to wake up their bats first, might well win! The Thunder might still have a tiny edge, but it’s really nothing to bet your house on. 2000 WORLD SERIES Warriors @ Thunder … 1-5 … (Thunder lead 1-0) … OCT Lou Corbett 9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, W; Warriors @ Thunder … 2-5 … (Thunder lead 2-0) … OCT Fabien Armand 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W; Thunder @ Warriors … 2-4 … (Thunder lead 2-1) … SFW Roberto Vargas 3-4, 2 RBI; SFW Ramón Garza 2-2, BB, 2 2B, RBI; Vargas hits the game-winner in the bottom 8th in which Aaron Anderson blows up along with his 2-1 lead Thunder @ Warriors … 11-3 … (Thunder led 3-1) … SFW Dafe Heffer 4-4, 2B; OCT Rob Guidry 2-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Thunder @ Warriors … 5-2 … (Thunder win 4-1) … OCT Lou Corbett 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W; OCT Joey Humphrey 2-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI; SFW Dave Heffer 2-4, 3B, RBI; In the end, it went a little quicker than anyone had thought, but it was Oklahoma to regain their swing first, while the Warriors slumped out to score just 12 runs in five games. 2000 WORLD CHAMPIONS OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 2nd title Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 92 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.