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Westheim · 03-14-2015, 04:47 PM

2001 PLAYOFFS

For the second straight year, a 100-wins team didn’t make the playoffs, with the 102-61 Loggers being shut out by the 103-60 Titans in a game 163. Said Titans hands down had the best pitching in the Continental League, ranking first in all categories but bullpen ERA, walks, and strikeouts, and didn’t rank worse than third in any of those. However, they have lost two of their starters, Sergio Gonzalez and Steven Snyder, to injuries. Disregarding that, they still have a fantastic playoff rotation with Jason O’Halloran (23-10, 2.83 ERA), Jesus Bautista (18-12, 3.49 ERA), Juan Sanchez (13-6, 2.32 ERA), and Bryce Hildred (8-4, 2.47 ERA), who started only 16 games as injury replacement.

By a rather stark contrast, their offense is unspectacular. They had four double digit home run hitters, but none had more than 14. They have a single batter over .300 in Rudy Garrison, and they ranked merely sixth in slugging. However, this is a quirky team. They led the CL in walks, as well as in stolen bases. Daniel Silva won the SB title in the CL with 35 bags, and they can build a lineup with seven batters having an OBP of .347 or higher – and in many cases, much higher. They won’t out-drill you, but they will slowly encroach on you and suffocate you whilst you’re unable to move.

The Thunder are everything but this. They also enjoyed strong pitching, ranking close to the Titans, and had the best bullpen in the CL. Their four playoff starters all had ERA’s of 3.25 or less, and all won at least 14 games, with lefty Fabien Armand (17-9, 3.25 ERA) winning the most games on the staff. In addition to that, their offense played successful big ball baseball. They ranked either first or second in all categories of offense, notably except strikeouts (9th), and stolen bases, where they were dead-last. The lead-footed Thunder instead show off an array of dangerous power hitters, with outfielders Joey Humphrey (.363, 10 HR, 72 RBI) and Dan Henry (.296, 19 HR, 85 RBI) each slugging .490 or more, and eight players on the playoff roster slugged .425 or higher. They don’t have that one uber-slugger, but they have a very dense lineup that is hard to hack through.

However, they come in ailing. Closer Jimmy Morey is out for the playoffs, as is infield stalwart Bob Grant. David Vinson is nursing a sore thumb, but is on the roster. Morey might well be the biggest loss of all, having closed 282 games for the Thunder since 1994. His 2.9 K/BB can not quite be replaced by Sancho Rivera, despite his 2.25 ERA and saving 16 games with Morey on the shelf.

This is a difficult series to judge. The Titans might be in a lot of trouble to score a sufficient number of runs, although they always say that good pitching beats good hitting. Hard to say anything here. The Thunder might have a nose length’s advantage, but the series should go deep either way.

In the Federal League, the 112-50 Warriors killed every other team for four months, but finished the season a rather pedestrian 29-26 in the final two months. Their strength is on the pitching side, their staff occupying most first place slots for the Federal League except home runs allowed (2nd) and strikeouts (5th). They only allowed 614 runs all year and had two 20-game winners in Pat Cherry (21-9, 2.99 ERA) and Lucio Munoz (20-9, 3.47 ERA), with Johnny Collins (16-4, 2.53 ERA) not to be forgotten. In the back end of the pen, Ryosei Kato, Jose Sotelo, and William Henderson all had ERA’s of 2.17 or less, won an additional 22 games in the late stages, and Henderson saved 50 contests.

Their offense is built around being on base. Only two hitters, 1B Ramón Echevarría (.318, 17 HR, 69 RBI) and Ruben Melendez (.212, 16 HR, 90 RBI) hit more than seven home runs. The lineup has holes, however. Despite all the power, catcher Melendez struck out over 100 times and OPS’ed a meagre .644. Injuries have claimed outfielder Javier Encarnación and infielder Jaime Mateo, thinning out the bench significantly. They can not expect much help from their pinch-hitters. Also, they lean heavily towards right-handed batting, with only switch-hitter Echevarría and left-hander Luis Arroyo offering respite against right-handed pitching, plus ancient Hjalmar Flygt, another lefty, who can’t field anymore at 38.

The good news for the Warriors might be however that the 90-72 Buffaloes won 22 games less, and their left-handed pitching is in trouble anyway, and might easily burst into flames. The Buffaloes are not a good team by any stretch of the imagination. Their batters drew the most walks and their pitchers had the most strikeouts in the FL and that is it for top 3 rankings for them. They had the fortune to top a very weak FL East by going 36-19 in the last two months of the season.

Dan George had the best ERA for a starter for them, going 12-8 with a 3.30 mark, and they have only one reliever, Nesto Martinez and his 2.44 ERA, with a better mark. Even Roberto Delgado, who saved 36 games, allowed 3.79 earned runs per nine innings. Their offense is not very promising either. While they are good at getting on base, they have stolen the second-fewest bases, and also didn’t hit many home runs. It is not a terrible lineup, it won a division after all, but it is not a lineup that can be expected to do any structural damage to the Warriors’ pitching. The lineup around Lionnel Perri (.267, 16 HR, 99 RBI) and Matt Brown (.267, 13 HR, 74 RBI) leaves a lot to be desired, and they also miss their quirky shortstop Gabriel Rodriguez, who batted .327, and setup man Lawson Steward due to injuries.

Everybody expects a walkover.

2001 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Buffaloes @ Warriors … 2-3 … (Warriors lead 1-0) … TOP Jon Merritt 4-4, 3B, 2B, RBI;
Titans @ Thunder … 2-3 … (Thunder lead 1-0) … BOS Daniel Silva 3-5, HR, 3B, 2B, RBI;

Buffaloes @ Warriors … 4-7 … (Warriors lead 2-0) … SFW Luis Arroyo 3-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI, including walkoff grand slam off Roberto Delgado with two out;
Titans @ Thunder … 11-1 … (series tied 1-1) … BOS Jesus Bautista 8.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, W;

Warriors @ Buffaloes … 2-7 … (Warriors lead 2-1) … TOP Manny Ramos 9.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K, W;
Thunder @ Titans … 3-14 … (Titans lead 2-1) … BOS Rudy Garrison 3-4, HR, 2B, 5 RBI; BOS Daniel Silva 3-5, 2B, 3 RBI;

Warriors @ Buffaloes … 0-7 … (series tied 2-2) … SFW Pat Cherry is incinerated in 5-run seventh
Thunder @ Titans … 9-4 … (series tied 2-2) … OCT Tomas Cardenas 2-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI;

Warriors @ Buffaloes … 4-5 … (Buffaloes lead 3-2) … TOP Oliver Guzmán 2-4, HR, 3 RBI;
Thunder @ Titans … 2-3 … (Titans lead 3-2) … BOS Jason O’Halloran 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W;

The Buffaloes are what!?

Buffaloes @ Warriors … 1-0 … (Buffaloes win 4-2) … TOP Manny Ramos 8.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, W; TOP Pablo Ledesma 1-3, BB, RBI;
Titans @ Thunder … 1-0 … (Titans win 4-2) … BOS Jesus Bautista 9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K, W; OCT Vaughn Higgins, 8.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, L; BOS Daniel Silva 2-4, RBI;

The Buffaloes did WHAT???

…

2001 WORLD SERIES

With the odds-on favorite Warriors toppled in a stunning upset that has the whole country behind the charming, plucky Buffaloes, who came from 0-2 to win the series in six games, this series seems wide open all of a sudden. The Titans blasted through the Thunder in games 2 and 3 to make up an early deficit before Jesus Bautista pitched a game 6 shutout to seal the deal in the CL. Both game 6’s were dazzling 1-0 nail-biters.

It could go on this way in the World Series. With offense at a premium for both teams, pitching could carry the day, and Manny Ramos can win only so many games for the Buffaloes. The pitching is clearly better on the Titans’ side, who are in their third fall Classic after 1997 and 1998, winning over the Blue Sox in the latter year. The Buffaloes’ only World Series was a unsuccessful attempt at beating the Indians in 1981. To make things even worse for the Buffaloes, they lost outfielder Jesus Maldonado (.312, 12 HR, 72 RBI) to injury, opening the gap to the Titans even further. The Titans are heavy favorites to win the title, with many analysts seeing the series finish in Kansas.

But they DID beat those Warriors!

…

Buffaloes @ Titans … 3-7 … (Titans lead 1-0) … BOS Daniel Silva 2-5, HR, 3B, RBI;

Buffaloes @ Titans … 6-0 … (series tied 1-1) … TOP Dan George 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, W;

Titans @ Buffaloes … 13-7 … (Titans lead 2-1) … BOS Daniel Silva 4-6, 2 2B, 3 RBI; BOS Vern Kinnear 3-3, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI; TOP Manny Ramos is crushed in a 6-run first inning

BOS Josh Thomas was ejected after he slammed down his bat after getting called for a third strike in this game 3. He went right for the umpire and yelled in his face, and then started to swing at Topeka’s Pablo Estrada when he tried to pull him back from the umpire. The ABL office has suspended Thomas for the rest of the postseason.

Titans @ Buffaloes … 4-5 … (series tied 2-2)

Titans @ Buffaloes … 1-3 … (Buffaloes lead 3-2) … TOP Dan George 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, W;

Game 6 will be between the recently ravaged Ramos and Boston’s Jason O’Halloran.

Buffaloes @ Titans … 4-7 … (series tied 3-3) … BOS Rudy Garrison 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; BOS Daniel Silva 1-4, HR, 4 RBI;

Silva’s second-inning grand slam knocks out Ramos with consecutive 6-run outings on him after that stellar FLCS. Can the underdogs come back from this? Chris York will have to chew through Jesus Bautista.

Buffaloes @ Titans … 2-3 (10) … (Titans win 4-3) … TOP Chris York 8.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K; BOS Ramiro Román 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, W;

In the bottom 10th, Roberto Delgado walks Daniel Silva, who is bunted to second by Garrison. Mark Austin is walked intentionally, and Andres Manuel is down 1-2 before the runners take off to execute a double steal. The shaking Buffaloes hold a lengthy mound conference that results in an intentional walk to Manuel, bringing up Vern Kinnear, who puts the 1-0 pitch in play, a really slow trickler up the first base line. Delgado, whose momentum will take him almost straight to home plate, takes time to get there, and when he gets the ball, facing to first, he stands on the line and Kinnear blocks the throw, while Silva is coming home behind him.

2001 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS
BOSTON TITANS
(2nd title)

03-14-2015, 04:47 PM	#1185
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,745	2001 PLAYOFFS For the second straight year, a 100-wins team didn’t make the playoffs, with the 102-61 Loggers being shut out by the 103-60 Titans in a game 163. Said Titans hands down had the best pitching in the Continental League, ranking first in all categories but bullpen ERA, walks, and strikeouts, and didn’t rank worse than third in any of those. However, they have lost two of their starters, Sergio Gonzalez and Steven Snyder, to injuries. Disregarding that, they still have a fantastic playoff rotation with Jason O’Halloran (23-10, 2.83 ERA), Jesus Bautista (18-12, 3.49 ERA), Juan Sanchez (13-6, 2.32 ERA), and Bryce Hildred (8-4, 2.47 ERA), who started only 16 games as injury replacement. By a rather stark contrast, their offense is unspectacular. They had four double digit home run hitters, but none had more than 14. They have a single batter over .300 in Rudy Garrison, and they ranked merely sixth in slugging. However, this is a quirky team. They led the CL in walks, as well as in stolen bases. Daniel Silva won the SB title in the CL with 35 bags, and they can build a lineup with seven batters having an OBP of .347 or higher – and in many cases, much higher. They won’t out-drill you, but they will slowly encroach on you and suffocate you whilst you’re unable to move. The Thunder are everything but this. They also enjoyed strong pitching, ranking close to the Titans, and had the best bullpen in the CL. Their four playoff starters all had ERA’s of 3.25 or less, and all won at least 14 games, with lefty Fabien Armand (17-9, 3.25 ERA) winning the most games on the staff. In addition to that, their offense played successful big ball baseball. They ranked either first or second in all categories of offense, notably except strikeouts (9th), and stolen bases, where they were dead-last. The lead-footed Thunder instead show off an array of dangerous power hitters, with outfielders Joey Humphrey (.363, 10 HR, 72 RBI) and Dan Henry (.296, 19 HR, 85 RBI) each slugging .490 or more, and eight players on the playoff roster slugged .425 or higher. They don’t have that one uber-slugger, but they have a very dense lineup that is hard to hack through. However, they come in ailing. Closer Jimmy Morey is out for the playoffs, as is infield stalwart Bob Grant. David Vinson is nursing a sore thumb, but is on the roster. Morey might well be the biggest loss of all, having closed 282 games for the Thunder since 1994. His 2.9 K/BB can not quite be replaced by Sancho Rivera, despite his 2.25 ERA and saving 16 games with Morey on the shelf. This is a difficult series to judge. The Titans might be in a lot of trouble to score a sufficient number of runs, although they always say that good pitching beats good hitting. Hard to say anything here. The Thunder might have a nose length’s advantage, but the series should go deep either way. In the Federal League, the 112-50 Warriors killed every other team for four months, but finished the season a rather pedestrian 29-26 in the final two months. Their strength is on the pitching side, their staff occupying most first place slots for the Federal League except home runs allowed (2nd) and strikeouts (5th). They only allowed 614 runs all year and had two 20-game winners in Pat Cherry (21-9, 2.99 ERA) and Lucio Munoz (20-9, 3.47 ERA), with Johnny Collins (16-4, 2.53 ERA) not to be forgotten. In the back end of the pen, Ryosei Kato, Jose Sotelo, and William Henderson all had ERA’s of 2.17 or less, won an additional 22 games in the late stages, and Henderson saved 50 contests. Their offense is built around being on base. Only two hitters, 1B Ramón Echevarría (.318, 17 HR, 69 RBI) and Ruben Melendez (.212, 16 HR, 90 RBI) hit more than seven home runs. The lineup has holes, however. Despite all the power, catcher Melendez struck out over 100 times and OPS’ed a meagre .644. Injuries have claimed outfielder Javier Encarnación and infielder Jaime Mateo, thinning out the bench significantly. They can not expect much help from their pinch-hitters. Also, they lean heavily towards right-handed batting, with only switch-hitter Echevarría and left-hander Luis Arroyo offering respite against right-handed pitching, plus ancient Hjalmar Flygt, another lefty, who can’t field anymore at 38. The good news for the Warriors might be however that the 90-72 Buffaloes won 22 games less, and their left-handed pitching is in trouble anyway, and might easily burst into flames. The Buffaloes are not a good team by any stretch of the imagination. Their batters drew the most walks and their pitchers had the most strikeouts in the FL and that is it for top 3 rankings for them. They had the fortune to top a very weak FL East by going 36-19 in the last two months of the season. Dan George had the best ERA for a starter for them, going 12-8 with a 3.30 mark, and they have only one reliever, Nesto Martinez and his 2.44 ERA, with a better mark. Even Roberto Delgado, who saved 36 games, allowed 3.79 earned runs per nine innings. Their offense is not very promising either. While they are good at getting on base, they have stolen the second-fewest bases, and also didn’t hit many home runs. It is not a terrible lineup, it won a division after all, but it is not a lineup that can be expected to do any structural damage to the Warriors’ pitching. The lineup around Lionnel Perri (.267, 16 HR, 99 RBI) and Matt Brown (.267, 13 HR, 74 RBI) leaves a lot to be desired, and they also miss their quirky shortstop Gabriel Rodriguez, who batted .327, and setup man Lawson Steward due to injuries. Everybody expects a walkover. 2001 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Buffaloes @ Warriors … 2-3 … (Warriors lead 1-0) … TOP Jon Merritt 4-4, 3B, 2B, RBI; Titans @ Thunder … 2-3 … (Thunder lead 1-0) … BOS Daniel Silva 3-5, HR, 3B, 2B, RBI; Buffaloes @ Warriors … 4-7 … (Warriors lead 2-0) … SFW Luis Arroyo 3-4, HR, 2B, 4 RBI, including walkoff grand slam off Roberto Delgado with two out; Titans @ Thunder … 11-1 … (series tied 1-1) … BOS Jesus Bautista 8.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, W; Warriors @ Buffaloes … 2-7 … (Warriors lead 2-1) … TOP Manny Ramos 9.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K, W; Thunder @ Titans … 3-14 … (Titans lead 2-1) … BOS Rudy Garrison 3-4, HR, 2B, 5 RBI; BOS Daniel Silva 3-5, 2B, 3 RBI; Warriors @ Buffaloes … 0-7 … (series tied 2-2) … SFW Pat Cherry is incinerated in 5-run seventh Thunder @ Titans … 9-4 … (series tied 2-2) … OCT Tomas Cardenas 2-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBI; Warriors @ Buffaloes … 4-5 … (Buffaloes lead 3-2) … TOP Oliver Guzmán 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Thunder @ Titans … 2-3 … (Titans lead 3-2) … BOS Jason O’Halloran 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W; The Buffaloes are what!? Buffaloes @ Warriors … 1-0 … (Buffaloes win 4-2) … TOP Manny Ramos 8.0 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, W; TOP Pablo Ledesma 1-3, BB, RBI; Titans @ Thunder … 1-0 … (Titans win 4-2) … BOS Jesus Bautista 9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K, W; OCT Vaughn Higgins, 8.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, L; BOS Daniel Silva 2-4, RBI; The Buffaloes did WHAT??? … 2001 WORLD SERIES With the odds-on favorite Warriors toppled in a stunning upset that has the whole country behind the charming, plucky Buffaloes, who came from 0-2 to win the series in six games, this series seems wide open all of a sudden. The Titans blasted through the Thunder in games 2 and 3 to make up an early deficit before Jesus Bautista pitched a game 6 shutout to seal the deal in the CL. Both game 6’s were dazzling 1-0 nail-biters. It could go on this way in the World Series. With offense at a premium for both teams, pitching could carry the day, and Manny Ramos can win only so many games for the Buffaloes. The pitching is clearly better on the Titans’ side, who are in their third fall Classic after 1997 and 1998, winning over the Blue Sox in the latter year. The Buffaloes’ only World Series was a unsuccessful attempt at beating the Indians in 1981. To make things even worse for the Buffaloes, they lost outfielder Jesus Maldonado (.312, 12 HR, 72 RBI) to injury, opening the gap to the Titans even further. The Titans are heavy favorites to win the title, with many analysts seeing the series finish in Kansas. But they DID beat those Warriors! … Buffaloes @ Titans … 3-7 … (Titans lead 1-0) … BOS Daniel Silva 2-5, HR, 3B, RBI; Buffaloes @ Titans … 6-0 … (series tied 1-1) … TOP Dan George 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, W; Titans @ Buffaloes … 13-7 … (Titans lead 2-1) … BOS Daniel Silva 4-6, 2 2B, 3 RBI; BOS Vern Kinnear 3-3, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI; TOP Manny Ramos is crushed in a 6-run first inning BOS Josh Thomas was ejected after he slammed down his bat after getting called for a third strike in this game 3. He went right for the umpire and yelled in his face, and then started to swing at Topeka’s Pablo Estrada when he tried to pull him back from the umpire. The ABL office has suspended Thomas for the rest of the postseason. Titans @ Buffaloes … 4-5 … (series tied 2-2) Titans @ Buffaloes … 1-3 … (Buffaloes lead 3-2) … TOP Dan George 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, W; Game 6 will be between the recently ravaged Ramos and Boston’s Jason O’Halloran. Buffaloes @ Titans … 4-7 … (series tied 3-3) … BOS Rudy Garrison 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; BOS Daniel Silva 1-4, HR, 4 RBI; Silva’s second-inning grand slam knocks out Ramos with consecutive 6-run outings on him after that stellar FLCS. Can the underdogs come back from this? Chris York will have to chew through Jesus Bautista. Buffaloes @ Titans … 2-3 (10) … (Titans win 4-3) … TOP Chris York 8.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 10 K; BOS Ramiro Román 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, W; In the bottom 10th, Roberto Delgado walks Daniel Silva, who is bunted to second by Garrison. Mark Austin is walked intentionally, and Andres Manuel is down 1-2 before the runners take off to execute a double steal. The shaking Buffaloes hold a lengthy mound conference that results in an intentional walk to Manuel, bringing up Vern Kinnear, who puts the 1-0 pitch in play, a really slow trickler up the first base line. Delgado, whose momentum will take him almost straight to home plate, takes time to get there, and when he gets the ball, facing to first, he stands on the line and Kinnear blocks the throw, while Silva is coming home behind him. 2001 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS BOSTON TITANS (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.