THE GRINDER: Drawing of The Eight
Already drawn: 1965 Dodgers; 1967 Cardinals; 1927 Yankees
BRACKET D
Old-timers
(4) 1926 Cardinals (89-63) vs. (1) 1969 Mets (100-62)
(3) 1934 Tigers (101-53) vs. (2) 1953 Dodgers (105-49)
Modern timers
(4) 1986 Red Sox (96-66) vs. (1) 1976 Reds (102-60)
(3) 2008 Phillies (92-70) vs. (2) 1991 Twins (95-67)
OLD-TIMER BRACKET
(4) 1926 Cardinals vs. (1) 1969 Mets (Best of 5)
Game 1 (at NYC): Cardinals 3, Mets 2 — STL’s Flint Rhem out-pitches Jerry Koosman in tight opener
Game 2 (at NYC): Cardinals 9, Mets 5 — Cards rough up Tom Seaver; Les Bell and Tom Thevenow with big homers.
Game 3 (at STL): Mets 3, Cardinals 2 — Tommy Agee’s RBI triple in top 9th breaks 2-2 tie as Mets win.
Game 4 (at STL): Mets 8, Cardinals 1 — Mets get 11 hits to win easily; Art Shamsky HR, Wayne Garrett 2 hits, 3 RBIs
Game 5 (at NYC): Cardinals 6, Mets 2 — Jim Bottomley with HR, 3 RBIs as SP Pete Alexander (2-0) wins again.
Crafty veteran Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander ... thinking up something crafty.
The 1926 Cardinals win the series, 3 games to 2: For the first time in this tournament, the home teams were winless all the way through … STL catcher Bob O’Farrell gets Series MVP for going 8-for-21 with 2 RBIs but Tommy Thevenow was 4-for-14 with a HR and 7 RBIs …. It was a team effort for the underdog Cardinals, who had 9 different players drive in at least 1 run in the series … Mets made some strange pitching choices, going with LHP Jerry Koosman for Games 1 and 5 and using 25-7 ace Tom Seaver just once (he got shellacked).
(3) 1934 Tigers vs. (2) 1953 Dodgers (Best of 5)
Game 1 (at BRO): Dodgers 3, Tigers 2 — Gil Hodges is the hero for Brooklyn: 3-for-4 with walk-off HR in bot. 9th. Duke Snider also homers for the Dodgers.
Game 2 (at BRO): Dodgers 4, Tigers 2 — PeeWee Reese, Duke Snider and Jackie Robinson with 2 hits apiece as Bums take 4-0 lead and hold on.
Game 3 (at DET): Tigers 5, Dodgers 3 — Tigers bang out 12 hits, including 3-for-4 by 2B Charlie Gehringer
Game 4 (at DET): Dodgers 1, Tigers 0 — Gil Hodges RBI single in 4th is only run. Schoolboy Rowe 7 IP, 10 K effort wasted as Tigers eliminated.
Roy Campanella and the 1953 Dodgers had no chill for the 1934 Tigers.
The 1953 Dodgers win the series, 3 games to 1: Detroit 2B Charlie Gehringer goes 9-for-20 with 2 HR and 3 RBIs to become the first member of the losing team to win Series MVP. When two great teams match up, it’s the ability to win the close games that matters and the Dodgers were just better at it. It was a lower-scoring series than could have been expected between two teams that both averaged at least 6.2 runs per game in their actual seasons.
MODERN BRACKET
(4) 1986 Red Sox vs. (1) 1976 Reds (Best of 5)
Game 1 (at CIN): Reds 3, Red Sox 2 — BOS SP Roger Clemens gets 13 K in CG, but Reds get HRs from Tony Perez, Dave Concepcion and save by Rawly Eastwick to hang on.
Game 2 (at CIN): Reds 7, Red Sox 3 — 6 different Reds players with at least 2 hits apiece, with HRs by Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench
Game 3 (at BOS): Red Sox 3, Reds 2 (11 inngs) — Rich Gedman RBI double in bottom of 11th keeps Sox alive.
Game 4 (at BOS): Reds 8, Red Sox 5 — Each team with 14 hits, but Big Red Machine gets the last laugh.
It always seems to end in tears for Wade Boggs and the 1986 Red Sox.
The 1976 Reds win the series, 3 games to 1: The Red Sox made a tactical blunder in Game 4, starting creaky old Tom Seaver over young gun Roger Clemens with a chance to even the series in front of a fired-up home crowd. The Sox hoped to deal Clemens like an ace card for Game 5 if only Seaver could come through. He couldn’t …. The bullpens were a huge factor. The Red Sox pen just didn’t have what it took to hold back The Big Red Machine, especially in games 2 and 4. The Reds’ pen, meanwhile, protected every lead, but Manny Sarmiento did give up back-to-back hits to the Sox in the 11th inning of Game 3.
(3) 2008 Phillies vs. (2) 1991 Twins (Best of 5)
Game 1 (at MIN): Phillies 14, Twins 3 — 1B Ryan Howard 3-for-5 with HR and 5 RBIs in a total rout.
Game 2 (at MIN): Philles 13, Twins 6 — Incredible. Another 20 hits for Philly. Another HR and 4 more ribbies for Howard.
Game 3 (at PHI): Phillies 4, Twins 3 — Greg Dobbs (who??) with a 2-run double in bottom of 6th gives Phils the lead for good.
On to the next round for the melodramatic 2008 Phillies. It was a sweep, guys.
Phillies sweep the series, 3 games to 0: Ryan Howard, 5-for-12 with 2 HR and 9 RBIs is Series MVP. Huge no-brainer there. I don’t know what happened to the 1991 Twins. Did their pitching melt down or are the 2008 Phillies really that much better? If the Phils stay that hot, then the 1976 Reds are going to have a major problem on their hands.
