Attachment 635496
Sunday, October 10, 2060

Tycobbian Union League Championship Series - Game 7

**

***

2060 Islandian Pro Alliance Playoff Tree
Monday, October 10, 2060

Click Image to Enlarge

Game 6 & 7 were epic. What a way to end a series. This will be one they talk about forever in Ginza and Rolling Hills.

Now, let's see if the Championship Series can top this. :eatpop:

For sure - different reasons though I guess. With 19 LOBs there'll be a lot of 'what ifs' flying around bars in Ginza for the next few months at least...

Up three games to two... Ginza was in great shape.

Lotta "woulda, coulda, shoulda" gonna be goin' around town in Ginza.

Attachment 635774
Monday, October 11, 2060

MACS, RACERS VIE FOR PRO CUP TROPHY
At a glance, it's easy to pick the coming Pro Cup champion... Wynnamac won 104 games, Rolling Hills chalked up 93... 'nuff said... the Sundowners will take home their third Pro Cup trophy... and the Racers will not win their fourth IPA title... but that's too easy to pick a winner that way... let's us peruse a little deeper and see what the numbers tell us... and as we know (my wife is an experimental statistician), numbers can lie... anyway, I'm gonna peruse deeper (yes, I like that word... it rolls off your tongue nicely... hope it's spelled correctly).

Going into the playoffs all the money was going on Wynnamac to win this year... the Macs were the number-one choice... and they have played like a champ so far... whipping two good clubs, Sligo and Ranford, each in five games... the Sundowners are 8-2 in the postseason.

Now let's take a look at Rolling Hills... picked as the fifth-best team in the playoffs... but that number is misleading... they could have easily been the number-two pick... in fact, they whipped number two, South Fork, in the first round... the Racers also unended last year's IPA champ, Ginza, in the TU title series... so does Rolling Hills have a chance against this year's juggernaut, the powerhouse Sundowners?

Probably not... Wynnamac outscored the opposition 56-27 in the first two rounds... they outhit them .265 to .231... and outpitched them with a strong 2.54 ERA to 4.34 ERA... and the Macs played better defense... as far as home-run firepower, the Sundowners only went deep 6 times... Sligo and Ranford hit 10 out of the park... Wynnamac still handily outscored them.

Rolling Hills didn't dominate its playoff opponents like Wynnamac... but they survived with good bats and better defense... the Racers batted really well with a .288 batting average in 13 games to .276 for its opposition... they scored 60 runs to 52... and were one better in homers, 7 to 6... the Racers were slightly outpitched with a 4.14 ERA to 3.91 for their rivals... in first round action they whipped favored South Fork because the Stallions didn't play well defensively... that was the key to that series... Rolling Hills beat Ginza because of its fine pitching in the last two games... Tommy Otis and Bob Corcorane in game six... and Audie Stafford and Rob Oates in game seven.

2060 IPA Pro Cup Finals Outlook: Wynnamac is the superior club and should win in six games... its prime starters, Dick Vanner (18-7/3.27) and Billy Skidmore (13-8/3.38), give them the edge... in the postseason Vanner is 4-0 with a splendid 0.57 ERA and Skidmore is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in two starts... for Rolling Hills to prevail, Vance Dillaway (16-9/2.74) must have a good series and pitch like he did in the regular season... he has been ineffectve in the playoffs so far with an 0-2 mark and a lousy 6.38 ERA in four starts... the Racers may have the advantage offensively... top to bottom in the batting order, they have a solid stick... but they are going to face a stronger staff in this round... scoring runs will not be as easy in the Pro Cup Finals... neither team has a good bullpen... both clubs play well defensively.

************ Wynnamac Sundowners (104-50) ************************************************** *** Rolling Hills Racers (93-61) *******************

Attachment 635916
Wednesday, October 13, 2060

2060 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 1

**

***

LOL i'm playing catch up today. And i'm reading the preview. And i'm thinking to myself, this looks like one of those series where a "nobody" plays hero to help win the series.

And then i scrolled down to the first game of the series.... :hardware:

Reading about the Macs bullpen has me second guessing their ability to win the whole thing. They are gonna' need to jump out to early lead. And their starters are gonna' really have to carry the mail. What happened to Vanner in the first game. Why did he come out of a 1-0 game after only 53 pitches?

Nevermind. i see he was pulled for a pinch hitter... i miss the National League... that's that cool decision where managers make their money. Not juggling relievers to face one batter at a time. Talk about second guessing. If i running the Macs, with a shaky bullpen, my starters are going at least seven innings. Granted the "closer" did blow the lead... Plenty to talk about on Wynnamac sports talk radio...

I have a problem with the AI... it is now pulling starters that are pitching very, very well... it will pinch hit in a close game in the fifth inning.

I have never encountered this in previous playoffs.

I usually sim through the sixth... then play out the game... but I'm going to start playing it out from the fifth inning on and see if I can stop this.

The starters are really important to both teams... neither one of them want to go to the so-so bullpens.

Only things I can think of in this instance are either a) Vanner had loaded the bases and the manager tried, with later dire consequences, to unstick them from a jam or b) the manager's hook settings are set to being especially fast - especially if this has happened before this playoff. If the latter is the case then you can put it down to manager... eccentricities :laugh:

EDIT: Oh scratch that first point then - silly me ignored the meaning of the whole 'brought off for a pinch-hitter' thing :laugh: Still, check the manager hook tendencies!

Thanks for the suggestion to check the manager's hook settings.

Attachment 636093
Thursday, October 14, 2060

2060 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 2

Wow :eatpop:

Attachment 636224
Friday, October 15, 2060

2060 IPA Pro Cup Series - Game 3

**

***