[QuantaCondor]

And it's over! The Cottons claim their second Perfect WS title, only 3 years after being relegated. And it was a thriller of a series.

Game 1 went 12 innings, with the starting pitchers and league ERA crown winners 94 CC Sabathia and 96 Tom Glavine throwing 5.1 and 6 innings (Quality starts, 3 runs allowed each) and the bullpens shouldering a ton of scoreless work. But eventually one team's bullpen tired, and after 3.1 innings of work Bruce Sutter allowed a walk to 94 Rickey Henderson. He promptly stole second, then 87 Lindor, in his only plate appearance of the series, pulled through with a single for the walkoff victory. 4-3 Cottons in 12 innings.

Game 2 was another pitcher's duel, but a masterful CGSO on 102 pitches, 5 hits and no walks by RHP Mike Mussina (against a lefty team, somehow) proved enough. 97 Kershaw had a solid performance, going 6 IP and 1 run, but it's hard to compete with a CGSO. 2-0 Cottons.

Game 3 was an absolute rout. The Cottons won games 1 and 2 in pitcher's duel squeakers, so the 9-3 victory by the Vikings was shocking and a wakeup call that the series was still up for grabs. Nearly every Viking got a hit, as well as 3 hit games from 89 Griffey Jr and 89 George Brett and HRs from 94 Ruth (expected) and 78 Devon White (unexpected!). Series 2-1, shaping up to be 3-2 in favor of the Vikings at this rate. 9-3 Vikings.

Game 4, a battle of the #4 pitchers, was another duel. 89 Greg Maddux dueled 94 Eddie Plank, with the Cottons up 1-0 through 6 innings. The Vikings handed it to the bullpen in the 7th, who let up 2 runs to make it 3-0. But then Maddux, who stayed in, also let up 2 runs to take it back to a 1 run game. Maddux pitched a scoreless 8th then let Steve Howe take the reins, who only needed 7 pitches to close out the 9th. 3-2 Cottons.

Game 5 was yet *another* pitcher's duel, again between 94 Sabathia and 96 Glavine. Thus far, the games have mostly been pitcher's duels in which the Cottons got up early. The same was true here, with the Cottons taking a 1-0 into the 6th. But here, the Vikings broke through for 2 runs off a 97 Frank Baker homer, and rode out an excellent performance by Glavine (7 IP, 3 hits, 1 R) and their bullpen (2 IP, 1 H, 0 R). 2-1 Vikings.

Game 6, our 5th low scoring game of the series, with 96 Mussina again dueling 97 Kershaw. Mussina won the battle yet again, going 7 IP on 4 hits and 1 run, compared to the 6IP/7H/3R from Kershaw. Steve Howe got the Cottons through the 8th without incident, but trouble mounted in the 9th as the Vikings reached 1st and 2nd with no outs, down 3-1. Freshly acquired Sparky Lyle, who had gone 2IP/4H/2R in appearances earlier in the series (both of them losses for the Cottons), walked the bases loaded, but then wrestled control with a flyout by 89 Barry Bonds, strikeout of 97 Baker, and ground ball to pinch hitting 82 Alomar to seal the series victory for the Cottons.

Series MVP was 96 Mussina, going 16 IP on 9H, 1BB and 1R.

It was a ton of fun following the pitcher's duels throughout the series, with margins of victory of 1, 2, 6, 1, 1, 2. (Victoria actually outscored the Cottons 17-16 in 6 games over the series). Also, I think from repeated experience it's very clear that a coherent pitching strategy, and ballpark settings to match, is just so important in the playoffs.