Quote:
Originally Posted by UltimateAverageGuy
WOW.
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(sigh!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by DD Martin
Well that didn’t end well. Ending the season on a 5 game skid
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2-5, L3.
But, yes. And I just saw that the result is missing from the last Indians game. Looks like we can't do anything 'round here.
(sigh!)
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2068 ABL PLAYOFFS
The 92nd annual ABL playoffs would have the 97-75 Thunder as the top seed, winning the CL South by a hefty 15 games. They were entering with the #2 offense and the best pitching in the Continental League and it was hard to poke holes into their roster – except for the fact that it had been taken apart by injuries down the line, and they were without starting pitchers Danny Baca and Jake Frensley as well as regulars Ian Stone, Coby Thore, and Bryan Johnston. Stone’s bat was the worst loss, given that he had batted .308 with 20 homers. What remained was still five players that were all hitting well with double-digit homers, led by Jose Palominos (.297, 27 HR, 90 RBI), Justin Dowsey (.263, 20 HR, 60 RBI), and Carlos Gutierrez (.309, 15 HR, 104 RBI). The decimated rotation could become a problem though; besides CL ERA champion Ken Nielsen (20-7, 2.43 ERA) only average to fair starters were left, and there were a couple of holes in the bullpen as well now.
On the other side of the CLCS were the 89-73 Titans, who had only punched their ticket on Closing Day, winning the CL North by two games over the Raccoons and Canadiens. They had scored the third-most runs in the CL – barely behind the Thunder – and given up the fourth-fewest runs. They had led the league in homers, but were near the bottom in speed and defense. The bullpen had also been bothersome for them, putting up an ERA well over four. They brought an incredibly dense lineup with the first seven spots occupied by players all with double-digit home runs and batting at least .263; and they had five players with 20+ home runs: Jorge Arviso (.286, 28 HR, 83 RBI), Manuel Garcia (.263, 22 HR, 104 RBI), Eddie Marcotte (.272, 22 HR, 84 RBI), Jeremy White (.276, 22 HR, 109 RBI), and Danny Miller (.264, 20 HR, 81 RBI). The problem here was on the pitching side as well. Ace Mike Bell had gone down in the summer and was not going to be back for the playoffs, and they had to make do with Tyler Riddle (13-10, 3.17 ERA), Ricardo Montoya (12-9, 3.16 ERA), who had a combined age f 74, and a lot of crossed fingers.
In the Federal League, the 91-71 Cyclones had home field advantage in the FLCS, having won the FL East by five games. They had come fifth in runs scored and second in runs allowed, with the second-best defense and second-best rotation. Things were soft in both home run power and speed on the base paths. Melvin Avila (.324, 15 HR, 78 RBI) led the team in homers, and they had only two more players with double-digit dingers, one of which, rookie outfielder Anthony Schneider, was on the DL for at least the FLCS, along with a couple of relievers. Matt Little (.320, 9 HR, 31 RBI) was another high-volume hitter if not hobbled by injuries, while the rotation relied a lot on Blake Anderson (14-7, 2.64 ERA) and Jose Aguilar (16-7, 2.87 ERA), after which it got well close to league average. The pen was stable, even though closer John Faughnan (7-9, 3.69 ERA, 35 SV) had given up his fair share of leads this year.
In the FL West, the 90-72 Warriors had prevailed by six games to enter October baseball, having done so with lockdown pitching, allowing the fewest runs in the league in a fundamentally offensive division, putting up the best defense, best rotation, second-best bullpen, and running in circles around other teams with a whopping 206 stolen bases – but apart from that the offense was a bit dry. They had only scored the fourth-fewest runs in the Federal League, and were second from the bottom in homers. The team home run leaders were Jordan Lopez (.286, 12 HR, 89 RBI) and Danny Perez (.283, 12 HR, 72 RBI), and Lopez had also led the team in RBI’s in his rookie season. Adam Campbell (.309, 11 HR, 75 RBI) was the only player on the team to hit over .300 in a meaningful way. Infielder Jon Barrientos might have been a useful tool for the team, but he had torn up his knee in May and not going to be back this year. The rotation had three actual weapons with Luis Olvera (15-10, 3.16 ERA), Harry Poteat (12-15, 2.86 ERA), and Dan Speake (11-11, 3.13 ERA), even though they struggled for run support, obviously. The bullpen was quite dense, maybe weak on the left side.
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The Thunder further extended their own league record for playoff appearances with their 29th October ticket (and their seventh in a row!), while the Titans tied the Raccoons for second place with their 24th division title. The FL teams were less regularly in the playoffs, but this was the 17th appearance for the Warriors and the 16th for the Cyclones, both ranking just inside the upper half of all ABL teams. All four teams had already had at least one playoff entry in this decade.
For titles, the Titans had a chance to build on their record 12 championships, more than the other three teams combined. The Thunder had four (and were defending champions), the Warriors three, and the Cyclones two. The Warriors had not won the World Series since 2034, and the Cyclones were waiting since 2010. These were coincidentally the first two league champions, the Cyclones winning in the inaugural season in 1977, and the Warriors taking the 1978 title. The Titans’ most recent championship had come in 2066.
For past encounters, the Cyclones and Warriors had met in the FLCS twice before, in 1999 and 2013. The Warriors won the former encounter, and the Cyclones the latter, but both lost in the World Series after that.
The Titans and Thunder had met quite a few times, in 2001, 2002, and 2004 (all won by the Titans, and all followed with rings by them), and then every year from 2063 to 2066, of which the Thunder had won only the 2065 series, while the Titans had added more rings after dispatching of the Thunder in ’63 and ’66.
Past World Series meetings of the four teams involved included the first two times the Thunder won the World Series in 1994 and 2000, both times beating the Warriors. The Titans beat the Cyclones in the 2025 World Series. The Warriors won the 2033 edition of the championship against the Titans. Only a Cyclones-Thunder World Series would be a first-time occurrence.
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2068 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
BOS @ OCT … 4-9 … (Thunder lead 1-0) … BOS Steve Humphries 2-3, 2 BB, 2B; BOS Jeremy White 3-5, 2B; BOS Joe Washington 2-5, 2B, RBI; OCT Brian Robinson 3-5, RBI; OCT Carlos Gutierrez 2-3, 3B, RBI; OCT Roberto Soto 2-3, BB, RBI; OCT Vince Goll 3-4, HR, 2B, 5 RBI;
SFW @ CIN … 0-7 … (Cyclones lead 1-0) … CIN Matt Little 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; CIN Mike Davis 2-4, 2 RBI; CIN Jose Aguilar 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, W (1-0);
BOS @ OCT … 9-4 … (series tied 1-1) … BOS Steve Humphries 2-6, HR, 4 RBI; BOS Manuel Garcia 2-5, HR, RBI; BOS Eddie Marcotte 2-4, BB, RBI; BOS Jared Robichaud 2-5, 2B, RBI; OCT Jose Palominos 3-5; OCT Matt Ewig 4-4, 2 2B, RBI;
Vince Goll, who raked like a man possessed in Game 1, suffers a broken hand and will miss the rest of the playoffs, while Boston’s Tyler Riddle pitched only one inning before leaving with a shoulder ailment and would also be shut down for the rest of the playoffs.
SFW @ CIN … 6-1 … (series tied 1-1) … SFW Harry Poteat 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, W (1-0)
OCT @ BOS … 4-5 … (Titans lead 2-1) … OCT Jose Palominos 3-5, 2B, RBI; OCT Brain Robinson 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; BOS Steve Humphries 2-4, BB, RBI; BOS Danny Miller 3-4, HR, 2 RBI;
CIN @ SFW … 4-3 … (Cyclones lead 2-1) … CIN Matt Little 3-3, BB, 3B, 2 RBI; SFW Beau Metz 2-3, 2B, RBI;
OCT @ BOS … 0-1 … (Titans lead 3-1) … BOS Tony Castellanos 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 K, W (1-0);
Jared Robichaud’s seventh-inning sac fly marks the only run in the Titans’ Game 4 win.
CIN @ SFW … 2-5 … (series tied 2-2) … SFW Tomas Guangorena 3-4, BB; SFW Luis Olvera 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (1-1) and 2-3, 2 RBI;
OCT @ BOS … 2-5 … (Titans win 4-1) … OCT Brian Robinson 3-4, RBI; BOS Eddie Marcotte 1-2, 2 BB, 2B, 2 RBI; BOS Jeremy White 2-4, 2 RBI;
CIN @ SFW … 3-8 … (Warriors lead 3-2) … CIN Fernando Cruz 2-3, BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; SFW Gabe Rivas (PH) 1-1, HR, 4 RBI;
Rivas’ pinch-hit grand slam caps a roaring 6-run rampage by the Warriors in the eighth inning.
SFW @ CIN … 6-10 … (series tied 3-3) … SFW Jordan Lopez 3-5, RBI; SFW Adam Campbell 2-4, 2 RBI; CIN Mike Davis 3-4, 2 RBI; CIN Dallas Baker 2-3, BB, 2 HR, 5 RBI;
The Cyclones rush for a 6-run first inning in Game 6 and the Warriors always remain at safe distance for the rest of the game. Sioux Falls’ Danny Perez (.238, 0 HR, 1 RBI) injures his knee running the bases and will miss the rest of the playoffs.
SFW @ CIN … 3-5 … (Cyclones win 4-3) … SFW Jordan Lopez 3-4, 2 2B; SFW Adam Campbell 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI; CIN Fernando Cruz 3-4;
The Warriors take a 2-0 lead in the first, immediately blow it, and never get back in front in a tight Game 7.
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2068 WORLD SERIES
The Cyclones cried revenge for 2025 as they squeezed into the World Series against the Titans, who threatened to win their 13th championship.
Cincinnati entered with home field advantage and regained the services of rookie outfielder Anthony Schneider, and was now only two middle relievers down on full strength. Compared to the Titans they were more defensively oriented. Their +86 run differential compared to the Titans’ +93 marker, and the Titans were now down TWO starting pitchers in Mike Bell and Tyler Riddle, and had only hopes and prayers outside of Ricardo Montoya (12-9, 3.16 ERA), who had been beaten up quite a bit by the Thunder in Game 1.
The Cyclones’ rotation was still intact, and the Titans’ pitching woes were probably exacerbated by the fact that they had the worse defensive team around their hurlers. Cincy also brought a lefty-leaning lineup against the mostly right-handed Titans rotation, which would now probably include quad-A pitcher Jesse Cruise (2-2, 3.66 ERA) for at least one start – although the Titans should not run out of answers later in the game with FOUR left-handed relievers.
Slight advantage Cincy?
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BOS @ CIN … 3-12 … (Cyclones lead 1-0) … BOS Jeremy White 3-4, 2 RBI; CIN Fernando Cruz 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI; CIN Melvin Avila 2-3, 2 BB, 2B, RBI; CIN John Baxley 2-5, 2 RBI; CIN Mike Davis 4-5, 2 2B, 5 RBI; CIN Dallas Baker 3-5, HR, 3B, 2 RBI;
BOS @ CIN … 0-5 … (Cyclones lead 2-0) … CIN Fernando Cruz 2-4, BB, HR, 3 RBI; CIN Melvin Avila 1-2, 2 BB, RBI; CIN John Baxley 2-5, 2B, RBI; CIN Dallas Baker 3-4, 2B; CIN Matt Asplund 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, W (1-0);
CIN @ BOS … 5-0 … (Cyclones lead 3-0) … CIN Fernando Cruz 1-4, BB, HR, 4 RBI; CIN Blake Anderson 4.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;
Blake Anderson (1-1, 2.65 ERA) leaves with a sting in the hammy after four innings, before Cruz opens the scoring with a grand slam off Tony Castellanos (1-1, 2.81 ERA) in the sixth.
The Titans end Game 3 having not scored for 21 consecutive innings.
CIN @ BOS … 1-0 … (Cyclones win 4-0) … CIN Melvin Avila 2-4; CIN Rico Marty 1-4, RBI; CIN Shoma Nakayama 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, W (2-0); BOS Jesse Cruise 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, L (0-1);
Neither team gets more than three singles for offense in Game 4, and there are only three walks issued in total in a tight and tense game. Melvin Avila singles, steals second base, and is driven in by Rico Marty for the golden run that ends a 58-year title drought, while the blighted Titans will carry a 30-inning scoreless streak into next year.
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2068 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS
Cincinnati Cyclones
(3rd title)