Any Given Sunday - The Journey Continues

[NYY #23]

The Chargers and Broncos were locked into a tight battle all year, but the Chargers were able to finish the season with 7 wins in their final 8 games to win the ABC West and head to the playoffs.



Even though starter George Derby just finished his 10th year in the league, he's still just 27 years old. Derby won 10 games for the fifth time in his career and pitched 92% of the Chargers innings.



While the Broncos fell short this year 3B Bill Kuehne had his best seasons to date. The 26 year old hit .344, drove in 10 RBI, and scored 11 runs and is one of the favorites for Batter of the Year.



Bert Dorr saw his performance drop off in his second year with the Chiefs, with his ERA increasing from 1.48 to 2.60 and his strikeouts dropping.

The Raiders lost 10 games in a season for the first time since 1879 when they lost 13 games.

[NYY #23]

The Jacksonville Jaguars captured the ABC South for the fourth straight year and head into playoffs as the #1 seed and team to beat after winning eight straight games. Their 100 runs scored was the best in the ABC, and their 56 runs allowed was fewest in the league. Starter Dave Cartwright won a career high 11 games at the age of 40, and he'll take advantage of the bye week to recharge his batteries.



At 42 years old Milt Foss had one of the best years of his career with a 12-4 record and 2.04 ERA. His 50 strikeouts was a career high, and his 1.01 WHIP was a career low as a starter. Foss and the Titans will be heading to the playoffs as a wild card, but their 12 wins tied with the Steelers for second most in the ABC.



At 38 years old Mike McBurnett is the baby among ABC South starters, with 40 year old Vernon Zeber joining Foss and Cartwright in the over 40 category. McBurnett was 7-9 with a 2.15 ERA this year, but with an offense ranked 13th in the league and defense ranked 15th the Colts will be on the outside looking in on the playoffs.

The Texans are headed in the wrong direction after winning 10 games in 1884, but seeing that number cut in half this season. The Texans started the year with former top prospect Bill McGunnigle as their starter, but turned to Vernon Zeber after McGunnigle struggled with a 4-4 record and 3.23 ERA. While Zeber's ERA was lower (2.79), Zeber was 1-7 as a starter.

[moonlightmerc]

Im so glad you decided to continue this dynasty. Great job NY!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by moonlightmerc

Im so glad you decided to continue this dynasty. Great job NY!

Thanks! I'm glad I didn't delete this one, because after opening it back up I realized how much I missed this league.

[NYY #23]

Former Pitcher of the Year Cameron Cotter seems to have regained his form as a 41 year old, going 11-5 with a 2.18 ERA to lead the Cowboys to the NBC East title. Cotter is now just 8 wins away from 100 career wins, looking to be the third pitcher to do so, but he'll need to return next season in order to do that. Cotter and the Cowboys will have a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

Last year the Giants made it all the way to the World Championship Game where they lost to the Jets, and this year they won two less games, and lost the tiebreaker so they'll be watching the playoffs from home.



At 25 years old Sam Thompson is turning into one of the top young hitters in the league. Thompson hit .348 this year with 1 home run and 13 RBI and is now hitting .296 for his career. He's going to need a lot of help if the Redskins expect to turn into contenders though since they hit .237 as a team and scored the 11th fewest runs in the league.

Just one year after winning 10 games the Eagles collapsed this year with a 5-11 record. In what appears to be a troubling sign their team batting average dropped almost 30 points while their BABIP increased 20 points. Philly will need to solve their offensive and defensive woes in order to provide some support to 22 year old Hardie Henderson (5-11, 2.77).

[NYY #23]

In a year where veteran pitchers have been dominating 23 year old Bill Sweeney is one of the young pitchers who has dominated, going 13-3 with a 1.96 ERA to lead the Bears to the NBC North title, #1 seed in the NBC, and the bye that goes along with that. In addition to the dominating pitching of the Bears their 99 runs scored topped the NBC.

Despite finishing four games behind the Bears the Lions will be heading to the playoffs as one of two wild card games. 29 year old 3B Mike Schweiger had a bounce back year at the plate after hitting just .258 last season. Schweiger hit .323 with 12 RBI and 9 runs scored.



Last year the Vikings were the team to beat with a 14 win season, but the Vikings missed the playoffs this year with an 8-8 record. Starter Nick Hornburg saw his ERA rise from 2.13 to 3.75 this season and finished with an 8-8 record.



After dropping 5 of their first 6 games the Packers made a change to their starting pitcher, and handed the job to 21 year old Pete Meegan, who finished with a respectable 5-4 record and 2.63 ERA. It was too little too late for the Packers though, who finished in last place.

[NYY #23]

28 year old Jack Lynch won a career high 9 games for the Seahawks this year and finished with a 3.01 ERA, good enough to clinch the NBC West for the Seahawks. The Seahawks tied for second in runs scored in the NBC while hitting just .243 as a team, but their .297 OBP was third best in the league.

For the fifteenth straight year the St. Louis Rams failed to make the playoffs, although they did finish just a game behind the Seahawks. None of the blame can be placed on 24 year old CF Joe 'Mudcat' Chapman, who hit .377 this year to raise his career batting average to .365 over three seasons.



The 49'ers handed the starting pitcher job to 26 year old Ian Hyde, who was 3-6 with a 3.65 ERA in his first season as a starter.

The Cardinals had the fifteenth lowest total of runs scored (58) and the worst batting average in the league (.190). The Cardinals lone bright spot on offense was Jeremy Byers, who hit .313 this season to lead the team. Unfortunately for the Cardinals Byers is 41 years old.

[NYY #23]

After starting the season 2-4 things didn't look too positive for the Saints, but once again the Saints proved they can't be written off and came back to win the NBC South.



40 year old starter Aaron Jackson won 10 or more games for the ninth straight year. The all-time career win leader also lead the team with a .295 batting average.



Last year's #1 overall pick James Burke finished with an 8-7 record and 3.54 ERA in his first full season as a starter, and helped lead the 9-7 Bucs to the playoffs, as they won the tiebreaker over the Panthers and Giants and will be heading to the playoffs as a wild card team.



Despite the strong pitching of Larry Corcoran (9-6, 1.90) the Panthers fell short of the playoffs when they lost the tiebreaker to the Bucs. The Panthers will need to plus some offensive holes in order to overtake the Saints.

The Falcons are one of just two teams who have never reached the postseason, and they finished the year with a disappointing 2-14 record.

[NYY #23]

ABC Playoff Preview
Bye:
1) Jacksonville Jaguars 13-3
2) Pittsburgh Steelers 12-4

6)New England Patriots (6-10) vs. 3)Tennessee Titans (12-4)

5)Cleveland Browns (10-6) vs. 4)San Diego Chargers (11-5)

NBC Playoff Preview
Bye:
1) Chicago Bears 13-3
2) Dallas Cowboys 11-5

6)Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) vs. 3)New Orleans Saints (10-6)

5)Detroit Lions (9-7) vs. 4)Seattle Seahawks (9-7)

[NYY #23]

6)New England Patriots (6-10) vs. 3)Tennessee Titans (12-4)



Control and poor defense was the problem for the Patriots and starter Dave Williams, who held the Titans to just 2 hits, but also surrendered 4 walks and the Titans reached base four times on errors. That led to 3 unearned runs for the Titans in their 4-3 win over the Patriots.

Milt Foss picked up the win with a complete game, striking out 4, walking 1, and allowing 9 hits. Dan Brouthers walked and picked up the Titans' only RBI.

[NYY #23]

5)Cleveland Browns (10-6) vs. 4)San Diego Chargers (11-5)



Making his playoff debut today was Tom Belles, and he delivered one of the best playoff pitching performances in the history of the league. Belles pitched 14 2/3 innings, allowed 10 hits, 3 runs, and struck out 11 batters to pick up the extra inning win. Two of those hits and two of those runs would come in the fifteenth inning.

With the score tied at 1 run apiece Tom Kearns would lead off the top of the fifteenth with a triple, and score the second run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Tom Belles. The Browns would add two more with RBI singles by Jeff Corn and Art Sunday in the win.

George Derby would take the loss for the Chargers after pitching 15 innings and allowing 4 runs on 12 hits, with the big damage coming in the 15th.

[NYY #23]

6)Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) vs. 3)New Orleans Saints (10-6)



It was a battle of youth versus experience with 23 year old James Burke making the start for the Bucs, and 40 year old Aaron Jackson making the start for the Saints.

The Saints gave Jackson a 2-0 lead to work with when Joey Koskinen tripled home a run in the second, and came home to score on a passed ball. Jackson knew what to do with the lead, and picked up the win with a complete game 6 hitter as the Saints won the game 5-2 to advance to the next round of the playoffs.

Mike Mansel, Dave Orr, and Joe Kappel added RBI's for the Saints.

[NYY #23]

5)Detroit Lions (9-7) vs. 4)Seattle Seahawks (9-7)



Trent Allen and Justin Duke each picked up a pair of hits for the Seahawks with Jack Lynch picking up the complete game win as the Seahawks eliminated the Lions 5-3.

Mike Schweiger was a perfect 3-3 at the plate with a double, two RBI, and a run scored in the Lions' losing effort.

[NYY #23]

ABC Playoff Preview

3)Tennessee Titans (12-4) vs. 2) Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)

5)Cleveland Browns (10-6) vs. 1) Jacksonville Jaguars (13-3)

NBC Playoff Preview

3)New Orleans Saints (10-6) vs. Dallas Cowboys (11-5)

4)Seattle Seahawks (9-7) vs. Chicago Bears (13-3)

[NYY #23]

3)Tennessee Titans (12-4) vs. 2) Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)



The Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off a wild slate of Divisional Round games. A pitching duel between Milt Foss of the Titans and Addison Coxen of the Steelers turned into a blowout when the Titans blew open the game with an 8 run 5th inning.

The Titans rally started with a one out single by Milt Foss, his first of two singles in the fifth. Before the inning was over the Titans would send 12 men to the plate and score 8 runs on 9 hits. Dan Brouthers would hit a two run homer for the Titans, and the 9 run deficit was too much for the Steelers to overcome.

Brouthers would hit his second home run of the game in the sixth inning, and seven Titans would have multi-hit games, including pitcher Milt Foss who had three hits in the game, and picked up the win with a complete game three hitter.

[NYY #23]

5)Cleveland Browns (10-6) vs. 1) Jacksonville Jaguars (13-3)





Before the playoffs began Tom Belles had never struck out 10 batters in a game before, but in his second playoff start Belles would strike out 10 batters for the second straight game. While Belles would pick up the win, it was the Browns offense that deserved a lot of the credit with 13 runs.

Jeff Corn picked up 5 hits for the Browns and drove in 3 runs. Mark Bolan added 3 hits for the Browns. Jacksonville starter Dave Cartwright is now 0-2 in the playoffs in his career with a 4.02 ERA.

[NYY #23]

3)New Orleans Saints (10-6) vs. 2)Dallas Cowboys (11-5)



In 13 of 16 starts this year Cameron Cotter has allowed 3 runs or less, but when Cotter doesn't have his best stuff it can be ugly. In his other starts he allowed 6 runs once, 8 runs once, and 9 runs once. It worked out to a 11-5 record with a 2.18 ERA, but while Cotter has done well more often than not he pitched a clunker today with 5 1/3 innings, 9 runs, and 11 hits allowed, while walking a pair of runners.

The Saints took advantage with 13 runs on 17 hits. Mike Mansell, Ed Kennedy, and Joey Koskinen each had three hits today, while George Strief was 4-5 with 3 RBI in the big win.

Aaron Jackson picked up his second win of the playoffs with a complete game while striking out 5. The Saints will be playing in their 7th league championship game next week.

[NYY #23]

4)Seattle Seahawks (9-7) vs. 1)Chicago Bears (13-3)



In the three other playoff matchups this week the road team won all three games, and in each of those games they scored 13 runs. Bill Sweeney and the Bears managed to stop that streak with a complete game 7 hitter where he allowed 4 runs, although just 1 run was earned. Sweeney walked one batter and struck out seven in the Bears 5-4 win.

CJ Sease had the big day at the plate for the Bears with a pair of hits, including a two run homer, and 3 RBI.

The top seed Bears will host the Saints next week with the hopes of advancing to their first World Championship Game.

[NYY #23]

ABC Playoff Preview

5)Cleveland Browns (10-6) vs. 3)Tennessee Titans (12-4)

Neither the Browns or the Titans have appeared in a World Championship Game in their history. The Browns will be sending 31 year old Tom Belles to the mound after pitching 23 innings in the playoffs so far. Belles was 8-5 with a 1.43 ERA this season. The Titans will have 42 year old Milt Foss starting the game. Foss was dominant this year, going 12-4 with a 2.04 ERA.

It looked like Foss's career came to a close after winning 93 games in his career and sitting on the bench for two years in Seattle, but the Titans saw something they liked and traded top prospect 2B Jimmy Knowles to Seattle to get back Foss, who is 20-11 since joining the Titans.

NBC Playoff Preview

3)New Orleans Saints (10-6) vs. 1)Chicago Bears (13-3)

Just two years ago the Chicago Bears finished with a 5-11 record, which allowed them to select SP Bill Sweeney with the third overall pick. In two years Sweeney has helped turn the Bears into the team to beat in the NBC. Sweeney is the favorite for Pitcher of the Year after going 13-3 with a 1.96 ERA and the Bears will be hosting the Saints.

The Saints have had a remarkable run of success, and after starting the season with a 2-4 record it looked like time was finally catching up with the Saints. 40 year old starter Aaron Jackson was struggling with a 3.71 ERA, but the Saints, like they have done throughout their history, found a way to turn things around.

Jackson is pitching the best he has all season, and will face off against a tough Bears' lineup.

[NYY #23]

5)Cleveland Browns (10-6) vs. 3)Tennessee Titans (12-4)



A fifth inning RBI single by Cletus Boyar broke a scoreless tie and gave the Titans a 1-0 lead. The Browns would battle back in the top of the sixth to tie the game though, when Pat O'Connell tripled and scored on a single by Jeff Corn.

The game would remain tied until the bottom of the seventh when Buck Ewing reached on an error, and Dan Brouthers delivered a two run homer to put the Titans up 3-1. It was Brouthers third home run this postseason.

Up by two runs Milt Foss finished up the Browns to advance to the World Championship Game. Foss would get the complete game win while holding the Browns to 1 run on 7 hits.