Fair Play Committee Members

Bulls7210, Jweatherman, Rds_lsu, Ttnorm and Quebec.

Commissioner: Harkov

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Durham Wins!!

Durham completes the perfect comeback season with a four games to one win over the sixth seeded 42's. This is Durham's fifth title in six years and third under the tutiledge of Natic_Empire.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

World Series Showdown!!!

This World Series matchup is a classic David and Goliath meeting. In one corner you have the six time defending AL champion making their eighth straight playoff appearance. In the other corner you have a team making their second playoff run since season one. This should be a great final series.

#1 (Seed) Durham Daddies (122-40)(Playoff record, 7-2) AL South Division Champions.

Defeated Richmond (3-1), Detroit (4-1) to get to the Championship Series. They did it with pitching (3.56 ERA) and opportunistic hitting (.277). The Daddies will need to continue their good pitching and timely hitting if they want to redeem themselves for the uncharacteristic collapse last year.

#6 (Seed) Washington 42’s (96-66) (10-2) 3rd place in the NL East

Defeated Portland (3-0), Louisville (3-1), Toledo (4-1) to get to the Championship Series. Washington comes into the biggest series in the history of the franchise with a great turn around season. They tied a franchise record for wins with 96, they improved their win total over last season by 32 games. The 42’s are here on pure guts. They are batting an inspired 53 points higher in the playoffs, then in the regular season. Good thing too, because the pitching staff is giving up nearly a run more then in the regular season.

Pitching Matchups for the first four games:

Game #1 -42’s- S. Henriquez (13-4, 2.33)- vs.- Daddies- J. Weston (19-2, 2.19)

Game #2-42’s- B. Hall (2-2, 3.37) -vs.- Daddies- T. Damon (18-6, 3.06)

Game#3-Daddies T. Daly (18-5, 2.78)-vs.- 42’s T. Solano (10-8, 4.67)

Game #4-Daddies J. Weston (19-2, 2.19)-vs.- S. Henriquez (13-4, 2.33)

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Conference Champions- Race for the Pennents

In advance of the ALCS and NLCS, here’s a position-by-position matchups for the four remaining playoff teams.


ALCS _ No. 1 Durham Daddies (122-40 vs No. 3 Detroit Domination (82-80)

CATCHER
Durham _ Erubiel Baez was masterful behind the plate, throwing out 50 percent of runners trying to steal (27 of 54). He also chipped in a .253 average.

Detroit _ Walt Nunnally threw out 28 percent of basestealers (27 of 95) and hit .270 with 16 homers and 80 RBIs.

ADVANTAGE: Durham

FIRST BASE
Durham _ Diego Moya nearly had as many RBIs (135) as games played (148). He also leads the Daddies in strikeouts (102).

Detroit _ Jon Price is Detroit’s biggest offensive threat, leading the Domination in average (.343), homers (40) and OPS (1.080).

ADVANTAGE: Detroit

SECOND BASE
Durham _ Luis Gonzalez hit .277 with 21 homers in 499 at bats.

Detroit _ Miguel Cervantes hit .276 with 8 homers and 62 RBIs, also scoring 72 runs.

ADVANTAGE: Even.

THIRD BASE
Durham _ Josh Rain hit .334 and played a smooth third base, committing only 6 errors.

Detroit _ Ricky Gibson’s power numbers slipped to a career low (15), but he still drove in 95 and hit .294 with an OPS of .805.

ADVANTAGE: Durham

SHORTSTOP
Durham _ Benny Alfonseca smashed 61 homers and drove in 126. He’s also second on the Daddies with 13 steals.

Detroit _ With speedster Roger Conine still ailing with a sore shoulder, Detroit will likely turn to rookie Brian Borbon (.273/14/56).

ADVANTAGE: Durham

LEFT FIELD
Durham _ Lariel Neruda (.325/55/145) has hit at least 55 homers for five consecutive seasons.

Detroit _ Russ Scott was second for the Domination with 37 homers to go with a .272 average. He also led Detroit in runs (129) and strikeouts (131).

ADVANTAGE: Durham

CENTER FIELD
Durham _ Benny Baerga is the speedster of the Daddy lineup, swiping 29 bases and recording a .396 OBP. Just for good measure, he also hit 39 homers.

Detroit _ Highly touted Orber Jimenez hit .323 in the minor leagues, but has struggled in 37 games after his late-season callup, hitting .219 with more strikeouts (24) than walks (14)

ADVANTAGE: Durham

RIGHT FIELD
Durham _ Courtney Rogers hit .300 with 54 homers and 143 RBIs.

Detroit _ Thumper Peavy was second on the team with 16 steals and hit .266 with 57 RBIs.

ADVANTAGE: Durham

DESIGNATED HITTER
Durham _ Gus Cora leads the Daddies in OPS (1.215), batting average (.352), homers (72) and RBIs (159).

Detroit _ Giomar Roque scored 96 times to go with his .277 average and 19 homers.

ADVANTAGE: Durham

STARTING PITCHING
Durham _ Lonnie Glynn, Todd Damon, Jeremy Weston and Tuck Daly combined for 72 wins, and each had a WHIP below 1.30.

Detroit _ David Polanco (16-8) Dominates for the Domination, but others have struggled. Solid performances from Edwards Beech (6-9, 1.29 WHIP) will be a key to the series.

ADVANTAGE: Durham

BULLPEN
Durham _ Arthur Scanlan and Ned Kingland were a nice 1-2 punch late in games, combining for 47 saves in 52 chances.

Detroit _ Sean White (55 games, 83.2 innings, 1.24 WHIP) is dependable. Jin-Che Dong has 2 postseason saves.

ADVANTAGE: Durham.

PREDICTION: Durham in 5

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NLCS _ No. 1 Toledo Dirt Roosters (98-64) vs No. 6 Washington D.C. 42s (96-66)

CATCHER
Toledo _ Durable Lance Kaufman (.316/36/118) had another great year behind the plate and also threw out 34 percent of possible baserunners (38 of 112).

Washington _ Rookie Mateo Medrano blasted 35 homers to go with his .275 average and threw out 25 percent of possible basestealers (23 of 93).

ADVANTAGE: Toledo.

FIRST BASE
Toledo_ Sal Simmons led the Dirt Roosters in hits (199), homers (43), RBIs (127) and batting average (.338).

Washington _ Yamid Encarnacion led the 42s balanced attack with 32 homers, .a 327 average and 101 runs.

ADVANTAGE: Toledo.

SECOND BASE
Toledo _ Rodrigo Romano provided power from the middle infield, hitting 29 homers and driving in 102.

Washington _ Brady Simpson hit .271 with 89 runs, 17 homers and 74 RBIs.

ADVANTAGE: Toledo.

THIRD BASE
Toledo _ Damaso Mesa hit .272 with 26 homers and 81 RBIs.

Washington _ Bernard Hammond led the 42s with 103 runs and hit .302 with 22 homers.

ADVANTAGE: Even.

SHORTSTOP
Toledo _ Al Tavarez hit .284 with 14 homers, and contributed a .977 fielding percentage.

Washington _ Abraham Frascatore was smooth in the field and hit .246 with 7 homers in 363 at bats. Defensive whiz Bobby Nelson surprised with a .345 average in 177 at bats.

ADVANTAGE: Washington

LEFT FIELD
Toledo _ A.J. Powell bashed 35 homers, drove in 114 and scored 109 runs.

Washington _ Max Guerrero knocked 24 homers with his .290 average, but also led the team with 115 strikeouts.

ADVANTAGE: Toledo

CENTER FIELD
Toledo _ Speedy Miguel Rijo stole 33 bases while hitting .285 and scoring 103 runs.

Washington _ Jose Montanez hit .315 with a .378 OBP, adding 19 homers.

ADVANTAGE: Washington

RIGHT FIELD
Toledo _ Nigel Harding and Vladimir Bennett combined to hit 26 homers and drive in more than 100 runs.

Washington _ Rafael Castro hit 14 homers and .279.

ADVANTAGE: Toledo.


STARTING PITCHING
Toledo _ Russ Wall led the team with 16 wins, while Al Turner (15-11) and Winston Surhoff (14-9) provided quality depth to the rotation

Washington _ Sammy Henriquez (13-4, 1.02 WHIP) dominated the regular season but has struggled in the playoffs. Matt Richardson (9-8) and Torey Solano (10-8) are also expected to get starts.

ADVANTAGE: Even

BULLPEN
Toledo_ Setup man Bruce Brown (89 games, 127 innings, 1.44 WHIP will try to bridge the gap to closer Billy Ratliff (45 saves in 50 opportunities).

Washington _ Mendy Griffin played a key role, going 15-4 in 174 innings and 75 appearances. Miguel Prieto had a 1.11 WHIP in 95 innings. Hades Gibson saved 28 games in 32 chances.

ADVANTAGE: Washington

PREDICTION: Toledo in 6

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Division Series

In any other league, a Richmond-Durham matchup would be worthy of a World Series, or at least a league championship series. But this season, HBD for HDers II’s two most winning teams are squaring off in the league divisional series. The winner of the marquee matchup will be odds-on favorite to advance through the league championship. The National League bracket is a complete tossup, with all four teams winning 96-98 games in the regular season.

Here are the division playoff series capsules:

No. 5 Richmond Rebels (100-62) vs No. 1 Durham Daddies (122-40)

HISTORY: Richmond returns to the playoffs for the first time since Season 3. Owner steelerstime continues a remarkable turnaround for the franchise that won the Season 1 World Series. Durham, owner of the league’s best record, captured its seventh consecutive division title and is looking for its fourth World Series title.

SEASON SERIES: Durham won, 6-4.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Durham cruised to the No. 1 seed by winning the AL South over second-place Richmond by 22 games. The Rebels needed a six-run ninth inning rallt to win the decisive Game 5 against a gutty Kansas City team in the wild card round.

WHO’S HOT: Richmond SS Alan Vickers hit .389 in the wild card round and led the Rebels with three homers. 3B Alex Jung (.385) and 2B Dann Cone (.333) are also swinging hot bats. Durham was led in the regular season by Gus Cora (.352/72/159) as well as LF Lariel Neruda, RF Courtney Rogers and SS Benny Alfonseca.

WHO’S NOT: Richmond SP J.D. Boyer was lit up in his only playoff appearance, giving up 5 runs in 3.2 innings. RF Ugueth Romero is hitting .200 in the postseason. Durham is solid all the way around, but are hoping to get more consistent play from SP Octovio Chavez (29 starts, 1.50 WHIP, 5.10 ERA.)

No. 3 Detroit Domination (82-80) vs No. 2 Columbus Crush (83-79)

HISTORY: Detroit is in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season and has captured its third straight division title. Columbus has won its second consecutive division title. Both teams are looking advance to their first conference championship.

SEASON SERIES: Columbus won, 6-4.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Both teams narrowly won their divisions. Detroit edged Dover and Chicago by a game in the AL North, then took four games to dispatch No. 6 seed Charleston in the wild card round. Columbus topped Boston by 2 games in the AL East to secure a first-round playoff bye.

WHO’S HOT: Detroit SS Roger Conine hit a blistering .571 and RF swung at a .500 clip in the wild card round. SP Rod Gagne gave up three hits and 1 run in his only playoff start. Columbus is led by DH Sven Lundquist (.325/27/87), RF Rafael Tejera (.359/20/97) and slugging SS Livan Servet (33 homers). Pitcher Marvin Jefferies won 21 games in relief.

WHO’S NOT: Detroit bats were ice cold in the wild card round. Owner petec needs 3B Ricky Gibson (.071), OF Orber Jimenez (.071), OF Miguel Cervantes (.077), C Giomar Roque and OF B.C. Tatis (.167) to rebound. Columbus is counting on a consistent offense, but needs No. 2 starter Pedro Mendoza (33 starts, 124 IP, .4.99 ERA, 1.60 WHIP) to be a big-game pitcher in the playoffs.


No. 5 Syracuse (98-64) vs. No. 1 Toledo (98-64)

HISTORY: A battle of two founding league members. Syracuse has been in the playoffs every year under nashumb’s leadership, but is looking for its first conference championship. Lowly’s Toledo team needed a tiebreaker to beat Syracuse for the NL East title and hopes to makes the Dirt Roosters’ fourth World Series appearance.

SEASON SERIES: Tied 5-5.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Three Saltine Warrior pitchers combined on a five-hit shutout to close out wild card series against Vancouver in five games. The Dirt Roosters are the National League’s No. 1 seed.

WHO’S HOT: Saltine Warrior 2B Eric Edwards is stroking .429 in the playoffs. RF Mariano Alvarez added two homers to his .400 playoff average. SP Hensley Nixon was lights out against Vancouver, allowing five hits and three runs in 11.2 innings. Toledo’s rotation is anchored by Russ Wall (16-8, 166 Ks, 1.26 WHIP. 1B Sal Simmons keys the Dirt Rooster attack, hitting .338 with 43 HR and a team-best 127 RBIs. Five players have scored more than 100 runs, led by C Lance Kaufman’s 110.

WHO’S NOT: Syracuse CF Christian Gibbons struggled in the first round with a .136 average and eight strikeouts. 1B Omar Soriano hit .317 with 46 homers in the season, but is off to a .211 start with 1 HR in the playoffs. Toledo 2B Rodrigo Romano drove in 102 runs but only hit .250 in the season. The opposition is batting .284 against Dir Rooster starter Jed Simmons, the highest average against in Toledo’s rotation.

No. 6 Washington D.C. 42’s (96-66) vs No. 2 Louisville Derbies (98-64)

HISTORY: schuyler101 improved Washington by 32 games this season, bringing the 42’s to the playoffs for the first time since Season 1. Louisville won its division for the second consecutive year under gerald007, one of the league’s founding owners.

SEASON SERIES: Louisville won, 6-4.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Washington finished in third place in the NL East, 2 games behind Toledo and Syracuse, and then swept. No. 3 seed Portland in the wild-card round. Louisville dominated the NL South, winning the division by 28 games and clinching a first-round bye in the playoffs.

WHO’S HOT: Washington LF Max Guerrero hit .500 in the first round; CF Jose Monanez is hitting .357 with 2 stolen bases in the playoffs. Louisville’s attack is led by LF Robert Tomberlin (.349/47/149), RF Raul Andujar (.316/48/110), and 2B Cole Woodson (41 homers)

WHO’S NOT: Washington C Mateo Medrano struck out 5 times in 12 at bats in the wild card round. Louisville SS Patrick Gordon is a defensive whiz, but is hitting .229 with 104 Ks.