Brassball Free Agent Preview - Restricted Free Agents

While the playoffs are underway, most of the Brassball teams have already turned their attention to 2017 and building a club which will help them play deep into the postseason a year from now. The quickest way to improve a club is through free agency, but some of the biggest names on the market are restricted free agents, meaning their own teams have the option to match any offer and retain the player. Here's a quick look at the restricted free agents and some educated guesses as to whether or not their teams will retain their services.

Pitchers

Clayton Kershaw - Simi Valley
You need an ace? This is your guy. Kershaw is a stud and everyone knows it. Not everyone can afford him, however. He's the Cy Young favorite every year and he came through for the Vikings with a 23-7 record and 2.59 ERA. They'll certainly try to retain Kershaw, but other teams are going to come with blank checks Simi Valley can't match. Prediction - leaves as a free agent for 7 years and $58,000,000

Madison Bumgarner - Santa Barbara
Bumgarner has been one of the best pitchers in Brassball and the anchor of the Outlaw pitching staff for several years. He was 20-7 with a 2.68 ERA on the season and it seems highly unlikely the Outlaws would let him move to another club. Prediction - Resigns for 7 years and $50,000,000.

Yovani Gallardo - California
Gallardo was only 8-5 on the year, but he had a solid 3.41 ERA in 187 innings. Those aren't Bumgarner or Kershaw numbers, but nearly every team would be happy to have Gallardo in their rotation. Unfortunately for California, they may not have the payroll flexibility to keep him. Prediction - leaves as a free agent for 3 years and $7,000,000

Derek Holland - Florence
A couple of years ago Holland looked like a budding ace. Unfortunately, injuries have taken their toll. He was able to make just six starts on the year and pitched 40 innings for the River Bats. Florence has the payroll space to retain him, but do they want to? Prediction - leaves as a free agent for 2 years $800,000

Travis Wood - Sacramento
Wood was a disappointing 2-7. He had a good, but not great, 3.04 ERA. But, he did so in ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR INNINGS AS A RELIEF PITCHER. Think about that. Of course, that means he's likely headed for a surgeon's table. Prediction - resigns for 4 years and $5,500,000.

Batters

Evan Longoria - Tinley
A gold-glove third baseman who plays every day and hits .300 with 20+ homers. Everyone's interested in Longoria, even if they already have a third baseman. There will be a lot of suitors, but Tinley will do everything they can to resign their star. Prediction - resigns for 6 years and $32,000,000.

Jay Bruce - Brooklyn
Bruce couldn't have picked a worse time to have his worst year. He played nearly every day and hit just .172/.261/.368. Only gold glove shortstops can hope to keep playing while "hitting" so poorly. Bruce still has the talent that made him a star, but he may need a new team and hitting coach to help bring it out. Prediction - leaves as a free agent for 5 years and $10,000,000.

Pedro Alvarez - Tinley
Alvares still has power, but that's about all he has. He hit just .233 with a .288 on base percentage on the year. That's tough to accept if you hit 30 home runs, and Alvarez didn't even hit 20. Tinley has some money to spend, but will likely look to upgrade rather than bringing Alvarez back. Prediction - leaves as a free agent for 3 years and $6,500,000.

Brandon Moss - Tinley
Another low-average slugger who didn't slug enough for the Redbirds. Moss hit .211/.282/.409 on the year. He's supposed to crush right-handed pitchers, but his OPS against them was just .699. Prediction - leaves as a free agent for 3 years and $4,500,000.

2016 NLDS - Metropolis vs. Sacramento - Series Wrap-Up

The Metropolis Avengers dropped the first game of their NLDS matchup with the Sacramento Senators, but they won the next four games to advance to the NLCS for the fifth-straight year. Anyone watching the series would likely summarize it by saying "Metropolis pitching dominated," but there are always some interesting statistics hiding if you look a bit deeper. Here are a few of them.

• Sacramento won Game One 5-3, but only scored four runs the rest of the series. 
• The Senators scored a single run in the final three games of the series.
• Third baseman Danny Valencia was a bit overlooked during the season, as his 18 homers were just seventh on the club. He came up big in the NLDS, though, leading the way with two homers and six RBIs.
• Metropolis traded for Zach Britton at the deadline and he paid off in the NLDS. He pitched 6 1/3 innings in four games and allowed just two hits while striking out eight batters without a walk.
• Metropolis used just two pinch hitters all series and neither Pablo Sandoval nor Dioner Navarro came through in their chances.
• Sacramento's pinch hitters had even more trouble - Chris Carter was 0-4 in his pinch-hitting opportunities and Colby Rasmus and Kelby Tomlinson each went hitless in a single at bat.
• Pitching was the story of the series. Avenger pitchers allowed just 24 hits and struck out 47 batters. Senator pitchers gave up 38 hits and struck out 42 Avenger batters.
• Metropolis batters combined for a .321 OBP and .379 SLG, which combined for an even .700 OPS in 187 plate appearances Sacramento batters struggled with a .205 OBP and .218 SLG. That added up for a .423 OPS across 166 plate appearances.
• Kevin Pillar homered in the bottom of the seventh in Game One. It was the last homer Sacramento would hit in 2016.
• Prince Fielder had a rough series. It wasn't just his.255 OPS - he also grounded three double plays in the five games.
• Former Avenger Freddy Galvis did his best to send his former team home. He hit .294 in the series, second only to Jason Kipnis. He also played a perfect shortstop and also scored and drove in two runs.
• Metropolis starting pitchers combined for a 1.57 ERA, but averaged fewer than six innings per start.
• Despite the great pitching and low scores, neither team showed much interest in playing small ball. They combined for just one stolen base (by Kipnis) and zero sacrifice bunts.
• Carlos Martinez came up short in Game Five, but he looks like an ace for many years to come. He struck out 17 batters and allowed just ten hits in 13 1/3 innings.
• Andrew McCutchen was steller in the lead-off role for the Avengers. He hit .389/.522/.722 in the series for a .1.244 OPS.
• Unfortunately for the Avengers, Bryce Harper followed McCutchen in the order and hit just .158 without an extra base hit. It will be difficult for Metropolis to advance to the World Series unless Harper breaks out of his slump.
• Avenger righty Joaquin Benoit had a 1.47 ERA in 61 1/3 innings during the season. Metropolis claims he's fully healthy, but he didn't make an appearance against Sacramento. 

2016 NLDS - Metropolis vs. Sacramento - Game Five

Corey Kluber took the ball for Metropolis.

The Sacramento Senators came into Game Five of the NLDS needing to win three straight to earn a trip to the National League Championship Series. But they needed to win one game first. Sacramento sent their ace, Carlos Martinez, to the mound hoping to out-duel Corey Kluber and send the series to Metropolis for Game Six.

Martinez, who won Game One of the series, had a rough start in Game Five. He walked Andrew McCutchen to start the game and then gave up a single to Bryce Harper, putting runners at the corners with no one out. Avenger three hitter Giancarlo Stanton crushed a double deep to center field to score McCutchen. Harper held at third base on the play, trusting the Metropolis hitters to drive him in, rather than risking being thrown out at the plate. Martinez, however, collected himself and struck out Chris Davis and Danny Valencia before retiring David Ortiz on a groundout to end the inning and strand Harper on third.

Kluber breezed through the first inning but faced trouble in the second when McCutchen misplayed an easy fly ball for a two-base error to start the inning. Unfortunately for the Senators, they stranded Prince Fielder at second base and Metropolis held on to their one-run lead.

Both Martinez and Kluber lived up to their "ace" title from that point on. Kluber allowed just two baserunners total after the McCutchen error and Martinez was nearly as good and kept the game 1-0 into the late innings. The Senator starter began to tire in the eighth inning, however. Nick Hundley started the frame with a single and McCutchen walked to put two on with nobody out. Sacramento went to its pen and called on Mark Melancon, who quickly retired Harper and Stanton. Chris Davis, however, drew a walk to load the bases. Danny Valencia came through in the clutch and singled home Hundley to give Metropolis a 2-0 lead. Melancon retired Ortiz to leave the bases loaded, but the Avenger scored a critical insurance run.

Sacramento tried hard to rally in the eighth inning. Freddy Galvis singled to start the inning, but Zach

Manship struck out Nelson Cruz in the eighth.

Britton induced a double-play grounder from Kevin Pillar to wipe Galvis off base. Jason Kipnis singled to try and restart a rally and Britton hit Alex Gordon with a pitch to put the tying run on base. Nelson Cruz, easily the most dangerous hitter in the Sacramento lineup, came to the plate and Metropolis called on righty Jeff Manship for what may have been the most important at bat of the series to that point. The Avenger righty was up to the challenge and he struck Cruz out on a backdoor slider to end the inning and strand two runners.

Kevin Pillar struck out to end the series.

Manship stayed on to start the ninth inning and immediately got into trouble. Fielder singled to start the inning and Chris Carter walked to bring the winning run to the plate. Surprisingly, Metropolis stayed with Manship in the clutch, and he struck out Yunel Escobar and induced a fly ball from Colby Rasmus.

Avenger closer Craig Kimbrel then came into the game, hoping to get the last out of the game, and series. Instead, Galvis welcomed Kimbrel with a single to load the bases and put the tying run in scoring position. That put the game in Kevin Pillar's hands. Pillar hit a surprising homer in the first game of the series, but Kimbrel won this battle and struck out the Senator outfielder to leave the bases loaded and send the Avengers into the National League Championship Series for the fifth year in a row.

2016 NLDS - Metropolis vs. Sacramento - Game Four

Having won games two and three, the Metropolis Avengers were looking to win game four and take a commanding in their NLDS series with the Sacramento Senators. They sent Collin McHugh to the mound. Sacramento trusted Matt Shoemaker to get them back in the series.
The Avengers didn't waste any time, as Andrew McCutchen laced a double on the third pitch of the game. He advanced to third on a Bryce Harper grounder and scored the games first run on a Giancarlo Stanton single. Two batters later Danny Valencia hit his second homer of the series and the visitors had a 3-0 lead.

Collin McHugh tossed 7 2/3 innings for Metropolis.

McHugh was a bit wild to start the game and walked the first two Senator hitters, Jason Kipnis and Alex Gordon. He got out of trouble and used a double play grounder from Prince Fielder to escape any damage in the inning.

Metropolis added to their lead the next inning. Robinson Cano signled with one out and McCutchen came up one batter later with two outs. He fouled off five consecutive pitches and then caught up to a Schoemaker fastball for a line-drive home run to give Metropolis a 5-0 lead.

Sacramento tried to get the momentum back in the bottom of the third. Kevin Pillar doubled and Jason Kipnis drove him home with a single to put the Senators on the board. However, McHugh retired Gordon and Nelson Cruz and kept the score 5-1 heading into the middle innings.

The pitchers dominated those middle innings, as neither team collected a hit in the fourth, fifth, or sixth innings. Metropolis drew two walks in the fifth, but Valencia hit a fly ball to strand Harper and Chris Davis after their free passes.

The Avengers added an insurance run on two hits in the eighth. David Ortiz collected the RBI with a seeing-eye single off reliever Travis Wood. The run gave Metropolis a 6-1 lead and the Senators were running out of time to make up the deficit.

Unlike the first three games of the series, Metropolis stuck with its starter deep into the game. McHugh pitched 7 2/3 innings before giving the ball to his bullpen. Zach Britton took the ball from McHugh and looked to protect the five-run lead he was given.

Cano made Britton's job easier when he started the top of the ninth with a solo homer. To be honest, Britton never looked like he needed the added runs, as kept the Senators off balance and didn't allow anyone to even reach base. He retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth and closed out the third Metropolis win in a row.

While Sacramento started the series with a win, they are now just one game away from elimination. They have their ace scheduled for Game Five, but so do the Avengers. It will be a rematch of Game One, when Senator Carlos Martinez outpitched Corey Kluber. He'll need to do so again if the series is to go back to Metropolis for Game Six.

2016 NLDS - Metropolis vs. Sacramento - Game Three

Tied at one-game each, the 2016 National League Division Series moves to Sacramento for the middle three games. The hometown Senators gave the ball to lefty Patrick Corbin and the Avengers countered with righty Stephen Strasburg. 

Danny Valencia homered off Patrick Corbin.

Avenger third baseman Danny Valencia got the scoring started in the top of the second, when he followed a Chris Davis single with a home run just over the left-field wall for a two-run homer and a quick Metropolis lead. 

Metropolis rallied again in the top of the fifth. Shortstop Jose Iglesias leaned into a Corbin changeup to start the inning with a hit by pitch. Andrew McCutchen followed with a single to put runners on the corners with no outs. Avenger MVP candidate Bryce Harper ripped a line drive, but it was right to Logan Morrison for an out. However, Giancarlo Stanton was able to do the job and hit a soft single to left to score Iglesias and put the Avengers up 3-0.

Stephen Strasburg dominated through 5 1/3 innings for the win.

While the Avenger bats were putting runs on the board, Strasburg was cruising. Alex Gordon was the only Senator Strasburg allowed to reach base - Gordon walked in the first inning and singled to lead off the fourth. Surprisingly, Metropolis pulled Strasburg with one out in the sixth inning. He had allowed just the one hit and one walk while striking out eight Senator hitters through 5 1/3 innings. 

The Senators may have been happy to see Strasburg exit, but the Avenger bullpen wasn't going to let them back in the game. Xavier Cedeno, Matt Albers, Aroldis Chapman, and Jeff Manship combined to pitch 3 2/3 innings while allowing just two base runners. Altogether, the Metropolis pitchers allowed just four baserunners while striking out eleven batters.

Sacramento's bullpen was just as good, but it didn't matter. The final few innings were relatively uneventful and Metropolis cruised to a 3-0 win and and pulled ahead in the series two games to one.

Having squandered it's early lead in the series, the Senators will match Matt Shoemaker against Avenger starter Collin McHugh in Game Four. 

2016 NLDS - Metropolis vs. Sacramento - Game Two

The Sacramento Senators, having won the first game of the National League Division Series, turned to Trevor Bauer to start the second game. The hometown Metropolis Avengers countered with Carlos Carrasco, hoping to salvage a win and go to Sacramento tied 1-1.

Chris Davis's homer started the scoring.

Metropolis got on the board in the bottom of the second, when slugging first baseman Chris Davis started the inning with a long homer to right-center field. Davis hit only .223 during the regular season, but was third on the team with 43 homers.

Sacramento scored two in the top of the fourth inning to take the lead. Prince Fielder had an RBI ground out and Logan Morrison doubled home Alex Gordon for the go-ahead run.

The Avengers stormed back in the bottom of the fifth when they scored three runs on three hits and a walk. The big blow was a two-out Andrew McCutchen triple which scored David Ortiz and Nick Hundley. Bryce Harper followed with a single to knock in the third run of the inning and give Metropolis a 4-2 lead.

Andrew McCutchen tripled to drive in two runs.

The wheels fell off the bus for the Senators in the bottom of the eighth inning. Travis Wood walked Giancarlo Stanton to start the inning and then gave up a single to Davis. Mark Lowe came in from the bullpen and got Danny Valencia on a fly ball, but it was deep enough to score Stanton from third to put Metropolis up 5-2. He walked Ortiz and then Morrison booted a grounder to first to load the bases with one out. Mark Melancon came in from the pen and surrendured a sacrifice fly to Robinson Cano.

He then gave up a single to Todd Hundley and walked McCutchen and Harper. Sacramento gave the ball to Chris Tillman, who kept up the streak by walking Stanton before finally retiring Davis to end the inning.

Altogether in the eighth, the Avengers scored five runs on just two hits. They did have the assistance of an error and five walks in the inning, which ended with a 9-2 Metropolis lead.

Sacramento did score a run in the ninth off Avenger lefty Aroldis Chapman, but it didn't matter, as Metropolis won 9-3 and tied the series at one game each.

The Metropolis pitchers were tough to hit all night, as Carrasco, Zach Britton, and Chapman combined to allow just five hits and no walks while striking out 11 Senators. Unfortunately for Sacramento, their pitchers had trouble finding the strike zone and waked 10 Avengers on the night.

The series now moves to Sacramento for games three, four, and five.

BOXSCORE: 2016 Sacramento Senators At 2016 Metropolis Avengers     10/10/2016

  Senators           AB  R  H RBI AVG     Avengers           AB  R  H RBI AVG

  J.Kipnis 2B         4  2  2  0 .333     A.McCutchen CF      3  1  2  2 .429 

  A.Gordon LF         4  1  1  0 .154     B.Harper RF         4  0  1  2 .250 

  N.Cruz RF           4  0  1  1 .192     G.Stanton LF        3  1  0  1 .000 

  P.Fielder DH        4  0  0  1 .320     C.Davis 1B          4  2  2  1 .286 

  L.Morrison 1B       2  0  1  1 .136     D.Valencia 3B       3  0  0  1 .000 

A-C.Carter PH,1B      1  0  0  0 .250     D.Ortiz DH          2  2  1  0 .400 

  Y.Escobar 3B        3  0  0  0 .217     J.Iglesias SS       4  1  0  0 .125 

  Y.Gomes C           3  0  0  0 .154     R.Cano 2B           2  0  0  1 .200 

  F.Galvis SS         3  0  0  0 .273     N.Hundley C         3  2  1  1 .600 

  K.Pillar CF         3  0  0  0 .348                                         

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---     

         Totals      31  3  5  3                 Totals      28  9  7  9

A-Pinch Hit For Morrison In 7th Inning

Senators........ 0 0 0  2 0 0  0 0 1  -  3  5  1

Avengers........ 0 1 0  0 3 0  0 5    -  9  7  0

Senators (5-2)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

T.Bauer LOSS(1-1)         5       4   4   4   4   2   1   3.00  A1 C3

T.Wood                    2       2   2   1   2   4   0   3.00  C4 D4

M.Lowe                    0 1/3   0   2   0   1   0   0   0.00  D5 D7

M.Melancon                0 1/3   1   1   1   2   0   0   5.40  D8 E2

C.Tillman                 0 1/3   0   0   0   1   0   0   0.00  E3

Totals                    8       7   9   5  10   6   1

Avengers (1-1)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

C.Carrasco WIN(1-0)       5 1/3   3   2   2   0   6   0   3.38  A1 C1

Z.Britton HOLD(1st)       2 2/3   0   0   0   0   4   0   0.00  C2 C9

A.Chapman                 1       2   1   1   0   1   0   9.00  D1

Totals                    9       5   3   3   0  11   0

ATTENDANCE- 31,892 DATE- Monday, October 10th 2016 TIME- Day WEATHER- Bad

T- 2:50

LEFT ON BASE- Senators: 1  Avengers: 7

DOUBLE PLAYS- Senators: 2  Avengers: 1

ERRORS- C.Carter

DOUBLES- J.Kipnis-2(3rd), L.Morrison(1st)

TRIPLES- A.McCutchen(1st)

HOME RUNS- C.Davis(1st)

RBIs- N.Cruz(1st), P.Fielder(2nd), L.Morrison(1st), A.McCutchen-2(2nd),

      B.Harper-2(2nd), G.Stanton(1st), C.Davis(2nd), D.Valencia(1st),

      R.Cano(2nd), N.Hundley(2nd)

SACRIFICE FLIES- D.Valencia, R.Cano

WALKS- A.McCutchen-2, B.Harper, G.Stanton-2, C.Davis, D.Ortiz-2, R.Cano,

       N.Hundley

STRIKE OUTS- A.Gordon-2, N.Cruz, C.Carter, Y.Escobar-2, Y.Gomes-2, F.Galvis,

             K.Pillar-2, B.Harper, G.Stanton, D.Valencia-2, R.Cano, N.Hundley

GIDP- P.Fielder, A.McCutchen, G.Stanton

2-out RBI- L.Morrison, A.McCutchen-2, B.Harper-2, N.Hundley, G.Stanton

RLISP 2-out- Y.Escobar, C.Davis-2

TEAM RISP- Senators: 3 for 7  Avengers: 3 for 5

2016 NLDS - Metropolis vs. Sacramento - Game One

The 2016 Brassball Playoffs are underway and the Metropolis Avengers are hosting the Sacramento Senators in the National League Division Series. The Avengers are looking to earn a trip to the World Series for the fifth year in the row, but it won't be easy.

The visiting Senators sent Carlos Martinez to the mound. The righty was 14-8 on the year with a 3.20 ERA. The Avengers countered with ace Corey Kluber, who was 18-7 with a 3.34 ERA.

Galvis started the scoring in the second.

Sacramento rallied against Kluber in the top of the second inning when Prince Fielder started the inning with a walk. After a Logan Morrison fly out, Yunel Escobar sent Fielder to third with a one-out double. The Avengers brought the infield in, and it paid off when Yan Gomes hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Jose Iglesias for the second out. Unfortunately for the hometown fans, former Avenger Freddie Galvis ripped a clean double to score Fielder and Escobar for a 2-0 Sacramento lead.

After that, Kluber settled down and matched Martinez, as the game stayed 2-0 into the fifth inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Avenger designated hitter David Ortiz took a one-out walk to start a rally. Iglesias followed with a single and Ortiz surprised the Senators by advancing all the way to third. Veteran Metropolis second baseman Robinson Cano put the Avengers hit a single up the middle, cutting the lead to 2-1 Sacramento. Iglesias moved to third on the hit and scored the tying run when Todd Hundley sent a fly ball to the warning track for a sacrifice fly.

Kevin Pillar's homer put Sacramento
ahead 4-2

Avenger reliever Craig Kimbrel was in the game for the top of the seventh inning, but he ran into trouble. It didn't look like trouble when Galvis reached on a slow roller with one out, but center fielder Kevin Pillar then silenced the crowd with a homer down the left field line, putting the Senators up 4-2.

Hundley singled off reliever Ryan Madsen to start the Avenger half of the eighth. The visitors called on Mark Lowe with Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper due up. Everyone in the Hall of Justice knew this was the home team's best chance and McCutchen singled to keep the rally going. MVP candidate Harper hit 48 homers on the year and could put his team ahead with another one. Lowe won the battle and Harper struck out, leaving the runners at first and second. Slugger Giancarlo Stanton was also capable of putting the Avengers ahead, but he settled for a walk to load the bases with one out. Slugger Chris Davis hit a ball deep to right for an easy sacrifice fly, cutting the lead to a single run. McCutchen scampered from second to third on the play, but Cruz unleashed a laser beam of a throw and nailed the surprised McCutchen for the third out. It was an extremely costly mistake by the Avenger star, as he was already in scoring position and the go-ahead run was on base behind him.

Carlos Martinez picked up the win in Game One.

Galvis and Pillar combined for another run in the top of the ninth off reliever Jeff Manship, putting the Senators up 5-3. That's how it would end, as closer Mark Melancon retired the Avengers in order in the bottom of the ninth.

Galvis and Pillar, the last two hitters in the Sacramento lineup, combined to go 5-8 with three runs and all five of the club's runs batted in. It will be interesting to see if they get moved up in the order for Game Two, or if the Senators leave them where they are so obviously comfortable.

By winning Game One, the Senators made it clear they wouldn't be an easy matchup for the Avengers. The two teams will meet again tomorrow when Metropolis starter Carlos Carrasco matches up with Senator starter Trevor Bauer. It isn't a must-win game for the Avengers, but they certainly want to avoid going to Sacramento down 2-0.

BOXSCORE: 2016 Sacramento Senators At 2016 Metropolis Avengers      10/9/2016

  Senators           AB  R  H RBI AVG     Avengers           AB  R  H RBI AVG

  J.Kipnis 2B         5  0  2  0 .308     A.McCutchen CF      4  0  1  0 .250 

  A.Gordon LF         4  0  0  0 .136     B.Harper RF         4  0  1  0 .250 

  N.Cruz RF           4  0  1  0 .182     G.Stanton LF        3  0  0  0 .000 

  P.Fielder DH        3  1  0  0 .381     C.Davis 1B          3  0  0  1 .000 

  L.Morrison 1B       4  0  0  0 .100     D.Valencia 3B       3  0  0  0 .000 

  Y.Escobar 3B        4  1  1  0 .250   A-P.Sandoval PH       1  0  0  0 .000 

  Y.Gomes C           4  0  0  0 .174     D.Ortiz DH          3  1  1  0 .333 

  F.Galvis SS         4  2  3  2 .316     J.Iglesias SS       4  1  1  0 .250 

  K.Pillar CF         4  1  2  3 .400     R.Cano 2B           3  0  1  1 .333 

                                          N.Hundley C         2  1  2  11.000 

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---     

         Totals      36  5  9  5                 Totals      30  3  7  3

A-Pinch Hit For Valencia In 9th Inning

Senators........ 0 2 0  0 0 0  2 0 1  -  5  9  0

Avengers........ 0 0 0  0 2 0  0 1 0  -  3  7  1

Senators (5-1)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

C.Martinez WIN(3-0)       6 1/3   4   2   2   1   8   0   1.21  A1 C5

T.Wood                    0       1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  C6 C6

R.Madson HOLD(2nd)        0 2/3   1   1   1   0   0   0   9.00  C7 C9

M.Lowe HOLD(1st)          1       1   0   0   1   1   0   0.00  D1 D4

M.Melancon SAVE(1st)      1       0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D5

Totals                    9       7   3   3   2  10   0

Avengers (0-1)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

C.Kluber                  5       5   2   2   1   5   0   3.60  A1 C3

X.Cedeno                  0 2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  C4 C5

C.Kimbrel LOSS(0-1)       3       2   2   2   0   2   1   6.00  C6 D7

J.Manship                 0       2   1   1   0   0   0   ----  D8 D9

Z.Britton                 0 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  E1

Totals                    9       9   5   5   1   8   1

ATTENDANCE- 49,347 DATE- Sunday, October 9th 2016 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average

T- 2:50

LEFT ON BASE- Senators: 5  Avengers: 4

DOUBLE PLAYS- Senators: 2  Avengers: 0

ERRORS- C.Davis

DOUBLES- Y.Escobar(1st), F.Galvis(2nd), K.Pillar(2nd), D.Ortiz(1st)

HOME RUNS- K.Pillar(1st)

RBIs- F.Galvis-2(4th), K.Pillar-3(6th), C.Davis(1st), R.Cano(1st),

      N.Hundley(1st)

STOLEN BASES- J.Kipnis(1st)

CAUGHT STEALING- J.Kipnis

SACRIFICE FLIES- C.Davis, N.Hundley

WALKS- P.Fielder, G.Stanton, D.Ortiz

STRIKE OUTS- J.Kipnis-2, A.Gordon-2, N.Cruz-2, P.Fielder, F.Galvis,

             A.McCutchen-2, B.Harper-2, G.Stanton-2, C.Davis-2, D.Valencia,

             P.Sandoval

GIDP- C.Davis

2-out RBI- F.Galvis-2, K.Pillar

RLISP 2-out- K.Pillar, N.Cruz, R.Cano, J.Kipnis

TEAM RISP- Senators: 1 for 6  Avengers: 1 for 4

WEB GEMS- Top 9th: Robinson Cano robbed Yunel Escobar of a base hit.

2016 NLDS Preview - Metropolis vs. Sacramento

The Metropolis Avengers begin their defense of the NL crown in a National League Division Series matchup with the Sacramento Senators. 

• The Avengers won 6 of their 8 matchups with the Senators during the regular season.
• In those wins, the Avengers averaged 12.33 runs a game!
• Sacramento traded for Kevin Pillar and Desmond Jennings at the trade deadline. Pillar hit .307/.322/.464 after the trade. Jennings hit a robust .429/.429/.714, but it was in only a handful of at bats.
• Metropolis traded for Zach Britton, Jose Iglesias, and Dioner Navarro to round out its playoff roster.
• Britton put in heavy work, pitching 26 innings in just 16 games, with a 1.73 ERA. Iglesias was a revelation at shortstop, hitting .362/.397/.424 for the Avengers.
• Metropolis scored 936 runs and allowed just 605, for a 331-run differential on the season. 
• Sacramento scored 851 runs and allowed 720, for a 131-run differential.
• The Senators collected 45 saves on the year but had 20 blown saves. Mark Melancon had 35 of those saves and four of the blown saves.
• The Avengers recorded 57 saves, but they were spread around 11 different pitchers, with Craig Kimbrel leading the team with just 13. The team blew 25 saves on the year.
• Sacramento committed 67 errors on the season and gave up 44 unearned runs.
• Metropolis committed 71 errors and allowed an identical 44 unearned runs.
• The Senators slugged 190 homeruns, but finished far behind the Avengers, who hit 277.
• However, Sacramento had a much higher team batting average than did Metropolis - .284 to .267.
• Metropolis will start a right-handed pitcher in each game, which is just fine with Sacramento. The Senators slugged .466 against righties but just .375 against lefties.

National League Division Series - Metropolis vs. Parkland Games One and Two

After starting the season 10-18 (.357 winning percentage) in April, the Metropolis Avengers righted the ship and went on a five-month tear, going 107-27 (.798) the rest of the way.  That gave them a 117-45 (.722) record and the best record in Brassball.  The Avengers earned a first-round bye and they watched Parkland and Sacramento battle it out in the Wild Card round.  The Green won the deciding seventh game of that series, heading to Metropolis as the Senators went home for the winter.

Parkland played Metropolis close during the regular season, winning three of the seven matchups between the teams.  Despite the close regular season series and the Green's excellent 94-68 record, the Avengers came into the National League Division Series as heavy favorites.  They had the better offense, the best pitching staff in baseball and home field advantage.

Game One

Carlos Ruiz's leadoff homer tied
the game 1-1.

Parkland sent Wade Miley (13-12, 3.88 ERA) to the mound in game one and Metropolis countered with Cy Young candidate R.A. Dickey (21-4, 2.49 ERA).  The Green were ready, jumping to a quick 1-0 lead as Nick Swisher singled home Dexter Fowler after Dickey had walked Fowler and Dustin Pedroia.  Avenger trade-deadline acquisition Carlos Ruiz quickly got the run back for the Avengers, taking a Miley fastball over the wall for a leadoff homer and a 1-1 tie.

Joey Votto was out by a step in the third.

The Green top of the order started another rally in the third, as Pedroia hit a line drive double with two runners on.  The speedy Fowler scored the go-ahead run easily, but slugger Joey Votto chugged around the bases and was nailed by a good-but-not-great Jose Reyes relay throw.  After the game, Parkland manager Tom Keenan defended his third base coach's decision to waive Votto home, "He's our best player and a professional athlete - we all thought he was going to score."

Aroldis Chapman is just one weapon
in the Metropolis bullpen.

Parkland held onto their 2-1 lead into the fourth, when Metropolis finally put together some baserunners.  Andrew McCutchen singled and Franklin Gutierrez doubled, putting two on with one out.  David Freese hit a sharp ground ball, and the Green conceded the run rather than try to throw out the fast McCutchen at the plate.  Outfielder Yeonis Cespedes singled home Gutierrez to put Metropolis ahead 3-2, their first lead of the 2013 postseason.

Dickey completed the top of the fifth and then turned the game over to the deep Metropolis bullpen.  Raul Valdes, Kenley Jansen, Aroldis Chapman and Huston Street combined on four no-hit innings, allowing just one walk and striking out six hitters.  Metropolis added runs on solo homers by Jonny Gomes in the seventh and McCutchen in the eighth and closed out Game One 5-2.

Game Two
Metropolis sent its mid-season pickup Kris Medlen (8-0 2.06 ERA with Metropolis) to the mound to face Parkland's Ryan Vogelsong (14-10, 2.85 ERA).

McCutchen's third inning triple plated the
first two runs of the game.

Medlen dominated the game, tossing a complete-game shutout while scattering just three hits and three walks.  He kept Green hitters off balance all night, inducing weak contact and never getting into real trouble.  From the other dugout, Vogelsong started strong but was stung by an Andrew McCutchen triple and a Jed Lowrie in a four-run third inning.

Kris Medlen gets a hug after his Game Two shutout

Metropolis added insurance runs in a fifth-inning rally and on a David Freese solo homer in the seventh inning.  Medlen retired Green catcher Martin Maldonado to ground out for the last out of the game, giving the Avengers a 2-0 series lead as the NLDS moved to Parkland.

BOXSCORE: 2013 Parkland Green At 2013 Metropolis Avengers           10/8/2013

  Green              AB  R  H RBI AVG     Avengers           AB  R  H RBI AVG

  D.Fowler CF         3  2  1  0 .343     C.Ruiz C            3  1  1  1 .333 

  J.Votto 1B          1  0  0  0 .375     R.Cano 2B           4  0  1  0 .250 

D-W.Middlebrooks PH,3 1  0  0  0 .450     A.McCutchen CF      4  2  2  1 .500 

  D.Pedroia 2B        3  0  1  1 .324     F.Gutierrez RF      2  1  1  0 .500 

  N.Swisher RF        4  0  2  1 .500   A-A.Gordon PH,LF      1  0  0  0 .000 

  C.Crisp LF          3  0  0  0 .037     D.Freese 3B         4  0  0  1 .000 

  J.Lowrie SS         3  0  0  0 .167     Y.Cespedes LF       2  0  1  1 .500 

G-Y.Escobar PH        1  0  0  0 .111   B-B.Harper PH,RF      2  0  0  0 .000 

  M.Maldonado C       4  0  0  0 .308     J.Guzman 1B         2  0  0  0 .000 

  S.Rolen 3B          3  0  0  0 .091   F-J.Bautista PH,1B    1  0  0  0 .000 

E-C.McGehee 1B        1  0  0  0 .190     J.Gomes DH          3  1  1  1 .333 

  Y.Grandal DH        2  0  0  0 .321     J.Reyes SS          3  0  0  0 .000 

C-L.Cain PR,DH        0  0  0  0 ----                                         

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---     

         Totals      29  2  4  2                 Totals      31  5  7  5

A-Pinch Hit For Gutierrez In 6th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Cespedes In 6th Inning

C-Pinch Ran For Grandal In 7th Inning

D-Pinch Hit For Votto In 7th Inning

E-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Rolen In 7th Inning

F-Pinch Hit For Guzman In 7th Inning

G-Pinch Hit For Lowrie In 9th Inning

Green........... 1 0 1  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  2  4  0

Avengers........ 1 0 0  2 0 0  1 1    -  5  7  1

Green (4-4)              IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

W.Miley LOSS(1-2)         5       5   3   3   0   5   1   6.23  A1 C2

P.Strop                   1       0   0   0   0   2   0   3.38  C3 C6

E.Frieri                  1       1   1   1   0   3   1   2.08  C7 D2

G.Holland                 1       1   1   1   0   1   1   1.29  D3

Totals                    8       7   5   5   0  11   3

Avengers (1-0)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

R.Dickey WIN(1-0)         5       4   2   2   3   8   0   3.60  A1 C4

R.Valdes HOLD(1st)        1       0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  C5 C7

K.Jansen HOLD(1st)        0 2/3   0   0   0   1   2   0   0.00  C8 D1

A.Chapman HOLD(1st)       1 1/3   0   0   0   0   3   0   0.00  D2 D5

H.Street SAVE(1st)        1       0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D6

Totals                    9       4   2   2   4  14   0

ATTENDANCE- 49,058 DATE- Tuesday, October 8th 2013 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average

UMPIRES- Gary Cederstrom, Fieldin Culbreth, Jim Reynolds, Tim Timmons

T- 2:43

LEFT ON BASE- Green: 6  Avengers: 4

DOUBLE PLAYS- Green: 0  Avengers: 1

ERRORS- R.Dickey

DOUBLES- D.Pedroia(4th), F.Gutierrez(1st)

HOME RUNS- C.Ruiz(1st), A.McCutchen(1st), J.Gomes(1st)

SACRIFICE HITS- C.Crisp

WALKS- D.Fowler, J.Votto, D.Pedroia, Y.Grandal

HIT BY PITCH- J.Votto, C.Ruiz, A.Gordon

STRIKE OUTS- D.Fowler-2, J.Votto, W.Middlebrooks, N.Swisher-2, C.Crisp,

             M.Maldonado, S.Rolen-3, C.McGehee, Y.Grandal-2, R.Cano,

             A.McCutchen-2, F.Gutierrez, A.Gordon, D.Freese-2, J.Guzman,

             J.Bautista, J.Reyes-2

GIDP- C.Crisp

2-out RBI- Y.Cespedes

RLISP 2-out- N.Swisher, M.Maldonado, B.Harper

----------------------------

BOXSCORE: 2013 Parkland Green At 2013 Metropolis Avengers           10/9/2013

  Green              AB  R  H RBI AVG     Avengers           AB  R  H RBI AVG

  D.Fowler CF         3  0  0  0 .316     C.Ruiz C            5  1  1  0 .250 

  J.Votto 1B          4  0  0  0 .321     R.Cano 2B           4  1  0  0 .125 

  D.Pedroia 2B        4  0  0  0 .289     A.McCutchen CF      3  2  1  2 .429 

  N.Swisher RF        3  0  0  0 .455     A.Dirks DH          3  1  2  1 .667 

  C.Crisp LF          4  0  2  0 .097     D.Freese 3B         4  1  3  2 .375 

  J.Lowrie SS         4  0  0  0 .125     A.Gordon LF         4  0  2  1 .400 

  M.Maldonado C       3  0  0  0 .250     J.Bautista 1B       3  0  0  0 .000 

  S.Rolen 3B          2  0  1  0 .154     B.Harper RF         4  0  0  0 .000 

  Y.Grandal DH        3  0  0  0 .290     J.Reyes SS          4  0  1  0 .143 

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---     

         Totals      30  0  3  0                 Totals      34  6 10  6

Green........... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  3  1

Avengers........ 0 0 4  0 1 0  1 0    -  6 10  0

Green (4-5)              IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

R.Vogelsong LOSS(1-2)     2 1/3   6   4   2   1   1   0   4.50  A1 B5

W.Wright                  2       1   1   1   2   0   0   8.44  B6 C5

A.Crow                    2 2/3   2   1   1   0   2   1   3.60  C6 D6

C.Durbin                  1       1   0   0   0   1   0   8.31  D7

Totals                    8      10   6   4   3   4   1

Avengers (2-0)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

K.Medlen WIN(1-0)         9       3   0   0   3   6   0   0.00  A1

Totals                    9       3   0   0   3   6   0

ATTENDANCE- 49,739 DATE- Wednesday, October 9th 2013 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average

UMPIRES- Larry Vanover, Mike Everitt, Mike Dimuro, Tim McClelland

T- 2:58

LEFT ON BASE- Green: 7  Avengers: 7

DOUBLE PLAYS- Green: 0  Avengers: 0

ERRORS- J.Lowrie

DOUBLES- C.Crisp(1st), A.Gordon(1st)

TRIPLES- A.McCutchen(1st)

HOME RUNS- D.Freese(1st)

WALKS- D.Fowler, N.Swisher, S.Rolen, A.McCutchen, A.Dirks, J.Bautista

HIT BY PITCH- M.Maldonado

STRIKE OUTS- D.Fowler-2, D.Pedroia, J.Lowrie, Y.Grandal-2, R.Cano, A.McCutchen,

             J.Bautista, B.Harper

WILD PITCHES- K.Medlen

2-out RBI- D.Freese

RLISP 2-out- N.Swisher-2, C.Crisp, J.Bautista-2, B.Harper-3, M.Maldonado,

             Y.Grandal

WEB GEMS- Top 6th: Bryce Harper robbed Dustin Pedroia of an extra base hit.

May 2013 - Stats, Stories and Surprises

Brassball month two is in the books.  With that, some interesting stats and stories may be hidden by multiple months of results.  Thanks to Doug, I took a look at the stats for just the month of May to see which players and teams had the most interesting stretch of 28 games.  

• Fleetwood rookie Mike Trout led all of Brassball in hitting (.426), on base percentage (.522) and slugging (.734) and still couldn't win Strat-O-Matic's MVP voting.  He lost a close race to Metropolis's Andrew McCutchen (.333/.389/.642).  McCutchen did have more RBIs, which probably explains the vote.  He had 27 to Trout's 26.
• The Portland Steelheads were not quite ready for May, as they were one-hit by Simi Valley aces Clayton Kershaw and David Price in the first two games of the month.
• Parkland's Casey McGehee had himself quite a month - going .368/.467/.842 and also coming through in the clutch with two pinch hit home runs.
• Brooklyn won a 19 inning marathon game vs West Hills, but that couldn't match the 1-0 pitchers' duel (or batters' failure) that Simi Valley won in 20 innings at Metropolis.  
• Plaza was a scorching 25-3 in May and two of its losses were by a single run.
• Lancaster's Austin Jackson legged out seven triples in May.
• Outlaw Elvis Andrus got his bunting practice in, laying down 13 sacrifices in 14 attempts.  The only other team with more was Cook County, with 16 successful bunts in May.
• Metropolis pitchers and catchers shut down opposing base runners, allowing just one stolen base on three attempts.
• Butte County infielder Joaquin Arias was a threat off the bench, collecting five hits in eight pinch hit at bats.  
• On the other side of the coin, Plaza and California each had only three pinch hit attempts all month.
• Plaza hitters compiled an amazing .307/.373/.522 line on the month in nearly 1100 plate appearances.  
• With a batting line like that, Plaza should probably give up the bunt - they were successful in just half of their 10 attempts.
• Santa Barbara was by far the most reliable team in the field, making only five errors all month.  The next best was the Outlaws' long-time AL rival Cook County, with twice as many.
• The Outlaw bullpen was another key to their 19-9 month, as they allowed just six of 47 inherited runners to score (12.8%).
• Sacramento's Ross Detwiler had a fantastic month, going 4-1 in six starts with a 0.53 in 33 innings.  
• Detwiler didn't even get a vote SOM's Cy Young vote, however.  Plaza closer Wilton Lopez took home the hardware after recording 13 saves in 14 appearances.  
• Several pitchers had four wild pitchers (including staff anchors Felix Hernandez and Tim Lincecum), but Hophead Jason Marquis uncorked five.  
• On the other hand, no Avenger pitcher threw a wild pitch and the team had only one passed ball.
• SoCal's Ramon Santiago booted the most balls last month, totaling eight errors.
• Not surprisingly, Plaza had the most players on SOM's all-star rosters.Joe Mauer, Alex Rios, Wilton Lopez and CJ Wilson made the first team while Aaron Hill and Jarrod Parker on the second.
• Three batters went 5-5 in a game: Brandon Belt, Craig Gentry and Alejandro De Aza.
• Superior might be in the market for a new baserunning coach after getting thrown out 10 times in just 21 steal attempts.
• Amazingly, Portland was thrown out just once while stealing 24 bases this month.
• Here's a baserunning tip - don't run on Dwayne Wise or Josh Hamilton.  They both gunned down six runners.
• Only once did Metropolis allow more than five runs.  Glen Allen gave up 10 or more runs five times.
• North Georgia's Chris Davis struck out 43 times in just 117 at bats.  If he doesn't turn that around, he might be out of the league by this time next year.
• Latrobe rode their new ace, Justin Verlander, like a horse.  He went 4-2 in seven starts and tossed 60 1/3 innings.  No one else threw even 50 innings.
• Springfield "batters" compiled a .192 average in May, nearly 30 points behind Hessville's .227.