Dem Bums sweep the Redbirds to win NL Flag

8/9-8/10 - Sportsman Park
GAME 1 - Dodgers 7, Cardinals 1
It took Don Newcombe just 80 pitches to dispatch of the Cardinals on this drizzly day in the Midwest.  Brooklyn jumped out to a 4-0 lead off of Cardinal starter Ken Burkhart after just 3 innings of play.  Burkhart walked 3 consecutive Dodger batters with 2 out in the 2nd then gave up a line shot single to Newcome that scored 2 runs.  Newk, who hit over .350 during the 1955 season is a complete athlete and very dominant when he's on, and today he was on.  Pee Wee Reese followed that up with an RBI single to make it 3-0 after 2 innings.  Duke Snider would hit a solo shot to lead off the 3rd to make it 4-0.  The Cards were able to crack the scoreboard in the bottom of the 5th when Harry "the Hat" Walker led off the inning with a triple  and scored on a grounder by Marty Marion that took Reese deep in the hole.  Red Barrett would replace Burkhart in the 4th and allow just 4 hits and no runs for the next 5 innings.  Ted Wilks pitched the 9th and got rocked by back to back 2 out homers.  Junior Gilliam hit a 2 run shot to score Don Hoak and Snider hit his second of the game on a 3 for 5 day.  Newk not only went the distance on the hill by allowing just 1 run on 4 hits, but he also went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI's at the plate.

GAME 2 - Dodgers 4, Cardinals 0
Carl Erskine had his patented overhand curveball breaking to perfection today.  Sure he allowed 9 Cardinal hits, but he never allowe the big hit.  "Oisk" would go the distance and record the shutout while fanning 4.  His ability to get out of jams made Houdini look like a rank amateur.  In the fist inning with one out he faced runners on 1st (Musial) and 2nd (Schoendienst), but got Enos Slaughter to pop up to Reese at short and fanned Dick Sisler.  In the 4th Musial led off with a double, Slaughter walked and Sisler had an infield single to load the bases with no out.  Oisk was calm, cool and collected as evidenced by his getting Garagiola to pop out to Campy in foul ground, then getting Walker and Marion to ground out weakly.  In the 5th Schoendienst doubled with 1 out  only to be stranded at second.  While Erskine was walking what seemed to be a tightrope across the Niagara Falls, Howie Pollet was also doing quite well for himself.  Entering the 8th inning the score was 1-0 Dodgers with a Jackie Robinson solo blast in the 3rd with 2 out being the only run of the game.  Robinson would lay down a perfect squeeze bunt in the 8th to score Junior Gilliam for the 2nd run of the game and a 2 run shot by Gil Hodges in the 9th would give Erskine more than enough runs to close the door on St. Louis.

8/12-8/13 - Ebbets Field
GAME 3 - Dodgers 6, Cardinals 5
As it usually is, game 3 turned out to be the pivotal game in the series.  If St. Louis wins we have a series.  Conversely if Brooklyn wins St. Louis goes on life support.  With that type of reward waiting in the balance everyone who entered the Rotunda on McKeever place knew what was at stake.  This would be a far more subdued crowd than the one that attended game 3 of the Phillie series.  While the Dodgers have always had a great rivalry with the Cardinals there has never been a hate between player or city.  Dodgers fans in fact were responsible for Musial's nickname.  Brooklyn natives would be heard saying, "Oh, not THAT MAN again..."  If the legend of Stan "the Man" wasn't created in Brooklyn it was validated in that little ballpark in Pigtown.  The players and fans were treated to a picture perfect 70 degree day, which is more than one could expect in the Autumn in New York.  That beautiful day would turn ugly real fast for Cardinal starter Hal Brecheen who gave up a 2 run homer to Duke Snider to put the hometown team up 2-0.  Breecheen himself would take care of business with his lumber in the top of the second when he singled home Slaughter with 2 outs to cut the Dodger lead to 1.  Once again the Dodgers would post 2 runs off of Breecheen in the bottom of the 2nd.  Jackie Robinson was able to reach first on a throwing error by gold glove HOF'er Marty Marion at short.  Don Hoak would bunt Robinson over to second and Dodger starter Johnny Podres would slice a single to left to put runners on the corners for Pee Wee Reese who hit a double off the chain link fence in right center to score Jackie.  Podres would score on Junior Gilliam's ground out to Marion to make it 4-1.  Snider hit one to the base of the wall that Slaughter would make a leaping catch on to rob the Dodger centerfielder of an extra base hit and quite possibly blow the game wide open.  Podres did a great job protecting his 3 run lead until the top of the 6th when he gave up back to back solo homers to Stan Musial and Slaughter, which cut the lead to 1.  Brooklyn would add a run in the bottom of the frame thanks to a 2 out error by Musial who booted a 2 hopper by Podres that hooked down the first base line.  Stan's gaffe would allow Jackie (who doubled with 1 out) to score easily.  St. Louis would not roll over as evidenced by the solo runs that they scored in the 7th and 8th innings by playing small ball.  This would push 'dem Bums to replace their '55 World Series hero (Podres) with relief ace Clem Labine, who could not prevent the inherited runners from Podres from scoring.  Heading into the 9th the game was knotted at 5 apiece.  The Cards would go down in order in the top half of the inning as Labine looked to have his good stuff.  In the bottom of the inning Brooklyn would face St. Louis' relief ace Murry Dickson, who had not lost all season.  Junior Gilliam led off the inning with a perfect drag bunt single, then moved to second when Snider walked.  In a surprise maneuver '55 NL MVP Roy Campanella laid down a perfect sac bunt to push the runners up 90 feet.  That facilitated the intentional walking of Carl Furillo, so  that Dickson could try his luck vs Gil Hodges.  Hodges, known as "the Quiet Man", has been a fan favorite in the Borough of Churches since his arrival in the late 40's.  During his legendary slump in the 1952 World Series he even had priests and rabbi's across the Borough praying for him.  To put it mildly Gil is the most beloved of the Boys of Summer.  Gil is also the most patient, and patience is a virtue that helps hitters in clutch situations.  Gil was able to wait out Dickson in hopes of getting a pitch to drive.  That pitch never arrived as Dickson walked "the Quiet Man" on 5 pitches to force in the winning run.  Brooklyn would now take a commanding 3 games to none lead in the series.

GAME 4 - Dodgers 6, Cardinals 3

Up three games to none the Dodgers were like sharks smelling blood in the salty waters.  Fans began arriving early hoping to find a parking spot at Fat Freddie Fitzsimmons bowling alley 3 blocks away, or walking the 3 long blocks from the IRT station on Eastern Parkway or even hopping on the back of a crowded trolley on Empire Blvd.  Some even trekked back from their new track homes in Levittown to see dem Bums do what they do best:  Win NL pennants.  While it has been firmly documented in print that these Dodgers have trouble winning big games, this team seems to be made of some special ilk that allows them to rise above their checkered past.  Certainly this team is long in the tooth, but with age comes experience and veteran leadership and that points directly to "The Little Colonel" Pee Wee Reese.  Reese, who has held the shortstop position for Brooklyn since before the war has seen a lot of players come and go and has experienced the good and bad times.  Winning the NL pennant one more time would rank up there with the good times.  Reese, a southern gentleman, is most famous for taking a young, rough around the edges, civil rights pioneer named Jackie Robinson under his wing and making Jackie feel comfortable and accepted on the diamond.  It would be fitting that in today's lineup both players, who are well past their youthful days in the sun, would be hitting back to back (1 and 2).  It would also be fitting to note that with 2 outs in the 3rd inning and with Don Hoak on 1st Reese would single to center to keep the inning alive.  Robinson, who has been aging terribly right before our eyes, turned the clock back and lined a hanging curve into center to score Hoak and give Brooklyn a 1-0 lead off of Cardinal starter Al Brazle.  Snider would follow with a line shot to right that scored Reese.  Just like that dem Bums were up 2-0.  That lead would not last more than a half inning when for the second time in the series Musial and Enos Slaughter hit back to back jacks to tie it at 2.  It should not come as a shock that Dodger starter Don Newcombe would give up the long ball.  Newk for all his greatness did give up 35 round tripper in 1955 and Musial and Slaughter are elite level players who have no fear of any hurler.  Brooklyn would once again take the lead in the bottom of the 4th when Carl Furillo scored on a ground out by Gilliam.  Jackie would once again be in the mix when he reached base with a clean single in the bottom of the 5th.  Not satisfied with getting just a single Jackie turned back the clock and turned on the jets and tried to turn a routine single into a double.  His late burst of speed caused Cardinal centerfielder Harry "the Hat" Walker to bobble the ball.  That split second was all it took for Robinson to take second.  For  all the theatrics Robinson's aggressive base running would display it was the sheer raw power of Roy “Campy” Campanella that would put the Dodgers up by 3.  Brooklyn's three time MVP catcher laced into a 2-1 offering by Brazle and sent it deep into the upper deck of the left field pavilion to make it 5-2 Dodgers.  Both teams would exchange solo runs in the 6th, so the margin still remained 3.  Now it was time for New to shine, and shine he did.  Where most hurlers tire as the game goes along, big Newk gets stronger, as evidenced by the three shutout innings he threw to end the game and close out the series sweep.  Brooklyn will now wait to see who their AL opponent will be as Detroit will face Anaheim in the ALCS.

‘55 Boys of Summer sweep ‘08 Phightin’s in series marred by off field antics

SERIES SUMMARY:  Fireworks were expected in this series that matched up two teams that seemed to be mirror images of themselves.  Both play in virtual bandboxes and both win on power.  The reason I say "mirror image" is because the Dodgers rely on rightanded power and the Phils rely more on left handed power.  Making the series even more interesting is the fact that both teams represent cities that detest each other and both managers are natives to those towns.  The key to winning the series would be which pitching staff could make the least mistakes and which ace would come up bigger.  The local tabloids were creating a carnival atmosphere as tension began to mount.

10/2-10/3 - Citizens Bank Ballpark
GAME 1 - Dodgers 2, Phillies 1
As if playoff series aren't tension riddled on their own the New York vs Philly rivalry added a bit more to the mix.  Both teams started out slow like two heavyweight contenders attempting to feel each other out before throwing haymakers.  A jab here, a jab there, but no big punches were thrown.  Credit the pitching for keeping the hitting off stride.  Philly would score first when third baseman Greg Dobbs would homer with 1 out in the fourth off of Dodger starter Don Newcombe.  Many in attendance expected this to be the first of many big punches thrown on the day the hometown team.  The Phightin's manager, Gary B was one of those with high expectations and those expectations got the best of him.  After witnessing Don Hoak tie the game with a 1 out solo shot in the 5th and seeing Cole Hamels walk Roy Campanella to force in a run the Phils manager lost his temper.  Thankfully his coaching staff was able to restrain him, but the uneasiness in his teams dugout might have contributed to his team's tightness as they would not score the rest of the way.  Newcombe, who for so long has had to battle the label of "choker" came up big in this "big" game.  Newk would go 8 innings and the only blemish on his pitching line was Dobbs solo homer back in the 4th.  Newk would start the 9th and give up a lead off single to Chase Utley.  That would facilitate the Dodgers decision to go to the pen and summon lefty Karl Spooner to face Ryan Howard.  Curiously the Phils manager responded by pinch hitting for his 49 home run slugger, Ryan Howard, with Pedro Feliz.  Spooner struck out Feliz, but more importantly the Phils lost a chance to win the game with 1 swing, which is Howard's specialty.  Pinch hitter Matt Stairs walked and Clem Labine was brought on to get the final 2 outs.  First Dobbs grounded to second and Geoff Jenkins, who curiously pinch hit for Pat Burrell who hit 35 homers that season, fanned to end it.  To add to the controversy Howard was seen jawing with his manager at the end of the game.  One can only surmise what was said, but you can bet the powerful lefty slugger was not happy about being removed from the game for a pinch hitter with his team 1 down.  Pat "the bat" Burrell was also seen shaking his head and looking for a piece of his manager.  Lost in the shuffle of all this controversy is the fact that Cole Hamels pitched a wonderful game only allowing 2 runs to that powerful righty lineup that Brooklyn plays.

GAME 2 - Dodgers 8, Phillies 1
Hoping to put the controversy of game 1 behind them the Phightin's ran into 1955 World Series MVP Johnny Podres.  As you all know Podres is a southpaw, and the Phils have trouble with those port siders.  Podres was locked into cruise control giving up just a solo homer to Jayson Werth in the bottom of the 5th, when something went wrong.  It is not known if Podres just tweaked his knee or seriously hurt it.  In either case he was done for the day.  Thankfully for the Dodgers they had been beating up on Philie starter Brett Myers and were up 7-1.  Carl Erskine was brought on to finish it out and the curve ball master was at the top of his game going 3 2/3 innings in relief and allowing only 2 hits.  Brooklyn took Myers deep 3 times.  Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese and  Podres himself went deep.  Gil Hodges went 3 for 3 and played flawlessly like he usually does in the field.  Once again the antics off the field overshadowed the events on the field.  The Phils manager once again lost his temper and began yelling at his lefty power hitters to "hit this sh-t pitcher".  Baseball players as you know do not respond well to the added pressure of their manager calling them out.  Opposing teams do however respond well when they are given bulletin board material.  Once all the dust cleared it became apparent that the Phightin's were down 2 games to 0 and the series was heading back to the Borough of Churches.

10/5 - Ebbets Field
GAME 3 - Dodgers 4, Phillies 0
Off days are supposed to a time for travel and preparation for the big game scheduled the following day.  Things are supposed to be calm and relaxed, but that was not the case as both the Brooklyn Eagle and the Philadelphia Inquirer were printing stories about the controversies surrounding the first 2 games.  While Brooklyn is known to have the most rabid fans in the league, these fans typically focus on their team and try to ignore the other.  Having read all the stories regarding the insults aimed at their players and the way they play the game those same fans came to the park looking for bear.  The bear would come in the form of Phillies manager Gary B, who has fueled the fire with his incendiary statements about game play, his team and especially his opponents players.  After Brooklyn jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first the TV cameras began to focus on Philly's embattled manager who was stirring like a dormant volcano.  After seeing his team not score in 3 innings against Dodgers starter Karl Spooner the volcano erupted.  His first attack was aimed at the umpire crew for not calling the game fair, then it turned to the Dodgers lefty, whom he called a "crap pitcher" who had no business getting his hitters out.  At this point Brooklyn's own manager who to this point in the series remained quiet decided to chime in.  That caused a verbal altercation as well as a bench clearing incident.  Luckily for all  there were no punches thrown and no players injured.  The only casualty was Philly's manager who had said one four letter word too many, so he was gone.  GB packed it in, but still managed to shoot off a few more expletives on his way out the door.  Bench coach Michael Hopcroft admirably stepped in to finish out the game, but you could see he was inheriting a shell shocked team that just wanted to get on the bus and head home from Gotham.  Jamie Moyer would go 7 innings and give up 3 runs, the biggest being a 2 run shot to Duke Snider.  That game changing homer occurred just after the bench clearing incident ended.  When interview after the game Moyer, the elder  statesman of the clubhouse, said: "we're all professionals, but certainly a situation like this never helps the club...we hope our manager can work things out for himself and we thank Mike for taking over under such adverse conditions".  Spooner would exit the game after 5 2/3 innings of work. Clem Labine would pitch the final 3 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball, which seemed to be very easy for him as he was facing a toothless foe that had the wind sucked right out of their sails.  Brooklyn would clinch the series in 3 straight, but that would unfortunately become page 2 news as the carnival antics that surrounded the game itself took front page space.  NYPD reported that there were at least 20 arrests as Brooklyn natives were seen fighting with those who traveled north on the NJ Turnpike to root for Philly.  Sadly the poor behavior on the field filtered into the highly charged crowd.

ALDS: ‘02 Halos sweep ‘98 Bombers in 3 straight

SERIES SUMMARY:  The Bronx Bombers had a wonderful season where the flirted with having the best record in baseball only to fall a game short of winning their division.  Their reward...they get to go on the road and face an Angels team that won 5 less games than they did, but had the good fortune of winning a division where every other team finished under .500.  On the surface this looked to be a cakewalk for New York, but historically the Yankees have had trouble with the Angels, especially in the Torre/Giradi era.  In fact the California/Anaheim/LA of Anaheim Angels are the only AL franchise to have a winning record against NY during that time frame.  As pointed out by Angels manager Douglas Zaner, his team is peaking at the correct time, which parallels their real life excursion into the post season in 2002.  Seeing the Angels win this series was certainly not a shocker, but seeing them sweep the Bombers was.

10/2-10/3 - Edison Field
GAME 1 - Angels 9, Yankees 8
The Halos had what seemed to be a comfy 9-3 lead heading into the 8th when New York began to jump start it's offense.  The Bombers would post 4 big runs to cut Anaheim's lead to 2.  In the process they knocked Jarrod Washburn out of the box.  It would come as a shock to no one that it all started with Derek Jeter working out a walk in a 10 pitch at bat.  Time in and time out Mr. Jeter has been the face of the Pinstripe franchise because of his consistent play and his ability to seize the moment in big spots.  "Jeets" AB must have softened up Washburn, because Scott Brosius followed with a 1 pitch at bat that resulted in a line single to left.  Tim Raines walked to load the bases with 1 out, but Homer Bush lined out to left while pinch hitting for Jorge Posada to record the second out.  Now it was time for Chad Curtis to double off the wall and score 2.  Tino Martinez, who was curiously batting 8th in this lineup, single to right to score 2 more and just like that the Bombers were back in business.  Troy Percival would come on to save it for the Angels in the 9th, but not without drama.  After getting 2 quick outs Percival gave up 3 consecutive singles, which made it a 1 run ballgame.  Tim Raines' RBI single scored Brosius and nearly killed the rally monkeys as the fans were squeezing them oh so tight to release stress.  Next up came the matchup of the day.  Percival vs Joe Girardi.  Percival won this battle by throwing three bullets by Giradi for the "K".  The Halos held on to a 1 run lead in a game that looked to be a blowout before the 8th.  Troy Glaus was the big bat for the Halos today.  Glaus went 2 for 4 with 5 RBI's, a double and a 2 run homer.  Brosius went 4 for 4 and almost keyed the comeback.  Ramiro Mendoza was an interesting choice to start the opener for New York.  Already the New York tabloids are second guessing skipper Ross Gottlieb for that choice.  Amazing how fickle those NY papers and Yankee fans are in general.  Gottlieb piloted the team to a 26-12 regular season, yet Mike Lupica and Steve Serby are attacking him in their columns.

GAME 2 - Angels 7, Yankees 2
"Boomer" Wells did not have his best stuff today, but he battled the Angel lineup in the hopes that a late comeback attempt like yesterday would occur.  His hopes were not satisfied.  In fact the Halos put together a late surge that turned a tenuous 3-2 lead into a more than comfortable 7-2 margin.  Anaheim unloaded on Wells and reliever Jeff Nelson to the tune of 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th.  Scott Spiezo's RBI single scored Adam Kennedy and advanced David Eckstein to third.  Garrett Anderson, who doubled in a run in his first AB, but fanned the next two times cranked a 3 run shot into the waterfall in left center to put the game out of reach.  Ramon Ortiz earned the win for the Angels by allowing just 1 run in 6 1/3 innings of work.  The Angel pen kept the Bomber bats in check the rest of the way to put the Halos up 2-0 in the series and put the Bombers on the brink of elimination.

10/5 - Yankee Stadium
GAME 3 - Angels 12, Yankees 0
With their backs up against the Bombers went to their most trusted and reliable post season performer, Andy Pettitte.  Not only is Pettitte know for his post season exploits, but he brought a 5-0 KOD10 record into his matchup against Anaheim's Kevin Appier.  Nobody in the history of Major League Baseball has won more post season games (18) than Pettitte, which should have intimidated the Halos, but in truth it did not.  This Angel team is firing on all 8 cylinders and their history of slaying the 10,000 lb gorilla from the Bronx has become legendary.  Early on it was apparent that Pettitte did not have good stuff.  By the 5th inning the fans in the "Big Ball Orchard in the Bronx" began to turn on Pettitte and his mates.  Boos and chants of "Steinbrenner S--ks" began to resonate on 161st and River.  One clown even threw a beer at Pettitte as he departed having given up 8 runs (7 earned) in 5 innings worth of work.  To disrespect a player who has given his heart and soul to the Pinstripe cause is shameful, but so is the nature of the "what have you done for me lately" attitude that we see in the Big Apple.  On the other side of the fence Appier was masterful allowing just 3 hits and no runs in 6 innings of stellar work.  Scott Schoeneweis posted a meaningless save by pitching 3 innings of 1 hit ball to close out the game.  New York's highly touted offense was only able to muster up 4 hits vs the Halos on a day when their pitchers gave up 20.  Even the great Rivera gave up 3 runs as he was pressed into action late in the game to try to keep Anaheim from reaching double digits.  Darin Erstad and Garrett Anderson had 4 hit days.  Anderson hit a 2 run shot off of Pettitte in the 6th which led to the slender Texan's early departure.

Anaheim will head to Detroit to open up the ALCS vs the Tigers, while the Bombers will remain home and ponder what could have been in a season that looked so promising.  When interviewed after the game Yankee manager Ross Gottlieb was quoted as saying, "I'm on the fence. Especially with my family's hectic schedule."  Obviously the pressure of skippering baseball's most visible franchise in the Big Apple can be a challenge as evidenced by the treatment he got in the NY tabloids.  This reporter hopes to see him back in the dugout, maybe with some other franchise that would appreciate his efforts.

‘02 Angles KOD “run” mirrors real life…

History repeats: The real 2002 Angels experienced an offensive explosion in the post-season in which nearly every starter was swinging the bat better than at any time in the season, blowing away the '02 Yankees and '02 Twins before outlasting the '02 Giants for the championship. I couldn't believe my eyes as I watched it on my TV then. And I couldn't believe my eyes as I watched on my computer screen that last 2 nights.

Best example: Troy Glaus. His KOD10 regular season performance at the plate can perhaps best be described as inept.  In 134 ABs he had a total of 1 double, 1 HR, and 28 singles, with a mere 11 RBIs.  In the first LDS game against the Yankees he doubled in his first AB, homered later in the game. He finished the series with 5 hits and 6 RBIs.

I can only hope the magic hasn't left their bats because they will need everything they got to overcome the '84 Tigers, who are clearly the class of the AL.

By way of putting a whammy on Detroit, I'll point out that the real '84 Tigers had the best 40-game start of any team in MLB history going 35-5, which is an other-worldly .875 winning percentage.  After that, they "only" went 69-53 (.566 winning percentage) for the rest of the season.  The KOD10 '84 Tigers have now played 41 games.  So I'm hoping that they too are ready to cool off now and return to Earth as did their real-life counterparts.

--submitted by Douglas Zaner ‘02 Halos--

‘84 Tigers sweep ‘07 Bosox in ALDS

Thursday October 2 at Tiger Stadium

Tim Wakefield would oppose Jack Morris in the opener of this best of five series.  Lance Parrish opened the second with a single.  With one out, he was doubled home by Dave Bergman.  After another out, Rupert Jones singled home Bergman.  Dustin Pedroia led off the 4th with a single.  With one out, David Ortiz singled, then Manny Ramirez was safe when Howard Johnson dropped a pop up behind third.  In his youth, Morris would often show his disgust with errors made by his teammates by staring them down.  As he has "mellowed" he has turned these emotions inside.  Perhaps it would have been better to stare HoJo down as he could not find the plate with Kevin Youkilis and walked him to force in a run.  But J.D.Drew hit a shot at Bergman who turned a nice 3-6-3 double play.  The Tigers gave Morris an additional cushion in the sixth.  with two outs, Parrish singled, followed by a single by Kirk Gibson.  Bergman tripled them both home and scored when Mike Lowell misplayed a Chet Lemon ground ball.  That was it, as Morris' (8-1, 2.76) went the distance, scattered four hits and allowed just the one run.  Wakefield took the loss (5-2, 3.62).  Tigers 5  Red Sox 1

Friday October 3 at Tiger Stadium

Josh Beckett would face Dan Petry.  The Tigers struck first when, in the second inning, Gibson doubled and was singled home by Bergman.  They added a run in the third when Tom Brookens led off with a double and scored on Darrell Evans' two out single.  That would be the last run Beckett allowed as he thereafter shut the Tigers down going the distance.  Petry though was just as good.  Until the 7th.  Ortiz led off with a double.  Walks to Ramirez and Youkilis loaded the bases and Drew drove home Ortiz with a sacrifice fly.  Then Petry settled down and got Jason Varitek to strike out and Coco Crisp to fly out.  But it was clear Petry had lost his good stuff as he allowed a lead off single to Julio Lugo and another single to Pedroia.  When he walked Mike Lowell to load the bases with no outs, that was all.  Lefty Bill Scherrer came in to face David Ortiz and struck him out.  With right handed hitting Manny Ramirez coming up, Scherrer gave way to Doug Bair.  Bair got Ramirez to hit into an around the horn double play to end the threat.  Willie Hernandez came in in the ninth to close out the game. (10 saves 0.28)  Petry was the winner (3-3, 3.58).  Beckett deserved better in taking the loss (3-6, 3.28)  Tigers 2 Red Sox 1

Sunday October 4 at Fenway Park

Milt Wilcox would go against Daisuke Matsuzaka.  Lugo led off the bottom of the first with a double.  After Wilcox got the next two batters, Tiger Manager Tom Davis ordered an intentional pass of Ortiz.  It was the percentage play as Ortiz had led the league in homers and the next hitter, Manny Ramirez had yet to get a hit in this series.  Wilcox did not like the idea and glared into the dugout.  Wilcox was right as Ramirez lined a double off the right field wall to score both runners.  The Tigers got one back in the second when Matsuzaka walked Gibson and Bergman and Larry Herndon singled home Gibson with two outs.  The Red sox came right back in the third.  Walks to Ortiz and Youkilis bracketed a double by Ramirez to load the bases   Drew singled home two and sent Youkilis to third.  He scored when Wilcox bobbled a soft ground ball by Varitek.  In the fifth, Wilcox struck out Ramirez but then issued three straight walks to Youkilis, Drew and Varitek.  Aurelio Lopez came in and gave up a single to Crisp but was saved from giving up a second run when Larry Herndon's throw from left cut down Drew at the plate  The Tigers breathed a sigh of relief that they were only down 6-1 after 5.  In the sixth Matsuzaka once again issued back to back walks to Gibson and Bergman.  After getting Lemon, he then walked Herndon and Brookens to force in a run.  Lou Whitaker singled home two more and the lead  was cut to 6-4.  In the 7th, Lopez gave up a lead off homer to Drew (5), the only homer of the series.  After giving up a single to Varitek and walking Crisp, Lopez gave way to Doug Bair.  Bair got Lugo to line back to him and then Pedroia to hit a sharp ground ball to him which turned into an inning ending double play.  Kyle Snyder came in to start the 7th and got himself out of a self inflicted bases loaded situation when Henrdon lined to him.  He was not so lucky in the 8th.  He hit Brookens to lead off the inning, then walked Whitaker.  Alan Trammell 's single to score Brookens chased Snyder.  Hideki Okajima got Evans to fly out but Whitaker scored on the out.  He then struck out Parrish and Gibson to leave the Red sox up one. It stayed that way as Bair retired the Red Sox in the 8th.  For the 9th, Red Sox Manager Eric Stouber went to his ace closer Jonathon Papelbon who had allowed only one run in 13.2 innings and had saved 9 games with no blown saves.   But Papelbon opened the inning giving Bergman his third walk of the game.  He then hit Chet Lemon in the ribs and walked  Herndon.  Tom Brookens dropped a perfect suicide squeeze and the throw to the plate by Lowell was not in time.  Then Papelbon struck out Whitaker and when Trammell flied to left, Ramirez gunned down Lemon at the plate to end the inning in a 7-7 tie.  Bair threw a perfect 9th.  Manny Delcarmen came on in the 10th and though he walked Gibson, the Tigers couldn't score.  Bair walked Lugo but he was out trying to steal and the teams went into the 11th.  With two out, Brookens doubled and Whitaker singled and the Tigers went up one.  Willie Hernandez came on to pitch a perfect 11th and end the sweep.  (11 saves, 0.26)  Bair got the win ( 3-1, 2.73).  DelCarmen took the loss (0-2, 3.24)  Tigers 8  Red Sox 7 

--submitted by Tom “Crash” Davis--

‘46 Redbirds sweep ‘67 version in 3 straight

The match-up of the two Cardinal teams in the Division Series did not live up to the hype, as the 1946 team swept the '67 club right out of the post season.

Bob Gibson gave up two runs in the first inning of game one, but settled down as his mates tallied five over the next six innings, giving the '67 club a 5-2 lead heading into the 7th behind Gibby.

Normally this would be a game Gibson would bring home, but this was not the Bob Gibson we saw in the regular year. Gibby walked the lead off man in the seventh, pinch hitter Terry Moore, surrendered a single to Schoendienst, then got an out before "The Man" doubled in a run, and an out later Dick Sisler hit a clutch two run double to tie it. Enos Slaughter hit s three run homer in the ninth for the '46 club to stun the home crowd and take the opener 8-6.

The '46 club played clutch baseball throughout the series, winning game two 4-3 and then taking the finale 5-1. All of the games were well played, but the '46 team consistently came up with the big hit on offense, and big out on defense.

9/2-9/3 – Sportsman Park  |  9/5-Busch Memorial

GAME 1 - 46-STL 8, 67-STL 6
GAME 2 - 46-STL 4, 67-STL 3 
Tied at 3 the '46 squad scored a solo run in the 6th off of '67 starter Steve Carlton, who was victimized by none other than Stan "the Man" Musial.  As he's done all season swingman Murry Dickson came on board to toss 3 scoreless innings to protect his team's 1 run lead and give them a 2-0 series edge as they head cross-town for game 3.

GAME 3 - 46-STL 5, 67-STL 1

Red Munger would go 7 strong shutout innings, but that would not be enough as the usually stoic Dickson blew a save opportunity when Lou Brock tripled and Julian Javier brought him in with a sac fly to tie the game a 1-1.  That solo run gave new life to the '67 crew, but that was not going to last for long as Nelson Briles, in relief of Hughes, gave it all back and then some.  The gritty '46 crew exploded for 4 big runs in the bottom of the 8th.  Three vs Briles and the fourth vs Hal Woodeshick.  After Marty Marion singled and Dickson doubled to put runners on 2nd and 3rd Briles got Schoendienst (his future manager) and Kurowski to strike out.  Rather than risk pitching to Musial, who at this point was 3 for 3 with a homer, Briles intentionally walked Musial to pitch to Enos "Country" Slaughter.  On paper walking Musial was the right move.  No way you let "the Man" beat you.  Unfortunately plan "B" was to face Slaughter, who only had 130 RBI's in 1946, not to mention one of the most hardened competitive streaks in the game.  Slaughter did not take too kindly to the situation and crushed Briles first offering off the wall in right center for a bases clearing triple.  Dick Sisler's RBI single was the punctuation mark on the big inning that turned out to be the final nail in the coffin of the '67 team's season.

--submitted by BikeMike--

Final Regular Season Stat Leaders

NL Batting Leaders

NL Pitching Leaders

AL Batting Leaders

AL Pitching Leaders

KOD10 Final Regular Season Standings

NL Play In Game: ‘67 Redbirds gain post season with 6-2 win over ‘76 Reds.

The 1967 St. Louis Cardinals scored early, and often enough to take the 1976 Cincinnati Reds out of the post season picture, earning a 6-2 victory in the Alston Division play in game.

After Ray Washburn set the Reds down in order in the top of the first, the Cardinals loaded the bases off of Jack Billingham on an error, and two singles. Veteran Roger Maris stepped to the plate and crushed a Billingham change up to the wall in right, clearing the bases. Maris just missed a grand-slam.

There would be no further scoring until the fifth, as Washburn was  pitching brilliantly, facing only 18 batters through five innings of work. In the bottom of the fifth, with Pedro Borbon now on the hill for Cincinnati, one out singles by Julian Javier and Curt Flood brought Orlando Cepeda to the plate. Cepeda also singled, scoring Javier and sending Flood to third. Maris then hit a sharp grounder to Joe Morgan at second, but in his haste to start a double play, Morgan booted the ball allowing Flood to score. But no further damage was done.

The Cardinals added one more in the seventh, as Washburn continued to cruise. It was 6-0 Cardinals going into the ninth, as Washburn was still out there going for the shutout. But he tired in the ninth, giving up a lead off single to George Foster, then a ringing double off the bat of Tony Perez sent Washburn to the showers, the capacity crowd giving him a standing ovation as he walked off the field.

Ron Willis took over, allowing the two runners to score on an infield ground out and a single, but nothing further.

Cincinnati manager Steve Tate had wished his club was a year younger, while Cardinal manager Bike Mike is savoring his first post season appearance since way back in KOD2 (I think).

--submitted by Bike Mike - El Birdos--

‘84 Tigers take 3 of 4 from ‘98 Bombers to clinch best record in baseball.

Friday September 26 at Yankee Stadium. 

That Jack Morris is not in the Hall of Fame is a travesty.  No pitcher came up bigger in big games than did "The Cat" during the 80s and early 90s and even in action that is how it goes.  The Tigers and Yankees were tied with identical 25-9 records but the Tigers needed to take three of four in this series as the Yankees held the tie breaker.  Tough to score when you only get one hit and one hit was Morris allowed the Yankees as he threw a complete game shutout.  Lou Whitaker led off the game with his 6th homer of the season off starter and loser Ramiro Mendoza (3-2, 3.86).  The remaining Tiger runs scored on a ground out and two sacrifice flies but it was all Morris needed as he extended his record to 7-1 with a 3.00 era.  Tigers 4  Yankees 0

Saturday September 27 at Yankee Stadium

Lou Whitaker liked leading off game one of the series with a homerun so much, he did it again in game 2. (7).  Juan Bereguer started for the Tigers against David Cone.  Berenguer came into the game with an era under 2, but the Yankees got to him in the first when Tim Raines walked, went to third on David Jeter's double and scored on a ground out.  The Tigers took the lead in the second when Dave Bergman led off with a single and scored on Chet Lemon's double.  Then the Tigers tallied 5 more in the fifth on a couple of sacrifice flies and a three run Lemon homer (3).  Whitaker added another homer in the 6th and Lemon had a two run shot in the 7th as the Tigers cruised in this one.  Berenguer pitched 6 innings for the win (5-1, 2.03).  Cone was the loser (4-4, 3.69)  Tigers 10  Yankees 2

Sunday September 28 at Tiger Stadium

The Yankees had to win this game or the last game of the series would be meaningless.  Manager Ross Gottleib sent lefty David Wells out to do the job, and he did it masterfully.  Dan Petry tried to match him but to no avail.  The Tigers opened the scoring in the 3rd when Alan Trammell hit his 7th homer.  The Yankees came back in the 6th.  Paul O'Neill opened the inning with a single and scored on Tino Martinez' double.  After getting the next hitter, Petry gave up a two run homer to Scott Brosius (4) who had been mired in a season long slump.  The Yankees added another run in the 8th when Chad Curtis singled home Martinez.  Wells scattered 7 hits over 7.1 innings to earn the win (7-1, 3.18).  Petry took the loss (3-3, 3.88)  Yankees 4  Tigers 2

Monday September 29 at Tiger Stadium

It all came down to this last game, The winner would win the division and have home field advantage throughout the playoffs and World Series, the loser would get the first wild card.  Orlando Hernandez would face Milt Wilcox.  The Tigers again scored first in the opening inning when Alan Trammell singled, went to second on Darrell Evans' ground out and scored on a Lance Parrish single.   They added a run in the third when Evans led off with a walk, went to second on a passed ball and scored on Kirk Gibson's single.  In the fifth, Trammell opened the inning with a walk (walks killed the Yankees in this game as they issued 8 through out the game), stole second and scored on a Parrish single.  The Yankees got one back in the 7th as Brosius walked, pinchhitter Homer Bush singled and pinchhitter Tim Raines followed with another single to load the bases.  A walk to Jeter forced in a run, but then reliever Doug Bair got Chuck Knoblauch to ground back to him for a force at the plate and struck out the always dangerous Bernie Williams with the sacks full.  Willie Hernandez came on to face the Yankees in the 8th.  In 20 appearances covering 30.1 innings, he had not allowed a run.  The Yanks ended that streak in the 8th as O'Neill led off with a single.  Willie got the next two Yanks, but a Brosius single and another single by late inning replacement Rickey Ledee made the score 3-2.  (A case of history repeating itself as Willie's only blown save during his MVP, Cy Young season of '84 came against the Yankees in the second to last game of the season.)  The Tigers though added three runs of their own in the bottom of the 8th.  Lemon led off with a double, then three straight walks forced in a run.  Two groundouts produced two more runs and Willie took a 6-2 lead into the ninth.  A walk marred an otherwise perfect two strikeout inning and the Tigers won the division crown on the last day of the season.Orlando Hernandez took the loss (2-3, 3.30).  Wilcox was the winner (3-3, 2.86), Hernandez earned the save (9 saves, 0.28)  Tigers 6  Yankees 2

--submitted by Tom”Crash” Davis--

‘76 Reds rally to take 3 of 4 from ‘71 Bucs to force a 1 game playoff with the ‘67 Cards in STL

9/26-9/27 - Three Rivers Stadium
GAME 1 - Reds 11, Pirates 3
The Bucs came into the series needing a sweep to have any chance at winning the division.  The Reds, in their heart of hearts knew they would need a minimum of 3 wins to keep pace with the surging Cardinals.  The Big Red Machine vs the Lumber Company.  You don't find a more classic battle of NL teams from the 1970's known for their offense.  During that great decade both teams would win two World Championships.  They would face each other 4 times in the LCS during that incredible stretch.  To say that this series finale was more than just a rivalry would be an understatement.  With no score in the game the Big Red Machine posted 3 big runs off of Pirate starter Bob Johnson (1-2, 4.91) in the top of the 4th as Johnny Bench had a huge 2 run double.  A Richie Hebner leadoff homer in the bottom of the 5th off of Jack Billingham (4-2, 3.27) cut Cincy's lead to 2.  After Joe Morgan narrowly missed a homer to lead off the 6th George Foster did not miss and recorded his 11th of the season to make it 4-1.  Cincy would score another run in the inning as Cesar Geronimo would single home Dan Driessen.  Cincy would score 4 more in the 7th to put the game away and end Pittsburgh's post season hopes.  All this win would do is help the Reds keep pace with the Cards, who already defeated the Dodgers.

GAME 2 - Pirates 8, Reds 7
Playing the role of spoiler the Bucs scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 11th to defeat the Reds and put them on the brink of elimination thanks to the Cards beating the Dodgers earlier in the day.  Cincy scored a solo run in the top of the 11th and looked to have won the game, but Pedro Borbon could not hold the lead that Dan Driessen's RBI double afforded him.  Gene Clines’ pinch hit RBI triple tied it in the bottom of the frame and banjo hitting Jackie Hernandez' pinch single would win it.

9/28-9/29 - Riverfront Stadium
GAME 3 - Reds 6, Pirates 4
Down 4-1 and heading into the bottom of the 7th the Reds looked up at the scoreboard to see that St. Louis had just defeated the Cardinals 2-1 in extra innings.  With time running short on their season the Reds knew they needed to do something big and do it fast.  The challenge they faced was young Bruce Kison was busy tossing a dandy.  Their glimmer of hope occurred the previous inning when Joe Morgan singled home Ken Griffey to finally put the Reds on the board.  Down 4-1 the Reds would enter into the magical 7th inning needing 3 runs to tie, instead Cincy would post 5 to take the lead.  Driessen would lead off with a clean single and Johnny Bench, who had been suffering through a .231 campaign, would show his greatness by hitting a clutch 2 run homer to cut Kison's lead to 1.  Geronimo and Concepcion would follow with walks as the 21 year old Kison was about to crack.  Santo Alcala, who would pitch almost 3 scoreless innings in relief of the terrible Don Gullet (4 runs in 6 innings) would bat for himself and bunt the runners up into scoring position.  Pete Rose was then given an intentional pass to load the bases and Dock Ellis would be summoned from the pen to save Kison's lead.  Ellis, who is know as a counter culture starter surely did not expect to be used in relief.  From the outset he was shaky and back to back singles by Ken Griffey and Joe Morgan put the Reds up for good.  A bullet throw from Roberto Clemente in right field gunned down one runner at the plate and a great peg by Manny Sanguillen would catch Griffey stealing to record the final 2 outs of the inning.  Alcala would pitch until the 9th when the Bucs would have runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 out.  Manny Sarmiento would trot in from the pen to challenge Richie Hebner and notch the final out of the game.  Fans' in the Queen City were breathing a collective sigh of relief as the Reds authored a classic comeback to stay alive in the race.

GAME 4 - Reds 6, Pirates 2
Having gotten the good news that the Dodgers played spoiler and just defeated the Cards, Cincy knew that this game was huge.  A win here would force a 1 game play in game for the division crown.  Pat Zachry would find the ball in his shoe and some shaving cream on his stool.  Cincy would be pinning their pennant hopes on the right arm of this fearsome rookie.  The Reds would break the ice in the bottom of the 2nd when George Foster scored on a ground out by Doug Flynn to short.  Cincy would make it 2-0 in the 5th when Griffey would single home Ed Armbrister.  The Reds looked well on their way to winning when Mother Nature threw a huge wrench into the works.  In the blink of an eye a cloudy / overcast day turned into a soggy deluge.  For almost an hour the heavens opened up in a huge downpour.  Finally when it all cleared and the Zamboni machine squeegeed off the Polyturf the Pirates found themselves with some help.  While their bats couldn't solve the Pat Zachry mystery, mother nature could.  Zach was gone after 6 scoreless innings and Fred Norman was tasked to replace him.   Norman was greeted rudely by Richie Hebner gapper that turned into a stand up triple.  Bob Robertson, who eats lefties alive, launched a line shot homer down the left field line to tie it a 2.  You could have heard a pin drop in Riverfront at this point.  With one swing of the bat the Bucs undid all the good work Zachry had done.  Would the Reds have any resolve left to comeback once more and keep their post season chances alive ?  In a matter of one word, the answer would be YES.  The Big Red Machine would victimize Buc reliever Frank Brosseau for 4 runs.  Red reliever Rawly Eastwick  would hit for himself and single to lead off the inning.  Griffey and Concepcion would follow with singles of their own to load the bases.  Eastwick would score on Joe Morgan's ground out to give the Reds a 3-2 lead with one out.  Foster would be given an intentional pass to load them up and put a force everywhere.  Tony Perez would work out a walk to make it 4-2 and pinch hitter Pete Rose would line a single to right center to make it 6-2 and ensure Cincy's date with destiny in St. Louis tomorrow.