This week I spent five minutes working on the poll instead of the usual ten.
1. Texas
2. Alabama
3. Penn State
4. Oklahoma State
5. Oklahoma
6. Georgia
7. Florida
8. Utah
9. USC
10. Ohio State
11. LSU
12. TCU
13. Pittsburgh
14. Boise State
15. Texas Tech
16. Missouri
17. Georgia Tech
18. Boston College
19. Minnesota
20. South Florida
21. Northwestern
22. BYU
23. Florida State
24. Ball State
25. Tulsa
49ers edged the Saints for the eighth straight win to wrap up the NFC West, although I don't think the game takes into account tiebreaks until the end of the season as it doesn't recognize it yet. Best the Rams can do is tie the 49ers for 1st but the Niners swept the season series. The Giants have almost wrapped up the NFC East as they now have a three game lead on the Redskins and Eagles but they still play the Redskins one more time and the Skins won their first meeting. In the AFC both the Raiders and Dolphins lost but both still hold the leads on the AFC West and the top wild card spot respectively. Oilers and Steelers both win this week to remain tied atop the AFC Central.
Week 14 Scores
Green Bay 17, Atlanta 3
GB: 5-8, ATL: 2-11
-Don Majkowski: 187 yards passing
Buffalo 31, N.Y. Jets 20
BUF: 11-2, NYJ: 3-10
-Thurman Thomas: 194 total yards
N.Y. Giants 24, Cincinnati 21
NYG: 11-2, CIN: 5-8
-Mark Bavaro: 5 rec, 106 yards
Denver 31, New England 14
DEN: 6-7, NE: 3-10
-Bobby Humphrey: 196 yards rushing
Chicago 28, Detroit 21
CHI: 6-7, DET: 2-11
-Neal Anderson: 146 yards rushing
Houston 31, Philadelphia 28 OT
HOU: 8-5, PHI: 8-5
-Warren Moon: 355 yards passing
Pittsburgh 24, Dallas 10
PIT: 8-5, DAL: 5-8
-Bubby Brister: 222 yards passing
San Diego 31, L.A. Raiders 28 OT
SD: 8-5, RAI: 9-4
-Marion Butts: 125 yards rushing
San Francisco 21, New Orleans 20
SF: 10-3, NO: 6-7
-Jerry Rice: 4 rec, 112 yards
Cleveland 31, Indianapolis 10
CLE: 7-6, IND: 4-9
-Reggie Langhorne: 6 rec, 179 yards
L.A. Rams 31, Washington 21
RAM: 7-6, WAS: 8-5
-Henry Ellard: 6 rec, 219 yards
Kansas City 24, Seattle 17
KC: 8-5, SEA: 5-8
-Christian Okoye: 94 yards rushing
Tampa Bay 20, Miami 17
TB: 5-8, MIA: 9-4
-Gary Anderson: 69 yards rushing
Bye Weeks: Minnesota (11-2), Phoenix (2-11)
Leaders thru Week 14
PASSING LEADERS
Rating
1. Phil Simms, 196.2
2. Dan Marino, 177.86
3. Randall Cunningham, 174.5
Yards
1. Warren Moon, 3373
2. Joe Montana, 3149
3. Jim Everett, 3068
Touchdowns
1. Montana, 33
2t. Many tied with 31
RECEIVING LEADERS
Receptions
1. Jerry Rice, 63
2t. Andre Rison, 45
2t. Anthony Miller, 45
Yards
1. Rice, 1636
2. Henry Ellard, 1183
3. Rison, 1158
Touchdowns
1. Rice, 18
2. Miller, 13
3. James Lofton, 12
RUSHING LEADERS
Yards
1. Thurman Thomas, 1276
2. Neal Anderson, 1247
3. Bo Jackson, 1161
Touchdowns
1. Tom Rathman, 15
2. Anderson, 13
3t. Many tied with 12
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Interceptions
1. Kevin Ross, 10
2t. Many tied with 8
Sacks
1. Lawrence Taylor, 20
2. Derrick Thomas, 17
3. Reggie White, 16
SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
Field Goals: Jeff Jaeger, 16
Punting Avg: Rohn Stark, 50.8
Punt Return Avg: Ellard, 12.9
Kick Return Avg: Tim Brown, 20.6
Back in August when I was completely out of ideas for this blog I started simming a Tecmo Super Bowl season using an NES emulator I downloaded like five years ago and posted the results here. I got through the regular season but for the playoffs I'd decided I should sit and watch the computer play itself instead of just simming the games and I was Bored in a hurry. After two games I stopped and eventually forgot about the whole thing. But I'm currently out of ideas again so might as well finish thing, just in time for the real NFL Playoffs.
So you don't have to go digging for the old entries (and why would you?) here's the playoff picture:
Since I don't think I ever bothered to watch the computer play itself back in the day I don't remember if there is any sort of bug that causes every playoff game to be decided by exactly seven points but that is what happened in this round. Hopefully that won't continue.
AFC Wild Card: San Diego Chargers vs. Miami Dolphins
Scoring Summary
SD: Butts 42 Run
SD: Carney 23 FG
MIA: Clayton 62 Pass from Marino
MIA: Clayton 24 Pass from Marino
MIA: Stoyanovich 21 FG
Mark Clayton burned the Chargers’ secondary for 152 yards as after a sluggish first half the Dolphins dominate the second half to advance. Charges moved the ball inside the Dolphins’ 30 late in the 4th quarter but turned it over on downs.
NFC Wild Card: Washington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles
When I did this game back in August it looks like I forgot to take a screen shot of the boxscore.
Eagles 28, Redskins 21
Scoring Summary
WAS: Clark 59 Pass from Rypien
PHI: Williams 52 Pass from Cunningham
WAS: Clark 25 Pass from Rypien
PHI: Williams 44 Pass from Cunningham
WAS: Clark 14 Run
PHI: Cunningham 4 Run
PHI: Sherman 21 Run
An amazing performance by QB Eagles aka Randall Cunningham leads the Eagles into the next round. Cunningham threw for 220 yards and ran for 127 more as the Redskins defense did not force the Eagles to punt the entire game. The Redskins offense moved through the Eagle defense like butter in the first half scoring all three possessions but could not get a first down in the second half.
AFC Wild Card: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Houston Oilers
Scoring Summary
HOU: Fuller 37 Fumble Return
HOU: Jefferies 11 Pass from Moon
PIT: Hoge 7 Run
HOU: Duncan 19 Pass from Moon
PIT: Williams 3 Run
In the a battle of the #3 offense in the league and the #1 defense in the league, offense won out as the Oilers outlast the Steelers. Pittsburgh made it a game after digging a 14-0 hole and had the ball at the end of the game but in true Tecmo computer fashion they ran the ball and ran out the clock.
NFC Wild Card: Los Angeles Rams vs. New York Giants
LA: Warner 1 Run
NY: Megget 2 Run
LA: Lansford 29 FG
NY: Bahr 55 FG
LA: Gary 5 Run
LA: Anderson 13 Pass from Everett
NY: Ingram 36 Pass from Simms
The defending Super Bowl Champs season comes to a disastrous end as after choking away a first round bye down the stretch they then proceed to be upset by the Rams in the Wild Card round. Willie Anderson went wild on the Giants secondary as the Rams were able to the move the ball without much resistance most of the game. Giants scored a meaningless touchdown as time expired to make the final score closer than it really was.
It seemed liked a forgone conclusion the Raiders would take the AFC West but not anymore. They lost to the Chargers this week for their third straight loss and the Bolts have now moved into a tie for 1st at 9-5. Oilers beat Steelers 21-9 in order to reclaim sole posession of 1st place in the AFC Central. The Bills have clinched the AFC East but again the game won't recognize it yet since the Dolphins can tie for 1st still but the Bills swept the season series. The Giants lost to the Eagles but the Redskins suffered a shocking defeat to the craptastic Cardinals, so the Giants may or may not have clinched the division but I'm too lazy to go through tiebreak scenerios beyond head-to-head which the Giants/Eagles split. The game did officialy recognize the 49ers division title win after their ninth straight victory this week. The Vikings were stunned by the Bucs, who still have a very slim chance at the playoffs, which now gives us a three-way tie atop the NFC. The 49ers would be the odd team out in a three-way tie as they lost to both the Giants and Vikings.
AFC
1. Bills 12-2
2t. Raiders/Chargers 9-5
2t. Oilers 9-5
4. Dolphins 10-4
5. Raiders/Chargers 9-5
6t. Chiefs/Steelers 8-6
Still Alive: Browns 7-7, Broncos 7-7
NFC
1t. Giants 11-3
1t. Vikings 11-3
1t. 49ers 11-3
4. Eagles 9-5
5t. Redskins 8-6
5t. Rams 8-6
Still Alive: Bears 7-7, Saints 7-7, Buccaneers 6-8
Week 15 Scores
Detroit 24, N.Y. Jets 17
DET: 3-11, NYJ: 3-11
-Robert Clark: 4 rec, 113 yards
Philadelphia 28, N.Y. Giants 24
PHI: 9-5, NYG: 11-3
-Keith Byars: 7 rec, 132 yards
Indianapolis 21, New England 14
IND: 5-9, NE: 3-11
-Albert Bentley: 92 yards rushing
San Francisco 31, Seattle 21
SF: 11-3, SEA: 5-9
-Joe Montana: 240 yards passing
Denver 21, Cleveland 17
DEN: 7-7, CLE: 7-7
-Mark Jackson: 57 yards receiving
New Orleans 20, Dallas 17 OT
NO: 7-7, DAL: 5-9
-Craig Heyward: 82 yards receiving
San Diego 20, Kansas City 14
SD: 9-5, KC: 8-6
-Bill Joe Tolliver: 154 yards passing
Buffalo 24, L.A. Raiders 21
BUF: 12-2, RAI: 9-5
-Thurman Thomas: 154 yards rushing
Phoenix 27, Washington 24
PHX: 3-11, WAS: 8-6
-Johnny Johnson: 110 yards rushing
Chicago 33, Green Bay 24
CHI: 7-7, GB: 5-9
-Ron Morris: 4 rec, 118 yards
Houston 21, Pittsburgh 9
HOU: 9-5, PIT: 8-6
-Ernest Givens: 4 rec, 108 yards
Miami 38, Cincinnati 14
MIA: 10-4, CIN: 5-9
-Mark Clayton: 6 rec, 158 yards
Tampa Bay 28, Minnesota 27
TB: 6-8, MIN: 11-3
-Vinny Testaverde: 266 yards passing
L.A. Rams 17, Atlanta 14
RAM: 8-6, ATL: 2-12
-Cleveland Gary: 82 yards rushing, leaves injured
Leaders thru Week 15
PASSING LEADERS
Rating
1. Phil Simms, 197.1
2. Dan Marino, 182.5
3. Randall Cunningham, 177.2
Yards
1. Warren Moon, 3593
2. Joe Montana, 3389
3. Jim Everett, 3228
Touchdowns
1t. Montana, 36
1t. Marino, 36
3. Moon, 34
RECEIVING LEADERS
Receptions
1. Jerry Rice, 66
2. Andre Rison, 49
3. Anthony Miller, 47
Yards
1. Rice, 1729
2. Rison, 1258
3. Henry Ellard, 1254
Touchdowns
1. Rice, 19
2t. Miller, 13
2t. James Lofton, 13
RUSHING LEADERS
Yards
1. Thurman Thomas, 1430
2. Neal Anderson, 1336
3. Bo Jackson, 1237
Touchdowns
1. Tom Rathman, 15
2t. Many tied with 13
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Interceptions
1. Kevin Ross, 10
2t. Many tied with 8
Sacks
1. Lawrence Taylor, 20
2t. Derrick Thomas, 18
2t. Reggie White, 18
SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
Field Goals: Jeff Jaeger; Morten Andersen, 16
Punting Avg: Mike Horan, 50.9
Punt Return Avg: Ellard, 12.8
Kick Return Avg: Tim Brown, 21.2
I've finished watching Game 2 of all three series so here are some of my notes.
1975 World Series Game 2 - Reds 3, Red Sox 2 (boxscore and play account)
-This game is incomplete on the disk. Apparantly the top of the 2nd is missing from the film archives. Thankfully it was just a 1-2-3 inning for the Reds.
-OBP gets it's first notice I think in all three of the series here although it's referred to as "on base average" as they have a graphic when Joe Morgan is up mentioning that he led the league in that category although the announcers don't mention it.
-They hype several times during the game a feature Sunday Night special NFL game between the Raiders and Chiefs that was following the game. Chiefs beat the Raiders 42-10 that night.
-Morgan continues his whining from Game 1 here and even tries to fake getting hit by a pitch in the 6th by claiming the ball grazed his jersey and then pitched a fit when they wouldn't give him the base. Replays show it didn't hit him. Two games of watching him and I'm already hating him as a player. I took joy in him getting thrown out trying to steal in the 7th right after Tony Kubek said he probably shouldn't be stealing with Johnny Bench up. SMARTBALL~!
-Speaking of SMARTBALL~ this game ended up being decided on what Joe would refer to as "manufacturing runs" but was really more luck than anything. With the Red Sox up 2-1 going into the 9th, Bench led off with a double. Tony Perez would hit a soft ground ball to short which allowed Bench to move to 3rd which I'm sure Perez was trying to do. George Foster would pop up to left, which was not deep enough to score Bench. Then with two outs Dave Concepcion hits a slow chopper up the middle that Red Sox second baseman Denny Doyle has to eat and allows Bench to score the tying run. Ken Griffey would double next to give the Reds the lead. Just think if Concepcion hits a line drive right at Doyle, the Red Sox would have been up 2-0, maybe won the series, and saved the world from being subjected to Fever Pitch.
1979 World Series Game 2 - Pirates 3, Orioles 2 (boxscore and play account)
-The graphics are missing from the footage of this game.
-I forgot to mention this in the Game 1 notes but sitting right directly behind home plate in both games is that John 3:16 guy who wore a rainbow colored wig. Never holds up any John 3:16 sign here though. What's funny here is that ABC puts a camerman right directly in front of him during this game to try obstruct the view of him. You never once see a shot from the behind homeplate so clearly the camera wasn't turned on.
-ABC thankfully cut back on the number of player's wive shots in this game but they do show Ken Singleton's wife for the first time and she knocks out Doug DeCinces' wife for the hottest wife of the series.
-Several Pirates have stars on their caps that were given by Willie Stargell during the season which were called "Stargell's Stars." Bert Blyleven, who started this game, had none. Man fuck Willie. Even by his peers Blyleven was undervalued. They'd play an interview with Blyleven before the game and it's brought up how baseball writers didn't think he could win a big game.
-The announce during the game that J.R. Richard had signed a four-year contract to stay in Houston rather than test the free agent market. It would be that following year when he'd have his stroke.
-Sorta like game Game 2 of '75 this game ends up being won on some fortunate bounces. Game was tied 2-2 going into the 9th, with two out Pirates catcher Ed Ott hit a groundball to 2nd which takes a bad hop right before Billy Smith can field it and it bounces away from him. Phil Garner would walk and then Manny Sanguillen hit a pinch hit single that would be the game winner.
1986 World Series Game 2 - Red Sox 9, Mets 3 (boxscore and play account)
-I can't even imagine the hype that when into this game as it was a match-up of Roger Clemens vs. Dwight Gooden which was about as epic of a pitching match-up you could get in 1986. As you can tell just looking by the score it didn't live up to the hype although they did have to follow up a 1-0 game. Neither pitcher had much of anything going for them in this one.
-Howard Johnson started at 3rd for this game in place of a slumping Ray Knight which ironically enough Dickhead Knight would end up being the World Series MVP.
-The Mets were just crushing Clemens but every deep flyball they hit seemed to die at the track. You knew it wasn't their night by what happened in the 4th and 5th. Dave Henderson led off the 4th with a homerun for the Sox. Then in the bottom of the inning Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson both hit balls that looked like and sounded like homeruns when they left at the bat but both barely stayed in the park. Davey Johnson then decideds not to pinch hit in the inning for Gooden, who was already looking bad at that point, and then top of the 5th he gives up a two run shot to Dwight Evans.
-It's kind of tough to tell in the screencap but in the bottom of the 6th some fan threw a ball at Jim Rice while he was catching a flyball.
-Strawberry struck out twice in each of the first eight postseason games.
-Everytime I here Scully say "a little roller up along first" I expect the next words to be "BEHIND THE BAG! IT GETS THROUGH BUCKNER!"
-Interesting to note that in this series and the '75 Series not once has the word "curse" come up yet. I really wonder if the "curse" nonsense didn't really pick up steam until after this series. Forgetting what happened in Game 6 it's amazing when you think about that the previous year the Royals became the first team ever to lose the first two games in the World Seires at home and comeback to win the series. What were the odds that the same thing would happen two years in a row after never happening before? The Red Sox had to feel good about themselves at this point and this particular game wasn't even as close as the score indicated.
For the two of you who care, I'll try to get around to finish my Tecmo Super Bowl sim at some point this month.
Last year I did weekly entries wrapping up the previous day of college football until I ran out of bad jokes which was about three weeks into the season. But never the less I'm going to give it a shot again this year making short and completely un-insightful observations about every game from the weekend that I watched for more than two seconds. My favorite thing about college football is the sheer number of games at one time you can flip through. This year for the first time I now have CollegeSportsTV thus giving me even more football goodness.
Tulsa 35, Louisana-Monroe 17. This was how the college football season kicked off. Not exactly USC/Virginia Tech from 2004, eh? The only thing I noticed about this game was whoever the announcer was for ESPN his voice sounded like he was calling the game on radio yet there were no audio difficulties. Very bizarre.
LSU 45, Mississippi State 0. Bulldogs scored as many points as there will be black coaches in the SEC after this year. Poor Sylvester Croom.
Oregon State 24, Utah 7. Welcome back Utah quarterback Brian Johnson from a torn ACL and goodbye now to a separated shoulder. What was crazy he stayed in for one play after injurying his shoulder and threw a pass. Now that's a real man.
Washington 42, Syracuse 12. I'm hoping this is a sign that the Pac-10 is even more loaded than people thought but its probably more a sign that Syracuse is complete dogshit.
Virginia Tech 17, East Carolina 7. ESPN exploiting tragedy for ratings? Never saw it coming. Does it make me a heartless prick to say that I'm really hoping LSU blows them out next week? Seriously the collective boner that network will get if the Hokies make a serious run at that national title would crush us all.
Michigan State 55, UAB 18. UAB is going to make a major run at being the worst non-Sun Belt team in the country this season. This game was the real downside of the Big Ten Network as in past years the Michigan game would have been on GamePlan and they could have switched to it the second half.
Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32. Okay I didn't see this game since I like 90% of the country don't have the Big Ten Network, not that I really want it as their game line up is awful although I certainly would have wanted it for this one. But forget Michigan for a second, how big of a disspointment would it be if App State doesn't three peat as I-AA/FCS/whatever the fuck we're calling it now this year?
Colorado 31, Colorado State 28. For a game that was tight and went to overtime I was Bored out of my mind for some reason.
Wyoming 23, Virginia 3. This game was so bad I don't remember a damn thing about it.
Georgia Tech 33, Notre Dame 3. Eh, this would have been a lot more fun if it had been Brady Quinn being murdered by the Yellow Jacket defense.
Wisconsin 42, Washington State 21. Would Paul Maguire drop dead already? He makes every game he calls completely unwatchable, amazingly even with the mute on. Brad Nessler and Bob Griese really pissed someone off at ESABCPN to get stuck with him for a second straight year.
Boston College 38, Wake Forest 28. Shame this game was going at the same time as the awesome Missouri/Illinois game or I would have watched more of it. Wake winning the ACC last year reminded me of Stanford winning the Pac-10 in 1999 and like it was for the Cardinal, last year will likely end up being a fluke for the Deacons.
Missouri 40, Illinois 34. Seriously this was the best game of the weekend and I think was the only one who watched the majority of it. Bad sign from Mizzou though to give up 400+ yards of offense to one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, even after knocking out their starting quarterback. Not that winning the Big XII North requires one to be any good.
UCLA 45, Stanford 17. You know things are bad for your program when this is considered progress. I do like that Jim Harbaugh does seem certifiably insane.
BYU 20, Arizona 7. Fomer Bills tackle and athiest Glenn Parker was the analyst for this one so being in the Mormon capital of the world must have been fun. Holy crap I just looked up his Wiki entry and he was born in the same town as me! I'm honored. And he's going to hell.
TCU 27, Baylor 0. My first ever I-A CSTV game and it was this. I watched for three seconds.
Georgia 35, Oklahoma State 14. God damn CFN for convincing me that Oklahoma State was actually going to be a serious threat this year.
Oklahoma 79, North Texas 10. Got to love Fox Sports Net as they always feel the nation needs to see crap like this.
Auburn 23, Kansas State 13. I'll pretty much steal from EDSBS on this one and say that Auburn is the master of playing like shit for three quarters and then pulling a win out of their ass in the 4th.
California 45, Tennessee 31. Must. Kill. EVERYONE. Seriously fuck you Tennessee as now I got to put up with Cal in the national title picture until USC beats them again. Volunteers? Volunteer to suck my dick.
UTEP 10, New Mexico 6. Oof this was ugly and I think a legit upset as UTEP didn't look like shit coming into this year.
USC 38, Idaho 10. I like USC and all but hell if I was going to sit through much of this. Did see Vidal Hazleton make a sick, one-handed touchdown catch though.
I decided to throw the DH rankings into the first base entry. Only difference from the other positions is I rank 14 players instead of 30.
First Basemen
2004
1. Albert Pujols
15. Ben Broussard
30. Doug Mientkiewicz
2005
1. Derrek Lee
15. Ryan Howard
30. Phil Nevin
2006
1. Albert Pujols
15. Kevin Youkilis
30. Travis Lee
2007
1. Albert Pujols, Cardinals
2. Carlos Pena, Devil Rays
3. Prince Fielder, Brewers
4. Mark Teixeira, Rangers/Braves
5. Ryan Howard, Phillies
6. Todd Helton, Rockies
7. Adrian Gonzalez, Padres
8. Lance Berkman, Astros
9. Derrek Lee, Cubs
10. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
11. Dmitri Young, Nationals
12. James Loney, Dodgers
13. Justin Morneau, Twins
14. Matt Stairs, Blue Jays
15. Paul Konerko, White Sox
16. Casey Kotchman, Angels
17. Adam LaRoche, Pirates
18. Ryan Garko, Indians
19. Conor Jackson, Diamondbacks
20. Scott Hatteberg, Reds
21. Carlos Delgado, Mets
22. Kevin Millar, Orioles
23. Dan Johnson, A's
24. Brad Wilkerson, Rangers
25. Mike Jacobs, Marlins
26. Sean Casey, Tigers
27. Nomar Garciaparra, Dodgers
28. Ryan Klesko, Giants
29. Richie Sexson, Mariners
30. Lyle Overbay, Blue Jays
Designated Hitters
Top DH 2004-2006
2004: Travis Hafner
2005: David Ortiz
2006: David Ortiz
2007
1. David Ortiz, Red Sox
2. Jim Thome, White Sox
3. Jack Cust, A's
4. Frank Thomas, Blue Jays
5. Travis Hafner, Indians
6. Gary Sheffield, Tigers
7. Jose Vidro, Mariners
8. Aubrey Huff, Orioles
9. Jonny Gomes, Devil Rays
10. Billy Butler, Royals
11. Jason Giambi, Yankees
12. Sammy Sosa, Rangers
13. Mike Piazza, A's
14. Mike Sweeney, Royals
For closers the list includes the top 30 in Saves. Only difference from middle relievers is I do take into account Win Shares.
2004
1. Brad Lidge
15. Octavio Dotel
30. Shawn Chacon
2005
1. Mariano Rivera
15. Jason Isringhausen
30. Keith Foulke
2006
1. Jonathan Papelbon
15. Francisco Cordero
30. Derrick Turnbow
2007
1. J.J. Putz, Mariners
2. Takashi Saito, Dodgers
3. Jonathan Papelbon, Red Sox
4. Joe Nathan, Twins
5. Bobby Jenks, White Sox
6. Joakim Soria, Royals
7. Matt Capps, Pirates
8. Manny Corpas, Rockies
9. Francisco Cordero, Brewers
10. Mariano Rivera, Yankees
11. Jeremy Accardo, Blue Jays
12. Huston Street, A's
13. Billy Wagner, Mets
14. Jason Isringhausen, Cardinals
15. Francisco Rodriguez, Angels
16. Jose Valverde, Diamondbacks
17. Trevor Hoffman, Padres
18. Kevin Gregg, Marlins
19. David Weathers, Reds
20. Brad Lidge, Astros
21. Alan Embree, A's
22. Brian Fuentes, Rockies
23. Brett Myers, Phillies
24. Chad Cordero, Nationals
25. Al Reyes, Devil Rays
26. Brad Hennessey, Giants
27. Todd Jones, Tigers
28. Joe Borowski, Indians
29. Ryan Dempster, Cubs
30. Bob Wickman, Braves/Diamondbacks
Here's a quick revision to the Bowl Bubble entry after yesterday's results.
ACC
Bowls: BCS/Orange, Chick-Fil-A, Gator, Champs Sports, Music City, Meineke Car Care, Emerald, Humanitarian
Locks: Boston College, Clemson, Virginia, Virginia Tech
Near Locks: Florida State, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest
On the Bubble: Maryland, Miami, N.C. State
Maryland's upset of Boston College has increased the chances of possibly ten bowl eligible teams in the conference which means getting win #7 is even more important now. I still don't see FSU getting passed over at 6-6 as at worst they'll get grabbed by the Humanitarian Bowl. Miami looks finished after last night's debacle against UVA as they show no signs that they can pull off a road upset of Virginia Tech or Boston College.
Big XII
Bowls: BCS/Fiesta, Cotton, Holiday, Gator or Sun, Alamo, Insight, Independence, Texas
Locks: Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech
Near Locks: None
On the Bubble: Colorado, Kansas State, Nebraska
Colorado gets bumped down to the bubble after their loss to Iowa State, who's suddenly become a bit of a pest in the conference. Their game against Nebraska in two weeks will now be for a bowl bid for the winner. Because of the Colorado and Kansas State losses, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M have locked up bids. The conference will definitely get two teams in BCS bowls which gives them nine potential bids and that will be the maximum number of bowl eligible teams the conference can get at this point. The Texas Bowl can become an open bid of K-State fails to become bowl eligible.
Big East
Bowls: BCS, Gator or Sun, Meineke Car Care, International, PapaJohns.com
Locks: Cincinnati, Connecticut, South Florida, West Virginia
Near Locks: Rutgers
On the Bubble: Louisville, Pittsburgh
Only change here is USF locking up a bid as expected. Rutgers locks up a bid if they take care of Pitt at home next week.
Big Ten
Bowls: BCS/Rose, Capital One, Outback, Alamo, Champs Sports, Insight, Motor City
Locks: Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Ohio State
Near Locks: Iowa, Purdue
On the Bubble: Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern
Big Ten is the one conference that wraps up it's season next week so we will probably have a pretty good idea of who is going where after Saturday. The losses of Ohio State and Michigan have crippled the odds that the conference gets two BCS bids although there is still a slim chance if Michigan wins their game as OSU still could end up in the Top 14 if enough things go their way the final two weeks. Michigan winning would also be great news for the WAC, which I'll get to. If they don't get two in the BCS that means as many as three teams from the conference could be eligible but end up staying home so win #7 is an absolute must. Iowa has the easiest game with Western Michigan at home while Northwestern has the longest odds with a trip to Illinois.
Edit: I bumped Purdue down to near lock as if they lose to Indiana they drop to 7-5 and there might not be a bid available if enough of the six win teams get that seventh win.
Conference USA
Bowls: Liberty, GMAC, Texas, PapaJohns.com, Hawaii, New Orleans
Locks: Houston, Tulsa, UCF
Near Locks: East Carolina, Memphis, Southern Miss
On the Bubble: UTEP
Memphis' surprising win over Southern Miss almost assures the conference will get a very undeserving 6th bid as the Tigers finish with UAB and SMU at home. I dropped ECU to near lock after their shocking loss to pitiful Marshall but they should beat Tulane at home to get win #7.
MAC
Bowls: Motor City, GMAC, International
Locks: None
Near Locks: Bowling Green, Central Michigan
On the Bubble: Ball State, Buffalo, Miami of Ohio, Toledo
Only change is Ohio's bubble bursting. Buffalo is 4-6 but I think they are still mathematically alive to win the East division and I'm too lazy to look up the MAC tiebreaks so I'll just leave them there.
Mountain West
Bowls: Las Vegas, Poinsettia, Armed Forces, New Mexico
Locks: Air Force, BYU
Near Locks: New Mexico, Utah
On the Bubble: San Diego State, TCU, Wyoming
Somebody should force Conference USA to give up one of their bids to the Mountain West. There's a potentially odd situation setting up in this conference which is why I'm not locking up Utah and New Mexico just yet. TCU still has a realistic chance at seven wins which means Utah or New Mexico need to get to eight wins to breathe easy. They play each other next week and for Utah it is much more important that they win because they finish at BYU. New Mexico on the other hand finishes with UNLV at home.
Pac-10
Bowls: BCS/Rose, Holiday, Sun, Las Vegas, Emerald, Armed Forces
Locks: Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, USC
Near Locks: None
On the Bubble: Arizona, UCLA, Washington State
Oregon State locked up a bid while Stanford and Washington's slim hopes ended. Already went over UCLA's plight last week and they almost beat ASU but that might have been their last hope. If Wazzu upsets the Beavers at home next week then they still would have a shot in the Apple Cup and UW might have lost Jake Locker for the season last night to a neck injury.
SEC
Bowls: BCS/Sugar, Capital One, Cotton, Outback, Chick-Fil-A, Music City, Liberty, Independence
Locks: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Tennessee
Near Locks: Mississippi State
On the Bubble: Arkansas, South Carolina, Vanderbilt
Kentucky locked up a bid while South Carolina might find itself in some serious trouble now due to Mississippi State's win over Alabama. Even with the loss the Tide will pick up win #7 against UL Monroe next week so they are still a lock. I've moved the Bulldogs up to a near lock as win #7 should be a given in two weeks against Ole Miss. Arkansas is now on the bubble as if they don't beat the Bulldogs at home next week they will have to upset LSU to lock up a bid. South Carolina's bowl hopes may now rest on beating red hot Clemson at home in two weeks. Vanderbilt will have to beat Tennessee and Wake Forest to have any hope as there is no chance they grab a bid at 6-6 over any of the other teams.
Sun Belt
Bowls: New Orleans
Locks: None
Near Locks: Troy
On the Bubble: Florida Atlantic
MTSU and Arkansas State were eliminated this week so the conference title will come down to the Troy/FAU game on December 1st. Troy is at seven wins now so they would have a shot at an open bid now if they were upset.
WAC
Bowls: BCS?, Humanitarian, Hawaii, New Mexico
Locks: Boise State, Hawaii
Near Locks: Fresno State
On the Bubble: Louisiana Tech, Nevada, San Jose State
Only change is New Mexico State's bubble bursting. As I alluded to in the Big Ten entry, everyone in the conference should be rooting for Michigan to beat Ohio State. If that happens it will all but guarantee a BCS bid for the winner of the Boise State/Hawaii game as there is a rule in the BCS that if a non-BCS conference champ finishes in the Top 16 and is ranked higher than any other BCS conference champ they get an automatic bid. Now of course either still has a shot at finishing in the Top 14 if they win out which also give them a BCS bid. All that being said the status of Colt Brennan could throw a lot of things in flux as he has to be doubtful for their game at Nevada on Friday. If he's out and they lose that game, then say Brennan comes back for the Boise State game and the Warriors win, then the WAC will screw itself out a BCS bid.
Finally after nine months I've completed the three World Series DVD boxsets that were released last year, concluding with maybe the two most forgotten games in World Series history.
1975 World Series Game 7 - Reds 4, Red Sox 3 (boxscore and play account)
-They have some cancer kid throw out the first pitch, or at least they say "represents kids with cancer" so I don't know if the kid actually had cancer or if it was just someone's kid from the Red Sox front office and they needed an excuse to let him throw the first pitch. If he actually did have cancer all I could think of was that was pretty fucked up to make the cancer kid wait until a possible Game 7 to throw the first pitch.
-Some guy named Ned Martin calls the first half of the game and he was a longtime announcer for the Red Sox but I've never heard of him. He seemed like a bit of a homer or at least more so than Dick Stockton or Marty Brennaman.
-Don Gullet had zero control in this one, walking in two runs with the bases loaded in the 3rd.
-Bill Lee shockingly almost comes up with a huge bases loaded hit with two outs in the 5th as he crushed one to center, catching the slick fielding Cesar Geronimo a bit off guard as he was obvioulsy playing shallow but recovers to get the final out and prevent the Red Sox from potentially blowing the game open.
-Lee made a fatal mistake in the 6th against Tony Perez. Lee would occasionally throw a slow moving, eephus type, curveball. In Perez's first at bat Lee would freeze him for a called strike with this pitch. It was the only time in the game he'd throw this pitch yet he throws it a second time to Perez in the 6th, who of course seeing it once had the timing down and launched it over the Green Monster to cut the Sox lead to one.
-It's amazing that a Game 7 that was decided in the 9th inning would be completely forgotten but because of Game 6 that's what happened. Joe Morgan hit a little bloop, similar to Luis Gonzalez's hit in Game 7 of 2001, off of Jim Burton to score Pete Rose with the winning run. Rose led off the inning with a walk, Geronimo sacraficed him to 2nd, pinch hitter Dan Driessen grounded one to the right side to advance Rose to 3rd, and then came Morgan's winning hit. I think it is this sequence that created the "manufacturing runs" monster that Joe Morgan is today.
-Nothing too interesting in the extras on this disk with no additional, original game clips like the other two sets. Only thing of note would be Carlton Fisk's postgame interview after Game 6 but not sure why they didn't just tack it on to the Game 6 disk. Here's a list of the extras:
1. Championship Rally
2. Pre-Game Introductions of the Reds (before Game 3)
3. Pre-Game 1: Pete Rose, Carl Yastrzemski
4. Pre-Game 3: Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk
5. Pre-Game 7: Sparky Anderson, Darrell Johnson
6. Postgame 6: Carlton Fisk
7. Johnny Bench: The Big Red Machine
8. Pete Rose: Game 6
9. Pete Rose: Thrill of Game 7
10. Carlton Fisk: Homerun in Game 6
11. Carlton Fisk: Red Sox Beat Reds 3 Game to 4
12. Luis Tiant: Fisk's Homerun
13. Fred Lynn: Fisk's Homerun
14. Fred Lynn: Impact on Major League Baseball
15. Marty Brenneman: Game 6 the Best Ever
16. Joe Morgan: Game 6
17. Tony Perez: Reds Dominance
18. Tony Perez: Unmatchable World Series
19. Tony Perez: Game 7 Comeback
20. Tony Perez: Great Cincinnati Fans
21. Tony Perez: The Big Red Machine
1986 World Series Game 7 - Mets 8, Red Sox 5 (boxscore and play account)
-Game was delayed by rain for one day which appeared to be a big break for the Red Sox as it allowed them to bring back Bruce Hurst and skip over Oil Can Boyd.
-First time on the set the vid quality was some what poor for the first two innings but it is fine after that.
-Bill Buckner gets a loud ovation when he comes up for his first at bat. Now that's just mean.
-This was the postseason for homeruns off of outfielder's mits as Darryl Strawberry becomes the 3rd when a Rich Gedman shot in the 2nd goes off of his mit although it would have been a great catch by Strawberry if he had come up with it. Ron Darling hadn't allowed an earned run in his first two starts but was roughed up here as the Gedman homerun came right after a Dwight Evans homer.
-Back in Game 5 Gedman had seen six pitches from Sid Fernandez and swung and miss at all six. Here in the 5th inning against Fernandez again he swings and misses at his first and then takes strike three.
-Vin Scully mentions that Bruce Hurst had been named World Series MVP before the Mets miracle comeback in Game 6. This was kind of surprising to me as I figured Dave Henderson or Marty Barrett would gave won it although it would have been hard to argue with Hurst. It was just about after this conversation about Hurst that things come unraveled for him and the Red Sox in the 6th.
-Calvin Schiraldi was the real goat of this series as he follows up his awful performance in Game 6 with another one here. He pitches the 7th giving up a lead off homerun to Ray Knight to give the Mets the lead, a single to Lenny Dykstra, a wild pitch on a pitch out, which then would allow Dykstra to score on a hit by Rafael Santana.
-Red Sox stormed back in the 8th with two runs and had the tying run on 2nd with none out but Jesse Orosco, who was only about 51 at this time, saved the day to get the Mets out of the inning. Orosco would then have an rbi single in the bottom of the inning.
-Some idiot threw a smoke bomb on the field with two out in the 9th, delaying the final out for several minutes.
-All the extras were on a seperate bonus disk that I went over back in June.
That's it. Again it is good to see MLB actually doing something better than the NFL for once by releasing these sets. Although the two selections that have been announced so far for release this year (1987 & 1977) have been dissapointing choices, I'll definitely still be picking them up. Next up I'll try to start watching the Notre Dame set I picked up a couple of months ago but not sure yet how many writes up I'll do for that one, if any.
Warren Moon is the star of the week as he scorched the Bengals for 450 yards passing, which is pretty damn high for a simmed game on Tecmo, and helped the Oilers take sole possesion of first place in the AFC Central. The Browns lost their share of the lead after getting murdered by the league's best defense, the Steelers 41-0. In the NFC Central, the Vikings avoided an embarrasing loss to the Cardinals and in the process took an almost insurmountable four game lead as the Bears continue to struggle dropping one to the Saints this week 14-10.
Week 9 Scores
Atlanta 30, L.A. Rams 27 OT
ATL: 2-6, RAM: 5-3
-Mike Rozier: 115 yards rushing
Houston 44, Cincinnati 24
HOU: 6-2, CIN: 2-6
-Warren Moon: 450 yards passing
Seattle 24, San Diego 14
SEA: 5-4, SD: 4-5
-Dave Krieg: 195 yards passing
Minnesota 21, Phoenix 20
MIN: 7-2, PHX: 2-7
-Wade Wilson: 147 yards passing
New Orleans 14, Chicago 10
NO: 4-4, CHI: 3-5
-Dalton Hilliard: 97 yards rushing
Washington 21, N.Y. Giants 14
WAS: 5-3, NYG: 6-2
-Ricky Sanders: 6 rec, 122 yards
San Francisco 27, Philadelphia 9
SF: 5-3, PHI: 5-3
-Joe Montana: 201 yards passing
Dallas 24, Detroit 21
DAL: 4-4, DET: 2-6
-Emmitt Smith: 99 yards rushing
Kansas City 27, L.A. Raiders 10
KC: 4-5, RAI: 7-2
-Stephone Paige: 5 rec, 171 yards
Tampa Bay 14, Green Bay 9
TB: 2-6, GB: 1-7
-Bucs Defense: 4 interceptions
Pittsburgh 41, Cleveland 0
PIT: 5-3, CLE: 5-3
-Browns Offense: 77 total yards
New England 16, Denver 14
NE: 2-6, DEN: 3-5
-Steve Grogan: 162 yards passing
Bye Weeks: Buffalo (8-0), Indianapolis (3-5), Miami (6-2), N.Y. Jets (1-7)
Leaders thru Week 9
PASSING LEADERS
Rating
1. Dan Marino, 197.5
2. Phil Sims, 194.4
3. Jim Kelly, 176.9
Yards
1. Warren Moon, 2109
2. Marino, 1954
3. Joe Montana, 1939
Touchdowns
1. Marino, 23
2. Montana, 21
3. Jim Everett, 20
RECEIVING LEADERS
Receptions
1. Jerry Rice, 37
2. Anthony Miller, 32
3. Henry Ellard, 30
Yards
1. Rice, 977
2. Ellard, 761
3. Miller, 713
Touchdowns
1. Rice, 10
2t. Many tied with 8
RUSHING LEADERS
Yards
1. Johnny Johnson, 777
2. Christian Okoye, 775
3. Neal Anderson, 766
Touchdowns
1. Johnson, 11
2t. Anderson, 10
2t. Marcus Allen, 10
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Interceptions
1t. Joey Browner, 7
1t. Kevin Ross, 7
3t. Many tied with 6
Sacks
1. Lawrence Taylor, 14
2t. Bruce Smith, 13
2t. Simon Fletcher, 13
SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
Field Goals: Many tied with 9
Punting Avg: Sean Landetta, 51.0
Punt Return Avg: Henry Ellard, 12.8
Kick Return Avg: Danny Peebles, 20.6
Just got a home a little while ago from my first A's game of the year against the Rangers. There's that old cheesy saying that everytime you watch a baseball game you might see something you've never seen before and today was that day for me. Was really looking forward to seeing Rich Harden pitch since he came pretty damn close to throwing a no hitter against the Rangers last season and seeing Baseball Tonight's favortie pitcher Vincente Padilla. The weather was miserable early as we've had about six weeks straight of rain in the Bay Area and it although it never really poured today there was non-stop drizzle for about the first three innings.
It was evident early on that Harden wasn't on today as he had trouble finding the strike zone and would end up walking five on the day. In the 4th Mark Teixeira lead off with a double to right, missing a homerun by about two feet. Phil Nevin came up next and I saw something I'm not sure I've seen before or at least something you don't see very often. He grounded to ball to right to Marco Scutaro for Buster Olney's favorite thing a productive out. Atlhough it didn't turn out that way as Scutaro from 2nd threw to 3rd to get Teixeira. You'll often see that play made by a shortstop but I don't know if I've a second baseman make that play. Of course there's a fine line in baseball between a head's up play and a stupid play and I'm not sure Teixeira didn't beat the throw to 3rd, I was on the first base side so I didn't have a good view of the play, but they got the out and probably saved a run that inning. Now a fielder's choice isn't exactly something I'm gonna remember or worth a blog entry over but I did have something to remember in the 6th.
In the 5th, Nick Swisher made a nice leaping grab against the wall to rob Gerald Laird of extra bases and then with two out in the bottom of the inning crushed a towering homerun to right to give the A's a 2-1 lead. Harden seemed to be settling in by then but with two out in the 6th he competely lost the strike zone again, walking Michael Young and Teixeira. Next batter, Nevin, homerun, 4-2 Rangers, and the A's staring at a 5th straight loss. But then it happeend in the bottom of the inning.
Eric Chavez. First pitch. Homerun.
Frank Thomas. First pitch. Homerun.
Milton Bradley. First pitch. Homerun.
Three pitches, three homeruns, and that's it for Padilla. Absolutely amazing stuff. I've never seen back-to-back-to-back homeruns live in person and I don't think I've ever seen it happen on three straight pitches, let alone the first three pitches of an inning. Very cool to see a first ballot Hall of Famer in Thomas mixed in there as well. The rest of the game was fairly uneventful but that was a moment I'll never forget.
Since this blog is about nostalgia for the most part and since I'm talking about the A's and three homeruns might as well bring up the times I've seen three homeruns by one player in person. First one came on May 7, 1991 against Baltimore as Harold Banies hit three homeruns. Hit a two run homerun off of Ben McDonald in the 1st, a three run homerun off of Dave Johnson in the 4th, and a solo homerun off of Jeff Robinson it the 6th. He had a chance for a four homeruns in the 8th but they Orioles walked him. Second time I saw it happen was June 11, 1999 against Los Angeles as Miguel Tejada pulled off the feat. Two run homer against Carlos Perez in the 1st, two run homer against Onan Masaoka in the 3rd, and solo homerun against Doug Bochtler in the 7th.
Before I get to my awards picks, here's my quick rundown of what I want out of this postseason.
1. No Red Sox/Yankees ALCS. Do I need to explain?
2. No Rockies/D-Backs NLCS. Do I need to explain?
3. D-Backs don't win the World Series. We have one 90's expansion team with two world championships already, we don't need another.
4. Indians win the ALCS. Besides the Giants, there are no teams in baseball that I would rather see less in a World Series than the Red Sox, Yankees, and Angels. The second the Indians are eliminated is the second I tune out from the postseason.
My gut feeling is we get another Yankees/D-Backs World Series with the Yankees prevailing this time. Finally Yankees' fans many years of suffering will be over! On to the awards.
I should note that when I post my player rankings for the year there may be some differences from my awards but mainly because I throw this together pretty quick. Last year I had C.C. Sabathia as 3rd for A.L. Cy Young but by the time I did the rankings for starting pitchers I had Sabathia about 5th or 6th. Also I'm going to be lazy and not bother with typing out players stats. You know where to find them anyways.
N.L. MVP
This was a wide open race all year with no one ever seeming to take a real strangle hold on the spot as favorite. The media has narrowed it down to Matt Holliday, Jimmy Rollins, and Prince Fielder but my choice is David Wright as he was just a tad better across the board. Any writer's who held out until the last second to submit their ballots probably filled in Holliday's name at #1 today and his late season surge I think will make him a PAC (Pefectly Acceptable Choice) but it's a shame that Wright is unlikely to finish better than 4th and the Mets' collapse has completely overshadowed his amazing season. Fielder would be a pretty uninspiring choice and Rollins would be almost on the level of Justin Morneau winning the A.L. MVP last year.
1.
2. Matt Holliday, Rockies
3. Albert Pujols, Cardinals
4. Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
5. Miguel Cabrera, Marlins
6. Prince Fielder, Brewers
7. Chipper Jones, Braves
8. Chase Utley, Phillies
9. Jimmy Rollins, Phillies
10. Ryan Howard, Phillies
N.L. Cy Young
This and A.L. MVP are by far the easiest choices. Hopefully no idiot writers will decide to penalize Jake Peavy for lack of clutchiness on the mound last night as he was far and away the best pitcher in the N.L. and should be the unanimous winner. 2nd place was also very easy but 3rd place proved very difficult to decide but finally went with John Smoltz over Aaron Harang, subject to change of course when I do the pitcher rankings.
1.
2. Brandon Webb, Diamondbacks
3. John Smoltz, Braves
N.L. Rookie of the Year
This will be my most questionable choice. ROY's I think can be very tough to choose because you are dealing with candidates who some played the whole season and others who were midseason call ups. Ryan Braun was an absolute force at the plate but he's also hacker (29 BB/112 SO) and a liabiltiy defensively. So I decided to go with Troy Tulowitzki, who was with the Rockies the whole season, giving them Gold Glover caliber defense at shortstop and by the end of the year had put up some strong offensive numbers.
1.
2. Ryan Braun, Brewers
3. Hunter Pence, Astros
A.L. MVP
Magglio Ordonez had a shockingly good rebound year and hung tough for a very long time in this race but by the end of the year he couldn't stick with A-Rod. All have to say about my ballot is, seriously what the fuck happened to Carlos Pena this year? Biggest fluke ever or best late bloomer ever?
1.
2. Magglio Ordonez, Tigers
3. Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners
4. David Ortiz, Red Sox
5. Vladmir Guerrero, Angles
6. Carlos Pena, Devil Rays
7. Victor Martinez, Indians
8. Grady Sizemore, Indians
9. Jorge Posada, Yankees
10. Curtis Granderson, Tigers
A.L. Cy Young
Josh Beckett is going to win the writer's award. There was so much hand wringing and phony outrage by the baseball writer's last year about there being no 20 game winners in either league that anyone who won 20 games this season with an ERA under 4 is going to win the award. Not to say Beckett will be a bad choice, just the wrong choice.
1.
2. Josh Beckett, Red Sox
3. Johan Santana, Twins
A.L. Rookie of the Year
Toughest pick of them all. Jeremy Guthrie has no shot at all at the writer's award due to having only a 7-5 record but he's my pick here in pretty much a coin flip over Dustin Pedroia. Hell I couldn't even find a picture of 2007 baseball card for Guthrie.
1. Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles
2. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
3. Brian Bannister, Royals
For middle relievers, the first two years I took the top 60 in games pitched and then last year I did the top 60 in Holds. This time around I tried to get a combination of both and put an arbitrary number of at least 70 games pitched or at least 15 Holds to work with at first and purely by accident I ended up with exactly 60 relievers. This of course excludes those who will appear on the Closers list.
I take into account six statistical categories: Component ERA, K/BB Ratio, WHIP, VORP, Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), and Pitching Runs Created.
2004
1. Tom Gordon
30. Jim Mecir
60. John Rielding
2005
1. Justin Duchscherer
30. Duaner Sanchez
60. Dan Kolb
2006
1. Cla Meredith
30. Francisco Rodney
60. Ray King
2007
1. Rafael Betancourt, Indians
2. Heath Bell, Padres
3. Hideki Okajima, Red Sox
4. Russ Springer, Cardinals
5. Carlos Marmol, Cubs
6. Jonathan Broxton, Dodgers
7. Joaquin Benoit, Rangers
8. Matt Guerrier, Twins
9. George Sherrill, Mariners
10. Peter Moylan, Braves
11. Ryan Franklin, Cardinals
12. Rafael Soriano, Braves
13. Bob Howry, Cubs
14. Pat Neshek, Twins
15. Jon Rauch, Nationals
16. Scott Downs, Blue Jays
17. Justin Speier, Angels
18. Damaso Marte, Pirates
19. Aaron Heilman, Mets
20. Casey Janssen, Blue Jays
21. Chad Qualls, Astros
22. Brandon Lyon, Diamondbacks
23. Tony Pena, Diamondbacks
24. Matt Lindstrom, Marlins
25. Justin Miller, Marlins
26. C.J. Wilson, Rangers
27. Pedro Feliciano, Mets
28. David Riske, Royals
29. Brian Shouse, Brewers
30. Saul Rivera, Nationals
31. Scot Shields, Angels
32. Michael Wuertz, Cubs
33. Cla Meredith, Padres
34. Jamie Walker, Orioles
35. Joe Beimel, Dodgers
36. Carlos Villanueva, Brewers
37. J.C. Romero, Red Sox/Phillies
38. Rudy Seanez, Dodgers
39. Derrick Turnbow, Brewers
40. Dan Wheeler, Astros/Devil Rays
41. Jeremy Affeldt, Rockies
42. Chad Bradford, Orioles
43. Randy Flores, Cardinals
44. Matt Thornton, White Sox
45. Tyler Yates, Braves
46. Scott Linebrink, Padres/Brewers
47. Scott Proctor, Yankees/Dodgers
48. Jimmy Gobble, Royals
49. Renyel Pinto, Marlins
50. Luis Vizcaino, Yankees
51. Brandon Morrow, Mariners
52. Taylor Tankersley, Marlins
53. Trever Miller, Astros
54. Frank Francisco, Rangers
55. Kyle Farnsworth, Yankees
56. Jorge Julio, Marlins/Rockies
57. Scott Schoenweis, Mets
58. Mike Myers, Yankees/White Sox
59. Antonio Alfonseco, Phillies
60. Mike MacDougal, White Sox
Even with the baseball season over I'm always looking for an excuse to do a redo and resident Astros fan vivalaultra gave me one while lamenting over the end of Jeff Bagwell's career in Houston:
Well god dammit I have to solve this quandry!
Jeff Bagwell finished second in the 1999 N.L. MVP voting but he wasn't even close to winning it. Chipper Jones had the best year of his career hitting .319 with 45 homeruns while helping the Braves to a league best 103 wins and would receive 29 of the 32 first place votes. The tightest competition was for the second place spot as Bagwell finished with only seven points more than the 3rd place Matt Williams. Bagwell had better numbers than Williams almost across the board (including 30 stolen bases which is a ton for a first baseman) except in one category. Guess which one? If you said RBI then you know your baseball writer voting tendencies very well. Williams actually received two first place votes to Bagwell's one I suppose because he was a "gritty veteran" who was the "heart and soul" of the Diamondbacks who shocked the baseball world with a 100 win season in just their 2nd year of exsistence. After those three no other player received any real consideration for the award with Greg Vaughn leading the pack but he was a dubious choice for 4th. Of note in 1999 was also the McGwire/Sosa Homerun Chase II but like most blockbuster sequels it was just more of the same and kind of took away from the memories of the original.
Actual Results
1) Chipper Jones 2) Jeff Bagwell 3) Matt Williams 4) Greg Vaughn 5) Mark McGwire 6) Robin Ventura 7) Mike Piazza 8) Edgardo Alfonzo 9) Sammy Sosa 10) Larry Walker 11) Vladimir Guerrero 12) Craig Biggio 13) Jay Bell 14) Sean Casey 15) Randy Johnson 16) Billy Wagner 17) Carl Everett 18) Luis Gonzalez 19t) Brian Giles 19t) Brain Jordan 21) Mike Hampton 22) Barry Larkin 23) Bobby Abreu 24t) Barry Bonds 24t) Matt Mantei 26t) Jeff Kent 26t) Kevin Millwood 28) Trevor Hoffman
#10
.379/.458/.710, 140 RC, 162 OPS+, .334 EQA, 68.1 VORP, 24 Win Shares
#9
.294/.386/.457, 111 RC, 118 OPS+, .286 EQA, 48.3 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#8
.335/.446/.549, 134 RC, 149 OPS+, .326 EQA, 64.3 VORP, 26 Win Shares
#7
.301/.379/.529, 118 RC, 132 OPS+, .300 EQA, 53.4 VORP, 30 Win Shares
#6
150 ERA+, 1.75 K/BB, 1.29 WHIP, 76.2 VORP, 26 Win Shares
#5
.315/.418/.614, 135 RC, 157 OPS+, .328 EQA, 74.6 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#4
.278/.424/.697, 154 RC, 178 OPS+, .344 EQA, 81.2 VORP, 30 Win Shares
#3
178 ERA+, 5.20 K/BB, 1.02 WHIP, 99.3 VORP, 26 Win Shares
#2
.304/.454/.591, 149 RC, 169 OPS+, .341 EQA, 84.9 VORP, 37 Win Shares
#1
.319/.441/.633, 159 RC, 175 OPS+, .344 EQA, 104.3 VORP, 32 Win Shares
Bobby Abreu a gamer? HA!
So I agreed with the writers here even though Win Shares overwhelming loved Bagwell. I feel real good about the Top 5 but after that I could have gone about 20 different directions with 6 thru 10. Along those five I also could easily put Luis Gonzalez, Edgardo Alfonzo, Sammy Sosa, Andruw Jones (who didn't receive a single vote), and Vladimir Guerrero in the Top 10 as well.
The season ends with plenty of drama. The best game of the week was the Oilers/Giants with the Oilers prevailing 30-24 in overtime and to go along with the Steelers getting crushed by the Browns, the Oilers win the AFC Central. Steelers though ended up beating out the Browns for the final playoffs spot by tiebreak, or at least that's what the game says as I'm not sure it properly does tiebreaks. In the AFC West, the Raiders beat the Chiefs while the Chargers lost to the Broncos thus handing the division to the Raiders. Over in the NFC, the Eagles could have taken the East with the Giants dropping their third straight but the Eagles lost to the Redskins and those two will now meet again in the Wild Card round. For the final spot in playoffs the Rams took care of business by slaughtering the Seahawks but the Bears couldn't beat the red hot 49ers so the Rams clinched the final playoff spot.
Here are the playoff match-ups:
Week 17 Scores
Phoenix 26, New Orleans 14
PHX: 5-11, NO: 7-9
-Ricky Proehl: 99 yards receiving
Tampa Bay 24, Indianapolis 21
TB: 7-9, IND: 6-10
-Gary Anderson: 197 total yards
L.A. Rams 44, Seattle 17
RAM: 9-7, SEA: 6-10
-Henry Ellard: 5 rec, 172 yards
Cincinnati 31, New England 14
CIN: 6-10, NE: 4-12
-Tim McGee: 4 rec, 100 yards
Miami 16, N.Y. Jets 7
MIA: 11-5, NYJ: 3-13
-Mark Clayton: 6 rec, 152 yards
Houston 30, N.Y. Giants 24 OT
HOU: 10-6, NYG: 11-5
-Warren Moon: 230 yards passing
Denver 27, San Diego 21
DEN: 8-8, SD: 10-6
-Bobby Humphrey: 104 yards rushing
Buffalo 33, Detroit 20
BUF: 13-3, DET: 4-12
-Thurman Thomas: 194 yards rushing
Minnesota 29, Green Bay 27
MIN: 13-3, GB: 5-11
-Wade Wilson: 219 yards passing
Cleveland 41, Pittsburgh 14
CLE: 9-7, PIT: 9-7
-Eric Metcalf: 4 rec, 148 yards
San Francisco 21, Chicago 10
SF: 13-3, CHI: 8-8
-Joe Montana: 177 yards passing
Dallas 26, Atlanta 10
DAL: 6-10, ATL: 2-14
-Jay Novacek: 5 rec, 138 yards
L.A. Raiders 35, Kansas City 24
RAI: 11-5, KC: 8-8
-Jay Schroeder: 253 yards passing
Washington 28, Philadelphia 17
WAS: 10-6, PHI: 10-6
-Earnest Byner: 136 yard rushing
NFL Team Leaders
Total Offense
1. Buffalo 5298
2. San Francisco 5163
3. Houston 4961
Passing Offense
1. Houston 3959
2. San Francisco 3810
3. L.A. Rams 3716
Rushing Offense
1. L.A. Raiders 2420
2. Kansas City 2180
3. Buffalo 2162
Team Defense
1. Pittsburgh 3669
2. Buffalo 3959
3. Chicago 4015
Passing Defense
1. Pittsburgh 2219
2. Cleveland 2537
3. Buffalo 2565
Rushing Defense
1. Green Bay 1299
2. New Orleans 1321
3. San Francisco 1322
AFC Individual Leaders
Passing Leaders
Rating: Dan Marino, 168.7
Comp %: Warren Moon, 67.6
Attempts: Bernie Kosar, 269
Comp: Moon, 153
Yards: Moon, 3959
Yards/Att: Moon, 17.5
TD: Marino, 40
Lst Int %: Marino, 5.3
Receiving Leaders
Receptions: Anthony Miller, 53
Yards: Stephone Paige, 1228
Yards/Rct: Mark Jackson, 33.4
TD: Miller, 15
Rushing Leaders
Yards: Thurman Thomas, 1733
Attempts: Marion Butts, 172
Yards/Att: Bo Jackson, 11.9
TD: Butts; Thomas, 15
Scoring Leaders
Points: Thurman Thomas, 132
TD: Thomas, 22
Extra Pts: Scott Norwood, 58
FG: Jeff Jaeger, 17
Punting Leaders
Average: Rohn Stark, 51.0
Punts: Joe Prokop, 27
Interception Leaders
INT: Kevin Ross; Erik McMillan, 10
Yards: McMillan, 127
TD: Many with 1
Sack Leader: Derrick Thomas; Simon Fletcher, 18
Punt Return Leaders
Average: Reggie Langhorne, 10.6
Yards: Langhorne, 159
Returns: Tony Martin, 22
TD: None
Kick Return Leaders
Average: Tim Brown, 21.1
Yards: Terrance Mathis, 1542
Returns: Mathis, 84
TD: None
NFC Individual Leaders
Passing Leaders
Rating: Phil Simms, 186.7
Comp %: Randall Cunnigham, 73.0
Attempts: Don Majkowski, 243
Comp: Joe Montana, 150
Yards: Montana, 3810
Yards/Att: Cunnigham; Simms, 17.5
TD: Montana, 41
Lst Int %: Wade Wilson, 3.7
Receiving Leaders
Receptions: Jerry Rice, 75
Yards: Rice, 1955
Yards/Rct: Mark Ingram, 29.0
TD: Rice, 21
Rushing Leaders
Yards: Neal Anderson, 1508
Attempts: Anderson, 177
Yards/Att: Barry Sanders, 10.2
TD: Tom Rathman, 16
Scoring Leaders
Points: Keith Byars, 138
TD: Byars, 23
Extra Pts: Mike Cofer, 58
FG: Morten Andersen; Steve Christie, 16
Punting Leaders
Average: Rich Camarillo, 48.9
Punts: Mike Saxson, 25
Interception Leaders
INT: Mark Carrier, 9
Yards: Wes Hopkins, 154
TD: Many with 1
Sack Leader: Lawrence Taylor, 21
Punt Return Leaders
Average: Henry Ellard, 12.8
Yards: Leo Lewis, 246
Returns: Lewis, 22
TD: None
Kick Return Leaders
Average: David Meggett, 20.9
Yards: Meggett, 1381
Returns: Charles Wilson, 78
TD: None
Let's see so far I've taken away MVPs from Andre Dawson, Willie Hernandez, and Willie Stargell. But now I have to do something truly painful...take away an MVP from a former member of the Oakland A's. I'm getting choked up just thinking about it.
In 1992 Dennis Eckersley was the A.L. MVP & Cy Young winner just like Hernandez eight years earlier. Eck was his usual dominante self at that time with a 51 saves, 1.91 ERA, 8.45 K/BB Ratio, and 0.91 WHIP. There was one problem. Eck defined what the closer position has become today and that is one inning and done. In '92 he pitched 80 innings which as it turned out would end up being the most innings he'd ever throw as a closer. But a pitcher throwing 80 innings can't even come close to being truly the most valuable player on his own team let alone entire league. Now I loved Eckersley, he was a great story as a recovering alcoholic, and I fully supported him getting into the Hall of Fame due his unique career line. This is the guy who during a two year span in 1989 and 1990 in 131 innings, he had 128 strikeouts and walked only seven batters...SEVEN! But he was quite possibly one of the worst choices ever for MVP.
Now in 1984 redo I said Hernandez wasn't deserving of serious consideration for MVP but that he may cracked the Top 15 and even though he wasn't the best choice for Cy Young, he wasn't a bad choice either. I can not say the same for Eckersley as it'd be quite a while before I'd reach him on a list of the most valuable in 1992 and there were a handful of pitchers who were much more deserving of winning the Cy Young such as Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina, and Kevin Appier. As for value to his own team Eckersley was no where near as valuable as Mark McGwire and Rickey Henderson that season. He was very important to the A's winning their 4th division title in five years but you have to play eight innings to get to him and other players have to make bigger impacts for them to come out on top...which you can pretty much say about every closer today.
So today I take away the MVP from an Oakland Athletic...but maybe I'll just turn around and give it to another? Maybe it was one of the three Toronto Blue Jays in the Top 10? Or maybe it was someone who received no first place votes? Ya okay you probably figured it out by now.
Actual 1992 Results
1) Dennis Eckersley 2) Kirby Puckett 3) Joe Carter 4) Mark McGwire 5) Dave Winfield 6) Roberto Alomar 7) Mike Devereaux 8) Frank Thomas 9) Cecil Fielder 10) Paul Molitor 11) Carlos Baerga 12) Edgar Martinez 13) Jack Morris 14t) Brady Anderson 14t) Roger Clemens 16) Juan Gonzalez 17) Ken Griffey Jr. 18) Pat Listach 19) Jack McDowell 20) George Bell 21t) Mike Bordick 21t) Mike Mussina 23) Albert Belle
#10
175 ERA+, 3.35 K/BB, 1.07 WHIP, 64.9 VORP, 26 Win Shares
#9
.315/.394/.467, 107 RC, 138 OPS+, .316 EQA, 58.4 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#8
.343/.404/.544, 116 RC, 163 OPS+, .344 EQA, 76.4 VORP, 24 Win Shares
#7
.290/.377/.491, 108 RC, 137 OPS+, .316 EQA, 54.0 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#6
.312/.354/.455, 104 RC, 128 OPS+, .305 EQA, 63.3 VORP, 28 Win Shares
#5
.329/.374/.490, 116 RC, 138 OPS+, .315 EQA, 64.1 VORP, 31 Win Shares
#4
.320/.389/.461, 110 RC, 140 OPS+, .325 EQA, 67.4 VORP, 28 Win Shares
#3
.268/.385/.585, 105 RC, 175 OPS+, .350 EQA, 64.7 VORP, 29 Win Shares
#2
.310/.405/.427, 98 RC, 129 OPS+, .322 EQA, 67.9 VORP, 34 Win Shares
#1
.323/.439/.536, 136 RC, 174 OPS+, .361 EQA, 89.3 VORP, 33 Win Shares
Hey take away an MVP from a former A's player and give it to a current A's player, GENIUS!
Thomas did not receive a single first place vote. He and the White Sox were slightly better the year before and he finished 3rd. He only hit 24 homeruns but had 46 doubles so he gets punished for supposed loss of power. Some how Joe Carter received four first place votes despite the great year Alomar had. Okay I know why, the almighty RBI but even he didn't lead the league that year as Cecil Fielder did. George Bell received three voting points with a spectacular line of .255/.294/.418 but Shane Mack didn't receive a single vote.
Tommy John - Starting Pitcher
Cleveland Indians 1963-1964
Chicago White Sox 1965-1971
Los Angeles Dodgers 1972-1978
New York Yankees 1979-1982, 1986-1989
California Angels 1982-1985
Oakland Athletics 1985
13th year on the ballot
Past HOF Voting Results
1995: 21.30%
1996: 21.70%
1997: 20.51%
1998: 27.27%
1999: 18.71%
2000: 27.05%
2001: 28.35%
2002: 26.91%
2003: 23.39%
2004: 21.94%
2005: 23.84%
2006: 29.61%
Awards
None
All-Star Selections: 4 (1968, 1978, 1979, 1980)
League Leader
1966: Shutouts
1967: Shutouts
1974: Win/Loss %
1980: Shutouts
1982: BB/9
Career Ranks
Wins: 25th
Games: 45th
Innings: 19th
Strikeouts: 47th
Shutouts: 26th
Hall of Fame Stats
Black Ink: Pitching - 8 (281) (Average HOFer ≈ 40)
Gray Ink: Pitching - 137 (116) (Average HOFer ≈ 185)
HOF Standards: Pitching - 44.0 (53) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Pitching - 111.0 (76) (Likely HOFer > 100)
Similar Pitchers in HOF: 6 (Robin Roberts, Fergie Jenkins, Early Wynn, Burleigh Grimes, Don Sutton, Eppa Rixey)
Other Similar Pitchers: Jim Kaat, Bert Byleven, Tom Glavine, Tony Mullane
Year-by-Year Win Shares & Wins Above Replacement Level (WARP3)
1963: 1/0.1
1964: 2/1.3
1965: 12/4.5
1966: 15/5.7
1967: 11/4.9
1968: 15/6.6
1969: 17/6.4
1970: 17/7.3
1971: 10/4.0
1972: 11/3.9
1973: 15/4.5
1974: 11/4.1
1976: 13/3.7
1977: 19/6.5
1978: 12/3.4
1979: 23/8.4
1980: 19/6.3
1981: 10/5.3
1982: 12/5.7
1983: 10/3.8
1984: 7/2.7
1985: 1/0.1
1986: 6/2.2
1987: 13/4.0
1988: 7/3.0
1989: 0/0.0
Career Win Shares: 289
Career WARP3: 108.7
Would he get my vote?
No. John's entire case is based on his career counting numbers as he pitched for a very, very long time and usually at an above average to good performance level. But as I've mentioned before I favor peak over career and John's peak is seriously lacking. One knock against Win Shares is that it can underrate pitchers but it is hard to view someone who had only one season in 26 years where he had 20+ Win Shares as a HOF. Besides he already has his place in history by having a surgery named after him so he should be content with that.
Nearing the midway point of the season and the Bills and Raiders still can't be beat. Bills had a lackluster effort against the lowly Colts but still prevailed 31-23 while the Raiders beat the Seahawks 24-14 to now take a commanding three game lead in the AFC West. Even with their dominance the Bills aren't running away with their division as the Dolphins are right on their heels, improving to 6-1 after a 27-24 win over the Chiefs. Earnest Byner returned to action for the Redskins and nearly returned to the top of the league's leading rushers but it wasn't enough to beat Byner's former team the Browns as they downed the Skins 17-16.
Week 7 Scores
San Francisco 31, Atlanta 14
SF: 3-3, ATL: 1-5
-Joe Montana: 232 yards passing
L.A. Rams 24, San Diego 6
RAM: 4-2, SD: 4-3
-Willie Anderson: 6 rec, 178 yards
L.A. Raiders 24, Seattle 14
RAI: 7-0, SEA: 4-3
-Marcus Allen: 85 yards rushing
Minnesota 20, Phoenix 14
MIN: 5-2, PHX: 1-6
-Herschel Walker: 116 yards rushing
Philadelphia 28, New Orleans 14
PHI: 5-2, NO: 2-4
-Randall Cunningham: 225 yards passing
N.Y. Giants 21, Pittsburgh 6
NYG: 6-1, PIT: 3-3
-Giants: Win despite only 165 yards of offense
Miami 27, Kansas City 24
MIA: 6-1, KC: 2-5
-Mark Clayton: 6 rec, 153 yards
Cleveland 17, Washington 16
CLE: 4-2, WAS: 4-3
-Reggie Langhorne: 3 rec, 92 yards
Cincinnati 21, Dallas 14
CIN: 2-4, DAL: 3-4
-Troy Aikman: 35% comp pct, 2 int
Houston 30, N.Y. Jets 24 OT
HOU: 4-2, NYJ: 1-6
-Warren Moon: 270 yards passing
Buffalo 31, Indianapolis 23
BUF: 7-0, IND: 2-5
-Thurman Thomas: 109 yards rushing
Bye Weeks: Chicago (2-4), Denver (3-3), Detroit (2-4), Green Bay (1-5), New England (1-5), Tampa Bay (1-5)
Leaders thru Week 7
PASSING LEADERS
Rating
1. Phil Simms, 210.6
2. Dan Marino, 201.6
3. Jim Kelly, 171.5
Yards
1. Marino, 1727
2. Kelly, 1600
3. Joe Montana, 1486
Touchdowns
1. Marino, 21
2t. Simms, 16
2t. Kelly, 16
RECEIVING LEADERS
Receptions
1. Jerry Rice, 29
2t. Anthony Miller, 24
2t. Mark Duper, 24
Yards
1. Rice, 790
2. Duper, 657
3. Jay Novacek, 584
Touchdowns
1. Rice, 8
2t. Henry Ellard, 7
2t. James Lofton, 7
RUSHING LEADERS
Yards
1. Christian Okoye, 574
2. Earnest Byner, 572
3. Thurman Thomas, 570
Touchdowns
1. Marcus Allen, 10
2t. Many with 7
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Interceptions
1. Eddie Anderson, 6
2t. Many with 5
Sacks
1. Lawrence Taylor, 13
2. Chris Doleman, 11
3t. Many with 10
SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
Field Goals: Steve Christie, 9
Punting Avg: Mark Saxon, 51.1
Punt Return Avg: Henry Ellard, 12.8
Kick Return Avg: Chris Warren, 20.2
And then there was one. The Raiders suffered their first loss of the season in the Battle of Los Angeles to the Rams 35-31. Rams now improve to a surprising 5-2 and maintain their one game lead on the 49ers in the NFC West. The Bills hit the halfway point and their bye week undefeated as they cruised to another win over the Bengals. The Vikings blew out the Patriots 37-10 and continue their large lead the NFC Central.
Week 8 Scores
Buffalo 31, Cincinnati 14
BUF: 8-0, CIN: 2-5
-Thurman Thomas: 127 yards rushing
Indianapolis 28, N.Y. Jets 21
IND: 3-5, NYJ: 1-7
-Jeff George: 254 yards passing
Minnesota 37, New England 10
MIN: 6-2, NE: 1-6
-Anthony Carter: 6 rec, 158 yards
New Orleans 27, Tampa Bay 0
NO: 3-4, TB: 1-6
-Buccaneers: 78 yards of offense
Houston 35, Miami 14
HOU: 5-2, MIA: 6-2
-Warren Moon: 291 yards passing
Pittsburgh 14, Seattle 10
PIT: 4-3, SEA: 4-4
-Dave Krieg: 36% comp pct, 86 yards
Kansas City 31, Denver 20
KC: 3-5, DEN: 3-4
-Stephone Paige: 6 rec, 170 yards
L.A. Rams 35, L.A. Raiders 31
RAM: 5-2, RAI: 7-1
-Jim Everett: 309 yards passing
Phoenix 31, Atlanta 24
PHX: 2-6, ATL: 1-6
-Timm Rosenbach: 266 yards passing
San Francisco 28, Detroit 3
SF: 4-3, DET: 2-5
-Joe Montana: 252 yards passing
Cleveland 23, San Diego 20
CLE: 5-2, SD: 4-4
-Eric Metcalf: 5 rec, 115 yards
Chicago 28, Green Bay 17
CHI: 3-4, GB: 1-6
-Neal Anderson: 122 yards rushing
Bye Weeks: Dallas (3-4), N.Y. Giants (6-1), Philadelphia (5-2), Washington (4-3)
Leaders thru Week 8
PASSING LEADERS
Rating
1. Phil Simms, 210.6
2. Dan Marino, 197.5
3. Jim Kelly, 176.9
Yards
1. Marino, 1954
2. Kelly, 1771
3. Joe Montana, 1738
Touchdowns
1. Marino, 23
2t. Jim Everett, 18
2t. Kelly, 18
RECEIVING LEADERS
Receptions
1. Jerry Rice, 33
2. Anthony Miller, 27
3. Many tied with 26
Yards
1. Rice, 881
2. Duper, 709
3. James Lofton, 635
Touchdowns
1. Rice, 9
2t. Henry Ellard, 8
2t. James Lofton, 8
RUSHING LEADERS
Yards
1. Thurman Thomas, 697
2. Neal Anderson, 685
3. Christian Okoye, 657
Touchdowns
1. Marcus Allen, 10
2. Neal Anderson, 9
3t. Many tied with 8
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Interceptions
1. Joey Browner, 7
2t. Many with 6
Sacks
1t. Lawrence Taylor, 13
1t. Bruce Smith, 13
3t. Many tied with 12
SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
Field Goals: Steve Christie, 9
Punting Avg: Mark Saxon, 51.1
Punt Return Avg: Henry Ellard, 12.8
Kick Return Avg: Tim Brown; Danny Peebles, 19.2
So we're now down to just eight teams and no World Champions as the '80 Yankees smacked the '83 Orioles around in four games, outscoring the O's 37-15. The '87 Blue Jays blew the division title the last weekend of the 1987 season but they aren't blowing it here as they took care of the '88 Red Sox in five games. In the West both series ended in thrilling Game 6's. The '88 Twins eliminated the '86 Angels on a Kent Hrbek homerun in the top of the 10th off of Doug Corbett. Then in the most improbable moment of the tournament, Jerry Dybzinski (3 homeruns in 909 career at bats) of the '83 White Sox hit a walkoff homerun against Dan Quisenberry in the 13th inning to eliminate the '84 Royals. With the elimination of the '83 Orioles, the '85 Cardinals are now the only World Series team to still be alive in the tournament.
Stats are for all three rounds.
A.L. West Semi-Finals
(12) 1988 Minnesota Twins def. (9) 1986 California Angels 4-2
Game 1: Angels 3, Twins 0
Game 2: Twins 5, Angels 2
Game 3: Angels 14, Twins 3
Game 4: Twins 9, Angels 4
Game 5: Twins 6, Angels 1
Game 6: Twins 5, Angels 2 10 innings
Gary Gaetti: .364/.395/.649, 77 AB, 15 R, 28 H, 2 3B, 5 HR, 19 RBI
Tom Herr: .333/.402/.469, 81 AB, 15 R, 27 H, 5 2B, 10 BB, 4 SB
(6) 1983 Chicago White Sox def. (10) 1984 Kansas City Royals 4-2
Game 1: White Sox 4, Royals 2
Game 2: Royals 6, White Sox 0
Game 3: White Sox 6, Royals 3
Game 4: White Sox 15, Royals 2
Game 5: Royals 4, White Sox 3 10 innings
Game 6: White Sox 5, Royals 4 13 innings
Rudy Law: .361/.411/.542, 83 AB, 20 R, 30 H, 5 2B, 5 3B, 11 RBI, 14 SB
Harold Baines: .363/.386/.550, 80 AB, 12 R, 29 H, 4 HR, 21 RBI
A.L. East Semi-Finals
(13) 1987 Toronto Blue Jays def. (9) 1988 Boston Red Sox 4-1
Game 1: Blue Jays 6, Red Sox 5
Game 2: Blue Jays 3, Red Sox 1
Game 3: Blue Jays 9, Red Sox 1
Game 4: Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 5
Game 5: Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 4
Lloyd Moseby: .270/.353/.514, 74 AB, 14 R, 20 H, 5 HR, 15 RBI
Jimmy Key: 5-1, 2.73 ERA, 3 CG, 56 IP, 50 H, 17 ER, 12 BB, 32 SO
(6) 1980 New York Yankees def. (2) 1983 Baltimore Orioles 4-0
Game 1: Yankees 13, Orioles 10
Game 2: Yankees 10, Orioles 4
Game 3: Yankees 5, Orioles 1
Game 4: Yankees 9, Orioles 0
Reggie Jackson: .339/.413/.857, 56 AB, 15 R, 19 H, 9 HR, 14 RBI
Willie Randolph: .396/.500/.642, 53 AB, 15 R, 21 H, 6 2B, 12 RBI, 11 BB, 4 SB
A.L. West Finals
(12) '88 Twins vs. (6) '83 White Sox
A.L. East Finals
(13) '87 Blue Jays vs. (6) '80 Yankees
Up Next: N.L. Elite Eight
Without Bo Jackson the Raiders still remained undefeated after beating the surprisingly mediocre 49ers 21-14. The Bills also are still unscathed as they slaughtered the Bears 38-7. The Cardinals, Bucs, and Falcons all picked up their first wins of the season and now every team in the league has at least one win. The big performance of the week came from Mark Duper who scorched the Jets secondary for 217 yards receiving in the Dolphins' 31-21 win.
Week 5 Scores
L.A. Raiders 21, San Francisco 14
RAI: 5-0, SF: 2-3
-Marcus Allen: 88 yards rushing
Seattle 30, Indianapolis 14
SEA: 3-2, IND: 2-3
John L Williams: 236 total yards
Miami 31, N.Y. Jets 21
MIA: 4-1, NYJ: 1-4
-Mark Duper: 6 rec, 217 yards
Phoenix 28, New England 10
PHX: 1-4, NE: 1-4
-Johnny Johnson: 210 total yards
Denver 17, Minnesota 14 OT
DEN: 3-2, MIN: 3-2
-John Elway: 196 yards passing
San Diego 28, Kansas City 7
SD: 4-1, KC: 2-3
-Marion Butts: 137 yards rushing
Atlanta 28, New Orleans 27
ATL: 1-4, NO: 2-3
-Chris Miller: 237 yards passing
Washington 21, Philadelphia 14
WAS: 3-2, PHI: 3-2
-Art Monk: 5 rec, 143 yards
Buffalo 38, Chicago 7
BUF: 5-0, CHI: 2-3
-Jim Kelly: 285 yards passing
Tampa Bay 20, Detroit 17
TB: 1-4, DET: 2-3
-Vinny Testaverde: 216 yards passing
L.A. Rams 24, Green Bay 16
RAM: 3-2, GB: 1-4
Jim Everett: 179 yards passing
N.Y. Giants 24, Dallas 16
NYG: 4-1, DAL: 2-3
-Phil Simms: 210 yards passing
Bye Weeks: Cincinnati (1-3), Cleveland (2-2), Houston (2-2), Pittsburgh (2-2)
Leaders thru Week 5
PASSING LEADERS
Rating
1. Dan Marino, 219.1
2. Phil Simms, 205.6
3. Steve Walsh, 165.4
Yards
1. Marino, 1262
2. Joe Montana, 1254
3. Walsh, 1154
Touchdowns
1. Marino, 18
2t. Many with 12
RECEIVING LEADERS
Receptions
1. Jerry Rice, 26
2. Mark Duper, 19
3t. Many with 18
Yards
1. Rice, 680
2. Duper, 546
3. Art Monk, 480
Touchdowns
1. Rice, 7
2t. Many with 6
RUSHING LEADERS
Yards
1. Earnest Byner, 449
2. Thurman Thomas, 399
3. Bobby Humphrey, 392
Touchdowns
1t. Dalton Hilliard, 6
1t. Marcus Allen, 6
3t. Many with 5
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Interceptions
1t. Many with 4
Sacks
1. Lawrence Taylor, 13
2. Simon Fletcher, 8
3t. Many with 7
SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS
Field Goals: Steve Christie, 7
Punting Avg: Mark Saxon, 53.1
Punt Return Avg: Henry Ellard; Johnny Bailey, 13.0
Kick Return Avg: Chris Warren, 23.0
