The 1994 MLB Playoffs

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Ten years ago this week, Major League Baseball went on strike, eventually wiping out the season and the postseason as well. Now this is NOT a "who's responsible" thread. This thread is to ponder what might have been. What follows are the playoff matchups we would have seen had the Playoffs occured. Who would have won?

 

Montreal Expos vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

 

Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves

 

New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians

 

Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers

 

Thanks to the unbalanced schedule, we have a good idea of how good/bad teams really were, as opposed to the muddled records brought by the unbalanced schedule. I think the Dodgers and Rangers would be dispatched in short order. The Dodgers had a weak bullpen, and the Rangers had no pitching whatsoever.

 

I find the '94 Yankees interesting. Fans today bitch about their rotation. How about a postseason rotation containing Jim Abbott, Melido Perez, and Scott Kamieniecki? Still, the Yankees would have had an excellent matchup here. The Indians had only one lefty on the entire staff (Derek Lilliquist) to combat Paul O'Neill, Wade Boggs, and Don Mattingly. Moreover, the Yankees were 9-0 in the regular season against the Indians.

 

The Reds and the Braves are the best matchup. The Reds' hitting against the Braves' pitching. They're nearly equal in the standings, and they split the season series 5-5. Better yet, the teams made a challenge trade earlier in the season, Roberto Kelly for Deion Sanders.

 

I'm running a seven part series in my column starting next week, simulating one series per week.

[strummer 0]

All I remember is that the Expos were scary good that year. I believe they were 6 games ahead of Atlanta when the strike hit. Everyone in the New York media was predicting a Yankees/Expos World Series

[Guest Staravenger]

Funny how the ONE year the Montreal Expos are the greatets team, and the league goes on strike. That HAD to suck.

 

Really hard to think how this would've turned out from a Yankee fan POV. The starting rotation didn't look THAT impressive, and (arguably) their best player (Don Mattingly) was nearing the end of his career. But on the other hand, they had a young Paul O'Neill who I believe was leading the A.L. in batting average, and Wade Boggs was still playing good.

 

Hard to say anything though...

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

This was 10 years ago. Life has moved on.

 

And so will the Expos, shortly...

[Brett Favre 0]

Yanks/Expos World Series, with Paul O'Neill playing the best baseball of his life at the time.

[Fuzzy Dunlop 0]

One of their few good years, and the White Sox owner actually voted in favor of the strike.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Has Reinsdorf EVER done ANYTHING smart? The guy is some sort of self-loathing owner.

[treble 0]

This is going to be depressing.

[Guest Anglesault]

There was no legitimate reason to mention Melido Perez's name.

[Slayer 0]

Much as I love the Reds, I think a theoretic 1994 postseason meeting wouldn't have been much different from the actual 1995 postseason meeting when Atlanta swept Cincy in the NLCS

[2GOLD 0]

That was a shame.

 

It was the Expos last gasp and they were smothered to death by a strike.

 

Like getting your head above water in the ocean then a plane falling on your head and shoving you to the ocean floor.

[Guest Rrrsh]

I think the Yanks would have won, but that would have been the best series. Both teams have some questionable SP's and lots of hitter.

 

 

Texas would have whooped Chicago

 

Montreal would have won, but not by as much as most think.

 

 

I think The Braves owudl have prevailed, but it would have been close.

 

 

I would say an Expo's/Yanks series as well, but I think the Indians would have really had a good shot to beat NY. More than either Texas or Chicago.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Texas would have whooped Chicago

 

Care to provide an explanation? That's a bold statement to make about a sub-.500 team.

[Guest Rrrsh]

Chicago's team was filled with "flavor of the month" pitchers. They would have crumbeled in the playoffs. Plus I think Hanke still had some gas left in the tank with a very dangerous Kevin Brown and Pudge wainting to break out on a big stage.

[sfaJack 0]

Jesus...the Rangers were 52-62 when the strike hit. They were NOT a good team. The White Sox would have wiped them out.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Chicago's team was filled with "flavor of the month" pitchers. They would have crumbeled in the playoffs.

 

Let's see. McDowell did pitch poorly in the playoffs in his career, so you've got a point there. Alvarez pitched well the year before in the playoffs, however, so I see no reason he'd crumble. Alex Fernandez pitched well in the postseason as well.

 

Meanwhile, Texas had NO rotation depth outside Brown and Rogers. At some point, they would have to put Hector Fajardo or Roger Pavlik on the mound. If Brown and Rogers don't give them a 2-0 lead, they're fucked.

 

Plus I think Hanke still had some gas left in the tank with a very dangerous Kevin Brown and Pudge wainting to break out on a big stage.

 

Henke doesn't help unless you keep it close. Kevin Brown would only get two starts (and that's if it goes five games), and Pudge only gets 4 at bats a game.

 

I won't deny that the Rangers had their strengths. But they ranked dead last in pitching. That sort of thing tends to bite you in the ass when you make the Playoffs.

[Guest Rrrsh]

I think Texas had shitty depth, but Ill Take Rogers and Brown over Alvarez and Fernandez striaght up. Plus Hanke was better than Hernandez as a closer.

[Bored 0]

Kevin Brown and Kenny Rogers for their career sure you'd take them. But for 1994 Alvarez and Fernandez were much better than Brown and Rogers. In fact Brown did not have a good season at all in 1994 posting an ERA near 5. Also the White Sox #4 starter that year, Jason Bere, was better than both of them.

[Guest Rrrsh]

Bere was one of those flavor of the months I was refering too.

 

 

Brown broke out shortly after 1994, and I feel that this series would be the perfect palce for that to happen.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Even if Brown breaks out and wins game one, the Rangers have to win two more. Kenny Rogers would pitch game two, and as we saw from the Mets, he could get shaky in the Playoffs. If they are not up 2-0, the Rangers would be in serious trouble. Fajardo and Pavlik versus Bere and Fernandez? And keep in mind games three, four and five are in Chicago.

 

I just find it very unlikely that a sub-.500 team would beat a team 15 wins better because one pitcher was due to break out.

[Guest Anglesault]

Even if Brown breaks out and wins game one, the Rangers have to win two more. Kenny Rogers would pitch game two, and as we saw from the Mets, he could get shaky in the Playoffs.

The Mets showed you that? You do realize how close Kenny came to being what Jeff Weaver is now in 1996, right? The Yankees won that year despite The gambler's best efforts against it.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Damn. I hadn't even looked. An 8.85 career postseason ERA? The Rangers better have hoped Kevin Brown can start five games in the series.

[phoenixrising 0]

The only knock on the Expos might be lack of postseason experience, I don't think any of their players had been to the postseason, of course most of their players were young. Other than that, they had the best team in baseball, and I think they would take the World Series.

 

The AL team would be the Yankees, but I think Cleveland had the potential to knock them off, I remember Cleveland suddenly got red-hot before the strike hit, they probably would have passed up Chicago had they been able to play the full slate.

[Guest Olympic Slam]

Felipe Alou did a great job in the early/mid 90's with the Expos. Year after year they would lose talented players yet still, somehow find a way to remain competitive.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Montreal wins, since no other team imo was all that great.

 

My favorite memories and what might have been was how many RBI's would Kirby Puckett get, and what kind of numbers would Jeff Bagwell put up.

 

Please not Tony Gwyn while one the greatest hitters ever, was not going to hit .400, nor would he be within 20 points.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

My favorite memories and what might have been was how many RBI's would Kirby Puckett get, and what kind of numbers would Jeff Bagwell put up.

 

Bagwell would've put up the same numbers. He broke his hand on August 10.

[The Man in Blak 0]

Yanks/Expos World Series, with Paul O'Neill playing the best baseball of his life at the time.

If you want to talk about people with ridiculous lines during 1994, Albert Belle should probably be first on the list, as he was hitting .357/.438/.714 with 36 HR, 90 runs scored, and 101 RBIs in 412 at-bats.

 

Cleveland probably could have pushed New York a lot more than people would think, as the Yankees and the Indians were right next to each other in staff ERA and runs scored.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Cleveland had a good team that year, but the matchup is really bad. I looked over the Indians' roster and saw no lefties, while the Yankees had left-handed hitting out their ears. And then I checked Retrosheet to check out the season matchup. The Yankees beat the Indians nine times in a row.

 

If you want to talk about people with ridiculous lines during 1994, Albert Belle should probably be first on the list, as he was hitting .357/.438/.714 with 36 HR, 90 runs scored, and 101 RBIs in 412 at-bats.

 

Heck, Frank Thomas had a 353/487/729 line going. And Greg Maddux deserves credit for posting a 1.56 ERA in the middle of an offensive boom.

[smh810 0]

I definitely think 1994 would have been the White Sox's year. They had the total package, good starting pitching, GREAT hitting, and a very solid bullpen. Montreal as good as they were just smelled like a September swoon team for me and I think the Braves would have eventually caught them. (with that said, the Expos would still be the Wild Card anyway). The Yankees, Indians, and especially the very weak Rangers and Dodgers were short on pitching. So to sum it up it would have been the Braves and White Sox in the World Series with Chicago winning in 5 or 6 games IMO.

[CanadianChris 0]

I remember shortly after the strike happened, one of the sports news shows ran a simulation of the playoffs in place of the actual playoffs, and it had the Expos beating the Yankees in 7.

 

*sigh*