AARON BRACKET
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| "The Big Six" Christy Mathewson is featured twice in the tournament. |
1912 New York Giants (1)
Vs.
1971 San Francisco Giants (16)
They might be Giants?! Well, yes they are, but from two different coasts -- Christy Mathewson, Red Ames & Hooks Wiltse, all return for the 1912 New York Giants (all three were on the 1904 team that's in the Ruth Bracket) as they face off against Willie McCovey, (an aging) Willie Mays & the 1971 San Francisco Giants. The Giants also have Bobby Bonds (.288, 33 HR, 102 RBI & 26 SB's).
The New York version is the far superior team, almost 40 points higher in Batting Average (.286 to .247), almost 50 points higher in OPS (.755 to .709) , and has the most stolen bases for a team in tournament play with 319! The only thing the San Francisco squad have is almost 100 more HR's (140 to 47), but trail by almost 80 points in ERA for pitching.
Yes, Gaylord Perry (16-12, 2.76 ERA) & Juan Marichal (18-11, 2.94) is a great one-two punch, it wasn't their best seasons (still very respectable seasons) -- but they are facing Christy Mathewson & Rube Marquard.
PREDICTION: With all the spreads, I just don't see the San Francisco Giants having much of a chance against their New York counterparts of 1912; looking at a sweep here, maybe one win coming from Perry or Marichal.
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| The Need for Speed: Vince Coleman & Co. |
1985 St. Louis Cardinals (8)
Vs.
2002 Anaheim Angels (9)
It's Whitey Herzog's "Whitey Ball" Cardinals verses the 2002 Anaheim Angels and the "Rally Monkey" (Not to mention the thundersticks!). The Angels would storm back against the Giants in the 2002 World Series, while the Cardinals had to fight back (a bad call) and the Kansas City Royals in 1985.
The 1985 St. Louis Cardinals were built on speed, with five players over 30 stolen bases each! Vince Coleman led the league with 110 steals, while Willie McGee had 56, followed by Andy Van Slyke (34), Tom Herr (31) & Ozzie Smith (31); while pop was limited with Jack Clark leading the Cards with 22 HR's, followed by Van Slyke's 13 HR's were good enough for second on the team, with McGee's 10 & Darrell Porter's 10 (tied for 3rd). Tom Herr led the team in Runs Batted In with 110, despite only 8 HR's.
The Angels have more power than St.Louis, plus a bit of speed. The lineup was carried on the most part by Troy Glaus (.250, 30 HR & 111 RBI), Garret Anderson (.306, 29 HR & 123 RBI), and Tim Salmon (.286, 22 HR & 88 RBI). Unlike the Cards, the Angels had no players over 30 steals; the men who paced the base-paths were Darin Erstad (23 SB's), David Eckstein (21 SB's) & Adam Kennedy (17 SB's) -- but in comparison St. Louis had three times the steals, while Anaheim had twice the power.
The Angels had a better average, while both teams were near identical on On-Base Percentage. The Cards had a better ERA than Anaheim (3.10 to 3.69) and a much-better top three starters in their rotation, in fact I would say their top three didn't get enough credit for the team's success. John Tudor had a huge year in where he went 21-8, 1.93 ERA in 275 innings, while Joaquin Andujar also won 20 (21-12, 3.40 ERA) & Danny Cox went 18-9 with a 2.88 ERA. The Angels were anchored by Jarrod Washburn (18-6, 3.15 ERA), with Ramon Ortiz and Kevin Appier. Rookie John Lackey was emerging with a 9-4 record & 3.66 ERA in 108.1 IP. I would also say that St. Louis had a more balanced bullpen, and that the Angels' pen (like their team) all came together in time for October.
PREDICTION: I can see where pop can become an issue for the Cards, because teams without pop can find themselves out... if their bats aren't hot. But with their better pitching, and especially if they have their bats clicking, the Cardinals base runners will be imitating a merry-go-round in action. The Rally Monkey will do his best, but it's the Cards 3-2.
The 1985 St. Louis Cardinals were built on speed, with five players over 30 stolen bases each! Vince Coleman led the league with 110 steals, while Willie McGee had 56, followed by Andy Van Slyke (34), Tom Herr (31) & Ozzie Smith (31); while pop was limited with Jack Clark leading the Cards with 22 HR's, followed by Van Slyke's 13 HR's were good enough for second on the team, with McGee's 10 & Darrell Porter's 10 (tied for 3rd). Tom Herr led the team in Runs Batted In with 110, despite only 8 HR's.
The Angels have more power than St.Louis, plus a bit of speed. The lineup was carried on the most part by Troy Glaus (.250, 30 HR & 111 RBI), Garret Anderson (.306, 29 HR & 123 RBI), and Tim Salmon (.286, 22 HR & 88 RBI). Unlike the Cards, the Angels had no players over 30 steals; the men who paced the base-paths were Darin Erstad (23 SB's), David Eckstein (21 SB's) & Adam Kennedy (17 SB's) -- but in comparison St. Louis had three times the steals, while Anaheim had twice the power.
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| The famous Rally Monkey trying to get Halo fans excited! |
The Angels had a better average, while both teams were near identical on On-Base Percentage. The Cards had a better ERA than Anaheim (3.10 to 3.69) and a much-better top three starters in their rotation, in fact I would say their top three didn't get enough credit for the team's success. John Tudor had a huge year in where he went 21-8, 1.93 ERA in 275 innings, while Joaquin Andujar also won 20 (21-12, 3.40 ERA) & Danny Cox went 18-9 with a 2.88 ERA. The Angels were anchored by Jarrod Washburn (18-6, 3.15 ERA), with Ramon Ortiz and Kevin Appier. Rookie John Lackey was emerging with a 9-4 record & 3.66 ERA in 108.1 IP. I would also say that St. Louis had a more balanced bullpen, and that the Angels' pen (like their team) all came together in time for October.
PREDICTION: I can see where pop can become an issue for the Cards, because teams without pop can find themselves out... if their bats aren't hot. But with their better pitching, and especially if they have their bats clicking, the Cardinals base runners will be imitating a merry-go-round in action. The Rally Monkey will do his best, but it's the Cards 3-2.
1920 Cleveland Indians (5)
Vs.
1940 Cincinnati Reds (12)
The "Battle of Ohio" will take place in the first round between two World Champion teams, separated by two decades.
The 1920 Cleveland Indians are lead by Hall of Famers Tris Speaker and Stan Coveleski. They also have Ray Chapman (who would unfortunately meet his fate with a fastball that would kill him), Larry Gardner (.310, 3 HR & 118 RBI) & Elmer Smith (.316, 12 HR & 103 RBI).
The 1940 Cincinnati Reds have a bit more pop, led by Frank McCormick (.309, 19 HR & 127 RBI) with HOF catcher Ernie Lombardi (.319, 14 HR & 74 RBI). The team though pales in comparison to the Tribe in overall hitting when it comes to Batting Average (.303 to .266), On-Base Percentage (.376 to .327) & OPS (.793 to .706).
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| Derringer, Lombardi & Walters of Cincy. |
The rotations square up really well against each other, the Indians are carried by their top 3 (Coveleski, Jim Bagby & Ray Caldwell) while the Reds are carried by four (Bucky Walters, Paul Derringer, Junior Thompson & Jim Turner). The one concern for the Indians, might be their achillie's heel, while Cincy definitely has a better pen.
PREDICTION: In all hitting, the series sounds like all Cleveland, but I like Cincy's chances of getting to the Tribe's bullpen, and matching up well with the rotations. I'm picking the Reds in an upset, 3-2.
1953 Brooklyn Dodgers (4)
Vs.
1983 Baltimore Orioles (13)
The Brooklyn Dodgers were emerging in the 40's and became a force by the fifties, the decade would be a battleground in the 1950's between Brooklyn, the New York Yankees & New York Giants. Baltimore on the other hand was a franchise that flourished in the 60's & 70's, and overall was coming to an end, it's no coincidence that Manager Earl Weaver retired just prior to the 1983 World Championship team (the franchise's last hurrah!) -- The cool thing is that Baltimore's Cal Ripken, Jr. emerges and would give Baltimore fans reasons to cheer though a relatively quiet period when coming to championship contention.
In many ways the 1983 Baltimore Orioles can't match the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers' lineup, the Dodgers had 5 hitters over 90 RBI's (Baltimore had 2) -- three sluggers in Roy Campanella (.312, 41 HR & 142 RBI), Duke Snider (.336, 42 HR & 126 RBI) & Gil Hodges (.302, 31 HR & 122 RBI), while Jackie Robinson added 95 ribbies (batting .329), and Carl Furillo batted .344 with 21 HR's & 92 RBI! The Orioles had Ripken (.318, 27 HR & 102 RBI) and Eddie Murray .306, 33 HR & 111 RBI), with Ken Singleton (.276, 18 HR & 84 RBI) being the next best thing.
Baltimore has a better balanced pitching staff and ERA (3.63) to Brooklyn's 4.10 ERA; in fact there is only one team in the tournament with a higher ERA and that is the 4.16 ERA of the 1929 Chicago Cubs, another offensive juggernaut.
PREDICTION: The Dodgers offense is much better than Baltimore's, in which Baltimore's pitching isn't anything great -- plus Dodgers have 5 big sluggers to Baltimore's duo of Ripken & Murray. Dodgers will win 3-1.
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