COBB BRACKET
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| Jeter would lead team to titles in 96', 98'-00' & 2009! |
1998 New York Yankees (1)
Vs.
1969 New York Mets (16)
New York, New York! Keep spreading the word, it's Joe Torre and the 1998 Yankees (the peak of the late 90's dynasty) against the "Amazing Mets" of 1969 that upset the 1969 O's! Also take note that it won't be the first time Torre's bunch will have to play in a "subway series" (they played the Mets during the 2000 World Series).
The 1998 Yankees won the most games since the 1906 Cubs, and would outscore their opponents by 309 runs, with a league lead OPS of .828 and On-Base Percentage of .368. The team also hit 207 Home Runs, yet no player hit over 30 HRs -- showing off the balance of it's lineup that batted .288! The team also had speed with 153 steals and it's durable pitching boasted a league-best 3.82 ERA, while having one of the best closers ever to play the game in Mariano Rivera!
The 1969 Mets were simply amazing during the very first season of League Championship Series play, making their climb in the N.L. East, passing the Cubs (watch out for the black cat!), winning the division, defeating the N.L. West Champion Atlanta Braves, and then winning the impossible against the feared Baltimore Orioles! Yet, their team statistics batting-wise are nothing close to amazing... a team OPS of only .664! There are only 3 teams in the entire tournament with lower team OPS's and they are the 1914 Boston Braves, 1915 Philadelphia Phillies & 1917 Chicago White Sox -- all from the "dead-ball era"! The team's success is led by dynamic duo of arms in Tom Seaver (with his 25 league-leading wins, 2.21 ERA & 208 strikeouts) and Jerry Koosman (17-9, 2.28 ERA & 180 K's).
Starting pitching is where the Mets will match-up best with the Yankees, with their top three Seaver (A-X), Koosman (A-XZ) & Gary Gentry (B-Y) to the Yankees' top 3 of David Cone (B-XYZ), David Wells (B-YZ) and Andy Pettitte (C-Y) -- Keep in mind, the Yankees also have "El Duque" Orlando Hernandez (B-X) at his peak (plus you know how he loves the playoffs!)
PREDICTION: I would not be surprised to see the Mets win one game, the Yankees' bats would have to be cold against Seaver or Koosman... or Gentry pitches the game of his life as Pettitte gets beat early by clutch-hitting from a weak lineup (Cleon Jones and Tommie Agee are the only two Mets with OPS's over .800!) -- Otherwise, it was be the miracle of miracles for the Mets to get pass this force to be reckoned with.
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| Walter "The Big Train" Johnson |
1998 Houston Astros (8)
Vs.
1925 Washington Senators (9)
Fair enough on paper, this series doesn't shout excitement. In one corner, we have the 1998 Houston Astros (from one of the peak seasons of the steroid era, the year of the great HR chase) and in the other corner Walter Johnson, oh and the rest of the 1925 Washington Senators. Actually to be fair to the rest of the Senators that's the way we look at the 25' Senators, but let's not forget that Hall of Famers Goose Goslin and Sam Rice help lead the bats, along with stars Joe Judge, Joe Harris and Bucky Harris (no relation to Joe, and a HOF'er due to managing later in his career). Plus Walter Johnson (a APBA B-X) was actually fading into the twilight of his career with veteran (yet another Hall of Fame player) Stan Coveleski (B-Z) pacing the way with 20 victories.
The Astros are led by Jeff Bagwell (34 HR & 111 RBI) with two of the other "Killer B's" in Craig Biggio (.325, 20 HR & 50 steals) and Derek Bell (.314, 22 HR & 108 RBI). Plus Moises Alou would have a career year smashing 38 HR's and driving in 124 runs!
Both teams match up really well across the board:
- OPS (On-Base + Slugging): Astros (.795), Senators (.784)
- Stolen Bases: Senators (159), Astros (155)
- Home Runs: Astros (166), Senators (135)
- Earned Run Average: Astros (3.50), Senators (3.70)
PREDICTION: The difference will be the reason why the Astros will edge the Washington Senators in 5 games, and that is the fact that the Senators have no bullpen (The only guy is Fred Marberry, who is a B*-XW with 15 Saves & 3.47 ERA in 93 IP) compared to the Astros bullpen of Doug Henry (3.04 ERA), Trever Miller (3.04 ERA), C.J. Nitkowski (3.77) and... oh yeah, a guy named Billy Wagner, who got 30 Saves, while posting a 2.70 ERA.
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| No, that's not actor John C. Reilly -- It's Bill "Moose" Skowron of the Yankees. |
1961 New York Yankees (5)
Vs.
1991 Minnesota Twins (12)
What do the 1961 Yankees and 1991 Minnesota Twins have in common? The Washington Senators moved to Minneapolis and became the Minnesota Twins in 1961. Another 61' connection, being that Roger Maris of the Yankees in 1961 hit a record 61* HR's (during the expansion year, resulting in an asterisk).
The 61' Yankees were led by Maris & Mickey Mantle (who Mantle added 54 HRs & 128 RBI), with Elston Howard batting .348, 21 HR & 77 RBI (OPS of .936), and some help from first baseman Bill Skowron (.267, 28 HR & 89 RBI) and backup catcher Johnny Blanchard (21 HR & 54 RBI in only 243 at-bats!). The team not only led the majors with 240 HR's in 1961, but they have the most HRs among all of the teams in the tournament! The team has a respectable 3.47 ERA with a durable rotation led by Whitey Ford, and they have two strong relievers in Jim Coates and closer Luis Arroyo.
The 91' Twins are similar in OPS, trailing .767 to New York's .774 ; plus they have a far better amount in stolen bases with 107 (while the Yankees stole only 28!). The Twins though don't match-up as well in ERA, rotation and bullpen strength, while their biggest threat off the bench is Randy Bush (.303, 6 HR & 23 RBI in 165 AB's).
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| Kirby & Co, can only wish for photos like this! |
PREDICTION: Not one of Kirby Puckett's greatest seasons, as the two stars of the 91' team are Chili Davis and Shane Mack, and it's hard to imagine the Twins putting up much of a fight -- this will go at most four games, but I can see this going down as a sweep for the Yankees!
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| Rizzuto, Stengel, Billy Martin & Yogi during the 1950's. |
1953 New York Yankees (4)
Vs.
1971 Oakland Athletics (13)
The 1971 Athletics would be a prelude to their three-peat dynasty that would dominate from 1972-1974 (five straight LCS's from 1971-1975)! But for the 71' Athletics, it's much like Darth Vader said in The Empire Strikes Back "Most impressive... But you're not a Jedi Yet".
In this sense, Vader comes in the form of the 1953 New York Yankees -- The Yankees are led by Yogi Berra (who led the team with 27 HR & 108 RBI) and Mickey Mantle (.295, 21 & 92 RBI). The team also have unsung heroes in Joe Collins, Gene Woodling and Hank Bauer -- plus let's not forget Billy Martin (who would go on to manage both franchises at some point) and Phil Rizzuto. The Yankees ace is, once again Whitey Ford, with three other durable starters to the rotation in Vic Raschi, Ed Lopat, and Johnny Sain.
The Athletics' lineup is led by Hall of Fame slugger Reggie Jackson and third baseman Sal Bando, the rest of the lineup's bats are lukewarm at best! Occasional pop with from Rick Monday, Mike Epstein & Dave Duncan. Vida Blue (24-8, 1.82 ERA & 301 K's) outshines all pitchers in this series, with a grade of A&C-XY, but after Catfish Hunter's grade B-Y, the rotation drops to an abyss. The bullpen is pretty good with three B relievers (and two C's), but they are not going to be useful, if the Yankees balanced lineup takes the team out early. At best, the bullpen will be used if in the lead, and also by trying to keep the team in the game.
PREDICTION: Vida Blue may be able to help conger up a win for Oakland with that monster card of a season, so I'll give Oakland one win at best for this series.
*** To Be Continued / Part 2 of the Cobb Bracket Preview***
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