1993 N.L. Championship Series Replay (Game 7)

GAME 7

On the mound: The Atlanta Braves send Tom Glavine (Grade B) to face off against the Philadelphia Phillies' Terry Mulholland (Grade B-YZ). Mulholland was brilliant in a complete game victory in Game 3, allowing only 1 run & 4 hits (Glavine allowed 4 ER through 5 IP).

Top of the 2nd: After striking out Terry Pendleton for his 3rd strikeout (through first 6 batters) in the game already, and 2nd out of the inning, the Phillies' Terry Mulholland looked like he was in complete control, until Damon Berryhill smacked a mistake pitch over the right field wall [Berryhill rolled a 66-0, 11-1].

Top of the 3rd: The Phillies almost had themselves a quick 1-2-3 inning, but suddenly appeared to be heading for some trouble, when Jeff Blauser reached on a fielding error by second baseman Mariano Duncan & a single by Ron Gant. Not good when the next two batters in the lineup were Fred McGriff (4 HR in NLCS) and David Justice (3 HR in NLCS). McGriff would fly out though. Braves still lead 1-0.

Top of the 6th: The Braves' Ron Gant leads off the inning by drawing a walk. Fred McGriff grounds out to third, while Gant advances to second. With one out, and David Justice stepping up to the plate, the Phillies elect to intentionally walk Justice in favor to face Terry Pendleton (.272 hitter with low .718 OPS), who has hit into 18 double plays during the 1993 MLB Season. Pendleton strikes out, while Damon Berryhill reaches on a infield single [25-9]. Bases loaded for Mark Lemke, [31-14, 2 balls, 16-28], hits into a 6-4 fielder's choice. It's still a tense, 1-0 Atlanta lead.

Bottom of the 7th: Dave Hollins breaks up Tom Glavine's no-hit bid [33-6], with a lead-off double. Braves' Pitching Coach Leo Mazzone calls down to the Braves' pen to get some arms ready. Glavine then walks Darren Daulton [64-14]. Mazzone will come out to talk to Glavine. Pete Incaviglia stands outside of the batter's box...

As a APBA strategist, we would probably run for the bullpen cards with some of those control Z's that Atlanta has, but I want to approach this realistically that Jay Howell and Steve Bedrosian would still be getting ready. The team may have had some relievers stretch their arms a bit, but Tom Glavine was rolling with a no-hitter, with 3 walks entering the 6th. So we are going to take a chance against Incaviglia, hoping for a strikeout or double play. In APBA Tournament play, I would already be placing Jay Howell's Grade A*-YZ card down.

Leo heads back to the dugout, Berryhill squats waiting for the pitch, Glavine delivers... Incaviglia bops it to left, but it's caught by Gant, one out. Glavine would get Wes Chamberlain to also fly out for the second out...

Now the APBA strategist takes over...

Braves' Manager Bobby Cox comes out, and asks the ball from Tom Glavine. The Braves' faithful that happened to make it to Veterans Stadium is all on their feet, giving Glavine a well-deserved standing ovation. Jay Howell will face Kevin Stocker, who batted .324 as a rookie this season through 70 games. Stocker also had an outstanding on-base percentage of .409.

My thought is that with runners on 1st & 2nd, Stocker will beat either Glavine or Howell with result '7' which Stocker has with a dice-roll 22, 33, 44 & 55, while he can also beat either pitcher with a dice-roll 11-6, or 66-0... but Howell has a chance to beat his result '9's in this situation, where as Glavine would have allowed an infield single that loaded the bases, while Phillies would call on a bench option to hit for the pitcher.

Jay Howell delivers the pitch, Stocker [66-0, 21-2-5 on double-columns] smacks it down the right field line, one will score, another will score, as Stocker makes it all the way to third on a triple! The Phillies lead 2-1, and want to add another run as they elect to pinch-hit for Mulholland. This move by Cox will certainly be second-guessed. The Phillies' Todd Pratt [11-5, 22-6, 33-5, 66-1, single-column card] steps up to the plate, with two outs. Howell with the pitch, this one is lifted, it's off the wall, Stocker scores! [Pratt rolled a 33-5]. Howell gets Lenny Dykstra to ground out to third, but it's all too late, as the Phillies now lead 3-1, and are 6 outs away from playing in the 1993 World Series.

Top of the 8th: The Phillies call on reliever David West for his 5th appearance in the series, as he has not allowed a run in 3.1 innings of work. Jim Eisenreich takes over in left, as a defensive replacement for Pete Incaviglia. For the first time tonight, Ron Gant (2 singles, BB) doesn't reach base safely, as he flies out. Fred McGriff draws a walk [53-37-37]. Last time, the Phillies intentionally walked David Justice, but this time they do, as West strikes him out, two outs. Terry Pendleton would also strike out.

Bottom of the 8th: The Braves are forced to send Jay Howell out there for at least one inning. Mariano Duncan grounds out to second for out number one. John Kruk reaches safely on a fielding error by Braves shortstop Jeff Blauser. Dave Hollins [33-6] smacks a double over first, sending Kruk to third. With runners on 2nd & 3rd, Darren Daulton strikes out [36-12] for the second out. Jim Eisenreich works the count to a walk. Bases loaded, Wes Chamberlain sees his pitch, big swing, but comes up empty by striking out.

Top of the 9th: The Phillies call on their closer, Mitch Williams. Damon Berryhill grounds out to short for out number one. Bobby Cox will have Bill Pecota pinch-hit for Mark Lemke. Lemke is only batting 1-for-16 (.063) this series, and although Pecota is 0-for-5, with a sac fly RBI -- Pecota did bat .323 in pinch-hitting duty this season. Pecota strikes out, as the Phillies are one out away from finishing this thing. Sid Bream will come off the bench to pinch-hit in the pitcher's slot. Williams sets, delivers... [26-29] Bream strikes out!

The Philadelphia Phillies are your 1993 National League Champions!!!

The Phillies got all 4 of their hits late, but they made them count, none bigger than Kevin Stocker's two-out, two-run triple that took the lead.

• John Kruk (PHI): batted 10-for-21 (.476) w/ 7 bases on balls, with 4 RBI & 2 SB's /.607 OBP.
• Curt Schilling (PHI): 1-0, 0.56 ERA, 18 K / 4 BB, 6 H (16 IP) with a .625 WHIP.
• Terry Mulholland (PHI): 2-0, 1.13 ERA, 7 K / 4 BB, 9 H (16 IP) with a .813 WHIP.
• Pete Incaviglia (PHI): 3 HR (4-for-17, .235)
• Fred McGriff (ATL): 4 HR (5-for-27, .185)
• David Justice (ATL): 3 HR (7-for-23, .304)
• Greg Maddux (ATL): 1-1, 2.81 ERA, 15 K / 8 BB, 9 H (16 IP) with 1.063 WHIP.

I have to say, I am still going to have to go with John Kruk as the series' Most Valuable Player, he got on base over 60% of the time, while also collecting 10 hits, 7 walks, 4 RBI & 2 steals. Plus Mulholland kind of splits up Schilling's votes there, he didn't do much worse.

Recap of 1993 N.L. Championship Series Replay

Prior to the series, I was expecting this game to go 6-7 games, and why not? Both teams in real life went 6 games, both have strengths in many areas, while both have versatile teams. So it was quite a surprise when the Philadelphia Phillies were making quick work of the Atlanta Braves in Games 1-thru-3... It was so bad, if you told me that we would get this series back to a competitive one, and all tied up, I would have told you that you were crazy.

The Braves looked lousy, while totaling 9 hits in the first 3 games combined. The Phillies' John Kruk, at one point had 6 hits through Games 1-2, while the Braves only had 5 hits!

So a quick recap...

Game 4 was looking much the same, the Phillies jumped out early on John Smoltz, scoring 4 runs in the 2nd inning, making it a short night for Smoltzie. Down 4-1, with 2 outs during the bottom of the 4th, Fred McGriff would hit a grounder to rookie Kevin Stocker, who bobbled it, as McGriff reached safely on a error. Terry Pendleton followed with a single, then David Justice clobbered a three-run home run off Danny Jackson to suddenly make it a 4-4 tie.

That wacky Game 4 would go on to see 5 lead changes, while both teams had leads of 3+ runs at one point. Phillies with their 4-0 lead after the top of the 2nd, while the Braves led 8-5 after 4 innings -- That Braves' 8-5 lead was the first lead Atlanta had all series. It would be an 8th inning RBI single by Ron Gant off of Philadelphia reliever Larry Andersen during the bottom of the 8th that would, along with Greg McMichael's 9th inning save, secure Atlanta's first victory.

The next night, both Curt Schilling (Grade C-XZ) and Steve Avery (Grade B-YZ) provided strong pitching performances for the ball clubs. Avery's big mistake was the two-run homer by Pete Incaviglia during the 2nd inning. Schilling would exit after 7 innings (5 H, 1 ER, 8 K, no walks). Schilling was still a Grade C-XZ, if he stayed in and pitched a scoreless 8th, than he would have had a grade advancement to Grade B-XZ, but felt going to David West (Grade A*-XYW) with a 2-1 lead in the 8th was the better decision. West would do his part, by striking out pinch-hitter Sid Bream and Ron Gant....

Mitch Williams, doing his part? Not so much. Bottom of the 9th, Williams would allow a lead-off single to Fred McGriff, followed by a game-tying RBI triple by David Justice. Still with no outs, Terry Pendleton delivers the walk-off win.

Curt Schilling was only 6 outs away from probably earning the 1993 NLCS Most Valuable Player Award, in which he would have been 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA, 18 strikeouts & 4 walks through 16 innings of work. It should be noted that Schilling actually won that award in real life.

The walk-off win set up the Braves to have their ace Greg Maddux pitch in Game 6. The Phillies' Tommy Greene showed he was no slouch, by going 8 innings, striking out 11 Braves, while only allowing 6 hits, 2 earned runs & 2 walks.

The only problem was that Maddux was even better, allowing only 2 hits & 1 earned run (during the 9th), while striking out 7, walking 4. The Phillies' bats could only manage 2 hits, both by Dave Hollins. The Braves' David Justice padded the Braves 3-0 lead with his 3rd HR of the series, a solo home run during the 4th inning. Game 6 would be the first game that John Kruk did not log a hit, he has 10 hits this series, batting .526 while he has reached base on 6 walks as well.

One more thing, the Braves have John Smoltz (Grade B-X) as a bullpen option if need-be, up to this point in his career, Smoltz has never come out of the bullpen since being called up by the Braves in 1988. Smoltz only pitched 2 innings in Game 4, four days ago (3 days rest).

So it all comes down to this, after the Braves trailed 0-3, the series is tied 3-3.


Game 7 - Christmas Day

Raising Hal (OAK Dynasty / 1975 Trade Deadline)

Hal McRae joins Oakland.

As you all know I have been doing an alternate history of the great Oakland Athletics dynasty in the early-to-mid 1970's. My goal is to continue the dynasty as long as I possibly can for the Oakland fans, who have since wondered "What if..."

It's July 29th, 1975, and I have the Oakland Athletics sitting on a 69-35 record with a comfortable lead over the 2nd place California Angels who are sitting 11.5 games back. Oakland is on pace for 107 wins, and with the trade deadline just a couple days away, I really only need to add maybe another bullpen arm.

I wasn't going to do anything major, but when I was looking at the players placed on the teams' trading blocks, one player caught my eye... Hal McRae.

With the Kansas City Royals going nowhere in 1975 (40-62), McRae, at age 29, is having another solid year, following his breakout 1974 campaign. McRae is an on-base machine, and although my Oakland team has been cruising (mainly due to its solid rotation), the lineup could use a player like McRae, who has solid contact and gap power. McRae also has plenty in his career tank, considering he did most of his career damage in his 30's.

I started placing players in the trade queue that the Royals may want, and they were immediately fine with a one-for-one, with Claudell Washington being that option. I was initially going to offer both Washington & Dan Ford for McRae -- So I offered both for McRae and prospects Rich Gale (SP) and Sheldon Mallory (1B/OF). Deal done... Royals get two ready to play outfielders in Washington & Ford, while I can plug McRae at DH in the #2 slot of the lineup.

It's also a good thing that I voided the preseason deal (that owner Charles Finley did) that involved Ford, so that he could be a valuable trade chip in this deal.

I take the risk of losing a little depth, but I feel pretty confident that Lee Lacy (for this season, at least) will be able to hold down the fort in left (filling in for the Washington void). This may also open up some playing time for Chet Lemon (backup CF, OF), who has played very little so far during this 1975 season. Lemon, was originally drafted by Oakland in the 1st Round of the 1972 MLB June Amateur Draft.

I needed to add another bullpen arm to that of Rollie Fingers, Dave Hamilton & Jim Todd. Bob Locker & Darold Knowles have had limited innings, while Paul Lindblad has an ERA just short of 5.00, and has now been limited to a left-handed specialist.

Oakland would end up trading RP-Paul Lindblad along with 3 prospects (RF-Derek Bryant, RP-Timothy Juran & C-Michael Rodriguez) to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for their closer Bill Campbell. Campbell will serve as the 7th Inning-or-later setup man to Rollie.

We'll see if this puts Oakland over the top, time can only tell.


Other Divisions outlooks...

• The Baltimore Orioles lead the A.L. East with a 62-41 record, 6 games ahead of the New York Yankees & 8.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians.

• The N.L. East is a four-team race with the Montreal Expos (57-44), St. Louis Cardinals (57-45, 0.5 GB), Pittsburgh Pirates (56-46, 1 GB) & the Philadelphia Phillies (53-51, 5.5 GB). Montreal has won 7 straight games. 

• The Big Red Machine owns a 65-39 record in 1st place, while the San Francisco Giants are 3.5 games back with a 62-43 record. The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the rearview mirror at 56-48 (9 GB).

Oakland Dynasty: A's Solid in 1st Half of 1975

This is my 2nd post on the Oakland Athletics dynasty from the 1970's. As you may know, from reading the first post that I decided to take over the Athletics coming off the heals of their three-peat championship parade. I was curious of what could have been for this dynasty that could have accomplished even more if it were not for their owner Charles Finley.

I did some of the following to avoid Finley's path...

• Catfish Hunter got paid on time, which did not void his contract, which in part did not make him a free agent or New York Yankee. Hunter is still Oakland's ace.

• The Athletics still have some of their prospects that were dealt off by Finley in Chet Lemon, Dan Ford & Manny Trillo.

• The Athletics also held onto relievers Darold Knowles and Bob Locker, plus other pieces that makes this team a more solid bunch.

All these moves have contributed to an excellent 1st half for the 1975 MLB Season. I of course have done this quick simulation with an administrative eye with the great help of Out of the Park Baseball 20... Doing this with APBA Baseball cards would take forever, while BBW could have done the simulation part, I feel OOTP is definitely more accurate.

As of July 4th, the Athletics were sitting 10 games ahead of the California Angels at 56-25, on pace for a 112 win season. The rotation as predicted has been outstanding...

• Catfish Hunter: 10-4, 2.08 ERA, 75 K & 1.048 WHIP in 147 innings (18 starts).
• Vida Blue: 11-5, 2.24 ERA, 91 K & & 1.046 WHIP in 136.2 innings (18 starts).
• Ken Holtzman: 13-2, 2.62 ERA, 44 K & 1.113 WHIP in 130.1 innings (17 starts).
• Glenn Abbott: 10-2, 2.73 ERA, 27 K & 1.202 WHIP in 99 innings (13 starts).

Dick Bosman has been the only starter in the rotation that has not done well, posting a 5-7 record with a 4.71 ERA & 1.342 WHIP. Bosman is leading the bunch by allowing 11 HR so far, which is not incredibly bad, and may have a lot to do with the inflated ERA. Holtzman has only allowed 1 HR during his 130.1 innings, which is pretty incredible.

At the beginning of the season, the middle of the lineup was struggling, so I moved up Phil Garner who was batting 7th, who was hitting .369 in mid-May, moving everyone like Sal Bando (to 3rd slot), Joe Rudi (to cleanup) & Reggie Jackson, who only had a .500 OPS at the time, to the 5th slot. Since the lineup adjustment, the lineup came alive, and the team gained some separation from the Angels. Reggie started to slug away, while his average climbed from .200 to .254, while his 16 HR ranks among the home run leaders. Garner has cooled off slightly, but is still batting .300 at the moment. I may have to make a new adjustment though with Sal Bando only batting .222 in the 3rd slot, I believe I may move him down to the 5th slot, making Rudi the #3 hitter once again, with Reggie batting in his natural cleanup slot.

I decided to go with the following, for the remainder of the month...

The bullpen has been pretty strong between Rollie Fingers (16 SV, 1.65 ERA), Dave Hamilton (1.72 ERA, 15.2 innings) & Jim Todd (2.90 ERA, 31 IP). Paul Lindblad has a 4.03 ERA with 22.1 innings, while Darold Knowles and Bob Locker has had limited appearances so far. I think the bullpen has plenty in the tank, thanks to a strong rotation.

Around the rest of the league...

• The New York Yankees, who were predicted to win the A.L. East with 109 wins, are sitting at a disappointing 40-39 record in 3rd place -- 6 games back of the 1st place Baltimore Orioles.

• The Cleveland Indians (39-36) have been a surprise early on, led by a decent rotation (The Perry brothers, Jim Kern & rookie Dennis Eckersley) & A.L. home run leader Oscar Gamble, who is hitting .335 with 27 HR & 58 RBI (1.089 OPS) -- who is likely the early favorite for the Most Valuable Player Award.

• The N.L. East has the closest division race at the moment with the Montreal Expos (46-33), St. Louis Cardinals (44-35, 2 GB) & Pittsburgh Pirates (43-36, 3 GB). Part of Montreal's surprise is acquiring Phil Niekro (traded for C-Larry Johnson, OF-Bombo Rivera & SS-Gary Gingrich) & Dave McNally (10-10, 3.47 ERA) pitching better than he actually did in 1975. 

• The Kansas City Royals have the worst record in all of baseball at 29-54 (.358) compared to that in real-life, in which the Royals finished 2nd in the A.L. West with 91 wins that season.

• The Cincinnati Reds (52-29) currently are the hottest team in baseball with 8 straight wins, while they hold a 3.5 game lead over the San Francisco Giants.

Oakland has at different points in the season received interesting offers, with Milwaukee offering Hank Aaron & Cincinnati offering George Foster, but neither trade was worth what they were asking for.

The remainder of the season should be fun, I'll keep you posted.

*86* Charles Finley

I caught the tail end of the "The Swingin' A's" MLB Network Special, and was left wondering what if Charles Finley kept the band together? How many more World Series titles, would Oakland have won? and could they have kept their winning ways going with free agency biting at its heels?

Thankfully with Out of the Park 20, I can find this out quickly through a simulation. I will conduct the day-to-day operations of the Oakland Athletics, and see if I can keep them rolling. It might not take away the frustrations of a die-hard Oakland fan, but it could give them a little satisfaction, if not smile at least.

So I decided to take over the franchise on the heels of their 3rd consecutive World Series title. Unfortunately, the game wanted me to start at March 1st, 1975, which means that I had to go edit Catfish Hunter back on to the Athletics. I also nullified part of the deal that sent OF-Dan Ford and minor league reliever Dennis Myers to Minnesota for a guy who never plays another game in the Majors in first baseman Pat Bourque. Myers will stay in Oakland in exchange for Bourque, so Minnesota gets something out of it, maybe I'll throw in a player to be named later into the deal later.

Also I nullified the trade acquisition of acquiring OF-Billy Williams, in exchange for two relievers in Darold Knowles and Bob Locker that give good depth to the bullpen, plus prospect IF-Manny Trillo.

I'll put an asterisk, next to a transaction if I duplicate a transaction that happened in real life..

• March 1st, 1975 - Oakland traded SP-Blue Moon Odom to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for SP-Dick Bosman & minor league catcher Kris Yoder.
• Placed CF-Chet Lemon on 40-man Roster.
• March 4th, 1975 - Oakland traded prospect OF-Ike Bessitt to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for OF-Bobby Molinaro.
• March 6th, 1975 - Oakland releases IF-Dick Green*.
• March 6th, 1975 - California claims C/1B- Charlie Sands.
• March 23rd, 1975 - Oakland traded SS-Rich McKinney, prospects OF-Dwayne Murphy & SP-Mike Norris to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for OF-Lee Lacy & prospect SS-Ivan DeJesus. 
• March 28th, 1975 - Oakland released OF-Jesus Alou*.
• April 6th, 1975 - Oakland traded OF-Champ Summers & cash to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for pitcher Jim Todd*.

1975 OPENING DAY LINEUP

PITCHING STAFF

1975 OAKLAND COMPLETE ROSTER

C/1B- Gene Tenace

C- Ray Fosse

1B/LF- Joe Rudi

1B- Jim Holt

2B- Phil Garner

2B/IF- Ted Kubiak

SS- Bert Campaneris

SS/2B- Tony Sandt

3B- Sal Bando

LF- Claudell Washington

CF- Bill North

CF- Chet Lemon

RF- Reggie Jackson

DH/RF- Dan Ford

DH/LF- Lee Lacy

SP- Catfish Hunter

SP- Vida Blue

SP- Ken Holtzman

SP- Dick Bosman

SP- Glenn Abbott

RP- Jim Todd

RP- Dave Hamilton

RP- Bob Locker

RP- Paul Lindblad

RP- Darold Knowles

CP- Rollie Fingers

On the Farm

3B- Wayne Gross

SS- Ivan de Jesus

RP- Brian Kingman

OF- Denny Walling

IF- Manny Trillo

OF- Gary Woods

RP- Bob Lacey

SP- Steve McCatty

The Blame Game

It's that time of year again, when everyone loses their damn minds...

Over the holiday season madness?

Nope...

Over the fact that some team's owner (competing with other owners) was willing to shell out the money to a big free agent, signing him to a pricey, long-term deal, all in an attempt to make his team better, or to compete against the other teams. The deal is announced to the press, in which the average baseball fan screams bloody murder, saying things like the contracts are getting ridiculous, and that the players are just downright greedy. This complaint often seems to come from the fan born before 1970, while fans even younger than myself seem to have a more understanding about the times, and feel the product should be paid.

My question to the old school is this...
Are you saying if you are offered more money, even if seems to be more than enough, you wouldn't take it?

Of course you would...
and if you say you wouldn't, well my friend, you are lying.

I wish that we lived in a world that our teachers, police, surgeons and military are paid more than they are actually paid. I served in the United States Navy from 1996 through 2000, and worked alongside other veterans from the other branches of the government, and knew cases where military families were depending on food stamps, and this was before the recession.

We unfortunately don't live in that world. We do live in a world where there everyone is judged on everything by everyone, and that regardless of what they do, they are never going to make anyone happy.

We live in a world where fat-cat CEO's make millions-upon-millions-upon-millions for running pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and cooperate giants such as Wal-Mart. Companies like Wal-Mart have found ways to cut corners, gain more money, by cutting their payroll and staff. Wal-Mart claims to supply more jobs than any U.S. company, well that's not difficult to do as a overall number when you have the most locations of any company (not counting fast food joints)... but the truth of the matter is that each of their individual stores have cut staff all across the board, and through the years have cut tons of the benefits that employees used to earn. The Wal-Mart of 30 years ago, is a far cry from the Wal-Mart of today... Believe me, Sam Walton is rolling in his grave.

My point is that these companies have financially raped their workers, while companies like Spectrum have financially raped their customers by cornering the cable media market. So my point is that these CEO's and top pinnacles of these companies are saturated with the wealth, and have so much wealth that they couldn't piss it away if they tried. Not to mention all the questionable mergers, or that we allow companies to corner markets, or the simple fact that these rich bastards don't pay squat when it comes to taxes, and yet most Americans seem to look the other way from all this....

... but the moment a baseball player, who is out there keeping us entertained, signs a big deal netting him millions, everyone loses it.

Fans frown on the fact that these players are making $27-$33 million a year, meanwhile the average movie star is making that much per film, and some of these actors will put out 5-to-7 films out on a year. Take in the fact, that we are talking about today's Hollywood, which has milked the nostalgia machine by doing nothing but sequels and reboots, while most of them have been really good. Hollywood got lazy. I'm sorry, but I rather shell out the money for a baseball game, than pay for an overprice movie any day of the week, plus I'm happy whether my team wins or loses, because I still had fun at the game, while with the movies, you are most often going to end up seeing a flop.

The fact of the matter is that the players have earned it. The owners have had no problems trying to outbid one another for the prize that may put them over the top.

During the last 3 seasons, the New York Yankees have not been able to move beyond the American League Championship Series. The Yankees' biggest obstacle has been the Houston Astros, who have defeated the Yankees during the 2017 & 2019 ALCS -- taking both series to at least 6 games. The Yankees' 2019 roadblock happened to be Gerrit Cole, if it were not for Cole, the Yankees could have moved on to the World Series.

So what did the Yankees do?

They signed the lifelong Yankees fan Gerrit Cole, to a worthy long-term deal, which now gives them the likely edge against the Houston Astros. To be the best, New York has to beat the best (Houston being the American League's best), and they definitely have a good chance of doing so, that's why I am already calling it -- These two teams will meet in the 2020 American League Championship Series (Cole vs Verlander, could you imagine?!).

I go to the games to see the players, not the owners, and as a fan I want to see owners be aggressive and sign players. The last few years, the off-season activity was stagnate at best, and due to that baseball fans were not happy.

Now we finally have activity, and yet... baseball fans are still not happy.

We live in a world where people just want to blame something, and unfortunately the players take the brunt of the blame when it comes to baseball. I always say don't blame the product. I keep hearing the old school complaining that they plan to stop following baseball if this continues...

but what do you know?!

Those same so-called fans are here a year later (and they'll be here a year after that, and a year after that) complaining during the same time of year, about the same exact thing.

It's safe to say that the blame game runs rampant in baseball.

1993 N.L. Championship Series Replay (Game 6)

The Braves have now won two straight, winning the last game on a walk-off single by Terry Pendleton, off of unpredictable reliever Mitch Williams. Now the Braves send their ace Greg Maddux to the mound, as they attempt to tie the series.

GAME 6

On the mound: Greg Maddux (Grade A-YZ) for Atlanta vs Tommy Greene (Grade B-X) for Philadelphia, at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia.

Bottom of the 1st: John Kruk draws a two-out walk. Dave Hollins followed with a single off Maddux, moving Kruk up to second. For a moment, Greg Maddux appeared to be against the ropes when he plunked 'Dutch' Darren Daulton with a pitch. Bases loaded for their #6 hitter Jim Eisenreich, but he misses out on a big opportunity as he goes down swinging.

Top of the 2nd: Tommy Greene allows back-to-back walks to sluggers Fred McGriff and David Justice. Game 5 hero, Terry Pendleton grounds out to deep third, while the base runners move up. Damon Berryhill singles to right, McGriff scores, Justice rounds third, while the throw by right fielder Jim Eisenreich comes to the plate, the tag & he's out! Berryhill advances to second. Mark Lemke strikes out, as Greene gets out, allowing only one run.

Top of the 3rd: Otis Nixon with one out, reaches second on a throwing error by pitcher Tommy Greene, who threw the ball over the first baseman John Kruk's head. Jeff Blauser struck out for out number two. Ron Gant hits a ball to left center for a RBI double. Fred McGriff flies out to right for the third out. Braves lead 2-0, while the Phillies have already committed 2 fielding errors.

Top of the 4th: David Justice leads the inning off with a solo blast over the right field wall, while Veterans Stadium is quiet. Justice now has 3 HR for the series, while his teammate Fred McGriff has 4 home runs during this series. Braves 3, Phillies 0

Top of the 7th: The Phillies' Tommy Greene settled down from 5th inning on, while striking out the side during the seventh -- striking out Mark Lemke (for the 3rd time), Greg Maddux & Otis Nixon. Greene now has 10 strikeouts.

Bottom of the 8th: Pete Incaviglia, who has 3 HR this series, comes in to pinch-hit for Milt Thompson, grounds out to short. Kevin Stocker grounds out for the second out. Ricky Jordan comes in to pinch-hit for the pitcher Greene; Jordan strikes out. Braves still lead, 3-0.

Tommy Greene exits with 11 strikeouts in 8 innings of work, 6 hits, 2 earned runs (3 runs) & 2 walks allowed. Reliever David West comes in with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief this series.

Bottom of the 9th: Greg Maddux will stay in to close this one out, as the Braves are 3 outs away from tying up the series, 3-3. Bill Pecota (who came in to pinch-hit for Mark Lemke) will stay in at second base. Sid Bream comes in as a fielding upgrade for Fred McGriff at first base. [The Braves stay at an overall fielding 1 (41), while their infield (34) is a fielding 2].

The Phillies' Lenny Dykstra reaches first on a lead-off walk. Phils' Manager Jim Fregosi will pinch-hit Mariano Duncan for Mickey Morandini. Duncan grounds it to deep short, the throw from Jeff Blauser is in time, while Dykstra reaches second, one out.

Stepping up to the plate is John Kruk, who is batting 10-for-18 (.556 AVG) while drawing 6 walks (.667 OBP) -- He has simply been automatic this series, so Maddux will have to be careful...Maddux delivers, and Kruk strikes out! It is all up to Dave Hollins to keep the Phillies chances in this game alive, the pitch, and he hits it to right, Dykstra will score, score that as an RBI single! Hollins has been the only one able to get a hit off Maddux all day, with two. Darren Daulton steps up, but flies out to right, as Atlanta ties the series up!

Despite his 4 walks, the reigning N.L. Cy Young Greg Maddux was brilliant, allowing only 2 hits & 1 earned run. Maddux recorded 7 straight innings (Innings 2-8) without allowing a hit.

Challenge Accepted!

While I was blogging today, I noticed a conversation on the APBA Facebook Group, the discussion was that of Larry Walker, and the subject of course, is if he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

I have posted many posts through the years, through my ongoing subject "The Ongoing Hall of Fame Debate" posts, so it's no surprise if you have bumped into Larry Walker's name from time to time throughout those posts.

I am not going to go in-depth why he belongs, you can read all about that in those posts.

The reason for this post is that someone in the APBA Facebook Group posted that taking out Walker's inflated numbers due to Coors, you would have a .290 career hitter with 300+ home runs, and stated that there was "Lots of guys like that." ...

Challenge accepted!

My research came up with the following...

There was only 44 players in the history of Major League Baseball that has hit .290 or higher with 300 or more home runs.

Of those 44, 28 of them are already in the Hall of Fame.

Out of the 16 remaining non-Hall of Fame names...

• 5 of them were connected to HGH or steroids: Gary Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez & Robinson Cano).
• 3 of the 16 players had Coors Field connections: Matt Holliday, Ellis Burks & Todd Helton.
• The Rest of the list contains a who's who in many Hall of Fame discussions: Dick Allen, Moises Alou, Albert Belle, Lance Berkman, Miguel Cabrera, Juan Gonzalez, Jeff Kent & Mo Vaughn.

Miguel Cabrera will easily be added to the Hall, making him 29 of the 44 from this list in the Hall, as he will be a lock for 1st ballot induction. 

Here is a list of the 16 players....

I put asterisks (*) next to the HGH/steroid guys, while I placed upper arrows (^) next to guys connected with Coors Field.

Larry Walker, by the way batted .313 during his career with 383 HR, so he would be on this list generally speaking -- which would place him 7th on this list, 3rd among non-HGH guys.

It should be noted that Dick Allen is the only player not to debut in 1980 or later on this list.

Simba's Pride

It was announced on the evening of December 8th, that Baseball Hall of Fame's "Modern Era" committee elected catcher Ted Simmons, along with MLB Players Association executive director Marvin Miller, to join the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Of course, this got some baseball fans riled up when they heard that Simmons will be joining the Hall, going as far as saying that the curse of Harold Baines continues. Baines has been a lightning rod in discussions and debates when it comes down to his Hall of Fame merits. For me, it should not have been a surprise that Simmons name was called, since he only missed the Hall by a single vote, the last time the committee met.

The fact of the matter is that Simmons belongs. Simmons ranked 2nd all-time among catchers in hits (2,472), RBI (1,389) & doubles (483). Simmons also batted a lifetime .289 with a .785 OPS (.348 on-base percentage), to go along with 8 All-Star Game appearances.

Comparing Simmons to Gary Carter was another telling tale:

Offense

• Gary Carter: 2,092 hits, .262 BA, 324 HR, 1,225 RBI (.335 OBP / .439 SLG / .773 OPS).

• Ted Simmons: 2,472 hits, .285 BA, 248 HR, 1,389 RBI (.348 OBP / .437 SLG / .785 OPS).

Carter played in 285 more games than Simmons, and only beat Simmons in two of the above offensive categories, homer runs (+76) & by literally a hair with .002+ higher slugging percentage.

Defense

Many people speak harshly about Simmons' defense, but they were thinking more of his later years when he slowed down. This has also been brought up in Bill James' Historical Baseball Abstract. 

• Gary Carter: .991 fielding pct, 1,203 assists, 35% caught stealing, with 121 errors & 1,498 stolen bases allowed.

• Ted Simmons: .987 fielding pct, 915 assists, 34% caught stealing, with 130 errors & 1,188 stolen bases allowed.

Carter and Simmons' defensive numbers were closer than I think most people even realized. Carter had close to 300 more assists, but Carter had more games behind the plate (2,056 to 1,771), so it's safe to say the assists are neck-to-neck, just as the case is with the caught stealing percentages (35% to 34%). Simmons did commit 9 more errors behind the plate, Simmons was sloppier at the other positions comparably to Carter at other positions. Simmons though, had 310 less stolen bases allowed.

1993 N.L. Championship Series Replay (Game 5)

Avery needed to be on top of his game in Game 5.

The Atlanta Braves avoided the sweep with a 10-9 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4, now they play the series one game at a time.

GAME 5

On the mound: The Phillies will send Curt Schilling (Grade C-XZ) out to the mound. Schilling, the last time out, pitched a one-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts against Atlanta, now we'll see if he can close out Atlanta on their home turf. Meanwhile, the Braves will send out Steve Avery (Grade B-YZ) to keep the dream alive.

Top of the 2nd: After Jeff Blauser boots a grounder with Darren Daulton reaching safely on an error, Pete Incaviglia makes the Braves pay with a two-run blast to left. Incaviglia now has 3 home runs this series.

Bottom of the 2nd: Fred McGriff hits his 4th HR of the series, a solo home run to right, cutting Philly's lead in half.

Bottom of the 3rd & 4th: Curt Schilling strikes out the side in the 3rd inning -- Steve Avery, Otis Nixon & Jeff Blauser. Schilling would strike out Fred McGriff & David Justice, back-to-back in the 4th inning, giving him 5 K's early on, with his only mistake being the McGriff home run back in the 2nd inning.

Bottom of the 6th: Otis Nixon leads off with a single, then steals second base. Jeff Blauser grounds out to second, while Nixon advances to third. Ron Gant, who had a big game in Game 4, grounds out [52-27] to third, while Nixon stays put. Fred McGriff pops up for 3rd out, Phillies still lead, 2-1.

Top of the 7th: Steve Avery has now pitched 5 scoreless innings since two-run homer by Pete Incaviglia, while striking out 3 of the last 6 batters.

Bottom of the 8th: The Phillies go to the pen, calling on reliever David West (Grade A*-XYW), while the Braves call on Sid Bream to pinch-hit in place of the pitcher (Bream strikes out). Jeff Blauser keeps 8th alive with two-out walk, but Ron Gant strikes out. The Phillies are three outs away from wrapping up the series.

Top of the 9th: The Braves' reliever Steve Bedrosian (Grade A&C*-YZ) walks the lead-off man in Kevin Stocker. Phillies' Jim Eisenreich hitting for the pitcher, flies out. Lenny Dykstra grounds out, while Stocker advances to second. The Phillies go to the bench and select Ricky Jordan to pinch-hit for Mariano Duncan, [42-22] Stocker steals third. Jordan grounds out to third though, for the 3rd out, stranding the insurance run at third.

Bottom of the 9th: The Phillies call on their wild closer Mitch Williams (Grade B*-XW) to face McGriff, Justice & Pendleton. Fred McGriff leads off with a single to center [15-10]. The fans are starting to make some noise, while the tomahawk chop is getting going...  Williams sets, delivers, David Justice smacks this one down the line in left, into the corner in left, ricochets off the wall, McGriff scores, the rolling to the right, Pete Incaviglia finally gets to it, while Justice slides into third!

Phillies fans have got to be wondering why Incaviglia was still playing left, but the Phillies pay the price, while the winning run is now on third for Terry Pendleton, who already has two doubles for the night. To be honest, maybe they could have avoided allowing a triple with a better fielder, but one thing is for sure, that's all on Williams, you can't be leaving that in the zone, he's lucky Justice didn't get all of that. The Phillies' pitching coach Johnny Podres is out there trying to settle down Mitch.

Everyone is back in their positions...
Williams delivers, Pendleton hits this one past Morandini! This one is over! The Braves win, as they force a Game 6! 

We will see you all back in Philadelphia for Game 6, as the Braves will now have their ace Greg Maddux on the mound.

1993 N.L. Championship Series Replay (Games 3-4)

The Atlanta Braves find themselves down, 2-0 in the series, while their lineup has only totaled 5 hits this series. The Phillies' John Kruk has been on fire, batting 6-for-7, with a walk, 3 RBI, 2 runs & a stolen base, while it was Curt Schilling who pitched a Game 1 one-hit gem of a shutout, with 10 strikeouts to boot. 

Atlanta will now have to battle back in Games 3 & Game 4 if they want to get back into this series --Thank god! They have Tom Glavine & John Smoltz ready to pitch in these upcoming, must-win outings.

GAME 3

On the mound: Terry Mulholland (Grade B-YZ) for Philadelphia vs Tom Glavine (Grade B) for Atlanta, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta.

Top of the 1st: Lenny Dykstra draws a lead-off walk. With one out, John Kruk smacks a single to right center [15-10], steals second. After a Dave Hollins strikeout, Darren Daulton clears the bases with a two-run double [33-0, 51-6]. 

This game will be about missed dice rolls or calling the wrong plays on the wrong dice rolls, during the bottom of the 2nd, with a runner on 1st, I call on the Braves' pitcher Tom Glavine to sacrifice bunt, which normally is the right call... how was I suppose to know that he would roll an 11-7, which would have been a single, moving the base runner to third -- Instead, it's a sac bunt, moving runner to second with 2 outs.

Top of the 4th: After a one-out single by Darren Daulton (his 2nd hit of the game), Pete Incaviglia gives Philly a huge lead with a two-run shot off of Tom Glavine, making it 4-0, Phillies lead. The Atlanta crowd is dead silent.

Bottom of the 5th: Lead-off double by David Justice [33-4]. The Braves call on their bench in Francisco Cabrera, and flies out to center [34-31, just missed rolling a 33-5, which would have resulted in a two-run homer]. With 2 outs, the Braves call on Sid Bream to pinch-hit for Tom Glavine, with a runner on 3rd, but strikes out. Greg Olson comes into the game to take place for catcher Damon Berryhill, Deion Sanders will take over in center, while the Braves will call on reliever Kent Mercker. 

Top of the 6th: Darren Daulton [11-0, 33-1] hits a two-out solo home run off Kent Merker, giving him a single, double & homer in 3 at-bats so far, along with 3 RBI. Phillies extend the lead to 5 runs.

Bottom of the 6th: With a runner on 3rd & 2 outs (Deion Sanders - single), Fred McGriff [rolls a 44-8 vs Grade B-YZ] flies out to right. 

Earlier that half-inning, I decided to go for a hit-and-run with Jeff Blauser up & Sanders on 1st, rolling a 31-9, which resulted in a ground out, with the runner advancing to 2nd... versus 31-9 regular result of, infield hit, runner to second.

Bottom of the 7th: Braves catcher Greg Olson hits into inning-ending double play, giving Terry Mulholland 7 shutout innings [Grade Advancement to A-YZ].

Bottom of the 9th: Fred McGriff breaks up Terry Mulholland's shutout bid, with a solo home run to right. The home run was McGriff's 2nd HR of the series.

The Phillies take a strong control of this series, and are on the verge of a sweep. Mulholland is the 2nd Phillies pitcher this series to pitch a complete game. The Braves have only totaled 9 hits, averaging 3 hits per game. John Kruk is batting .727 this series (8-for-11 with 3 RBI, 3 runs & 2 stolen bases. Darren Daulton fell a triple short of hitting for the cycle, while logging 3 RBI & 2 runs.

GAME 4

On the mound: Danny Jackson (Grade C) will pitch for the Phillies in the possible series-clinching win, against John Smoltz (Grade B-X) for Atlanta. We are at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in front of 52,032 fans.

Top of the 2nd: The Phillies start off the inning with back-to-back doubles by Dave Hollins and Darren Daulton (the latter leading to a RBI). With one out, two batters later, Milt Thompson has himself his 1st hit of the series, driving in Daulton, to give Philly, a early 2-0 lead. Kevin Stocker's single, the Phillies' 4th hit of the inning off John Smoltz, plus Mark Lemke's fielding error (on a ball hit by pitcher Danny Jackson) would lead to the bases being loaded. Lenny Dykstra would draw a bases loaded walk. After striking out Mickey Morandini for the 2nd out, Smoltz would allow another bases loaded RBI walk, this time to John Kruk. Dave Hollins would ground out to Smoltz on the mound to stop the bleeding. 

Phillies lead 4-0, the Braves in fact have never led at any point in the series up to this point, and are in a big hole right from the start.

Bottom of the 2nd: The Braves had to do something drastic, down 4-0, with bases loaded, thanks to a Terry Pendleton walk, Dave Justice single & Mark Lemke walk. The Braves called on pinch-hitter Bill Pecota to hit for John Smoltz, the team only had one out, but couldn't afford for Smoltz to hit into an inning-ending double play or the Braves coming up with nothing at all. Pecota would come through with a sac fly, cutting the lead down to 3 runs (trailing 4-1).

Smoltz would only pitch 2 innings, allowing 4 hits, 4 earned runs & two costly walks through 2 innings, while striking out 3 Phillies. The Braves go to Kent Mercker (Grade B*-XW) in hoping to avoid any more runs.

Bottom of the 3rd: Two outs, Fred McGriff hits a ball to shortstop Kevin Stocker, in which he bobbles the grounder, McGriff is safe on the error. Terry Pendleton hits a single to center, while McGriff advances to third. David Justice would make Danny Jackson pay on a mistake pitch, as Justice sends it over the left field fence at Fulton-County, to tie the game up at 4-4.

Top of the 4th: Kevin Stocker leads off the inning with a single off of reliever Kent Mercker, in for his 2nd inning of work. The Phillies call on Kim Batiste to pinch-hit for pitcher Danny Jackson. Batiste flies out, while Dykstra grounding out advanced the base runner to second. Mickey Morandini comes through with an RBI single to give the Phillies, a 5-4 lead, but was then foolish by being picked off first base by Mercker. 

Roger Mason (Grade C*-Y) will come in to pitch for the Phillies, for his first action of the series.

Bottom of the 4th: Lead-off single by Mark Lemke. Braves call on Francisco Cabrera to pinch-hit for Mercker, hoping for a two-run blast, but instead he hits into a double play. Cabrera had a 11-5, 33-5 & 66-1 single column card. Otis Nixon hits a single, while Jeff Blauser follows with a single, advancing Nixon to third, Blauser then steals second. Two outs, two balls & two strikes on Ron Gant -- Gant smacks a single to right [55-8], driving in both runners, and giving Atlanta their first lead of the entire series! The Braves keep it coming with a two-run homer by Fred McGriff, his 3rd of the series.

The Phillies will have to go to the pen again, they were hoping Mason would at least go two innings, but he obviously doesn't have his stuff. The Phillies call on Mike Williams to face Terry Pendleton, and gets Pendleton to end the nightmare of an inning for Philadelphia. Braves lead 8-5.

The Braves call on Marvin Freeman (Grade D*-X) to pitch the 5th inning.

Top of the 5th: John Kruk leads the inning off with a double [11-0, 61-6]. Dave Hollins draws a walk. Darren Daulton hits an infield fly, no one advances, one out. Jim Eisenreich hits a single to left, scoring in Kruk, while Hollins advances to third. 1st & 3rd for Milt Thompson, strikes out. Kevin Stocker steps up to the plate with 2 outs, the Braves elect for Freeman to intentionally walking Stocker to face the pitcher. 

The Phillies manager Jim Fregosi elects to pinch-hit for the pitcher Mike Williams, calling on Wes Chamberlain; Braves' manager Bobby Cox counters with reliever Jay Howell (Grade A*-YZ) coming in to relieve Freeman. Howell delivers, Chamberlain flies to left for final out of the inning. The Phillies trim Atlanta's lead down to 2 runs though.

Bottom of the 5th: Ben Rivera (Grade C-YW) gets his first appearance of the National League Championship Series, while retiring the side.

Top of the 6th: With Jay Howell still on the mound for the Braves, Lenny Dykstra leads off the inning with a solo home run over the right field fence [22-0, 15-1]. Phillies now trail, 8-7.

Bottom of the 6th: The Braves keep their pitcher Jay Howell in, allowing him to hit. Howell would hit a fly ball to center in which Dykstra must have lost the ball in the lights, as the ball drops, call that an E-8! Otis Nixon does Dykstra a favor though & hits into a double play. Blauser flies out to finish 6th.

Top of the 7th: Reliever Jay Howell, who has had a few two-inning performances during the season will get one more inning of work (if possible) for Atlanta. Howell walks the lead-off hitter Darren Daulton, but gets Jim Eisenreich to strike out & Milt Thompson to ground out. Howell then plunks Kevin Stocker with a pitch. Runners on 1st & 2nd, 2 outs, and down only 8-7, the Phillies will have catcher Todd Pratt pinch-hit for the pitcher Ben Rivera. The Braves will have to stick with Howell, as they don't have too many options and are not sure how long this game could go.

Make or break pitch for Howell, Pratt sends it to left center, it's off the wall, Daulton scores, Ron Gant throws it to home, and Stocker will score! The Phillies have reclaimed the lead, it's now 9-8!

The Braves would get out of eventually, but the damage has been done. The Phillies are 9 outs away from a sweep, and they are now calling on their best bullpen arms. Larry Andersen (Grade B*-XY) will be pitching the during the bottom of the 7th. 

Bottom of the 7th: The Braves' Ron Gant leads off with a single to right. Fred McGriff flies out for out number one. Braves call on hit-and-run, and Terry Pendleton executes it perfectly [34-31], advancing Gant to third. David Justice strikes out for the second out. Braves call on pinch-hitter Sid Bream in place of catcher Greg Olson. Sid Bream hits it to center [15-10], drives in Gant, but Pendleton is thrown out at third on the throw from Lenny Dykstra in center. Game tied up at 9-9.

Top of the 8th: With two outs, Darren Daulton puts a scare into Braves reliever Steve Bedrosian (Grade A&C*-YZ) with a double [22-0, 24-6]. Only for Jim Eisenreich to come up empty, by grounding out to short. 

Bottom of the 8th: The Phillies go with Larry Andersen another inning, saving David West for later if need be. With one out, the Braves' Rafael Belliard came in to pinch-hit for Bedrosian, and hits a single to right [25-9]. Otis Nixon draws a walk [35-14], runners on 1st & 2nd. Jeff Blauser flies out to center with no runners advancing, two outs. Ron Gant continues to rake in this game, smacking RBI single over second, stealing second, with Nixon on third; Gant has 3 hits & 3 RBI in this one. 

The Phillies finally call on reliever David West, who hits a fly out to end the inning.

Top of the 9th: Greg McMichael (Grade A*-X) will try to close things out for Atlanta. With two outs, the Phillies call on Pete Incaviglia (2 HR this series) to hit for the pitcher, but fouls out behind the plate [65-35].

The Braves really had to work hard for this victory, but still need to pull out three straight to win this series. The Braves' bats finally came alive, but most of that may have had a little to do with that there was no pitching on either side in an ugly, see-saw battle in Game 4. 

One game at a time.

1993 N.L. Championship Series Replay (Games 1-2)

My 1993 National League Championship Series Replay...

GAME 1

On the mound: Steve Avery (Grade B-YZ) for Atlanta vs Curt Schilling (Grade C-XZ) for Philadelphia, at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

Bottom of the 1st: Second baseman Mariano Duncan draws a one-out walk. John Kruk follows with a single to right center (steals second). With two strikes, Dave Hollins works the count to a walk, to load the bases. Suddenly in trouble early, Avery has to pitch to the dangerous Darren Daulton, but Daulton would ground into an inning ending 6-4-3 double play.

Top of the 2nd: Curt Schilling strikes out the side in Fred McGriff, Dave Justice, and Terry Pendleton, giving Schilling 4 K's early on... This could be a long night for Atlanta, if this is any indication for things to come.

Top of the 3rd: Mark Lemke draws a one-out walk. Steve Avery up at bat, Lemke advances on a passed ball to second. Avery bats Lemke over to third for the 2nd out. Otis Nixon draws a walk. With runners on the corners, the Braves elect to hit-and-run with Jeff Blauser at the plate, Nixon is off and running, but is thrown out trying to steal second, on a solid throw by Darren Daulton. [Blauser rolled a 13-14, which if I did not elect to hit-and-run, would have drawn Atlanta's 3rd walk of the inning, with Gant up to the plate].

Top of the 5th: Damon Berryhill breaks up Curt Schilling's early no-hit bid with one out. Mark Lemke draws his 2nd walk of the day [rolling back-to-back, 14 results, which resulted in a walk against Schilling's Z control rating]. Runners on 1st & 2nd for the Braves' pitcher Steve Avery at the plate, Avery lays down a sac bunt, to advance the runners to 2nd & 3rd, 2 outs. Otis Nixon [rolls a 51-10] flying out to Lenny Dykstra for final out. Score remains, zero apiece.

Top of the 6th: With Ron Gant on second (due to a walk & advancing to 2nd on a groundout), Dave Justice has a chance to do some damage, but flies out center [Curt Schilling has pitched 6 shutout innings & advances to a Grade B-XZ].

Bottom of the 6th: Lead-off single by Lenny Dykstra. Mariano Duncan hits a double [66-0, 63-6] off Avery, scoring in Dykstra, for the game's first run. John Kruk makes it back-to-back RBI doubles [33-0, 62-6], 2-0, Phillies lead. Dave Hollins flies to right, for 1st out, no advancement by Kruk. Darren Daulton grounds it to the pitcher [44-8] , pitcher tosses over to first for the 2nd out, while Kruk moves on over to third. Pete Incaviglia [22-6, single column card] hits a two-run homer off Avery, for the nail in Avery's coffin. Braves Manager Bobby Cox has seen enough, and will go to the pen. Reliever Marvin Freeman stops the bleeding as Wes Chamberlain grounds out to second. Phillies lead 4-0.

Top of the 7th: Curt Schilling strikes out Mark Lemke to retire the side, recording his 7th strikeout of the game [Schilling advances to Grade A-XZ with 7 shutout innings].

Curt Schilling goes on to pitch a one-hit, 10 K gem, shutting out the Braves, while allowing 4 walks. The Braves' Steve Avery gets the loss, allowing 6 hits, 4 earned runs & 3 walks in 5.2 innings. John Kruk collects 3 hits, including a RBI double, run & stolen base. Mariano Duncan drew 2 walks, while also having an RBI double.


GAME 2

On the mound: N.L. Cy Young favorite Greg Maddux (Grade A-YZ) for Atlanta vs Tommy Greene (Grade B-X) for Philadelphia, at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia. Phillies lead series, 1-0.

1st Inning: Both teams squander chances. Atlanta led off 1st with a single & stolen base by Otis Nixon, with Jeff Blauser drawing a walk on the next at-bat, but two infield flies with no runners advancing & a fielder's choice at second later, the Braves came up empty. Philadelphia with 2 outs, draw back-to-back walks (a rarity) against such a great control artist like Maddux, but Darren Daulton would come up empty at the plate to capitalize on the opportunity.

Bottom of the 3rd: The Phillies' Lenny Dykstra leads off with a single & stolen base [33-0, 34-11]. Mickey Morandini flies to right, Dykstra advances to third. John Kruk singles to left, Dykstra scores, Kruk advances to second on wild throw by Ron Gant. Phillies lead 1-0.

Top of the 4th: David Justice with two outs, hits a solo home run off of Tommy Greene to give Atlanta's first run of the series, tying the game at 1-1.

Bottom of the 5th: Mickey Morandini draws a one-out walk. John Kruk smacks and RBI double over first [35-14, 2 balls... 11-0, 56-6], giving Philly back the lead, 2-1. Dave Hollins draws a walk (4th walk by Maddux). Runners on 1st & 2nd, Darren Daulton grounds out, advancing the runners to 2nd & 3rd. Jim Eisenreich connects on a big single to right [25-8 vs Grade A, 2nd & 3rd], scoring both runners, making the game, 4-1 Philadelphia! Milt Thompson strikes out for the 3rd time ending the big inning.

Top of the 6th: Fred McGriff does his best to keep the Braves in the game, hitting a two-out solo homer off of Greene. Braves trail 4-2.

Top of the 7th: The Phillies went to the pen prior to the inning, with Larry Andersen toeing the rubber; Phillies pinch-hit for Greene during the bottom of the 6th with Wes Chamberlain. Andersen (Grade B*-XY) strikes out the side in Terry Pendleton, Damon Berryhill & Mark Lemke.

Bottom of the 7th: The Braves stay with Greg Maddux for one more inning. Maddux rewards manager Bobby Cox' faith with 3 strikeouts in the inning, although giving up a 3rd hit in the game to John Kruk.

Kruk has 6 hits during the first 2 games of the 1993 NLCS.

Top of the 8th: Jeff Blauser hits a single off reliever David West with two outs, steals second [33-0, 52-11]. Ron Gant ends the possible threat by grounding out.

Top of the 9th: Phillies' closer Mitch Williams, 'The Wild Thing', retires the side, by getting pinch-hitter Bill Pecota to fly out for the final out.

Phillies lead the series, 2-0. When asked if he thought home plate umpire Frank Pulli was squeezing him on some possible strike calls, Greg Maddux said "I don't have much to say on the matter, we are the ones that lost the game. I think we'll be good to go once we are back in front of our home crowd."

It should be mentioned that Pulli was once placed on probation by former commissioner Fay Vincent for placing bets on non-baseball sporting events, along with umpire Rich Garcia back in 1989.

The Atlanta Braves have totaled only 5 hits in the first 2 games of the series (combined), while the Phillies' John Kruk alone has 6 hits through 7 at-bats this series, along with a BB & 3 RBI.

Atlanta will have to find their stride in Atlanta, as their postseason fate weighs on Tom Glavine & John Smoltz the next two games.

1993 NLCS Replay & 'What If' 93' World Series

So this December, I have decided to take it easy, take in the holidays, and just do random quick fun APBA projects to play. I was kicking around the idea of playing the 1982 World Series ('The Suds Series' - Battle of the beer towns).

Then the morning after Thanksgiving, in the early hours of Friday, I was sitting back with a snack and watching the MLB Network. I fell upon the final minutes of 'Eight Men Out', followed by the Johnny Bench story, Tony Gwynn story & the 1990's Atlanta Braves story. I figured God must have been telling me to take it easy, I knew he knew that I was watching the MLB Network in those wee hours since he put Tony Gwynn (my favorite player) and the 1990's Braves, as back-to-back shows...

He was like "Take it easy man, you've been doing a lot the last few months."

The last few months will be detailed more in this upcoming post on "Thankful for my APBA family", but to put it shortly, my wife had bronchitis in early August, which x-rays revealed a small, mysterious growth in her right lung. Since then, she has had the operation to remove the tumor, which it, along with one of her 17 lymph nodes removed, turned out to be cancerous. The surgeon and oncologist both agree that she is now 100% cancer-free, which of course was excellent news!

Things are getting back to normal somewhat with her recovering from the operation (she is really sore right now), with her hoping to be back by January 2nd to work. With all the runs to the hospital (she was in there for 10 days), the housework, errands & working full-time -- God, wants me now to just relax. He also knows that I want to get into my more-involved projects, but he believes that shorter, fun projects like series replays and what if series may be what's in store for December.

So I listened...

Influenced by the Braves special on television, I decided to replay the 1993 National League Championship Series and do a "What If" World Series between the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays and 1993 Atlanta Braves. So it will be a chance for the Braves to get twice the redemption, getting revenge on the Phillies for being a roadblock to the 1993 Fall Classic, while the Braves can get revenge on the Blue Jays for the 1992 World Series.

In real life, the 1993 NLCS was decided by 1 run in three of the six games, while the Phillies would win 2 of those games in extras, both in the 10th inning, and both by the score of 4-3. The Atlanta Braves had a 2-1 series lead, with John Smoltz prepared to pitch Game 4 in Atlanta, with another game in Atlanta to follow. I remember as a fan of those Braves, thinking Atlanta should have this one with Smoltzie on the mound, but it was never mean't to be.

The replay will be played with the Basic APBA Baseball boards, along with the APBA Baseball Error Card and Unusual Play Card (from the APBA Journal). Along with actual lineups and game starters, and home locations.

Big Cat, Tiny Cat

We are in month #2 of the 2019 UAL (Ultimate APBA League) Season, and my Traverse City Fighting Tigers played worst than they did in October. The Fighting Tigers went 9-21 for the month of October, while they just went 4-11 at home for me in November. We also got the results back from their road series against the North Georgia Bravos, in which they went 1-4... So of all the reported games, Traverse City is 14-36 (.280), while on pace for 45 wins.

We knew it would be bad, we feel we can play better than the .280 clip. We play with games limits for position players, so I am getting the rest time in early in the season, so the lineups should be doing better as the season goes on.

So I knew going into the season that I was going to take my lumps. We lost two B starters from last season, who have no-cards for this season (due to injury) in Jimmy Nelson & Taijuan Walker. We had a couple starters also downgraded a grade from last season, while the bullpen went from plenty of B's & A's to all D's and a couple C's. Plus my two team captains in Jose Altuve and Buster Posey missed a good handful of games due to 2018 MLB season injuries as well.

So knowing all that, I didn't expect to have my dice go ice-cold for my favorite hitter in the game in Jose 'Gigante' Altuve. I knew he didn't have a great 1st series playing the Ohio Cougars, players slump from time to time, but I didn't expect things to get worse.

After batting .133 against Ohio, Altuve batted only .109 with a .333 OPS against the Massillon Big Cats. To make matters worse, Massillon's catcher Austin Romine out-played him, not only that series, but Romine's series totals dwarfed Altuve's offensive home numbers for the month of November.

Romine accomplished more in 5 games than Altuve did in 15 games, here are the numbers...

• Romine: 10-for-19 (.526), HR, 7 RBI (.571 OBP / 1.414 OPS) - Romine had a game that he went 5-for-5, all singles with 3 RBI.

• Altuve: 8-for-52 (.154), 0 HR & 6 RBI - Altuve recorded 4 of those 6 RBI, his last 2 games of the month, while collecting 4 hits that series. His best OPS output was .611 against N.G.

The troubling thing is, Altuve didn't do absolutely great in his 1st month of home games with me as well, I believe he batted .273 for me, with a .767 OPS. 

Last season, Altuve batted .423 for me at home, with a .476 OBP & 1.083 OPS. He led the league in batting (.352), hits (221), runs (221) & stolen bases (48), while posting a .946 OPS.

We all know through APBA Season Replays, League Play, APBA Tournaments, or in real life, how little players like Austin Romine can come up big, while big players such as Jose Altuve can come up short...

That's one of the beauties of baseball.

2020 Preseason (OOTP 20)

• The Yankees acquired SP-Robbie Erlin and minor league CF-Jawuan Harris from the Padres in exchange for top prospect CF-Estevan Florial and minor league 2B-Kyle Gray.

• Red Sox signed RP-Alex Colome to a 1-year deal worth $2.6 million.

• The Tigers sign SS-Jose Iglesias to a 6-year deal worth $42.6 million ($7,100,000 per year).

• The Twins reacquired SP-Lance Lynn from the Rangers in exchange for IF-Ehire Adrianza and prospect RHP-Brusdar Graterol.

• The Reds signed 2B-Brian Dozier to a 3-year deal worth $31.4 million.

• Cole Hamels signed a 3-year deal with the Angels for $8,333,333 per season.

• Long-time Yankee Brett Gardner signs with the Giants for $25.4 million over 2 years.

• Phillies pay hefty on a one-year rental in 3B-David Freese for $17.4 million.

• As predicted, Brian McCann retired with the Atlanta Braves.

• The Blue Jays signed 1B/3B-Matt Carpenter to a 4-year deal worth $41.2 million.

• Milwaukee resigned 3B-Mike Moustakas in a 6-year deal worth $102.4 million ($17.1 million per year).

• Craig Kimbrel wants to get the Athletics over the playoff hump, signing a 2-year deal worth $8.08 million.

• Edwin Encarnacion will be perching the parrot in Boston at $36.9 million over 3 years.

• The Rays traded SP-Ryan Yarbrough to the Mariners in exchange for C-Tom Murphy, who is coming off a career year in which he hit 18 home runs. Not a bad deal for Tampa considering they plan on plugging both Jose De Leon and Brent Honeywell (who are both healthy) in this upcoming 2020 MLB season... making it one of the youngest dynamic rotations with Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell & headed by veteran Charlie Morton.

• The Twins traded OF-Max Kepler to the Angels in exchange for 2B-David Fletcher and 19 year-old minor league RHP Jack Kochanowicz. 

• Angels signed 3B-Todd Frazier to a 2-year deal worth $17.4 million.

• Tigers claimed P-Albert Abreu from the Yankees, named #54 top prospect in baseball.

• Baltimore Orioles mourned the passing of owner Peter Angelos.

• The Milwaukee Brewers came out with new logos and new uniforms for upcoming 2020 MLB Season. 

Hall of Fame News

• Derek Jeter (93.4% / 1st year) and Curt Schilling (81.6% / 8th year) will be the newest members of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. 

• The most shocking news may be Larry Walker being dropped from the ballot (10th year), while coming so close at 65.6% of the ballots. Barry Bonds (71.3%) and Roger Clemens (68.4%) are sniffing the Hall from the outside (both at 8 years).

Top Prospects

• Houston's SP-Forrest Whitley tops the list, while Chicago's Andrew Vaughn (#2 overall) was tops among hitters.

Things to come... We'll switch gears soon, we'll be talking about Hall of Fame stuff, the great APBA community, the Houston Astros' legacy & how bad are those Traverse City Fighting Tigers?!?!

2019 Winter Meetings (OOTP 20)

The alternate reality off-season of 2019 in my Out of the Park Baseball 20 continues, let's take a look at more signings and trades involving Major League Baseball.

• The Braves sign 31 year-old catcher Yasmani Grandal to a lengthy 6-year deal deal worth $130,800,000. Grandal is coming off career highs in HR (27) & RBI (77).

• The Cubs make a move in the right direction involving their starting pitching by signing Hyun-Jin Ryu to a 4-year deal worth $112 million ($28 mill per year). 

• The Mariners acquire RP-Kirby Yates from the Padres in exchange for prospects CF-Jarred Kelenic, 1B-Evan White & minor league LF-Keegan McGovern.

• J.D. Martinez who opted out of his contract with Boston, settles on the Yankees for 4 years & $68,000,000. Martinez in real life, shocked everyone by not opting out of Boston as expected.

• The Cardinals made a huge splash by signing 3B-Josh Donaldson to a 5-year deal worth $103 million.

• SP-Dallas Keuchel signed a 4-year deal with the Rockies for $35.6 million.

• The Yankees who did not offer arbitration to SS-Didi Gregorius, signed him to a new deal worth $17.7 million over 3 years.

• The Angels take a huge gamble on Madison Bumgarner, considering his recent injuries in recent years, signing him to a 7-year deal worth $104.3 million ($14.9 million per year).

• The Giants acquired SP-Trevor Bauer from the Reds, in exchange for top prospect OF-Heliot Ramos. The Reds also acquired prospect OF-Kyle Lewis and minor league RP-Freddy Villarreal from Seattle, in exchange for SP-Alex Wood.

• Boston inks SP-Michael Pineda to 2-year worth $23.8 million.

• The Angels reacquired SP-Garrett Richards from the Padres for two minor leaguers.

• The Red Sox acquire 1B Jose A. Martinez from the Cardinals in exchange for RP-Marcus Walden.

• The Red Sox also paid out a pricey one-year rental on Howie Kendrick ($15.4 million).

• Catcher Robinson Chirinos returns to the Rangers on a 3-year deal worth $33.9 million.

• The Rays acquired OF-Starling Marte from the Pirates in exchange for top prospect SP-Shane Baz and minor league 2B-Ford Proctor.

• The Pirates acquired C/3B-Victor Caratini from the Cubs in exchange for RP-Keone Kela and LHP-Blake Weiman.

• The Yankees acquired RP-Matt Andriese from the Diamondbacks in exchange for OF-Cameron Maybin.