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Bub13 · 03-26-2022, 05:29 PM

PLAYOFFS 2055

Wildcard season kicks off, with the Chicago White Sox facing YOUR Hawaii Islanders, and the New Orleans Zephyrs vs the Richmond Eagles. I rate both best-of-three series as toss-ups: the NL series sees a solid offensive team in Richmond facing a tough pitching squad in New Orleans. Something's gotta give. In the AL, we may have won 15 more games than the Sox, but they are a balanced team (4th in offense, 5th in pitching), with a power-stoked lineup that has no weak spots. Plus, they can run and have a top ten defensive squad. The "worst" team stat they hold is a rotation that was 9th in AL ERA, but with the cut-down playoff rotations that shouldn't matter much now. FUN FACT: this is the first time both Sox teams (the Soxes?) have been in the playoffs together since 2025, when the Brewers took them both out (Chicago in the wildcard game, Boston swept in the league championship).

No major roster changes for us heading into the post-season. We picked RP Yoshi Watanabe over swingman John Loeb for the bullpen, as Yoshi has more power and is better suited to a MR role. As a late-season call-up, Nick Gase didn't make the squad so was sent back to AAA for their playoff decider. (ED: Santa Barbara lost, ending their season.) Mike Hunter gets the nod to start at short, since neither Jake Moore nor Bill Gamboa seized the baton at the plate. Hunter is just fair in the field these days, but hit .302 with a .364 OBP after his signing, and we'll need all the offense we can muster.

WILDCARD SERIES

GAME ONE: Tuesday, October 6, Chicago (RH Luke Weaver, 17-7 5.08) @ Hawaii (LH Matt Waugh, 21-4 2.45). We strike first, early, when Pederson doubles home Matson in the bottom of the first. A Sox leadoff double in the second goes to waste, even after a two-out single, when Waugh picks off Zeke de la Rosa at first to end the threat. Second inning, and we add to the fun. With two outs and a runner on third, back-to-back doubles and a single bring home three runs, and after two we're up 4-0. The Sox get one back in the third, but we pad our lead in the fourth with a Covington solo HR and a small-ball run on a walk, sacrifice, single, and ground out. AFter four, it's 6-1. After adding another run in the fifth, the Sox make things tight in the seventh, scoring twice on two walks, two singles, and some timely sac flies. But we respond nicely in the bottom half with a pair of solo HR from Bennetsen and Medici, and we take an 8-4 lead into the penultimate frame. Just for kicks we score twice more in the eighth, thanks largely to two wild pitches which directly bring runners home. Waugh was a bit loose, and despite the big win we only outhit the Sox 12-11, and Waugh and Sam Bohlen add five walks to the proceedings. Not a stout pitching effort, but good enough. Final score: Hawaii 10, Chicago 4. Hawaii leads series 1-0

GAME TWO: Wednesday, October 7, Hawaii (RH Josh Irvin, 19-7 3.44) @ Chicago (RH Jasper Cummings, 13-12 4.05). Another solid start, as Bennetsen triples and comes home on Matson's RBI single. More comes in the second, when Covington's two-out double scores Pederson, and then Cov scores on Hunter's follow-up double. Trouble arrives in the bottom second, however, when with two runners on and one Sox already having scored, Ethan Ransburg knocks a three-run drive into the bleachers. After two, and Chicago has it's first series lead, 4-3. Both teams put runners on in each of the next two innings, but nobody scores. We strike quickly in the fifth, though, on a Matson double and Medici home run to deep right-center. Chicago gets that right back with a Ben Usilton solo shot in the bottom of the inning, and after five we're knotted up at 5-5. But we just can't stop. Covington hits his second solo HR of the series in the sixth, and Tipping follows suit in the seventh. We set the Sox down in order in the seventh and eighth--only the second and third such innings our staff tossed in the series--and take a 7-5 lead into the final frame. We load the bases on a single and a pair of walks, but Covington can't repeat his heroics and strikes out to end the threat. Closer Nate Kearns comes in, and with two outs proceeds to walk the bases full. Somehow we stays in the game, and gets Usilton to hit a lazy fly out to center, ending the game and the series! Final score: Hawaii 7, Chicago 5. Hawaii WINS series 2-0

Sweep! A little surprising, but in a best-of-three series, very welcome. Our offense was superb, but our two best pitchers got knocked around quite a bit, and we walked 11 batters in the two games. Mike Covington and his .571 average takes home the series MVP. No injuries to report, and probably just a single day off to prepare for the next series. And surprise, surprise! we're playing the Rangers. The other series features Boston vs Detroit.

In the NL, New Orleans wins a pair of one-run affairs to sweep out Richmond and advance to play the Dodgers. Cincinnati travels to Philadelphia to open the other Divisional Series.

......

AL DIVISIONAL SERIES ... with some NL thrown in too.

We're off to Texas! You know all about them already...best offense, best pitching, tops in home runs, and nearly everything else. So good, in fact, that sitting 3rd in OBP and steals is about the worst you can say about their team-wide efforts. Healthy too, missing only a couple of pitchers. (One is ace Bobby Daniel, but he's been out since July and they only wound up with 115 wins...) Suffice it to say that Vegas doesn't really like our chances.

GAME ONE: Saturday, October 9, (LH Mike Garfield, 11-13 4.19) @ Texas (RH Mike Nelson, 14-3 2.76). Was a pretty nice game through 6 1/2 innings, tied at 1-1 on a sac fly for us and a solo home run for them. Then all hell broke loose, and when the dust settled the Rangers had added 8 runs in what seemed like a matter of minutes. The big blast was a Ryan Boers grand slam off reliever Yoshi Watanabe, but plenty of damage had already happened by that point. But at least we outhit them 11-8, so that's something to build off, right? Final score: Texas 9, Hawaii 1 Texas leads series 1-0

GAME TWO: Sunday, October 10, Hawaii (RH Steve Shinnick, 4-1 2.68) @ Texas (RH Kevin Cahill, 9-2 3.32). Two scoreless innings go by before we strike first, with Covington poking a solo home run in third to get things going. Provoked, the Rangers load the bases in the bottom half, but somehow escape undamaged. We add to our lead in the fourth on Royer's three-run blast, but the bad guys strike right back with four runs on three hits and a two-run throwing error by Bennetsen in left. The score remains tied until the sixth, when back-to-back solo HR and another error hand the Rangers three more runs, and we're in a hole for the first time tonight, 7-4. Bennetsen earns some redemption with a two-run shot in the seventh, pulling us to a run back, but the Rangers add another in the eighth, and all we can do over the final few innings is take a couple of walks, but no hits. Better hitting, but a loss nonetheless. Final score: Texas 8, Hawaii 6. Texas leads series 2-0

Elsewhere... Just a brief interlude to say that we're the only team not making things interesting right now, as the other three series are level at a game apiece. Joy.

GAME THREE: Tuesday, October 12, Texas (RH Emanuel Vasquez, 13-8 4.24) @ Hawaii (LH Matt Waugh, 21-4, 2.45). Win or die here ... And having said that, Waugh struggles right out of the gate, allowing a run on three hits in the first. It could have been worse, as Pederson threw out Boers at home to end the inning. In our half, we go down on ten pitches. Second inning, more of the same, another Texas run on two hits and a ground out. And we make it through only seven pitches. Third inning, lather rinse repeat: another run for the Rangers, this time a Phil Thomas solo home run. But then we show up! Royer's solo home run, followed by a pair of singles and a Bennetsen sac fly, and we're on the board, but still down 3-2 after three. Texas, though, keeps on rolling, scoring another run after a triple and their own sac fly. We put two more on in the bottom half, but can't score, and the deficit is two, 4-2, after four. Waugh is mercifully pulled, and finally we pitch a 1-2-3 inning, thanks to Brad Cahill. He keeps the lid on things until we get on track in the sixth, thanks to another blast from Covington, this time a three-run shot to right. Finally, a lead! 5-4 after six! Seventh inning, and both teams threaten but nobody scores. But in the eighth they level it up thanks to a Matt Provance (who?) solo home run. We can't manage any attack at all in our half, or in the ninth, and we're headed to extras tied at 5. And then of course, it happens: no-name Provance pops another solo shot, stunning the crowd. Texas adds two singles afterwards, but can't add any runs. We're into the bottom of the tenth, facing ace closer Han-lee Su: Bennetsen strikes out. Matson strikes out. But then! Medici doubles into right-center, keeping hopes alive. But then again! Pederson dribbles a 1-1 pitch right to second, and it's Good Night, Irene. Swept. Final score: Texas 6, Hawaii 5. Texas WIN series 3-0

Elsewhere, again... Detroit takes two straight from Boston, sending the Sox home; LA does the same to New Orleans. But Cincy comes back from a 2-1 deficit against the Phils to head to the league championship against the Dodgers, in an old-school NL West showdown. (LA took the honors in '42, the last time these two met with high stakes on the line.)

......

Sigh. Galling. I knew it would be tough getting past Texas, but I didn't expect to have our pitchers so thoroughly embarrassed. We actually outhit them in two of these games, but it seemed like they could just score at will against us. Ah well... On the plus side, we did win 107 games, but there seems to be something lacking in our offense, as we don't have the easy power of a Texas or Detroit. Not sure what form any off-season moves might take at the moment, but we may have to do something out of the ordinary for us, either in free agency or via trade, and "bulk up" our lineup. We'll see...

......

In League Championship series news... No surprise that the Dodgers are World Series bound yet again, taking the Reds in five. Other than a 6-5 game four loss, LA held Cincy to just two runs and 18 hits. This will be the Dodgers' third straight trip to the championship. Over in the AL, a wild back-and-forth series goes seven...with Texas finally ousting the Tigers thanks to a comeback win in game six, and a hang-on-for-dear-life game seven win. (Down 6-1, Detroit knocked a 3-run homer, then a solo shot, then put another man on, all with two outs, before finally yielding.)

This is a repeat of last year's series, taken by the Dodgers in six. (The last time teams faced each other in consecutive Series was in '35 and '36, with Toronto and Pittsburgh splitting their two meetings. Before that, you go all the way back to the '77-'78 match-ups between LA and NY.) Texas heads to the Series for the fifth time, and is seeking their second title. LA is looking for their tenth title.

......

2055 WORLD SERIES

Game One: TEX 3 - LA 1 ... (TEX leads 1-0)
Game Two: TEX 0 - LA 2 ... (series tied 1-1)
Game Three: LA 3 - TEX 6 ... (TEX leads 2-1)
Game Four: LA 9 - TEX 14 ... (TEX leads 3-1)
Game Five: LA 5 - TEX 4 ... (TEX leads 3-2)
Game Six: TEX 7 - LA 4 ... (TEX WINS 4-2)

While I'm not surprised the Rangers won this series, I am a bit surprised at the offensive output against a really strong Dodgers pitching staff. LA starters Bryan Shaheen and Manny Lopez combined to win 44 games this season; here they won zero and had a combined ERA over ten. Anyway...it's the Rangers second World Series title in franchise history, the first coming in '52. LA was unable to repeat as champions, meaning that we are still the last team to accomplish that feat with our wins in '43 and '44. Given the talent on these teams, and that almost all of it is returning for next year, I think there's a very great chance we could see the first THREE-PEAT World Series tilt since the Yankees and NY Giants squared off in '21, '22, and '23. That's NINETEEN twenty-one, etc, fyi.

So congrats to the Rangers. Now rot in hell, both of these teams. See you next year!

03-26-2022, 05:29 PM	#449
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2055 playoffs PLAYOFFS 2055 Wildcard season kicks off, with the Chicago White Sox facing YOUR Hawaii Islanders, and the New Orleans Zephyrs vs the Richmond Eagles. I rate both best-of-three series as toss-ups: the NL series sees a solid offensive team in Richmond facing a tough pitching squad in New Orleans. Something's gotta give. In the AL, we may have won 15 more games than the Sox, but they are a balanced team (4th in offense, 5th in pitching), with a power-stoked lineup that has no weak spots. Plus, they can run and have a top ten defensive squad. The "worst" team stat they hold is a rotation that was 9th in AL ERA, but with the cut-down playoff rotations that shouldn't matter much now. FUN FACT: this is the first time both Sox teams (the Soxes?) have been in the playoffs together since 2025, when the Brewers took them both out (Chicago in the wildcard game, Boston swept in the league championship). No major roster changes for us heading into the post-season. We picked RP Yoshi Watanabe over swingman John Loeb for the bullpen, as Yoshi has more power and is better suited to a MR role. As a late-season call-up, Nick Gase didn't make the squad so was sent back to AAA for their playoff decider. (ED: Santa Barbara lost, ending their season.) Mike Hunter gets the nod to start at short, since neither Jake Moore nor Bill Gamboa seized the baton at the plate. Hunter is just fair in the field these days, but hit .302 with a .364 OBP after his signing, and we'll need all the offense we can muster. WILDCARD SERIES GAME ONE: Tuesday, October 6, Chicago (RH Luke Weaver, 17-7 5.08) @ Hawaii (LH Matt Waugh, 21-4 2.45). We strike first, early, when Pederson doubles home Matson in the bottom of the first. A Sox leadoff double in the second goes to waste, even after a two-out single, when Waugh picks off Zeke de la Rosa at first to end the threat. Second inning, and we add to the fun. With two outs and a runner on third, back-to-back doubles and a single bring home three runs, and after two we're up 4-0. The Sox get one back in the third, but we pad our lead in the fourth with a Covington solo HR and a small-ball run on a walk, sacrifice, single, and ground out. AFter four, it's 6-1. After adding another run in the fifth, the Sox make things tight in the seventh, scoring twice on two walks, two singles, and some timely sac flies. But we respond nicely in the bottom half with a pair of solo HR from Bennetsen and Medici, and we take an 8-4 lead into the penultimate frame. Just for kicks we score twice more in the eighth, thanks largely to two wild pitches which directly bring runners home. Waugh was a bit loose, and despite the big win we only outhit the Sox 12-11, and Waugh and Sam Bohlen add five walks to the proceedings. Not a stout pitching effort, but good enough. Final score: Hawaii 10, Chicago 4. Hawaii leads series 1-0 GAME TWO: Wednesday, October 7, Hawaii (RH Josh Irvin, 19-7 3.44) @ Chicago (RH Jasper Cummings, 13-12 4.05). Another solid start, as Bennetsen triples and comes home on Matson's RBI single. More comes in the second, when Covington's two-out double scores Pederson, and then Cov scores on Hunter's follow-up double. Trouble arrives in the bottom second, however, when with two runners on and one Sox already having scored, Ethan Ransburg knocks a three-run drive into the bleachers. After two, and Chicago has it's first series lead, 4-3. Both teams put runners on in each of the next two innings, but nobody scores. We strike quickly in the fifth, though, on a Matson double and Medici home run to deep right-center. Chicago gets that right back with a Ben Usilton solo shot in the bottom of the inning, and after five we're knotted up at 5-5. But we just can't stop. Covington hits his second solo HR of the series in the sixth, and Tipping follows suit in the seventh. We set the Sox down in order in the seventh and eighth--only the second and third such innings our staff tossed in the series--and take a 7-5 lead into the final frame. We load the bases on a single and a pair of walks, but Covington can't repeat his heroics and strikes out to end the threat. Closer Nate Kearns comes in, and with two outs proceeds to walk the bases full. Somehow we stays in the game, and gets Usilton to hit a lazy fly out to center, ending the game and the series! Final score: Hawaii 7, Chicago 5. Hawaii WINS series 2-0 Sweep! A little surprising, but in a best-of-three series, very welcome. Our offense was superb, but our two best pitchers got knocked around quite a bit, and we walked 11 batters in the two games. Mike Covington and his .571 average takes home the series MVP. No injuries to report, and probably just a single day off to prepare for the next series. And surprise, surprise! we're playing the Rangers. The other series features Boston vs Detroit. In the NL, New Orleans wins a pair of one-run affairs to sweep out Richmond and advance to play the Dodgers. Cincinnati travels to Philadelphia to open the other Divisional Series. ...... AL DIVISIONAL SERIES ... with some NL thrown in too. We're off to Texas! You know all about them already...best offense, best pitching, tops in home runs, and nearly everything else. So good, in fact, that sitting 3rd in OBP and steals is about the worst you can say about their team-wide efforts. Healthy too, missing only a couple of pitchers. (One is ace Bobby Daniel, but he's been out since July and they only wound up with 115 wins...) Suffice it to say that Vegas doesn't really like our chances. GAME ONE: Saturday, October 9, (LH Mike Garfield, 11-13 4.19) @ Texas (RH Mike Nelson, 14-3 2.76). Was a pretty nice game through 6 1/2 innings, tied at 1-1 on a sac fly for us and a solo home run for them. Then all hell broke loose, and when the dust settled the Rangers had added 8 runs in what seemed like a matter of minutes. The big blast was a Ryan Boers grand slam off reliever Yoshi Watanabe, but plenty of damage had already happened by that point. But at least we outhit them 11-8, so that's something to build off, right? Final score: Texas 9, Hawaii 1 Texas leads series 1-0 GAME TWO: Sunday, October 10, Hawaii (RH Steve Shinnick, 4-1 2.68) @ Texas (RH Kevin Cahill, 9-2 3.32). Two scoreless innings go by before we strike first, with Covington poking a solo home run in third to get things going. Provoked, the Rangers load the bases in the bottom half, but somehow escape undamaged. We add to our lead in the fourth on Royer's three-run blast, but the bad guys strike right back with four runs on three hits and a two-run throwing error by Bennetsen in left. The score remains tied until the sixth, when back-to-back solo HR and another error hand the Rangers three more runs, and we're in a hole for the first time tonight, 7-4. Bennetsen earns some redemption with a two-run shot in the seventh, pulling us to a run back, but the Rangers add another in the eighth, and all we can do over the final few innings is take a couple of walks, but no hits. Better hitting, but a loss nonetheless. Final score: Texas 8, Hawaii 6. Texas leads series 2-0 Elsewhere... Just a brief interlude to say that we're the only team not making things interesting right now, as the other three series are level at a game apiece. Joy. GAME THREE: Tuesday, October 12, Texas (RH Emanuel Vasquez, 13-8 4.24) @ Hawaii (LH Matt Waugh, 21-4, 2.45). Win or die here ... And having said that, Waugh struggles right out of the gate, allowing a run on three hits in the first. It could have been worse, as Pederson threw out Boers at home to end the inning. In our half, we go down on ten pitches. Second inning, more of the same, another Texas run on two hits and a ground out. And we make it through only seven pitches. Third inning, lather rinse repeat: another run for the Rangers, this time a Phil Thomas solo home run. But then we show up! Royer's solo home run, followed by a pair of singles and a Bennetsen sac fly, and we're on the board, but still down 3-2 after three. Texas, though, keeps on rolling, scoring another run after a triple and their own sac fly. We put two more on in the bottom half, but can't score, and the deficit is two, 4-2, after four. Waugh is mercifully pulled, and finally we pitch a 1-2-3 inning, thanks to Brad Cahill. He keeps the lid on things until we get on track in the sixth, thanks to another blast from Covington, this time a three-run shot to right. Finally, a lead! 5-4 after six! Seventh inning, and both teams threaten but nobody scores. But in the eighth they level it up thanks to a Matt Provance (who?) solo home run. We can't manage any attack at all in our half, or in the ninth, and we're headed to extras tied at 5. And then of course, it happens: no-name Provance pops another solo shot, stunning the crowd. Texas adds two singles afterwards, but can't add any runs. We're into the bottom of the tenth, facing ace closer Han-lee Su: Bennetsen strikes out. Matson strikes out. But then! Medici doubles into right-center, keeping hopes alive. But then again! Pederson dribbles a 1-1 pitch right to second, and it's Good Night, Irene. Swept. Final score: Texas 6, Hawaii 5. Texas WIN series 3-0 Elsewhere, again... Detroit takes two straight from Boston, sending the Sox home; LA does the same to New Orleans. But Cincy comes back from a 2-1 deficit against the Phils to head to the league championship against the Dodgers, in an old-school NL West showdown. (LA took the honors in '42, the last time these two met with high stakes on the line.) ...... Sigh. Galling. I knew it would be tough getting past Texas, but I didn't expect to have our pitchers so thoroughly embarrassed. We actually outhit them in two of these games, but it seemed like they could just score at will against us. Ah well... On the plus side, we did win 107 games, but there seems to be something lacking in our offense, as we don't have the easy power of a Texas or Detroit. Not sure what form any off-season moves might take at the moment, but we may have to do something out of the ordinary for us, either in free agency or via trade, and "bulk up" our lineup. We'll see... ...... In League Championship series news... No surprise that the Dodgers are World Series bound yet again, taking the Reds in five. Other than a 6-5 game four loss, LA held Cincy to just two runs and 18 hits. This will be the Dodgers' third straight trip to the championship. Over in the AL, a wild back-and-forth series goes seven...with Texas finally ousting the Tigers thanks to a comeback win in game six, and a hang-on-for-dear-life game seven win. (Down 6-1, Detroit knocked a 3-run homer, then a solo shot, then put another man on, all with two outs, before finally yielding.) This is a repeat of last year's series, taken by the Dodgers in six. (The last time teams faced each other in consecutive Series was in '35 and '36, with Toronto and Pittsburgh splitting their two meetings. Before that, you go all the way back to the '77-'78 match-ups between LA and NY.) Texas heads to the Series for the fifth time, and is seeking their second title. LA is looking for their tenth title. ...... 2055 WORLD SERIES Game One: TEX 3 - LA 1 ... (TEX leads 1-0) Game Two: TEX 0 - LA 2 ... (series tied 1-1) Game Three: LA 3 - TEX 6 ... (TEX leads 2-1) Game Four: LA 9 - TEX 14 ... (TEX leads 3-1) Game Five: LA 5 - TEX 4 ... (TEX leads 3-2) Game Six: TEX 7 - LA 4 ... (TEX WINS 4-2) While I'm not surprised the Rangers won this series, I am a bit surprised at the offensive output against a really strong Dodgers pitching staff. LA starters Bryan Shaheen and Manny Lopez combined to win 44 games this season; here they won zero and had a combined ERA over ten. Anyway...it's the Rangers second World Series title in franchise history, the first coming in '52. LA was unable to repeat as champions, meaning that we are still the last team to accomplish that feat with our wins in '43 and '44. Given the talent on these teams, and that almost all of it is returning for next year, I think there's a very great chance we could see the first THREE-PEAT World Series tilt since the Yankees and NY Giants squared off in '21, '22, and '23. That's NINETEEN twenty-one, etc, fyi. So congrats to the Rangers. Now rot in hell, both of these teams. See you next year! Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!