[jksander]

September 26, 1908: Chicago went up early with an RBI single in the bottom of the first, and we were just out of sync right from the start, so we were lucky to get into the top of the third only trailing by a pair, down 2-0. Our offense was dead on arrival, putting the pressure on McClain to stay as close to perfect as he could the remainder of the way. Our scoreless streak stretched on and on as we went into the stretch still trailing by two. They added a third run in the bottom of the seventh off a one-out sac-fly to center. In the top of the ninth Ben Morris picked up a single, but Burgess, with one out, hit one barely out of the infield for an easy throw to get Moris out at second. Jeremy Smith got a hit up the middle, and Chris Hughes came in to pinch hit for de los Santos, but he hit one straight to Cole at short, who made the throw to second for the final out ... Chicago whipped us again 3-0, and we haven’t scored a run in 18 innings, losing this one 3-0.

McClain took the loss, a complete game nine-hit effort with a walk, a strikeout and three earned runs. We again picked up six empty hits, led this time by Morris who hit twice. If we’re going to get out of International Park with a win and avoid the sweep over the next two days, we’re going to need to figure out our hitting woes and find a way out of this godawful slump.

September 27, 1908: Sean Impagliazzo, on three full days’ rest, got the start today with us needing a win in the worst possible way. After 19 scoreless innings, we finally got a run on the board with an RBI double by Bobby Johnson in the top of the second, giving us a 1-0 lead. But in the bottom of the fourth they tied it up with an RBI triple by first baseman Max Berry, and this one was back in limbo. Moments later they took the lead with an RBI double by Bill Hill, sending us into the top of the fifth trailing 2-1. Jeremy Smith had a heroic hit in the top of the sixth with runners on the corners, bouncing a sharply hit ball off the wall at center field, stretching it into a triple that drove in the tying and go-ahead runs, giving us a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. Chicago tied it once again with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, and Impagliazzo loaded the bases with a walk and just one out, and the game quickly got out of our control. An RBI single by Alex Larralde scored two more runs for the Internationals, and we were lucky to get into the top of the eighth just trailing by that 5-3 margin, and without any additional offense to speak of, we limped into the end of this one looking thoroughly defeated. Chicago took a 3-1 series lead with the two-run win, and we go into tomororrow’s game needing a win ... and to have an incredible run of luck if we want to make an improbable comeback.

Impagliazzo allowed nine hits in his eight-inning complete game, with two walks and five earned runs, giving him a 4.24 ERA through his two starts during this series. We hit six times and at least managed to come up with some runs this time, but we simply don’t look like the same team that won 107 games and dominated the Ohio River League all year. Our bright spot today was Jeremy Smith, who hit twice, scored a run and drove in two more, giving him a .312 average in the series, while Johnson hit once and drove in a run, bringing his series average up to .267.

September 28, 1908: Mike Morris started today for game five, and all was well until the bottom of the third, when he loaded the bases and they took advantage with an RBI single that drove in the first two runs of the afternoon, giving Chicago a 2-0 lead heading into the top of the fourth. They added a run in the bottom of the fifth, and we didn’t get our first hit of the game until the top of the sixth. Chris Whalen pinch hit for Morris with one out in the top of the eighth, driving in our first run of the game with a double, but we couldn’t turn it into a rally. Ralph Ladd came in to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, while Michael Lewis, who had pinch hit into a groundout at first in the prior inning, stayed in at LF and Ben Morris transitioned to center. Ladd got us through the eighth without incident, bringing up Delgado and the heart of our order in the top of the ninth trailing by a pair. But they set us down one, two, three, and it was pandemonium as the fans rushed the field and we left with our heads down, having lost the game 3-1, and with it the series.

Morris lasted seven innings with seven hits, a walk and three earned runs, and Ladd put up a valiant effort with a two hit eighth inning, but we only managed three hits the entire game ourselves. Whalen’s hit got him an RBI, and Johnson scored a run without a hit. But for the most part this was just an embarassing end to a series with a lot of promise and no results. Our championship drought will extend past the three decade mark with the 4-1 series loss, while the Internationals celebrate their ninth title, and their fifth in the last nine seasons.

September 30, 1908: Right fielder Tony Juarez and backup shortstop Gustavo Quinones have both chosen to retire at age 36. Our owner is livid about our collapse in the Championship Series, and it is clouding his memory about how well we’ve done relating to every other goal BUT win a title. In a few weeks we’ll be back to the drawing board when free agency begins.