The IBL's Chicago Iron Pigs

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In the Pacific it's 3, but could be 4, teams heading into the final 4 weeks. LA has enough games against teams they're chasing, but it's alot to make up in a short time.

Sacramento's last 13 are against teams vying for a playoff spot, while Fresno's last 20 are.

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This is where the most excitement is likely to come. 7 teams withing 5.5 games of the 2nd Wild Card. Only Corpus Christi, Dallas and Boston are out of playoff contention, leaving 11 teams battling for 5 spots.

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WEEK 23
RECORD: 3-3 (99-43)
PLACE: 1st +14 over Columbus
Owner: Ecstatic
Fan Interest: 84/100
Schedule: Off Day/3 vs Green Bay/3 @ Columbus

9/4 GB 11 CHI 7 (11) Rolen (GB) 2-6 2HR (20) 5 RBI’s (80) Garcia GS (10). Coates 3-3 (.346). Hamilton blows 5-0 lead on Garcia GS. Collins HR (32) Chavez 3-5 HR (27). Pennington (L) 4ER 2IP (5.71 ERA)
9/5 GB 2 CHI 0 Freestone (GB) CG 4-hitter (13-7). Rogers (L, 14-8) 7IP 13K’s 2ER.
9/6 GB 3 CHI 2 Lee 8.1IP 2ER 7K’s (ND) 9th inning bases loaded walk to lose it. Riggs 3-5.
9/7 CHI 17 COL 2 10 run 9th. Martinez (W, 14-8) 7.1IP 2ER 4K’s. Collins, Torres, Morgan, Lorenzelli and Alexander with 2 RBI’s each. Morgan HR (30).
9/8 CHI 9 COL 8 (12) Winston BS (2) ‘Pen 5IP 7H 5ER. Zamora 7IP 5K 3ER (ND). Chavez 2-6 3RBI’s (98). Griffin (COL) 3-4 2HR’s (8) Peterson (COL) 3-5.
9/9 CHI 2 COL 1 Hamilton (W, 2-0) 7IP 1H 1ER Holt (H11) Moore (H14) Winston SV (2). Knox HR (29) in the 7th is the game winner.

KEY INJURIES AFFECTING THE RACES
9/4
Brooklyn will be without 1B Carlos Andrade (.316-10-50) for the next 3 weeks after he suffered a herniated disc.

9/8
Houston lost 2B Randolph Boyd for the rest of the regular season at least, after being diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. He was hitting .293-22-77 when he went down.

GOOD GAMES
9/9
Rafael Garza (LA) shut down Sacramento in a 12-0 win to move to 11-14 4.62 in 30 starts.

WEEK 23 RECAP
FL POTW-Eden Romero (GB) 11-16 1 HR 6 RBI’s (.291-2-29 in 61 games)
CL POTW-George Quinn (PHI) 9-20 3 HR’s 7 RBI’s (.280-29-105)

IBL POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Columbus (2)
3) New Hampshire (3)
4) Arizona (10) (took 2-2 from El Paso)
5) Green Bay (5)
OUT: Pittsburgh (12) (1-5 week, NH beats them 2 of 3)

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Brooklyn grabs 1.5 games on New York and Arizona does the same to El Paso. New Hampshire fans are going insane, as they draw closer to their first ever post season birth with a resounding 4-2 week, taking 2 of 3 from Pittsburgh, and then Baltimore. Houston goes 4-1 to pickup a game but Tulsa is close to making it too much ground too little time. Fresno hops into the thick of things in the Pacific and the CL Wild Card now has Pittsburgh's 5.5 game lead on WC#2 down to 2.5,and 4 teams with 2.5 of WC#2.

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WEEK 24
RECORD: 5-2 (104-45)
PLACE: Clinched
Owner: Ecstatic
Fan Interest: 84
Schedule: 4 @ Michigan/3 vs Dayton

9/10 CHI 9 MICH 5 Chavez 3-3, M Ramirez 3-4 2 RBI’s Salinas HR (28) Alexander HR (34) Morgan HR (31). Rogers (W, 15-8) 5 run 2nd, 6IP 5ER.
9/11 MICH 5 CHI 3 Lee (L, 18-5) 5ER 4IP 10H. Collins HR(33) M Francis (MICH) 2-4 2B, HR (1) 3 RBI (5)
9/12 MICH 3 CHI 1 Martinez (L, 14-9) 7IP 4H 3ER 7K’s. M Williams (MICH) 7.1IP 1ER (W, 11-9) Woodard SV (30).
9/13 CHI 16 MICH 6 Knox 2-3 2 HR’s (32) 4 RBI’s (81) Salinas 2-3 2 RBI’s (92) Drake (MICH) 2-5 HR (1) 4 RBI’s (5)
9/14 CHI 8 DAY 4 Chavez 2-3 3R 2 HR’s (29) 4 RBI’s (102) Alexander 3-3 HR (35) Hamilton (W, 3-0) 6IP 2ER 8K.
9/15 CHI 8 DAY 1 Rogers (W, 16-8) 7IP 1ER 7K’s Collins 2-3 HR (34) Chavez 2-5 HR (30) Miller 1-1 HR (6) 3 RBI’s (36)
9/16 CHI 5 DAY 4 Chavez 2-2 2 HR’s (32) 3 RBI’s (106) Morgan HR (32) Salinas HR (29) Lee (W, 19-5) 7IP 3ER 6K’s Winston SV (3) Holt (H12)

GOOD GAMES
9/15
38 year old Manny Miranda (DAL) went 5-6 with 2 RBI’s in a 13-5 win over San Antonio.

9/16
Staten Island 21 year old OF Lonnie Vaughan went 4-6 with 4 RBI’s and hit 3 home runs in a 17-7 win over Brooklyn. Vaughan is hitting .268-27-81 as a rookie.

9/17
24 year old Felipe Garcia went 4-4 and hit for the cycle in a 8-7 loss to Alaska. Garcia is hittin g.298-28-72.

INJURIES WITH IMPLICATIONS
Las Vegas , currently 4 games up in the Pacific over Sacramento, lost superstar Jesus Andrales for the remainder of the season with a broken bone in his hand. Andrales was hitting .315-3-58 with 41 stolen bases.

Tulsa’s Wally Reed is headed to the DL just a week after returning from a broken hand. The 31 year old has a severe calf strain that will sideline him for 3 weeks.

Knight SP Millard Brown (12-10 4.61) will miss the next 6 months after shoulder surgery today. The Knights are 1.5 games behind Brooklyn and 6.5 out of the 2nd WC spot. They head to Brooklyn for a 2 game series tomorrow.

Chase Utley (GB) will miss the next 2 weeks after coming up with a stiff neck…. Utley is hitting .310-15-48.

CONTRACT TALKS
El Paso announced the signing of 29 year old OF Caden Haynes to a 6 year 96M dollar contract extension today. Haynes has spent the past 7 years in El Paso, hitting .291/.378/.513 with 189 2B’s and 206 homers in 1001 games. He’s also stolen 143 of 202 bases and driven in 696 runs.

MINORS
Catcher Shigekazu Kiyomizu went 5-5 with 5 RBI’s in a 15-9 Heavener win today. Kiyomizu was signed as a minor league FA last winter.

WEEK 24 RECAP
FL POTW-Lonnie Vaughan (SI) 7-14 4 HR’s 5 RBI’s (.271-29-83)
CL POTW-Chandler Harris (LA) 11-25 6 HR’s 9 RBI’s (.261-42-96)

IBL POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Columbus (2)
3) Tulsa (10) Huge 7-0 week, 2-0 vs Baltimore 4-0 vs Dallas
4) Green Bay (5)
5) New Hampshire (3)
OUT Arizona (9)

RACES
Brooklyn's 1-5 week combined with New York's 4-2 mean the Knights go from 2.5 back to .5 game up with 2 weeks to go. The Knights took both games of a weekend series in Brooklyn, and will head back there Wednesday and Thursday of this week again.

Arizona went 3-3 and El Paso 5-2 to lock them in a tie. They will meet 4 times next week in a home/home series.


Green Bay pretty much locked up the 2nd wild card spot with a 5-1 week.

In the Coastal New Hampshire fans remain excited as the Fisher Cats are 5 up with 13 to play.

Tulsa's 7-0 week pretty much ended any hopes San Antonio might have had, and puts Houston's focus on keep that 2nd wild card spot.

Vegas' 1-5 week gives the entire division a shot of adrenalin, with all 4 teams now within 5.5. LA has 4 left vs Fresno and 2 with Vegas to end the season. Vegas is looking at 2 with Fresno and 2 with Sacramento this week after a 2 game set vs Houston.

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WEEK 25
RECORD:
PLACE: Clinched
Owner:
Fan Interest:
Schedule: Off Day/3 @ West Michigan/3 vs Michigan

9/18 WMI 2 CHI 1 Martinez (L, 14-10) CG 1ER 7K’s Coates leadoff HR (19) 2-5 (.339). Craig Frank (WMI) saves his 35th.
9/19 CHI 17 WMI 3 Lorenzelli 5-5 2 2B’s Knox 2-3 2 HR’s (34) 5 RBI’s (86) Collins 2-6 HR (35) Torres 2-6 3 RBI’s. Zamora (W, 14-6) 6IP 3H 1ER. 11-0 after 2 innings.
9/20 WMI 5 CHI 4 (10) Winston BS (3) (L, 4-2) Haas (WMI) 2 out game tying HR (29) in the 9th. Hamilton 7IP 3ER 5K’s (ND). Benjamin (WMI) 8IP 4H 2ER 8K’s (ND) Frank BS (5) Espinoza (W, 12-9)
9/21 CHI 5 MICH 0 Rogers (W, 17-8) 6IP 1H 6K’s Ellison SV(3) Alexander 3-4 3B (2) HR (36) RBI (95).
9/22 MICH 7 CHI 5 Lee (L, 19-6) 7.1IP 6ER 7K’s 5 early runs. Diaz (MICH) (W, 13-12) Woodard SV(33). Tulsa won the AAA World Series. The remainder of the players there, on the 40 man, were recalled.
9/23 CHI 4 MICH 2 Martinez (W, 15-10) 7IP 2ER 6 K’s. O Reyes 3-4 SB (1) Rivera 2-4.

GOOD GAMES
Bill Shook (PIT) was called up out of A ball into Pittsburgh’s rotation for the World Series last year. He held his own and was in line, and won, a spot in their rotation this year. He was their 3rd round pick in 2014 out of Stanford. He tossed a 3-hitter vs New Hampshire today to move to 18-7 4.19 in his rookie year. The win moved the Bulldogs to within 4.5 games of the Fisher Cats, and kept them 3 up on Houston for the #1 WC spot.

INJURIES
9/23
Houston lost OF Rich Stone to a broken thumb. He’ll miss at least the next 4 weeks, putting him out of action until, at least, the World Series should Houston advance. He was hitting .320-14-62.

WEEK 25 RECAP
FL POTW-Gonzalo Rios (EDM) 12-23 3 HR’s 9 RBI’s (.331-25-93)
CL POTW-Jesus Castro (PHI) 11-19 2 HR’s 8 RBI’s (.308-12-68)

IBL POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Columbus (2)
3) Houston (7)
4) Green Bay (4)
5) Pittsburgh (8)
OUT: Tulsa (8) New Hampshire (7)

RACES

New York holds serve as they and Brooklyn have 3-3 weeks. They meet up for the final 2 regular season games, with New York at home.

El Paso has a 3-2 week while the Greyhounds go 2-4, which means El Paso now has a 1.5 game lead. But it will likely be settled in the next 4 days as they begin a 4 game series with 2 in El Paso, and 2 in Arizona.

Green Bay has a 1-6 week to give Brooklyn and Arizona at least some semblance of hope in the WC.

New Hampshire is closing in on that title, but Pittsburgh took 3 of 4 in their final series.

The Wild Card appears headed to the wire, with Houston 1.5 up on the 2nd spot with 7 to play, Baltimore has 6 left.

The stat races are all nice and close, with the exception of the HR races which, barring an insane week, will go to Schall and Harris.

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WEEK 26
RECORD: 2-4 (109-52)
PLACE: Clinched
Owner: Ecstatic
Fan Interest: 84/100
Schedule: Off Day/3 vs Columbus/2 @ Edmonton/2 vs Columbus REGULAR SEASON OVER

9/25 COL 16 CHI 1 Zamora (L, 14-7) 7ER 1IP 4 HR’s. Sandoval (COL) (W, 14-6) 9IP 1ER 4K. Ubadah (COL) 4-5 2B 2 HR’s (29) 7 RBI’s (105) Peterson (COL) 2 HR’s (33) Hudson (COL) 4-5 RBI (135).
9/26 COL 4 CHI 3 Hamilton (L, 3-1) 4ER 7IP. De La Garza (w, 10-11) 2ER 8 IP, Lopez SV (45). Ubadah 2 more HR’s (31) 4 RBI’s (109).
9/27 CHI 3 COL 1 Rogers (W, 18-8) 5IP 1ER 10K’s Winston SV (5) Ubadah 5th HR of the series. Knox 3-3 Salinas HR (30).
9/28 CHI 4 EDM 1 Lee 6IP 3H 1ER 5K’s (ND) misses out on 20 wins… Winston SV (6). Morgan 2-2 HR (33) 2 RBI’s (88).
9/29 EDM 3 CHI 1 Martinez (L, 15-11) 7IP 3ER 2K (ends with 199 K’s, not 1 K over last 4 IP). Clifton (EDM) 2-3 2 HR’s (15) Collins HR (37).
9/30 COL 5 CHI 4 Ubadah (COL) another HR (33) Hudson 3-4. Riggs injured in the 3rd inning in a base running collision.
10/1

PENNANT RACES
9/24
FL Empire-New York +1/2 going into today-Both teams win, Brooklyn remains ½ game out.

FL Western-El Paso +1 ½ going into today. Arizona takes game 1 vs El Paso, 8-3. Zito (14-11) gets bombed (6ER 1.2IP) and rookie John Graham (4-4) goes 8-3-1-1-2-0 for the win. Jean Chartier (EP) goes 3-4 in the loss. 22 year old Rookie Masayuki Hara (AZ) goes 3-5 and drives in 3 in just his 4th IBL game. The Greyhounds are now just ½ game out.

FL Wild Card-Brooklyn’s win and an idle Green Bay means the Cyclones move to within 3 ½ with 6 to play for them, 7 for Green Bay.

CL Keystone-New Hampshire wins, Pittsburgh is idle, so the Fisher Cats are now 5 up with 7 to play for them, 6 for Pittsburgh.

CL Pacific-Vegas by 1 ½ over Sacramento, 3 over Fresno going into today. Fresno beats Las Vegas 8-3 to move to 3 out, and Sacramento is idle so they pick up a half game, and are just 1 out with 6 to play.

CL Wild Card-Houston is 1 ½ up on Baltimore going in. Both teams win so the lead for the 2nd spot remains at 1 ½ games.

9/25
FL Empire-New York loses 4-2 to Dayton, and Brooklyn beats Buffalo 11-8, so the Bisons take over the Empire division lead by .5 game….

FL Western-Arizona beats El Paso again to take a .5 game lead in the division. Caden Haynes went 2-4 with 2 HR’s (26) and 4 RBI’s (78) in the loss. Antonio Sandoval was 4-5 with a 2B and HR (1) and Jose Martinez went 3-5 with 2 HR’s (23) and 2 RBI’s (92). Alfredo Alejandrez gave up 5 earned in 5.2 IP. Mendez notched his 36th save.

FL Wild Card-New York falls out of 1st, and is now 4 games in back of Green Bay for the 2nd Wild Card.

CL Keystone-New Hampshire beats Boston 5-3 to clinch at least a tie of the Keystone Division.

CL Pacific-Fresno beats Sacramento 8-3 and Las Vegas suffered a crushing defeat as Dallas scores 2 in the bottom of the 8th and 4 more in the bottom of the 9th to beat the 51’s 12-11. Vegas is now 1 up on Sacramento, 2 on Fresno, all with 5 to play.

CL Wild Card-Houston and Baltimore were both idle.

9/26
FL Empire-Brooklyn loses 9-0 to Buffalo and New York falls 5-4 to Staten Island, Cyclones up ½ game with 4 to play, NY has 5 left.

FL West-El Paso drubs Arizona 10-1, and retakes a half game lead. They’re tied in the loss column.

FL Wild Card-Green Bay clinches at least a tie for the 2nd spot.

CL Keystone-New Hampshire clinches the Keystone division title and Pittsburgh clinches a wild card spot on the same day.

CL Pacific-Vegas loses 4-1 to Dallas, Fresno beats Sacramento 3-2 which means the 51’s have a 1 game lead on Sacramento and Fresno, all with 4 to play. Tulsa is 3.5 up on Houston in the Lone Star, but they’re final 4 are against Fresno and Sacramento. Vegas plays 2 vs LA and 2 vs New Hampshire.

9/27
FL Empire-Brooklyn loses 10-3 to Green Bay (and the Blizzard clinch the 2nd WC spot) and New York drops a 10-7 decision to Staten Island to keep the Cyclones in 1st by ½ game. Brooklyn has 1 more vs Green Bay, then an off day, New York plays Michigan 2, and then they meet for the final 2 games.

FL West-Arizona beats El Paso 7-4 to retake the division lead by ½ game. The Greyhounds play Columbus for 2, then finish with 2 vs Michigan while El Paso is home for 3 with an off day vs Alaska.

CL Lone Star-Tulsa is 3 up on Houston with 4 to play.

CL Pacific-Sacramento beat Pittsburgh 2-1, Las Vegas lost to LA 6-5, and Fresno was off. So Sacramento is tied with Las Vegas for the Division lead, and Fresno is ½ game out. Fresno has 4 left, Sacramento and Vegas 3 each, but all three are tied in the loss column.

9/28
FL Empire-Brooklyn loses 6-5 to Green Bay and New York drops a 2-1 game on a walkoff error by Jorge Ibarra.

FL West-Arizona beat Columbus 4-2 to gain a ½ game on idle El Paso, and now lead the west by 1 full game.

CL Lone Star-Tulsa clinched.

CL Pacific-Fresno’s 3-1 loss to Tulsa coupled with Sacramento’s 7-6 win over Pittsburgh and Las Vegas’ 12-4 loss to LA gives the Rivercats a 1 game lead on Vegas, and 1 ½ on Fresno. Las Vegas has gone 0-5 this week and 2-8 in their last 10 games.

9/29
FL Empire-New York beats Michigan 7-5 to tie idle Brooklyn at 83-77 with them meeting for the seasons final 2 games.

FL West-Arizona loses 10-3 to Columbus and El Paso drops a 3-1 game vs Alaska. Arizona is 83-77, El Paso 82-78.

CL Pacific-Fresno beats Tulsa to tie Las Vegas at 81-79, 1 game in back of 82-78 Sacramento.

9/30
FL Empire-Brooklyn destroys New York 19-5 and takes a 1 game lead with 1 to play.

FL West-Arizona and El Paso both lose. El Paso in 13 innings. Arizona clinches at least a tie.

CL Pacific-Fresno beats LA 11-8 and Sacramento loses to Tulsa 3-2. Vegas loses their 6th straight, 5-3 to New Hampshire. Sacramento and Fresno are tied at 82-79, Vegas is 81-80.

CL Wild Card-Houston is 85-76, San Antonio 84-77 after the Silver Stars shut them out yesterday. They meet today in the seasons final game.

WEEK 26 AND SEPTEMBER RECAPS
FL POTW-Wazir Ubadah (COL) 11-27 5 HR’s 14 RBI’s (.266-33-112)
CL POTW-Bob Herman (FRE) 10-17 2 HR’s 4 RBI’s

SEPTEMBER AWARDS
FL HITTER-Jeffrey Hudson (COL) .370-6-29 (.313-41-137)
CL HITTER-George Quinn (PHI) .362-11-40 (.289-36-134)
FL PITCHER-Antonio Sandoval (COL) 5-1 1.82 (15-6 3.59) He was hurt pitching in yesterdays game.
CL PITCHER-Thomas Savary (NH) 5-0 2.89 (18-6 4.28)
FL ROOKIE-Gonzalo Rios (EDM) .340-8-26 (.325-27-98)
CL ROOKIE-Ed Adronyk (CC) .231-10-19 (.272-22-77)

MINORS NEWS
Denison Catcher Ron Leenan won the GG in the Class A (N) league. In the Class A (S) league Gerardo Lorenzo (P) and Ruberto Gabere (1B) took home gold gloves as well. In AA 3B Scott Barnes won the Gold Glove.

Belleview SP Miguel Vega took home Class A (S) Pitcher of the year for his 13-6 3.55 season. He was signed in April of last year as a minor league FA.

In the Class A (S) West Michigan prospect and 2017 1st rounder Joaquin Vargas went 19-1 1.88 with 283 K’s in 192 IP to take home Pitcher of the Year.

IBL POWER RANKINGS
1) Chicago (1)
2) Columbus (2)
3) Green Bay (4)
4) New Hampshire (7)
5) Tulsa (8)
OUT Houston (10) Pittsburgh (6)

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10/1 CHI 9 COL 7 6 run bottom of the 9th. O Reyes 4-5 4 Runs, Deleon 3-4 3 RBI’s, Jones 2-4 3 RBI’s 9th inning 3 run walk off homer. Paul Riggs suffered a broken hand and will miss the post season. Damn.

FL Empire-New York, behind 7.1 innings of 4 hit 1 run ball, beats Brooklyn 4-1 to tie the Cyclones and force a 1 game playoff.

FL West-Arizona drops a 5-3 decision to Michigan and El Paso gets 2 HR’s from Jean Chartier in a 6-3 win to tie for the Division lead and force another 1 game playoff.

CL Pacific-Sacramento loses 11-3 to Tulsa, Vegas gets 3 in the 8th to beat New Hampshire 5-3, and Fresno drops a 5-4 decision to Los Angeles, setting up a 3 way tie for the CL’s Pacific Division title.

CL Wild Card-In a wild game, Houston came back in the 7th, down 7-2, to take an 8-7 lead. San Antonio took it right back in the bottom half, 9-8 and Houston tied it in the top of the 8th. San Antonio then scored four runs in the bottom to win 13-9, and tie the Roughriders for the 2nd wild card spot and force a 1 game playoff.

MINORS NEWS
25 year old Santiago Flores took home AA hitter of the year for his .323-29-87 season. Flores was acquired from Dayton in 2016 for IF Chris Dixon.

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1 Game Playoffs
10/3
Jesus Romano (15-13) tossed 8.2 scorless innings and punched out 10 in a 9-0 beating of Brooklyn. Rookie CF Rusty Davey went 3-5 with 5 RBI’s to lead New York to the Empire Division title.

Arizona scored 4 runs in the top of the 8th to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 7-5 win and capture their first post season birth in franchise history.

By virtue of tie breakers, Sacramento and Las Vegas will play, and Fresno will play the winner of that game.

In the first game Sacramento gets 8.2 solid innings from SP Joel Downs and Sherwood Miller goes 2-5 with a HR and 4 RBI’s to lead the Rivercats to a 10-2 win over Vegas. In the 2nd game Sacramento scores 5 in the 7th and 2 in the 8th to beat the Grizzlies 7-3. Sherwood Miller goes 2-4 with 3 RBI’s and SP David Powell (8-20) tosses a CG 9-7-3-3-0-7.

In Houston, Luis Rios (SAN) hits his 40th HR of the year in the 7th, and the 2 run shot gives the Silver Stars an 8-7 win over Houston, to clinch the 2nd Wild Card in the CL. Cy May goes 3-4 in the loss.

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2018 POST SEASON
Wild Card Play-In games:

Green Bay Blizzard: Grant Thomas (14-7 4.03)
@
Columbus Clippers: Antonio Sandoval (15-6 3.59)

Clipper Kurt Peterson opens the scoring in the 1st with a solo HR. Carl Crawford would score to tie it, on a 4th inning wild pitch and the game would remain 1-1 into the 9th. Catcher John Porter (GB) would lead off the 9th with a double, and end up scoring on a Romero RBI ground out. Francisco Herreva would get the Clippers 1-2-3 in the 9th for a 2-1 Green Bay win. Antonio Sandoval went 8.2-3-2-2-1-7 in taking the loss.
Green Bay 2 Columbus 1
Green Bay advances.

San Antonio Silver Stars: Ruben Cruz (16-10 4.68)
@
Pittsburgh Bulldogs: Vincent Bray (17-8 2.94)

San Antonio jumped out to 2-0 lead in the top of the 3rd on a Stokes RBI single and a Lando Jongmans RBI ground out. Pittsburgh would stay off the board until a Melvin McCabe RBI double scored Allan Hedden in the 6th. Manual Cantu would follow with a 2 run single to put the Bulldogs up 3-2. Vincent Bray would take over from there, going 8-7-2-2-1-7 and Joe Boswell would pitch a perfect 9th for the Save.
Pittsburgh 3 San Antonio 2
Pittsburgh advances

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Tulsa Drillers vs Pittsburgh Bulldogs

The Drillers are in their 6th consecutive post season. Having won the 2016 WS and been upset in the LCS last year by the Bulldogs, revenge is on the minds of Driller fans and players.

The Bulldogs enter their 4th straight post season. They've sandwiched World Series losses to Columbus in 2015, and us last year, around the Drillers 2016 title. They entered last years WS severely handicapped with injuries, not so this year.

The Bulldogs finished 1st in runs against, SP ERA. Their pen was 4th in ERA and their offense 4th in HR's. They were 11th in runs scored though, and 11th in defense. In the other dugout Tulsa was 1st in HR's, 2nd in runs scored but 11th in SP ERA. Their pen finished 4th in ERA. Rich Alfred (TUL) comes in riding a 10 game streak in which he's hitting .455-5-12. Alfred was the CL Batting champion this year at .340. Bulldog ace Vincent Bray went 17-8 2.94 in winning his 3rd ERA title in teh past 4 seasons. Teammate Ramon Roa set a Coastal League single season record with 266 K's, besting Chris O'Slattery's 245 in '13. The 1-2 finishers in WAR will play against each other in this season with Angelo Gomez (8.9) vs Curt Whimster (8.5).

Prediction: Tulsa in 7


Sacramento River Cats vs New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Sacramento makes its 4th playoff appearance and 2nd in a row. Having yet to reach a World Series. Anchored by the CL's best defense, #2 bullpen and an offense that hit the 3rd most HR's in the league. LF Jorge Ortiz (41-119) and deadline acquisition Lance Berkman (31-97) lead the River Cat offense. Joel Downs (acquired from Tulsa mid season and went 10-2 after the trade) leads the staff and former Iron Pig Mike Davis enjoyed his first healthy season since 2012 going 16-10 3.92.

On the other side are playoff first timers in New Hampshire. The Fisher Cats went from 77-85 to 94-69 to win the Keystone by 6 games. Last in the CL in HR's (165) and once again 1st in SB's (248) their SP was 4th in ERA, and they were 4th in defensive efficiency. Offensively they are led by Jose Perez (.316-44-135) who comes into the post season riding a 16 game streak in which he's hitting .397-10-22. Veteran slugger Alberto Vargas hits cleanup, and went .258-34-105.

Prediction: New Hampshire in 6

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New York Knights vs Green Bay Blizzard

New York is in their 3rd straight post season, winning their third straight Empire Division title in a 163rd game win over the Buffalo Bisons. Last in the FL in both HR's and AVG., they've managed to be a good 'team' despite no real stars. Troy Glaus and Mathew Moore are the middle of the order with 23 year old Albert Pujols coming along as well. Jesus Romano is the undisputed ace (15-13 4.44 226 K's). Closer Sherwood Jacobs had a solid year with 37 Saves and a 3.41. Catcher Kevin Corfield is riding a 9 game streak in which he's hitting .400-2-11.

The Blizzard enter the post season for the 2nd time in 4 years as one of the most well rounded teams in the IBL. They'll have to manage without star RF Andruw Jones for 5 more days, but their offense was 2nd in AVG 2nd in SB and 6th in runs. Their pitching staff is lead by Kirby Dean (12-10 3.74) Grant Thomas (14-7 4.03) and Matt Freestone (16-8 4.08). Closer Lee Cameron (28 SV 4.15) has moved into a setup role and 25 year old sinkerballer Francisco Herreva will close.

Prediction: Green Bay in 5


Chicago Iron Pigs vs Arizona Greyhounds

Former Iron Pig #1 Alfredo Alejandrez and #1 IBL prospect Gabriel Pimentel will front the Greyhound rotation in this best of 5. Their offense is led by 3B Michael Moran (.304-38-130) and 1B Juan Cabrera (.307-14-86). 40 year old Esteban Mendez is coming off his 7th consecutive 30+ save season. Their offense was 3rd in runs, avg and 2nd in OBP. Along with New Hampshire, Arizona is making their 1st ever post season appearance.

We're entering this series without our #1, without our Closer and now without our #2 hitter and starting 2B. That being said we still have a team that can win it all again. Ken Lee will start Game 1, followed by rookie Roberto Martinez. Bryan Rogers will go game 3, Gerardo Zamora game 4. Mike Hamilton will be the long man out of the pen. Wes Webb will handle the 2B duties and Dave Winston will close.

Prediction: Chicago in 6

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GAME 1's

FRONTIER LEAGUE

Chicago Iron Pigs-Ken Lee (19-6 4.09)
@
Arizona Greyhounds-Alfredo Alejandrez (12-9 4.26)

Ken Lee (1-0) was dominant, taking a 5 hit shut out into the 9th. A 2 out Jelmar Walraven home run spoiled the shutout, but Lee finished the game going 9-6-1-1-0-4. Hugh Collins broke open a 0-0 game in the 4th with a 3 run homer. Collins was 2-4 with 3 RBI's. Bill Alexander went 2-4 with an RBI and Eric Coates was 2-5 with a SB.
Chicago 5 Arizona 1
W-Lee (1-0) L-Alejandrez (0-1)
HR CHI Collins (1) AZ Walraven (1)
Chicago leads the series 1-0

New York Knights-Jesus Romano (15-13 4.44)
@
Green Bay Blizzard-Kirby Dean (12-10 3.74)

Todd Helton went 3-5 with a run and an RBI and Chris Thornton was 2-5 with 3 RBI's in Green Bay's 7-3 win. Kirby Dean went 7.1-3-3-3-5-9 and Francisco Herreva got the last 2 outs for his 2nd post season save. Marcos Oginlara went 2-3 with 2 solo HR's in the loss.
Green Bay 7 New York 3
W-Dean (1-0) L-Romano (0-1) S-Herreva (2)
HR NY Oginlara 2(2)
Green Bay leads the series 1-0

COASTAL LEAGUE

Tulsa Drillers-Antonio Rodriguez (14-11 3.67)
@
Pittsburgh Bulldogs-Ramon Roa (14-10 3.03)

Ramon Roa went 6.1-2-0-0-2-7 and Joe Boswell worked out of 9th inning trouble to save his 2nd game. Paul Reeves 2 out 2 run double was the difference in a 3-1 win for Pittsburgh. Antonio Rodriguez went 7.2-5-3-3-4-7 in the loss.
Pittsburgh 3 Tulsa 1
W-Roa (1-0) L-Rodriguez (0-1) S-Boswell (2)
HR NONE
Pittburgh leads the series 1-0

New Hampshire Fisher Cats-Nick Powell (16-5 4.01)
@
Sacramento River Cats-Joel Downs (15-8 4.08 (10-2 3.82 w/Sacramento)

Jose Perez (NH) scored on a 2 out wild pitch in the top of the 8th to break a 3-3 tie, and Kent Larson followed with a 2 run triple to give New Hampshire a win in it's first post season game. Perez was 3-4 with 2 runs and an RBI. Joel Downs went 7.2-9-6-3-2-4 in taking the loss. Lance Berkman was 3-3 with a double, homer and 2 RBI's in the loss.
New Hampshire 6 Sacramento 3
W D Kelly (1-0) L-Downs (0-1) S-Chapman (1)
HR NH Ackerman (1) SAC Berkman (1)
New Hampshire leads the series 1-0

[gehrig38]

GAME 2's

FRONTIER LEAGUE

Chicago Iron Pigs-Roberto Martinez (15-11 3.88)
@
Arizona Greyhounds-Gabriel Pimentel (16-12 4.46)

Roberto Martinez gave up 3 in the first and Gabriel Pimentel held the Chicago offense down for 8 innings. Jelmar Walraven hit his 2nd HR in a 3 run 1st and Jeremy Christenson added a solo shot in the 4th. Walraven and Michael Moran both had 2 RBI's. Martinez allowed all 5 Greyhound runs in 4.1 IP. Esteban Mendez got the final 4 outs for his 1st save.
Arizona 5 Chicago 1
W Pimentel (1-0) L Martinez (0-1) S Mendez (1)
HR AZ Walraven (2) Christenson (1)
Series tied 1-1

New York Knights-Morgan Lewis (9-12 5.25)
@
Green Bay Blizzard-Matt Freestone (16-8 4.08)

Todd Helton went 3-4, homering and driving in 2 as Green Bay used a 3 run 6th to beat New York 6-5 and take a 2-0 series lead. Chase Utley was 3-4 with 2 RBI's, and Jose Ibarra went 3-4 in the loss. Francisco Herreva notched his 3rd playoff save in 3 games.
Green Bay 6 New York 5
W Becker (2-0) L Lewis (0-1) S Herreva (3)
HR GB M Moore (1) Oginlara (3) J Torres (1) Davey (1) NY Helton (1)
Green Bay leads the series 2-0

COASTAL LEAGUE

Tulsa Drillers-George Perkins (20-6 3.58)
@
Pittsburgh Bulldogs-Vincent Castillo (6-4 2.50)

Wow. What a day for Melving McCabe (PIT). He went 4-6 and hit for the cycle, driving in 3. The topper though, was that he needed a HR to get the cycle, and in the bottom of the 13th, down 1, he hit a 2 run walk off HR to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 series lead. Wally Reeds 2 out 9th inning HR tied the game for Tulsa, off Pittsburgh Closer Joe Boswell. Tulsa would score 1 in the top of the 13th before McCabe's walk off in the bottom.
Pittsburgh 6 Tulsa 5
W Harvey (1-0) L Gomez (0-1)
HR TUL W Reed (1) PIT McCabe (1)
Pittsburgh leads the series 2-0

New Hampshire Fisher Cats-Steve Dunlap (13-5 3.58)
@
Sacramento River Cats-Esteban Valdez (13-11 4.48)

Esteban Valdez (SAC) went the distance on a 5-hitter and Greg Leonard went 2-3 with a 3 run homer to give Sacramento a 7-1 win and tie the series at 1 apiece as they head back to New Hamphire.
Sacramento 7 New Hampshire 1
W Valdez (1-0) L Dunlap (0-1)
HR NH Barrera (1) SAC Pitzi (1) G Leonard (1)
Series tied 1-1

[gehrig38]

GAME 3's

Frontier League

Arizona Greyhounds-John Graham (4-5 6.18)
@
Chicago Iron Pigs-Bryan Rogers(18-8 4.12)

Juan Cabrera and Christian Wilkins back to back RBI singles in the 7th broke a 2-2 tie and the Arizona pen held on for the final 6 outs to allow them to take a 2-1 series lead. Bryan Rogers went 6.2-6-4-4-4-6 and there was much debate over him finishing the 7th. Ultimately he was left in, and allowed the tie breaking single and Jake Ellison came in behind him to allow the 2nd RBI single. Hugh Collins was 2-3 with a HR and the only 2 RBI's for Chicago on the day.
Arizona 4 Chicago 2
W P Smith (1-0) L Rogers (0-1) S Mendez (2)
HR CHI Collins (2)
Arizona leads the series 2-1

Green Bay Blizzard-Ruben Lopez (7-8 4.11)
@
New York Knights-Rob Powell (9-14 5.40)

Troy Glaus went 2-2 with 2 HR's and 5 RBI's, Marcos Oginlara went 2-4 with a homer and 3 RBI's and New York scored 19 runs on 18 hits in a 19-5 pasting of Green Bay.
New York 19 Green Bay 5
W Powell (1-0) L R Lopez (0-1)
HR GB Puente (1) Utley (1) NY Glaus 2 (2) Oginlara (4)
Green Bay leads the series 2-1

Coastal League

Sacramento River Cats-Mike Davis (16-10 3.92)
@
New Hampshire Fisher Cats-Thomas Savary (18-6 4.28)

Sacramento scored 4 runs in the 1st three innings and former Iron Pigs Mike Davis, Curt Daugherty and 3 other relievers held New Hampshire to just 2 runs. Davis went 6.2-8-1-1-3-4 for the win and Julio Gonzales worked out of a 9th inning bases loaded jam for the save. Thomas Savary went 7.2-7-4-4-2-2 for the loss.
Sacramento 4 New Hampshire 2
W Davis (1-0) L Savary (0-1) S Gonzales (1)
HR SAC J Cruz (1)
Sacramento leads the series 2-1

Pittsburgh Bulldogs-Vincent Bray (17-8 2.94)
@
Tulsa Drillers-Bryant Thomas (3-2 8.08)

Ambrose Cox (TUL) 2nd inning grand slam off Vincent Bray was enough as former Iron Pig Bryant Thomas went 8-5-3-3-3-8 for the win and Albert Camp got the final 3 for his 1st save. Paul Reeves started the scoring with a solo shot in the 1st, Allan Hedden added his own in the 3rd.
Tulsa 6 Pittsburgh 3
W B Thomas (1-0) L Bray (0-1) S Camp (1)
HR PIT Reeves (1) Hedden (2) TUL Cox (1) Chavez (1)
Pittsburgh leads the series 2-1

[gehrig38]

OF Eric Coates was heading to arbitration this winter and in a move to create more cost certainty we opened dialogue. In the end we agreed to a 4 year 22M dollar extension, with a 5th year team option at 10.5M. He was due to make between 6-7 in arbitration this year and we managed to get a base of 3.5/4.5/5.5/8.5 over the 4 years. A deal both sides are happy with.
Fan interest moved to 86 upon the announcement.

[gehrig38]

GAME 4's

FRONTIER LEAGUE

Arizona Greyhounds-Will Davidson (9-12 5.95)
@
Chicago Iron Pigs-Gerardo Zamora (14-7 4.85)

Holy cow. Walt Harris' solo shot leading off the bottom of the 8th was just our 2nd hit, and the games first run. In the top of the 9th, Christian Wilkins and Michael Moran singled off Randy Pennington to lead it off. Jake Ellison relieved, and Jelmar Walraven hit a deep fly to center, allowing Wilkins to advance to 3rd with 1 out. Ellison then managed to get Arturo Olivo to pop to shallow left for the 2nd out. Dave Winston then came on to face Andres Romero, and he struck him out on a 2-2 pitch to end the game. Zamora went 6-2-0-0-2-5 and Arizona SP Will Davidson went 6.2-1-0-0-2-6 in no decisions.
Chicago 1 Arizona 0
W Moore (1-0) L Whitten (0-1) S Winston (1)
HR CHI Harris (1)
Series tied 2-2

Green Bay-Grant Thomas (1-0 1.42)
@
New York-Jesus Romano (0-1 9.00)

Chris Thornton's 3 run homer in the 7th tied the game at 3, and Eden Romero's 2 run shot in the 11th was the game winner as Green Bay eliminated New York with a 5-3 11 inning win.
Green Bay 5 New York 3 (11)
W Herreva (1-0) L Snyder (0-1) S F Frank (1)
HR GB Thornton (1) Romero (1) NY Davey (2)
Green Bay wins the series 3 games to 1

COASTAL LEAGUE

Sacramento River Cats-David Powell (8-20 4.79)
@
New Hampshire-Jesus Perez (2-7 5.21)

2 in the 1st, 2 in the 2nd and 2 in the 3rd were too much for the Fisher Cats to come back from. Sacramento held on to beat New Hampshire 9-5 and advance to the LCS.
Sacramento 8 New Hampshire 5
W Powell (1-0) L J Perez (0-1) S Gonzales (2)
HR SAC J Ortiz (2) NH Hamilton (1)
Sacramento wins the series 3 games to 1

Pittsburgh Bulldogs-Bill Shook (18-7 4.31)
@
Tulsa Drillers-Denny Walker (3-4 7.44)

Bill Shook and 3 Pittsburgh relievers combined on a 3-hit shutout, and Tim Holmes and Melvin McCabe drove in 2 runs each as Pittsburgh eliminated Tulsa with a 7-0 win.
Pittsburgh 7 Tulsa 0
W Shook (1-0) L Walker (0-1)
HR None
Pittsburgh wins the series 3 games to 1

[gehrig38]

GAME 5
Arizona Greyhounds-Alfredo Alejandrez (0-1 6.75)
@
Chicago Iron Pigs-Ken Lee (1-0 1.00)

Oh my. Not sure I could have seen this coming last winter. I have not 'felt it' since the post season started. Heading in without Thompson or Cruz felt like I was going to try winning with one hand tied behind my back. Well it's a game 5 win or go home, and Ken Lee has the ball. Someone needs to step up on our end.

Oh...my... Lord....
1-1 after 1, 4-2 us after 3, 6-3 us after 4, 8-6 us after 5, 9-9 after 6.... Where it stayed until the 11th. Arturo Olivo hit his 2nd HR of the game off Pedro Garcia after Mike Moore faced just 1 hitter before being injured, to give Arizona a 10-9 lead. In the bottom of the 11th pinch hitter Ron Miller lined into a game ending DP with the tying run at 2nd, and in an instant, the seasons over.
Ken Lee blew lead after lead in a 5.1-10-7-7-1-5 outing. There was reluctance to get to the pen early given how fatigued they all were. No thought to bringing in Hamilton early, which I think will haunt us all winter long. Eric Coates went 3-5 with a double and a HR, Bill Alexander went 3-4 with 4 RBI's. 3 differenct Greyhounds had 3 hit days with leadoff hitter Jose Martinez going 3-6 with 2 doubles and scoring 3.
Arizona 10 Chicago 9 (11)
W Mendez (1-0) L Garcia (0-1) S Quintana (1)
HR AZ Olivo 2 (2) CHI Coates (1) Alexander (1)
Arizona wins the series 3-2

[gehrig38]

Mike Moore tore his rotator cuff, and will miss the next 7-8 months.

[Orcin]

Oh my. League's best record and out in the first round. Injuries will do that to you, especially the magnitude that you had. Starter, closer... both of those could have come in handy in this series.

Looking forward to the off-season, but we have to find out who wins it all first.