The Grinder: 64-team Historical Xibition Tourney!

[webrian]

BRACKET D SEMIFINALS

(2) 1953 Dodgers vs. (4) 1926 Cardinals (Best of 7)

Game 1 (at BRO): Dodgers 6, Cardinals 5 (10 innings)
NOTES: Duke Snider’s two-out, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 10th inning capped an exciting opening to this playoff series. The Bums trailed 2-0, fought back to take a 3-2 lead on Gil Hodges’ 6th-inning home run, but fell behind again after Cardinals’ catcher Bob O’Farrell hit a bases-loaded double in the top of the seventh inning. Brooklyn trailed 5-3 going to the bottom of the 8th, but took advantage of some wildness by Cards reliever Bill Hallahan to tie it. Snider and Carl Furillo were both 3-for-5 for the Dodgers.

Game 2 (at BRO): Cardinals 9, Dodgers 6
NOTES: Cards OF Taylor Douthit led off the game with a solo homer and the Redbirds chased Brooklyn starter Russ Myer from the mound after just four innings. The Bums actually led 3-1 after two innings, but Les Bell’s 2-run single in the third got the Cardinals going. They led 9-3 in the eighth before the Dodgers rallied to make it a bit closer. Jackie Robinson hit a 2-run homer. Aged pitcher Pete Alexander got his third win of the tournament as the underdog Cardinals tied the series 1-1.

Game 3 (at STL): Dodgers 9, Cardinals 2
NOTES: The Dodgers whacked out 19 hits and rolled to the easy win behind the smooth pitching of SP Billy Loes. 3B Billy Cox went 4-for-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs to lead the Bums. Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson and Carl Furillo all had three hits apiece. The Bums took a 3-0 lead after a 2-run double by Furillo in the third and didn’t look back.

Game 4 (at STL): Dodgers 4, Cardinals 2
NOTES: Duke Snider cracked a 2-run homer in the top of the 1st inning off STL starter Flint Rhem. Roy Campanella launched a solo moonshot in the 6th inning and the Dodgers’ pitching did the rest, holding the Cardinals to just seven scattered hits (6 of them singles) as they moved to a 3-1 series lead. Preacher Roe pitched 7 innings to earn the win. Jim Hughes got the save.

Game 5 (at STL): Dodgers 3, Cardinals 2
NOTES: The Cardinals called on 39-year old SP Pete Alexander to help them stave off elimination. He pitched admirably, but with the score tied 2-2 in the top of the 8th inning, he yielded back-to-back doubles to Jim Gilliam and PeeWee Reese and the Dodgers took the lead. Brooklyn pitching nailed it down, as four relievers combined to set down the six Cardinal batters in order and send the Bums on to the Bracket D finals.


Duke Snider and the Bums smiled and grinned and home-run trotted right past the 1926 Cardinals to enter the Bracket D Championship round.

The 1953 Dodgers won this series 4 games to 1. Dodgers 3B Billy Cox wins Series MVP honors, going 8-for-18 with 2 homers and 5 RBIs in the five games. Biggest story of the series, though, was Brooklyn’s pitching. It’s a staff that doesn’t look especially good on paper (Carl Erskine’s 20-6 record notwithstanding) but it held a potent 1926 Cardinals lineup to 2 runs in three straight games. Through two series in this bracket, the Dodgers have demonstrated how they won 105 games in 1953. Can they win the whole thing?





(1) 1976 Reds vs. (3) 2008 Phillies (Best of 7)

Game 1 (at CIN): Reds 10, Phillies 5
NOTES: Ryan Howard blasted a 3-run homer off Cincy starter Pat Zachry in the top of the 1st inning but it was all Big Red Machine after that. The 1976 Reds took a 4-3 lead on LF George Foster’s 3-run homer in the 3rd inning and increased it to 7-3 on 2B Joe Morgan’s 2-run blast in the 6th. Reds SS Dave Concepcion went 4-for-5 with a bases-clearing 3-RBI double (in the 8th) and Morgan finished 4-for-4. In a series featuring two strong hitting teams, Cincy gets the first win.

Game 2 (at CIN): Reds 8, Phillies 3
NOTES: The Phillies’ Ryan Howard hit 2 MORE HOMERS in this game but the guy can’t do it all by himself. The Reds out-hit the Phillies 14-4 and never trailed in the game. SS Dave Concepcion stayed hot, going 3-for-4 with a 2-run triple that made it a 6-2 Cincy lead in the 6th. George Foster and Johnny Bench also had 3 hits apiece in support of starter Gary Nolan, who struck out 8 and walked just 2 in the complete-game victory.

Game 3 (at PHI): Reds 2, Phillies 0
NOTES: Hitting took a back seat in this one. Phillies starter Brett Myers pitched 6 masterful innings, striking out 12, walking 1 and allowing just five hits. But the Reds, again, were simply too good. Ken Griffey Sr hit an RBI double to make it 1-0 in the third inning. Reds starter Fred Norman made it stand up, allowing just 3 singles over 8 innings while striking out 7. The Reds tacked on one more run in the 8th and Rawly Eastwick nailed down the save. The Reds moved to a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.

Game 4 (at PHI): Phillies 4, Reds 2
NOTES: The Reds were prepared to celebrate, but the 2008 Phillies had other plans. Cole Hamels turned in 6 strong innings to give Philly its second consecutive strong pitching start and, at last, other guys besides Ryan Howard started to contribute from the plate. Jayson Werth cracked a solo homer in the 1st inning to make it 1-0 and Shane Victorino smacked a 2-run single off Pat Zachry in the bottom of the 3rd to make it a 4-1 lead for the Phils. The Reds’ only runs came off solo homers by Johnny Bench and Dave Concepcion.

Game 5 (at PHI): Phillies 5, Reds 2
NOTES: The Phillies refused to be closed out at home. Starting pitcher Jamie Moyer, who got knocked around pretty bad in his Game 2 start, bounced back with 8 solid innings. He walked 4, struck out 6 and allowed just 5 hits, all of them singles. The Phillies busted out the long ball, taking a 2-1 lead on back-to-back solo homers by Ryan Howard (his 4th of this series) and Pat Burrell. Jayson Werth and Chase Utley also homered as Philly climbed back into this series, now trailing 3-2. But now it shifts back to Cincy …

Game 6 (at CIN): Reds 8, Phillies 0
NOTES: Back at Riverfront Stadium, the Reds popped the Phillies’ balloon with a decisive win. The Reds seized a 5-0 lead after two innings (a 2-run double by Johnny Bench in the 1st was the big blow) and starter Fred Norman (3-0) sailed it home. Norman scattered 5 hits over 7 innings of work. He struck out 7. Dave Concepcion continued to torture the Phils, going 2-for-4 from the plate and stealing three bases in the game. Philly SP Brett Myers, who had been so sharp in Game 3, lasted just two innings this time around.


Just too darn good.

The 1976 Reds win this series, 4 games to 2. For the first time in this tournament (so far), the team that hit the most home runs lost the series. The 2008 Phillies, with 4 homers from Ryan Howard, out-homered the 1976 Reds by a 10-5 margin, but fell in six games. Reds SS Dave Concepcion was named Series MVP after going 12-for-23 with a home run, a triple, 2 doubles, 3 stolen bases and 7 RBIs. Six Reds batters hit over .300 in the series, including George Foster, who had 2 homers and a team-high 8 RBIs. By contrast, none of the Phillies’ regulars hit over .300 for the series and, in fact, four of them hit under .200. Ryan Howard finished at .222, despite his 4 homers and 7 RBI. He finished the tournament with 6 homers and 16 RBIs — in 9 games.





THE STAGE IS SET! The Bums' Blue Wrecking Crew


vs. The Big Red Machine


... for the Bracket D Championship and a berth into the Ultimate Eight.

[daves]

Great stuff!

[webrian]

Hey. What are you doing here, Hornsby? The 1926 Cardinals lost, remember? Go home, stare out the window and wait for the next tournament. Bye now.

BRACKET D FINALS
Tale of the Tape

Old-time finalist: 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers
* 105-49
* Lost World Series vs. Yankees, 4 to 2
* Scored 6.2 runs per game, allowed 4.4 runs per game
* Tournament record: 7-2 (3-1 vs. 1934 Tigers, 4-1 vs. 1926 Cardinals)
* Tournament margin: 53 Dodgers — 4.3 runs per game, Opps. 3.2 runs per game (+1.1)

Modern-time finalist: 1976 Cincinnati Reds
* 102-60
* Won World Series vs. Yankees, 4 games to 0
* Scored 5.3 runs per game, allowed 3.9 runs per game
* Tournament record: 7-3 (3-1 vs. 1986 Red Sox, 4-2 vs. 2008 Phillies)
* Tournament margin: 76 Reds — 5.2 runs per game, Opps. 3.0 runs per game (+2.2)



(2) 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers vs. (1) 1976 Cincinnati Reds (Best of 7)

GAME ONE (at CIN) — Reds 5, Dodgers 4: Reds 1B Tony Perez went 3-for-4 and drove in 3 runs, including the tie-breaker with a single in the bottom of the 8th inning. The slightly-favored Reds built a 4-0 lead after 3 innings against Dodgers’ starter Carl Erskine. The Bums’ bats were dead-quiet until the 6th inning, when 1B Gil Hodges uncorked a GRAND SLAM with one out and immediately made it a new game. The Reds took a 5-4 lead into the top of the ninth. Closer Rawly Eastwick worked around a 1-out double by Jim Gilliam to get the save.

GAME TWO (at CIN) — Reds 4, Dodgers 2: Cincy got 3 runs in the 2nd inning off four hits (including an RBI double by SS Dave Concepcion) and two Dodgers errors. Reds’ starter Gary Nolan took it from there. He held Brooklyn to 5 hits over 8 innings and Rawly Eastwick came on in the 9th to save it. The Dodgers did get solo home runs from Duke Snider and Carl Furillo, but fell into the dreaded 0-2 hole anyway.



GAME THREE (at BRO) — Dodgers 9, Reds 1: Energized by their return to Ebbets Field, the Bums didn’t waste any time jumping all over Reds’ starter Fred Norman with 7 runs in the first two innings. Gil Hodges spiked the 5-run 1st inning with a 3-run homer and LF Jackie Robinson went 3-for-3 with a homer and 3 RBIs as Brooklyn coasted to a win it had to have. Dodgers’ starter Billy Loes allowed just 4 hits over six innings and struck out 10. The Dodgers turned a desperate situation into a festival atmosphere for their adoring fans.

GAME FOUR (at BRO) — Reds 6, Dodgers 5: No festival this time. Joe Morgan ended the Reds’ homerless streak with 2 long balls, including a 3-run jack in the 1st inning that gave Cincy an early 4-0 lead against Dodgers’ starter Carl Erskine. But Reds’ starter Pat Zachry couldn’t protect it. In his 3.2 innings of work, he walked 6 batters and allowed 5 hits, including a 3-run homer by 3B Billy Cox, which pulled the Dodgers to within 4-3 in the bottom of the 2nd inning. The Reds got 2 more runs in the top of the 3rd (with Morgan’s 2nd homer) but the Dodgers drove Zachry from the mound in the bottom half after pulling to within 6-5. Just as everyone dug in for a barnburner, pitching took over. The Dodgers’ pen shut the Reds out from the 4th inning on. But at the same time, 5 Reds relievers limited the mighty Bums to just 1 hit (with 6 Ks and 0 BBs) the rest of the way and Rawly Eastwick notched his 3rd save of the series.

GAME FIVE (at BRO) — Dodgers 7, Reds 4: The lead changed hands four times before this one got decided, but the biggest blow came in the bottom of the 6th. With Cincy up 4-3, Carl Furillo tagged a 3-run homer to put Brooklyn on top for good. The Dodgers also got a pair of solo homers from Gil Hodges, who now has 4 round-trippers and 9 RBIs in this series. Both teams had 10 hits in this game, but of the Dodgers’ 10, 7 went for extra bases. Both teams had exhausted pitching staffs after using a combined 11 pitchers in Game Four. This time, they combined to use 8 pitchers, with the Dodgers’ needing 5 to hold the Big Red Machine at bay. But how long can Brooklyn keep that up?

GAME SIX (at CIN) — Reds 7, Dodgers 1: As tough as the 1976 Reds are most of the time, they are ruthless executioners when they have the chance to clinch at home. As the 2008 Phillies learned the round before, it’s just no fun forcing a Game Six when it will be played at Riverfront Stadium. Dodgers’ starter Billy Loes lasted only 2.2 innings, which was the last thing Brooklyn’s over-tired relief corps needed. George Foster and Johnny Bench hit back-to-back homers during a 4-run 1st inning, and then Cincy put two more runs on the board in the third inning to get out to a 6-0 lead. Reds’ starter Fred Norman recovered from his horrible Game Three performance and threw 7 innings of 3-hit ball with 7 Ks and 1 walk. Roy Campanella hit a solo homer in the 4th inning. It was the only noise the Bums made all night.

The 1976 Reds win this series, 4 games to 2. The Big Red Machine has won Bracket D and advanced to The Ultimate Eight, joining the 1965 Dodgers, the 1967 Cardinals, the 1927 Yankees and four teams yet to be determined. I chose the 1953 Dodgers over the 1955 team because of their hitting prowess. I simply felt they were the better representative in spite of the fact they lost their World Series to the Yankees that year. Maybe I was wrong? The Dodgers DID bring their bats to this series. They out-homered the Reds by an 11-4 margin and had at least one round-tripper in every game. But while the 53 Dodgers were the better hitting team, the 76 Reds were the better offensive team overall. They drew walks, legged out infield hits, stole bases, took more extra bases and hit more gappers with guys on base. Not that the Dodgers didn’t do some of that, but the Reds did quite a bit more of it. Cincy also had a better bullpen, which showed in the fact that they were 3-0 in games decided by two runs or less.






Ultimate Eight? Here we are.

The 1975/76 Reds have long been considered one of the best Major League baseball teams of all time. In this bracket, they proved why. Their “ultimate eight,” otherwise known as The Big Red Machine, will be playing in the Ultimate Eight later on against seven other survivors.


Something tells me they won’t be intimidated.

COMING UP: Bracket E

The 2001 Seattle Mariners won 116 games but never even got to the World Series. Do they even belong in this tournament? They'll make their case — starting against the 1990 Cincinnati Reds, "the Lil Red Machine." If nothing else, we'll quickly learn which team manager Lou Piniella likes better.

Speaking of second chances: the 1919 Chicago "Black Sox" are cleared to play again at last! But it might turn out to be just more cruel punishment, as they'll inhabit an old-timer's bracket consisting of the 6.9-runs-per-game 1936 Yankees, the 1946 Cardinals and the 1962 Giants with a more seasoned, in-his-prime Willie Mays leading the way.

Throw in the early-1970s Oakland Athletics dynasty (1973) and the 1988 Dodgers, both of which have the dominant pitching to cripple even the best lineups.

They're all in the on-deck circle now and ready to take their hacks.