2013 Playoffs, Week 3: WORLD SERIES
Sept 23, 2013 14:05:52 GMT -5
Post by Ben (Rays GM) on Sept 23, 2013 14:05:52 GMT -5
As per the results of a 2011 poll, if the World Series ends in a tie, no tiebreaker will be used. The teams will be declared co-champions.
You can view the World Series at baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/169640/
National League Championship Series Roundup:
1. Arizona Diamondbacks (21-1-0): 8
vs.
2. San Francisco Giants (16-5-1): 4
In the NLCS, the Arizona Diamondbacks kept doing what they've been doing all season: winning. The Diamondbacks are just having that kind of fairy tale season where they seem to be able to beat anyone (except the Padres, of course), regardless of the odds. And make no mistake - the Giants, who led 8 of the 12 categories when looking at regular season totals and who would have won the regular season series 12-9-1 if the teams played each week, were the favorites, despite their worse record. The Diamondbacks stats this week would have been enough to defeat the Giants in 10 previous weeks, while the Giants would have won 13 times against those stats. Notably, however, the Diamondbacks' NLCS stats would have defeated the Giants in five straight weeks leading up to the NLCS as well (the four final weeks of the regular season as well as the NLDS), which suggests that the Giants simply couldn't cope without their second best hitter (Ryan Braun) as well as the Diamondbacks could cope without theirs (Carlos Gonzalez). The Diamondbacks put a lot of effort into making sure that they had adequate depth this season, and sure enough, it paid off in a big way when it mattered most, as Alcides Escobar and Alejandro De Aza proved much more effective replacements than did the Giants' Ryan Raburn. Although the Giants pitched well in the NLCS, taking ERA on the last day to claim 4 of the 6 pitching categories, their hitting simply wasn't good enough, and they lost all 6 hitting stats, including heavy losses in AVG, OPS, and BB.
Heroes:
Prince Fielder (ARI): .333/.942, 1 HR, 2 BB, 5 XBH
Elvis Andrus (ARI): .296/.873, 2 HR, 2 BB, 2 XBH
Jay Bruce (ARI): .333/.993, 1 HR, 1 SB, 3 BB, 5 XBH
Ernesto Frieri (ARI): 3.0 IP, 2 SV, 2 K, 3.00 ERA, 3.00 BB/9
Robinson Cano (SF): .417/.958, 3 XBH
Torii Hunter (SF): .375/1.047, 1 HR, 1 BB, 4 XBH
Madison Bumgarner: 7.0 IP, 10 K, 1.29 ERA, 3.86 ERA, 1 QS
Lance Lynn: 12.2 IP, 11 L, 2.13 ERA, 3.55 BB/9, 2 WS
Goats:
Miguel Montero (ARI): .167/.611, 0 HR, 0 SB, 5 BB, 0 XBH
Andrew McCutchen (ARI): .143/.690, 1 HR, 0 SB, 5 BB, 2 XBH
Buster Posey (SF): .045/.205, 0 HR, 1 SB, 2 BB, 0 XBH
Eric Chavez (SF): .167/.333, 0 HR, 0 SB, 0 BB, 0 XBH
Jean Segura (SF): .111/.422, 0 HR, 1 SB, 1 BB, 1 XBH
Ryan Raburn (SF): .133/.267, 0 HR, 0 SB, 0 BB, 0 XBH
Adam Jones (SF): .154/.549, 1 HR, 0 SB, 2 BB, 2 XBH
American League Championship Series Roundup:
1. Toronto Blue Jays (19-1-2): 5
vs
2. Tampa Bay Rays (18-2-2): 7
A hard-fought battle in the American League went down to the last day, as the Wild Card Rays were able to hold off the AL East Division Winner to repeat as American League Champions and earn a return trip to the World Series. The Blue Jays, known for their superior pitching, took an early lead in the series in a somewhat surprising fashion, as it was their hitters who carried them by way of an explosive Tuesday (14/29 for a .483 AVG, 1.373 OPS, 2 HR, 4 BB, 6 XBH) and Thursday (11/29 for a .379 AVG, 0.962 OPS, 7 BB, 2 XBH). The Rays, who had led the league in four hitting categories, found themselves relying instead on pitching, speed, and plate discipline, as they could not keep up with the Jays torrid hitting. Although the Jays led the counting stats for pitching early on, the Rays were able to come back on sheer strength in numbers, with a total of nine pitchers making starts for them for the week. Besides a rough start for Matt Moore (5 runs and a walk in 4 innings), the rest of the Rays' pitchers gave up a total of just 8 earned runs and 9 walks in 10 starts (69.1 innings). The Jays' fantastic hitting was wasted, and the heartbreak was compounded with the knowledge (hat tip to Oren) that the decision to bench the regular starter Jonathan Lucroy in favor of the recently promoted Josmil Pinto ended up costing them the BB category and with it the series. The stats that the Blue Jays managed in the ALCS would have defeated the Rays nearly any other week: going back to the beginning of the season, the Blue Jays ALCS stats would have beaten or tied (which would have gone down as a Blue Jays win due to the tiebreaker) the Rays 21 times, while the Rays would have topped those stats just twice. Unfortunately for the Jays, the stars aligned for the Rays' pitchers, and by winning SBs and BBs the offense did just enough to claim the victory.
Heroes:
Joey Votto (TB): .318/1.000, 1 HR, 8 BB, 2 XBH
Brian Dozier (TB): .400/.903, 2 SB, 1 BB, 2 XBH
Miguel Cabrera (TB): .333/.958, 1 HR, 5 BB, 1 XBH
Desmond Jennings (TB): .391/1.222, 1 HR, 4 BB, .391 AVG, 1.222 OPS, 5 XBH
Zack Greinke (TB): 11.0 IP, 8 K, 1.64 ERA, 1.64 BB/9, 1 QS
Andrew Cashner (TB): 16.0 IP, 14 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 BB/9, 2 QS
Paul Goldschmidt (TOR): .370/1.266, 3 HR, 1 SB, 3 BB, 6 XBH
Josh Donaldson (TOR): .385/1.077, 1 HR, 5 BB, 3 XBH
Matt Holliday (TOR): .500/1.273, 1 HR, 5 BB, 3 XBH
Trevor Cahill (TOR): 11.0 IP, 9 K, 1.64 ERA, 4.09 BB/9
Koji Uehara (TOR): 4.2 IP, 2 SV, 5 K, 1.93 ERA, 0.00 BB/9
Alexi Ogando (TOR): 12.0 IP, 9 K, 0.75 ERA, 1.50 BB/9, 1 QS
Goats:
Jonathan Villar (TB): .120/.387, 0 HR, 0 SB, 5 BB, 0 XBH
Matt Moore (TB): 4.0 IP, 6 K, 11.25 ERA, 2.25 BB/9
Steve Delabar (TB): 0.1 IP, 1 K, 54.00 ERA, 27.00 BB/9
Josmil Pinto (TOR): .286/.714, 1 HR, 0 SB, 0 BB, 1 XBH (Jonathan Lucroy, 3 BB from bench)
Ricky Nolasco (TOR): 5.0 IP, 5 K, 10.80 ERA, 0.00 BB/9
World Series Preview:
Arizona Diamondbacks (21-1-0)
vs.
Tampa Bay Rays (18-2-2)
So it all comes down to MLB's two most recent expansion teams: the Diamondbacks, who just keep winning following a record-setting 2013 season in which they won all but one match-up, and the Rays, who look to improve on their result in the 2012 World Series, which they lost to the Reds. Based on regular season stat totals, the Diamondbacks enjoy two heavy leads in SBs and SVs. They also have a significant lead in AVG, while they lead the tight BB/9 category as well. The Rays have a heavy lead in IP, while they also lead comfortably in HR, BB, Ks, ERA, and QS. The Rays lead OPS and XBH as well, but both are close. Although the Rays lead more categories, the Diamondbacks are almost guaranteed victory in the categories for SBs and SVs, categories which often make the difference in close match-ups.
These two teams have never played each other before in Pro-GM, but if they had been matched up for every week of the 2013 season to this point, the Rays would have won 14 times while the Diamondbacks would have won 5. However, there also would have been 5 ties, which opens the door to the very real possibility that we could have co-champions this season. And although the previous match-ups may favor the Rays, one need only look at the most recent of those match-ups to see just how close it can be. Observe the stats from what would have happened had these two teams faced each other last week for the Championship Series, where five out of six offensive categories were very nearly identical and would have been completely up for grabs:
Both teams are currently suffering from injuries, with the Diamondbacks confirming that Carlos Gonzalez (finger), Josh Johnson (forearm), and Brandon Morrow (forearm) are out for the series. The Rays have left Derek Jeter (ankle) and Chad Gaudin (carpal tunnel) off the starting roster, but remain hopeful that the decision to start Miguel Cabrera (groin), Desmond Jennings (hamstring), and Erasmo Ramirez (groin), who are all day-to-day, won't prove a waste of roster space.
Key Players
Diamondbacks: Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce, Prince Fielder, Elvis Andrus, Max Scherzer
Rays: Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Chris Sale, Jordan Zimmermann, Zack Greinke
The World Series can be found at baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/169640/
You can view the World Series at baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/169640/
National League Championship Series Roundup:
1. Arizona Diamondbacks (21-1-0): 8
vs.
2. San Francisco Giants (16-5-1): 4
In the NLCS, the Arizona Diamondbacks kept doing what they've been doing all season: winning. The Diamondbacks are just having that kind of fairy tale season where they seem to be able to beat anyone (except the Padres, of course), regardless of the odds. And make no mistake - the Giants, who led 8 of the 12 categories when looking at regular season totals and who would have won the regular season series 12-9-1 if the teams played each week, were the favorites, despite their worse record. The Diamondbacks stats this week would have been enough to defeat the Giants in 10 previous weeks, while the Giants would have won 13 times against those stats. Notably, however, the Diamondbacks' NLCS stats would have defeated the Giants in five straight weeks leading up to the NLCS as well (the four final weeks of the regular season as well as the NLDS), which suggests that the Giants simply couldn't cope without their second best hitter (Ryan Braun) as well as the Diamondbacks could cope without theirs (Carlos Gonzalez). The Diamondbacks put a lot of effort into making sure that they had adequate depth this season, and sure enough, it paid off in a big way when it mattered most, as Alcides Escobar and Alejandro De Aza proved much more effective replacements than did the Giants' Ryan Raburn. Although the Giants pitched well in the NLCS, taking ERA on the last day to claim 4 of the 6 pitching categories, their hitting simply wasn't good enough, and they lost all 6 hitting stats, including heavy losses in AVG, OPS, and BB.
| HR | SB | BB | AVG | OPS | XBH | IP | SV | K | ERA | BB/9 | QS | Score | |
| ARI | 6 | 3 | 23 | .283 | .835 | 22 | 42.2 | 4 | 21 | 2.95 | 2.74 | 3 | 8 |
| SF | 5 | 2 | 11 | .225 | .656 | 15 | 59.0 | 3 | 50 | 2.90 | 3.36 | 6 | 4 |
Heroes:
Prince Fielder (ARI): .333/.942, 1 HR, 2 BB, 5 XBH
Elvis Andrus (ARI): .296/.873, 2 HR, 2 BB, 2 XBH
Jay Bruce (ARI): .333/.993, 1 HR, 1 SB, 3 BB, 5 XBH
Ernesto Frieri (ARI): 3.0 IP, 2 SV, 2 K, 3.00 ERA, 3.00 BB/9
Robinson Cano (SF): .417/.958, 3 XBH
Torii Hunter (SF): .375/1.047, 1 HR, 1 BB, 4 XBH
Madison Bumgarner: 7.0 IP, 10 K, 1.29 ERA, 3.86 ERA, 1 QS
Lance Lynn: 12.2 IP, 11 L, 2.13 ERA, 3.55 BB/9, 2 WS
Goats:
Miguel Montero (ARI): .167/.611, 0 HR, 0 SB, 5 BB, 0 XBH
Andrew McCutchen (ARI): .143/.690, 1 HR, 0 SB, 5 BB, 2 XBH
Buster Posey (SF): .045/.205, 0 HR, 1 SB, 2 BB, 0 XBH
Eric Chavez (SF): .167/.333, 0 HR, 0 SB, 0 BB, 0 XBH
Jean Segura (SF): .111/.422, 0 HR, 1 SB, 1 BB, 1 XBH
Ryan Raburn (SF): .133/.267, 0 HR, 0 SB, 0 BB, 0 XBH
Adam Jones (SF): .154/.549, 1 HR, 0 SB, 2 BB, 2 XBH
American League Championship Series Roundup:
1. Toronto Blue Jays (19-1-2): 5
vs
2. Tampa Bay Rays (18-2-2): 7
A hard-fought battle in the American League went down to the last day, as the Wild Card Rays were able to hold off the AL East Division Winner to repeat as American League Champions and earn a return trip to the World Series. The Blue Jays, known for their superior pitching, took an early lead in the series in a somewhat surprising fashion, as it was their hitters who carried them by way of an explosive Tuesday (14/29 for a .483 AVG, 1.373 OPS, 2 HR, 4 BB, 6 XBH) and Thursday (11/29 for a .379 AVG, 0.962 OPS, 7 BB, 2 XBH). The Rays, who had led the league in four hitting categories, found themselves relying instead on pitching, speed, and plate discipline, as they could not keep up with the Jays torrid hitting. Although the Jays led the counting stats for pitching early on, the Rays were able to come back on sheer strength in numbers, with a total of nine pitchers making starts for them for the week. Besides a rough start for Matt Moore (5 runs and a walk in 4 innings), the rest of the Rays' pitchers gave up a total of just 8 earned runs and 9 walks in 10 starts (69.1 innings). The Jays' fantastic hitting was wasted, and the heartbreak was compounded with the knowledge (hat tip to Oren) that the decision to bench the regular starter Jonathan Lucroy in favor of the recently promoted Josmil Pinto ended up costing them the BB category and with it the series. The stats that the Blue Jays managed in the ALCS would have defeated the Rays nearly any other week: going back to the beginning of the season, the Blue Jays ALCS stats would have beaten or tied (which would have gone down as a Blue Jays win due to the tiebreaker) the Rays 21 times, while the Rays would have topped those stats just twice. Unfortunately for the Jays, the stars aligned for the Rays' pitchers, and by winning SBs and BBs the offense did just enough to claim the victory.
| HR | SB | BB | AVG | OPS | XBH | IP | SV | K | ERA | BB/9 | QS | Score | |
| TOR | 6 | 3 | 23 | .283 | .835 | 22 | 42.2 | 4 | 21 | 2.95 | 2.74 | 3 | 5 |
| TB | 6 | 3 | 29 | .289 | .830 | 23 | 75.2 | 2 | 73 | 1.78 | 1.43 | 8 | 7 |
Heroes:
Joey Votto (TB): .318/1.000, 1 HR, 8 BB, 2 XBH
Brian Dozier (TB): .400/.903, 2 SB, 1 BB, 2 XBH
Miguel Cabrera (TB): .333/.958, 1 HR, 5 BB, 1 XBH
Desmond Jennings (TB): .391/1.222, 1 HR, 4 BB, .391 AVG, 1.222 OPS, 5 XBH
Zack Greinke (TB): 11.0 IP, 8 K, 1.64 ERA, 1.64 BB/9, 1 QS
Andrew Cashner (TB): 16.0 IP, 14 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 BB/9, 2 QS
Paul Goldschmidt (TOR): .370/1.266, 3 HR, 1 SB, 3 BB, 6 XBH
Josh Donaldson (TOR): .385/1.077, 1 HR, 5 BB, 3 XBH
Matt Holliday (TOR): .500/1.273, 1 HR, 5 BB, 3 XBH
Trevor Cahill (TOR): 11.0 IP, 9 K, 1.64 ERA, 4.09 BB/9
Koji Uehara (TOR): 4.2 IP, 2 SV, 5 K, 1.93 ERA, 0.00 BB/9
Alexi Ogando (TOR): 12.0 IP, 9 K, 0.75 ERA, 1.50 BB/9, 1 QS
Goats:
Jonathan Villar (TB): .120/.387, 0 HR, 0 SB, 5 BB, 0 XBH
Matt Moore (TB): 4.0 IP, 6 K, 11.25 ERA, 2.25 BB/9
Steve Delabar (TB): 0.1 IP, 1 K, 54.00 ERA, 27.00 BB/9
Josmil Pinto (TOR): .286/.714, 1 HR, 0 SB, 0 BB, 1 XBH (Jonathan Lucroy, 3 BB from bench)
Ricky Nolasco (TOR): 5.0 IP, 5 K, 10.80 ERA, 0.00 BB/9
World Series Preview:
Arizona Diamondbacks (21-1-0)
vs.
Tampa Bay Rays (18-2-2)
So it all comes down to MLB's two most recent expansion teams: the Diamondbacks, who just keep winning following a record-setting 2013 season in which they won all but one match-up, and the Rays, who look to improve on their result in the 2012 World Series, which they lost to the Reds. Based on regular season stat totals, the Diamondbacks enjoy two heavy leads in SBs and SVs. They also have a significant lead in AVG, while they lead the tight BB/9 category as well. The Rays have a heavy lead in IP, while they also lead comfortably in HR, BB, Ks, ERA, and QS. The Rays lead OPS and XBH as well, but both are close. Although the Rays lead more categories, the Diamondbacks are almost guaranteed victory in the categories for SBs and SVs, categories which often make the difference in close match-ups.
| HR | SB | BB | AVG | OPS | XBH | IP | SV | K | ERA | BB/9 | QS | |
| ARI | 145 | 112 | 428 | .280 | .790 | 398 | 1070.1 | 77 | 1053 | 3.83 | 2.84 | 75 |
| TB | 184 | 61 | 573 | .264 | .822 | 435 | 1428.1 | 34 | 1270 | 3.42 | 2.93 | 116 |
These two teams have never played each other before in Pro-GM, but if they had been matched up for every week of the 2013 season to this point, the Rays would have won 14 times while the Diamondbacks would have won 5. However, there also would have been 5 ties, which opens the door to the very real possibility that we could have co-champions this season. And although the previous match-ups may favor the Rays, one need only look at the most recent of those match-ups to see just how close it can be. Observe the stats from what would have happened had these two teams faced each other last week for the Championship Series, where five out of six offensive categories were very nearly identical and would have been completely up for grabs:
| HR | SB | BB | AVG | OPS | XBH | IP | SV | K | ERA | BB/9 | QS | Score | |
| ARI | 6 | 3 | 23 | .283 | .835 | 22 | 42.2 | 4 | 21 | 2.95 | 2.74 | 3 | 2 |
| TB | 6 | 3 | 29 | .289 | .830 | 23 | 75.2 | 2 | 73 | 1.78 | 1.43 | 8 | 8 |
Both teams are currently suffering from injuries, with the Diamondbacks confirming that Carlos Gonzalez (finger), Josh Johnson (forearm), and Brandon Morrow (forearm) are out for the series. The Rays have left Derek Jeter (ankle) and Chad Gaudin (carpal tunnel) off the starting roster, but remain hopeful that the decision to start Miguel Cabrera (groin), Desmond Jennings (hamstring), and Erasmo Ramirez (groin), who are all day-to-day, won't prove a waste of roster space.
Key Players
Diamondbacks: Andrew McCutchen, Jay Bruce, Prince Fielder, Elvis Andrus, Max Scherzer
Rays: Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Chris Sale, Jordan Zimmermann, Zack Greinke
The World Series can be found at baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/169640/
