KOD 12 – LCS Preview

For the first time in the history of the King of Diamonds league all 4 division winners have punched their ticket to the League Championship Series.

Joe D. and his all around play vs	“the Killer” and the long ball

Michael Hopcroft’s Bronx Bombers will face off against Marvin Sik’s Minnesota Twins.  Minnesota had the largest margin for victory for a divisional champion (5 games), while the Bronx Bombers overcame injury to post the best record in baseball.

1950’s/60’s NL stars Robinson	& Banks will do battle

Over in the NL Steve Tate’s Big Red Machine is set to do battle with Jim Walden’s surprising Cubbies.  The Reds pretty much outhit their competition and got solid pitching all year, especially from Cy Young Candidate Jim Maloney.  The Cubs had one of their typical late season swoons and backed into the playoffs.  Chicago swept the powerful Dodgers in 3 straight to regain their momentum.

Both series should be entertaining best of 7 sets.  I’m going to hold off on making any predictions, but I’d love to hear everyone else’s prediction.  Please reply back on the blog.

LDS: Reds eliminate Braves in 4

GAME 1 - Crosley Field
Reds 8, Braves 3
Lew Burdette vs Tom Seaver
Tom Terrific was merely just good, but with the Redlegs posting an 8 spot he didn't need to be terrific. Seaver had a 6-0 shutout going until the top of the 6th when Eddie Mathews hit a two run shot and Joe Adcock had a solo blast.  The Reds struck back with 2 more in the bottom of the frame to end all hopes for the Braves.  Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson and Johnny Bench all went deep.  Cincy featured a balanced 10 hit attack where every regular had a safety except Joe Morgan.

GAME 2 - Crosley Field
Braves 10, Reds 3
Tom Glavine vs Jim Maloney
Atlanta struck back with a vengeance after going down 3-1.  A 4 run 6th and a 3 run 8th blew the doors off the Reds wagon to even the series.  Cy Young candidate, Jim Maloney, was rocked for 7 runs on 11 hits over 7 innings.  Reliever Norm Charlton was not much better giving up 3 runs in 2 putrid innings worth of work.  Rico Carty's 4 for 5 day paced the Brave offense.  Dale Murphy's 3 for 5 day with 2 RBI's in the lead off spot fueled the engine.  Tommy Glavine went 8 2/3 allowing just 3 runs before giving way to Don McMahon to get the final out.  Hank Aaron made 2 uncharacteristic errors, which did not play into the decision.  Aaron, Mathews, Murphy and Blauser all hit homers as the Braves evened up the series.

GAME 3 - Fulton County Stadium
Reds 8, Braves 5
Jose Rijo vs Warren Spahn
Heading into the top of the 8th the Reds were barely protecting a tenuous 1 run lead.  Jeff Blauser's 6th error of the season allowed Ken Griffey to score with the bases loaded.  Spahn drew on all of his veteran guile to stop the bleeding, but the Reds were now up by 2 runs.  Johnny Temple's solo shot in the 9th made it a 3 run lead and Frank Robinson's sac fly put the Reds up by 4.  Atlanta eeked out a run on a Blauser ground out in the bottom of the inning, but they could not erase Cincy's big lead.

GAME 4 - Fulton County Stadium
Reds 8, Braves 5
Gary Nolan vs Phil Niekro
Staving off elimination fueled the Braves to knock Gary Nolan around for 3 runs in the bottom of the 2nd.  Knowing that the Big Red Machine could strike at anytime, Nolan did not fold up his tent.  That machine began to heat up when Joe Morgan hit a solo shot in the 4th to cut the deficit to 2.  Johnny Bench's 2 run shot in the 5th evened the game up.  Felipe Alou's RBI double in the bottom of the 5th helped the Braves temporarily regain their lead, but the Reds were locked in and went on a 5 run tear over the final 4 innings to close out the game and the series.  Long reliever Mario Soto blew the lead, but got the win.  Franco and Dibble shared duties closing out the 9th, with "Dibbs" getting the save.  Don McMahon took the loss as the loss as the Reds punched their ticket to the NLCS vs Chicago.

Cubbies sweep Boys of Summer in 3 straight

GAME 1 - Wrigley Field
Don Sutton vs Ferguson Jenkins
Cubs 6, Dodgers 5
Chicago limped into the playoffs thanks the the Phillies out "swooning" them down the stretch.  They talk about needing momentum when the post season starts, but the Cubbies proved that to be a bunch of bunk.  After going down 4-1 to the Dodgers thanks to a 4 run top of the 4th supplied by a Reggie Smith Single and a Gil Hodges 3 run shot, the Cubs looked dead.  The North side would come back to life in the bottom of the inning when Billy Bucks hit a 2 out RBI triple and Ron Santo crushed a 2 run shot to tie the game at 4-4.  Ernie Banks' solo shot in the 5th gave Jenkins a 5-4 lead, his error at short in the 7th allowed Maury Wills to score and tie the game at 5-5.  Rick Monday would lead off the bottom of the 9th and work out a walk off of knuckleballing reliever Charlie Hough.  A passed ball, which could have easily been recorded as a wild pitch allowed Monday to move over to second.  After Buckner struck out looking Santo hit one that drove Hodges back to the ivy in left for out number 2.  Jose Cardenal was called on to pinch hit for catcher Randy Hundley and the man with the big "fro" delivered the game winning walk off RBI single to put Chicago up 1-0 in the series.

GAME 2 - Wrigley Field
Sandy Koufax vs Greg Maddux
Cubs 1, Dodgers 0
North side fans were treated to a HOF pitching matchup that did not disappoint.  Koufax was his usual dominant self fanning 10 and walking just 1.  Greg Maddux fanned 8, walked three, but his most important stat of the day was zero runs allowed.  The game remained hopelessly deadlocked in a scoreless tie until the bottom of the 9th when Koufax, who threw 131 pitches, looked to be tiring.  After getting Banks to pop out Ryne Sandberg singled sharply off of Koufax.  Hank Sauer hit a bullet to Pete Guerrero at third for out number two.  The Hawk, Andre Dawson singled with 2 outs to put runners on the corners and MVP candidate Rick Monday came through with an RBI walk off single to score Sandberg and put Chicago one game away from clinching the series.  Monday fanned the first 2 times he face Koufax.  Manager Walden showed confidence in his centerfielder by letting him stay in the lineup and face the toughest lefty on the planet.

GAME 3 - Ebbets Field
Rick Reuschel vs Fernando Valenzuela
Cubs 7, Dodgers 5
The series shifted venues, but the results remained quite the same.  The Cubbies, who were left for dead and buried by the media a week ago, continued their resurrection by outlasting a HOF laden Dodger lineup.  On a day where Valenzuela had nothing (10 hits / 7 runs) the Dodger bats were called on to overcome the lack of arms.  The Boys of Summer did an admirable job keeping it with in 1 run as late as the 7th where the Cubs scored 2 and went up by 3.  Hank Sauer, as he's done all year, supplied the power with a 2 run shot to make it 7-4.  Duke Snider's solo blast in the bottom of the inning made it a 2 run game, but closer Bruce Sutter would come on to pitch the final 2 perfect innings to punch Chicago's ticket to the NLCS.

Bronx Bombers sweep rival Bosox in 3 straight

Game 1 - Yankee Stadium
Clemens vs. Guidry
Ron Guidry started the game pitching lights-out, setting the Red Sox down in order in the first three innings. Joe DiMaggio his a two-run shot in the seventh to give the Yanks a lead they would never relinquish. Mickey Mantle's two-run single in the fifth made it 5-0. In the seventh inning, cruising through a two-hit shutout, Guidry injured himself and had to be pulled. Fritz Peterson finished the game and continued to blank the /sox allowing only two hits. New York cruised along to a 7-0 win in Game One.

Game 2 - Yankee Stadium
Eckersley vs Reynolds
Cy Young candidate Allie Reynolds took the mound against Dennis Eckersley in Game 2. Eck was punished early when “Mr. October”, Reggie Jackson, hit a three-run homer in the first. The Red Sox came back with a two-run shot by Vern Stephens but from then on it was all Yankees. Reynolds would only give up one more hit, while Eckersley got hammered for four unanswered runs. Oddly enough, despite giving up seven runs Eckersley finished the game for Boston. Reynolds would pitch eight innings and give up only three hits, with Rich Gossage coming in in the ninth to record two strikeouts and a popup. The final tally was 7-2 New York.

Game 3 - Fenway Park
Stottlemyre vs Stanley
The Yankees game to Boston a win away from the LCS, and opened like they meant to win. After a steal of third by Rickey Henderson, Phil Rizzuto's RBI single made it 1-0 in the first. Thurman Munson hit a two-run shot in the second, and the Sox answered with two runs in their half of the inning. But in the third Don Mattingly drove in two with a double, followed by an RBI groundout from Joe DiMaggio, and rout was on. The Yankees added a run in the fourth and two in the sixth. The Red Sox tried to comeback, with a Ted Williams sac fly in the fifth and an RBI double from Darrell Evans in the sixth, but the Yanks kept tacking on runs. Bob Stanley eventually gave way to Bill "Spaceman" Lee, and in the ninth Lee gave up six consecutive hits and five runs. The Sox scored two off Sparky Lyle on a triple by Jim Rice and a single from Fred Lynn, but the hole was far too deep. The Yankees eliminated the Sox willing by ten runs, 16-6. The Yanks outscored the Sox 30-8 over the three games, and face the AL West Champion Minnesota Twins in the ALCS.

--submitted by Michael Hopcroft--

Twins sweep Tigers in 3 straight, head to ALCS vs Bronx Bombers

Tom, thanks for a great series. Glad to get out in 3 as I don’t think I could contain that offense through 5.

Game 1: Morris vs. Boswell

Minnesota jumped on Jack Morris early with a 2B by Cesar Tovar followed by a HR by Rod Carew to put the Twins up 2-0. Detroit loaded the bases with two outs in the 3^rd but Dave Boswell got a K on George Kell to end the inning.  Minnesota would add 3 more runs before knocking out Morris after 5 innings.  Detroit would make a run at Minnesota adding 3 runs  in the 7^th to cut the lead to 6-3. The Twins add 2 insurance runs to take game one 8-3.

Game 2: Lolich vs. Perry

Minnesota drew 1^st blood scoring in the 1^st to take a 1-0 lead. Detroit came back in the top of the 2^nd to tie the game. Minnesota would add two with solo shots by Earl Battey and Gary Gaetti. MVP candidate Harmon Killebrew would add a solo HR in the 8^th to put Minnesota up 4-1 knocking out starter Mickey Lolich. Jim Perry would pitch into the 9^th giving up a single to Alan Trammell before giving way to his closer, Rick Aguilera. The 1^st batter he faced was Kurt Gibson who belted a two run HR off the Minnesota ace closing the gap to 4-3. He would gain his composure and get the next three batters to save the game for Perry and put Minnesota up 2-0 heading to Detroit.

Game 3: Pascal vs. Aguirre

Minnesota would jump on Hank Aguirre for 4 in the 3^rd and 2 more in the 6^th before leaving the game. The Twins starter Camilo Pascal would pitch 7.2 innings giving up 1 run on 5 hits. Minnesota would seal the victory in the 8^th adding 6 runs off of Terry Fox and Willie Hernandez. Bob Porterfield tried to close it out but gave up two runs in 0.1 innings. Al Worthington came in for the final 3 outs to move the Twins into the ALCS.

--submitted by Marvin Sik--

KOD 12 - Playoff Matchups Set

KOD 12 - Final Regular Season Standings