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| Preview: The Wild Card Round | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The games 1, 2 and 5 -- if necessary -- will be home games for the higher seeded team in this best-of-5 series. Injuries are turned off for the playoffs, meaning a player can be injured only for that particular game, but can return for the next game. Pitching rotations are on a four-man skip rotation, meaning the fourth starter will be skipped if the first starter is ready to pitch. Since there are off days off games 2 and 4, some game 1 starters will be available in game 4 on three days' rest. The top seed to survive this round will take on the Hanover Division champion Newark Sugar Bears; the lower-seeded survivor faces the Morris Division winners, the Arkansas Golden Falcons. Vancouver (#3) vs. Tijuana (#6)
Tijuana had a tougher time, however, nearly ending their playoff hopes last month with a seven-game losing streak. They got back in it by winning 8 of their next 9, only to stumble again by losing 12 of 16. But no one else seemed interested in the final wildcard spot, so the Banditos finally grabbed it with a come-from-behind, 8-6 win over Newark on the final day of the season. Their .500 record is the worst of any playoff team in DMBL history, they're the only contender with a negative run differential (791 runs scored, 847 runs allowed), and the Iron Fist won 9 of their 13 regular-season matchups. Adding to the misery, the Banditos only get to host two of the three games -- and they're not a very good road team (39-42), with the league's third-worst record on turf (6-14). The Banditos' only hope is to outslug the Iron Fist, and they do have the league's sixth-best offense. But they'll have to find a way to get to ace Greg Maddux, a pitcher they'll likely face twice -- he's owned them this season, going 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA in four starts. Sean Lowe (1-0, 2.03 ERA) and Brian Lawrence (1-0, 1.00 ERA) also have been sharp in a handful of games, and Joe Mays was just good enough to win in his only start against them (7.2 IP, 11 H, 4 ER). They've had some success against veterans Al Leiter (1-2, 6.87 ERA) and Brad Radke (0-0, 6.00 ERA in one start), and they haven't seen rookie Brandon Lyon this season. Tijuana, on the other hand, might be better off sitting its top two starters, southpaws Randy Wolf (12-11, 3.89 ERA) and Bud Smith (12-11, 4.71 ERA). The Iron Fist have the league's second-best record against lefty starters, 25-10, and the two combined to go 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA in four starts against Vancouver -- not that Steve Sparks (1-2, 6.57 ERA), Javier Vazquez (0-3, 6.85 ERA) or Ramon Ortiz (1-1, 5.68 ERA) fared any better. Three warhorses have led Vancouver's charge, with Sammy Sosa, Edgar Martinez and Jeff Bagwell all putting up 1.000+ OPS against Tijuana pitchers this season. Martinez leads the team with 5 HRs, while Bagwell is the leader with 13 RBIs. Sparkplug Jimmy Rollins has a .375 OBP and 10 runs scored, while Eric Chavez has a .730 slugging percentage with 4 HRs. Andruw Jones and Jeff Conine have struggled somewhat, while Jeff Kent is hitting just .216 -- with 10 RBIs. The Banditos haven't been able to muster much of a long ball threat against Vancouver pitching this year, with just 4 long balls -- half of them courtesy of Bret Boone (.365, .919 OPS, 5 RBI), who also leads the team with 19 hits and 6 doubles. Despite hitting just .200, Ellis Burks is the team's RBI leader with 8, with 2 doubles and a homer. If they're going to shock Vancouver, they'll need Vladimir Guerrero (.267, 0 HR, .638 OPS) and Sean Casey (.232, 0 HR, .500 OPS) to wake up.
Hoboken (#4) vs. Wanaque (#5)
Other than precedence, however, there's not much going Wanaque's way. The Cutters have the higher-ranked offense (5th) and pitching staff (6th) -- the Wolverines rate 9th in both departments -- and they won the regular-season series, 7 games to 5, including a 4-2 record against them in the second half. However, a look inside the numbers shows the Cutters' staff didn't pitch at their usual high level against the Wolverines. Rookie sensation Joel Pineiro (21-5, 2.76 ERA) did, of course, throw a combined no-hitter against the Wolverines (in Wanaque) on April 4, and he went 3-0 in his other three starts against them. But his 5.50 ERA and 11 walks in 18 IP give the Wolverines at least some hope. Mike Mussina, who only saw them while he as still with the Mudcats, and rookie C.C. Sabathia each had two starts against the Wolverines, and each pitched brilliantly in one appearance and was bombed in the other. Kelvim Escobar and Adam Eaton each won their only start against the Wolverines this season, but Escobar's outing was far more impressive, giving up 3 hits and a walk in 7 innings; Eaton was pounded for 8 hits, four of them homers, but held on for a 6-5 win. Brandon Duckworth (0-1, 6.75 ERA) and Jarrod Washburn (0-2, 5.02) struggled in two starts apiece and likely won't see action in this round. Wanaque's top two starters -- Matt Morris (9-10, 4.66 ERA) and Bartolo Colon (10-11, 4.12 ERA) -- have had mixed sucess against the Cutters this season, with Colon going 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in two starts, Morris 1-1 with a 4.65 in three. But beyond those two, the Cutters have had a field day with Wanaque pitching, lighting up Mike Hampton (1-1, 10.13 ERA), Robert Person (0-3, 8.66 ERA) and Jeff Weaver (0-0, 6.00 ERA). But if they can get the game to the bullpen, closer Kazuhiro Sasaki (6-8, 26 SV, 3.18 ERA) proved to be lights out against the Cutters, picking up 4 saves and allowing just 1 hit, 2 walks and no runs in 6.1 IP. It's been feast-or-famine for Wanaque's batters, with superstar Alex Rodriguez (.299, 55 HR, 128 RBI) leading the team in runs, hits, home runs, RBIs, batting average, slugging percentage and OPS against Hoboken pitching. But four other regulars couldn't even crack the Mendoza line, including Carlos Delgado, 5-for-47 (.106) with 17 Ks and just one long ball. Hoboken batters put up much better numbers against Wolverine pitchers, but with little power -- 10 doubles, no triples and 15 home runs. Wanaque, with 7 less hits, popped 15 more doubles and the same number of round-trippers. The Wolverines also have been the more daring team on the base paths, with 6 stolen bases to Hoboken's 2 -- no surprise, with Mike Piazza behind the plate for the Cutters. But Hoboken has been the more patient team at the plate, drawing 42 free passes for a .382 OBP against Wolverine pitching, and just 46 whiffs, 29 less than Wanaque. The Cutters have featured a more balanced attack, with Brian Giles leading the team with 13 RBI, 4 2B, 12 BB and a 1.286 OPS. Juan Pierre has done his job, getting on base at a .448 clip and scoring 10 runs in six games. Piazza has hit just .229 (8-for-35), but he has slugged 2 dingers for 10 RBIs. Mark Kotsay has flashed surprising power against the Wolverines, smacking a team-high 4 HRs. Ryan Klesko, Randy Velarde and Omar Vizquel haven't had much success.
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The 2001 Morris Division champions are in the playoffs
for the ninth straight season. But the post-season
seemed a distant dream at the All-Star Break, when
Iron Fist were five games under .500 and mired in
seventh place. But the Iron Fist turned the corner in
the second half, when trades for Moises Alou,
Joe Mays and Shawn Wooten began paying
dividends, and old warriors like Greg Maddux
and Al Leiter returned to their usual form.
Vancouver posted the second-best record over the
second half (50-29), going 22-8 down the stretch to
secure the top wildcard seed.
Despite being the lower-seeded team, the Wolverines
actually have history on their side: The No. 5 team
has upset the No. 4 team in every year of the
three-tiered post-season, which began in 1997 -- five
straight years! From 1993-1996, only four teams made
the playoffs; during the first two years of the
league, just two.