Tampa Bay edges Toronto
Toronto took the first game but dropped into a 1-3 hole before fighting back 9-8 in an epic game 5. Blake Snell held the fort down for five innings and the offense put up 8 runs in game 6 led by Yandy Diaz’ 3 RBI including a homer…Poche ended the series on a 3-pitch save…Johnny Mac has more than 1,500 career wins and a career winning record overall…he started the league in 1999 and won the league by 2001…after a 4-year gap he came back and won it again in 2006 and he’s been in the playoffs for each of the past 4 years…Toronto is his 8th team and he briefly led the Rays in 2011, finishing +10 WOR that year…he’s kept the Jays for each of the past 4 years and put them in the playoffs every single time…a guy with a true passion for baseball and an encyclopedic knowledge of sports, John has been a force in the league for all 19 years he’s been in it, and we look forward to seeing you in the spring, my friend!
Year of the Bird
Baltimore was shut out in game 1 and then ran the table to become the only lower seed to advance out of the DCS round…the actual Baltimore team is just so good and this fantasy club was a definitely a dark horse that was ready to take the race to the poll when it counted…John Means pitched seven shutout innings to close the series making the 3 runs of offense, including Kjerstad’s homer, just enough…“Trader” Jim Casey is one of those guys who’s made their mark in the league not just with their knowledge and dedication but with raw personality…he is almost always in the top in the league in total trades, total players traded, and total trade partners…he once suggested we hold winter meetings to work out even more deals…he’ll always respond to your trade offer and give you a shout out during the year…he made seven trades this year over the 24 hours before the trade deadline, five of which were completed after midnight California time…that streak included trades with 7 different teams…he’s got over 2,100 total wins and a lifetime win percentage of 54%…a serial monogamist, he entered the league in 1995 and held the Cubbies through 2002, flirted with Toronto and Cleveland in 2007 and 2008, had an ongoing affair with San Francisco between 2009 and 2014, and has been with Houston ever since…and in the playoffs every year since 2017…his 102 wins last year were just 1 shy of his lifetime high in 2010 with the Giants, and he had to go +8 WOR this year to get the Astros to 98 wins…he’s had a winning record every year since 2015…enjoy the hot stove season, Jim, and I know we’ll see you come the spring!
Padres test the Dodgers
The upstart Padres, making it into a postseason the eluded the highly-paid MLB club, got to push their division rivals in the DCS…the Padres dropped game 1 by a single run, evened up the series with a 5-run victory in game two, before the Dodger pitching kept their bats in check and they found themselves looking upward and down 3 to 1 after four games…the Dodgers sealed it with Verlander — who they had acquired in a preseason trade for Kershaw — sealed the deal by pitching into the 7th…Rick Wynne favorite Craig Kimbrel contributed a multi-inning save…Al Benedek is an ASFBL millenial, having entered the league in 2000 and thus having just completed his 23rd year…he’s won two divisional titles, one with the Chisox in 2000 and one with the Cards in 2002…between 2018 and 2021 he has finished in the top-10 WOR or the playoffs, and adds an advancing playoff appearance this year…the Padres are his 9th team and the club he has managed the longest…his +16 WOR in 2109 was second in the league that year…Al has a perennial good temper and his next complaint will be his first…you are enormously pleasant to work with, Al, and congrats on a great season!
Brewers take it Seven before the Braves prevail
The clubs split the first 4 games at two apiece…the Brew Crew took command with a 5-2 win in game five, but the Braves flexed their slugging muscle to score 9 runs in game six to even the series…the decisive game was a defensive battle, and Sean Murphy — the 9th place hitter — had the game’s only homer but it came with two on base and five Atlanta pitchers combined to keep the Brewers to 1 run…it was the only 7-game series in the DCS round and it took all Atlanta had to sneak into the LCS…with more than 1,800 career wins, Chris has turned in 22 ASFBL seasons…and in a pattern people with names like Bruschke feel qualified to speak to, you want a Brewer manager named something like Zewiske…after one quick year with the Padres in 2001 he took hold of the Brewers and has skippered them for the next 22 years…in a true testament to commitment, his first playoff appearance was 2017 but after missing the post-season from 2001 to 2017, he’s been in the playoffs six of the past seven season…he was +15 WOR in 2015 and been within seven games of the actual club ever since…he took the team into the LCS in 2018 and 2021…Chris is a guy who knows baseball and is there, rain or shine, every season…congrats on another terrific season, Mr. Zewiske!
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
…and then there were four…Rays host the Orioles in an AL East matchup, Braves host the Dodgers…will have the schedule set by this evening, and I’ll ask for the lineups to be entered by tomorrow night so we can run the games Wednesday morning…will wrap the season up by this Friday…Good luck to our Final Four!
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