Playoffs Round Two
One division winner advances to the Championship round, along with one wildcard team. The funny thing is, who is the favorite going into the final week????? The Commish is not embarrassed to say that despite fact that his Death team has not exactly lit up the scoreboard, they have played well enough to advance to the finals. The Death did come into the playoffs as the #2 ranked team, so they sure have shown flashes when needed. Meanwhile the Blackjacks get their revenge as they send the Contributors home for the winter. The Blackjacks have remained solid all year, except for the one week they really needed it when they gave up the division title. A league championship will certainly make the disappointment yesterday's news. The Blackjacks had a solid scoring week with 163 as they won 4-1, while the Death escaped with a 4-1 win, the scored just 123 along the way. You can certainly say with confidence that the Blackjacks are the favorite in the final round, but the Death keep finding ways to advance.
The Contributors and Vipers bow out of the title run after solid seasons for both. The Contributors had put up points in bunches the last month, nearly topping the 200 mark on several occasions. This past week McSwain's team came crashing back to Earth as they struggled to top the 100 point mark. Rogan's Vipers team nearly pulled off three games in a row after falling behind 2-0 to the Death. It was a close finish but the Vipers came up a bit short.
Here is a summary of how round two played out:
Blackjacks 4
Contributors 1
The Contributors took the early lead as they get a solid M-Th game with a 64-57
win. That was the end of the good news for the Contributors. The Blackjacks
bounce back and put up a solid 33-5 win on Friday thanks to a 15 point game from
Thome. The Contributors looked to bounce back strong but were only able to put
up a 8 point game on Saturday. The Blackjacks had a respectable 26 point game on
Saturday to take a 2-1 lead, and held a 116-77 lead in total points. The
Contributors now face a must win on the final two games, and that 39 point
deficit was looking pretty insurmountable. The Blackjacks took care of business
on the field as they post a 47 point game on Sunday to get the win on both
Sunday and total points. The Contributors put up a 23 on Sunday, giving them an
even 100 for the week, well below their season average. The big sticks for the
Contributors were Thome with 28, Huff with 26 and Anderson 22. The Contributors
tough week was evident by Beltran leading the team with 16 points, 15 of which
came on the M-Th game. The Blackjacks get their revenge and advance to the
Championship, while the Contributors call it a season with a division title and
one playoff series win to show this year.
Death
4 Vipers 1
Another exciting finish for the Death as
they win 4-1 in a battle that came down to the end. It was not as climatic as
last week's photo finish with the Cobras, but none the less it was an exciting
finish. The Death start off the week with a 50-45 win thanks to a 11 point game
from Kendall. Friday the Death win a narrow one 22-18, thanks to the
misadventures of the Vipers. The Vipers had a chance Friday until the get a -4
from both Piazza and St. Louis pitching. The Death now lead 2-0 with a 72-63
lead in totals. The Commish was certainly thinking good things knowing that just
one win stood before him and a finals birth. The Vipers bounce back with a
narrow 21-19 win on Saturday, knocking the totals lead down to 7. The scenario
now is that the Vipers must win Sunday, and must win by 8 to win totals. Things
start out good for the Vipers as they get a big day from their Atlanta trio at
Coors Field. Furcal puts a 15, while Castilla chips in 6 and Jones helps out
with 3. The news gets even better for the Vipers as the St. Louis pitching staff
shuts out the Phillies (pissing off both owners for sure) and puts up a 7. The
Death get a few okay games and then get a big game late from Wilkerson with 11
and Blalock with 7. The situation stands going into the Sunday night game
Vipers-32 Death-26. The Death hold a 1 point advantage in total points. Both
teams have just one player left, and it just happens to be the first round pick
for each team. Piazza for the Vipers, Nomar for the Death. Nomar starts out with
a single, and Piazza answers with a walk. Nomar gets a second single and scores
a run. Piazza goes 0-2 with a GIDP. Nomar gets a third single and drives in a
run, and then scores another run. Piazza strikes out and the match is over.
Final score on Sunday 32-31 Death, and the Death win 123-115 in totals. Not
exactly a shootout, but a highly contested match that went down to the wire. It
was a fine season for Rogan and the Vipers. They battled back, winning a playoff
spot on a tie-breaker, and then promptly dismissed the top seeded Hummers in
round one. While the end of the season is never fun, the Vipers can hold their
head high knowing they went down with a fight right up to the bitter end.
Championship week matchup:
Blackjacks @ Death
The Blackjacks have scored higher than the
Death all year, and haven't let up come playoff time. The key matchup always
seems to be pitching staffs. The Blackjacks' Houston staff has LA during the
week at home, and SD over the weekend at home. The Death's Anaheim squad has
Minn. at home during the week, and KC on the road over the weekend. A pretty
close matchup. The key offensive matchup will be the battle of 1B's. The 'Jacks
have red hot Thome, while the Death have Bagwell who has been very mediocre of
late. Both guys can carry a team by themselves, and will be a crucial matchup to
watch. The Commish is going out on a limb and saying.....Blackjacks 3-2.
Good luck to the Blackjacks in the final week showdown! I am outta here!
The
Commish
PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE COMMISH'S CORNER:
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COMMISH'S CORNER PLAYOFFS ROUND 1