Gears win grinding series in 7 over Drool Too.
Checklist for winning a series:
Better pitching? Check. (4.36ERA vs 5.29ERA)
Better batting average? Check. (.304 vs .295)
More extra base hits? Check. (27 vs 24)
Better team OPS? Check. (.860 vs .845)
More runs scored? Check. (37 vs 34)
So why did David Williams' Drool Too lose a tough 7 game series to Craig
Kling's Disraeli Gears? Only because they lost the last game. In 2 years
the Drool could be one of the top teams in any future tournament with all
of the young talent they have, but this was not to be their year.
Game 1
A classic AL vs NL series started with a nice pitching matchup between Cone
(8IP 3ER) and Bohanon (8.1IP 4ER). The home team Drool had built up a nice
3-2 lead off HR from Vlad Guerrero and Lankford, but then things fell apart
as Bohanon got into the 8th inning. Coughing up a leadoff HR to Buhner
tied the score and the Drool failed to produce any more runs in the bottom
of the inning. Bohanon trotted out for the 9th, struck out Brosius but
then gave up back-to-back doubles to Ramirez and Thome. Cook came in to
stop the bleeding but the damage was done. The Gears brought in Percival
for the save for the 4-3 win.
Game 2
A ping-pong battle of singles and walks highlighted the second game, won by
the Drool 6-4. Pettitte was able to keep the ball down against the Drool,
giving up only one extra base hit (to Kendall, who was 3-for-5 with 3RBI)
for 5.2IP, but eventually 9H and 4BB are going to catch up to you (for
4ER). To make matters worse, Dan Patterson was gasoline on the fire in
relief (1.2IP 2ER). In contrast, Harnisch was able to keep the entire
Gears team to 0 extra base hits, but was able to make it through 8IP and
gave up only 3 runs. Dennis Cook coughed up a scary run in the 9th (out,
1B, 1B, K, 1B*+) before being pulled for John Hudek to get the last out
(Thome K'd) and the save.
Game 3
The Drool made it two in a row with a 9-5 win in an ugly pitching
performance from the Gears. Helling got the start for the Gears, and
seemed to be doing fine after 4.2IP. Then things went to
hell-in-a-handbasket for him. With a man on base, and two outs, Helling
was unable to get the final out in the 5th. He gave up 4 singles and a
walk, scoring 4 runs before leaving with two men on. Spoljaric came in,
gave up ANOTHER run scoring single before getting Dmitri Young out (who was
the leadoff batter for the inning. The Gears tried to fight back with a
couple of runs in the bottom of the inning off of starter Reynolds, but
were probably disheartened by Spoljaric's leadoff HR to Andruw Jones the
next inning. Seeing enough of Spoljaric, Tewksbury was brought in from the
bullpen. He was fine for the next 2 innings, but then collapsed in the 8th
and 9th, allowing 3 more runs. These runs proved to be crucial as the
Gears kept making it closer by scoring 3 more runs off Reynolds and Hudek,
but never tying the score. Mantei stopped any hope of such a thing by
throwing 1.1IP of clean ball for the save.
Game 4
The hit parade continued for both teams this game as they combined for 25
hits and 11 walks. The Gears managed to squeak out a 6-5 win in 11
innings, which can be attributed to the Drools 13 men left on base. Solo
shots by Brosius and Bernie Williams provided some of the punch for the
Gears, but it was countered by solo shots from Young and Helton, and a
2-run HR from Biggio. The Drool got a sub-par performance from Valdes
(4.2IP 3ER) but mop-up jobs by Guthrie, Hudek, Mantei and Cook kept it
close until the 9th. The Gears had a 4-3 going into the top of the 9th, on
the strength of Saberhagen's start (7.1IP 3ER). Percival was into pitch at
this point, looking for his 2nd save of the series. He wasn't able to get
it though, giving up 3 hits and a walk to score a run and load the bases.
He was able to avoid any more damage by striking out Lankford. The Gears
even took the lead in the 10th inning, getting a leadoff HR from Helton off
Stanton, but were unable to do anything else that inning. In the bottom of
the 10th Cook remained in after pitching two shutout innings. Bad idea, as
Willams HR greeted him to start the inning. A single to Ramirez signalled
the end for Cook, and Kline arrived to see what he could do. After giving
up a SH and a wak, he was able to induce a double play from David Ortiz to
end the inning. The top of the 11th proved to be frustrating as the Drool
left 2 men stranded, and it came back to haunt them as, with 2 outs,
Offerman singled, stole and scored on the game-winning hit from Ivan
Rodriguez, handing the loss to Kline and giving the win to Danny Patterson
who had pitched a clean 2 innings.
Game 5
The Gears took a 3-2 series lead, coming from behind three times to win
5-4. A rematch between Cone and Bohannon produced similar results (8IP 4R
for both of them), but it was the long ball that hurt both of them in the
later innings (Andruw Jones off Cone and Ramirez off Bohanon, both in the
7th inning). The previously burned Stanton threw a clean top of the ninth,
but the same cannot be said for Hudek and the Drool. Hudek, appearing in
his 4th consecutive game of the series, couldn't hold the fort for extra
innings, giving up a triple to Offerman and a single to Brosius in the
bottom of the 9th.
Game 6
This time it was the Gears bullpen that proved shakey, as the Drool were
able to hold off the comeback and squeak out with a 7-5 win. Pettite
proved to be ineffective (4.2IP 11H 5ER) for the Gears, but Harnish was
able to cut down on the number of hits allowed, giving up only 2 runs in
the first 6 innings. However, it's a 9 inning game, and he started to lose
it in the 7th, coughing up back-to-back HR to Williams and Thomes, and then
a one-out HR to Oritz in the 8th (which was the final straw for him). At
the same time, Tewskbury was pitching very effective relief for the Gears,
and went into the 9th with the score tied. Oops. No more, as he gave up a
walk and two hits, scoring 2 and allowing Cook to get the win by pitching a
scoreless 9th.
Game 7
The final game was close in score (5-3) but the pitching performance of
Rick Helling was all that the Gears needed. Throwing a complete game
Helling gave up only 3 runs (in the 6th,7th,8th) including solo HR to
Guerrero and Lankford. In contrast, Reynolds wasn't as solid (7.1IP 5ER)
and the Drool were never able to catch up.
Game 1 Disraeli Gears 4 W: Cone Sv: Percival
Drool Too 3 L: Bohanon
Game 2 Disraeli Gears 4 L: Pettitte
Drool Too 6 W: Harnisch Sv: Hudek
Game 3 Drool Too 9 W: Reynolds Sv: Mantei
Disraeli Gears 5 L: Helling
Game 4 Drool Too 5 L: Kline
Disraeli Gears 6 W: Patterson
Game 5 Drool Too 4 L: Hudek
Disraeli Gears 5 W: Stanton
Game 6 Disraeli Gears 5 L: Tewksbury
Drool Too 7 W: Cook
Game 7 Disraeli Gears 5 W: Helling
Drool Too 3 L: Reynolds
Series MVP: Bernie Williams (.333/.567/.394 6R 8RBI 2HR)
_________________1____2__3__4__5__6__7___8___9________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Offerman,Jo O O O 2B _K Cone,Da 8 8 3 3 4 9
3B Brosius,Sc 2B BB O 1B K Percival,Tr 1 0 0 0 1 1
CF Williams,Be BB K BB O 2B
DH Ramirez,Ma K _K 1B BB 2B*
1B Thome,Ji 2B** O _K O /BB
C Rodriguez,Iv _K__ 2B O _O_ _DP_
RF Buhner,Ja 1B BB O HR
LF Abbott,Je O O 2B O
SS Vizquel,Om DP _O _O O
P__Cone,Da____________________________________________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Biggio,Cr BB _O K 1B O Bohanon,Br 8.1 11 4 4 5 7
C Kendall,Ja O O K SH+ BB Cook,De 0.2 0 0 0 1 0
SS Larkin,Ba 2B K _O 1B* __O_
LF Guerrero,Vl K _K HR O
CF Lankford,Ra BB HR K _K_
DH Helton,To _O__ O BB K
1B Young,Dm O O K BB
RF Jones,An 2B _O 1B DP
3B Berry,Se O 2B _O \ K
P__Bohanon,Br____________________________________R__H_E
Disraeli Gears 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 11 0
Drool Too 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 8 0
LOB - Disraeli Gears 11; Drool Too 9. Win - Cone,Da (1-0); Save - Percival,Tr (1);
Loss - Bohanon,Br (0-1). HRs - Lankford,Ra (1); Guerrero,Vl (1); Buhner,Ja (1). Fielding Range Bonus -
Disraeli Gears +0.22; Drool Too +0.18.
__________________1__2_____3_____4__5___6_____7____8____9__________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Offerman,Jo O 1B O K 1B Pettitte,An 5.2 9 4 4 4 3
C Rodriguez,Iv O +1B* O 1B+ K Patterson,Da 1.2 4 2 2 1 0
CF Williams,Be __O K O SF* 1B*+ Hasegawa,Sh 0.2 0 0 0 0 0
1B Thome,Ji O K 1B +_K_ /_K__
RF Ramirez,Ma BB __O__ O O
LF Damon,Jo O K BB 1B
3B Brosius,Sc 1B+ O O++ _DP_
DH Ortiz,Da 1B*+ BB __K__ \ O
SS Vizquel,Om _O__ __O_ 1B 1B
P__Pettitte,An_____________________________________________________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Biggio,Cr 1B _O__ BB O O Harnisch,Pe 8 8 3 3 3 6
C Kendall,Ja - O O +1B* 1B*+ 2B* Cook,De 0.2 3 1 1 0 1
SS Larkin,Ba BB O __O_ /_O__ 1B* Hudek,Jo 0.1 0 0 0 0 1
DH Guerrero,Vl __O 1B O 1B / O
RF Jones,An K 1B K SH+ __O_
CF Lankford,Ra BB 1B*+ K O+
LF Ward,Tu O __O__ 1B BB
3B Berry,Se 1B+ O BB __O_
1B Helton,To
1B Young,Dm 1B* O O 2B
3B Spiers,Bi
P__Harnisch,Pe_______________________________________________R__H_E
Disraeli Gears 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 11 0
Drool Too 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 2 X 6 13 0
LOB - Disraeli Gears 9; Drool Too 11. Win - Harnisch,Pe (1-0); Save - Hudek,Jo (1);
Loss - Pettitte,An (0-1). Steals - Offerman,Jo (1); Biggio,Cr (1); Rodriguez,Iv (1). Caught Stealing -
Biggio,Cr (1). Fielding Range Bonus - Disraeli Gears +0.25; Drool Too +0.21.
_________________1___2__3_4___5____5_____6___7_____8____9_________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Biggio,Cr 2B K 1B+ K O Reynolds,Sh 6 10 4 3 2 5
C Kendall,Ja O BB 1B* __O __O_ Hudek,Jo 1.2 3 1 0 1 1
SS Larkin,Ba K _O BB O 1B Mantei,Ma 1.1 1 0 0 0 1
LF Guerrero,Vl _O_ O 1B* O8 +2B*
CF Lankford,Ra O O 1B** __O__ O+
DH Helton,To 1B O /1B* 2B SF*
1B Young,Dm K 1B _O__ SH+ 1B
RF Jones,An _O O HR e4* /_K_
3B Berry,Se O O / K 1B
3B Spiers,Bi
P__Reynolds,Sh____________________________________________________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Offerman,Jo BB O 1B* __K 1B Helling,Ri 4.2 7 5 5 2 3
C Rodriguez,Iv O O 1B HR DP+ Spoljaric,Pa 0.1 2 1 1 0 0
CF Williams,Be O+ 1B O++ 1B e3* Tewksbury,Bo 3.2 5 3 3 0 2
1B Thome,Ji _O_ _K 1B* e5 BB Ogea,Ch 0.1 0 0 0 0 1
RF Ramirez,Ma 1B O _O__ / K /_O_
LF Damon,Jo 2B O O O K
3B Brosius,Sc K O O 1B*+ O
DH Ortiz,Da K O 2B __O__ 1B
SS Vizquel,Om _K 2B BB 1B __O_
P__Helling,Ri_______________________________________________R__H_E
Drool Too 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 1 2 9 14 2
Disraeli Gears 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 5 14 1
LOB - Drool Too 8; Disraeli Gears 13. Win - Reynolds,Sh (1-0); Save - Mantei,Ma (1);
Loss - Helling,Ri (0-1). Outstanding Play - Williams,Be (1). Errors - Berry,Se (1); Offerman,Jo (1);
Young,Dm (1). HRs - Jones,An (1); Rodriguez,Iv (1). Steal - Larkin,Ba (1). Fielding Range Bonus -
Drool Too +0.19; Disraeli Gears +0.25.
__________________1__2__3___4___5____6___7____8___9___10___11__________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Biggio,Cr O6 HR* 1B O 1B* __K_ Valdes,Is 4.2 6 3 3 3 3
C Kendall,Ja O O 1B K O O Guthrie,Ma 0.1 0 0 0 0 0
SS Larkin,Ba _O 1B O _O BB 1B Hudek,Jo 0.2 1 1 1 2 0
LF Guerrero,Vl O BB __O_ K 1B w O Mantei,Ma 1.1 0 0 0 0 2
CF Lankford,Ra 2B _K_ 1B e5 __K_ BB Cook,De 2 3 1 1 0 2
DH Helton,To O O DP /+ K \HR __O_ Kline,St 1.2 2 1 1 1 2
1B Young,Dm _K O HR ___O BB
RF Jones,An K _O BB 1B / F
3B Berry,Se 1B O __O_ +SH+ O
P__Valdes,Is___________________________________________________________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Offerman,Jo O4 BB O /_K_ O 1B Saberhagen,Br 7.1 8 3 3 2 5
C Rodriguez,Iv O K BB O6 __O_ +1B* Percival,Tr 1.2 3 1 1 1 2
CF Williams,Be _K _O_ 1B* O HR Stanton,Mi 0 1 1 1 1 0
DH Ramirez,Ma O O BB* _K 1B Patterson,Da 2 1 0 0 1 1
LF Damon,Jo O 1B /_O_ \ O /SH+
3B Brosius,Sc HR DP \BB K BB
1B Ortiz,Da _O O BB 1B _DP_
SS Vizquel,Om K 1B DP+ ___O K
RF Christenso,Ry 2B 1B+ 1B* K K
P__Saberhagen,Br________________________________________________R__H_E
Drool Too 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 5 13 0
Disraeli Gears 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 6 12 1
LOB - Drool Too 13; Disraeli Gears 9. Win - Patterson,Da (1-0); Loss - Kline,St (0-1).
Outstanding Plays - Vizquel,Om (1); Biggio,Cr (1); Larkin,Ba (1). Error - Brosius,Sc (1). Wild Pitch -
Patterson,Da (1). HRs - Brosius,Sc (1); Biggio,Cr (1); Young,Dm (1); Helton,To (1); Williams,Be (1).
Steals - Lankford,Ra (1); Jones,An (1); Offerman,Jo (2). Fielding Range Bonus - Drool Too +0.18;
Disraeli Gears +0.27.
___________________1____2__3___4___5__6____7_8___9_______________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Biggio,Cr O K O O Bohanon,Br 8 7 4 3 5 5
C Kendall,Ja 2B BB _K O Hudek,Jo 0.1 2 1 1 0 0
LF Guerrero,Vl 2B* K O _O
CF Lankford,Ra K 2B* O K
DH Helton,To ___O_ _O_ 1B O
1B Young,Dm O5 K 1B O
SS Spiers,Bi 1B O _K__ \ O
RF Jones,An _DP _O_ HR K
3B Berry,Se HR O BB __O_
P__Bohanon,Br____________________________________________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Offerman,Jo BB O BB _K__ 3B Cone,Da 8 8 4 4 2 7
3B Brosius,Sc K 1B DP O 1B* Stanton,Mi 1 0 0 0 0 1
CF Williams,Be -1B O+ BB K
DH Ramirez,Ma +ee4* _O_ _O HR
C Rodriguez,Iv ___O_ 1B 2B _O
1B Buhner,Ja O O+ O K
LF Abbott,Je O 1B O O
SS Vizquel,Om BB SF* BB O
RF Cameron,Mi +_K _O_ 1B*+ \O8
P__Cone,Da___________________________________________R_H_E
Drool Too 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 8 2
Disraeli Gears 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 5 9 0
LOB - Drool Too 5; Disraeli Gears 8. Win - Stanton,Mi (1-0); Loss - Hudek,Jo (0-1). Outstanding Plays -
Brosius,Sc (1); Lankford,Ra (1). Errors - Kendall,Ja (1); Biggio,Cr (1). HRs - Berry,Se (1);
Jones,An (2); Ramirez,Ma (1). Steals - Williams,Be (1); Vizquel,Om (1). Caught Stealing -
Offerman,Jo (1). Fielding Range Bonus - Drool Too +0.10; Disraeli Gears +0.26.
__________________1____2__3_____4____5____6___7___8__9________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Offerman,Jo O 1B +_O_ _O __K_ Pettitte,An 4.2 11 5 5 1 4
C Rodriguez,Iv O 1B O K O Tewksbury,Bo 3.1 4 2 2 2 0
CF Williams,Be 1B 1B*+ O HR K
1B Thome,Ji BB K BB HR K
RF Ramirez,Ma __K__ _O__ __K__ O
LF Damon,Jo O 1B O __K
3B Brosius,Sc O + O BB O
DH Ortiz,Da _O O O HR
SS Vizquel,Om O 1B* e6 / O
P__Pettitte,An________________________________________________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Biggio,Cr 1B 2B __O_ O O Harnisch,Pe 7.1 9 5 5 3 5
C Kendall,Ja +1B O O BB 1B* Cook,De 1.2 0 0 0 0 3
SS Larkin,Ba O*+ O HR O +2B*
DH Guerrero,Vl K 1B* BB _O _O6_
RF Jones,An __O__ _O__ K 1B
CF Lankford,Ra O 1B 1B - O
LF Ward,Tu K -1B 1B*+ __O
3B Berry,Se 1B w K /_O__ BB
1B Helton,To
1B Young,Dm _O 1B* 2B SH+
3B Spiers,Bi
P__Harnisch,Pe__________________________________________R__H_E
Disraeli Gears 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 5 9 0
Drool Too 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 2 X 7 15 1
LOB - Disraeli Gears 8; Drool Too 9. Win - Cook,De (1-0); Loss - Tewksbury,Bo (0-1). Outstanding Play -
Vizquel,Om (2). Error - Larkin,Ba (1). Wild Pitch - Pettitte,An (1). HRs - Larkin,Ba (1);
Williams,Be (2); Thome,Ji (1); Ortiz,Da (1). Steals - Biggio,Cr (2); Damon,Jo (1); Vizquel,Om (2);
Kendall,Ja (1). Caught Stealing - Lankford,Ra (1); Jones,An (1). Fielding Range Bonus -
Disraeli Gears +0.25; Drool Too +0.21.
__________________1__2___3_____4____5__6___7_____8_____9_______________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Offerman,Jo O 1B _O_ 1B __K__ Helling,Ri 9 7 3 3 4 7
C Rodriguez,Iv K BB O9 w O \1B
CF Williams,Be _O O*++ O __O__ K
DH Ramirez,Ma BB O*+ HR 1B K
LF Damon,Jo O BB 1B SH+ _O4
3B Brosius,Sc K _O___ -__ O 1B*
1B Ortiz,Da 1B+ K K /BB
SS Vizquel,Om _O_ 2Be _O 1B*+
RF Christenso,Ry BB K O O
P__Helling,Ri__________________________________________________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K
2B Biggio,Cr 1B O+ p O wBB O Reynolds,Sh 7.1 8 5 5 4 5
C Kendall,Ja O O __O 1B*+ __O Cook,De 0.2 1 0 0 1 1
SS Larkin,Ba K _O___ O _O4__ Hudek,Jo 1 1 0 0 0 2
LF Guerrero,Vl _O O HR O
CF Lankford,Ra K O O HR
DH Helton,To BB 1B _K BB
1B Young,Dm O+ _K_ O K
RF Jones,An _K_ BB 2B __O__
3B Berry,Se 1B O K O
P__Reynolds,Sh____________________________________________R__H_E
Disraeli Gears 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 5 10 0
Drool Too 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 3 7 1
LOB - Disraeli Gears 9; Drool Too 8. Win - Helling,Ri (1-1); Loss - Reynolds,Sh (1-1).
Outstanding Plays - Jones,An (1); Offerman,Jo (1); Biggio,Cr (2). Error - Guerrero,Vl (1). Passed Ball -
Rodriguez,Iv (1). Wild Pitches - Reynolds,Sh (1); Helling,Ri (1). HRs - Ramirez,Ma (2); Guerrero,Vl (2);
Lankford,Ra (2). Caught Stealing - Damon,Jo (1). Fielding Range Bonus - Disraeli Gears +0.27;
Drool Too +0.18.
Standings,_Pitching____________W___L___pct.__GB___ERA__CG_ShO__RS__Sv___IP_____R___ER___H___BA___BB___K__WP
2 Disraeli Gears 4 3 .571 - 5.29 1 0 4.9 1 63 37 37 78 .304 26 46 3
1 Drool Too 3 4 .429 1 4.36 0 0 5.3 2 64 34 31 76 .295 31 52 1
____AB____R____H___D___T__HR__RBI__BA__SlgA__OBA__BB___K___SH__F_SF_GDP__SB__CS__LOB__OP__DP__E__OSB_OCS_PB
2 258 34 76 13 1 9 32 .295 .457 .368 31 52 2 0 2 8 7 2 67 5 3 2 6 3 1
1 257 37 78 16 0 11 36 .304 .494 .366 26 46 5 1 1 3 6 3 63 5 8 6 7 2 0
2 Craig Kling 4-3: @1 4-3, @1 4-6, 1 5-9, 1 6-5(11), 1 5-4, @1 5-7, @1 5-3.
1 David Williams 3-4: 2 3-4, 2 6-4, @2 9-5, @2 5-6(11), @2 4-5, 2 7-5, 2 3-5.