'Dem Bums (1951) top 1978 Cincy 4 games to 1 to head to Fall Classic

GAME 1 (Riverfront): Dodgers 3, Reds 0
Classic pitcher's duel between Tom Terrific (Seaver) and The Newk (Don Newcombe). Tom must have thought he was still a Met since he got no run support. New got 3 runs and made them stand for the victory. Brooklyn posted 2 in the 5th and 1 in the 6. Campy led the 5th off with a homer. Hodges walked and went to second on a passed ball charged to Bench. Billy Cox bunted him over to 3rd and Don Thompson hit one to deep right for a sac fly. The solo run in the 6th came when Jackie doubled and Pee Wee bunted him over to third. Skooonj singled him home to make it 3-0 and that's how it stood. New got stronger as the game went on and struck the final 2 batters out for the complete game shutout.

GAME 2 (Riverfront): Reds 5, Dodgers 1
Preacher Roe had a no-hitter going until the 6th when the doors came off the barn. Cincy tagged Preach for 4 run and never looked back. If it wasn't for a solo shot by Jackie in the 9th Cincy hurler Paul Moskau would have had a shutout. Roe walked Concepcion to start the 6th. Moskau bunted him over to second and Charlie Hustle broke up the no hitter with a sharp single thru the originator. Griffey Sr. flew out to Furillo in right and the Dodgers looked like they were going to escape. Not so fast. Lefty Dan Driessen, who looked totally over matched by the southpaw Roe in his previous 2 AB's dropped one into left just in front of Cal Abrams to score Concepcion. Roe must have been rattled, or Dodger manager, Marc Weiss, must have gone brain dead, because they decided to pitch to George Foster. Money bags himself slammed Roe's 2-1 offering across the Ohio and into Covington, Kentucky to break it open.

GAME 3 (Ebbets): Dodgers 12, Reds 3
Hida Chester and the Dodger Symphony were as raucous as ever as dem bums returned home to face the Big Red Machine in the LCS. Cincy starter Tom Hume got clobbered, while the prodigal son, Ralph Branca was outstanding in 8 innings of work. Brooklyn scored had a 3 run lead then blew it open with 5 in the 5th. Campy, Gil and Jackie all went deep. The Duke went 4 for 4 as did seldom used 5th outfielder Don Thompson. After Branca lost his shutout in the 8th Haugstad came on to finish it out.

GAME 4 (Ebbets): Dodgers 8, Reds 4
3 runs in the first and 5 more to follow were enough for Oisk to win this one. Bill Bonham gave up 6 in 6 innings of work for Cincy as the Dodgers got 1 step closer to the World Series. Interestingly the Dodgers didn't hit one homer but, Cincy had 2. Campy continued his hot hitting in this tourney by going 3 for 4 with 3 RBI's. This game was close going into the 7th with Brooklyn clinging to a 4-3 lead and Oisk dodging trouble each inning. Jackie worked out a walk to lead off the 7th. Pee Wee Reese was sent up to bunt, but once he ran the count to 2-0 he got the green light and singled to right to make it 1st and 3rd with no one out. The Reading Rifle, Carl Furillo singled home Jackie as Reese went to third. Snider's sac fly to right plated the second run. The Dodgers really needed both of those runs since Cincy scored a run in the 8th, when Bench singled home Griffey Sr. Oisk walked Geronimo and that was it for him. Labine came on to get Concepcion to fly out to left and end Cincy's threat and the game.

GAME 5 (Ebbets): Dodgers 2, Reds 0
Cincy had their backs against the wall down 3 games to 1. A win here would put some pressure on Brooklyn, but more importantly bring the series back to the Queen City. To ensure victory manager Rick Tharp tapped ace Tom "Terrific" Seaver to start. For Seaver this was like a homecoming. NY fans can not forget the 12 Hall of Fame years he had in a Mets uniform. Luckily Dodger fans could care less about what he did in Flushing and they were all over him from the start. Brooklyn curiously started the obscure Bud Podielan. The strategy here was to hold back Newk or Preach for a possible game 6 or 7, but those games were not to come as the Dodgers closed out the Reds in a classic pitcher's duel. David (Podbielan) bested Goliath (Seaver) in this one. On paper these types of matchups look lopsided, but games are played on dirt and grass not in newsprint. Podbielan went 7 2/3 innings and scattered 4 hits. Seaver went the distance, but yielded 2 runs as he was again a victim of his paltry offense. Brooklyn scored its' first run in the 3rd when Duke Snider singled home Jackie, who led the inning off with a single. Seaver then struck out Hodges on a wicked slider to end the inning. Baseball of all sports is about individuals and stories, and the Seaver/Hodges story is a unique one. Seaver credits his 1968-71 skipper (Hodges) with teaching him how to be a professional. Hodges made sure to pay his pupil back for the favor of striking him out in the 3rd with a solo shot deep onto Bedford Avenue in the 6th to make it 2-0 Bums. The Reds had Podbielan on the ropes in the 8th when Griffey Sr doubled, but Labine shut them down to save the game and close out the series. The Dodgers will now have a day with the Yankees in the World Series. Brooklyn surely has an ax to grind against the franchise that beat them in 6 out of 7 series during the 41-56 era.

Paul O'Neill Press Conference

Never shy and never one to hide his feelings, 1998 Yankee Right Fielder Paul O'Neill became disgusted with the barrage of dumb questions at the post-game press conference. NY Daily News reporter Mike Lupica asked him, "what he (O'Neill) thought of the A's and all of their hall of famers. Never to be outdone Pauly said, "this team has the toughest 100 year old men I have ever faced"...next question.

'98 Bombers go to Fall Classic after defeating '30 Mack-men in 6

GAME 1 (Yankee Stadium): Yankees 10, Athletics 6
The Bombers tattooed Rube Walberg for 8 runs in 3 innings and never looked back. David Wells was pedestrian, but he didn't need to be more than that. Chuck Knoblauch and Chili Davis both had 4 hits. Double X, Jimmy Foxx had 2 homers in the losing effort. The Bombers scored 4 in the 1st and the 3rd as they banged out 20 hits.

GAME 2 (Yankee Stadium): Athletics 5 Yankees 2
When it doubt, trot Grove out. That's the philosophy anyone should have managing the '30 A's. Lefty Grove dominated the American League in a notorious hitters era like the 20's/30's. Grove, who finished his career with 300 wins got a late start in the majors as he was held back in the minors pitching for the old Baltimore Orioles of the International League. Back in those days minor league teams weren't affiliated with major league teams, so the owners would not let great talents like Grove go until someone coughed up some serious cash. Connie Mack was not one to spend a lot of money, but when he saw the opportunity to get both Grove and Earnshaw from Baltimore he had to make the move since all his team needed was a core of good arms. Grove didn't disappoint as he allowed the mighty Bombers 1 run in the 1st and 1 in the 9th. In between he posted goose eggs on the big scoreboard that blocks out the IRT 4 train. The White Elephant team scored 2 in both the 3rd and 5th innings off of David Cone. Mickey Cochran had 3 hits and Mule Haas hit a 2 run shot to even the series.

GAME 3 (Shibe): Yankees 13, Athletics 3
The series headed 90 miles south to north Philly as the City of Brotherly love was ecstatic to be hosting this LCS game. The Bombers gave the ball to El Duque, Orlando Hernandez, who loves to pitch on the big stage. George Earnshaw toed the rubber for the Mack-men, but had nothing as he surrendered 9 runs (5 earned) in 5 innings before he was replaced by Eddie Rommel, who didn't fare much better. The Bombers scored early and often. Tino Martinez and Jorge Posada both had 4 RBI days. Bernie had 4 hits of his own as New York took a 2 games to 1 lead.

GAME 4 (Shibe): Athletics 11, Yankees 4
It was time for the A's to turn the tables and blow out the Yankees and that's just what they did. Yankee starter Andy Pettitte was victimized by his fielding as the normally sure handed trio of Jeter, O'Neill and Brosius made 4 of the 5 errors. Curiously Brosius' 2 errors added to his tournament record of 6. Yankee skipper, Ed Mikhli questioned how the normally sure handed Brosius could be so inept with the leather. I'm sure Pettitte felt the same way. A's Right fielder Bing Miller had 3 RBI's and a huge double. Aloyisus "you can call me Al" Simmons went 3 for 4 as the A's evened the series at 2.

GAME 5 (Shibe): Yankees 13, Athletics 3
The pivotal game 5 saw both teams combine for 16 runs and 26 hits, yet the hero was Ramiro Mendoza who threw 3 scoreless innings in relief of David Wells to notch the save and put Philly on the brink of elimination. The big blow of the game came in the 7th with the Bombers down 6-4. Rube Walberg, the A's shaky starter, faced Bernie Williams with the bases loaded. This was the pivotal point in not just the game, but the series. John Sterling, on the call for the Yanks said, "2-2 pitch. Walberg deals...swung on by Bernie. It has a chance...it's gone into the short porch...Bern Baby Bern." Lights out Bombers go on to win.

GAME 6 (Yankee Stadium): Yankees 4, Athletics 1
Nothing means baseball more than a crisp October night and red white and blue bunting adorning the big ballpark in the Bronx. Add to it a classic matchup featuring all world Lefty Grove and the gutsy David "Mr. Perfect" Cone. The tension began to mount as there was no score for the first 3 innings. Bing Miller led off the 4th with a double off of Coney. Mule Haas singled hard to right, but Miller was forced to hold at 3rd as Paul O'Neill came up and threw a bullet to Posada. Jimmy Dykes grounded to Brosius at to score Miller. Cone got tough and got Boley to ground out and Max Bishop to K to prevent further damage. The bleacher creatures began to think Grove was in one of those grooves and the 1 run in the 4th just might stand. Then in the 5th the Bombers knotted it up when Chili Davis plated Berni on a hard smash that Bishop had to sneer in shallow right. Bishop had no play on Williams, so he conceded the run and pegged the slow footed Davis at first. With 1 out Tino Martinez crossed over to third (he doubled after Bernie singled). Grove then summoned all of his greatness and struck out both Posada and Brosius to end New York's chances in the 5th. Yankee fans were now feeling a little queasy having let the great Grove off the hook. Little did they know that the 6th inning would be his undoing as he walked light hitting Chad Curtis on 4 pitches. Knoblauch tripled to death valley to give the Bombers the lead. The normally clutch Jeter struck out looking, but Grove was not going to escape as Pauly "I love water coolers" O'Neill doubled to right and Tino eventually singled him home to post 3 runs in the inning. Down 4-1 in the 7th the A's were now desperate. As we all know the strength of this Yankee team is the pen. Coney posted a gutsy 7 inning performance and handed the ball off to Ramiro Mendoza who got 3 quick outs. Desperation, now turned into resignation. One must be resigned to the fact that if you don't have the lead after 8 the sandman will put you out. There are 3 things that are automatic in life: Death, Taxes and Mariano Rivera. The A's were now about to face two of the 3. First they would face Mo, then they would face their own mortality in this tournament. Mo set them down in the 9th and the Bombers moved on to the Fall classic to face their arch rivals, the Dodgers.

'51 Bums knock off '08 Phightin's in 4 games

GAME 1 (Citizens Bank Ballpark): Phillies 7, Dodgers 6

Sometimes when teams look at their opponent they see almost a mirror image of themselves. This series featured two teams that were just that similar. Both teams play in small ballparks, have big bats and have average pitching. Philly's advantage would be one Brad Lidge, who was perfect in 2008 (41 of 41), while the Dodgers did not have a guy who could close. Brooklyn opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first as they had runners on 2nd and 3rd. Duke Snider hit a sac fly to center to score Pee Wee Reese. Philly starter Cole Hamels was lucky to escape with only 1 run against. The bottom of the 1st saw Ryan Howard hit a 3 run shot off of Don Newcombe to put Philly up 3-1. Brooklyn tied it up in the 2nd when Andy Pafko doubled home Gil Hodges and Pee Wee Reese plated Pafko with a sac fly to left. Philly retook the lead with a solo run in the 4th when Ruiz singled home Werth. the top of the 5th saw Brooklyn take a 2 run lead when they scored 3 runs after a Chase Utley error. The following inning Philly notched 3 runs to take a 7-6 lead, which they would never relinquish. Pedro Feliz homered & Shane Vitorino had a big double. Newcombe went the distance, but was barely effective. Hamels got the win, but was barely ok. Brad Lidge was his perfect self pitching a scoreless 9th and striking out 2.

GAME 2 (Citizens Bank Ballpark): Dodgers 8, Phillies 4

With the score tied at 1 the Dodgers scored 3 in the 4th off of Brett Myers. Gil Hodges led off with a homer, which seemed to un-nerve Myers as Carl Furillo followed with a single. Two batters later Billy Cox dropped one into right and both runners were on 3rd as Dodger starter Preacher Roe bunted them over. With 2 outs Jackie Robinson hit one thru the middle to score 1 and Reese followed suit. Duke Snider was intentionally walked, which loaded the bases, but Campy struck out swinging to end the rally. Brooklyn got another solo run in the 6th and two more in the 7th, when Cal Abrams doubled home Hodges and Furillo. Philly scored a run in both the 8th and 9th to cut the deficit in half, but Preacher Roe was solid in a complete game effort.

GAME 3 (Ebbets Field): Dodgers 4, Phillies 0

Carl Erskine and Jamie Moyer hooked up in an old fashioned pitchers duel. Both hurlers tossed blanks for 6 innings when Moyer tired and Chad Durbin replaced him. Durbin surrender 3 run in just 1 inning of work, while Erskine pitched 8 shutout innings before Ralph Branca came on to close it. The Dodgers manufactured a run in the 7th when the fleet of foot Jackie Roosevelt Robinson walked of 5 pitches. He promptly stole 2nd and 3rd off of Durbin and with 2 outs Campy singled him home. Leading 1-0 the Dodgers needed some insurance and they got exactly what they were looking for in the 8th when pinch hitter Cal Abrams doubled home two and the Duke of Flatbush singled home another. Philly made 5 errors in this one including 2 by J-Roll in the same inning.

GAME 4 (Ebbets Field): Dodgers 6, Phillies 4

With their backs up against the wall the Phillies went with ace Cole Hamels on 3 days rest. Hamels ran out of gas in 5th, but attempted to start the 6th, which was a big mistake as the Dodgers scored 2 runs and cut Philly's lead to 1. Philadelphia scored 3 big runs in the first off of Ralph Branca, who curiously closed the game the night before and was then tapped to start this contest. Pat "the bat" Burrell's 3 run homer + Jason's Werth's RBI single in the 3rd accounted for Phillies runs up until this point. Unfortunately for the residents of Broad St that would be all the scoring they would get. The Dodgers scored a solo run in the 7th to tie the game when Billy Cox led off with a triple and scored on Gene Hermanski's grounder to Chase Utley. With the score tied the Dodgers took the lead for good in the 8th when Campy hit a two run shot, which was aided by J-Roll's error on a hard hit grounder by Furillo. Clem Labine came on to close out the 9th and record the save. Podbielan notched the win as 'dem Bums clinched the series in 4.

'30 Mack-men sweep '76 Big Red Machine

Game 1 at Riverfront Stadium,

The A's and Reds faced off in a series that had the makings of offensive
fireworks but as it turned out, Philadelphia was the only team that sparked.
Shores and Zachry dueled each other. A's shortstop Joe Boley drove in Dykes with a sacrifice fly to right field. Cincinnati tied the game in the 5th with a Johnny Bench solo homerun to right. Philadelphia plated 2 more runs. Jimmie Foxx tripled in Cochrane, who reached base on a Dave Concepcion error. Foxx scored later in the inning when Jimmy Dykes singled him in. Jack Quinn shut down the Reds over the final two innings to earn the save. A's 3...Reds 1

Game 2 at Riverfront Stadium,

George Earnshaw and Don Gullett were the two hurlers in game 2. Both teams battled each other for most of the game. Gullett threw into the 8th inning surrendering 4 runs. Earnshaw pitched only 6 innings and gave up 2 runs but was not around for the final decision. Jimmy Dykes smacked a 2 RBI double to give the A's the lead and eventual win. Winning pitcher for Philadelphia was Rommel. Final score....A's 4....Reds 3.

Game 3, Shibe Park, Philadelphia,

Jimmie Foxx was the star in this game as he slammed 2 homeruns including a 2-run shot in the third and a solo bomb in the 5th. Lefty Grove earned the win for Philadelphia as he threw a complete game, striking out 12 Reds including Rose, Griffey, and and Johnny Bench 2 times each. Gary Nolan started for Cincinnati and went 6 innings giving up 4 runs and received credit for the loss making him 0-2 with an 6.00 ERA during the Holiday Tourney. Final Score...A's 5...Reds 2....A's win the series 3 game to 0.
--submitted by Joey Scigliano--

Rain and skill help 2001 Mariners eliminate '86 Bosox 3 games to 1

GAME 1, SEA 4, BOS 2: The Fenway park faithful thought they were going to be treated to a virtuoso pitching performance by the Rocket, Roger Clemens. For 5 innings they got just that until the heavens opened up and they were treated to a 63 minute downpour. By the time both teams re-took the field Clemens was in the clubhouse. Relievers Calvin Shiraldi took the hill in the 6th and promptly yielded 3 runs to the Mariners. Carlos Guillen and Bell knocked in the 3 runs and the Mariners never looked back as reliever Arthur Rhodes notched the win.

GAME 2, SEA 2, BOS 1: Neither team could provide much offense in this contest. With the score tied 1-1 the Mariners plated a run in the top of the 9th to take the lead and hand the ball over to Sasaki to close it. Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd started the 9th, but didn't even record an out before he was gone. Sammy Stewart came on but walked the only batter he faced. Joe Sambito took the ball and when he walked Mark McLemore to force in Carlos Guillen, the Red Sox were down 2-1.

GAME 3, BOS 6, SEA 4: Bruce Hurst is a big game pitcher and no game is bigger than an elimination game. Hurst went 8 2/3, but just ran out of gas. Bob Stanley came on to save it. The Sawx scored 3 quick runs in the 1st off of Jamie Moyer to set the tone thanks to Dewey Evans' 3 run jack.

GAME 4, SEA 7, BOS 0: Manager Mike Kenney hoped to turn back the clock and summon on last hurrah from the great Tom Seaver. Unfortunately the 43 year old is now a shadow of his former great self. The Mariners torched him for 4 runs in 3 innings and never looked back as they eliminated the Red Sox with a 7-0 whitewashing. Paul Abbott was brilliant going almost 8 scoreless innings. Ichiro had 3 hits and 2 runs scored and basically caused havoc for Boston's pitchers. It got so bad Clemens had to be summoned to finish the last 4 2/3 innings. He was nearly perfect, but the horse was out of the barn by then.

'98 Bombers outslug and sweep '71 O's

1998 NY Yankees vs 1971 Baltimore Orioles: This series pitted two dynasty era teams against each other. The Orioles were built around excellent starting pitching (4 twenty game winners) and the 3 run homer. The Bombers were built on veteran pitching and a offensive balance. They could manufacture runs with guys like Jeter and Koblauch at the top of the order and of course they had a whale of a bullpen.

GAME 1 (Memorial Stadium) NYY 8, BAL 0: Jim Palmer gave up 4 runs in 4 innings as the Bombers scored 8 and never let the O's in this contest. Andy Pettitte scattered 8 hits over 7 shutout innings of work and Ramiro Mendoza was just as good to close it out. #2 Derek Jeter (pronounced Jeetah by the voice of God) had 3 hits and 2 RBI's. The top of Baltimore's lineup (Don Bufford and Paul Blair) combined for 4 hits, but the big guns (both Robby's and Boog) could not bring them home.

GAME 2 (Memorial Stadium) NYY 6, BAL 4: Frank Costanza: HOW COULD YOU GIVE 12 MILLION DOLLARS TO HIDEKI IRABU?!!!! It rang true back in 1998 and it still rings true. Billed as the greatest import from Japan, all Hidecki Irabu did was earn the nickname of "Fat Toad" and Frank costanza's wrath. Well the Toad didn't disappoint. He gave up 4 runs in under 6 innings of work and didn't even qualify for the "quality start" tag that baseball agents created a decade ago. Lucky for him his team can flat out score runs. with the score 4-3 going into the top of the 9th the Orioles looked to even the series. Starter Dave McNally, who is not a "Fat Toad" pitched 7 solid innings (3 ER) against a lineup with no weakness. Relievers Pete Richert and Eddie Watt proceeded to butcher the 9th and give up 3 runs and the game. Jorge Posada led off the inning and homered. Scott Brosius singled and Daryl Strawberry came up as a pinch hitter and doubled to make it second and third. Watt then uncorked a WP as he was trying to pick the corners vs Rock Raines, which scored Brosius. A long fly to center would allow Straw to tag up and just like that a 1 run lead turned into a 2 run deficit. The "Sandman" came on and pitched a scoreless ninth, which was no shock, and the Bombers now had a 2 games to none lead as they headed home to close out the series.

GAME 3 (Yankee Stadium) NYY 10, BAL 8: Word of advice to anyone wanting to stave off elimination...don't expect it to happen in Yankee Stadium in the post season. On a cool crisp night all the ghosts were out and in rare form. Baltimore actually led the game early, but the clouds erupted and the game was washed out (ok...the new game crashed and a bug appeared, but creatively this sounded better). The restarted game was a wild one. The lead changed hands 4 times as both starters (Pat Dobson & David Cone) had nothing. Dobson, who won twenty during the regular season gave up 8 in 6 innings of work. Coney gave up 5 in 6, so neither guy was up to the task of carrying his team. This was a night that the last offense standing was going to win. Jeet's (Derek Jeter) and Straw both had 3 hits. In fact there were 7 long balls hit tonight, 4 by the Bombers. Carrying a 2 run lead into the 9th after scoring an insurance run in the 8th, Yankee manager Ed Mikhli had a easy decision to make...Enter Sandman and close out the series. Mo walked Boog Powell, but threw a cutter to Brooksie who sharply grounded to Tino who pivoted and turned a fantastic 3-6-3 that would have made Donnie Ballgame proud. Ellie Hendricks then weakly flied to left to end the series as the Bombers bats were too much for the O's arms.

'30 A's defeat '54 Tribe in 4 as they make 11 errors

'54 Indians are defeated by the '30 A's as the tribe commits 11 errors in the four games, Bobby Avila alone commits 4. Additionally the trio of Al Rosen, Larry Doby and Vic Wertz failed to go deep once.

In the first game Max Bishop lead off the 9th for the A's with the game tied at three all. He singled and Don Mossi relieved starter and loser Early Wynn, the victim of four errors that lead to 2 unearned runs. Mossi then promptly walked three consecutive batters to account for the winning run. Rommel threw three and one third strong innings in relief to pick up the win. After taking a 3 - 1 lead in the second inning with Wynn driving in two runs the A's tallied single runs in the sixth and eighth to tie the game, Avila committing errors in both innings to set the stage for Mossi's disastrous lack of control.

In game two home runs by Joe Boley and Mickey Cochrane gave the A's an early two run lead but the tribe tied in the ninth only to have Ray Narleski yield a game winning home run to Al Simmons to lead off the 13 and that was all the A's needed as reliever Quinn shut down the Indians for two innings in relief of Lefty Grove.

Game three was a blow out as the Indians won 10 - 3 rapping out 12 hits off Rube Wahlberg and Eddie "don't call me Erwin" Rommel. Bobby Avila and Dave Philley each had three hits with Philley contributing a three run blast in the ninth to put the game out of reach. Mike Garcia went 8 innings to pick up the win. To the amazement of all, the tribe did not commit a single error in the game.

The final game (4) of the series was a 7 - 1 romp for the A's as George Earnshaw pitching his second game of the series went the distance. Max Bishop lead off the game with a homer and Jimmy Foxx hit a three run blast in the fifth to send Al Houttemann down to defeat and send the disappointed tribe back to the wigwam.
--submitted by James Clouser--

'51 Boys of Summer steal all the miracles from '86 Mets

GAME 1 (Shea): Brooklyn 9, New York 1
From the opening pitch the Boys of Summer let it be known that they were going to bring their hitting sticks with them. After 2 innings 'dem Bums were up 8-0 and starter Dwight Gooden was shell shocked. Now let's not put all the blame on Doc, since only 3 of the runs scored were earned. The '86 Mets made 2 big errors to help the onslaught. Gooden's counterpart Don Newcombe was brilliant. When he lost his bid for a shutout in the 7th he was lifted just in case he would be needed later on in the series. Roy Campanella had a great day at the plate going 2 for 5 with 3 RBI's + a HR and double.

GAME 2 (Shea): Brooklyn 9, New York 6
Dem Bums again scored 9 runs, but this one wasn't a laugher. After staking Preacher Roe to a 4 run lead the Dodgers gave back 3 runs to the Mets in the bottom of the 4th. Brooklyn scored 3 in the top of the 7th off reliever Terry Leach and thought they were home free until the Mets countered with 3 of their own in the bottom half of the inning as Preacher Roe got chased from the mound. Clyde King and Ralph Branca combined for 2 1/3 scoreless innings to shut the Mets down and put NY on the brink of elimination. Again the Mets were betrayed by their gloves as they made 3 errors in the contest. Amazingly there were 15 runs scored and only one home run hit, which was by Jackie Robinson, who had 3 hits and 3 RBI's.

GAME 3 (Ebbets): Brooklyn 7, New York 6
These elimination games are NEVER easy. Brooklyn tagged New York's starter, Bob Ojeda, for 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st. The big blow coming in the way of a 3 run homer by Roy Campanella. The Mets answered back with 2 runs off of Ralph Branca in the next frame. Dykstra tripled home Straw for the first run and when Raphael Santana hit into a 5-4-3 DP Straw came on to score. The Dodgers increased their lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the 4th. Hodges led off by grounding out to Ray Knight. Pafko and Cox both singled and were bunted over to 2nd and 3rd by Branca. With 2 outs the clutch little shortstop from Louisville, KY...Pee Wee Reese singled to center off of Bobby O to knock in 2. Time began to run out on the Mets, but this 86 team is no stranger to comebacks. The scored 2 in the 8th when Branca gave up a hit to Mookie and Wally Backman. That was it, Podbielan was called in from the pen, but he wasn't able to get Keith Hernandez out. Mex singled to left and Mookie came around to score to make it 6-3. Hatten was then summoned from the pen to put out the fire. Hatten plunked "Kid" Carter in the ribs and then groved one to Straw who narrowly missed a homer. Instead NY had to settle for a sac fly and the score was now 6-4. Clyde King came on to get the next 2 outs. Brooklyn didn't score in the bottom of the 8th. In fact they hadn't scored since the 4th. Orosco and McDowell each held Brooklyn at bay and allowed their offense to chip away at a the Dodger lead. Down by 2 the Mets had 3 outs left and they needed some sort of miracle. If ever there was a team that could count on miracles this was the one. While Clyde King was not Bob Stanley he still wasn't Mariano Rivera. Pinch hitter Dave Magadan walked to lead off the inning and Mookie, who always seems to be in the middle of Met miracles, crushed a 2-1 offering into Bedford Avenue to tie the game. Dodger fans were stunned, but then again they should be used to their "bums" who had a nasty habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Things got tense as no one scored in extra innings until the bottom of the 11th when things went a bit crazy. Andy Pafko led off with a clean single off of Doug Sisk. Bobby Cox got drilled in the shoulder and just like that there were runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out. Clyde King came up to the plate with one thing in mind...lay down a great bunt and push the runners up. With Keith Hernandez and his gold glove at 1st everyone knew the bunt was going to go toward 3rd, which it did. King layed down a beauty and just like that there were runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out and up stepped the Captain, Pee Wee Reese. Reese battle Sisk to a 3-2 count and fouled off countless pitches. Finally Sisk threw his best sinker and got Reese to fish for strike three. Strike three are the two best words in a relief pitcher's vocabulary. Unfortunately wild pitch might be one of the two worst. Sisk's offering sunk so hard, that it skipped right under Carters mitt. By the time Carter chased it down to the backstop Reese was standing on 1st. More importantly Andy Pafko crossed the plate and the game/series was over. Could there be a stranger way for a series to end ? A strike out / passed ball / run scored ending is almost unheard of. The '86 Mets ran out of miracles and the '51 Dodgers finally got theirs.

'08 Phightin's eliminate '08 Halos in 4

Game 1(@Phi)-"King" Cole Hamels only gave up 3 hits and no runs in 7 1/3 innings to lead the Phils to 3-0 victory over the Angels. Chase Utley had all 3 RBI including a homer and Brad Lidge was "lights out" in the 9th to pick up a save.

Game 2(@Phi)-Ervin Santana was on his game, holding the Phils to 1 run on 2 hits in 6 innings to lead the way to an Angels 3-1 win to tie the series at 1. Garrett Anderson and Chone Figgins each had 2 hits and K Rod picked up the save.

Game 3(@Laa)-Jamie Moyer and Ryan Madson held the Angels to 2 runs on 4 hits as the Phils take a 2-1 series lead by a 6-2 score. Pat "The Bat" Burell and Pedro Feliz homered for the Phils and Vladimer Guerrero and Jeff Mathis went yard for the Angels.

Game 4(@Laa)-The Phils exploded for 7 runs (4 that were earned) in the 2nd inning to lead the Phils to a 3-1 series victory by an 8-3 tally. Even though tiring early, Joey "cheesesteak" Blanton got the W for the Phightins. Matt Stairs lead the charge with a 2 run homer only to be pulled after 1 at bat. The Angels were very well managed by Douglas Zander but they just couldn't seem to get timely hitting. --contributed by Gary Bringhurst--

'76 Big Red Machine outlasts '27 Murders Row in 5

Marvin and I played a fantastic series that was very competitive and full of excitement.

Game 1 at Yankee Stadium,

Waite Hoyt and Gary Nolan matched one another in the first game of this best of 5 series. The Yanks got the best of the Big Red Machine early when they struck for 3 quick runs in the bottom half of the first inning. The big blow was a laser shot homerun to leftcenter by Pat Collins. Cincinnati came back with 2 runs in the third inning when Joe Morgan doubled off the rightcenter field fence. However, Murderers Row exacted revenge with a Tony Lazzeri bomb to deep left that plated 2 more runs in the fourth. The Sultan of Swat added two more runs in the seventh with a booming blast to rightfield that smashed off the upper deck. The final score was Yankees 7....Reds 2. Hoyt went the distance surrendering only 6 hits and striking out two batters.

Game 2 at Yankee Stadium,

Cincinnati looked to even the series in game two as they started youngster Pat Zachary. Everything looked to be heading in the right direction when Ed Armbrister got all of a Herb Pennock hanging slider and made it souvenier in the leftfield bleachers. Another run was added by the Reds. Cincinnati had a 3 run lead moving into the bottom of the 2nd. Tony Lazzeri hit a solo homerun(his second of the series) to get the Yanks 2 runs closer. That was all for the Reds as Murderers Row got rolling. Babe Ruth hit homeruns in the 5th and 8th innings. New York plated single runs in the 5th and 7th, and a 5 spot in the 8th inning, including 3 runs coming off Ruth's second homerun of the game.
Final score: Yankees 11...Reds 4. New York holds a 2 game edge.

Game 3 at Riverfront Stadium,

New York looked as though they were going to put matters away early and sneak away
with a 3 game sweep. Babe Ruth struck again as he hit solo homeruns in the 1st and 3rd innings. That makes 5 homeruns in 3 games and back to back multi-homer games. The Reds, a very resilient team, would not go without a fight. Cesar Geronimo hit a homerun of Dutch Ruether early in the game then Tony Perez tied the game with a solo homerun in the fourth. The game stayed tied until the bottom of the seventh when shortstop Doug Flynn led the inning off with a triple, following by a pinch walk to Dan Driessen. Pete Rose popped up to the pitcher trying to bunt. Morgan bunted in Flynn to give the Reds a 3-2 lead with Driessen going to second. Ken Griffey singled but it was hit too hard for Driessen to score. George Foster hit a deep fly ball to score the fourth run of the game for Cincy. Relief specialist Eastwick came in the 8th inning and worked the final two frames for the save and another day for the Big Red Machine. Final score....Reds 4....Yankees 2

Game 4 at Riverfront,

Fred Norman pitched 7 strong innings for the Reds and he got help by three triples by George Foster, Ken Griffey, and Pete Rose to upend the Yankees and even the series at 2 games apiece. Pedro Barbon pitched the last two innings in relief for the Reds to seal the victory and send the series back to New York for a deciding 5th game. The pitching matchups for the game will be a rematch of game 1...Gary Nolan for the Reds and Waite Hoyt for the Yankees. Final score...Reds 6....Yankees 3.

Game 5 at Yankee Stadium,

Cincinnati took an early 1-0 in the third inning when Joe Morgan hit homerun to rightcenter off Hoyt. The game remained that score until the bottom of the eighth inning when that man again, The Big Bambino came up and launched a ball into the crisp Bronx sky that still has not landed. This bomb tied the game. After Nolan retired the next batter, Lou Gehrig doubled and Tony Lazzeri smashed his 3rd homerun of the series to give New York a 3-1 lead. With two outs in the Reds seventh, Hoyt surrendered a single to Dave Concepcion. Manager Joey Scigliano sent up pinch hiter supreme Dan Driessen to bat for the pitcher. The old pro rewarded his manager's decision with a line drive double up the rightfield alley. Next batter was Pete Rose. Rose made a bet with the team that if he came to bat in the inning, he would tie the game. He came through with a double to right to tie the game at 3 apiece. New York had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning as Pat Collins singled followed by a Dugan hit to put runners on 1st and third. That brought up pinch hitter Ben Paschal. Paschal went down of strikes as Rawly Eastwick allowed the Reds to survive. The game stayed tied inning after extra inning. The Yankees put runners on base but clutch Red pitching by Sarmiento and Borbon prevented them from getting that all important winning hit. Moore pitching his 7th inning of relief for the Yankees gave up a lead single to Joe Morgan. Morgan stole second base and scored when Tony Perez singled him in. All the Reds needed was three outs to move to the second round. Barbon got the first batter to ground out to short. The next two batters were retired and the game and series was firmly in the hands of the 1976 Big Red Machine. Winning pitcher...Pedro Borbon...Final score in 16 innings....Reds 4....Yankees 3.
--submitted by Joey Scigliano--

'98 Astros outlast '84 Cubs in 5 game classic

Game 1: Houston 2, Chicago Cubs 1

The series opened up at the Astrodome to a classic pitcher's duel. Cubs ace Rick Sutcliffe was opposed by Astro's #3 starter Mike Hampton, a move in which many fans, and media personal questioned. Those questions were silenced, as Hampton and Sutcliffe engaged in a classic pitcher's duel. The Cubs lone run came in the 2nd inning on a Keith Moreland solo homerun. Hampton did work his way in and out of trouble, allowing only 3 hits through 7 innings, but he did allow 6 base on balls. Hampton, fatigued at 130 pitches, reached back, and with two outs and the bases loaded, recorded the strike out to keep his team in it.

Houston answered back in the bottom half of the 7th inning with a Moises Alou solo homerun, typing the game at 1. That it how things remained until the bottom half of the 9th inning. The Cubbies called on lefty Lee Smith to keep the game tied, and send it to extra innings. However, Moises Alou had different plans (dinner plans actually), and it one out in the bottom of the 9th, sent an 0-2 hanging curveball over the right field fence for a walk-off shot; his second of the day, giving Houston the win.

Game 2: Houston 6, Chicago Cubs 2

The second game saw another big pitching match-up with Houston ace Shane Reynolds squaring off against the intimidating Dennis Eckersley. The game lived up to it's hype over the first two innings, but Houston's bats went to work in the 3rd inning, with 2 runs scoring, capped off my an RBI single from 2B Craig Biggio. Biggio would finish the day with 3 steals, and 6 in the series, only to be caught once.

In the 4th inning, more offense from Houston, as the inning began with a single from 1B Jeff Bagwell, a RBI double from CF Roger Hidalgo, and highlighted by Derek Bell's first homerun. Houston claimed a 5-1 lead.

Eckersley was chased after allowing another run in the 5th, down 6-1. The dominate Shane Reynolds pitched into the 8th inning, but began to tire out. Allowing two men to score with one out, Justin Ryan went to his pen for Mike Magnate, who allowed a RBI to CHC PH Bosley. With the bases loaded, and the score 6-2, the books was closed on Reynolds, 2 ER through 7 1/3 IP, Justin Ryan went to lefty C.J. Nitkowski.

Clutch pitching with the tying run at the plate, Nitkowski fanned PH Owen, then induced a 6-4 ground out to end the threat. Billy Wagner pitched a 1-2-3 9th, not earning a save, but securing the win for the 'Stros.

Game 3: Sanderson vs. Lima as the Cubs come home after dropping the first two game. The game starts with an error on Bowa and and walk and before the first is over the Astros lead 3-0. Ryne Sandberg homers in the bottom of the first to give Cubs fans hope. Matthews drives in a run in the 3rd and its a 3-2 game. In the bottom of the 5th Sandberg hits his second of the game and then Moreland hits one and the Cubs have their first lead at 4-3. The fans are going nuts !! The lead is short lived as Alou doubles to start the 6th as it starts a 2 run rally and an Astro lead 5-4. The game moves to the bottom of the 8th still 5-4 Houston and up comes Jody Davis. As the fans chant Jody ! Jody !, Henry grooves one and its GONE tie game. Smith sets down Houston in the 9th. Bottom of the 9th Matthews leads off with a walk, Matthews steals second and Durham walks, Davis is passed. Bases loaded NO outs, Larry Bowa is up and ........a hit up the middle....CUBS WIN !!! CUBS WIN !!

Game 4: Randy Johnson vs. Steve Trout. It turns into a pitchers duel as the game is scoreless into the 5th when Houston draws first blood and 1-0 lead. With Johnson on the mound things look good for Houston. BUT then Johnson seems lost on the mound and the Cub bats explode for 5 !! the big hit a 2 run single by PH Bosley. Sandberg and "Sarge" Gary Matthews add homers in the 7th and the Cubs cruise 7-3. Series is tied at 2-2 and it back to Houston.

Game 5: Houston 2, Chicago Cubs 0

Manager Justin Ryan had a few Alka-Seltzers and a few more grey hairs before this game. With a 2-0 lead in the series, and one out away in game 3 of a series sweep, he suddenly saw his team up against the wall. Two consecutive losses, forcing a final game 5. With his bullpen spent, and all of his starters tired, even reserves which had been used in relief in game 4, game 1 starter Mike Hampton volunteered his services. Hampton told Ryan he could probably give him 4-5 innings, or 55 pitches, after throwing 131 several nights before. With moments before first pitch, Ryan called on the under used Sean Bergman to make the start. The Houston manager thanked Hampton and told him to be ready for relief work at the first sign of trouble from Bergman, but he, wouldn't be needed, as Bergman pitched the game of his life.

Offense was hard to come by for both teams here, as a combined 6 hits (three for each club) was recorded. In the first inning, after a Ricky Guttierez triple, an RBI ground out by Jeff Bagwell plated the first run of the game.

Cub's starter Rick Reuschel went into lock down mode as well, keeping the Astros off the books until losing gas in the 6th inning, After walking the bases loaded, with an 0-2 count on RF Derek Bell, he had too much mustard on a fastball, accidentally drilling him in the shoulder, sending in Houston's second run. The Cubs' pen was solid once more, as Brusstar did not allow a hit, and only a walk in his two innings of work, knowing the season was on the line.

Meanwhile, Sean Bergman cruised through 7 innings only allowing 1 hit. A second hit was surrendered in the 8th, not amounting to anything, and Houston fans could sense it, a series win...or could they? Not if the Cubs had anything to say about it.

Justin Ryan allowed Bergman to start the 9th, with the complete game shutout still intact, working on a 2 hitter. Ryan was quite firm though, telling the Houston pitcher, at the first sign of trouble, he was done. After retiring the leadoff man on a grounout, 3B Bill Spiers booted a ball for an error, putting CHC's CF Dernier on 1st with one out in the top of the 9th. Bergman answered back with a swinging strikeout of Ryne Sandberg, and the crowd went wild! One out away from a Houston victory, with Ron Cey as the final hope, and tying run for the Cubs. Line drive; single, ripped through a diving Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell had Cubbies on first and third with two out and the go ahead run stepping to the plate in Keith Moreland, who already did plenty of damage in this series, batting .286.

Ryan slowly walked to the hill, signaling for his closer, lefty flame thrower Billy Wagner, as Bergman left to a standing ovation. As Wagner went to work, he quickly fell behind 3-0, not what manager Justin Ryan, or Houston fans had in mind. Rallying back 3-2, Wagner lost Moreland, walking the bases loaded. With the tying run at second, and the go ahead run at first, there was no wiggle room for Wagner. "Sarge", Gary Matthews stepped in with the bases juiced, against Wagner, and fell behind 0-2. Astros fans were standing, cheering at the top of their lungs, not only wanting a series win, but wanting a strikeout from their southpaw closer. As Wagner aggressively threw, reaching 100 mph twice in his next three pitches, he found himself over throwing, and with the count full at 3-2. This was it...a long look into C's Brad Ausmus' glove behind the plate, and a 3-2 slider resulted in a swing and miss! Strike three! Astros win! After the game, Justin Ryan was quoted as saying: "Wags never makes it easy, he makes it interesting, too interesting sometimes, but he got the job done...I was sweating worse than holding in a mean dump after eating bad Chinese food!".
--Games 1,2,5 submitted by Justin Ryan. Games 3,4 submitted by Bill Affeldt--

Rick Tharp's Big Red Machine (78-CIN) sweeps the Braves (96-ATL)

GAME 1: Medium Red Machine wins 9-8

A game that billed itself as a battle of aces between Smoltz and Seaver proved to be anything but. The game really ended up being quite a slugfest with doubles by ;Blauser(1), Grissom(1), Jones, A(1), Bench(1), Rose(1) plus homeruns from Grissom 2(2), Justice(1), Bench(1), and Foster,G(1). Smoltz was tagged with 8 earned runs in 4.2 innings.

Turning point: The 4 run 4th proved to be tha straw that broke the braves back even tho they made a gallant run at it with 3 runs in the top of the ninth off Dave Tomlin. Doug Bair came in and slammed the door shut for the classic' first save.

MVP: Johnny Bench was named MVP based on his GWRBI

GAME 2: Reds win game 2 5-2

The Medium Red Machine man handled future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux tagging him with twelve hits and all five runs in a sub-par 5.1 inning performance. Meanwhile on the the Reds side Paul Moskau turned in a career day pitching and hitting. Moskau threw 8 innings giving up 5 hits and 2 earned runs, with the big surprise being his hitting going 2 for 3 with a homer.

Turning point: Maddux homerun to Moskau was the bad medicine for the Braves

MVP: Paul Moskau
AB R H BI W K Ave
3 2 2 1 0 0 .667
IP H R ER W K Ct ERA
8.0 5 2 2 0 3 116 2.25

GAME 3: Reds 10 Braves 7

In the final game of the sweep the Reds fell behind early after comitting greviuos back to back-to-back errors with 2 outs and nobody on in the second. The Braves pounced on the chance following the first error up with 5 hits including 2 homeruns one a grand salami by Chipper Jones. After that the Medium Red Machine slowly found traction tied up the game and drove Glavine from the mound in the fifth and then took the lead for keeps.

Turning point: The Braves tried to mount a comeback in the bottom of the fifth starting the inning with 3 straight singles to load the bases. Timely pitching from the bullpen and rock solid defense stopped the rally in it's tracks leaving three stranded.

MVP: George Foster with 2 homeruns AB R H BI W K 5 3 4 3 0 1
My vote for matchup MVP Justice,David* Ave G AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI .538 3 13 3 7 0 0 3 16 4 --submitted by Rick Tharp--