Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996

Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

NEW YORK YANKEES vs. SEATTLE MARINERS
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SCHEDULE
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PITCHING MATCH-UPS

GAME 1
DAVID CONE (15-7, 3.83 ERA) @ RANDY JOHNSON (18-5, 2.70 ERA)

GAME 2
ANDY PETTITTE (15-8, 3.88 ERA) @ CHRIS BOSIO (13-11, 4.87)

GAME 3
FREDDY GARCIA (13-8, 4.00 ERA) @ KENNY ROGERS (13-8, 5.63 ERA)

GAME 4
STERLING HITCHCOCK (14-8, 5.05 ERA) @ JIMMY KEY (10-6, 4.27 ERA)

GAME 5
RANDY JOHNSON (18-5, 2.70 ERA) @ DAVID CONE (15-7, 3.83 ERA)

LINEUPS AND PITCHING STAFFS

NEW YORK YANKEES vs. SEATTLE MARINERS
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Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

CLEVELAND INDIANS vs. BOSTON RED SOX
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SCHEDULE
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PITCHING MATCH-UPS

GAME 1
JACK MCDOWELL (15-5, 4.04 ERA) @ ROGER CLEMENS (21-7, 3.34 ERA)

GAME 2
BRIAN ANDERSON (14-5, 3.74 ERA) @ BRAD RADKE (9-1, 3.75 ERA)

GAME 3
JEFF SUPPAN (13-6, 4.46 ERA) @ CHARLES NAGY (11-5, 4.67 ERA)

GAME 4
JAMIE MOYER (13-4, 4.68 ERA) @ BARTOLO COLON (9-4, 4.83 ERA)

GAME 5
ROGER CLEMENS (21-7, 3.34 ERA) @ JACK MCDOWELL (15-5, 4.04 ERA)

LINEUPS AND PITCHING STAFFS

CLEVELAND INDIANS vs. BOSTON RED SOX
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Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

Also, much thanks to mattynokes for finding two new photos that will now be gracing the player cards of our main characters, Roger Clemens and Nomar Garciaparra.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1.../clemero01.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1.../garcino01.jpg

Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

Psst, Go Yankees!

Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldYankFan

Psst, Go Yankees!

Even though the Yankees had more regular season wins than the Mariners, I think that's an extremely even, intriguing series. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

HOUSTON ASTROS vs. COLORADO ROCKIES
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SCHEDULE
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PITCHING MATCH-UPS

GAME 1
DOUG DRABEK (20-7, 3.82 ERA) @ MARK GUBICZA (15-5, 4.14 ERA)

GAME 2
DARRYL KILE (14-9, 4.16 ERA) @ ARMANDO REYNOSO (11-6, 3.75 ERA)

GAME 3
KEVIN KITZ (11-10, 6.78 ERA) @ SHANE REYNOLDS (8-10, 3.79 ERA)

GAME 4
DAVID NIED (8-6, 5.15 ERA) @ MIKE HAMPTON (10-14, 5.38 ERA)

GAME 5
MARK GUBICZA (15-5, 4.14 ERA) @ DOUG DRABEK (20-7, 3.82 ERA)

LINEUPS AND PITCHING STAFFS

HOUSTON ASTROS vs. COLORADO ROCKIES
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Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

PLAYOFF PREVIEW

NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES

LOS ANGELES DODGERS vs. FLORIDA MARLINS
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SCHEDULE
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PITCHING MATCH-UPS

GAME 1
ISMAEL VALDEZ (16-8, 2.97 ERA) @ JOHN BURKETT (12-7, 3.03 ERA)

GAME 2
RAMON MARTINEZ (8-9, 4.22 ERA) @ A.J. BURNETT (9-11, 3.90 ERA)

GAME 3
KEVIN BROWN (14-7, 2.07 ERA) @ TOM CANDIOTTI (9-12, 4.15 ERA)

GAME 4
AL LEITER (15-10, 3.85 ERA) @ CHAN HO PARK (10-6, 3.95 ERA)

GAME 5
JOHN BURKETT (12-7, 3.03 ERA) @ ISMAEL VALDEZ (16-8, 2.97 ERA)

LINEUPS AND PITCHING STAFFS

LOS ANGELES DODGERS vs. FLORIDA MARLINS
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Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

October 3
Indians @ Red Sox
Indians 5 - Red Sox 1
Indians lead series 1-0

Roger Clemens got off to a bad start in this game, allowing a run on three hits in the first inning. He settled in quite nicely, allowing just two runs over six innings and striking out eight, but alas it was still not enough for the win. Our only run came in retaliation to their first inning run when Barry Larkin led off our half of the first with a homer. It was pretty tight the rest of the way, but Mike Maddux came in in the seventh and allowed a three-run home run to Manny Ramirez to put the game away for the Indians. Nomar also went 0-4 in his playoff debut. We turn to Brad Radke in game two as we look to tie up the series before heading to Cleveland.

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Indians (CLE) 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 5 12 1 Red Sox (BOS) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 0 CLEVELAND ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg K. Lofton (CF) 4 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 .336 O. Vizquel (SS) 5 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .307 A. Belle (LF) 5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .282 M. Ramirez (RF) 5 2 0 1 1 4 2 0 .344 J. Thome (3B) 5 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 .305 E. Murray (1B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .292 J. Burnitz (DH) 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 .219 C. Baerga (2B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .310 T. Pena (C) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .279 TOTALS 38 12 2 5 1 5 9 1 2B: J. Thome 2, K. Lofton 2 HR: M. Ramirez CLEVELAND ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA J. McDowell 7.0 7 1 1 1 1 4 113 4.04 R. Betancourt 2.0 0 1 0 0 0 1 27 4.32 TOTALS 9.0 7 2 1 1 1 5 140 BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg B. Larkin (SS) 4 2 0 1 1 1 1 0 .329 R. White (CF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .311 N. Garciaparra (DH) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .310 M. Vaughn (1B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .313 M. Greenwell (LF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .308 M. Stanley (C) 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .267 B. Boone (2B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .278 T. Nixon (RF) 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .265 T. Naehring (3B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .262 TOTALS 33 7 2 1 1 1 5 0 2B: R. White, T. Naehring HR: B. Larkin HBP: M. Greenwell GIDP: B. Boone BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA R. Clemens 6.0 8 1 0 2 2 8 122 3.34 M. Maddux 1.0 3 0 1 3 3 1 28 3.22 M. Stanton 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 0 14 4.50 R. Garces 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17 3.31 TOTALS 9.0 12 2 1 5 5 9 181 WP: J. McDowell LP: R. Clemens

WP - Jack McDowell
LP - Roger Clemens
SV - N/A
HR - Barry Larkin (1), Manny Ramirez (1)

============================================================================

THE REST OF THE PLAYOFFS

YANKEES vs. MARINERS

Yankees win Game #1 against the Mariners 8-7 in spite of two homers from Raul Ibanez and one homer from Alex Rodriguez. Tino Martinez drives in three runs.

Yankees lead series 1-0

ASTROS vs. ROCKIES

Rockies win Game #1 on a complete game three-hit shutout by Mark Gubicza and a homer and four RBI's by Jeff Reed.

Rockies lead series 1-0

DODGERS vs. MARLINS

The Dodgers win a fantastic pitchers duel in game one. Ismael Valdez gets the 'W' by going eight innings and allowing only one run on five hits, while John Burkett is the unfortunate loser as he goes seven and allows two runs on seven hits.

Dodgers lead series 1-0

Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

October 4
Indians @ Red Sox
Indians 11 - Red Sox 10 (10 innings)
Indians lead series 2-0

Crappy bullpen play caused us to lose this game. We led by three runs going into the top of the ninth, but Rich Garces came in and gave up three runs to let the Indians tie the game on hits by Lofton, Vizquel, Belle, and Thome. Butch Henry then came in and allowed a two-run homer to Carlos Baerga in the 10th to help them win. We got a run in the bottom of the tenth to pull within one and put the walk-off run at the plate, but could do nothing with it. We now head to Cleveland down two games to none, and look like we'll be headed home early this post-season.

HTML Code:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Indians (CLE) 1 0 3 0 0 0 1 1 3 2 11 19 2 Red Sox (BOS) 3 0 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 10 16 0 CLEVELAND ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg K. Lofton (CF) 6 4 0 3 1 2 0 0 .336 O. Vizquel (SS) 6 5 0 2 0 1 1 0 .307 A. Belle (LF) 5 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 .282 M. Ramirez (RF) 5 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .344 J. Thome (3B) 5 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 .305 E. Murray (1B) 5 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 .292 J. Burnitz (DH) 3 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 .219 C. Baerga (2B) 5 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 .310 T. Pena (C) 5 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .279 TOTALS 45 19 3 11 3 11 5 0 2B: O. Vizquel 2, K. Lofton 3B: J. Thome, K. Lofton HR: E. Murray, C. Baerga, K. Lofton GIDP: C. Baerga, J. Thome, A. Belle CS: O. Vizquel CLEVELAND ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA O. Hershiser 3.0 6 2 2 6 4 1 73 3.95 E. Plunk 2.0 3 1 0 1 1 4 44 3.75 R. Betancourt 2.0 1 0 1 1 1 2 28 4.32 P. Assenmacher 1.0 2 0 0 1 1 1 25 4.60 J. Mesa 1.1 4 0 0 1 1 1 30 4.77 A. Embree 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 6.20 TOTALS 10.0 16 3 3 10 8 9 205 BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg B. Larkin (SS) 6 2 0 2 1 1 1 0 .329 R. White (CF) 6 3 0 3 0 1 1 0 .311 N. Garciaparra (DH) 5 2 1 1 0 2 0 0 .310 M. Vaughn (1B) 6 1 0 1 0 1 4 0 .313 M. Greenwell (LF) 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .308 M. Stanley (C) 6 3 0 2 1 2 1 0 .267 B. Boone (2B) 5 2 0 1 1 3 1 0 .278 T. Nixon (RF) 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 .265 T. Naehring (3B) 5 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .262 TOTALS 48 16 3 10 3 10 9 0 2B: M. Stanley, B. Larkin, R. White, T. Nixon HR: M. Stanley, B. Boone, B. Larkin BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA B. Radke 6.1 11 0 1 5 5 3 88 3.99 M. Stanton 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 1 9 4.50 M. Maddux 1.1 1 2 1 1 1 0 29 3.22 R. Garces 1.0 4 0 0 3 3 1 29 3.31 B. Henry 1.0 2 1 1 2 2 0 18 4.62 TOTALS 10.0 19 3 3 11 11 5 173 WP: J. Mesa LP: B. Henry SV: A. Embree

WP - Jose Mesa
LP - Butch Henry
SV - Alan Embree
HR - Barry Larkin (2), Bret Boone (1), Mike Stanley (1), Eddie Murray (1), Carlos Baerga (1), Kenny Lofton (1)

============================================================================

THE REST OF THE PLAYOFFS

YANKEES vs. MARINERS

The Mariners tie the series at 1-1 on a solid start by Bosio (7 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 5 BB) and a huge game out of the offense. Ichiro, Joey Cora, A-Rod, and Edgar Martinez all drove in two runs, while Griffey Jr. and Rich Amaral each drove in one.

Series tied at 1-1

ASTROS vs. ROCKIES

The Rockies go up 2-0 with another strong pitching performance. Armando Reynoso went 7 2/3 innings and allowed only two runs on four hits and two walks.

Rockies lead series 2-0

DODGERS vs. MARLINS

The Dodgers also manage to take a commanding series lead with the help of a strong start by Ramon Martinez and three RBI's, a homer, and two doubles by Raul Mondesi. Martinez went seven innings and allowed two runs on six hits while striking out seven. A.J. Burnett also pitched well, going six and allowing one run on five hits with six K's, but again the Marlins were the unfortunate losers.

Dodgers lead series 2-0

Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

October 5
Red Sox @ Indians
Red Sox 4 - Indians 2
Indians lead series 2-1

Jeff Suppan came up huge in this game to keep us in the series. Suppan pitched 8 1/3 innings and allowed just two runs on seven hits, walked no one, and struck out five. Larkin led the offense again, going 2-4 with an RBI, and raising his batting average in this series to .429. We've got Moyer going in game four as we look to force a final and decisive game five.

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Red Sox (BOS) 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 4 7 0 Indians (CLE) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 7 0 BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg B. Larkin (SS) 4 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .329 R. White (CF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .311 N. Garciaparra (DH) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .310 M. Vaughn (1B) 3 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 .313 M. Greenwell (LF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .308 M. Stanley (C) 4 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 .267 P. Clark (RF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .271 B. Boone (2B) 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 .278 T. Naehring (3B) 3 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 .262 TOTALS 32 7 1 4 2 4 4 1 2B: N. Garciaparra, B. Larkin, R. White, T. Naehring HR: M. Stanley, M. Vaughn HBP: M. Vaughn GIDP: M. Greenwell BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA J. Suppan 8.1 7 0 0 2 2 5 112 4.46 R. Garces 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 1 13 3.31 TOTALS 9.0 7 0 0 2 2 6 125 CLEVELAND ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg K. Lofton (CF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .336 O. Vizquel (SS) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .307 A. Belle (LF) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282 M. Ramirez (RF) 4 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .344 J. Thome (3B) 4 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 .305 E. Murray (1B) 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .292 J. Burnitz (DH) 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 .219 C. Baerga (2B) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .310 T. Pena (C) 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .279 TOTALS 33 7 0 2 0 2 6 1 3B: J. Thome HBP: A. Belle CS: E. Murray CLEVELAND ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA B. Anderson 7.0 5 1 1 3 3 4 88 3.74 R. Betancourt 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 4.32 P. Assenmacher 1.0 1 0 1 1 1 0 20 4.60 TOTALS 9.0 7 1 2 4 4 4 117 WP: J. Suppan LP: B. Anderson SV: R. Garces

WP - Jeff Suppan
LP - Brian Anderson
SV - Rich Garces
HR - Mike Stanley (2), Mo Vaughn (1)

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THE REST OF THE PLAYOFFS

YANKEES vs. MARINERS

The Yankees win Game #3 in a 12-3 rout of the Mariners. Bobby Ayala allowed five runs in 2/3 of an inning in relief of Freddy Garcia, who allowed four runs in four innings. Everyone in the Yankees line-up collected at least one hit, and everyone but Tino Martinez scored. Kenny Rogers also goes 8 2/3 innings and allows only two earned runs on four hits while striking out eight.

Yankees lead series 2-1

ASTROS vs. ROCKIES

Houston wins Game #3 to avoid elimination, due in large part to the pitching effort by Shane Reynolds. Reynold pitched a complete game and allowed only one run on nine hits, while striking out six. Biggio drove in four runs on a homer and a double.

Rockies lead series 2-1

DODGERS vs. MARLINS

The Marlins win Game #3 in extras to stay alive in the NLDS. Kevin Brown and Tom Candiotti both pitched well, going seven innings and allowing two runs each in opposition to each other. The game-winning run came in the top of the 12th when Jeff Conine singled home Quilvio Veras from third base.

Dodgers lead series 2-1

Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

October 7
Red Sox @ Indians
Red Sox 2 - Indians 5
Indians win series 3-1

A great start by Nagy helps the Indians bring our season to a premature end. Nagy went seven innings, allowed only two runs on eight hits, and struck out four. Tony Peña killed us at the plate, going 2-4 with a double, a triple, and two RBI's. Barry Larkin again went 2-5, and Mo Vaughn and Naehring drove in runs in the season-ending loss.

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E Red Sox (BOS) 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 0 Indians (CLE) 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 x 5 13 0 BOSTON ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg B. Larkin (SS) 5 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 .329 R. White (CF) 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .311 N. Garciaparra (DH) 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .310 M. Vaughn (1B) 4 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .313 M. Greenwell (LF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .308 M. Stanley (C) 4 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .267 B. Boone (2B) 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .278 T. Nixon (RF) 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .265 T. Naehring (3B) 4 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 .262 TOTALS 37 10 2 2 1 2 4 0 HR: T. Naehring BOSTON ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA J. Moyer 4.0 9 0 0 4 4 4 78 4.68 M. Stanton 0.2 1 2 0 1 1 1 19 4.50 T. Gordon 2.1 2 1 0 0 0 0 48 5.15 H. Slocumb 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 15 4.85 TOTALS 8.0 13 3 0 5 5 5 160 CLEVELAND ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg K. Lofton (CF) 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .336 O. Vizquel (SS) 4 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 .307 A. Belle (LF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .282 M. Ramirez (RF) 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .344 J. Thome (3B) 3 2 1 2 0 0 1 0 .305 E. Murray (1B) 4 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .292 B. Giles (DH) 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .318 C. Baerga (2B) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .310 T. Pena (C) 4 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 .279 TOTALS 35 13 3 5 0 5 5 1 2B: T. Pena 3B: T. Pena GIDP: E. Murray CLEVELAND ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA C. Nagy 7.0 8 2 1 2 2 4 109 4.67 P. Assenmacher 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 16 4.60 J. Mesa 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 15 4.77 TOTALS 9.0 10 2 1 2 2 4 140 WP: C. Nagy LP: J. Moyer SV: J. Mesa

WP - Charles Nagy
LP - Jamie Moyer
SV - Jose Mesa
HR - Tim Naehring (1)

SERIES MVP

KENNY LOFTON

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THE REST OF THE PLAYOFFS

YANKEES vs. MARINERS

The Mariners manage to force a Game #5 with the help of Sterling Hitchcock! Hitchcock threw a complete game shutout, allowing three hits and three walks, while striking out six. Offensively they got homers out of A-Rod and KGJ (Ken Griffey Jr., in case you were stumped :p)

Series tied 2-2

ASTROS vs. ROCKIES

The Astros also manage to force a fifth game, as they got a strong start out of Mike Hampton. Hampton went seven innings and allowed two runs on six hits. His counterpart, David Nied, was nearly as effective, allowing six runs over six innings.

Series tied 2-2

DODGERS vs. MARLINS

Wow. The Marlins ALSO force a decisive Game #5 (meaning my series was the only one that didn't go five games, go figure), after Chan Ho Park blows it and allows them to put three runs on the board in the top of the ninth.

Series tied 2-2

Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

THE REST OF THE PLAYOFFS

YANKEES vs. MARINERS

The Yankees pull it out in the end with a strong start from David Cone. Cone went 7 2/3 innings and allowed only two runs while striking out a whopping 15 batters. Whoda thunk the Mariners would've lost both games that Randy Johnson made the start in.

SERIES MVP

TIM RAINES

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Yankees win the series 3-2

ASTROS vs. ROCKIES

The Rockies blow their early 2-0 series lead and allow the Astros to win the series and advance to the NLCS. Drabek allows only two runs in seven innings, and the offense goes nuts and puts up 12 runs. Biggio collected four RBI's, while Abreu and Bagwell had three each.

SERIES MVP

CRAIG BIGGIO

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Astros win series 3-2

DODGERS vs. MARLINS

The Dodgers advance to the NLCS on a strong start by Ismael Valdez. Valdez falls one out short of a complete game, going 8 2/3 innings and allowing just two runs while striking out six. Raul Mondesi went 3-4 and drove in three runs.

SERIES MVP

RAUL MONDESI

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Dodgers win series 3-2

Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

YANKEES vs. INDIANS

Yankees win series 4-1

The Indians barely showed up to play in this series. They win the most regular season games in all of baseball, but only manage to win one game in the ALCS against the Yankees? And it took them 13 innings to do it at that!? They also got outscored 37-21 in the series.

SERIES MVP

JIM LEYRITZ

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NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

DODGERS vs. ASTROS

Dodgers win series 4-1

The Dodgers win the NLCS and advance to the World Series where they will play the Yankees. They dropped the first game of the series 11-3, but won the next four, outscoring the Astros 28-9 in their four wins.

SERIES MVP

MIKE PIAZZA

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Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

1996 MLB WORLD SERIES

YANKEES vs. DODGERS

Yankees win series 4-2

The Dodgers took an early series lead, winning the first two games of the series, and looked like they would win the series as they were heading back to LA with a 2-0 series lead. But the Yankees were just too much and they won the next four games in a row to claim the World Series title of 1996.

SERIES MVP

DWIGHT GOODEN

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Re: Red Sox Memoirs - Spiderman and The Rocket (1996 - )

OFF-SEASON PLAN

Our first season was quite successful in terms of wins and losses, but we're going for that ever elusive World Championship. And now that the season is over and the World Series victor has been declared, it's time to look towards the off-season and what we're looking to do.

IMPROVE THE DEFENSE

Defense was a big problem for us this season, as we had one of the lowest rated defensive teams in the league (bottom five easily, though I'm not sure exactly where). We had Mo Vaughn and Barry Larkin make 13 errors, Jeff Frye made 12, and the combination of Bret Boone, Tim Naehring, and Freddy Sanchez made 16 errors at third base this season*. Not only that but Mike Stanley only threw out 23% of runners that ran on him and he average almost a steal a game against. The outfield defense of Greenwell, White, and Nixon is actually pretty solid so no problem there. Regardless, when we've got guys like Jeff Suppan, Brad Radke, and Jamie Moyer in the starting rotation, all guys who pitch to contact and are vastly more effective with a strong infield defense behind them, we can't afford to have that kind a defense that's gonna make close to fifty errors on the infield.

The positions we're mainly looking to address are first base, third base, and second base (we feel that Mike Stanley's bat largely makes up for the less than stellar defense)

FIRST BASE - With Mo Vaughn's contract expiring it should be fairly easy to improve here. The problem is, there aren't many great defensive first baseman in the league who may be available right now. Our main and/or most likely target (depending on how you look at it) is John Olerud of the Toronto Blue Jays. Olerud's got a very nice glove, and a solid bat to boot. Other possibilities include Mark Grace, Rafael Palmeiro, and David Segui.
THIRD BASE - Naehring's contract is also coming off the books this season, so this could/should be another easy upgrade. However, the problem again is lack of defense strong third basemen in the league. The most likely trade possibility would be White Sox third basemen Robin Ventura. Edgardo Alfonzo may be a trade candidate, and Wade Boggs could be a free agent after the season.
SECOND BASE - The most likely scenario here is that we hand the reins over to incumbent second baseman and top prospect Freddy Sanchez. Sanchez looks like he'll have a very nice glove at second base already, though his range is a little lacking, and he did hit decently in his 58 big league games this season. The only trade or signing possibility would be Mets second basemen Jeff Kent, who could be made available as the Mets look to be rebuilding.

SIGN-AND-TRADE MO VAUGHN

After Mo Vaughn's spectacular season he's gonna be leaving one way or another, and there's no way in hell I'm letting him leave town without getting something in return. Chances are he'll go in a deal like the ones thought about above and bring us something to improve the defense.

ACQUIRE A BIG HITTER

With Mo Vaughn leaving one way or another, that's gonna leave an enormous void (especially in the power department) in the middle of our line-up that we'll have to fill. Rondell put up almost a .900 OPS this season, but I doubt that will happen again, and Nomar should improve on his .868 OPS and .505 slugging percentage moving forward, as should Nixon, but I'm not expecting twenty homer seasons out of Mike Greenwell and Mike Stanley again. I'm not really sure how I'm gonna fill this hole. The free agent market looks pretty barren this off-season. Ray Lankford is the only big bat with the chance to be on the market this season, and center field is already taken by Rondell White. I'm gonna look into trading with a rebuilding team to get an All-Star hitter, but I also don't want to mortgage the farm this off-season. Possibilities on the trade front could be Ivan Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and the aforementioned Jeff Kent, though any of them would probably cost me everything in my farm worth trading, and then some.

That's basically what we're looking at doing this off-season. I may also look to improve at catcher, as I'm not sold Stanley will repeat his 20+ homer .800+ OPS from this season. The defense is my biggest concern, and signing-and-trading Mo Vaughn will likely occur as an effect of one of the other two goals.

EXPIRING CONTRACTS

Y=We're looking to resign
N=We're not looking to resign
A=Arbitration-eligible

2B Bret Boone - Y
1B Mo Vaughn - N
C Joe Oliver - Y
OF Phil Clark - Y
OF Alex Cole - N
1B Reggie Jefferson - N
OF Shane Mack - N
3B Tim Naehring - N
SP Butch Henry - Y
RP Heathcliff Slocumb - Y
RP Tom Gordon - N
RP John Doherty - N
RP Scott Service - N
OF Troy O'Leary - A/Y
2B Jeff Frye - A/Y
RP Rich Garces - A/Y

* - I know errors aren't the best way of judging a players defense, but BBM doesn't give you much to work with for defensive stats so I went with it. In fact, most of Larkin's errors are probably a factor of his above-average range more than anything.