To bring a title to Wrigley

[twinsGM]

Game 3

Carlos Zambrano vs. Jason Hirsh

Cubs- 1
Rockies- 5


Rockies take the series lead, 2-1, and the owners were about to smash their heads through a brick wall, preparing for another early playoff defeat in yet another disappointing end to a once-promising season. But the players didn't do the same...

Game 4

Jason Marquis vs. Franklin Morales

5th: Dan Uggla doubled, followed by Kelly Shoppach, wh doubled him in.
Marquis then singled, scoring Shoppach.
9th: tied at 2, Kelly Shoppach delivers again, driving in Dan Uggla and himself to take the lead, and Marmol nailed in down in the bottom of the 9th, to tie the series, and send everyone back to Chicago.

Game 5

1st: Aramis Ramirez hit a solo homer.
3rd: Soriano singled, scoring Theriot.
5th: Felix Pie singled in Ryan Theriot.

It was 3-1 in the top of the 9th, with Marmol in to pitch. with 1 out, Helton homered, but Marmol recovered and got the last 2 outs, to give the Cubs a ticket to the NLCS, against the Phillies.

Series MVPs: Dan Uggla and Kelly Shoppach, a great bottom-of-the-order combo that powered the Cubs to the NLCS.

[twinsGM]

NLCS Game 1

In Chicago

Carlos Zambrano vs. Brett Myers

1st- Derrek Lee singled in Alfonso Soriano.
Kelly Shoppach singled in Kosuke Fukudome
2nd- Mark DeRosa hit a solo homer
5th- Alfonso Soriano homered for two RBI, Felix Pie scoring on the drive.

Going into the 8th, we were leading 5-1. The Phillies rallied, got the bases loaded with one out and came away with 3 runs, but it wasn't enough, as Carlos Marmol held down another save to give us the series lead, 1-0.


Game 2


Rich Hill pitched 8 strong innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, throwing 116 pitches. Aram-Ram hit a solo homer, and we won again, 8-2!
On to Philadelphia, where we've got Jason marquis, Ted Lilly and Carlos Zambrano pitching.

[twinsGM]

Game 3
(in play-by-play mode, General manager box)

Lineup:
1. Felix Pie
2. Alfonso Soriano
3. Aramis Ramirez
4. Derrek Lee
5. Kosuke Fukudome
6. kelly Shoppach
7. Dan Uggla
8. Ryan Theriot
9. Jason Marquis

vs. the Phillies' Cole Hamels

1st
Aramis got a single wit two out in the first, but was followed by a Derrek Lee strikeout.

Marquis got an easy 1-2-3 inning

2nd
...and Hamels got the same from us...


Burrell Homered to left-center to give the Phillies the 1-0 lead.

3rd

Theriot drew a lead-off walk, but we couldn't do anything with it.

Marquis with another 1-2-3



4th
Lee walked, but was caught stealing to end the inning.

Victorino tripled, then scored on a groundout.

2-0 Phillies

5th
We went 1-2-3...

a walk and a hit, but no runs.

6th
Nothing again...

A 1-out double couldn't score

7th

Aramis doubles, and Lee walks. Fukudome strikes out, and Shoppach flies out, as does Uggla, so we miss a huge oppurtunity there.

Marquis allows another double, but bails himself out.

Still 2-0 Phils after 7.


8th

Marquis comes out for Soto the pinch-hitter, and Guzman will now pitch.

Guzman gets a 1-2-3 with 2 K's, and we need a rally!


9th

Aramis Homers to right-center to lead off! one more run guys!
Fukudome singled and Shoppach walked, then Uggla struck out. Jacobs walked as a pinch hitter and Daryle Ward struck out to end the game as a pinch hitter.

Final Score:
Phillies 2, Cubs 1

[twinsGM]

Game 4

Cubs lead series 2-1

I have a much better feeling about this one. J.D. Durbin is going for them. We got Zambrano. Our bats are hot, and we only lost by one yesterday.

Only lineup change is Soto instead of Shoppach.

1st
Derrek Lee singled, scoring Aramis Ramirez.

Phils scored one on a groundout.


2nd
Zambrano doubled, but the position players couldn't get him in.

Durbin got a base hit and an RBI to take the lead.

Phillies: 2
Cubs: 1

3rd
We went 1-2-3

and so did they.

4th
Soto's struck out in his 2 ABs back from the DL.
No runs on to runners, Still 2-1.

and with the help of a 6-4-3, Zambrano has a 3 up, 3 down


5th

Another 1-2-3...


Utley homered into left field, to get one more.


6th
Mike Jacobs comes in and gets the RBI single to make it 3-2 in favor of Philly.

Okijima in to pitch the 6th...
and throws a scoreless frame.

7th
Lee grounded out to tie it up!

Wuertz into pitch...
Utley homered again, this time for 2 Runs.

Philles: 5
Cubs: 3


8th

1-2-3 AGAIN

Angel Guzman into pitch...
no runs despite a double.

9th

we need 2! But we get none, and no the series is tied...

[twinsGM]

Game 5 NLCS

ok, we got Lilly this time.

1st
Fukudome homered to take the early lead of 3-0!

And Lilly get a 1-2-3

2nd
Nothing happening.

Just a walk and that's it. still 3-0

3rd
Just a walk and that's it.

1-2-3

4th

1-2-3 again

Burrell homered to make it 3-2


5th
meat of the order goes down 1-2-3

4 Up, 3 Down, 1 single

6th
Fukudome singled, but erased on a double play.

2 hits by Howard and utley, but still 3-2
7th

1-2-3 on the bottom of the order.

another 1-2-3 for Lilly

8th
Soriano got a double, Lee walked, and Fukudome gets another RBI, his fourth today!

Cubs: 4
Phillies: 2

Phillies hurt themselves with a CS and caught going for extra bases.
9th
Soto doubled in the pinch-hit AB, Soriano singled, and Aramis homers for 3 more runs!

8-2 Cubs, just 3 more outs from victory #3 in the series.


Okijima is having some trouble, allowing a homer, single and steal, but gets out of it.

Cubs win! Cubs win! (8-3)

[twinsGM]

Game 6 NLCS

Back in Chicago, Cubbies have to win 1 of 2 to get to their first world series since 1945.

Rich Hill vs. Brett Myers:

(I'll only be posting scoring innings now)

in the First, Fukudome gets another RBI by driving in Aramis, but the big blow was Shoppach's grand slam.

Cubs: 5
Phillies:0

Rollins homered in the 3rd to make it 5-2.


He did it again! Shoppach hit a solo homer this time, in the 4th!

Cubs: 6
Phillies: 2
(After 4)

in the 5th, Soriano homered to left, a solo shot, to push the lead to 5!
Shoppach singles in his 3rd AB, but no RBI this time.

And the score continues to balloon! In the 6th, Aramis hits HIS grand slam, to make it 11-2!

Cormier in, and we're just 5 outs away from the World Series. Please, Phillies, don't hit any deep foul balls!

1-2-3 8th! Just 3 away!

Now 2 outs in the 8th, Shoppach up with the bases loaded, let's see what he can do this time...
Flies out. He's gotta get out sometime...


1 out in the 9th, man on second, and a Homer! Good thing we have 11 and they now have 4.

Utley grounds out, and with Howard up, looks like we'll make our trip to the World Series! Ground ball to short, And we win it!

The Owner's box explodes, and so does the stadium. The Owners are beside themselves, but we still need to win 4 more games...

[twinsGM]

World Series:

We'll be facing the Indians, who were 98-68 in the regular season and 7-3 in the Playoffs. They hit .278 as a team, but with an ERA of 4.13.

[rockiesfan4ever]

How come it is always the Cubs that seem to knock out the Rockies?

[JeepGuy63]

The Owner's box explodes, and so does the stadium. The Owners are beside themselves, but we still need to win 4 more games...

Sounds like the work of terrorists or at least, some unhappy Phils fans.

BTW, whatever happened to Manny? I know you were looking to unload him on someone but never saw where he went.

[rockiesfan4ever]

Manny has tanked so bad in rating for whatever reason, and is now benched (with a 12-day injury) for the up-and-comer Felix Pie. This move may be permanent while I try to find someone to deal Manny to in exchange for a Lefty bat.

Looks like it was permanent

[twinsGM]

I'll be posting about the first 3 WS games against cleveland tomorrow...

[twinsGM]

One day after we won Game 6 against the Phillies, The Indians defeated the Tigers in Game 6 of their series. The day after that, an off-day, the front office had our World Series meeting. We have 3-5 of these meetings each year; Offseason (at the beginning of it), Spring Training, All-Star Break, then a pre-playoff meeting if we make it and one like I am headed to, the World Series meeting, the first one the Cubs front office has ever had (they didn't have these meetings in 1945).

We decided our lineup would stay the same, but if Shoppach cooled off, Soto would take his 6 spot.
For pitching, there wasn't much argument there, either:
1. Zambrano
2. Lilly
3. Hill
4. Marquis
Mopup/extra RP: Cormier

CL: Marmol
SU: Guzman
MR: Delcarmen
SR: Okijima
SR: Wuertz
LR: Pena

Mainly, we discussed strategy and scouting reports, especially for the Indians' top 2 pitchers: Carlos Silva and C.C. Sabathia.


Game 1
In Cleveland

Carlos Silva vs. Carlos Zambrano

Our ace pitched very well. 7 Innings, 1 ER, but our offense couldn't help him out.

In the first, Soriano homered for a solo shot to left, and the Indians scored one in the 3rd to tie it.
Still with that score going into the 8th, Mike Jacobs delivered yet again on a Pinch-Hit AB, which drove in Shoppach, then Alfonso got his 2nd RBI by driving in Soto.

In the bottom of the 8th, Angel Guzman came into pitch with a 3-1 lead, but couldn't hold it. Giving up 5 runs, he could of possibly given the Indians momentum for the whole series, taken it all away from us and cost us the World Series.
Indians: 6
Cubs: 3

[twinsGM]

Game 2

Indians scored 3 in the first, but we made that up in the 6th and 7th. We couldn't score a run in the 8th or 9th, and the Indians took advantage, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 9th of Delcarmen. Lilly pitched well, 7.2 innings and just the 3 1st-inning runs, but our offense wasn't working again. My manager, John Farrell, had a meeting with the team the next day in Chicago right before BP. Farrell gave a great speech to the players, about how important it was to win this game, and how much it increases our chances for the rest of the series. Along with that, he had more tips for them from the scouting reports, and it rubbed off on the team that night at Wrigley...

Game 3




Rich Hill started this game, and did as well as anyone expected him to do: 6.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 K

The Indians scored 3 in the sixth. No problem. We scored all our runs in the 7th, all 7, led by a 2-run homerun by Dan Uggla.

Cubs: 7
Indians: 3

Indians lead series, 2-1

[twinsGM]

Looks like it was permanent

yep, didn't really get much back, but gained a lot of budget room for the off-season.

[twinsGM]

Sounds like the work of terrorists or at least, some unhappy Phils fans.

BTW, whatever happened to Manny? I know you were looking to unload him on someone but never saw where he went.

He got traded to Florida (why would they take him??) and I mostly just got Treanor back, but I'll post that whole deal...