CREEPERS CRUSH FINCHES
The Darwin Finches have won more regular-season games in each of the last three seasons than any other BARB club, but once again they found themselves on the short end of the post-season stick, as the Pottsylvania Creepers finished off a three-game sweep of the Western Division champs to advance to the 2009 BARB World Series!
In their season finale, the Darwinians turned to young left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who was just 4-5 in 13 appearances in the regular season, including seven starts, but who had also posted a fine 3.31 ERA in that span. A lot was being asked of him, however. Finches ace Zack Greinke (17-6, 3.10) had pitched well in the opener, but the club had stayed with him two long, giving up six runs in the ninth. #2 starter Josh Johnson (14-6, 3.34), meanwhile, had simply been bombed in his outing, knocked out in the fourth. Darwin could not turn to Gil Meche, their best starter in last year’s playoffs: Meche (9-8, 4.06) was on the disabled list. Chad Billingsley (8-4, 5.10) had pitched himself out of the rotation in the second half and Scott Kazmir (3-8, 5.25) had been similarly unreliable.
Pottsylvania, meanwhile, countered with another youngster: Yovanni Gallardo (11-10, 4.19), opting to go with the hot arm down the stretch rather than veteran Mark Buehrle (14-5, 3.61). As it turns out, Gallardo would make only one mistake in seven-plus innings, a third-inning solo shot to Finches RF Jeff Francouer, and one of only three hits allowed by Gallardo. Kershaw, on the other hand, was wild: Garko and Ankiel both came in to score after drawing walks to lead off the second due to a clutch double by Kelly Shoppach. In the third, Ryan Ludwick hit a fastball that got to much of the plate out of the park, and the Creepers would go on to milk an error, a walk and a wild pitch for two more runs: Pottsylvania led, 5-1, after just three innings.
For all effective purposes, the ballgame was over. As in the previous two games, Darwin scored some late runs against Pottsylvania’s setup corps but less than two earned per contest against their opponent’s starters. A lineup filled with second-tier players (Rowand, Inge, Loney, Francouer) was ill-suited to play catchup, and when Rowand hit a three-run shot in the ninth off Sean West, his club still trailed 8-4! Setup man Carlos Marmol came in to get the last two hitters, a non-save situation, and finished up by fanning Finches SS Cristian Guzman for the final out. Pottsylvania had won, 8-4, and would be headed to the World Series!
PLAYOFF SUMMARY:
Pottsylvania easily beat down Darwin in a three game sweep!
Pottsylvania 8, Darwin 2
WP: Lee (1-0, 1.13)
LP: Greinke (0-1, 6.43)
HR: Huff (1), Ankiel (1), Ortiz (1)
Pottsylvania 7, Darwin 4
WP: Carpenter (1-0, 6.00)
LP: J. Johnson (0-1, 13.50)
HR: Huff (2), Jones (1)
Pottsylvania 8, Darwin 4
WP: Gallardo (1-0, 1.13)
LP: Kershaw (0-1, 9.00)
HR: Rowand (1), Francouer (1), Ludwick (1)
CREEPERS: AT LONG LAST, A SERIES BERTH
GM Jeff Moore clapped his hands in satisfaction at the final out, and pumped his fist. His club had taken a lot of ribbing over the last two seasons, twice finishing dead last in the Central, arguably the weakest division in BARB:
2007 49-153
2008 52-100
But, after years of offensive inconsistency and injury-racked starting rotations, Moore got the most out of two high-priced arms left for dead: Pedro Martinez and Chris Carpenter. The pair of veteran righthanders combined to go 13-5 down the stretch in 28 starts after not even being counted on to make the rotation when the year began. Cliff Lee (15-9, 2.86), Mark Buehrle (14-5, 3.61) and Yovanni Gallardo (11-10, 4.19) rounded out a solid starting five, and the setup corps of Marmol, Jonathan Broxton, Manny Delcarmen and Rafael Betancout had helped take the pressure off inconsistent closer Brian Fuentes, who lost seven games. The result was that by the end of the year Pottsylvania had the most-improved pitching staff, and the hottest in the final two months of the year (click on the fuzzy image to see the details):
Quite a turnaround!
As for the offense, the Creepers got big numbers from their OF corps: LF Ryan Ludwick (.307, 38 HR, 101 RBI), CF Matt Kemp (.354, 16 HR, 17 SB), RF Rick Ankiel (.236, 98 RBI). Aubrey Huff was the club’s super sub, filling in at 3B when Aramis Ramirez went down, and also making starts at 1B and the outfield corps while hitting .293 with 27 HR and 91 ribbies. Huff added two more shots against the Finches and was narrowly named the Series MVP over It was more than enough offense to overcome a so-so bench and little production from the middle of the infield and behind the plate. When the dust settled, Pottsylvania had won the reconfigured Central, crushed the club with the best regular-season record, and had (finally) been awarded a Series berth!
FINCHES: A STREAK OF POST-SEASON FUTILITY
The Darwin Finches have reached the BARB post-season four of the last five years, winning division titles in each of the last three seasons and advancing to the World Series in both 2007 and 2008. But, in every case, a team that had a strong regular season filled with promise would see their season end with some piece of the puzzle not quite fitting. Here’s the recent tale of the tape....
2007: The Finches finished the year with a BARB-leading 93-63 mark, just edging out Worcester (92-64) for the Eastern title. David Ortiz, Lance Berkman and Chipper Jones all had 30 or more home runs, and the Darwinians used the league’s best bullpen (49 saves, 24 wins) and a solid rotation (Kelvim Escobar, Scott Kazmir, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz) to post a loop-leading 3.66 team ERA. But by the time the playoffs rolled around, Smoltz and Escobar were on the shelf with season-ending injuries and the Finches were facing Yuma aces C.C. Sabathia and Roy Halladay. The Firebirds prevailed in seven games to take their first BARB championship after several near-misses!
2008: The Finches again won the East with a BARB-leading 91-61 record, holding off a late charge from eventual Series winner Frostbite Falls. Darwin had built a big lead in the regular season by scoring a league-leading 874 runs. The core of Ortiz, Berkman and Jones was joined by emerging CF Josh Hamilton and a number of productive switch-hitters (Guzman, Polanco, Figgins, Molina and the mercurial Milton Bradley), making the club virtually impossible for opposing managers to get an edge in the late innings. But the formidable offense masked a year of transition in the pitching staff, with Kazmir and venerable Randy Johnson serving up more than one gopher ball to Albert Pujols and company. Frostbite Falls won the Series in six games!
2009: Darwin switched GM’s (Ryne O’Connor) and divisions (moving to the West) as part of realignment, which also led to a shortened (144-game) season and greater parity in the league: the Finches went only 83-61 in the regular season, but that total still led the loop! They did this despite losing both Berkman and Figgins to free agency, Jones and Ortiz beginning to show their age, and while former regulars Jeff Francouer and Khalil Greene being reduced to role players. They plugged the gap with an emerging rotation, led by the improving Zack Greinke, and they played a brand of ‘small ball’ emphasizing defense and matchups that was especially effective against second-division clubs. But, in the final month of the year both Hamilton (injuries) and Bradley (personality disorder) were lost for the season, further reducing their ability to score runs. In the series with Pottsylvania, their ragtag lineup was no match for a Creepers attack that was hitting all cylinders.
So, there you have it: 267 wins the last three seasons, the most in the league, four playoffs in five years, two Series appearances...but no world title, a big payroll, and some serious rebuilding ahead for the disappointing Darwinians.
* (Actually, some games of the Series have been played already, but I'd like to savor the rest of the completed 2009's post-season a bit longer. Your patience is appreciated)
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