Back to: 1999 Postseason
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GAME 3
GREEN SOX FIRST DESTROYS GHOSTS
Ten-Run First Keys 11-7 win
Caspar, Wyo (IP) – Game three was over almost as soon as it begun, as a ten
run first inning got the Green Sox back into the series. However, the
Ghosts battled back behind suddenly-invincible fatigued starter Mike Mussina
and Green Sox errors to make a game out of it.
Jeff Cirillo led off the bottom of the first with a routine ground ball to
Nomar Garciaparra, who proceeeded to boot it. This clearly shook up Mike
Mussina who allowed singles or walks to five of the next six batters to fall
behind 4-0. Then, with two men on, Andruw Jones clobbered a hanging curve
to extend the lead to 7-0 before two outs were recorded. Ghosts roster
management decisions created problems here, as the team did not have an
extra starter or long reliever to go to. Accordingly, a fatigued Mussina
stayed in to allow a two-run double to Jose Offerman who then scored on an
Andres Galarraga single.
The Green Sox extended their lead to 11-0 in the third when Mo Vaughn
doubled in Omar Vizquel. Then, however, the spirits inhabiting Mike Mussina
and Andy Benes exchanged bodies. Mussina retired the last ten batters he
faced, while Benes came apart. The Ghosts scored two on a Chipper Jones
double in the fifth, two on a Richard Hidalgo home run in the sixth, and
three in the seventh with the key blow a Chipper Jones triple.
Then, however, the Green Sox turned the game over to Dan Micelu, Bill Simas
and Mike Jackson and the Ghosts could not close the gap any further and the
Green Sox got an 11-7 win.
Game four will be played Sunday back at Jealousy Footwear Park at 8/7/6/5,
with Pedro Martinez (3-0) facing John Thomson. Game five is slated for
Monday night with Francisco Cordova and Pete Harnisch scheduled to start.
Rumor has it that Ghosts manager Jocelyn Labbe will return from his wife-and
school-imposed suspensions to manage game five.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
-------------------------------------------
CSP 0 0 0 0 2 2 3 0 0 7 8 1
LAS 10 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 11 3
-------------------------------------------
BATTERS CSP AB R H RI 2B 3B HR SB CS BB K PL PR
1 2b CSP SF Kent 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5
2 dh CSP ANA Salmon 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 5
3 3b CSP ATL JonesC 4 1 2 4 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 5
4 rf CSP BAL Davis 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4
5 ss CSP BOS Garciaparra 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 5
6 cf CSP HOU Hidalgo 5 1 2 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 5
7 lf CSP CLE Whiten 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4
8 1b CSP TB Ledesma 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
8 ph CSP NYA Raines 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
8 1b CSP SEA Oliver 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 c CSP FLA Redmond 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
TOTALS for CSP 38 7 8 7 2 1 1 1 0 4 7 0 42
PITCHERS CSP IP H R ER BB K HR
L CSP BAL Mussina 6.0 10 11 9 2 6 1
- CSP FLA Darensbourg 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 0
- CSP ANA Percival 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- CSP ATL Ligtenberg 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0
TOTALS for CSP 8.0 11 11 9 2 8 1
LOB: 8
E: 1 - Garciaparra.
PB: none.
GIDP: none.
SH: none.
SF: none.
HBP: none.
WP: none.
IBB: none.
BALK: none.
BATTERS LAS AB R H RI 2B 3B HR SB CS BB K PL PR
1 3b LAS MIL Cirillo 5 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5
2 2b LAS KC Offerman 5 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5
3 1b LAS BOS Vaughn 4 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4
4 dh LAS ATL Galarraga 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4
5 rf LAS DET Higginson 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3
6 c LAS PIT Kendall 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 3
7 lf LAS BAL Surhoff 4 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3
8 cf LAS ATL JonesA 4 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4
9 ss LAS CLE Vizquel 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
TOTALS for LAS 36 11 11 11 3 0 1 0 0 2 8 3 35
PITCHERS LAS IP H R ER BB K HR
W LAS ARI Benes 6.0 6 7 4 3 3 1
- LAS SD Miceli 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 0
- LAS CHA Simas 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0
- LAS CLE Jackson 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0
TOTALS for LAS 9.0 8 7 4 4 7 1
LOB: 3
E: 3 - Kendall, Vaughn 2.
PB: none.
GIDP: none.
SH: none.
SF: none.
HBP: none.
WP: none.
IBB: none.
BALK: none.
grs version 2.7.2
CSP at LAS
Cool, clear, no wind
Starting pitchers - Mussina for CSP, and Benes for LAS
CSP 1: Kent HF 7. Salmon BB. JonesC FC 6-4, JonesC to first, Salmon
out. SB, JonesC to second. Davis safe on E 2 catchers’ interference.
Garciaparra HG 4.
CSP 0 LAS 0
LAS 1: Cirillo safe on E 6, Cirillo to first. Offerman 1b lrf, Cirillo
to second. Vaughn 1b lcf, Cirillo scores, Offerman to second. Galarraga
BB, Vaughn to second, Offerman to third. Higginson K. Kendall BB,
Galarraga to second, Vaughn to third, Offerman scores. Surhoff 1b
lrf, Galarraga scores, Kendall to second, Vaughn scores. JonesA HR,
JonesA scores, Surhoff scores, Kendall scores. Mussina fatigues. Vizquel 1b
lcf. Cirillo 1b lcf, Vizquel to second. Offerman 2b rcf, Cirillo scores,
Vizquel scores. Vaughn K. Galarraga 1b lcf, Offerman scores. Higginson RG 4.
CSP 0 LAS 10
CSP 2: Hidalgo RG 5. Whiten HF 8. Ledesma SG 5.
CSP 0 LAS 10
LAS 2: Kendall K. Surhoff HF 8. JonesA K.
CSP 0 LAS 10
CSP 3: Redmond HG 3. Kent ground out 5-3. Salmon 1b gcf. JonesC fly out 7.
CSP 0 LAS 10
LAS 3: Vizquel 1b lrf. Cirillo K. Offerman LF 7. Vaughn 2b lc, Vizquel
scores. Galarraga SG 6.
CSP 0 LAS 11
CSP 4: Davis K. Garciaparra K. Hidalgo K.
CSP 0 LAS 11
LAS 4: Higginson SG 4. Kendall LF 8. Surhoff HG 4.
CSP 0 LAS 11
CSP 5: Whiten BB. Ledesma 1b llf, Whiten to second. Redmond SG 6,
Ledesma to second, Whiten to third. Kent HF 7. Salmon BB. JonesC 2b
lc, Salmon to third, Ledesma scores, Whiten scores. Davis HF 7.
CSP 2 LAS 11
LAS 5: JonesA SG 5. Vizquel HG 6. Cirillo RG 6.
CSP 2 LAS 11
CSP 6: Garciaparra safe on E 3, Garciaparra to first. Hidalgo HR,
Hidalgo scores, Garciaparra scores. Whiten SG 3. Ledesma RG 5. Redmond HG 3.
CSP 4 LAS 11
LAS 6: Offerman HF 8. Vaughn PO 4. Galarraga K.
CSP 4 LAS 11
CSP 7: Kent safe on E 3, Kent to first. Salmon 1b grf, Kent to third.
JonesC 3b cfw, Salmon scores, Kent scores. Miceli now pitching for
LAS. Davis K. Garciaparra HG 5. Hidalgo 1b grf, JonesC scores. Whiten HG 4.
CSP 7 LAS 11
LAS 7: Darensbourg now pitching for CSP. Higginson 2b. Kendall K.
Surhoff PO 4. Percival now pitching for CSP. JonesA SG 5.
CSP 7 LAS 11
CSP 8: Raines ph for Ledesma, batting 8. Simas now pitching for LAS.
Raines HF 8. Redmond 2b lc. Kent K. Salmon K.
CSP 7 LAS 11
LAS 8: Oliver now 1b for CSP, batting 8. Vizquel HF 9. Cirillo HG
5. Ligtenberg now pitching for CSP. Offerman K.
CSP 7 LAS 11
CSP 9: Jackson now pitching for LAS. JonesC BB. Davis fly out 7.
Garciaparra K. Hidalgo ground out 6-3.
CSP 7 LAS 11
GAME 2
GARCIAPARRA HOMER WINS IT FOR GHOSTS
Caspar Takes 12 Inning Marathon 8-5
Caspar, Wyo (IP) – Needing only to make contact, Nomar Garciaparra did his
best Robin Ventura impression, clubbing a three-run home run in the bottom
of the twelfth to win the Game of the Millenium(tm) for the Caspar Ghosts
after the Green Sox had tied the game with two outs in the ninth inning.
The Green Sox had rallied from a four run second inning deficit behind third
inning home runs by Mo Vaughn and zoid Reggie Williams, their first each of
the postseason, which closed the gap to 5-4.
At that point, both teams turned the games over to their bullpens, with
Caspar getting six scoreless innings from Jose Paniagua, Jerry Dipoto, and
Kerry Ligtenberg, and Vegas getting eight scoreless innings from Bill Simas,
Mike Jackson, Dan Miceli, David Wells, and Andy Benes.
With two outs in the ninth inning and a 5-4 lead, acting Ghosts manager
Kevin Greenberg gave the ball to Rudy Seanez. John Cangeosi came off the
bench to smack a single to right field and Rich Amaral grunded a single past
“D” range Jeff Kent. Seanez was apparently shaken up, as he then walked
Andres Galarraga. Greenberg had had enough and went to Vic Darensbourg, who
promptly walked Mo Vaughn to force in the tying run. Mike Mussina, the
scheduled starter for game 3, then came out of the pen to induce a Jason
Kendall fly out.
Dan Miceli put two men on with one out in the bottom of the ninth but
escaped the jam, and neither team mounted real threats in the tenth or
eleventh.
Jeff Kent, a “4” baserunner, led off the bottom of the twelfth inning with a
double and Green Sox manager intentionally walked Eric Davis. Chipper Jones
smoked a ball into the hole but Mo Vaughn ranged off the line to make a
diving stop to retire Jones. The runners had advanced to second and third.
Morgan then pitched to Garciaparra, who smoked a shot over the centerfield
wall for the 8-5 win.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
----------------------------------------------------
LAS 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 9 1
CSP 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 8 8 1
----------------------------------------------------
BATTERS LAS AB R H RI 2B 3B HR SB CS BB K PL PR
1 3b LAS MIL Cirillo 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
1 ph-cf LAS FLA Cangelosi 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
2 2b LAS KC Offerman 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
2 ph-2b LAS SEA Amaral 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
3 dh LAS ANA Williams 3 1 2 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3
3 dh LAS ATL Galarraga 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3
4 1b LAS BOS Vaughn 5 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 5
5 c LAS PIT Kendall 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 6
6 rf LAS DET Higginson 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 6
7 ss LAS CLE Vizquel 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5
8 cf LAS ATL JonesA 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
8 ph LAS BAL Hoiles 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
8 3b LAS STL Howard 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
9 lf LAS BAL Surhoff 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
TOTALS for LAS 44 5 9 5 0 0 2 0 0 4 8 1 50
PITCHERS LAS IP H R ER BB K HR
- LAS CIN Harnisch 3.0 3 5 3 4 6 0
- LAS CHA Simas 3.0 1 0 0 0 2 0
- LAS CLE Jackson 2.0 0 0 0 0 2 0
- LAS SD Miceli 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 0
- LAS NYA Wells 1.0 1 0 0 0 2 0
L LAS ARI Benes 1.1 2 3 3 2 1 1
TOTALS for LAS 11.1 8 8 6 7 14 1
LOB: 10
E: 1 - Offerman
PB: none.
GIDP: 1 - Amaral.
SH: 1 - Howard.
SF: none.
HBP: 2 - Kendall, Cirillo.
WP: none.
IBB: none.
BALK: none.
BATTERS CSP AB R H RI 2B 3B HR SB CS BB K PL PR
1 dh CSP ANA Salmon 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 6
2 2b CSP SF Kent 5 2 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 6
3 rf CSP BAL Davis 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 6
4 3b CSP ATL JonesC 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 6
5 ss CSP BOS Garciaparra 5 1 1 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6
6 cf CSP HOU Hidalgo 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 5
7 1b CSP TB Ledesma 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3
7 ph CSP NYA Strawberry 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
7 1b CSP NYA Spencer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
7 pr-1b CSP MON White 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
8 lf CSP CLE Whiten 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 5
9 c CSP FLA Redmond 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2
9 ph-c CSP MIL Levis 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
9 c CSP NYN Castillo 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 ph CSP NYA Raines 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
9 c CSP SEA Oliver 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
TOTALS for CSP 41 8 8 8 2 0 1 1 0 7 14 0 50
PITCHERS CSP IP H R ER BB K HR
- CSP PIT Cordova 2.2 3 4 3 0 2 2
- CSP SEA Paniagua 3.0 2 0 0 0 2 0
H CSP COL Dipoto 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
H CSP ATL Ligtenberg 2.0 1 0 0 1 2 0
- CSP ATL Seanez 0.0 2 1 1 1 0 0
BS CSP FLA Darensbourg 0.0 0 0 0 1 0 0
- CSP BAL Mussina 2.0 1 0 0 1 0 0
W CSP ANA Percival 1.1 0 0 0 0 2 0
TOTALS for CSP 12.0 9 5 4 4 8 2
LOB: 8
E: 1 - Ledesma.
PB: none.
GIDP: 1 - Davis.
SH: none.
SF: 1 - Garciaparra.
HBP: 1 - Salmon.
WP: none.
IBB: 2 - Raines, Davis.
BALK: none.
grs version 2.7.2
LAS at CSP
cool, cloudy, no precipitation, crosswind
Starting pitchers - Harnisch for LAS, and Cordova for CSP
LAS 1: Cirillo SG 4. Offerman safe on E 3, Offerman to third. Williams
1b lrf, Offerman scores. Vaughn LF 8. Kendall HBP, Williams to second.
Higginson K.
LAS 1 CSP 0
CSP 1: Salmon K. Kent BB. Davis K. JonesC BB, Kent to second. Garciaparra
HF 9.
LAS 1 CSP 0
LAS 2: Vizquel K. JonesA SG 4. Surhoff HF 9.
LAS 1 CSP 0
CSP 2: Hidalgo WT 7. Ledesma 1b llf. Whiten BB, Ledesma to second.
Redmond safe on E 4, Redmond to first, Whiten to second, Ledesma to
third. Salmon HBP, Redmond to second, Whiten to third, Ledesma scores.
Kent 1b llf, Redmond scores, Salmon to second, Whiten scores. Davis
1b lrf, Kent to second, Salmon to third. JonesC BB, Davis to second,
Kent to third, Salmon scores. Garciaparra SF 9, Kent scores. Hidalgo K.
LAS 1 CSP 5
LAS 3: Cirillo HBP. Offerman LF 8. Williams HR, Williams scores, Cirillo
scores. Vaughn HR, Vaughn scores. Kendall RG 5. Paniagua now pitching
for CSP. Higginson 1b 1b. Vizquel HG 4.
LAS 4 CSP 5
CSP 3: Ledesma K. Whiten K. Redmond K.
LAS 4 CSP 5
LAS 4: JonesA HG 6. Surhoff 1b llf. Cirillo HG 6, Surhoff to second.
Offerman HG 4.
LAS 4 CSP 5
CSP 4: Simas now pitching for LAS. Salmon SG 5. Kent 1b lrf. Davis
GDP 5-4-3, Kent out.
LAS 4 CSP 5
LAS 5: Williams K. Vaughn HG 4. Kendall K.
LAS 4 CSP 5
CSP 5: JonesC K. Garciaparra HF 8. Hidalgo HF 8.
LAS 4 CSP 5
LAS 6: Higginson RG 4. Vizquel ground out 3-1. Dipoto now pitching
for CSP. JonesA fly out 9.
LAS 4 CSP 5
CSP 6: Ledesma HF 8. Whiten fly out 8. Levis ph for Redmond, batting
9. Levis K.
LAS 4 CSP 5
LAS 7: Levis moves to c. Surhoff HG 4. Cirillo SG 4. Ligtenberg now
pitching for CSP. Amaral ph for Offerman, batting 2. Amaral 1b llf.
Castillo now c for CSP, batting 9. Galarraga ph for Williams, batting
3. Galarraga K.
LAS 4 CSP 5
CSP 7: Amaral moves to 2b. Jackson now pitching for LAS. Salmon fly
out 9. Kent K. Davis K.
LAS 4 CSP 5
LAS 8: Vaughn PO 4. Kendall BB. Higginson K. Vizquel HF 9.
LAS 4 CSP 5
CSP 8: JonesC HG 4. Garciaparra ground out 6-3. Hidalgo LF 8.
LAS 4 CSP 5
LAS 9: Hoiles ph for JonesA, batting 8. Hoiles HF 8. Surhoff fly out
8. Seanez now pitching for CSP. Cangelosi ph for Cirillo, batting
1. Cangelosi 1b lrf. Amaral 1b grf, Cangelosi to third. Galarraga
BB, Amaral to second. Darensbourg now pitching for CSP. Vaughn BB,
Galarraga to second, Amaral to third, Cangelosi scores. Mussina now
pitching for CSP. Kendall HF 8.
LAS 5 CSP 5
CSP 9: Miceli now pitching for LAS. Cangelosi moves to cf. Howard
now 3b for LAS, batting 8. Strawberry ph for Ledesma, batting 7. Strawberry
HG 4. Whiten 2b rfw. Raines ph for Castillo, batting 9. Raines IBB.
Salmon SG 4, Raines to second, Whiten to third. Kent K.
LAS 5 CSP 5
LAS 10: Oliver now c for CSP, batting 9. Spencer now 1b for CSP, batting
7. Higginson HF 8. Vizquel 1b lrf. Howard Sac 3-1, Vizquel to second,
Howard out. Surhoff fly out 9.
LAS 5 CSP 5
CSP 10: Wells now pitching for LAS. Davis 1b llf. JonesC K. Garciaparra SG
4, Davis to second.
Hidalgo K.
LAS 5 CSP 5
LAS 11: Cangelosi BB. Amaral GDP 4-6-3, Cangelosi out. Percival now
pitching for CSP. Galarraga fly out 7.
LAS 5 CSP 5
CSP 11: Benes now pitching for LAS. Spencer BB. White pr for Spencer,
batting 7. Whiten HF 9. Oliver HF 9. SB, White to second. Salmon K.
LAS 5 CSP 5
LAS 12: White moves to 1b. Vaughn K. Kendall PO 6. Higginson K.
LAS 5 CSP 5
CSP 12: Kent 2b lfw. Davis IBB. JonesC ground out 3-1, Davis to second,
Kent to third. Garciaparra HR, Garciaparra scores, Davis scores, Kent
scores.
LAS 5 CSP 8
GHOSTS BLOW THE SOX OFF VEGAS 10-1
Caspar Homers Four Times Behind Pedro
Caspar, Wyo (IP) – A third inning Chipper Jones grand slam gave Pedro
Martinez (3-0) all the support he needed to down the visiting Las Vegas
Green Sox in the National Conference Championship Series opener. Wanting to
get into the act, however, three more Ghosts homered and the Ghosts scored
10 runs, all on home runs, for a 10-1 win.
At the outset this game looked like a pitching duel, with Las Vegas starter
John Thomson (record unavailable) outdueling Martinez as he retired the
first eight batters. But then Thomson hit a rough spot, allowing singles to
catcher Mike Redmond and Rondell White before walking Tim Salmon to load the
bases. Chipper Jones drove a deep fly ball against the clutch performer
Thomson. But Chipper went the other way in the crosswind, taking advantage
of the way that the ball gusts to left field in Cartoon Network Park, for a
grand slam, his first home run of the postseason.
Vegas struck back in the top of the fourth with a solo Andres Galarraga
blast to close the margin to 4-1. However, Martinez settled back down and
Galarraga was the last Green Sock to advance past first base before there
were two outs.
Tim Salmon’s two-run blast in the fifth, his first, gave Martinez a little
breathing room. Vegas next threatened in the bottom of the eight when, with
two outs, Jose Offerman doubled and Galarraga walked to send Martinez to the
showers. Kerry Lightenberg entered and induced a Mo Vaughn ground out top
end the threat.
In the bottom of the inning the Ghosts put the game away with a pair of
two-run shots off the bats of Jeff Kent (2) and Nomar Garciaparra (1) to
provide the final margin.
Game 2 will be played Saturday back at Cartoon Network Park. Time to be
determined.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
-------------------------------------------
LAS 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 0
CSP 0 0 4 0 2 0 0 4 0 10 10 1
-------------------------------------------
BATTERS LAS AB R H RI 2B 3B HR SB CS BB K PL PR
1 3b LAS MIL Cirillo 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4
2 2b LAS KC Offerman 4 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
3 dh LAS ATL Galarraga 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 4
4 1b LAS BOS Vaughn 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4
5 c LAS PIT Kendall 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 4
6 rf LAS DET Higginson 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4
7 cf LAS AL JonesA 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
8 ss LAS CLE Vizquel 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3
9 lf LAS BOS Surhoff 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3
TOTALS for LAS 32 1 6 1 2 0 1 1 0 2 8 0 34
PITCHERS LAS IP H R ER BB K HR
L LAS COL Thomson 4.1 6 6 6 1 4 2
- LAS BAL Rhodes 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0
- LAS SD Miceli 1.2 1 1 1 1 0 0
- LAS CHA Simas 1.0 3 3 3 0 0 2
TOTALS for LAS 8.0 10 10 10 2 6 4
LOB: 6
E: none.
PB: none.
GIDP: none.
SH: none.
SF: none.
HBP: none.
WP: none.
IBB: none.
BALK: none.
BATTERS CSP AB R H RI 2B 3B HR SB CS BB K PL PR
1 cf CSP MON White 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
2 dh CSP ANA Salmon 3 2 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 4
3 3b CSP ATL JonesC 3 2 1 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 1 3
4 rf CSP BAL Davis 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3
5 2b-1b CSP SF Kent 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 3
6 lf CSP CLE Whiten 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2
6 ph-lf CSP NYA Raines 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
7 ss CSP BOS Garciaparra 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
8 1b-2b CSP TB Ledesma 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
9 c CSP FLA Redmond 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
TOTALS for CSP 33 10 10 10 0 0 4 0 0 2 6 3 33
PITCHERS CSP IP H R ER BB K HR
W CSP BOS Martinez 7.2 6 1 1 2 7 1
- CSP ATL Ligtenberg 1.1 0 0 0 0 0 1
TOTALS for CSP 9.0 6 1 1 2 8 1
LOB: 2
E: 1 - Davis.
PB: none.
GIDP: none.
SH: 1 - Redmond.
SF: none.
HBP: none.
WP: none.
IBB: none.
BALK: none.
grs version 2.7.2
LAS at CSP
col, cloudy, thunderstorms, rain delay, crosswind
Starting pitchers - Thomson for LAS, and Martinez for CSP
LAS 1: Cirillo K. Offerman 1b lcf. Galarraga SG 6-3, Offerman to
second. Vaughn K.
LAS 0 CSP 0
CSP 1: White HF 9. Salmon HF 7. JonesC K.
LAS 0 CSP 0
LAS 2: Kendall HF 9. Higginson K. JonesA foul PO 3.
LAS 0 CSP 0
CSP 2: Davis ground out 5-3. Kent K. Whiten HF 7.
LAS 0 CSP 0
LAS 3: Vizquel 1b llf. Pickoff 1, Vizquel out. Surhoff K. Cirillo RG 6.
LAS 0 CSP 0
CSP 3: Garciaparra foul PO 2. Ledesma HF 9. Redmond 1b grf. White
1b llf, Redmond to second. Salmon BB, White to second, Redmond to
third. JonesC HR, JonesC scores, Salmon scores, White scores, Redmond
scores. Davis 1b gcf. Kent K.
LAS 0 CSP 4
LAS 4: Offerman HF 8. Galarraga HR, Galarraga scores. Vaughn BB. Kendall
FC 6-4, Kendall to first, Vaughn out. SB, Kendall to second. Higginson HF 9.
LAS 1 CSP 4
CSP 4: Whiten K. Garciaparra HF 8. Ledesma HF 7.
LAS 1 CSP 4
LAS 5: JonesA SG 4. Vizquel fly out 9. Surhoff 2b rfl. Cirillo K.
LAS 1 CSP 4
CSP 5: Redmond 1b lrf. White foul PO 2. Salmon HR, Salmon scores,
Redmond scores. Thomson fatigues. Rhodes now pitching for LAS. JonesC
K. Davis K.
LAS 1 CSP 6
LAS 6: Kent moves to 1b. Ledesma moves to 2b. Offerman PO 4. Galarraga
SG 3. Vaughn WT 9.
LAS 1 CSP 6
CSP 6: Kent HG 6. Raines ph for Whiten, batting 6. Miceli now pitching
for LAS. Raines HG 4. Garciaparra PO 7.
LAS 1 CSP 6
LAS 7: Raines moves to lf. Kendall SG 4. Higginson SG 6. JonesA 1b
llf. Vizquel K.
LAS 1 CSP 6
CSP 7: Ledesma 1b 3b. Redmond Sac 3-4, Ledesma to second, Redmond
out. White HF 8. Salmon HF 8.
LAS 1 CSP 6
LAS 8: Surhoff K. Cirillo HG 4. Offerman 2b rf. Error 9, Offerman
to third. Galarraga BB. Ligtenberg now pitching for CSP. Vaughn HG 3.
LAS 1 CSP 6
CSP 8: JonesC BB. Simas now pitching for LAS. Davis HG 4-3, JonesC
to second. Kent HR, Kent scores, JonesC scores. Raines 1b lrf. Garciaparra
HR, Garciaparra scores, Raines scores. Ledesma HG 5. Redmond HF 8.
LAS 1 CSP 10
LAS 9: Kendall K. Higginson SG 6. JonesA SG 6.
LAS 1 CSP 10
Caspar hosts Las Vegas Wednesday night at 10pm eastern in game one of the National Conference Championship Series. Game one features Caspar's ace Pedro Martinez versus little known Vegas starter John Thomson. Below is a preview of the series. Midway through the season, Caspar looked like the overwhelming favorite to capture the NC crown, blending top notch starting pitching with a powerful, high OBA offense into an unstoppable formula. Indeed, strong additions to their bullpen addressed their only weakness. Still, Las Vegas made a "win-now" commitment as the weeks passed, adding solid starting pitching in David Wells and Pete Harnisch, as well as a formidable cleanup hitter in Mo Vaughn. Coupling this with Jeff Bagwell's unfortunate injury in the NCDS, likely keeping him out for the entire series, and this looks like a tight matchup. A breakdown by category: STARTING PITCHING The Ghosts feature a three man rotation of ace Pedro Martinez, the underrated Francisco Cordova, and perrennial horse Mike Mussina. An injury to Moose could prove fatal to Caspar, as no else appears able to start. Vegas has a four man rotation consisting of righties John Thomson, Andy Benes, and Pete Harnisch, with lefty David Wells rounding out the troop. Card-wise, Wells is probably the best pitcher, but Caspar's tendency to wear out southpaws, even without Bagwell, will likely leave Boomer with either one or zero starts in the series. EDGE: GHOSTS. RELIEF PITCHING Both squads are going with a six man pen. Caspar holds excellent relievers Kerry Ligtenberg (semi-reverse RH), Jose Paniagua (funky low-hit RH with some minor weaknesses), and Troy Percival (another low-hit RH with many walks but lower DF). Rounding out the troop are hard RH Jerry DiPoto and Rudy Seanez, as well the the lone LH, Vic Darensbourg, also of the hard variety. LAS relies heavily on closer Mike Jackson, probably the best fireman on either squad. Two hard RH (Caspar specialists) are Bill Simas and Dan Miceli, each vulnerable to LH/SH in different ways (Simas - DF, Miceli - singles). Antonio Osuna is the reverse RH, Rich DeLucia is a less effective hard RH unlikely to see much time, and Arthur Rhodes is the Vic D of the squad (lone hard LH). EDGE: EVEN (given the matchups, but in talent CSP has an edge). OFFENSE: This is where both teams really shine. Vegas set a new IBL record in runs scored, only to be topped by Caspar. Given Bagwell's absense and the late season addition of Vaughn to the Green Sox offense, it looks like things are neck-and-neck. For Caspar, Mike Redmond is likely to see most of the time at catcher due to his superior defense. Redmond kills LHP but is a lightweight vs. righties. The Ghosts' other options at catcher (Castillo, Oliver) are no better, although noodle-armed and limited Jesse Levis might be tempting under certain situations as a PH (he cannot start except at DH). First base is something of a mystery with Bagwell out. Caspar's potential options are Shane Spencer and Aaron Ledesma. Spencer's the obvious choice vs. lefties, as he has enough "limited PA of death" to both PH and start at will. Vs. RH is tough choice, weighing Spencer's power against Ledesma's OBA. Something tells me Ledesma will get most of the time. Second and third are Jeff Kent and Chipper Jones. Ledesma is an option at short versus lefties, but I imagine Nomar Garciaparra will play both ways with Aaron at either first or DH, sharing time with Shane S. The outfield consists of platoons in left (Raines/Whiten) and center (White/Hidalgo), with Eric Davis in right. The DH spot will depend on the starter and weather, with Tim Salmon possibly splitting time with Daryl Strawberry, along with the aforementioned Ledesma or Spencer vs. LH. All-in-all, a frightening collection of power -- sporting one glaring weakness: Caspar must start a minimum of 6 RH batters, with only Chipper Jones (SH), Whiten/Raines (both SH), and the DH as LH/SH possibilities. Indeed, with Salmon as the consensus best option at DH, that makes 7 RH. It looks like every Caspar hitter save Joe Oliver and Alberto Castillo has some sort of purpose, and even Castillo could serve as a defensive replacement should Redmond be removed for a PH late in the game. Vegas, on the other hand, sports a less intimidating but more balanced attack. Jason Kendall will likely handle all of the catching duties, as Chris Hoiles, with his Terror status and weak arm, is better suited as a pinch hitter. First base will be handled by Mo Vaughn or Andres Galarraga, with the other handling most of the DH duties. Joe Carter has been known to PH vs. LH for power or come in as a defensive replacement at first. Second base is Jose Offerman, third base Jeff Cirillo, and shortstop Omar Vizquel. No choices to be made there. Utility backup David Howard could see PH duties vs. LH or come in to play second or short after a PH. Left field will be B.J. Surhoff, as potential replacement Rich Amaral isn't a very good fit against any of the three Caspar starters. He will instead serve in his usual capacity as a OBA PH vs. RH, PR, and utility backup. Center field is Andruw Jones territory. Although John Cangelosi may start and has a much higher blues count, Andruw's stellar defense and the Caspar starters semi-weakness in terms of RH DF will keep Jones in full time. Cangelosi may still serve as a OBA PH vs RH, doing his damage on the opposite side of the plate (compared to Amaral). Bobby Higginson starts in right, though the aforementioned Joe Carter also qualifies. The mystery man for LAS is Reggie Williams, unqualified to start anywhere but DH but possessing a killer, limited card, especially vs. RH. Rumor has it he won't be in the lineup for game one, but he's been watching Francisco Cordova very carefully during his between-start throwing. EDGE: A very tough call. Caspar possesses a longer "dangerous portion of the order" in Jones, Kent, Davis, and Garciaparra, while Vegas doesn't bat any stiffs like Redmond or the first base replacement. Given Bagwell's injury, it's fair to call this EVEN. DEFENSE: Caspar sports fine ranges all over the field, with E's at third and short, a D at second, two D's in left, two E's in center, and an F in right. Jeff Bagwell's injury at first really hurts, as he was a 8/E and all his potential replacments are 5/J's. Redmond sports a -2 arm, a boon for both Pedro and Cordova with +1 adjustments. Caspar does have a few holes in the error department, though. Chipper is a fine 9 at third, but Kent is only a 3 at second, Garciaparra is a 5 at short, and the first basemen are again 5's. Arm-wise, both left fielders are zeros, while Hidalgo is a fine -2 and White a respectable -1. Eric Davis is noodle-armed +2 in right. All-in-all, an above average defense. Defense is one area that Vegas really shines. Kendall is only a zero behind the plate (possibly a problem for Fr/+2 Benes, although Caspar has few basestealers), but Las Vegas sports excellent defenders from middle to the left, frequent targets for Caspar's RH attack. Cirillo is a 10/D at third, Vizquel a 10/C at short, Surhoff a D/-2 in left, and Andruw Jones an amazing B/-4 in center. True, Mo Vaughn is a post (6/H) at first, Offerman bobbles a lot of balls at second (4/F), and Higginson is nothing special in right (F/0), but they still compare favorably to the three fielders Caspar will imploy at those positions. EDGE: GREEN SOX. SPEED, INTANGIBLES: Though Caspar is not by any means a slow team, the closest thing they have a to real basestealer is Rondell White, who may very well not play much. A total of three players have the magic baserunning rating of 3 or more, and no one on the team outside of White really looks like much of pinch runner for the slower players (Spencer, Hidalgo, Whiten, Redmond, Salmon). Caspar is a fairly low HG team, with only Redmond (hello bunt), Garciaparra, and Jones likely to have much trouble. The lineup features three Terrors (Garciaparra, Kent, Davis) with another likely on the bench (Strawberry). Of the pitchers, only Cordova is Tough. Perhaps most importantly of all, however, is the high number of injury ratings on the Ghosts team. Bagwell has already gone down, but a bunch of other guys have Minor or worse ratings: Mussina, White, Hidalgo, Levis, Salmon, Redmond, Garciaparra, and Kent could all be lost for the series at any moment. Given CSP's lack of replacements for many of them, staying healthy is a big key. Contrast this with Vegas, which sports only four players with dangerous injury ratings (Thomson, Rhodes, Amaral, Howard), only one of which (the starter Thomson) is of much consequence in this series. In addition, LAS possesses better team speed (five starters with baserunning of 3 or higher), four legit basestealers (Offerman, Jones, Kendall, and Vizquel), and a couple of Excellent bunters that have been known to squeeze home some runs (Cirillo, Vizquel). Only Jeff Cirillo has big trouble with hard grounders, and early indications are that he may leadoff some in the series. A fifth basestealer (and the best of all) is Rich Amaral, often a pinch runner late in games. The lineup features three Terrors (Vaughn, Galarraga, Higginson) with another coming off the bench (Hoiles). Benes and Thomson are the Toughs on the staff. EDGE: GREEN SOX. So, the burning questions are: Has the injury to Bagwell given the Sox an edge in the series? Will any more injuries strike Caspar? Can Vegas use their speed and intangibles to overcome Caspar's starters? Will Simas and Miceli and Jackson be able to shut down CSP late? Will Caspar's multiple weapons in the pen shut down LAS late? Will Caspar bludgeon Vegas to death with the long ball? Will Vegas ever hit a home run (zero vs. FAR last series)? Will this preview ever end? Only the last I can answer... it just did.