Drivers Prevail In Dramatic 2017 World Series

GAME 1
Gators 4, Drivers 0
Aaron Sanchez was masterful for the Gators, throwing a compete-game two-hitter. Wilmer Flores tagged Brandon Finnegan for two homers, driving in three of the Gators' four runs.

GAME 2
Drivers 5, Gators 3
The Drivers scratched together a run in the first inning and Goldenrod tied it up in the third. Each team threw up a two-spot in the fourth. Things settled down for the next three innings until the eight when Todd Frazier dropped a bloop single into left field, scoring Yoenis Cespedes and Jedd Gyorko. The Death Valley bullpen of Alex Wood, Chris Devenski and Kelvin Herrera locked down the last three inning to help get the W for the Drivers.

GAME 3
Drivers 2, Gators 1
This was another surprising pitcher's duel. The Gators were able to get to Aaron Nola in the fifth for a run when Jarrod Dyson plated Russell Martin. It looked like that was all the Gators would need as they entered the bottom of the ninth, but then Randal Grichuk stepped to the plate and dumped a home run into the right field seats. Todd Frazier came in to pinch-hit and singled, followed by a Adeiny Hechavarria single. With two on and one out, Welington Castillo shot a grounder up the middle to plate Frazier, and the exuberant Driver faithful celebrated the walk-off and a 2-1 series lead.

Round Two: Spokane 4, Death Valley 2

Game recaps from the Strat box scores. In this round two matchup, the No. 2 Death Valley Drivers (103-59) met the No. 3 Spokane Hooded Crows (99-63).

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Game One
Crows 6, Drivers 3

Starters: Clayton Kershaw @ Gerrit Cole

Alex Rodriguez slammed a home run as the Spokane Hooded Crows defeated the Death Valley Drivers by a score of 6 to 3 at Drivers Stadium.

Spokane scored the decisive runs in a big 8th inning with 2 runs on 3 hits. Chris Colabello got things going when he lofted a solo-blast downtown. After an out was recorded, Danny Valencia came to the plate and lined a one-base hit. Kyle Blanks then reached on an error. Jose Iglesias stepped in and he banged out a single scoring the final run of the inning. Spokane banged out 12 hits on the night.

Clayton Kershaw (1-2) was the winner allowing 3 runs in 7 innings. Roberto Osuna got the save, his 1st.  Clay Buchholz (0-1) absorbed the loss in relief. He surrendered 2 runs and 4 hits in 1 1/3 innings. 

Round One: Death Valley 4, Cape Cod 2

Game recaps from the Strat box scores. In this round one matchup, the No. 2 Death Valley Drivers (103-59) met the No. 7 Cape Cod Breakers (93-69).

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Game One
Drivers 6, Breakers 2

Starters: Colby Lewis @ Gerrit Cole

The Death Valley Drivers bested the Cape Cod Breakers by a 6 to 2 score at Drivers Stadium.

Gerrit Cole (1-0) had a solid outing for Death Valley. He went 6 innings surrendering 4 hits and 1 walk. Death Valley had 11 hits for the game and Cape Cod had 8.

Cole got help from Clay Buchholz who was credited with his 1st save. Colby Lewis (0-1) took the loss. He was touched for 8 hits and 2 walks in 5 1/3 innings. 

Power Ranking After Block Four

An attempt to rank the league's best teams for the 2016 season. Teams sorted by run differential, then wins.

This installment finds us 108 games into the season, with two blocks and 54 games remaining.

Note that OPS+ and ERA+ are not adjusted for ballpark context during the season.

RD stands for run differential and Pyth for Pythagorean winning percentage. Pace is projected win total based on current winning percentage. BB% and SO/BB ratio do not include intentional walks.

Power Ranking 

No	Team	W	L	PCT	Division	R/G	OPS+	RA/G	ERA+	Pyth	Pace	RD
1	Death Valley	70	38	.648	Atlantic	5.16	124	4.30	95	.582	105	+93
2	Goldenrod	69	39	.639	Central	4.49	105	2.98	140	.677	104	+163
3	St. Louis	67	41	.620	Central	3.81	91	2.87	144	.626	101	+102
4	Elysian Fields	64	44	.593	Pacific	5.15	113	4.35	101	.575	96	+86
5	Spokane	61	47	.565	Pacific	3.88	91	3.41	123	.558	92	+51
6	Miami	61	47	.565	Northeast	4.31	103	4.07	100	.525	92	+25
7	Mohawk Valley	60	48	.556	Atlantic	4.35	104	3.62	118	.583	90	+79
8	Cape Cod	60	48	.556	Northeast	4.48	107	4.00	107	.551	90	+52
9	Brooklyn	58	50	.537	Pacific	4.25	103	4.09	100	.517	87	+17
10	Lake County	55	53	.509	Central	4.14	105	4.34	96	.478	83	–22
11	Rosehill	53	55	.491	Central	4.11	99	4.05	100	.507	80	+7
12	Fighting Irish	53	55	.491	Northeast	4.23	105	4.30	99	.493	80	–7
13	Northwest	52	56	.481	Pacific	3.94	87	4.12	102	.479	78	–20
14	Northeast	51	57	.472	Northeast	3.96	95	4.42	95	.451	77	–49
15	Wilmington	50	58	.463	Atlantic	4.36	104	4.40	95	.496	75	–4
16	Rochester	48	60	.444	Atlantic	3.52	89	3.82	110	.462	72	–33
17	California	43	65	.398	Pacific	3.78	93	4.54	94	.418	65	–82
18	West Side	40	68	.370	Northeast	4.40	102	5.55	78	.397	60	–124
19	Sudbury	38	70	.352	Atlantic	3.85	95	4.81	85	.401	57	–103
20	Little Rock	27	81	.250	Central	3.57	83	5.71	72	.300	41	–231

Top Eight Rotations You Want To Avoid In The Playoffs

By Matt Eddy

How strong is the link between rotation quality and team success in a 20-team Strat league? In the case of the MMDA: pretty strong.

Prior to the 2015 season, I ranked the top eight MMDA rotations in terms of the quality of each club's top four starters—the quartet most likely to appear in a playoff series. As it turned out, four of the top six teams on that ranking advanced to the league semifinals in 2015. The No. 2 Miami Manatees met the No. 3 Northwest Stars in one bracket, while in the other, the No. 4 Mohawk Valley Lions combated the No. 6 Spokane Hooded Crows.

So let's give it another go. Just like last year, I will rank in this space the eight most fearsome rotations in the MMDA, at least according to the on-base and total-base units for the top four starter cards on each team.

The methodology is slightly changed this year. I used the SOM World starting pitcher rankings to remove my subjectivity and personal bias from the exercise. I also weighted the starter cards on a simple 4-3-2-1 scale to reward clubs with top-heavy rotations. After all, a club's top two starters likely will compile the most playoff innings.

Each club's top four starters—again, according to SOM World—are included here, along with their overall rank among starters. An asterisk (*) denotes that a pitcher may come back on short rest in the playoffs.

1. Spokane Hooded Crows (Pacific)
RHP Zack Greinke (2*), LHP Clayton Kershaw (3*), RHP Jesse Hahn (15), LHP Cole Hamels (16*)

Four of the top 20 starters in the 2016 set can be found in the Crows' rotation, so this is the matchup that opposing teams will want to put off as long as possible in the playoffs. Greinke (1.66 ERA) and Kershaw (301 strikeouts) form the best righty-lefty one-two punch in the game, and both of them can pitch on short rest in the playoffs. Gulp.

Top Eight Rotations You Want To Avoid In The Playoffs

By Matt Eddy

Nothing makes a manager's heart sink quite like the prospect of facing an opponent's stacked rotation in a short playoff series. The defense controls the ball in baseball, and the starter is the defense's most vital component.

The addition of Carlos Carrasco put the
Pilots rotation over the top

What follows are the eight most fearsome rotations in the MMDA, at least according to the on-base and total-base units on top four starter cards for each team. To arrive at this ranking, I took all starters with at least 125 innings (a group that numbered 120 pitchers), because 125 innings distills down to 13 innings in a playoff series, which is more than enough to cover two starts in seven games. Using my valuation formula, I then determined which teams could throw the four most-effective starters out there in a short series.

Drawbacks to this method: (1) strikeout chances are not considered, which is too bad because the strikeout is the ultimate neutralizing weapon; (2) some teams will rely on just three starters with an asterisk rating to see them through a seven-game series; and (3) a poor offense and/or low innings totals and/or poor No. 5 starters will almost certainly prevent some of the following teams from actually qualifying for the playoffs. Each pitcher's overall rank (by my formula) is listed in parentheses; an asterisk denotes a starter who can go on short rest in the playoffs.

Note that the Pilots (RHP Drew Hutchison), Stars (RHP Rick Porcello) and Lions (LHP Drew Smyly) had a fifth starter rank in the upper half of qualified starters, but those pitchers are not considered in the following exercise.

1. Rochester Pilots (Atlantic)
RHP Carlos Carrasco (2), RHP Jake Arrieta (4), LHP Jon Lester (12*), RHP Matt Garza (33)

The Pilots selected Carrasco 13th overall in this year's draft, about a year after they struck gold with a late-2013 trade with the Irish in which they dealt a fifth-round pick for Arrieta. Now, Rochester can turn to two of the top four starter cards up to four times in a playoff series.

Round One: Brooklyn 4, Death Valley 2

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In this Round One matchup, the No. 2 Brooklyn Dodgers (99-63) had home-field advantage versus the No. 7 Death Valley Drivers (86-76). 

Game One

Dodgers 4, Drivers 3

49,904 fans were treated to a fine game at Dodger Stadium as only one run separated the combatants at game's end. The Brooklyn Dodgers won by the slimmest of margins, 4 to 3.

Death Valley was unable to claim the lead after Brooklyn went ahead in the 6th inning plating an isolated run utilizing 2 base hits. Death Valley had a chance in the 9th but they came up short.

Justin Masterson (1-0) got the win allowing 2 runs in 6 and 1/3 innings. Masterson got help from Jason Grilli who earned his 1st save. Tyson Ross (0-1) was hit with the loss.