World Series: Lake County 4, Spokane 3

Game recaps from the Strat box scores. In the World Series, the No. 3 Spokane Hooded Crows (99-63) met the No. 8 Lake County Nighthawks (x).

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Game One
Crows 4, Nighthawks 3

Starters: Mark Buehrle @ Clayton Kershaw

49,923 fans watched an exciting game at The Crows Nest. The Spokane Hooded Crows ended a long winless drought and topped the Lake County Nighthawks by the slimmest of margins, 4 to 3.

The game was won by Spokane with a run in the bottom of the 8th inning. Chris Colabello was hit by a pitch. Juan Uribe stepped up to the plate and he was hit by a pitch. After an out was recorded, Joc Pederson then slapped a single to load the bases. D.J. Lemahieu followed next and he hit a sacrifice fly scoring the run. Lake County threatened in the 9th but their rally came up short.

Carson Smith (1-0) got the win allowing no runs in 2/3 of an inning. Smith was helped out by Roberto Osuna who recorded his 4th save. Kevin Siegrist (0-1) was the loser in relief.

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: Spokane 4, St. Louis 3

Game recaps from the Strat box scores. In this round one matchup, the No. 3 Spokane Hooded Crows (96-63) met the No. 6 St. Louis Maulers (93-69).

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Game One
Crows 4, Maulers 0

Starters: Jacob deGrom @ Zack Greinke

Zack Greinke took a no-hitter into the 6th inning at The Crows Nest where the Spokane Hooded Crows beat the St. Louis Maulers 4 to 0.

Greinke (1-0) was indeed brilliant as he hand-cuffed the St. Louis offense. He didn't allow much, just 2 hits and 1 walk in 7 innings. Greinke whiffed an impressive total of 8 St. Louis batters.  The right-handed Greinke lost his chance for a no-hitter when Nick Hundley singled with nobody out in the 6th inning. Both teams' bats went to sleep after the 3rd inning, with no runs scored after that point.

Jacob deGrom (0-1) absorbed the loss. He pitched 7 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 walks.

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.

Round Two: Mohawk Valley 4, Spokane 2

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In this Round Two matchup, the No. 2 Mohawk Valley Lions (113-49) had home-field advantage versus the No. 6 Spokane Hooded Crows (88-74).

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Game One
Crows 2, Lions 1

Starters: Cole Hamels @ Stephen Strasburg

At The Lion's Den, the Mohawk Valley fans witnessed a great pitcher's duel. Cole Hamels (1-1) finally bested his Mohawk Valley opposite, Stephen Strasburg (1-1), by the score of 2 to 1.

Hamels gave a fine effort for Spokane. He surrendered 5 hits and 2 walks in 6 1/3 innings. Spokane finished with just 4 hits in the victory.

Hamels got help from Tony Sipp who earned his 4th save. The loss was charged to Strasburg. He pitched 7 1/3 innings giving up only 3 hits and 1 walk.

Round One: Spokane 4, Rosehill 1

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In this Round One matchup, the No. 3 Rosehill Hornets (101-61) had home-field advantage versus the No. 6 Spokane Hooded Crows (88-74).

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Game One
Crows 4, Hornets 1

Starters: Zack Greinke @ Jason Hammel

Zack Greinke went 8 strong innings as the Spokane Hooded Crows outscored the Rosehill Hornets 4 to 1.

Spokane scored the winning runs in the top of the 9th inning with 3 runs on 3 hits. James Loney got things going when he stroked a base-hit. Zach Walters stepped up to the plate and he popped a two-run clout over the fence. Martin Maldonado then doubled. D.J. Lemahieu came up and he laid down a sacrifice bunt. Zack Cozart stepped into the box and hit a deep fly. Overall Spokane out-hit Rosehill 9 to 4.

Greinke (1-0) got credit for the victory, pitching 8 innings and allowing 1 run. Greinke got relief help from Tony Sipp who gained credit for his 1st save. Jason Hammel (0-1) suffered the loss. He allowed 2 runs and 7 hits in 8 innings.

Applying Ballpark Factors To MMDA Team Statistics

Customizing ballpark factors is one of the most difficult and agonizing decisions managers face each spring. Finding the most harmonious rate for single and home run frequency can add wins to a team's bottom line, but finding that perfect balance of offense and defense requires a deep understanding of player personnel—and also a lot of educated guesswork.

For years, I have endeavored to create ballpark factors for MMDA teams based on the statistical record, but until recently I had been stymied in my effort to find home/road splits. That changed when a fellow Strat obsessive pointed me to the line scores found within the League Stats menu.

With access to all teams' line scores, I summed all the runs a team scored and allowed at home, and then summed the same totals for each team on the road. Once I had those totals I could figure per-game rates by dividing by 81, and then compare those two rates to quantify the extent to which each MMDA park amplified or suppressed run production in a given season.

While I fully intend to apply this park-factor epiphany to the 2015 statistical record, I will do so only at the conclusion of the season, when teams have visited every park on their schedule and playing time has been fully distributed. Also, it takes some time to build the framework, so I only want to perform the calculations once per season.

However, this doesn't preclude me from revisiting the recent past and applying park factors to the 2014 data. From highest to lowest, here are the park factors I calculated for the 2014 season:

No	Team	Home R/G	Road R/G	Park Factor	Multiplier
1	Miami	8.86	7.99	111	1.055
2	Wilmington	9.33	8.68	108	1.038
3	Goldenrod	9.28	8.64	107	1.037
4	Death Valley	9.10	8.49	107	1.036
5	West Side	9.01	8.43	107	1.034
6	Elysian Fields	8.52	8.04	106	1.030
	Northeast	9.46	8.93	106	1.030
8	St. Louis	8.09	7.73	105	1.023
9	Brooklyn	10.17	9.79	104	1.020
10	Columbus	7.86	7.60	103	1.017
11	Rochester	8.42	8.22	102	1.012
12	Fighting Irish	9.05	8.95	101	1.006
13	Lake County	7.99	7.91	101	1.005
14	Jersey	8.51	8.51	100	1.000
15	Cape Cod	9.22	9.59	96	0.981
16	Rosehill	8.01	8.44	95	0.974
17	Mohawk Valley	7.83	8.47	92	0.962
18	California	8.40	9.65	87	0.935
19	Spokane	6.53	7.93	82	0.912
20	Northwest	6.75	8.40	80	0.902

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.

Draft Takes Shape Organically For Crows After Pederson

By Steve Frediani

Joc Pederson had no chance to get past the Crows at No. 2

While not quite as prepared as I would have liked to be, it was a pretty good draft and a lot of fun.

Going into the draft the Crows had only ONE usable relief pitcher (Luke Gregerson) on the roster, but felt that the abundance of relief cards would allow us to put together a workable bullpen at the end of the draft.

#2. Joc Pederson. We traded up to get this pick, and there was never any doubt that Pederson would be our guy

#18. While I did entertain thoughts of Dellin Betances or Rusney Castillo, I had engaged in previous discussions with Matt regarding this pick for Yasmani Grandal. Since J.D. Martinez had not gone lower than 12 in all the drafts I was aware of, I felt he was our best chance of making this deal work.

Round One: Mohawk Valley 4, Spokane 2

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In this series, the No. 3 Mohawk Valley Crimson Lions (98-64) had home-field advantage versus the No. 6 Spokane Hooded Crows (90-72).

Game One
Crows 6, Lions 1

The Spokane Hooded Crows put 4 runs on the scoreboard in the 6th inning and easily topped the Mohawk Valley Crimson Lions; the final score was 6 to 1.

Clayton Kershaw (1-0) earned his pay with a solid performance for Spokane. He allowed 10 hits and no walks in 8 innings. Spokane totaled 8 hits on the night.

David Price (0-1) was the losing pitcher. Despite taking the loss, he whiffed 9 batters in 6 innings.

Huskies dominate regular season once again, but can they get it done in October?

The Northeast Huskies have done it again. John Tresca's club led the league with 115 wins during the regular season, landing in a familiar place: atop the Northeast Division (named for its geographic location, though it could just as well be in honor of its dominant team). This marks six consecutive seasons in which the Huskies have either won the division outright or tied for first.

Since bringing up the rear with a 54-108 record in 2007, the Huskies have gone 659-313, good for a .678 winning percentage. During that span they have posted the best record in the league three times (2009, 2012, 2013). For all that dominance, however, there is one thing that has eluded them: a title. Over the past five years the Huskies have advanced to the final series only once, falling to the Bulldogs in seven games in 2009.

Can they do it this year? Their road to the World Series runs first through division rival West Side Bluejays, who are making their first-ever appearance in the MMDA postseason. Vegas likes the Huskies here. Northeast led the MMDA with a 3.28 ERA and ranked third in runs scored with 891. By contrast, the Bluejays posted a 3.97 ERA (9th) and crossed the plate 784 times (6th). But as the Huskies have learned, these games aren't played on paper.

Jim Baker's Wilmington Razorbacks finished with the second-best record in the league, at 112-50, ending a postseason drought reminiscent of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Razorbacks were led by a stout offense that gets on base and scores lots of runs. They posted a .359 on-base percentage as a team, nineteen points better than the second-best club (Huskies), and scored a league-best 928 runs. Their pitching staff logged a 3.92 ERA, eighth best in the league.

The Razors will be going up against a playoff fixture, the Northwest Stars, who secured the No. 7 seed after losing the tie-breaker with division foe Spokane. The Stars are a balanced club that finished fourth in the league in ERA (3.63) and seventh in runs scored (769).

Spokane, the sixth seed, will face the third-seeded Mohawk Valley Crimson Lions, whose potent offense ranked fourth in runs (839) and pitching staff finished third with a 3.55 ERA. The Hooded Crows are a pitching oriented club. Led by ERA champion Clayton Kershaw (2.08), they finished second in the MMDA with a 3.35 ERA. Kershaw and his fellow rotation mates will have to shine, however, because Spokane's offense ranked just 15th in runs scored, with 679, the least of any playoff qualifier.

The final matchup features divisional foes Goldenrod and St. Louis. They met in the second round of last year's playoffs, with the Gators sweeping the Maulers on the way to capturing the league championship. The Gators, who won two more games in the regular season this year to take the division title, have the edge in both ERA (3.82 to 3.91) and runs scored (796 to 720).

Best of luck to all eight clubs and congratulations on advancing this far.