Monday, September 30, 2019

Astros, Nats Survive Game 6 Losses for Come-from-Behind Game 7s to Advance to Statis-Pro World Series

We finished our simulated MLB season a little ahead of the real season to see how it might play out. This blog covered previous games in our Statis-pro 2019 playoffs. The summary of both League series start at the bottom of the blog with Games 1 and 2, then works up so the latest game is at the top of this blog. You can play your own games for free with dice and by clicking here to print off rules and basic players, and if you like the basic game click on the really cool advanced cards.

World Series Set

The League Championship series ended with similar scripts, as both road teams won Game 6 to force a decisive Game 7, and then jumped ahead in Game 7 only to see the bats of both home teams erupt late for come-from-behind wins. I know the MLB execs will hope for a Yankees-Dodgers World Series in the real game, but both were upset in our Statis-Pro simulated games - the Dodgers even though they set an all-time Statis-Pro record for me with 17 straight regular season games.

NL - Games 6/7 - Braves 6-3 then Nationals 6-1. In Game 6, Keuchel proved the playoff acquisition the Braves hoped with seven scoreless innings, and the Braves took  a 6-0 one homers by Acuna, Albies and Swanson, and a rare hit and run triple by Inciarte. Only a 3-run homer in the top of the 9th cut the final to 6-3, but it did also force the Braves to bring in Minter for the Save rather than keep him fresh for Game 7. In Game 7, Scherzer gave the Nats the edge, but Freeman took him deep in the first inning for a 1-0 Braves lead. Scherzer worked through seven innings with only that one run allowed, and a double by Robles and single by Soto in the 3rd tied the game. However, in the 7th and 8th Martin and Melancon could not hold the tie, as three of the first six batters they faced - Cabrera, Suzuki and Soto - homered to send the Nats to the Statis-Pro World Series with a 6-1 win.

AL - Games 6/7 - Twins 6-3, then Astros 9-5. The Statis-Pro Game 6 resembled the actual Rays-Astros Game 2 the night before with Osuna struggling to hold a lead. He gave up two singles and then a 3-run homer to Sano and former Astro Gonzalez added a solo HR off Rondon to force a Game 6 in a series in which (much like their actual series against the Yankees) the Twins looked completely overmatched in 7-0 and 7-1 wins. Perhaps Twins fans can hope for a similar turnaround against the Yankees in Games 3 and 4, but their starting pitching does look week - there were lucky in their draw in Statis-Pro as the Yankees and Astros played each other first while the Twins barely beat the Rays and Indians. In Game 7 the Astros were in even deeper trouble than the Nats, as Sano hit another 3-run HR in the first and Rosario added a 2-run homer in the 5th to make it 5-1 Twins. However Altuve had 4 of the Astros 13 hits as they exploded for seven runs in the 5th and 6th inning. One of the 13 hits was a hard grounder down the first base line and Cron failed to make a clutch defensive play (CD) to let it get to the corner for a 2-run double that capped a 4-run 5th to tie the score. Almost certainly rookie of the year Alvarez (whose projected card is great but not nearly as good as his actual stats in MLB) capped a 3-run 6th with a 2-run HR as the Astros comeback left them in the World Series against the Nats.





Summaries of Games 3, 4 and 5 in parks of underdogs

NL - Game 3 - Nationals 2, Braves 1 in 12 innings. The Nats continued to play with fire despite dominance, almost wasting 9.2 innings of 2-hit ball by Scherzer despite outhitting the Braves 9-3. The Nats left the bases loaded multiple times for the second playoff game, but after striking out his first 5 at bats Turner doubled and stole 3rd base with no outs. Despite the infield being in a Z-play resulted in Donaldson knocking down a grounder by Soto and could only get the play at first in the top of the 12th. Until then, the only scores until then occurred on Rendon and Markakis trading HRs. The Nats now lead 2 games to 1. Game 4 - Braves 4, Nats 0 - Fried outdueled Strasburg with a rare complete game shutout. Albies clutch double in the 3rd made it 2-0 Braves, and Donaldson's 2-run single in the 8th gave the Braves insurance to tied the series two games apiece. Game 5 - Nats 3, Braves 1 - Corbin struck out the side with bases loaded and no outs in the second and Rendon (elite clutch defense 5) made a spectacular play in the 8th to preserve the lead. Soto hit a 2-run Homer and sengled and scored for the final margin to give the Nats a 3 games to 2 lead as they face Keuchel in Game 6 but would have Scherzer in Game 7 if needed.

AL - Game 3 - Twins 2, Astros 0. After having to start with the 3rd and 4th starters in two blow out losses in Houston, Staris-Pro Ace Pineda threw 6 no hit innings and threw a complete game shutout with no Astro reaching 2nd base. In the 8th inning Buxton hit a 2-run HR off Osuna to pull the Twins within 2 games to 1 in the best of 7. Game 4 - Astros 6, Twins 5. in the only game in which they did not have a pitching disadvantage, the Twins rallied from down 5-0 to tied the game by the bottom of the 8th on Sano's 2-run Homer. However an error on former Astro Gonzalez to start the top of the 9th put Reddick on first, Springer's single to right moved him to third, and Bregman's sac fly made it 6-5. Pressley wrapped up the save. The Astros go up 3 games to 1. Game 4 - Twins 3, Astros 2.-
Trailing 2-0 to Verlander and 8 outs from being eliminated, former Astros Gonzalez hit a Homer to make it 2-1 and chase Verlander in the 7th. Kepler then tied it in the 8th on a single by Rosario that skipped under the blove of left fielder Brantley and Buxton was the hero with a walkoff double in the 9th. The Twins pull to within 3 games to 2.







Summaries of Games 1 and 2

The two teams with tired pitching due to needing to go five games to win their last series (Twins and Nationals) each lost Game 1 of their League Championship series to the teams the wrapped up series in four games.

NL - Game 1/2 - Braves 6-4, Nats 6-4. In Game 1 the Nats actually outhit the Braves 12-9, but left bases loaded in the 5th, 6th and 7th to fall 6-4. In Game 2 the Braves jumped ahead 4-0 when Albies, Freeman and Swanson all homered off Fedde, but the bullpen could not hold onto Keuchel's lead. The Nats sent 11 to the plate in a 5-run 5th on homers by Kendrick and Soto and doubles by Turner and Zimmerman. Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin will pitch three games in Atlanta before games 6 and 7 come back to Washington if necessary.

AL - Games 1/2 - Astros beat Twins 7-1 and 7-0. Correa (who the Astros hope is really healed for the playoffs) had two doubles and a single for a 7-1 win in Verlander's 2-hitter. In Game 2 Cole was even more dominant, setting down the first 21 Twins before Rosario broke up the perfect game with a single to lead off the 8th. Cruz doubled in the 9th but Cole finished with the complete game shutout. Springer's clutch 3-run Homer in the second was only made possible by an error by the pitcher Perez earlier in the inning.





Additional games of the best of 7 will be posted as they are played.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

How much pitchers can pitch in playoffs - study of last three years

In 2020, MLB will require relief pitchers to either complete the inning he is pitching, or pitch to at least three batters. Players of baseball board or computer games of all kinds know that deciding how often, when and how long pitchers can pitch is a great part of the fun of the game.

Executive Summary for how much we let pitchers throw:

Pitching in playoff gameRules for use in Next Game
Pitches for 2nd straight gameCannot Pitch
Pitch to at least 6 battersCannot Pitch
Pitch to 1 to 5 battersPB lowered by 1; max 8 batters between BOTH games
Regular season 1 of 2 games only(all regular season series are 2-games in our league)

In my regular season, I allow pitchers to finish the inning or pitch to either 3 or 4 pitchers - no more or no less - to make the game move along, so I've been a step ahead of MLB. I also only allowed each reliever to pitch one out of every two games - and I play all 2-game series to make it easy to keep track. If a pitcher is used in the first of two games then he is not available in the second game, but if not then you may as well use him if needed. This gives a very realistic maximum use of each pitcher over the course of a season.

However, in the playoffs pitchers are actually used more - so I did a study to decide how much to use them in my upcoming playoffs. I researched any pitcher who pitched at least half of the teams playoff games for any of the ALCS or NLCS teams (47 total pitchers, or an average of four pitchers for each of the 12 League Championship teams. The following lists the team, how many playoff games the team had that season, and how many of those games the pitcher was used and what percentage of games that represents.

The "RR" is a Statis-Pro term for tracking the reduction of a reliever's endurance for every time he allows a player to reach first, or allowed an earned run or inning ends, and this figure averaged 2.6 among these pitchers. The pitchers threw to an average of four batters in each of these games. Based on that, I am using these rules for playoff pitchers.

Here are the pitchers on which I based this number.


Pitched half PO GmsTEAMYearTeam GmsPitcher Gms% gamesAve. RRBatter/GmERA
Top 4 relievers each team12.58.064%2.64.03.43
Brandon MorrowLAD2017151493%2.33.53.95
Corey KnebelMIL201810990%1.83.60.90
Roberto OsunaTOR20168788%1.94.00.00
Kenley JansenLAD2017151387%2.34.21.62
Aroldis ChapmanCHC2016161381%2.94.53.45
Jeremy JeffressMIL201810880%4.35.26.75
Brett CecilTOR20168675%1.22.30.00
Joe BiaginiTOR20168675%1.93.90.00
Tony WatsonLAD2017151173%1.42.32.57
Matt BarnesBOS2018141071%1.83.11.04
Carl Edwards Jr.CHC201710770%2.62.811.57
Joakim SoriaMIL201810770%2.32.87.71
Josh HaderMIL201810770%2.34.70.00
Mike MontgomeryCHC2016161169%3.65.43.14
Ryan MadsonLAD2018161169%2.03.12.08
Andrew MillerCLE2016151067%3.96.91.40
Cody AllenCLE2016151067%2.64.90.00
Ryan BrasierBOS201814964%2.43.81.04
Craig KimbrelBOS201814964%3.84.95.91
Joe KellyBOS201814964%2.24.20.79
Joe BlantonLAD201611764%3.74.77.88
Kenley JansenLAD201611764%3.65.73.09
Pedro BaezLAD201611764%2.74.12.57
Grant DaytonLAD201611764%2.02.38.10
Lance McCullers Jr.HOU20188563%2.43.91.80
Ryan PresslyHOU20188563%2.03.51.80
Pedro BaezLAD2018161063%2.23.91.59
Jason GrilliTOR20168563%0.81.90.00
David RobertsonNYY201713862%4.36.34.15
Kenta MaedaLAD201715960%2.03.80.84
Corbin BurnesMIL201810660%2.74.92.00
Travis WoodCHC201616956%1.72.62.84
Kenley JansenLAD201816956%2.13.81.69
Alex WoodLAD201816956%2.53.25.40
Chris DevenskiHOU2017181056%2.83.49.00
Tommy KahnleNYY201713754%3.25.42.38
Eduardo RodriguezBOS201814750%4.05.46.30
Wade DavisCHC201710550%4.05.54.26
Brian DuensingCHC201710550%2.23.81.69
Pedro StropCHC201710550%2.03.61.69
Mike MontgomeryCHC201710550%6.05.816.62
Pedro StropCHC201616850%1.72.53.18
Carl Edwards Jr.CHC201616850%2.13.22.84
Collin McHughHOU20188450%1.33.00.00
Roberto OsunaHOU20188450%4.35.67.50
Dylan FloroLAD201816850%2.53.63.86
Kenta MaedaLAD201816850%2.73.64.05
Top 4 relievers each team12.58.064%2.64.03.43


adddd

Baseball Board Game Results: 24 of 30 Teams Finish Within 2 Games of Actual MLB Win%

After playing 234 games with current 2019 rosters, the following were my standings. The tweak I've gone to over the years - which seems to provide even more realistic results with a truer test - is to count each game as a 3-game series. Normally the winning team is credited with 2 wins and the losing team with 1 win UNLESS the winning team lead by 5 or more runs after 8 innings without using their top reliever. A team has about a 14% chance of accomplishing this in any given game, the same chance a team has of winning all three games of a series.

For anyone who enjoys any baseball board game, you may want to try this. Here is a grid of games this season (still filling some in)

The following is each team's record (this is my NL year, the only AL games are interleague). For each team I list their record in my games - so the Dodgers went 55-32 - then I list how much better or worse this is than their actual MLB winning percentage through September 18 would dictate (the Dodgers went 55-32 in my game for a .632 winning percentage, which is actually one game below (-1) the 56-31 they would have played if they hit their actual MLB .645 winning percentage this season.

Twenty-four of 30 teams were within 2 games of where they would have expected to finish based on their actual MLB winning percentage - so I bolded the two that performed much better and four that performed worse in the board game than in real life.

Statis-Pro teamDivisionWinsLosses+ or - actualBoard gameWin%
Dodgers (Div)NL West5532-10.632
PadresNL West464170.529
GiantsNL West424220.500
DiamondbacksNL West3642-40.462
RockiesNL West263400.433
Nationals (Div)NL East523920.571
Braves (wc)NL East5140-50.560
Mets (wc)NL East504040.556
PhilliesNL East464400.511
MarlinsNL East223810.367
Cubs (Div)NL Central494100.544
BrewersNL Central4743-20.522
CardinalsNL Central4143-60.488
RedsNL Central3747-20.440
PiratesNL Central2535-10.417
Astros (Div)AL West75-10.583
MarinersAL West5700.417
RangersAL West57-10.417
AngelsAL West39-20.250
AthleticsAL West210-50.167
Yankees (Div)AL East75-10.583
Rays (wc)AL East76-10.538
Red SoxAL East67-10.462
BlueJaysAL East48-10.333
OriolesAL East4800.333
Indians (Div)AL Central9320.750
Twins (wc)AL Central7500.583
WhiteSoxAL Central5700.417
RoyalsAL Central4800.333
TigersAL Central4800.333
7047040.500
AL Record791030.434


Monday, September 16, 2019

Statis-Pro Playoffs 2019 Bracket if no injuries: Astros, Braves, Twins and Nats-Cubs go 13 for final spot.

Coverage of the ALCS and NLCS Statis-Pro season moves to here.

Our 2019 Statis-Pro Playoffs are set. This year was our NL year, so we played extended 90-game seasons on the NL side and quick 12-game seasons on the AL resulting in these playoffs. The wrap up of the end of the season is here.  Five of the top 6 teams in each league as of September 21 also made the Statis-Pro playoffs - with the A's and Cardinals the two two did NOT in Statis-Pro, which uses the cards for the same players but without any injuries (e.g. Carrasco and Kluber pitch for the Indians).

Current: Astros 3-1 eliminates Yankees, Twins 3-2 eliminates Indians, Braves 3-1 eliminates Dodgers, and you need to scroll down to see incredible finale between Nats and Cubs for the 4th team still alive.


To play Statis-Pro baseball yourself click this google sheet (includes cards for all MLB players and instructions) and two 6-sided dice, two 8-sided dice and one 20-sided die. We are using cards for any player on this team-by-team list who played for a team at all in 2019 by the end of September. The rules for resting pitchers are here, and our most popular post on who to record a score sheet is here.

In the Statis-Pro Season 24 of 30 teams finished within 2 games of what their record would have been is they had their real life winning percentage. Click here for a full breakdown. 


NL

At Braves 3, Mets 0 in wildcard. Six Braves' pitchers worked out of multiple bases loaded and other Mets threats until former Red Billy Hamilton - who came in during a double switch, hit a 2-run single in the seventh inning to send the Braves onto play the Dodgers. (scoresheet at bottom)

Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers 5-game Series. Game 1 Braves 4, Dodgers 1. Donaldson singled home Albies to break up Kershaw's shutout in the 7th, and the Braves added 3 insurance homers in the 9th on a homer by Swanson and double by Inciarte. However, Donaldson failed to come up with a clutch play on a hard grounder down the third baseline by Pederson in the 9th to chase Soroka, but Minter came in for the save. ESPN predictor picks Soroka and Kershaw to finish 2nd and 3rd for Cy Young.  Game 2 - Braves 7, Dodgers 3. Freeman hits a clutch batting (BD) 2-run HR of Buehler in the 2nd, drew a walk to start a 4-run rally in the 7th, the came up with a clutch Fielding (cd) snag of a line drive over first base to turn a would be rbi double into a lineout double play. The Dodgers were my first Statis-pro team to win 17 actual games in a row this season, but will now need to win 3 straight to advance to the NLCS. Game 3 - Dodgers 2, Braves 1. Ryu single-handedly kept the Dodgers season alive, throwing 7 shutout innings and delivering a 2-run single in the 5th. After allowing a solo shot by Acuna to lead off the 8th, Alexander relieved Ryu and retired the last 6 for the save - catching one break when Donaldson ran into his slow roller to first to officially get a single but be ruled out. Game 4 - Braves 7, Dodgers 5. After my all-time Statis-pro regular season winning streak of 17 straight, the Dodgers were eliminated 3 games to 1 by the Braves. Donaldson delivered a 3-run HR in the third to make it 5-3 Bravesa Minter came on with 2 on and 2 out in the 7th and struck out 4 in a row. The Dodgers top 4 took a last shot in the 9th off Martin with a triple (Pollack), walk (Bellinger), double (Turner) and single Pederson) to chase Minter, but with the Braves almost out of pitchers Newcomb (only an average PB4-7) saved the 7-5 win.



Chicago Cubs at Washington Nationals 5-game Series. Game 1 - Cubs 3, Nationals 0. Scherzer allowed only two hits, but they were homer by Happ and 2-run HR by Baez and Darvish went the distance to beat the best Statis-Pro pitcher's card in the game for the upset. Game 2 -  Nationals 6, Cubs 5. Soto's two 2-run HRs - both following Turner singles - proved just enough to tie the series as closer Rosenthal induced a ground out by Baez to end the game with the tying and go ahead runs in scoring position after a single and double. Strasburg was brilliant for 7 innings, with the only 2 runs allowed on a 5th inning collision between Zimmerman and Robles (z-play injury) that resulted in an rbi double. Game 3 - Cubs 8, Nationals 4. In the actual MLB season the Cubs are suffering from big injuries, but in Statis-Pro they benefitted from Zimmerman, Suzuki and most importantly Corbin (the Nats 3rd starter but a PB2-8 as a top 15% pitcher) all being ejected in the second inning. As if the bullpen wasn't stretched enough, both corner outfielders for the Nats let singles skip past them - allowing two runs to score on a single by Lucroy and three more on a single by Costellanos for an 8-4 Cubs in putting them one game from winning the series. Game 4 - Nationals 7,Cubs  6. Soto's double scored the game-winner in a game in which Turner's 2-run HR made it 4-1 Nats and Heyward's grandslam made it 5-4 Cubs. Rosenthal needed to overcome another tough break for the Nats as Eaton and Soto collided to allow and 8th inning double (making a record 7 Nats that have left a game I. The series due to ejection or injury. However, they now get a rematch of Scherzer and Darvish in the decisive finale. Game 5 - Nationals 4, Cubs  3 (13 innings). After the Nats all time bad luck in having 7 players either ejected or injured in the first 4 games of the series, a Darvish vs. Scherzer rematch from game 1 took 13 innings to determine who advanced to play the Braves for the pennant. Scherzer gave 6 shutout innings for a 1-0 lead before tiring, but as soon as he left Baez singled off Grace, and then excellent 3rd baseman Rendon failed to make a clutch play on a grouder to put men on the corners with 0 outs. Bryant's sac fly tied it 1-1 in the 7th. In the bottom of the 8th Turner homered to make it 2-1 and Soto doubled but Kimbrel relieved and escaped damage in the 8th or 9th. However Rizzo homered off Ace reliever Rosenthal in the top of the 9th to force extra innings. Both teams then went to their Game 2 starters for the 10th and 11th. Strasburg struck out 6 in the two innings, but in between Heyward hit an apparent series winning Homer and alomar and Kemp singled to put men on the corners before Scherzer escaped. However, Soto led off the 10th with a walk, and pinch runner Stevenson stole 2nd against Lucroy's great arm, went to third on Rendon's grounder to first, and scored on Zimmerman's sac fly. Hamel aloa pitched a hitless 11th to leave with no hits allowed but one crucial run. In the top of the 13th Baez singled with 2 outs off Sipp and stole second, but Rizzo grounded out. The Cubs were down to Maples for the 13th, and Rendon singled, Zimmerman singled him to second, and on Eaton's single to right Heyward's T5 against Rendon's on-base running (OBR) D was still not enough as Rendon scored in Sid Bream style to win the series and send the Nats to the NL Statis-pro championship against the Braves.






Final two in Best-of-Seven NL Championship.

AL

At Minnesota 7,Tampa Bay Rays 6 for wild card. IN the shcoker of the season, the Rays led 6-0 going into the bottom of the 8th with great relievers lined up, buy Cruz and Sano both homered in the 8th and then were part of five consecutive singles in the 9th to pull off the shocking come-from behind win.(scoresheet at bottom)

Twins at Cleveland Indians 5-game Series. Game 1, Indians 3, Twins 2. Perez induced a grounder to 3rd from Nelson Cruz with 2 on and 2 out in the 9th to preserve a 3-2 Indians win. Lindor tripled home Ramirez on a hit and run in the 1st, scored, then singled in a run in the 6th to count for all Indians runs, but the Indians managed to chase perhaps the best pitcher's card in the game (Carrasco) with 4 straight hits in the 5th but he was saved when Naquin threw out Kepler trying to score from second on a single. Game 2 - Twins 4, Indians 3. Vazquez recorded a save by coming in to strike out Lindor with 2 on in the 8th, then overcoming the Twins second error of the game in the ninth to hold onto the one run win. Sano singled and scored to tie the game 1-1 in the 7th and chase Kluber, then singed home two more runs after a Rosario double to make it 4-2 before Kipnis doubled and scored in teh bottom of the 8th to cut it to 4-3. Game 3 - Twins 8, Indians 2. The Twins HRs by Kepler (4 hits), Cron and Rosario put the defending Statis-Pro AL champs on the brink of elimination, 2 games to 1. The Twins pitching is suspect - a lot of average starters and relievers but no shutdown Statis-Pro cards, but they can slug and a win in Game 4 would let them clinch without needing to face Carrasco (a rare PB2-9 as a starter, meaning top 5% of all pitchers) in a decisive Game 5.Game 4 - Indians 5 Twins 3 - Watching Clevinger's jerky motion on TV while he allowed only 1 run in 5 innings - striking out Cron with bases loaded in the 5th to preserve a 5-1 lead and force a decisive game 5. Reyes 2-run HR capped a 4-run 4th that overcame Marwin Gonzalez two HRs. Game 5 - Twins 10, Indians 2. The Indians' defense did not back up one of the best few pitchers in the game in Cassasco. Naquin (Clyde defense 4) failed to make a clutch defensive play on Cruz's line drive but did keep it in front of him for a single. However with bases loaded Rosario's deep drive to right was dropped by Puig, who has a great arm but does make some errors (e3) to score 3 unearned runs and make it 4-1 twins. The big inning also helped wear down Cassasco which led to him only lasting into the 6th, at which point the Twins scored 4 off Otero to make it 9-1, and the 10-2 final sent them to the ALCS to face the Astros. They used balance, with only Buxton and Kepler having two hits and only Sano homering.










Houston Astros at New York Yankees 5-game Series. Game 1 - Astros 1, Yankees 0. Game 1 went to Verlander 1-0. Bergman appeared to hit a 2-run Homer in the 7th, but despite replay they ruled it foul and he was ejected for arguing (z-play). Pressley struckout Encarnacion to end the game with men on 2nd and 3rd, making Correa's rbi single in the 1st the game winner. Game 2 - Astros 2, Yankees 1. Bregman's HR started a two-run fifth, and Cole alloweed Gregorius and LaMahleu to hit back-to-back singles twice, , but only gave up one run on a solo by Voit in the 6th inning.
Game 3 - Yankees 9, Astros 4.  Astros one-two punch The first team facing elimination, the Yankees destroyed former Diamondback Greinke and relievers, outhitting the Astros 15-5. Stanton, Torres, Sanchez and Voit all hit 2-run HRs - the last one enabling them to rest Chapman so he is full strength for Game 4. Game 4 - Astros 3, Yankees 0.  Miley, pitched like he did until September in real MLB play (No. 3 ERA in AL at that point before collapsing) with 8 great innings before allowing 2 singles and a deep drive in the 9th. Pressley came in to complete the shutout. Loaisiga almost matched him in the matchup of the 4th best Statis-pro cards on each team (Severino was not eligible due to not pitching in actual MLB play). He allowed only an RBI groundout to Bregman in the third before Brantley homered to lead off the 7th and chase him, and Springer rbi single off PB2-9 Green made it 3-0 and send the Astros to the ALCS against the Indians or Twins.







Final two in Best-of-Seven AL Championship.

World Series Best of 7.


Below is a photo of the scoresheet of each wild card game and all four Game 1s so that each line-up we are using appears once (minus any platoons, etc.).












Sunday, September 15, 2019

Seeing Dorsett, Talking to Swann; Wrap up end of Statis-Pro Baseball Season

NL EastWinsLossesWin%WcGBBest CaseRemaining (if necessary)
Wash52390.571Div
Playoff
Atl51400.560+0.5
WC vs. NYM
Nym50400.5550
WC at Atl
Phi46440.511-4EliminatedDone
Other WCWinsLossesWin%GBBest CaseRemaining
Mil47430.522-3EliminatedNone
SD46410.528-4EliminatedSF2 Ar2
SF42420.500-4EliminatedSD2 Ar2
StL41430.488-6EliminatedCin2
Ari35420.403-8.5EliminatedSD2 SF2 LA1
Cin37470.440-15EliminatedStL2
Previously eliminated: Miami, Pittsburgh, Colorado.

Dodgers (55-32 .632) and Cubs (49-41 .544) already in playoffs as NL West and Central Champs. AL Wildcards Rays vs Twins, Winner vs. Indians. Yankees vs. Astros.

To play Statis-Pro baseball yourself click this google sheet (includes cards for all MLB players and instructions) and two 6-sided dice, two 8-sided dice and one 20-sided die.

In the Statis-Pro Season 24 of 30 teams finished within 2 games of what their record would have been is they had their real life winning percentage. Click here for a full breakdown.

My Facebook explanation of why I focus only on Statis-Pro baseball and Value Add Basketball on this blog on a weekend where I saw Tony Dorsett at the Pitt at Penn State game appears at the bottom of this blog - but first the final 17 Statis-Pro games to determine the final 3 NL playoff teams:
  • NL East Round Robin in order played (Marlins eliminated) 
Click here for the NL round robin divisional year end Statis-Pro games played before this blog.
  1. Nationals L 1-3 (to Braves), Anibal Sanchez, 5, PB: 2-6 vs. Braves, Bryse Wilson, 5, PB: 4-7 (6), Result: Wilson and top 3 Braves relievers one-hit the powerful Nats line-up, a 2nd inning HR by Eaton.
  2. Nationals W6-3 (to Braves), Stephen Strasburg, 2, PB: 2-8 vs. Braves, Mike Soroka, 2, PB: 2-7, Result: Turner's 3-run walkoff HR broke 3-3 tied in 9th to move Nats into first.
  3. Phillies L2-4 (to Braves), Nick Pivetta, 3, PB: 4-7 (7) vs. Braves, Dallas Keuchel, 3, PB: 2-7, Result: Donaldson 2-run HR tied it 2-2 in 5th, then Markakis, Swanson and Flowers. Hamilton PR, stole 2nd and 3rd, and scored game winner.
  4. Mets W 8-4 (v Nats), Steven Matz, 4, PB: 4-7 (6) vs. Nationals, Erick Fedde, 4, PB: 4-7 (7), Result: ex-Giant Panik's PH RBI single in 6th helped Mets hold 5-4 lead, until Alonso's 3-run HR in top of 9th let them save reliever Diaz (like Familia and Wilson great in the game if not in real life). Nats drop to 50-37 tie for Braves in NL East with 1 game left for each team.
  5. Mets W2-1 (v Wash), Marcus Stroman, 3, PB: 2-7 vs. Nationals, Patrick Corbin, 3, PB: 2-8, Result: Pitchers duel ended with Nats ace reliever walking three straight batters to force go-ahead run, then Diaz (a great PB2-9 in game) shut down Nats for the win leaving door open for Braves to win division with win in final game.
  6. Phillies W6-5 (v Braves), Vince Velasquez, 4, PB: 2-6 vs. Braves, Mike Foltynewicz, 4, PB: 2-7, Result: Braves chance to clinch ended with "what if" walk off HR by McCutchen to overcome Donaldson hitting 2-run HR and beating 2 throws home. Nats and Braves will play one-game playoff for NL East unless Mets clobber Phillies 5 games to 1 to force 3-way tie or 6-0 (would require two wins by 5 or more runs each).
  7. Phillies L6-7 (to Mets), Jake Arrieta, 2, PB: 4-7 (6) vs. Mets, Noah Syndergaard, 2, PB: 2-7, Result: McNeil's 2 homers and RBI double combined with 5 scoreless relief innings eliminated the Phillies.
  8. Phillies L3-4 (to Mets), Ranger Suarez, 5, PB: 2-4 (5) vs. Mets, Zack Wheeler, 5, PB: 2-6, Result: McNeil homered and doubled again, the latter pushing Phils closer Robertson into the game before the 9th to preserve a Phils 3-2 lead. With him gone, Rosario hit a 9th inning grounder down the third baseline that Franco (Clutch Defense 3) failed to make a play on, resulting in an RBI double. Cano then hit a walk off double.  The Mets practically guarantee themselves the 2nd playoff spot to face the loser of the Braves-Nats 1-game playoff for the NL East - unless the Giants or Padres can go 10-2 in remaining games against each other and the Diamondbacks.
NL West Games to be played if teams still alive for wild card:
  1. Padres L1-4 (vs. Giants), Dinelson Lamet, 2, PB: 2-7 vs. Giants, Jeff Samardzija, 3, PB: 2-6, Result: Samardzija pitched 7 innings of 2-hit ball to keep the Giants hopes alive and take the Padres to the edge of elimination (needing to get credits for "Sweeps/5-run wins" in their last three games to survive). Giants first four hitters (Pillar, Belt, Posey and Austin) singled then Padres starter Lamet booted a grounder and Longoria hit a sac fly to give Samardzija all the support he needed.
  2. Padres W12-3 S (vs. Giants), Eric Lauer, 5, PB: 2-5 vs. Giants, Shaun Anderson, 4, PB: 2-5, Result: Padres came in needing to register sweeps in their last three games (winning and leading by at least 5 runs at the end of the 8th without using top reliever). A 2-run HR by Renfroe in the 1st, then 2-run double by Kinsler and 2-run triple by Tatis in the second put them on their way to a 12-3 barrage to eliminate the Giants. If the Padres do the same to the Diamondbacks two games in a row, then they would get a one-game playoff with the Mets to try to take the last wild card spot.
  3. Padres, Robbie Erlin W5-2 (vs Giants), 4, PB: 4-7 (6) vs. Diamondbacks, Luke Weaver, 4, PB: 4-7 (6), Result: Tatis and Machado homered in the 1st and the Padres stretched the lead to 5-2 and loaded the basis in the 5th inning. However, the great Diamondback's bullpen shut it down from there to leave the Padres with a win but not the 5-run sweep they needed to stay alive - leaving the Mets as the final wild card team.
  4. NL East 1 Game Playoff: Braves (Foltynewicz) at Nationals (Fedde). The Nats overcame a collision between Soto and Eaton in the 4th inning that took them out of the game (Z-play) and two errors to secure a 3-0 win and the NL East title. The Braves will host the Mets in the Statis-Pro Playoff game.  Turner singled in 2-runs in the 5th, and a third run scored in the 6th when Zimmerman scored on an attempted double play (Gx6) on Suzuki's grounder with men on 1st and third. The Braves loaded the bases in both the 7th and 8th, but Rosenthal and Doolittle pitched out of the jams to preserve the shutout. Nats 3, Braves 0.




  • The games below were not played because all playoff spots were secure. The playoff bracket and results are kept here.
  1. Padres, Joey Lucchesi, 3, PB: 2-7 vs. Diamondbacks, Zac Gallen, 3, PB: 4-7 (6), Result:(played only if Padres "Sweep" 1st game vs. Diamondbacks with 5+ run win)
  2. Giants, Andrew Suarez, 2, PB: 4-7 (7) vs. Diamondbacks, Matt Andriese, 2, PB: 2-7, Result: (not necessary)
  3. Giants, Conner Menez, 5, PB: 2-5 vs. Diamondbacks, Taijuan Walker, 5, PB: 2-6, Result: (not necessary)
  4. Dodgers, Walker Buehler, 1, PB: 2-8 vs. Diamondbacks, Robbie Ray, 1, PB: 2-7, Result: (not necessary)
  5. Cardinals, Alex Reyes, 2, PB: 4-7 (7) vs. Reds, Alex Wood, 2, PB: 2-7, Result: (not necessary)
  6. Cardinals, Miles Mikolas, 5, PB: 4-7 (6) vs. Reds, Kevin Gausman, 5, PB: 4-7 (7), Result: (not necessary)
My Facebook Note along with photo of Dorsett:

When seeing Tony Dorsett at the Pitt at Penn State game this weekend, and talking to Lynn Swann on the phone recently, I should explain why the blog focuses only on baseball and basketball. I love football and hockey, have children with soccer and track scholarships - but I don't believe I have much to add in writing or creating games and/or player cards for those sports. I am a stat guy, and the Value Add Basketball game I developed of great teams, and starter game to let people try out Statis Pro Baseball Advanced stem from sports I believe you can break down analytically - and for that reason sports you can following even when on a business trip where you lose the ability to watch games on TV. So here are the final 17 games I'll play in Statis-Pro minus any between teams who clinch or are eliminated. It started with a blast with Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals playing a great Statis-Pro series with the actual game in the background on TV. Both should join my Statis-Pro playoffs with Los Angeles Dodgers Chicago Cubs Tampa Bay Rays Minnesota Twins Cleveland Indians Houston Astros New York Yankees and one other NL team based on these final games. I want to wrap up in time to start my Value Add Basketball season between 48 of the greatest college hoops teams of the century.