Power Pros Forum

September

NOTES: It came as no surprise when the Hickories refused to make any changes to the roster on August 31, but it must have been a disappointment to Art Vandelay (DDCEEE), sent down on August 4 when Jordi Laforge (FCCDED) was called up. Laforge is batting 357 with 9 homeruns, 20 RBIs, and 22 stolen bases, and has clearly pushed Vandalay (281, 13 HR, 53 RBI, 10 stolen bases) to the minors for the remainder of the season

TWINS

9/1/08: This game had six lead changes, and while the Twins bullpen was able to shut down the Hickories offense for the last four innings, the Hickories relief core could not do the same. Final score: 8–7, Twins

9/2/08: The Twins Chris Carpenter (95 FB HSL – five, DCB – four, SP – three) was throwing the ball very well, making easy work of the Hickories lineup. Buck Rogers took advantage of a misplaced pitch, doubling off the centerfield wall and, with it not looking like the Hickories would be able to string together more than a couple of base hits, Rogers was sent home when Braun singled sharply to right. The ball beat Rogers home, but Rogers knocked the ball out of Mauer's glove for the score. Meanwhile, the Hickories David Cohen (98 FB 2SF – one , HSL – two, SCB – one, CCH – one) escaped jams in the first and second innings before settling down. The Hickories maintained their 1–0 lead until the seventh inning, when a Brendan Harris double led to the tying run two batters later. Finally, Chris Carpenter began to tire. He gave up a one-out single to Ryan Braun and then to wild pitches allowed Braun to reach third. Braun, whose speed recently increased to level C, scored the go-ahead run on a fielders choice that Laforge hit into. The Hickories added another run against reliever Pat Neshick when Laforge stole second and then scored on a Cool Junior single. That extra run proved important when the Twins led off the eighth with a Delmon Young triple and scored on a fielders choice. Final score: 3–2, Jacksonville

9/3/2008: it took the Twins only two batters to take a 1–0 lead. The Hickories matched that feet against the Twins rookie starter, and then pulled ahead on a Buck Rogers double and a few singles from the end of the order. The normally reliable Gabe Kotter was anything but reliable today, but the Hickories seemed to hit the ball wherever the Twins left an opening. Final score: 9–5, Hickories

PLAYOFF WATCH: While the Hickories took two of three from the Twins, the Red Sox were swept by the Sacramento Dukes, losing each game by a single run, and the Yankees won two of three from the Blue Jays.

Yankees: magic number 20
Red Sox: -6
Hickories: -7

ORIOLES

9/4/08: The Hickories won this game on the strength of their first, second, and third batters, who went a combined 8/12 with one stolen base, one homerun, six RBIs, and five runs scored. In comparison, the Hickories 4–7 headers went a combined 1/15 with two strikeouts and one stolen base. A three run homerun by Brian Roberts and a solo shot from Aubrey Huff in the ninth inning made that last inning interesting. Final score: 6–4, Jacksonville

REPLAY DUE TO SAVE ERROR: Pelfrey threw six innings of five hit shutout ball, while the Hickories were able to cross the plate once. The Orioles tied the game against reliever Joe Smith when Great Johnson doubled, move the third and then scored on fielders choices. Orioles reliever Chris Ray pitched a solid 3–1/3 innings, allowing just two hits, but was left in one batter too long, surrendering a homerun to Buck Rogers, his 38th of the season, which proved to be the decisive run. Final score: two – one, Hickories

9/5/08: The Hickories Syd Fernandez and the Orioles Guthrie pitched to a 1–1 draw until the bottom of the fourth when Guthrie surrendered a homerun to Ryan Braun, who now has the same number of homeruns as the Hickories Buck Rogers. Joe Smith pitched a strong sixth inning for the Hickories but gave up singles to the first two batters he faced in the seventh, triggering the call for Mickey Shuler, who was unable to close out the inning without allowing the tying run to score on a fielders choice. In the following inning, both teams scored on close plays at the plate. Matt Kemp scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 9th, and the Orioles closer, Jason Isringhausen, closed out the game. Final score: 4–3, Orioles

9/6/08: 8–4, Jacksonville

9/7/08: with both teams pitching well, Buck Rogers breaks the scoreless tie with a homerun in the bottom of the fourth, and then Ryan Braun scores the second run after singling, stealing second, and moving to third on a sacrifice fly. The Orioles would score, but could not catch up. Final score: 6–2, Hickories

For the week ending 9/7, Buck Rogers was one of the AL players of the week. During this week, he batted 519 with five homeruns and 12 RBIs. In comparison, David Ortiz was the other AL player named. Ortiz hit 429 with five homeruns and 11 RBIs

PLAYOFF WATCH: During these last four games, the Yankees went 2–2 against the Athletics, while the Red Sox also went 2–2 against the Angels. The Hickories and Red Sox are now tied in the race for a wild card, six games back of the Yankees, whose magic number is 16.

RANGERS SERIES

9/9/2008: Art Vandelay, called up when the rosters expanded, broke a 1-1 tie with a three run homerun off of Kevin Millwood. Blalock knocked in Milton Bradley, who tripled into the left centerfield gap, but Vandelay knocked in another run with the triple the following inning. Both teams scored again in the seventh. Final score: 6-3, Jacksonville

9/10/08: A three run homerun from David Banner gave the Hickories a third inning lead that, combined with a five run fourth inning, the Hickories would never surrender. Final score: 9-7, Hickories

9/11/08: when Ryan Braun was thrown out at home in the bottom of the fifth inning and the Hickories left the tying run on second, they did not threaten again until Rangers starter Jason Jennings (90 DB SL - three, CH - two, HSK - two) tired in the seventh inning, and allowed the tying run to score on three singles, but a big eighth inning from the Rangers gave them back the lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Hickory's tied and overtook the Rangers when they bunched together five singles and a fielders choice that resulted in no outs. Final score: 5-3, Jacksonville

PLAYOFF WATCH: The Red Sox and Yankees battled each other, with the Red Sox taking two of three, while the Hickories swept the Rangers. The Hickories are now in sole possession of second place (and the wildcard lead) by one game over the Red Sox, and are four games behind the Yankees.

Whether the Hickories make the playoffs will likely be decided over the next 12 games, as the Hickories host the Blue Jay's, who beat the Hickories 9 of 15 games this season, before having a home and away series against the Red Sox, sandwiching a three-game series against the Yankees. The Hickory's are 500 against the Red Sox, but a woeful 3 and 14 against the Yankees.

BLUE JAYS

9/12/08: The Hickories benefited from the Blue Jays depletion of their rotation (jettisoning AJ Burnett and leaving Dustin McGowan (98 D.A. SL - two, CB - two, SP - two) and Great Guillen (91 FB CU - two, CB - two, CH - two) in the minors), facing off against rookie Callaway (85 EC SL - one, CB - one), but could not take full advantage, scoring only two runs in five innings. The Blue Jays tied the game and then overtook the Hickories with a three run sixth inning, but Ryan Braun matched it with a three run homerun in the bottom of the sixth. Final score: 6-3, Hickories

9/13/08: The Jays scored when Robert Plant bobbled what would've been the third out of the inning. Roy Halladay looked dominant, and the Hickories appeared fortunate to be able to put together a double from David Banner and a base hit from Way Cool in the bottom of the second, tying the game until Scott Roland tripled in two runs and scored, himself, on a Renteria single. The Hickories were able to score again, but missed a golden opportunity when Lubowski led off with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch, but the Hickories 4-6 batters failed to drive him in. The Hickories would threaten again, but never mount any serious threats as Halladay pitched a complete game, allowing just seven hits. Final score: 7-2, Blue Jays

9/14/08: what a difference a day makes, as today's Blue Jays starter, Jesse Litsch (93 DB SL – three, CB – two, CH – two, SP – two) was not able to imitate Roy Halladay for even an inning, giving up four runs in that first frame and five in the second before being pulled. Shoddy relief pitching by the Hickories in the seventh allowed the Blue Jays to score 10 runs in the 6–8 innings, forcing the Hickories to bring in their closer in the 9th. Final score: 14–11, Jacksonville

Awards: the MVPs for the week ending 9/14 were announced and Hickories closer Enigo Montoya was named. During this week, he notched 5 saves with a 0.0 ERA and 6 strikeouts. For the National League, former Hickory Josh Fields was one of the players named. During this week, he batted 524 with 5 homeruns and 9 RBIs.

PLAYOFF WATCH: While the Hickories took two of three from the Blue Jays, the Red Sox and Yankees each took two of three from the Orioles and Mariners, respectively, so the Yankees continue to be in first place by four games and the Hickories lead the wildcard race by one game over the Red Sox.

RED SOX

New faces on the Red Sox include 3B David Wright (BADDCC) and Boof Bonzer (94 CB SL – three, CB – two, CH – three). Gone are Josh Beckett (97 BA 2SF – two, DCB – four, FO – 5, CH – three, SFB – four) and Jonathan Papelbon (98 BE SL – two, SP – one)

9/15/08: with the Hickories ace, David Cohen (98 FB 2SF – two, HSL – two, SCB – one, CCH – one)*, on the mound, the Hickories took advantage of facing a Red Sox back end starter, Craig Hansen (97 DC HSL – one, CH – one), scoring three runs in the first two innings. The Red Sox tied the game in the bottom of the third on a Manny Ramirez two run home run. A sacrifice fly from Ryan Braun gave the Hickories a one run lead entering the sixth inning and extended that lead to two runs entering the seventh, when Buck Rogers doubled the Hickories lead with a two run home run. A Ryan Braun two run home run in the ninth inning gave the Hickories extra cushion. Final score: 9–3, Hickories

Comments: this was David Cohen's 14th win, giving him a shot to be a 15 game-winner in his rookie season. He is one of only nine pitchers in the major leagues with 14 or more wins.

* David improved his control and his two seam fastball since his last start

9/16/08: the ageless Tim Wakefield made the Hickories look like a minor-league team, flailing hopelessly at knuckleballs, until the 4th inning, when the Hickories pushed 5 runs across on two singles, three walks, three wild pitches, and a fielders choice. Gabe Kotter, meanwhile, may have pitched the gutsiest game of the Hickories' season, considering that he was pitching in blue condition against a powerful lineup. He surrendered only one run in 5–2/3 innings with three strikeouts. Final score: 9–4, Jacksonville

9/17/08: The Red Sox put up another back end starter. After giving up a solo homerun to Ryan Braun in the second, the Hickories scored two runs on a triple from Way Cool (batting 2nd while Plant was given the day off), who was doubled in by Lebowski, and then Braun hit a three run homerun. Braun hit another three run bomb his next time up. The game was an absolute embarrassment to the Red Sox who were down 11–0 before they scored their first run and only made the score semi-respectable in "garbage time." The Hickories starter, Sid Fernandez, was very strong, as was reliever Glass Joe, pitching for the first time since increasing his knuckleball from a level three to level four. Final score: 11–5, Jacksonville

Playoff watch: While the Hickories decisively swept the Red Sox, the Yankees swept the Orioles, maintaining a four game lead over the Hickories while the Hickories gave themselves a four game lead for the wildcard with 12 games to go.

YANKEES

9/19/13: This riveting game featured solid pitching (for the most part) from the Yankees Wang and the Hickories Pelfrey, but also had two 3 run homeruns (one by Jason Giambi and one by David Banner) as well as an Alex Rodriguez homerun. There were also three lead changes, with the Hickories grabbing the lead in the second inning and then again in the sixth. Final score: 7–5, Jacksonville

9/20/08: there is not much a batter can do against Andy Pettit when he is on his game, and he was on his game today. Even the Hickories power hitters seemed content just to try and make contact, and while they did threaten a couple of times, they were only able to push one run across in the fourth inning with the help of two singles sandwiching a stolen base. Fortunately, Sid Fernandez pitched a very solid game, taking a two hitter into the fifth inning. The left-hander used a drop curve against right-handers and his splitter against lefties to rack up four strikeouts in those first five innings. A Melky Cabrera homerun in the sixth tied the game. In the top of the seventh, the Hickories grabbed a two run lead when, with two outs, Way Cool stole second, scored on a single from Mays Hayes, who went to second on the throw home and then scored on a single from Robert Plant. Alex Rodriguez led off the bottom of the inning with a homerun and a Posada homerun tied the game two batters later. In the top the eighth, Ryan Braun hit the ball 492 feet off of a Yankees reliever with Buck Rogers on first. Jason Giambi pulled the Yankees to within a run with a ninth-inning homerun and Posada singled to represent the tying run on first, but then Enigo Montoya struck out Hideki Matsui to close out the game. Final score: 5–4, Hickories

COMMENTS: Against the Red Sox and, so far, against the Yankees, the Hickories are showing the ability to score runs with their speed, by stealing bases and getting runners into scoring position they are able to score with only two singles instead of the normal three. They are also showing solid pitching, with today's starter allowing three runs over 7–1/3 innings with eight strikeouts. While the Red Sox and Yankees also boast some top notch starters, the Hickories middle relief seem to be more effective, which could be a difference maker.

9/21/08: The Yankees struck first when Johnny Damon led off with a triple into the right field corner and then scored on a fielders choice. Jacksonville tied the game when Jordi Laforge led off the third with a single, stole second, and came home on a Cool single. The Hickories pulled ahead when Robert Plant and Jeff Lebowski did the same thing as Laforge and Cool the prior inning. Lebowski moved to second when Rogers singled to right field and both runners came home when Braun homerred to left. Hideki Matsui doubled two runners in. In the fifth, the hickories loaded the bases with no out, But only came away with one run on a fielders choice. In the bottom of the fifth, hickories starter Morris butter maker left with one run in and runners at second and third with one out, But a Giambi double and a Cano single polled the Yankees ahead. Jeff Lebowski let off the evening with a single and was promptly replaced by pinch runner Danny Zucko, but before Zucko could even attempt to steal, Buck Rogers belted a first pitch fastball over the centerfield wall to give the Hickories a one run lead. Hideki Matsui doubled in the tying and go-ahead runs in the bottom of the inning and added a third run before the inning was through. Mariano Rivera closed out the game. Final score: 10–8, Yankees.

Notes: Buttermaker pitched another solid game, which is not unusual, but his 5 strikeouts was a season-high for the pitcher who is generally thought of as not having a strikeout pitch. All five of his strikeouts came on slurves.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: while the Hickories took two of three from the Yankees, the Red Sox took two of three from the Blue Jays. The Hickories are now three games behind Yankees for first placement in the division and are four games ahead of the Red Sox for first place for the wild-card spot

In the National League, the Mets hold a three-game lead over the Braves and a four game lead over the Marlins in the East, with the second-place team in that division being the probable wildcard winner. The Dodgers won the Western division already and the Reds have a two game lead over the Astros in the Central division.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For the week ending 9/21, Ryan Braun was player of the week. He batted 462 with 6 homeruns and 17 RBIs during that span

RED SOX

9/22/08: Against Tim Wakefield, the Hickories were able to push a run across in the first inning when Mayes-Hayes led off with a single, stole second, moved to third on a fielders choice, and scored when Buck Rogers muscled the ball into centerfield. The Red Sox tied the game with the help of some sloppy fielding by the Hickories (first baseman Buck Rogers throwing to second late instead of getting the sure out at first, Robert Plant missing a ball that seemed to be in his range, and then Mayes-Hayes taking a bad route to a Pedroia hit that resulted in a bases clearing triple). David Ortiz capped the five run inning with a two run home run. Meanwhile, the Hickories were clearly looking to be very patient at the plate, and they did force Wakefield throw a lot of pitches, but the Hickories failed to make consistent contact. Hickories starter David Cohen was not able to finish the fifth inning, but that didn't stop the Red Sox from scoring more runs. In the seventh, Buck Rogers walked just before Ryan Braun homered on what was clearly a Tim Wakefield mistake pitch, but that is as close as the Hickories would come. Final score: 6–3, Boston

Notes: clearly a letdown considering the dominance the Hickories showed last time. About the only positive for the Hickories was that Roy Hobbs had a very solid relief outing, allowing one run on five hits over five innings with three strikeouts. Hobbs was the Hickories opening-day starter who not only lost his starting position, but lost his spot on the major-league roster when he just could not finish off hitters with two strikes. He was not even called up when the rosters initially expanded, but was only called up when Henry Jones was sent down due to his ineffectiveness in the middle innings.

9/23/08: Boof Bonser's first game against the Hickories got off to a rocky start as Jeff Lebowski homered to right field after Mays Hayes singled and Plant walked. The Red Sox came right back in the top the second, with the help of two hits down the rightfield line that were just outside the reach of first baseman Buck Rogers and an infield hit, but the Hickories grabbed the lead when Way Cool, who recently increased his speed to B, singled, stole second, and scored on a Crash Davis single to right. The Hickories added a run in the third and the fifth, and then scored three more in the seventh, two of them coming when Lebowski hit his second homerun of the day. Final score: 9–3, Hickories

9/2/08: against Matsuzaka, the Hickories were able to push a run across in the third on 4 singles, stranding a runner at third. David Banner led off the fourth with a deep homerun off of a 3–1 changeup. Matsuzaka was pitching well, but was little wild and the Hickories forced him into a lot of deep counts, leading to an early exit in the sixth inning, having thrown 83 pitches, while the hickories starter Mike Pelfrey completed the seventh inning. Boston relievers kept the Hickories off balance, but the Boston batters fared no better against the Hickories staff. Final score: 2–0, Jacksonville

PLAYOFF WATCH: While the Hickories won 2 of 3 against the Red Sox, the Yankees dropped 2 of 3 to the last-place Orioles, shrinking their hold on first place to 2 games over the Hickories, while the Hickories extended their grip on the wild-card lead to 5 games with 6 games remaining.

ORIOLES

9/25/08: after taking a two run lead in the first inning with a few singles and a double from Buck Rogers, David Banner and Crash Davis homered in the fourth, and Vandelay, filling in for Geordie Laforge, homered in the fifth. The Orioles Great Johnson drove in two runs in the fifth and a Luke Scott home run two innings later cut the Hickories lead to two. Great Johnson came to the plate again with runners in scoring position, but grounded into a double play, and the Orioles would not threaten again. Final score: 5–3, Jacksonville

9/26/08: A three run homerun by Buck Rogers off of a Daniel Cabrera outside fastball got things started in the first, and the Orioles came out swinging against Glass Joe, spot starting today, scoring one run on three hits. Neither team scored again until the sixth inning when the Orioles put together a rally against reliever Joe Smith and cut the Hickories lead to a single run. The Hickories got that run back in the top of the eighth when Buck Rogers hit his second homerun of the day. Final score: 4–2, Jacksonville

9/27/08: The Orioles were forced to use reliever Brian Burress (90 DD SL – one, CB – two, CH – two) as a starter today, and after escaping a first inning jam, surrendered a leadoff homerun to Ryan Braun in the 2nd. The Hickories stranded runners in scoring position in the third and fourth, and the Orioles grabbed the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Luke Scott homered with a runner on base. Jeff Lebowski hit a game-tying RBI single in the fifth off of an Orioles reliever. The Hickories broke the tie in the top of the ninth inning when Laforge singled home fill-in centerfielder Freeman McNeil, and then after Laforge stole second, Lebowski drove him, both runs coming in off of Felix Cabrera. When Buck Rogers stepped to the plate against Chad Bradford and hit a two run homerun, the game was all but won. Final score: 6–2, Jacksonville

COMMENTS: One start after Morris Buttermaker recorded his most strikeouts ever, he pitched a five hit complete game, striking out four in the process. While he relied on his slurve in his prior game, all four strikeouts in today's game came on his fosh.

The Hickories stole a season-high eight stolen bases today.

9/28/08: The Hickories scheduled starter, David Cohen, was a late scratch, reporting in purple condition. Jack Tripper (93 FB SLV – two, CB – two, SP – three, SC – two) started in his place. After the Hickories first two batters ground out on the Orioles starter's initial pitches, the Hickories made some noise, with Lebowski doubling, Rogers singling, and Braun homering off of Adam Loewen, a known slow starter. In the bottom of the inning, Luke Scott capped a productive 1/2-inning with a game-tying homerun. The Hickories scored a run in the second when Vandelay singled, stole second, and scored on a base hit from Crash Davis. After seven runners crossing the plate in the first 1 – 1/2 innings, neither team scored until the Orioles tied the game in the bottom of the sixth off of Joe Smith. In the eighth, Buck Rogers hit a 2 run home run to put the Hickories back on top. Jay Payton homered to lead off the bottom of the eighth, But the Hickories extended their lead to two runs in the ninth when Crash Davis singled, their pinch runner stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and then scored on a two out base hit by Way Cool Junior. Final score: 7–5, Jacksonville

PLAYOFF WATCH: While the Hickories completed a four game sweep of the Orioles, the Red Sox went 2 and 2 against the Athletics, and the Yankees went 2 and 2 against the Blue Jays. The Yankees and Hickories are now tied for first (98/62) with only two games left, and the loser being the wildcard winner, while the Red Sox are out of contention. Since the wildcard winner plays the division leader with the best record, the Yankees and Hickories are battling for home-field advantage during the first round of the playoffs.

The Hickories will play their last two games against of the Blue Jays while the Yankees square off against the Seattle Mariners. The Hickories are 8 and 10 against the Blue Jays, but won 2 of their last 3 and 4 of their last 6 games against the Jays. The Yankees are 10 and 8 against the Mariners.

MVP: For the week ending 9/28, Buck Rogers was one of the AL MVPs named. During this week, he batted 444 with 4 homeruns and 12 RBIs

I was looking over this earlier today, this has been great.

Thanks, PP27. It's been a fun season!

We hereby retract the above statement, since realizing that when the team with the best record and the wildcard winner on the same division, the team with the best division will play the division winning team with the worst record while the wildcard team plays the division winner with the second best record.

BLUE JAY'S

9/29/08: The Hickories took an early one run lead while the Blue Jays reached base, but were thrown out three times in that span. A Buck Rogers home run in the fourth doubled the Hickories lead and gave Buck Rogers 50 homeruns for the season. Braun doubled in two runs in the fifth. Kotter finally tired in the 7th and Joe Smith came in, but the Orioles loaded the bases before recording a single out at which point Enigo Montoya was called in. After recording the first out on a strikeout, Montoya allowed a double to Matt Stairs that brought in two runs and then another run scored on a fielders choice. The Hickories added a run in the ninth that would prove unnecessary, as Montoya easily retired the Hickories in the ninth. Final score: 5–3, Hickories.

Jacksonville is on a seven game winning streak, and have won their last 13 of 15 and 19 of 22.

9/30/08: Buck Rogers singled in Robert Plant, but the Blue Jays caught up when Buck Rogers allowed a ball to roll right through his legs and the Jay on second came around to score. The game remained tied at one until the seventh inning when the Blue Jays starter grooved a fastball on a 3–0 count that David Banner pummeled for a solo homerun. Hickories starter Mike Pelfrey was not perfect, but he was effective, coming out in the seventh inning after allowing runners to reach first and second with no out. With setup men Joe Smith and Mickey Shuler in blue condition, Glass Joe took the mound and allowed an infield hit before recording the first out, but then pinch-hitter Matt Stairs came to the plate and drilled a single that wound up going through the legs of Willie Mays Hayes, allowing 3 runners to score. The Jay's took a 2 run lead into the ninth and, against closer BJ Ryan, the Hickories started a rally and scored one run, but could not tie the game. Final score: 4–3, Blue Jays

PLAYOFF WATCH: while the Hickories split their two game series with the Blue Jays, the Yankees won both their games against the Mariners, outscoring the basement-dwelling Mariners 21 – 8, earning the AL east division title. Thus, the Hickories are the AL wild card winner.

The Tigers are the AL Central division champs (93/69) and the Angels are the Western division leaders (84/78). Since the Yankees have the best record in the AL, they will square off against the Angels while the Hickories take on the Tigers.

In the National League, the Mets edged out the Braves by two games to win the NL East, and as with the AL east, the NL East teams have a two best records in their League, making the Braves the wildcard winner at 94 and 68. At 89 and 73, the Reds are the central division winner and the Dodgers won the Western division awhile ago, finishing 86 and 76.

Almost an amazing comeback to win the division. Great season.

DIVISION PLAYOFF SERIES – JACKSONVILLE HICKORIES THE DETROIT TIGERS

Since the Tigers trade of shortstop Edgar Renteria, Carlos Guillen (CBBCDD) has shifted from first to short and Mike Sweeney (DEEBEC) is the Tigers every day first baseman, both players having less range then the players they replaced.

This should be an interesting matchup, as the Hickories led the league in steels by a large margin, but the Tigers have, arguably, the best catcher in the history of the game (with, arguably, the best eyebrows). The Tigers boast a lineup with seven hitters having a power rating of B or A, but the Hickories staff leads the league in ground balls.

10/5/08: Although the Hickories would have preferred to go with their number one starter, David Cohen, or their number two starter, Gabe Kotter, neither was sufficiently recovered from their last outing, forcing the Hickories to stay with their regular rotation and number four starter Sid Fernandez (88 EB HSL – two, DCB – one, SP – three, H SH – two) squaring off against the Tigers Jeremy Bonderman (95 CA 2SF – one, SLV – three, CH – two). The Hickories scored a run when Buck Rogers doubled with runners at first and second, but when Ryan Braun lofted a deep fly ball to right field corner, Lebowski actually took too big a lead off third and was unable to tag up ultimately costing the Hickories a second run. In the third inning, both teams stranded runners at third, Robert Plant reaching on a one-out single, followed by a stolen base and a wild pitch, while the Tigers eight and nine hitters led off with a singles and then Jaque Jones reached 3rd when Granderson hit into a 5–4–3 double-play. The Hickories Sid Fernandez escaped a big jam in the fourth when Miguel Cabrera and Magglio Ordonez led off the inning with singles. Carlos Guillen grounded into a fielders choice at third, but things got really dicey when the Tigers did a double steal. Sheffield swung through the drop curve and Davis looked to have the lead runner out at third, but Lebowski did not cleanly handle the throw. Fernandez got out of the Jam by striking out Sheffield on the next pitch and then inducing Rodriguez to ground out to third. The Hickories stranded runners at second and third in the fifth, but scored two runs when Lebowski sliced an RBI single to right center field and, two batters later, Ryan Braun doubled off the right centerfield fence. In the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers started the inning with two consecutive singles for the third inning a row, and Sid Fernandez' luck ran out as he was pulled after allowing four runs without recording an out, capped by a Gary Sheffield double off the centerfield fence. Jack Tripper entered the game and closed out the inning, but not before allowing a fifth run. The Tigers Zumaya entered to start the seventh and dominated the Hickories for two innings with his fastball. Tigers closer Tom Jones handled the ninth easily. Final score: 5–3, Tigers

Note: Hickories were 1 for 2 in steal attempts.

10/6/08: Ryan Braun scored first run of the game when he doubled off of Justin Verlander in the second inning and came home on a single to center, and Buck Rogers doubled the Hickories lead when he lofted a flyball that just cleared left-field fence in the fourth. Later in the same inning, singles from Banner, Cool, and Davis led to a third run. Meanwhile, John McClain allowed only three hits and zero runs through four innings. Tigers Mike Sweeney knocked in the first Tigers run in the fifth, and when Granderson singled in a 2nd run, McClain exited in favor of Joe Smith. With runners at first and second, Smith allowed the tying run to score. I the sixth, the Hickories pulled ahead when David Banner singled, went to third on a successful hit and run with LaForge, and then scored on a fielders choice hit into by Cool. The Hickories added a run in the seventh against the Tigers bullpen when Robert Plant scored on a fielders choice. Meanwhile, setup man Mickey Shuler, who usually just pitches one inning, pitched a solid 2–2/3 innings of one-hit shutout ball, and Montoya closed out the 9th, striking out tow in the process. Final score: 5–3, Jacksonville

Thanks. I was hoping it would end in a tie, requiring a one game playoff.