November, 2013

2013 Playoffs Preview

Team	W-L	RS	RA	DIFF	Home	Road	OPS	OPS vL	OPS vR	ERA	Opp OPS	OPS vL	OPS vR
	113-47	910	554	356	64-16	49-31	.817	.782	.844	3.12	.650	.650	.650
	89-71	781	689	92	53-27	36-44	.752	.727	.767	3.96	.718	.676	.750

The New Milford Blazers won 8 out of every 10 games they played at home this season.

Chew on that for a moment.

Done?  How did that taste?

New Milford's 64 wins at home is an all-time BDBL record.  #3 on that list?  The 2012 Blazers (with 61 home wins.)  No, this is no sheer coincidence.  GM Anthony Peburn has intentionally exploited the game's often controversial and misleading ballpark factors with extraordinary results.  Peburn understands better than anyone how important home field advantage is to his team's chances of success.  New Milford went an astounding 23-5 in the final chapter, and they needed nearly every one of those wins in order to lock in home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

You may recall that New Milford owned home-field advantage throughout the post-season last year as well.  They played three games at home in the Division Series, and won two of them, which enabled them to advance to the next round.  The LCS also went six games, but New Milford dropped two of their three games at home, allowing the Sylmar Padawans to coast to the World Series (and eventually the championship.)  As I've mentioned a few dozen times on the league forum, "home-field advantage" is only a true advantage if a series goes the full seven games.

As has been well-documented on this page all season, the Blazers owe a great deal of their success this season to their offense's rate of hits on balls in play, and their defense's ability to limit hits on balls in play.  Offensively, the Blazers ranked #1 in the BDBL this season with a .324 BIP average (24 points above the league average), and defensively, New Milford also ranked #1 in lowest BIP average at .270 (30 points below average.)

Of all the nonsensical performances on the Blazers this season, Robinson Cano's ranks highest.  The likely MVP posted yet another brilliant season (.339/.405/.598, 48 2B, 39 HR, and a league-leading 162.8 runs created) while playing gold glove defense at second base.  Despite atrocious numbers against lefties in MLB, he managed to hit a respectable .281/.346/.376 against southpaws in the BDBL.  And against righties, he posted numbers that would make Babe Rute envious: .386/.452/.777.  This, despite going from an MLB ballpark with a LH HR factor of 150 to the Blazers' more "modest" 120.  Go figure.

Originally tabbed to be the team's center fielder, David Ortiz eventually settled into a pinch hitting role, and slugged .322/.400/.805 in just 174 at-bats.  Adrian Gonzalez (.315/.378/.538, 58 2B, 27 HR) turned in yet another brilliant season despite having a down year in MLB, and despite moving into a more hitter-friendly MLB park.  Matt Carpenter (.291/.367/.512), Garrett Jones (.265/.310/.503) and David Murphy (.315/.375/.444) also enjoyed stellar campaigns.  Even catcher Alex Avila (.271/.385/.413) managed to have a productive season despite embarrassing MLB numbers.

You would think that playing in such a hitter's ballpark would have a deleterious effect on the Blazers' pitching staff, but you would be wrong.  Clayton Kershaw followed up his Cy Young 2012 season with an even better season in 2013, going 28-6 with a 2.59 ERA in 250+ innings.  C.J. Wilson had an "off" season in MLB, but that didn't deter him from finishing with 19 wins and a 3.36 ERA that ranks second to Kershaw in the OL.  Travis Blackley, a journeyman #5 starter who pitched in the Pitcher's Paradise of Oakland in MLB 2012, somehow managed to go 13-1 for the Blazers this season, with a 3.50 ERA in 118 innings.  Matt Moore, a rookie who also pitches in a pitcher-friendly MLB park, racked up 18 wins for New Milford, to go along with a 3.79 ERA in 194+ innings.

And then there is the New Milford bullpen, which simply defies all rational explanation.  If their bullpen were a single pitcher, he would easily win the Cy Young over Kershaw.  Imagine a starting pitcher who compiled a 1.96 ERA in 229+ innings, with just 145 hits allowed, only 53 walks, and 240 K's.  That's the New Milford bullpen of Jason Grilli, Jon Rauch, Brett Anderson, Jeremy Horst and Michael Kirkman.  Seriously.  No, I don't know who most of those guys are, either.  I had to look up some of their first names.

That home-field advantage the Blazers will enjoy throughout the post-season may play a big factor in the outcome of the Division Series, given that their opponents, the Ravenswood Infidels, lost all six games they played at New Milford's Nestle's Field this season.  Ravenswood won four out of the six games they played against the Blazers at home.

No team in the Ozzie League won more games against the teams in their own division than the Infidels.  They posted a .729 winning percentage against Benes Division teams, and a .482 winning percentage against everyone else on their schedule.  The Infidels ranked around the middle of the BDBL in nearly every category imaginable, which indicates that they were both well-balanced and not particularly strong in any specific area.

They ranked 16th in the BDBL in OPS against lefties (.729), and went just 32-36 in games started by a left-hander.  Given that they'll be facing four left-handed starters and a bullpen filled with lefties in this Division Series, that doesn't bode well for them.

Their biggest weapons against southpaws this season were Ty Wigginton (.305/.378/.557), Jerry Hairston (.342/.384/.496) and Cody Ransom (.342/.384/.496), and they picked up another big lefty-killer at the Chapter Four deadline in Nick Swisher (.299/.376/.402).  Overall, their best hitter this season was their big, $14.5 million free agent signing, Chase Headley, who hit .270/.366/.472 overall, with 29 homers and 115 runs created.  But Headley was practically a non-factor (.241/.310/.404) against left-handers, which depresses his potential impact in this series.

On the hill, staff ace Mark Buehrle (16-11, 3.81 ERA in 224+ IP) was one of the league's better starting pitchers against left-handed hitters, as he held them to a .220/.293/.315 triple-slash line -- the 12th-lowest OPS against lefties in the BDBL this season among pitchers with 150+ innings.  At #16 in that ranking is Buehrle's teammate Wei-Yin Chen (12-12 overall, with a 5.46 ERA).  Together, those two southpaws may be able to contain Robinson Cano, Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Carpenter, Alex Avila and Garrett Jones in the Blazers lineup, and keep David Ortiz on the bench for as long as possible.

Given the huge disparity in performance by these two teams this season, the track record of both teams at home and on the road, and the platoon advantage of New Milford's pitching staff, it's safe to say that the Infidels should be considered the underdogs in this matchup.

Team	W-L	RS	RA	DIFF	Home	Road	OPS	OPS vL	OPS vR	ERA	Opp OPS	OPS vL	OPS vR
	109-51	792	568	224	56-24	53-27	.793	.834	.783	3.12	.655	.657	.653
	91-69	694	627	67	50-30	41-39	.708	.734	.700	3.55	.699	.725	.683

For the sixth time in history, the Ridgebacks finished the season with 100 or more wins.  In five of those six seasons, they went on to win the BDBL championship.  Like the Blazers, the Ridgebacks enjoyed a great deal of success at home, going 56-24 (.700).  Unlike the Blazers, the Ridgebacks were equally successful on the road (53-27, .663).  Oddly enough, they were one of only six BDBL teams that won more than half of their games on the road this season.  They also had more come-from-behind wins (13) than any other team in the league, and owned the best record in one-run games (26-17) in the BDBL.

That last factoid is a reflection of Allentown's stellar bullpen.  As was reported by Tom DiStefano last month, reliever Brad Ziegler managed to pitch this entire season -- 63 innings -- without allowing a single earned run.  It is an astounding feat that has never occurred before in the BDBL, and yet it was one of only several outstanding performances by Allentown relievers this season.  Koji Uehara (0.93 ERA in 38+ IP), Junichi Tazawa (1.89 ERA in 47+ IP) and Darren O'Day (2.12 ERA in 72+ IP) all enjoyed tremendous seasons as well.  Combined, those four relievers accounted for 21 wins this season.

DiStefano went all-in this winter, bidding $10 million on Jake Peavy in the auction, and that bid paid huge dividends this season.  Peavy was the only 20-game winner in the EL, and also led the league in ERA (2.35), while holding opposing batters to a microscopic .219/.268/.334 batting line.  He was joined by Gio Gonzalez (18-8, 3.01 ERA in 218+ IP) and Tim Hudson (13-7, 3.50 ERA in 195+ IP) in a formidable starting rotation.  DiStefano has a few different options to use as his Game 4 starter: Colby Lewis (4.94 ERA in 114+ IP), AJ Griffin (3.71 ERA in 89+ IP) and Andy Pettitte (3.97 ERA in 81+ IP).

Offensively, the talk of the pre-season was the potential impact that rookie Mike Trout would have on the league, and he did not disappoint.  He turned in an MVP-caliber performance, batting .333/.408/.581 with 17 triples, 32 homers, 136 runs scored and 37 stolen bases.  He was surrounded in the lineup by Allentown mainstay Ryan Braun (.301/.368/.554, 37 HR, 126.7 RC), young slugger Giancarlo Stanton (.282/.342/.622, 48 HR, 133 RBI), all-star catcher Carlos Santana (.269/.377/.428, 18 HR) and an oddly-dominant Jeff Keppinger (.348/.390/.504).

Incredibly, despite the fact that the Ridgebacks and Akron Ryche have been post-season mainstays throughout the past 15 years, they have only met in the post-season once before, way back in 2003.  At that time, the Ryche had a perennial Cy Young contender at the top of their rotation named Pedro Martinez.  In 10 seasons with Akron, Martinez won an astounding four Cy Young awards.  In that same season of 2003, Akron GM DJ Shepard made a trade with the Salem Cowtippers at the Chapter Two deadline where he acquired a college sophomore pitcher by the name of Justin Verlander.  Of course, he has now replaced Martinez as this franchise's perennial Cy Young contender.

This season, Verlander followed up his 2012 Cy Young season by posting a 19-7 record with a 2.82 ERA in 252 innings, and 247 K's.  His numbers compare favorably with Peavy's, and Game One is already shaping up to be a classic pitcher's duel.  Johnny Cueto (13-8, 3.74 ERA in 233+ IP) and Cole Hamels (12-10, 4.09 ERA in 233+ IP) are perfectly capable of holding their own against the likes of Gonzalez and Hudson in the #2 and #3 spots in the rotation.  The problem arises in Game 4, where Akron seems to have no viable option.  They scraped together 44 starts this season from Ted Lilly, Erasmo Ramirez, Jhoulys Chacin, Drew Smyly and Cole De Vries -- none of whom are eligible to start in the playoffs.  The only starter remaining on the roster is Tommy Hanson, who was atrocious (3-7, 5.61 ERA, 91 H and 19 HR in 78+ IP) this season.  Luckily, Verlander, Cueto and Hamels are all rated Vg or Ex for durability, so Akron can go with a three-man rotation.

If Shepard does decide to go with a three-man rotation, it would put a strain on his bullpen.  Luckily for him, his bullpen has enough depth and talent to rise to the occasion.  David Hernandez (1.89 ERA in 71+ IP), Troy Patton (1.94 ERA in 55+ IP and Joe Smith (1.95 ERA in 73+ IP) each finished the season with an ERA below 2.00.  Javy Guerra (2.10 ERA in 25+ IP) just missed that mark, and Lilly (2.87 ERA in 53+ IP) and Ramirez (2.98 ERA in 63+ IP) can be carried on the roster and used in relief.  Joe Nathan (3.20 ERA in 64+ IP) gives Akron a SEVENTH quality bullpen arm if needed.

On the mound, Akron matches up well against their opponents.  What about at the plate?  The Ryche finished in the middle of the pack (13th out of 24 teams) in runs scored this season, and scored nearly 100 runs fewer than Allentown.  They also hit just 112 home runs as a team, which is the second lowest total in the BDBL.  They stole just 49 bases, and were caught stealing nearly 30% of the time they attempted it, so they excelled at neither "big-ball" nor "small-ball."

The Akron team leader in runs created this season was little Jon Jay, who racked up only 78.6 runs created, while batting .317/.371/.431 with just 3 homers.  Like the #4 spot in their starting rotation, Akron's lineup was a "team effort" that involved patching together several short-usage players at nearly every position.  Incredibly, only two batters on the entire Akron roster managed to rack up more than 500 at-bats: David Freese (.260/.339/.417) and Dan Uggla (.237/.315/.375).  Freese led the team with 19 homers, and tied Uggla for the team lead in RBI's with 74.  Shortstop Elliot Johnson (.333/.393/.473) led the team in batting average and OBP, but in only 294 at-bats.

This patchwork Akron lineup has its work cut out for them.  Although Akron and Allentown match up fairly well on the mound, the Ryche are incredibly overmatched offensively.  Not surprisingly, Allentown dominated their regular season match-ups against Akron, winning 9 out of 12, including 9 of their last 10.  This is a classic BDBL post-season mismatch.

Team	W-L	RS	RA	DIFF	Home	Road	OPS	OPS vL	OPS vR	ERA	Opp OPS	OPS vL	OPS vR
	94-66	788	657	131	57-23	37-43	.770	.722	.803	3.83	.716	.730	.703
	93-67	864	782	82	54-26	39-41	.805	.891	.766	4.65	.753	.763	.742

Neither of these two teams were supposed to be here.  In pre-season polling, the Flagstaff Outlaws were the favorites to win the Griffin Division by a vote of 9-5 (with 2 people voting for Dieppe for some reason.)  Just before Opening Day, Undertakers GM Jeff Paulson traded Glen Perkins and Rafael Soriano in exchange for prospects, giving some the impression that he wasn't playing to win in 2013.  "This season definitely feels like a placeholder year," I wrote on this page in my Pre-Season Preview, "where the Undertakers are simply holding steady until their next wave of franchise players matures."  It wasn't easy by any means, and Los Altos needed 159 games to do it, but in the end they walked away with their 10th division title.

A large part of the team's success this season is owed to their home ballpark.  The Graveyard favors left-handed power hitters, and lefties like Jason Heyward (.279/.358/.489, 23 HR), Ike Davis (.251/.347/.572, 44 HR), Raul Ibanez (.247/.307/.467, 13 HR in 255 AB) and Brian McCann (.223/.283/.355, 15 HR) took full advantage of that.  Los Altos won more games at home (57) than any other team in the league aside from New Milford.  They posted a .713 winning percentage at home, and just .463 on the road.  That 250-point disparity is the widest in the BDBL.

Aside from those lefties, Chris Nelson (.301/.356/.422), Jonny Gomes (.294/.405/.588, 23 HR) and Ian Desmond (.281/.316/.504, 28 HR) also had productive seasons at the plate.  And on the mound, Matt Cain (18-9, 3.64 ERA in 240 IP) and Matt Harrison (10-5, 3.38 ERA in 125+ IP) were very solid throughout the year.  Jon Lester had a Jekyl-and-Hyde season where he posted a 5-13 record and a 5.55 ERA in the first four chapters, and then went 8-2 with a 3.81 ERA down the stretch.

As always, the Los Altos bullpen was phenomenal.  Sean Doolittle (1.81 ERA in 44+ IP) and Jordan Norberto (2.45 ERA in 51+ IP) set the stage from the left-hand side, and Ernesto Frieri (3.13 ERA in 63+ IP, 17 SV) and Ryan Cook (3.45 ERA in 70+ IP, 13 SV) split the closing duties.  But perhaps the best pitcher on this team, inning-for-inning, is Brandon Beachy (6-2, 2.73 ERA in 89 IP), who barely qualifies to start in the post-season.  Although he will be limited to just one start (6 1/3 innings), that will be enough to make an impact in a short series.

As for the Cowtippers, they weren't supposed to be here, either.  Back on April 3rd, after losing a series against the lowly New York Giants, the Cowtippers' winning percentage fell below .400, and I immediately placed a "White Flag Sale" post on the Selling forum.  Less than a week later, I shipped off Jose Reyes and James Shields to the Chicago Black Sox in exchange for Starlin Castro and Gavin Floyd.

In retrospect, although that trade was supposed to have been made with the future in mind, Castro (.320/.352/.541, 12 3B, 14 HR in 388 AB for Salem) ended up being a major upgrade over Reyes (.254/.315/.390 for Salem) at shortstop.  And Floyd (11-4, 5.38 ERA in 105+ IP for Salem) wasn't that much of a downgrade from Shields (1-6, 4.63 ERA in 83+ IP).  As often happens, the Cowtippers caught fire at that point, and finished the chapter with a respectable 17-11 performance, which put them one game behind in the OL wild card race.  And by the end of the chapter, I made a pivot from seller to buyer, acquiring NL Cy Young winner RA Dickey in a trade with the Las Vegas Flamingos.

Although there were great expectations surrounding Dickey, given his MLB performance in 2012, he was a grave disappointment for most of the season.  In 26 starts with Salem, Dickey posted a 9-11 record with a 5.27 ERA, and 198 hits allowed in 164 innings.  His mysterious failure on the mound was reflective of a season-long pattern for the Cowtippers, as nearly every pitcher on the roster underperformed relative to his MLB performance.  Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 3.65 ERA in 175 IP) posted an ERA that was 50 points higher than his MLB number.  Yovani Gallardo (14-12, 4.51 ERA in 223+ IP) overshot his MLB ERA by nearly a full run.  And Paul Maholm's ERA (5.32) was nearly TWO runs higher than his MLB ERA.  Even Craig Kimbrel, who had one of the greatest seasons ever for a closer in MLB 2012, saw his ERA (2.70) jump by over a run and a half.  He also allowed 6 homers on the season (double his MLB total), and blew 4 saves.

The Cowtippers' team ERA of 4.65 ranks 20th out of the 24 teams in the BDBL.  Not only did Salem allow more runs than any other post-season team this season, but the next closest total is 93 runs fewer!  Salem managed to eke into the post-season despite their atrocious pitching.  And the reason for that is their high-octane offense, which scored more runs (864) than any team in the BDBL this season, with the exception of the Blazers.  Melky Cabrera (.355/.400/.524), Yadier Molina (.328/.370/.530, 27 HR) and Dustin Pedroia (.317/.365/.533, 27 HR) each created more than 100 runs this season.  Casper Wells (.288/.347/.549) provided phenomenal production in a platoon role.  And Ryan Zimmerman (.267/.314/.457, 23 HR), Ryan Ludwick (.267/.315/.537, 29 HR), Hunter Pence (.251/.302/.452, 15 HR) and BJ Upton (.250/.311/.476, 19 HR) also made major contributions to the Salem lineup.

The last time these two teams met in the post-season, during the 2010 Division Series, the Undertakers were heavy favorites after finishing that season with 113 wins and a runs differential of nearly 400.  Yet, the 4th-seeded Cowtippers somehow swept them from the playoffs on their way to yet another World Series defeat at the hands of the Allentown Ridgebacks.

Oddly enough, you have to go all the way back to 2002 to find another playoffs match-up between these two perennial playoff contenders.  In that series, the Undertakers were once again heavily-favored as the #1 seed in the Ozzie League.  And once again, the Cowtippers managed to eke by them in seven games when they broke a scoreless tie in the 7th, and then put the game out of reach by scoring six runs in the 8th inning.  Once again, Salem advanced to the World Series.  And once again, they lost to Allentown.

You have to go all the way back to 2000 to find a post-season series between these two teams that was won by the Undertakers.  They took that best-of-five Division Series in four games.  Of course, the regular season is an entirely different story.  Los Altos has dominated Salem throughout league history, and this season was no different.  In a dozen meetings, the Undertakers won 7 of those games.  However, Salem managed better more recently.  Los Altos won the first 6 games, and then Salem took 5 of the next 6.

With the Undertakers holding home-field advantage in this series, Salem will have to use Maholm in Games Two and Six to hold the Undertakers' lefties at arm's length.  5 of the Cowtippers' 6 losses to Los Altos this year came on the road, as there are only two batters in the Salem lineup who can take advantage of Los Altos' comfy dimensions: Cabrera and first baseman Anthony Rizzo.  Meanwhile, Los Altos will most likely have no choice but to start left-handers Harrison and Lester against a Salem lineup that led the BDBL in OPS against left-handers (.891).  This promises to be a competitive and very tightly-fought series.

Team	W-L	RS	RA	DIFF	Home	Road	OPS	OPS vL	OPS vR	ERA	Opp OPS	OPS vL	OPS vR
	100-60	823	594	229	51-29	49-31	.753	.788	.739	3.37	.682	.716	.658
	95-65	719	615	104	50-30	45-35	.729	.731	.728	3.54	.684	.733	.645

On the final day of the season, just moments before the 10:00pm deadline, Andrew McCutchen stepped to the plate in the 8th inning of a game against the St. Louis Apostles and popped out to left field.  That one plate appearance proved to be extremely costly, as it put McCutchen 9 PA's over his limit.  Had he come to the plate just ONE fewer time, he would have been eligible for the Division Series (with a $1 million penalty.)  But as it stands, he has been suspended, and cannot return to the lineup unless the SoCal Slyme make it past the Kansas Law Dogs.  And that will be no easy feat, even with McCutchen.

McCutchen, who hit .282/.347/.493 on the season, with 33 home runs, 127 runs scored and 118 RBI's, will likely be replaced in center field with someone named Ezequiel Carrera, who remarkably outperformed his MLB numbers this season, batting .337/.374/.489 in just 92 at-bats, mostly against left-handers.  Against right-handers, SoCal may be able to shift someone to center and insert Donovan Solano (.313/.340/.372 overall, .333/.373/.408 vs. RH) into the lineup.  Either way, it is a considerable downgrade.

Fortunately for SoCal fans, their team has three other tremendous hitters in their lineup to take up the slack left by McCutchen.  Alex Gordon (.357/.432/.535, 61 2B) led the Eck League in average, OBP and doubles, racked up 203 hits, and led the team with 132.5 runs created.  Catcher Wilin Rosario hit .304/.383/.583 with 23 homers, and Matt Holliday slugged .293/.349/.477 with 39 doubles and 18 homers.  As a team, the Slyme ranked #1 in the Eck League in runs scored (823), and were the only EL team to top 800 runs scored this season -- the first time in league history that has ever happened.

The SoCal pitching staff ranked #2 in the EL with a 3.37 ERA, and led the league in fewest hits allowed per nine.  Like the New Milford Blazers, the Slyme also fared very well on balls in play, both offensively and defensively.  They ranked #2 in lowest BIP average (.277) defensively, and #1 among all Eck League teams in BIP average (.315) offensively.  The off-season trade of Yu Darvish was barely felt, as Felix Hernandez (13-11, 3.25 ERA in 243+ IP), Jarrod Parker (10-6, 3.42 ERA in 179 IP) and Kyle Lohse (11-8, 3.48 ERA) all pulled their weight in the starting rotation.  If they choose to use a four-man rotation in the playoffs, the #4 spot will likely belong to Ryan Vogelsong (4.34 ERA in 174 IP), who owned the highest ERA on the team.

The bullpen, led by closer Grant Balfour (10-3, 2.06 ERA in 70 IP, 38 SVs), was phenomenal.  Balfour was backed by Charlie Furbush (1.79 ERA in 40+ IP), Jonathan Papelbon (2.10 ERA in 73 IP), and recently-acquired lefty Darren Oliver (2.18 ERA in 45+ IP on the season.)

The story of the 2013 Kansas Law Dogs has been well-documented on this page this season.  Their season ended last year with a Division Series loss to the Chicago Black Sox.  They then followed that with a massive trade with the Mississippi Meatballs, where they dumped more than $40 million in salary.  GM Chris Luhning then spent all of that money on a deep free agent class, signing Zack Greinke, Hiroki Kuroda and Jered Weaver at a combined total of $31.5 million.  Greinke (13-13, 4.08 ERA in 222+ IP), Kuroda (15-10, 4.13 ERA in 229 IP) and Weaver (10-10, 4.43 ERA in 201 IP) ended up forming the back end of a starting rotation fronted by carryovers from the 2012 season: Doug Fister (16-5, 2.60 ERA in 173 IP) and Kris Medlen (13-7, 3.38 ERA in 149+ IP).

Just minutes before the winter trading deadline, Luhning made another huge trade, acquiring closer Fernando Rodney from Akron in exchange for Jayson Werth and Joe Smith.  Not only did he rid himself of another $4.6 million in salary, but he also convinced Akron GM DJ Shepard to defer his half of the deal to Chapter One, saving another $5 million.  Rodney was as good as expected, as he led the league in saves (45) and posted a 1.74 ERA in 72+ innings.  Josh Kinney (1.76 ERA in 30+ IP) and Jim Johnson (1.98 ERA in 68+ IP) also posted sub-2.00 ERA's out of the Kansas bullpen.  As a whole, the Kansas bullpen, including Rodney, Kinney, Johnson, Aaron Crow, Tim Collins and Cory Luebke, posted a microscopic 2.25 ERA in over 339 innings.

Luhning's winter dealings also included a less-publicized deal with the Granite State Lightning that nevertheless had a big impact on the Kansas offense.  In that early December trade, Luhning sent catcher Miguel Montero to the Lightning in exchange for second baseman Aaron Hill.  Hill ended up hitting .296/.334/.531 for the Law Dogs this season, with 32 homers and 108 runs created.  He would be the team's MVP if not for the presence of Adam LaRoche, a holdover from the 2012 season.  Laroche led the Law Dogs in doubles (44), home runs (44), runs scored (113), RBI's (141) and runs created (134.2).  Franchise mainstay Carlos Gonzalez (.280/.350/.473, 18 HR) also had a fine year at the plate.

If you were to remove Andrew McCutchen's 114.4 runs created from SoCal's total, that would give them fewer runs created (698) than the Law Dogs (703) this season.  Of course, real baseball isn't so cut and dried, but it illustrates how closely-matched these teams may be offensively.  They are very closely-matched on the mound as well, which means these games could very well be decided in the late innings.  And if that is truly the case, then Kansas has a decided advantage thanks to their dominant bullpen.  The Law Dogs enjoyed a 7-5 advantage over the Slyme during the regular season, and I believe we will see them come out on top in this series.