October 27^th, 2011
featuring Serenity Summers, A.K & Nelly

Planetary Extreme Championship
Breakdown

Game 1 Breakdown
Serenity
The Featherheads drew first blood against the Borealis in the game.  George Thompson, who worked out of a first and third jam in the first inning, was not so lucky in the second.  Thompson loaded the bases with two consecutive full count walks and a single.  Struggling to find his command, he followed that up with a wild pitch that plated the first run of the game.  Thompson would settle down to retire the next three batters to limit the damage only to one run. 

The lead would be short-lived for Cedric Mosley and Florida.  In the bottom of the frame, the veteran Augusto Quiñones led off the inning with a smoking triple down the right field line.  With zero outs and a man on third, the scene was set for the highly anticipated confrontation – Mark Richardson‘s first at bat against his former team.  To the delight of Featherhead fans, Richardson struck out looking on a 1-2 fastball.  John Knight would pick up his teammate with a game-tying single.

Florida struck back quickly to regain the lead.  Having shown patience all season long, Miyata and Morimoto capitalized on Thompson’s wildness by drawing two consecutive walks to start the top of the third inning.  After a Michael Kelly strikeout, manager Jaime Sánchez made a rather peculiar call.  He called for a double steal in which Miyata was thrown out at third.  Now with two outs, it was up to the rookie Luis Torres to atone for his manager’s mistake.  Torres laced a line drive double in the gap to plate Morimoto and push Florida ahead, 2-1.  Needing just one out, Thompson failed to shut the door.  After a Luis López single placed runs at the corners, Charles Jeffries planted an 0-2 hanging slider into the right field seats for a 3-run homer.  In total, Florida stunned Aurora with 4 runs in the top of the third.

Aurora was equally as quick in striking back in the bottom of the frame.  Failing once again to secure a shutdown inning, Mosley surrendered a monstrous 2-run, 430-foot homer to Jim White.  After a Wilson Berry ground out, Chris Weaver and Quiñones delivered back-to-back singles to rally up another scoring threat.  The duo successfully pulled off a double steal to once again set the stage for Richardson to do some damage.  Similar to his first at bat, “Ice Cold” came up empty by striking out on a 3-2 fastball.  However, Mosley was not out of the woods.  The dangerous John Knight stepped into the batter’s box and sneaked a single past the reach of shortstop Roberto Merán for a 2-run game-tying single.  The Florida skipper had seen enough out of his All-Star pitcher.  Making the call to the bullpen, Tu-an Sima recorded the final out of the inning.  The damage was done, however.  After three innings, the game was tied 5-5.

Aurora’s 4-run outburst seemingly lit a flame under Thompson’s you-know-what.  The flamethrower notched his first 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth with three fly outs.  Sensing that momentum may be shifting onto Aurora’s side, rookie Cory Pierce hit a groundball single up the middle to start the bottom of the fourth.  Leadoff man Steve McDonald followed with a weak dribbler which pitcher Sima was forced to make a play on.  Fielding the ball off-balance, Sima tried to make bang-bang throw to get the lead runner.  His gamble backfired and the ball sailed into center field.  With two on and zero outs, Sima danced around trouble by recording a strikeout and fly out.  Once again, Aurora showed its timely, clutch hitter.  Weaver placed a drop shot double down the left field line.  Pierce scored easily, but the former All-Leather recipient Miyata pulled off a fantastic relay to Merán to mow down McDonald at the plate.  Saving a run, Aurora settled for one run to go ahead 6-5.

Thompson, who was really settling in now, pitched through a harmless top of the fifth.  Aurora would again threaten in the bottom of the inning to really blow open the game.  Sima opened the inning by committing his second error in the game in as many innings.  He inexplicably muffed a routine toss by Morimoto at first base.  With Quiñones at first on the error, Richardson had the opportunity to redeem himself.  The former Featherhead would not receive a chance however.  On a questionable a pitch, Sima plunked Richardson with the first offering.  Knight followed that up with a walk to load the bases.  In what could have been a disastrous inning, Sima calmed himself down by collecting a timely 1-2-3 double play off the bat of José Rivera to prevent a run from scoring.  Afterwards, a harmless fly ball left Aurora empty-handed.

Again, Thompson cruised through the top of the sixth and collected two strikeouts along the way to push his total up to six strikeouts on the day.  In the bottom of the sixth, Aurora extended their lead by 3 runs – 2 of which came courtesy of a Quiñones 2-run home run.  After six innings, the score was 9-5 in favor of Aurora.

The 2-run home run seemingly deflated the spirits of the Featherheads as they failed to mount much of a scoring opportunity for the rest of the game.  Quiñones, who was having a tremendous day, added another solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to make the final score 10-5 in favor of Aurora.

Nelly
Game 1 of the PEC clearly showed which team had experience in their favor.  The Featherheads played with a deer in the headlights syndrome.  3 errors, 2 hit batsmen and 17 hits given up is a good recipe for defeat.  Shoot, I have not seen that many hits since Thriller was released.  Apparently, Richardson must have thought he was playing for Florida because he was terrible, too.  The guy went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts!  My grandma can hit a piñata better!  As bad as Richardson was, Mosley and his teammates were much worse. 

Mosley did not even make it through three innings.  He ended up giving up eight hits and five runs.  Maybe you can blame that on PEC jitters, but Mosley is a veteran.  He’s been here before.  He surely didn’t play like a veteran, though.  Florida should void his contract because I know that was not a $7.5 million performance!  It was not even a $750 performance.  Tu-an Sima, the man who relieved Mosley, did not fare any better.  The young fella committed two costly errors.  Heck, he even plunked Mark Richardson!  I would give Sima the benefit of the doubt and say the bean ball was an intentional message sent to Richardson, but let’s face it; the kid was about to wet himself in his diaper.

I don’t normally praise players or teams, but you gotta give Aurora their props.  They played one heckuva ball game.  Their batters hit and George Thompson pitched six-plus strong innings.  Every time Florida scored, Aurora responded back with some runs of their own.  They answered each Florida punch with a punch of their own.  It was like a heavyweight boxing match for three rounds, and then the champ took over.

The only positive thing Florida showed in the first game was that they could get to George Thompson.  Thompson did eventually settle down, but not before he surrendered five runs and six walks over six innings.

Aurora showed a lot of things in Game 1.  They showed Florida and the baseball world who the alpha male was.  They proved that this is the team with the best record in baseball.  It was a straight, downright beat-down of epic proportions.  The Featherheads took it on the chin.  They got beaten like a redheaded stepchild.  I have not seen anything this ugly since Jon and Kate’s divorce.

Game 2 Breakdown
Serenity
Game 2 pitted 20-game winner Franklin Browne up against the returning Kijuro Kojima.  After scoring 10 runs in the first game, Aurora continued the scoring assault in the bottom of the first.  McDonald led off the inning with a triple and immediately scored on a sacrifice fly by White.  Berry and Weaver followed that up with a double and walk, respectively.  After a strikeout to the red-hot Quiñones, Mark Richardson once again stepped up to the plate with an opportunity to do some damage.  Unlike the first game, Richardson delivered with a 2-run single.  Browne was able to limit the damage to only two runs with the help of Jeffries’s throw out of the would-be stealing Richardson.

After shaking off the first inning jitters, Browne settled down to cruise through the second and third innings.  Meanwhile, Kojima continued to show no ill signs of rust coming off his minor back injury.  The former 20-game winner held the Featherheads hitless through three innings.  Florida finally broke through in the fourth with a leadoff solo home run by Richardson’s former double-play mate, Kevin McNeill.  The Featherheads tacked on another run in that inning with a RBI single by Luis Torres to plate Miyata.  Through the top of the third, the game was at a standstill, with both teams scoring two runs apiece.

Just like the first game, Aurora immediately answered back with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame.  Going 0-for-4 in the first game, Richardson notched his second RBI of game with a 450-foot bomb into the left field seats.  The monstrous home run made the score 3-2 in favor of the Borealis.

Showing some resiliency of their own, Florida responded with a one-out, line drive double by Merán.  The speedy Jamison followed that up with a run-delivering center field blooper.  After a fly out by McNeill and a Jamison stolen base, Miyata delivered a clutch two-out RBI single.  Perhaps bothered by the single, Kojima’s attempted pickoff throw sailed over the head of Rivera.  This allowed Miyata to advance into scoring position.  The IL RBI leader stepped into the batter’s box and delivered a shallow opposite field single to left field.  Running on contact, Miyata rounded the bases and sprinted towards home.  Left fielder Pierce sprinted towards the ball himself and delivered a rifle to home plate.  In a bang-bang play, Berry applied the tag for the final out of the inning.  Despite now trailing 3-4, Aurora fans were on their feet in response to that spectacular play.

Winning by a run, Browne and the Featherheads finally delivered a shutdown inning in the bottom of the fifth.  Kojima followed suit and sailed through the top of the sixth himself.  After retiring Knight on a deep fly out, Rivera launched a near home run in the right field gap that resulted in a stand-up double.  An ensuing walk to McDonald set the table for Jim White and two runners on base.  White responded with a double of his own to plate Rivera.  That hit tied up the game and chased Browne out of the game.  Reliever Takanobu Murata induced the third out with a Berry ground out.  The Featherheads were able to limit the scoring to only one run, but the damage was already done.  White’s RBI double made the game 4-4.

Still tied 4-4, the next scoring chance was in the bottom of the seventh.  Richardson delivered a two-out grounder that found a hole in between Morimoto and McNeill.  Richardson, a member of the 30-30 club (HR-SB), showed off his speed and stole second base.  The steal gave Knight an opportunity to drive in the go-ahead run.  Knight would not get that chance, however.  Florida manager Jaime Sánchez called for the free pass.  Proving to be the right move, Murata struck out Rivera on a 2-2 sinker.

Florida received an opportunity to take the lead in the top of the eighth.  Morimoto led off the inning with a single off reliever Orlando Ramos.  The slow-footed Morimoto was replaced by pinch runner Taisuke Endo.  With the go-ahead run at first base, Ramos toughened up to strike out Michael Kelly.  Torres followed the strikeout with a walk to force runners to first and second.  With righty Luis López at bat, Juan Toro made the call to the bullpen for the fireballer Bryant Burris.  Perhaps generating all of the power, Burris’s pitche was yanked deep into center field for an out.  In the process, Endo was able to advance to third base on the tag up.  The go-ahead run was now just 90 feet away from home plate with Jeffries up at bat.  Remaining calm and collective, Burris struck out Jeffries on three pitches.

Aurora was able to get potential winning run to second base in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out double by White.  However, that would be as far as Aurora would get.  Florida’s setup man, Carlos Ávila, closed the door with a strikeout against Wilson Berry.

Tied 4-4 i n the ninth, Burris remained in the game.  He started the inning by losing Merán to a walk on a full count.  Known for the long ball, Florida showed off its small ball skills with a sacrifice bunt by Jamison.  After a strikeout to McNeill, Miyata stepped up the plate with a chance to deliver the go-ahead run.  Rather than pitch to Miyata, though, Burris danced around Miyata and eventually walked him.  Now with runners on first and second, the Japanese first baseman walked into the batter’s box.  This was not Tsumemasa Morimoto, however.  Rather, it was Taisuke Endo, who pinch ran for Morimoto in the previous inning.  Acting like Morimoto, Endo did not wait for the drama to develop.  He took the first pitch from Burris up the middle for the go-ahead RBI single.  With that single, Burris was relieved of his duties.  The stingy Juan Suárez entered the game and quickly ended the inning.  Now with the go-ahead run, Florida led Aurora 5-4 with only three outs remaining.

Leading by a single run, Florida sent its closer, Jesse Powell, to the mound.  Powell, who was making his first appearance in the PEC, was greeted rudely with a Weaver single.  Unfortunately for the Borealis, that was the biggest threat Aurora could mount in the inning.  Powell calmly retired three straight batters to tie the series up one game apiece.

A.K.
Now that is what you call a baseball game, baby!  Game 2 was a much crisper game!  Both teams exchanged blows and counterblows!  It was sweetastic!  Shaking off the PEC jitters, Florida played a much tighter game.  The Featherheads showed their grit by not letting an early 2-0 deficit demoralize them.  Instead, they fought to tie up the game and even took a momentary 4-3 lead.  That showed some serious guts and fight, baby!

I expect Game 2 to be more indicative of the series.  The next set of games should be tight like this one.  Those three errors in the first game were an aberration.  This is the same team that broke the season team record of least amount of errors committed.  The Featherheads play a tight defense and you can expect better play once the series shifts to Jacksonville.  Home cooking and the experience of two PEC games should calm the Florida nerves, so expect some Florida-style baseball from here on out, baby!

Coming home with the series tied 1-1, the Featherheads should be loving life right now.  There is no way Aurora would lose two games at home, so stealing one game on Aurora’s home turf should be viewed as an accomplishment.  Heck, no other team has beaten Aurora at Northern Lights Park during the playoffs, so this is a huge confidence boost for Florida.  They just stole home field advantage.

On the Aurora side of things, they should be heading into Jacksonville filled with confidence.  A lucky break here and there and Aurora could be easily up 2-0, baby!  Given the fact that Aurora hitters have shown the ability to batter and bruise Florida pitching, Aurora should be confident heading into Game 3.

Game 3 Preview
A.K.
Florida’s Game 3 pitcher, António Rivera, has been shown to be mortal during the playoffs.  Holding a 7.71 ERA in the 2011 playoffs, Rivera’s been smacked around more than a baby’s bottom!  If Rivera can’t right the ship, then Aurora will have a feeding frenzy.  Somebody call Leo and Kate because we could witness the second coming of Titanic if Rivera does not turn it around!

Opposing Rivera will be Artie Tillman.  With injuries to “Slappy” and “Sugar Bear”, Tillman has been a savior for the Borealis in the playoffs.  As good as Tillman has been, the man has a history of giving up the gopher ball.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Tillman becomes the human Cape Canaveral – a launching station for Florida sluggers!

With the possibility of both pitchers struggling, it will be up to the bullpen and the ability of each team to execute.  In the two earlier games, we saw fundamental execution and the bullpen as the deciding factors.  In Game 1, Florida failed to execute while Aurora did.  The Featherheads failed to catch and throw the ball, as evidenced by those horrendous errors.  Aurora, on the other hand, executed perfectly, especially with runners in scoring position.  In Game 2, it was a showdown of the bullpens.  Florida’s bullpen yielded zero runs, whereas Aurora gave up a run – the game-winning run.  Florida also executed on a nice sac bunt that lead to the winning run.  Now that’s what I call execution, baby!  Oh yeah!  I expect Game 3 to be the same!  It will come down to playing solid defense, relief pitching and fundamental baseball!

Nelly
Game 3 should be one crazy game.  Not only is this Farmer Field‘s first PEC game, but we’re talking about the return of Mark Richardson to Florida!  This has been a long time coming.  Jacksonville fans are waiting for Ice Cold to step into Farmer Field.  You can bet the majority of the fans will give Richardson an earful.  You can expect some nasty signs and possibly expletives.  The atmosphere will be purely electric.  Best of all, this setting will be ongoing for three consecutive games.

If Aurora wins two games here in Jacksonville, the series will be just about over.  I don’t see Florida winning two straight games in Aurora.  They need to win at least two games at Farmer Field.  So that means Florida can ill afford another pitching abomination like we saw in Game 1.  Mosley, who pitches in Game 5, will need to redeem himself.  The Featherheads trusted him as the ace and he needs to reward them by coming up big.

Serenity
In conjunction with Mark Richardson’s return to Farmer Field, Florida’s marketing team has come up with a promotion to commemorate the special occasion.  The promotion has been publicly dubbed “Operation 5 o’clock Shadow”.  Although the game starts at 8:05 PM, this promotion will encourage fans to arrive to the ballpark early.  Beginning at 5 o’clock, any fan sporting any type of facial hair will be treated to a free meal at one of Farmer Field’s fine restaurants.  They will also receive an autographed picture of an old photo of Tsumemasa Morimoto covered in his classic beard and goatee look.  Lastly, every person with facial hair will receive a family pack ticket set to attend Spring Training in 2012.

All fans who arrive early to the ballpark will also receive fake mustaches as a tribute to one of the more famous Featherhead ‘staches in franchise history – the Ice Cold ‘stache.  Now wearing the Aurora uniform, Richardson no longer possesses his famous mustache.  It is unknown whether it was team policy or a change of scenery that caused Richardson to shave off part of his identity.