The Yanks and ‘stros both come off of hard 5-game ALDS series in Game 1 of the ALCS.
Tag: podcast
The Mets and Reds kick off the 1999 League Championship Series.
Transcript:
Howdy folks it’s Divergent League Update for Tuesday, March 30th 2021 but here in Divergent League it is October 7th 1993, and the Postseason Blues have claimed another team’s hopes, while one team ascends to the League Championship Series.
That’s right, the St. Louis Cardinals are out of it, felled by the San Francisco Giants in three games to become our first casualty of the 1993 Postseason. Two teams may join them tonight.
One of the strangest things about this postseason so far is the perilous situation the Chicago White Sox find themselves in- down 2-0 against those darn Blue Jays who simply will not die.
The 93 Jays are the first ever Divergent League team to lose a one-game playoff, then win a one-game playoff. They’ve thus far held the White Sox to a single home run, off the bat of Craig Biggio who the Sox acquired in the off season.
That’s not the only trade having an effect in this postseason, though- The Blue Jays had that massive deal with the Mets earlier in the season which resulted in Dwight Gooden and Bobby Bonilla moving to Toronto… the very same Gooden who won their one-game playoff against the Tigers.
Todd Stottlemyre will be on the hill for the Jays tonight, facing off against Wilson Alvarez for the Sox.
Elsewhere in the AL, the mighty Baltimore Orioles have a 2-1 lead on the Houston Astros. These are both CPU teams so we don’t really care about that.
Our other big series is Atlanta .vs. Montreal, where the Expos lead 2-1 on the Braves. Tom Glavine will starts for Atlanta, opposite Chris Nabholz for Montreal.
You can catch both games on https://twitch.tv/extrafuture at 5:30pm Pacific.
No transcript, short episode this week! We have our Wild Card winners, and we move onto the Playoffs proper.
You can find the 1993 Postseason Bracket in the previous post. Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards coming to this post soon.
Transcript:
Howdy folks it’s Friday, March 12th 2021 but in Divergent League we are all the way back on September 30th, that’s right, it’s postseason time and today the Commish has your inside scoop on our playoff matchups.
But first let’s start this episode off right- with The Dingers!
This season’s home run king is Frank Thomas followed by Mark McGwire for the Mets. The Big Hurt led the bigs with 52 home runs, and Big Mac came in second with 47.
That is far from the last time you’re going to hear Frank Thomas’ name in this episode.
On the mound, the 1993 Cy Young Award winners are in- The American League winner is Randy Johnson for the Mariners, and in the NL Atlanta’s John Smoltz took the crown. Smoltz finished the season with a record of 17-7, 215 strike outs, and an ERA of 1.92. The Big Unit went 17-10 for the Ms with an ERA of 3.91 and his 268 strike outs led the majors.
Relievers of the year were Boston’s Jeff Russell and Philadelphia’s David West. West had an absurd 54 saves and a 1.60 ERA for the Phils.
Wade Boggs edged out Yankees Teammate Kirby Puckett for the AL Batting Title, finishing with a .365. In the National League the honors go to John Kruk, who batted .328 for the Phillies.
And now for the Most Valuable Players in each league. Congratulations to the White Sox Frank Thomas, and the Mets Mark McGwire on being the MVPs of their respective leagues. Thomas had 136 RBIs for the southsiders, with a .329 batting average. McGwire batted .312 with 121 RBIs for the last-place Mets.
You can find the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winners on divergentleague.com
Taking a look at the playoff bracket, the Orioles and Astros will face off in one half of the ALDS, both CPU-controlled teams. In the AL Wild Card we’ll see the Blue Jays and Tigers face off with the winner going on to face the White Sox in the other Division Series.
On the National League side, the SF Giants and St. Lous Cardinals will face off in one NLDS matchup, with the Expos and Phillies facing off in the Wild Card. The winner will go on to face the Braves in the other NL Divisional Series.
You can catch the first games of each series, and the elimination games for all human-controlled teams streamed live on Twitch.
That’s all we have time for this week, folks! Join us this Sunday for our first Playoff games. I’m the Commish, and we’ll see you next time.
Just one week left in the regular season! For a transcript see the episode page.
Standings & Power Rankings
AL East
- CPU – Orioles – 80-55, 1st
- Seamus – Blue Jays – 57-55, 8.5GB, 2nd
- OVR: 4th, CON: 13th, PWR: 9th, PITCH: 6th, DEF: 11th, SPD: 12th
- Liam – Yankees – 65-70, 15GB, 3rd
- OVR: 11th, CON: 1st, PWR: 13th, PITCH: 20th, DEF: 10th, SPD: 29th
AL Central
- Travis – White Sox – 82-53, 1st
- OVR: 1st, CON: 2nd, PWR: 3rd, PITCH: 8th, DEF: 5th, SPD: 1st
- Tony – Tigers – 78-58, 4.5GB, 2nd
- OVR: 22nd, CON: 5th, PWR: 18th, PITCH: 26th, DEF: 15th, SPD: 26th
- Dan – Royals – 76-59, 6GB, 3rd
- OVR: 3rd, CON: 3rd, PWR: 5th, PITCH: 2nd, DEF: 21st, SPD: 8th
AL West
- Astros – CPU – 76-60, 0.5GB, 1st
- Athletics – CPU – 72-63, 3.5GB, 2nd
- Austin – Rangers – 71-64, 4.5GB, 3rd
- OVR: 18th, CON: 19th, PWR: 10th, PITCH: 16th, DEF: 17th, SPD: 25th
- Sandra – Mariners – 65-72, 11.5GB, 4th
- OVR: 7th, CON: 17th, PWR: 1st, PITCH: 15th, DEF: 1st, SPD: 24th
NL East
- Derek L – Phillies – 89-46, 1st
- OVR: 8th, CON: 4th, PWR: 12th, PITCH: 7th, DEF: 24th, SPD: 5th
- Derek – Braves – 87-49, 2.5GB, 2nd
- OVR: 2nd, CON: 18th, PWR: 14th, PITCH: 1st, DEF: 9th, SPD: 27th
- Charles – Expos – 82-55, 8GB, 3rd
- OVR: 6th, CON: 9th, PWR: 21st, PITCH: 5th, DEF: 6th, SPD: 10th
- Phil – Mets – 51-84, E, 4th
- OVR: 9th, CON: 20th, PWR: 2nd, PITCH: 11th, DEF: 7th, SPD: 13th
NL Central
- Cardinals – CPU – 76-59, 1st
- Gary – Cubs – 69-67, 7.5GB, 3rd
- OVR: 13th, CON: 12th, PWR: 16th, PITCH: 17th, DEF: 4th, SPD: 15th
- George – Reds – 61-75, 15.5, 5th
- OVR: 12th, CON: 16th, PWR: 22nd, PITCH: 10th, DEF: 3rd, SPD: 3rd
NL West
- Henry – Giants – 79-56, 1st
- OVR: 5th, CON: 14th, PWR: 15th, PITCH: 4th, DEF: 2nd, SPD: 7th
Catch the full transcript on the Episode page. Thanks to Rock and Roll Guy for the intro tune.
Standings
AL East
- CPU – Orioles – 69-43, 1st
- Seamus – Blue Jays – 57-55, 12GB, 2nd
- OVR: 4th, CON: 14th, PWR: 9th, PITCH: 6th, DEF: 11th, SPD: 12th
- Liam – Yankees – 53-59, 16GB, 3rd
- OVR: 11th, CON: 1st, PWR: 13th, PITCH: 21st, DEF: 10th, SPD: 29th
AL Central
- Travis – White Sox – 67-46, 1st
- OVR: 1st, CON: 3rd, PWR: 3rd, PITCH: 8th, DEF: 4th, SPD: 1st
- Tony – Tigers – 66-47, 1GB, 2nd
- OVR: 22nd, CON: 7th, PWR: 18th, PITCH: 26th, DEF: 16th, SPD: 26th
- Dan – Royals – 62-50, 4.5GB, 3rd
- OVR: 2nd, CON: 4th, PWR: 5th, PITCH: 2nd, DEF: 21st, SPD: 8th
AL West
- Athletics – CPU – 61-51, 1st
- Astros – CPU – 60-51, 0.5GB, 2nd
- Austin – Rangers – 60-53, 1.5GB, 3rd
- OVR: 18th, CON: 20th, PWR: 11th, PITCH: 14th, DEF: 19th, SPD: 25th
- Sandra – Mariners – 51-62, 10.5GB, 4th
- OVR: 8th, CON: 17th, PWR: 1st, PITCH: 15th, DEF: 1st, SPD: 24th
NL East
- Derek L – Phillies – 74-39, 1st
- OVR: 7th, CON: 2nd, PWR: 10th, PITCH: 7th, DEF: 24th, SPD: 4th
- Derek – Braves – 68-44, 5.5GB, 2nd
- OVR: 3rd, CON: 19th, PWR: 15th, PITCH: 1st, DEF: 9th, SPD: 27th
- Charles – Expos – 67-46, 7GB, 3rd
- OVR: 6th, CON: 9th, PWR: 21st, PITCH: 4th, DEF: 7th, SPD: 10th
- Phil – Mets – 39-72, 34GB, 4th
- OVR: 10th, CON: 18th, PWR: 2nd, PITCH: 11th, DEF: 8th, SPD: 13th
NL Central
- Cardinals – CPU – 69-45, 1st
- Gary – Cubs – 58-54, 10GB, 3rd
- OVR: 13th, CON: 12th, PWR: 16th, PITCH: 17th, DEF: 5th, SPD: 15th
- George – Reds – 52-60, 16GB, 5th
- OVR: 12th, CON: 16th, PWR: 23rd, PITCH: 10th, DEF: 3rd, SPD: 3rd
NL West
- Henry – Giants – 63-49, 1st
- OVR: 5th, CON: 13th, PWR: 14th, PITCH: 5th, DEF: 2nd, SPD: 7th
Transcript:
Howdy folks, it’s Divergent League Update for February 12th 2021, but of course in Divergent League we’re all the way back on July 12th, 1993.
It’s me, your Commish, and the heat is on as we’re heading into the Divergent dog days of summer, but first- the dingers!
The home run chase is on in earnest, and up to the All-Star Break the top 3 barons of bash are Mark McGwire and Frank Thomas with 29, and Rafi Palmiero with 26. Close behind is the Crime Dog, Fred McGriff also with 26. Joining the 20-dinger club we have Boston’s Andre Dawson, Tim Raines, Jay Buehner, Barry Bonds, Matt Williams, Rookie sensation Mike Piazza and Sammy Sosa.
It’s All-Star Weekend and that means it’s Home Run Derby time. Here’s the list of 8 competitors for tonight’s slugfest:
- Mark McGwire
- Frank Thomas
- Rafael Palmiero
- Fred McGriff
- Barry Bonds
- Andre Dawson
- Matt Williams
- Mike Piazza
McGwire, McGriff, and Dawson are all available as Hardship Draft picks.
Speaking of which…
We’ve got our answer for which teams won the worst-team lottery in the Hardship Draft. The New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Seattle Mariners are all getting picks. We just got the results back from the lab and the order will be as follows:
- New York Mets
- New York Yankees
- Seattle Mariners
Those picks will be made this evening and posted on divergentleague.com.
Flipping over to the standings, things haven’t changed much in the AL East with the Orioles up 16 games on the 2nd place Blue Jays and 19 on the Yankees. It’s not all bad news, though, as Os enter the all-star break on a 3 game skid.
Onto the most competitive division in the league the American League Central where the White Sox have overtaken the Tigers again and lead by 1.5 games. The Royals have been quietly racking up the wins, they’re 8-2 in the last 10, and are just 2.5 games back.
In the rolling west the CPU-owned Athletics and Astros are tied for 1st, and have a small 3 game lead on the 3rd place Rangers. The Mariners, one of our Hardship Draft teams this season, bring up 4th at 10.5 back.
Switching to the National League, the Phillies and Expos remain tops in the division with the Phils 4.5 games up on Montreal. The big story here though is the July Surge from the Braves- they’re on a 7-3 tear over their last 10, and have closed the gap to just 7.5 games behind Philadelphia. The Mets, another hardship draft winner, sit at an astonishing 31 games out of first place.
The Cardinals have maintained their lead in the NL Central, looking to pull away with a 11 game lead over the 2nd place Brewers. The Cubs sit in 3rd, 11.5 games back. The Reds, who missed the Hardship Draft by a single game, are in the weeds at 17.5 out of first place.
And a-way out west we’ve got the Giants keeping the 2nd place Dodgers at bay with an 8.5 game lead.
—
Next up we’ll take a peek at the stat sheet.
Wade Boggs has kept his best-in-baseball batting average, hitting .376 at the break. Early front-runner David Segui has dropped to a respectable .359. The Cardinals Greg Jefferies follows with .353. Also batting over .350 is Kirby Puckett, who also leads Divergent League in hits with 135.
Boggs and Dante Bichette lead in Double with 29 and 27 respectively. Chicago’s Tim Raines has been a whirlwind this season with an insane 13 triples in just 97 games. He also leads the league in RBIs with 86. His teammate The Bug Hurt and Mark McGwire have also crossed the 80 Ribbie threshold. Barry Bonds has 77.
With regards to larceny, the Angels continue their domination with Chad Curtis and Louis Polonia swiping 31 and 28 bases respectively. The Expos Marquis Grissom and Eric Young of the Rockies, lead the NL at 25 even. Raines sits at 25.
On the mound it’s been a breakout season for the Cardinals Allen Watson. He, Dennis Martinez, and Mike Mussina lead all pitchers with 12 wins each. The Orioles Gregg Olson has a commanding lead in Saves with 39 already. The Phillies David West and Cardinals Mike Perez have also crossed into 30+ saves territory.
Pitching has been the big story so far in 1993, with a staggering 6 pitchers coming into the All-Star Break with ERAs under 2. Nolan Ryan leads everyone with a 1.20 ERA on an 8-2 record. Hot on his heels are Andy Benes, Dennis Martinez, Butch Henry, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Tim Pugh, Mike Mussina and Greg Harris.
The Big Unit, Randy Johnson, has fanned 169 batters so far, good enough for tops in baseball. Pitchers with over 130Ks so far include Mike Mussina with 144, David Cone, Bobby Witt, and Juan Guzman. Darryl Kile, Jack McDowell and Greg Maddux are in the 120 club.
That’s all we got this week. You can find the lineups for the 1993 Divergent League All-Star Game on divergentleague.com. We’ll see you later tonight for the Home Run Derby and tomorrow for the Big Game.
Transcript:
Howdy folks, it’s Divergent League Update for February 5th 2021, but of course in Divergent League we’re all the way back on June 21st, 1993.
All-Star Weekend is NEXT weekend, which will include the Hardship Draft, the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game proper on Saturday. Check divergentleague.com for the Home Run Derby and All Star Roster information on Friday, February 12th.
Some big moves have changed the face of the league, but this is baseball. You string a couple wins together and those division standings can change before you know it.
We’ll start off as we always do- The Dingers!
The Big Hurt Frank Thomas has overtaken Mark McGwire, and now leads all of baseball with 26. Big Mac follows with 24. Matt Williams leads the NL with 21. Dawson, Palmerio, Bonds and McGriff are all in the mix with 19 or more. The Cubs Sammy Sosa trails with 15.
Taking a quick look at the standings, the Orioles maintain their massive lead in the AL East, with the 2nd place Blue Jays down by 14 games at just under 500. The Yankees are 21 games out in 4th place.
Over to the Central, where the Tigers are 1.5 games up on the White Sox. These two have been trading places all season, but the Royals are on their heels at just 4 games back.
In the AL West the Rangers have surged, and are just 1.5 games behind the division leading Astros. Seattle is still in 4th, 9.5 games out.
Onto the NL East, the Phillies have pulled ahead of the 2nd place Expos by 4.5 games, with a best-in-baseball record of 54 wins against 21 losses. The Braves have dropped a few this month, and are in 3rd place at 12.5 games back. The Mets, baseball’s worst team, sit in the cellar at 22-54, an incredible 32.5 games out of 1st.
In the NL Central the Cubs and Reds are sitting in 4th and last place respectively, at 10 and 14 games out of first place.
A-way out west we’ve got the Giants, firmly in control of the division with an 8 game lead over the Pads.
—
In Divergent League we have a little some called The Hardship Draft. The Friday before All Star Weekend, the bottom 20% of the league by record get an extra draft pick, and can choose ANY player not on a human-controlled team. This season has 14 teams, so we’ll round up and say 3 Hardship Draft picks are available.
Hardship draft leaders as of this broadcast are the Mets, Yankees, and Reds. The Mariners and Cubs aren’t far off.
—
Flipping over to the stat sheet, our biggest news is the Yankees Wade Boggs had a stellar May and early June, now leading baseball with a .392 average. Braves rookie sensation Mike Piazza remains at the top of the NL at .343. Joe Valentin, and David Segui are close by in the .340s.
Boggs, Marquis Grissom, Lenny Dykstra, and Chad Curtis lead in Doubles with 24 a piece.
Taking the short train to Ribbie Town, The Big Hurt is unsurprisingly in the lead with 69. Nice. Mark McGwire, Tim Raines, and Andre Dawson follow in the AL. Bonds with 62, Darren Daulton, and Matt Williams, are at the top of the NL.
A pair of Angels lead the league in stolen bases, with Luis Polonia and Chad Curtis at 24 and 22. Rock Raines trails with 21 to round out the AL. Rockies bright spot Eric Young leads the NL with 22, with the Expos Grissom at 20.
Looking at the leaders from the mound- Baltimore’s Mike Mussina is tops in Baseball with 10. Detroit’s Bill Gullickson and The Os Fernando Valenzuela sit at 9. Over in the NL, Bill Swift, Tommy Greene, Allen Watson and Dennis Martinez are all tied with 10 Ws.
Gregg Olson leads all pitchers with 32 saves. David West’s got the NL lead with 30. Looking in on ERAs, Nolan Ryan leads everyone with an astonishing 1.23. The Padres Andy Benes has maintained an outlandish 1.39.
Randy Johnson leads the league is strikeouts at 125 already in the season. Mike Mussina follows with 118.
Standings and power rankings for Week 4 are available on divergentleague.com