Catcher. Joker
Ronnie Wells batted .291 with nine home runs and 64 RBIs. Empire's
Elroy Anderson batted .229 while playing outstanding defense.
Advantage Las Vegas.
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| Vic Jennings |
First Base. Vic Jennings batted .322 with 32 home runs and 118 RBIs.
Joseph McKee batted .318 with 18 home runs and 82 RBIs. However, the Death Star is a much tougher park for hitters than Lucky 7, and Jennings hit 23 of his 32 home runs at home.
Even.
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| Steve O'Donnell |
Second Base. Las Vegas tried to trade for a second baseman at the deadline as
José Ortiz represents one of the few weak spots in the Joker lineup. Empire's
Steve O'Donnell plays incredible defense while posting a .345 on-base percentage.
Advantage Los Angeles.
 |
| Kevin Carey |
Third Base. Empire's
Andy Miller plays lights-out defense but has a .227 batting average. Joker
Kevin Carey batted .332 and led the league in both walks (112) and runs scored (116), and he posted a .449 on-base percentage.
Advantage Las Vegas.
Shortstop. Joker
Erik Bennett hit .262 with little power while playing good defense. Empire's
Dan Blankenship plays great defense but hit below the Mendoza line at .169.
Advantage Las Vegas.
Left Field. Tommy Harris is one of the few strong spots in the Empire lineup, posting a .368 on-base percentage while hitting 22 home runs. Joker leadoff hitter
Troy Tracy hit .348, posted a .416 on-base percentage, homered 16 times, and scored 102 runs.
Advantage Las Vegas.
Center Field. Joker
Bob Reece suffered a concussion in August. Young
James Davis hit .326 in 92 September at-bats, but he is regarded as a primarily defensive player. Are you noticing a pattern with Empire's players?
Sean Bowman and
Jeremy Flanagan are light-hitting glovemen.
Even.
 |
| Colin St John |
Right Field. Empire's
Ed Hill batted .260 with little power but plays great defense.
Colin St John is one of the best hitters in the game. He hit .329 with 36 home runs and 136 RBIs, and his 1.038 OPS led the Munson League, but he sports one of the worst mustaches in the ABL.
Advantage Las Vegas.
 |
| Chance Everett |
Designated Hitter. Joker Ray Stevens hit 22 home runs to go with his .290 batting average.
Chance Everett is the Evil Empire's best hitter. He hit .299 with 31 home runs and 100 RBIs, and he sports one of the best mustaches in the ABL
Advantage Los Angeles.
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| Maurice Gould |
Starting Pitchers. Perhaps no playoff team benefits more from the extra off days in the playoffs than Las Vegas. More days off means more frequent
Maurice Gould starts. Not only is Gould the best pitcher in baseball, he is the Jokers only reliable starter. In three games against Los Angeles this season, he went 2-0 with a 0.76 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings. Los Angeles will have to face him twice this series.
After Gould the rotation is unsteady.
Bob Magee may be nicknamed the Professor, but he pitched more like an Undergraduate this season, going 14-9 with a 4.68 ERA. Los Angeles teed off on Magee in two games this season, scoring nine runs in 9 2/3 innings.
Clay Morris has underwhelmed since arriving from Mile High in a deadline deal, going 3-5 with a 6.39 ERA.
Christian Clark (8-6, 5.46 ERA) is a young pitcher with a lot of potential, but left-hander
Dan Rogers (9-10, 5.55 ERA) may get the call as Los Angeles struggles against southpaws. All four of these pitchers are capable of a strong pitching performance, but none of them can be counted upon to deliver that performance.
 |
| Evan Warner |
Los Angeles has probably the best one-two punch in baseball.
Evan Warner went 17-8 with a 2.73 ERA: the young Emperor gets the challenge of opposing Gould.
Kingfish Crawford went 15-7 with a 2.90 ERA: he struck out 164 while walking only 27. Crawford is also the only prominent southpaw starter in this series, and almost all of the Jokers best hitters are left-handed. Los Angeles has experimented with the rest of their staff, and they have found success in moving several of their middle relievers into the rotation.
Kent Rose has been the model for this transition. He went 9-8 with a 2.34 ERA, walking only 30 in 199 2/3 innings.
Domingo Rivera went 10-5 with a 2.68 ERA: he relies on his good defense, striking out only 26 and walking 20 in 171 innings.
Advantage Los Angeles.
Relievers. Las Vegas has a few strong arms in their pen.
Rich Barrett saved 48 games and posted a 2.65 ERA.
Micheal Coleman had a 2.06 ERA, allowed only four home runs, and struck out 142 in 109 innings.
Nick Fox (2.39 ERA) and
Arturo Sandoval (3.92) can also provide quality innings.
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| Jim Dorsey |
Los Angeles, however, has one of the most incredible bullpens in baseball.
Gary Payne struck out 132 in 96 1/3 innings while saving 39 games.
Jim Dorsey had more strikeouts than Evan Warner, 154 in 118 2/3 innings. Dorsey's 1.44 ERA was nearly matched by teammate
José Guevara's 1.47 ERA.
Dave Walton posted a 2.98 ERA.
Advantage Los Angeles.
Overall. Las Vegas is a team built for Lucky 7 Ballpark: the Jokers are 54-27 at home but 40-41 on the road. Los Angeles is their mirror image, 40-41 at home and 52-29 on the road! I have no idea what to make of that.
It's hard to imagine that any set of pitchers could quiet the bats of Tracy, Carey, Jennings, St John, and Stevens, but if any pitching staff can, it's the Evil Empire's. Still, while fans will be watching the battle between Las Vegas bats and Los Angeles arms, the series may well be determined by the struggle between Los Angeles bats (primarily O'Donnell, Everett, McKee, and Harris) and Las Vegas arms. If Clay Morris or Bob Magee rise to the occasion for Las Vegas, then Los Angeles will be in a lot of trouble.
Can the Dark Side find success under the neon lights? Can the Jokers trump the wild card? I don't know about you, baseball fans, but I can't wait to see what happens in this series!
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