It's a scandal! Kenneth's Starrs top Golden Sombreros. In probably the biggest upset of the first round, Nate Silver's Golden Sombreros (109-53) lost in 5 games to Brad Biggs' Kenneth's Starrs (85-77). It should be noted that the Sombreros are an AL-only team, while the Starrs could pick and chose from both leagues. Nevertheless, a 24-game differential is still big. There really is no single reason that the Starrs won; a little better defence (2E vs 6E), a little better pitching (19ER vs 20ER), a little better hitting (52H vs 47H) added up to a LOT better result. Game 1 Randy Johnson (Sombreros) vs Roger Clemens (Starrs). This is just about as good a pitching matchup as you can get. Through eight innings, it was dead even, 3-3, and both pitchers going strong (Johnson with 10K, Clemens 9K). The only blemish on either pitcher's record was a HR by McGwire for the Sombreros. Johnson then threw a perfect 9th inning (recording his 11th K). Then the virtual manager for the Starrs made a tactical error: it yanked Clemens and put in Wickman for the bottom of the 9th. An out, a double by Greer and a single by O'Neill and it was game over, 4-3 Sombreros. Game 2 The Sombreros played catch up the entire game (yet never did) as they lost 5-4. Bohanon (7IP 3ER) and Pettite (7IP 4ER) provided workman-like starts for their teams surrendering HR to Stanley (Sombreros) and Andruw Jones (Starrs) respectively. An awful lot of men were left standing on base at the end of the innings, but it came down to the exciting SF from Ben Grieve in the top of the 9th that scored Andruw and staked the Starrs to a 5-3 lead. Not content to end things quietly, Rivera allowed a double to Kurt Abbot, a 1-out run-scoring single to Greer and a 2-out single to McGwire, before retiring Stanley to end the game and garner the save. Game 3 Knowing when a pitcher has run out of steam is one of the most important instincts a manager can have. In the third game, it became apparent that this instinct could have been handy for the Sombreros' virtual manager. Erickson was the pitcher in question who, after being staked to a 4-0 going into the bottom of the 7th (by virtue of a 3-run 6th and a solo shot by Ramirez in the 7th) off Radke and Wickman, proceded to run out of gas. With one out, he surrendered a walk, a single, another single, a 2RBI double to Joyner, and a sac fly to Will Clark, bringing the score to 4-3. Surely that was good enough to pull him, even after he got the last out of the 7th? Not so it seems, as he proceeded to repeat his performance in the bottom of the 8th; one-out single to Raines, two-out RBI double to Hatteberg, and the game-winning RBI double to (gulp) Chris Gomez. Rivera pitched a clean 9th inning, getting the save and making a winner out of Wickman. Game 4 Home runs finally arrived in bunches in this game, but they didn't prove to be the deciding factor. After jumping out to a 2-1 for Williams vs Escobar, the wheels started to fall off the cart for the Sombreros. An error by Cirillo in the bottom of the 5th proved to be costly as the Starrs struck with back-to-back, 2 out home runs from Will Clark (3-run shot) and Chipper Jones, making it a 5-2 game. More damage was done in the next inning as 3 consecutive singles scored another run, ending Williams day. Then Escobar coughed up back-to-back-jacks to start the top of the 8th to McGwire and Higginson and got yanked himself. But the fun doesn't end there! Wickman strolled in from the bullpen and then walked Ramirez, walked Cirillo (with a passed ball from Hatteberg), gave up a SH++ to Jose Valentin, ANOTHER walk to pinch-hitter Sean Casey before finally retiring the side with double play. Not to be outdone, the Starrs themselves left the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, but managed to hang on to win 6-4 with Escobar getting the win and Rivera the save. Game 5 It's unfortunate to see a close fought series end with an ugly game, especially when it featured a return match-up between Johnson and Clemens. This had it all: home runs (3 solo shots by the Sombreros; Alomar, Greer, O'Neill and 2 by the Starrs; Andruw Jones (2 run shot) and Grieve), errors (3 for the Sombreros and 2 for the Starrs) and a bat-around inning for the Starrs (scoring 5 runs). Johnson was the victim of unearned runs (4.2Ip 6R 2ER) and Clemens surrendered very little beyond the HR (8IP 3ER). Aaron Sele added gasoline to the fire by giving up 3 runs in 2.2IP for the Sombreros and the game came to a merciful end as Ligtenberg struck out McGwire for the 9-3 win. Game 1 Kenneth's Starrs 3 L: Wickman Golden Sombreros 4 W: Johnson Game 2 Kenneth's Starrs 5 W: Bohanon Sv: Rivera Golden Sombreros 4 L: Pettitte Game 3 Golden Sombreros 4 L: Erickson Kenneth's Starrs 5 W: Wickman Sv: Rivera Game 4 Golden Sombreros 4 L: Williams Kenneth's Starrs 6 W: Escobar Sv: Rivera Game 5 Golden Sombreros 3 L: Johnson Kenneth's Starrs 9 W: Clemens Series MVP: Mariano Rivera (3 saves, 4IP 1ER) __________________1___2__3__4___5__6____7___8____9_______________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K 2B Offerman,Jo K O _O_ 2B O Clemens,Ro 8 9 3 3 3 9 LF Raines,Ti 1B K O BB O Wickman,Bo 0.1 2 1 1 0 0 3B Jones,Ch O+ 1B O 1B __K_ CF Jones,An 2B* _K _K _O_ DH Clark,Wi BB K K 2B 1B Joyner,Wa _K_ O O SH+ RF Grieve,Be O BB _K__ K SS Weiss,Wa O 1B O 1B* C Alomar,Sa _O 1B* K _O_ P__Clemens,Ro____________________________________________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K 2B Alomar,Ro O K BB _K__ \ O Johnson,Ra 9 9 3 3 3 11 CF Greer,Ru O K O O 2B DH O'Neill,Pa BB _K 1B K 1B* 1B McGwire,Ma _K_ HR _O BB LF Higginson,Bo O K 1B 2B* RF Ramirez,Ma 2B O K _O_ 3B Cirillo,Je O _K_ 1B O SS Valentin(M,Jo _O 2B PH Stanley,Mi 1B*+ C Varitek,Ja O C Fletcher,Da 1B O PH Casey,Se O SS Abbott,Ku _O_ P__Johnson,Ra________________________________________R__H_E Kenneth's Starrs 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 9 0 Golden Sombreros 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 4 11 0 LOB - Kenneth's Starrs 9; Golden Sombreros 10. Win - Johnson,Ra (1-0); Loss - Wickman,Bo (0-1). HR - McGwire,Ma (1). Fielding Range Bonus - Kenneth's Starrs +0.02; Golden Sombreros +0.02. __________________1__2__3____4___5___6___7___8__9________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K 2B Offerman,Jo K 1B* O 1B BB Bohanon,Br 7 8 3 3 5 6 SS Weiss,Wa O O+ BB _O_ O Rivera,Ma 2 3 1 1 1 2 3B Jones,Ch BB 2B* O K __O CF Jones,An _O O 1B HR BB DH Clark,Wi O _O__ 1B* O SH+ 1B Joyner,Wa 1B BB p_O_ _K 1B RF Grieve,Be K DP 1B \1B SF* LF Kotsay,Ma _O 1B SH+ F _O_ C Alomar,Sa 2B _O O e6 P__Bohanon,Br____________________________________________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K 2B Alomar,Ro 1B 1B 2B _O_ O6 Pettitte,An 7 10 4 4 3 4 CF Greer,Ru DP O _O O 1B* Lloyd,Gr 2 2 1 1 2 0 RF Ramirez,Ma BB 1B*+ O K K 1B McGwire,Ma BB K BB _K 1B DH Stanley,Mi _K BB _DP_ HR _O_ LF Higginson,Bo O _K__ BB / K 3B Cirillo,Je O O 1B+ BB C Varitek,Ja _O 1B PH Casey,Se SF* C Fletcher,Da PH O'Neill,Pa _DP C Catcher,AAA SS Abbott,Ku 1B K O 2B P__Pettitte,An______________________________________R__H_E Kenneth's Starrs 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 5 12 0 Golden Sombreros 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 4 11 1 LOB - Kenneth's Starrs 12; Golden Sombreros 10. Win - Bohanon,Br (1-0); Save - Rivera,Ma (1); Loss - Pettitte,An (0-1). Outstanding Play - Weiss,Wa (1). Error - Abbott,Ku (1). Passed Ball - Varitek,Ja (1). HRs - Jones,An (1); Stanley,Mi (1). Fielding Range Bonus - Kenneth's Starrs +0.09; Golden Sombreros -0.05. __________________1__2__3___4__5___6_____7_____8____9_______________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K 2B Alomar,Ro O O O BB __O_ Erickson,Sc 7.2 11 5 5 3 5 CF Greer,Ru 1B 1B BB SF* \ O Corsi,Ji 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 DH O'Neill,Pa O 2B O /_O___ O 1B McGwire,Ma 2B K _O O BB LF Higginson,Bo _O _O_ 1B O __O RF Ramirez,Ma O BB 1B HR 3B-SS Cirillo,Je O K 1B _O__ SS Valentin(M,Jo BB K PH Stanley,Mi 1B**+ 3B Chavez,Er O C Fletcher,Da _O _O O K P__Erickson,Sc______________________________________________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K 2B Offerman,Jo O 1B _K 1B /_O_ Radke,Br 5.2 8 3 3 4 3 1B Joyner,Wa O DP_ O 2B** Wickman,Bo 2.1 1 1 1 0 1 DH Clark,Wi 1B O 1B SF*+ Rivera,Ma 1 0 0 0 1 0 3B Jones,Ch _O O BB _K__ RF Grieve,Be O 2B O O LF Raines,Ti K _O __O___ 1B CF Jones,An _O K O O+ C Hatteberg,Sc 1B K BB 2B* SS Gomez,Ch SH+ BB 1B 2B* P__Radke,Br____________________________________________R__H_E Golden Sombreros 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 4 9 0 Kenneth's Starrs 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 X 5 11 0 LOB - Golden Sombreros 10; Kenneth's Starrs 8. Win - Wickman,Bo (1-1); Save - Rivera,Ma (2); Loss - Erickson,Sc (0-1). HR - Ramirez,Ma (1). Fielding Range Bonus - Golden Sombreros -0.05; Kenneth's Starrs -0.04. __________________1__2___3___4___5_____6____7____8_____9_______________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K 2B Alomar,Ro O O __O_ 1B _DP__ Williams,Wo 5 8 6 2 2 3 CF Greer,Ru K BB O 1B+ \ K Sele,Aa 3 1 0 0 2 2 DH O'Neill,Pa 1B __K O DP_ BB 1B McGwire,Ma _O K BB HR O LF Higginson,Bo O BB _K__ HR __O RF Ramirez,Ma O O O /BB 3B Cirillo,Je _O 2B K pBB SS Valentin(M,Jo O 1B* __K__ SH++ C Fletcher,Da 2B 1B* PH Stanley,Mi O C Varitek,Ja PH Casey,Se BB C Catcher,AAA P__Williams,Wo_________________________________________________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K 2B Offerman,Jo O BB O O BB Escobar,Ke 7 9 4 4 3 6 1B Joyner,Wa O +_O 1B __O__ BB Wickman,Bo 1 0 0 0 3 0 DH Clark,Wi _K O4 HR** O __K__ Rivera,Ma 1 0 0 0 1 1 3B Jones,Ch O 1B HR O RF Grieve,Be BB + K _O__ 1B CF Jones,An K 1B* 1B _O_ C Hatteberg,Sc _O +_O_ 1B+ e6 LF Kotsay,Ma O O 1B*+ SH+ SS Gomez,Ch O e5 / K O P__Escobar,Ke_____________________________________________R_H_E Golden Sombreros 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 4 9 2 Kenneth's Starrs 0 0 0 1 4 1 0 0 X 6 9 0 LOB - Golden Sombreros 10; Kenneth's Starrs 9. Win - Escobar,Ke (1-0); Save - Rivera,Ma (3); Loss - Williams,Wo (0-1). Outstanding Play - Alomar,Ro (1). Errors - Cirillo,Je (1); Valentin(M,Jo (1). Passed Ball - Hatteberg,Sc (1). HRs - Clark,Wi (1); Jones,Ch (1); McGwire,Ma (2); Higginson,Bo (1). Steals - Offerman,Jo (1); Jones,Ch (1); Jones,An (1). Fielding Range Bonus - Golden Sombreros +0.06; Kenneth's Starrs +0.03. ___________________1___2___3_4___5____5__6___7___8____9_________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K 2B Alomar,Ro HR K K _O_ \1B Johnson,Ra 4.2 5 6 2 4 7 CF Greer,Ru K BB HR O O Sele,Aa 2.2 6 3 3 0 1 DH O'Neill,Pa O e6 1B HR O Taylor,Bi 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 1B McGwire,Ma __K O BB K __K LF Higginson,Bo O __K __O___ _O RF Ramirez,Ma BB K 1B K 3B-SS Cirillo,Je w O O 1B K SS Valentin(M,Jo __K O PH Stanley,Mi K C Varitek,Ja e5 C Fletcher,Da BB O PH Casey,Se O 3B Chavez,Er __O_ P__Johnson,Ra___________________________________________________________IP___H__R_ER_BB__K DH Offerman,Jo 1B __K 3B K O Clemens,Ro 8 6 3 3 4 11 LF Kotsay,Ma K O BB O 2B Ligtenberg,Ke 1 1 0 0 0 1 3B Jones,Ch +BB K e1* 1B 1B* CF Jones,An K BB K HR* /DP_ 1B Clark,Wi __O +BB 1B O RF Grieve,Be HR __K e3* _O_ 2B Bell,Da O O K 1B C Alomar,Sa O O 1B**+ DP SS Gomez,Ch e4 O /1B* _O P__Clemens,Ro____________________________________________R__H_E Golden Sombreros 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 7 3 Kenneth's Starrs 0 1 0 0 5 2 0 1 X 9 11 2 LOB - Golden Sombreros 10; Kenneth's Starrs 7. Win - Clemens,Ro (1-0); Loss - Johnson,Ra (1-1). Errors - Alomar,Ro (1); Gomez,Ch (1); Johnson,Ra (1); McGwire,Ma (1); Jones,Ch (1). Wild Pitch - Clemens,Ro (1). HRs - Alomar,Ro (1); Grieve,Be (1); Greer,Ru (1); Jones,An (2); O'Neill,Pa (1). Steals - Offerman,Jo (2); Jones,An (2). Fielding Range Bonus - Golden Sombreros -0.05; Kenneth's Starrs +0.05. Standings,_Pitching____________W___L___pct.__GB___ERA__CG_ShO__RS__Sv___IP_____R___ER___H___BA___BB___K__WP 2 Kenneth's Starrs 4 1 .800 - 3.86 0 0 5.6 3 44.1 19 19 47 .270 25 40 1 1 Golden Sombreros 1 4 .200 3 4.29 1 0 3.8 0 42 28 20 52 .301 19 33 0 ____AB____R____H___D___T__HR__RBI__BA__SlgA__OBA__BB___K___SH__F_SF_GDP__SB__CS__LOB__OP__DP__E__OSB_OCS_PB 2 173 28 52 10 1 5 26 .301 .457 .366 19 33 5 1 2 4 5 0 45 1 5 2 0 0 1 1 174 19 47 10 0 8 19 .270 .466 .358 25 40 1 0 2 5 0 0 50 1 4 6 5 0 1 2 Brad Biggs 4-1: @1 3-4, @1 5-4, 1 5-4, 1 6-4, 1 9-3. 1 Nate Silver 1-4: 2 4-3, 2 4-5, @2 4-5, @2 4-6, @2 3-9.