First Win!

Season 4 is shaping up to be quite a wild ride! Cyclone Taylor has resumed his customary place at the top of the scoring chart after a mediocre Season 3, the defending champion Comets are mired in a brutal slump, and Thistles winger Alf Smith is finally living up to his enormous potential and making a strong (if very early) case for Forward MVP. Amidst all the excitement, I don't want to overlook one important milestone: The expansion Millionaires won their first game.

And boy did they win! After a narrow loss to the Thistles in their first game and a tie that probably should have been a win in their second game against the Victorias, I felt the Millionaires were thisclose to a victory. Their third contest pit them against the Comets, our latest Creighton Cup winners. Eager to shake off their sluggish start, the Comets came out on the attack. In the opening minute of the game, Billy Gilmour chipped home a Frank McGee rebound to put the Comets ahead.

And then...the champs fell apart. A series of bad penalties gave the Millionaires three power plays in rapid succession, and they didn't squander the opportunity. Jimmy Gardner notched his third goal in as many games to tie the score at one apiece, and then Ernie Russell picked up his first of the year. All of a sudden, the Millies were 2-for-3 on the power play! The score remained 2-1 into the latter stages of the first period, when Harry Watson scored twice in just over a minute to give the Millionaires a commanding 4-1 lead heading into the second.

There was only one lamp-lighter in the middle period, but it allowed the Millionaires to pad their advantage. Ernie Russell scored for the second time, shattering any hope of a Comet comeback. Rookie netminder Hugh Lehman did his part, as well, robbing Frank McGee at the tail end of a power play late in the frame.

The third period was largely uneventful until, around the midway point, George Richardson scored to make it 5-2. In moments, however, the Millies restored their four-goal lead when rookie defenseman Joe Hall tallied his first career goal. When the game ended, 6-2 in favor of the Millionaires, I imagined lusty boos raining down upon the hapless home team, which remains winless at 0-2-1. The expansion Millies, meanwhile, are now 1-1-1, with a +3 goal differential. Remarkably, they're also leading the league in goals scored with 11. They can't keep this up...can they?

Season 4 Begins!

The first day of Season 4 featured the Thistles hosting the expansion Millionaires in their first-ever regular-season game. 

The contest opened quietly with a lot of dump-and-chase, and about the only remarkable thing through the first half of the first period was that the normally faceoff-savvy Thistles kept blowing draws. As such, the Millionaires had a possession advantage early on, but it was the Thistles who struck for the game's first goal when defenseman Dickie Boon fired a shot through traffic that eluded Hugh Lehman. Just moments later, however, the Millies' rookie blueliner Joe Hall snapped the puck to Harry Watson, who chipped it past Riley Hern to tie the game. So now there's an answer to the trivia question, "Who scored the first goal in Millionaires history?"

Not long into the second period, Alf Smith scored to put the Thistles back on top. The Millionaires answered right back when Jimmy Gardner tallied on the power play. The new squad was certainly demonstrating a lot of resiliency, but late in the frame, Tommy "Tools" Smith set up Moose Goheen to give the home team their third lead of the night.

The Millionaires put on the pressure in the third, but Hern was up to the challenge. He did, however, benefit from some good puck luck. The pivotal moment came when Millies winger Barney Stanley had a wide-open net in front of him. The Strat card gave him a 90% chance of scoring with no possibility of a saving throw (so to speak) for the goaltender. Stanley missed the gimme and his team fell 3-2.

Still, it was a pretty successful debut for the Millies. Lehman was solid in goal, the team was a perfect 4-4 on the penalty kill, and if not for some bad luck in high-leverage scoring chances (there was Stanley's blunder, of course, but several other unlucky dice rolls as well), they might've had another goal or two. I don't see this team making the playoffs, but they may well prove to be respectable even in their first year.

Preseason Game 3

In giving the Thistles and the Bulldogs a preseason game, my main intent was to see first overall pick Jack Laviolette in action. The rookie defenseman had a rather quiet debut, but his teammates certainly made a statement. The Bulldogs went out and thumped the Thistles and their MVP goaltender, Riley Hern, by a 4-0 score, with Scotty Davidson, Bruce Stuart, Tom Hooper, and Art Ross all lighting the lamp. Although it won't count in the standings, Paddy Moran posted a 23-save shutout. It's just one game, but if the Dogs keep up this kind of play, they'll be serious contenders for a playoff spot in Season 4.

Preseason Game 2

This is probably how it's going to go when the regular season starts. Although the Millionaires showed up well against the Comets in the first preseason game, they got annihilated by the Victorias in the second contest.

The game started quietly enough. Late in the first, still scoreless, Vics blueliner Phat Wilson took a shot from the point that eluded Hugh Lehman. It remained a one-goal game through most of the second period, until Hobey Baker scored on the power play to make it 2-0. Shortly thereafter, in the final minute, first-year forward Rusty Crawford atoned for an earlier penalty by setting up Millies captain Art Farrell for a blast that cut the Vics' lead in half. The rally was short lived. Right at the buzzer, Dubbie Bowie found rookie center Harry Hyland alone in the slot to make it 3-1. Things really fell apart for the Millionaires in the third. Early in the period, Marty Walsh and Hobie Baker struck in rapid succession to make it 5-1. A glimmer of hope arose for the home team when Jimmy Gardner scored on a nice feed from Ernie Russell to cut the deficit to three, but Cyclone Taylor picked up a power-play goal late in the third to put the exclamation point on a resounding 6-2 triumph for the Victorias. Taylor led all scorers with four points (1 G, 3 A), while Baker, Wilson, Bowie, and Billy McGimsie all had multiple-point efforts for the winning side. Penalty killing was again a major problem for the expansion team, as they allowed two power-play goals on four chances. They failed to score on their only try with the man advantage.

I was most curious about the performance of rookie goaltender Hugh Lehman, who got torched in this game but had a solid effort in the first one. Over the course of the two preseason games, he finished with a 4.00 goals-against average and .897 save percentage. If Lehman puts up numbers like these during the regular season, the Bulldogs will have been justified in passing over him to select Jack Laviolette instead. Speaking of the Bulldogs, I ought to give them an exhibition contest (I'll set them up against the Thistles, who also have yet to take the ice in the preseason) to see how young phenom Laviolette fares.

Preseason Game 1

Prior to Season 1, I conducted a mini-tournament so that I could learn the Strat-O-Matic hockey rules and experiment with line combinations and strategies. Each of the four original teams played two games, so I thought it fair that the expansion Millionaires should also get two exhibition games before I commence with Season 4. As such, the Millionaires took the ice was for the first time tonight, at home, against the champion Comets. The outcome and stats won't count toward league totals, but they'll help me assess how this new team might hold up against the established clubs.

The game started with a bang when, right after the opening faceoff, Comets sparkplug Billy Gilmour leveled his former teammate, Jimmy Gardner. I know it was just a random outcome of the Action Deck, but damn, it seemed appropriate! Gilmour is always right in the thick of it, and he immediately gives the Millies a heel they can despise. Shortly thereafter, Ernie Russell got some payback when he took down superstar Frank McGee. These early penalties set the stage for a rough, physical contest.

The home fans had plenty to cheer about late in the first when Fred Whitcroft, the defenseman-turned-center, scored unassisted on a breakaway. The lead was short-lived, however, as playoff hero Mike Grant tied the game early in the second with a power-play goal that was set up by Gilmour and McGee. Later on, Percy LeSueur made a couple of big saves against Whitcroft and Harry Watson, and the second period ended with a one-all deadlock.

The final frame featured more penalties and clutch saves by both netminders. Lehman impressed with stops on Grant and Fred Maxwell. Just when it looked like the Millies might come away with a draw in their first game, George Richardson scored for the Comets on the power play, with the assists going to McGee and Grant. Special teams really were the difference in this game. The Millionaires went 0-for-3 on the power play, while the Comets clicked at 2-for-6.

Not long after Richardson's tally, the clock ran out and the Comets skated away with a 2-1 triumph. It was a tough loss for the Millies, but they acquitted themselves well. Lehman stopped an eye-popping 38 of 40 shots. (It was 25 of 26 for LeSueur, who had a much lighter workload.) If the Millionaires can avoid the penalty box and find a way to get a few more shots, they'll hold their own in this league.

Meet the Millionaires!

Now, with all transactions complete, our expansion team is ready to take the ice. Let's meet the Millionaires! (Non-rookies are listed along with some basic career stats: games played, goals, assists, points, plus/minus, and penalty minutes.)

Goaltender

• Hugh Lehman: The team's first-ever player by virtue of his selection in the Season 4 entry draft, Lehman will have his work cut out for him. Paddy Moran's worst-ever season (4.00 goals against average, .870 save percentage) is about what I would expect to see out of Lehman this year with the team that he has in front of him. But maybe he'll surprise us! He is, after all, the first new goaltender we've added since I started this league.

Defensemen

• Graham Drinkwater: (33 GP, 4 G, 13 A, 17 P, +2, 8 PIM) A steady veteran coming off of a cup-winning season with the Comets, Drinkwater moves the puck well and will see time on the power play. 
• Art Farrell: (36 GP, 3 G, 10 A, 13 P, +7, 8 PIM) This solid all-around player will serve as the Millionaires' team captain. He won two cups with the Victorias, so he brings playoff experience and the mentality of a winner. As the team's (nominal) top defenseman, he'll play on the power play as well as the penalty kill. 
• Joe Hall: Hall is a Season 4 draftee acquired from the Comets. He'll be a regular on the penalty kill as long as he stays out of the box himself. 

Forwards

• Rusty Crawford (RW): Drafted by the Thistles prior to Season 4, Crawford was selected for his skills as a defensive forward and penalty killer. He has very little offensive upside.
• Jimmy Gardner (LW): (35 GP, 10 G, 16 A, 26 P, +6, 34 PIM) Gardner is the closest thing the Millionaires have to a star and currently sits in 19th place on the league's all-time scoring chart. He was a valuable member of the Comets' cup-winning Season 3 team and will be given the opportunity to play top-line minutes at even strength and on the power play. Gardner can skate and score, and brings a nasty streak that the (fictional, of course) Millie fans will certainly come to love.
• Ernie Russell (C): (6 G, 10 A, 16 P, -6, 28 PIM) This journeyman forward will be playing for his third team in four seasons. Last year's campaign with the Bulldogs was a lost season, but Russell will be counted on to leverage his innate offensive talents to take the role of top-line center. 
• Barney Stanley (RW): (7 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 P, -4, 8 PIM) Acquired from the Victorias, Stanley was a rookie last season and saw his minutes dwindle as fringy Fred Scanlan outplayed him. Stanley can handle either wing and will likely suit up with Russell and Gardner on the team's first unit. I think he's a better player than his rookie season stats would indicate.
• Harry Watson (LW): (35 GP, 5 G, 17 A, 22 P, -7, 14 PIM): Watson spent the past three seasons alternating between forward and defense for the Bulldogs. The Millionaires will keep him at forward to maximize the impact of his superior skating abilities. 
• Fred Whitcroft (C): (36 GP, 5 G, 18 A, 23 P, -3, 32 PIM) In something of a surprise move, the Millionaires drafted longtime Bulldogs defenseman Whitcroft with the intent of using him as a forward. Whitcroft has heretofore untapped offensive potential and plays a good all-around game. He'll center the team's second line and get a lot of minutes playing the point on power plays.

Meanwhile, those players who were selected in the expansion draft but released from the Millionaires (Harvey Pulford, Jack Ruttan, and Fred Scanlan) will now become free agents. As we're returning to 10-man rosters for Season 4, however, these guys will have to wait until a roster spot opens up before they can sign anywhere.

Getting to this point -- the creation of a fully-functional fifth team! -- was every bit as fun as playing the games. Now I need to run through a few preseason games to get a sense of how the Millionaires will fare...

Drafted!

I've conducted the expansion draft, so now 13 players are (at least temporarily) the property of the Millionaires. Players are listed with their positional eligibility and the team from which they were selected.

• Rusty Crawford, F, Thistles
• Graham Drinkwater, D/F, Comets
• Art Farrell, D/F, Victorias
• Jimmy Gardner, F, Comets
• Joe Hall, D/F, Comets
• Hugh Lehman, G, Entry Draft
• Harvey Pulford, D, Thistles
• Ernie Russell, F, Bulldogs
• Jack Ruttan, F, Thistles
• Fred Scanlan, F, Victorias
• Barney Stanley, F, Victorias
• Harry Watson, D/F, Bulldogs
• Fred Whitcroft, D/F, Bulldogs

From the list above, I'll cut down to 10 guys to create the active roster for their first season in the league!

Exposed!

We now know who will be left unprotected in the expansion draft. Each team has exposed four players (one defenseman and at least three players who are eligible at forward). Below is a team-by-team list, along with each player's positional eligibility.

Bulldogs:

• Scotty Davidson (F)
• Ernie Russell (F)
• Harry Watson (D, F)
• Fred Whitcroft (D, F)

Comets:

• Graham Drinkwater (D, F)
• Jimmy Gardner (F)
• Joe Hall (D, F)
• Fred "Steamer" Maxwell (F)

Thistles:

• Rusty Crawford (F)
• Moose Goheen (F)
• Harvey Pulford (D)
• Jack Ruttan (F)

Victorias:

• Art Farrell (D, F)
• Fred Scanlan (F)
• Barney Stanley (F)
• Phat Wilson (D)

What can we say about this motley crew? The big name here is the Comets' Jimmy Gardner, a highly skilled forward who is almost certain to be selected. (The Comets have so many great players that they couldn't protect them all!) Davidson and Russell bring speed and scoring prowess, but also a propensity for penalties. Whitcroft and Drinkwater are versatile players who can suit up as secondary forwards or as puck-moving defensemen.

It's not a bad group, but it's sorely lacking in centers. Although several guys on this list can play center, there's no one here who routinely does play center in this league. That's going to be the biggest weakness for the Millies in their first season. They're going to get manhandled in the faceoff circle and end up chasing the puck a lot. Silver lining? The entry draft for Season 5 has several elite skaters who can play center!

It's Getting Drafty!

I'm inching closer to the exciting expansion draft that will give the Millionaires a full team!

Currently, each of the four existing teams has the rights to 13 players (including the guys who were just selected in the entry draft earlier this week). For Season 4, I'm setting the active roster cap at 10 players, so the Millionaires will need to obtain nine guys in this expansion draft -- six forwards and three defensemen to join the one goaltender who is already on their roster. We'll follow the process below:

• Each existing team must expose four players.
• Teams must expose at least one "pure" defenseman (someone who has played at least 80% of his games on defense) and at least three players who are eligible as forwards (any or all of whom can also be eligible as defensemen).
• From these lists of unprotected players, the Millionaires will select three players from each team.
• The Millionaires will conclude the expansion draft with 13 players (12 selected in the expansion draft and one selected earlier during the entry draft).
• The Millionaires will evaluate their talent, decide on which players to keep, and then cut players until they are down to 10 men on their roster. 
• Players who are cut become free agents.

At this point, the expansion draft is over and any subsequent player movement would be the result of trades or free agent signings. Free agents will be handled using the process below:

• Prior to the start of Season 4, or at any point during Season 4, any team that has fewer than 10 players on its active roster (due to injury or due to players being cut for poor performance) has the option to sign a free agent.
• A team with an open roster spot may sign any free agent, but first all teams that had a worse regular-season record in Season 3 must be given the opportunity to sign that player. (Those teams may cut a player to open a roster spot if needed.)

With the rules in place, I'll take a look at all four franchises and determine which players will be exposed for selection by the Millionaires!

James Creighton Cup

In my historical Strat-O-Matic hockey league, I've referred to the championship as the "Strat Cup", but that's rather uninspired. After naming my baseball championship in honor of an early baseball pioneer, I thought I'd do the same for my hockey league. My search for an appropriate honoree didn't take very long. 

To stand beside the Jim Creighton Cup, we now have the...James Creighton Cup.

This James Creighton (no relation to baseball's James "Jim" Creighton) was an early promoter of ice hockey and helped popularize the game in Montreal in the 1870s. He's recognized today as having organized the first indoor hockey game in history, and he captained his team to victory. Like his American baseball counterpart, he is not a member of the Hall of Fame for his sport, but probably deserves that honor. 

And now I have a Creighton Cup for both sports!

Jim Creighton Cup

The boys and I watched the classic Simpsons episode "Homer at the Bat" last night. The premise of the episode is that Mr. Burns recruits professional baseball players as ringers for his plant softball team. Nine real-life ballplayers from the early '90s show up as guest stars, but initially Burns wants to bring in old-timey players who are more familiar to him. Cap Anson, Nap Lajoie, and Honus Wagner -- all of them stars in my nineteenth-century Strat-O-Matic league -- are briefly referenced. The punchline occurs when Smithers points out that his boss's proposed right fielder has been dead for 130 years.

Matthew really cracked up at that line, but it's no exaggeration. The player's name is not spoken aloud, but you can see on Burns's poster that the right fielder is Jim Creighton, who had indeed been deceased for 130 years when this episode aired in 1992. It's hard to believe that baseball has been around for so long that we can crack jokes about star players who were born almost 180 years ago. Creighton was, indeed, the game's first true superstar. He does not appear in my historical league, but that's only because he's not in the Hall of Fame. 

And he should be! This guy was a baseball legend. As a young man of 19, he revolutionized pitching. (Contrary to the Simpsons gag, Creighton was a pitcher and not a right fielder.) Prior to Creighton, it was expected that pitchers simply lob the ball underhanded so that the batter could put it in play. Creighton, however, saw the pitcher's role as trying to prevent the batter from making good contact. He hurled the ball with heretofore unparalleled velocity, and also experimented with various types of breaking balls over a decade before the likes of Candy Cummings. Creighton was a great hitter, as well, and batted 1.000 during the 1862 season (65 at-bats). 

Sadly, Creighton didn't live to see the dawn of major-league baseball in 1871. He died at the young age of 21 from an injury sustained while -- of all things -- hitting a home run. Going forward, the championship of my Strat-O-Matic league will be the Jim Creighton Cup.

Our First Millionaire

With another baseball season in the books, it's time to switch back to hockey. When I put my pre-NHL Strat-O-Matic league aside a few months ago, I had made plans to expand the league with a brand-new franchise. As such, in Season 4, the Millionaires will become our fifth team! Soon, I'll conduct an expansion draft to select players from each existing team to populate our new franchise.

Today, however, the Millies -- they probably need a better nickname -- got their first player when I conducted the Season 4 entry draft. Below are the five new players who will be joining the league for this upcoming season. (As always, the teams select in inverse order of the previous year's regular-season standings. I had the expansion Millionaires select third, in between the two teams that didn't make the playoffs and the two teams that did.)

1. Bulldogs: Jack Laviolette, D
The Vics have Cyclone Taylor, the Comets have Mike Grant, and the Thistles have Hod Stuart. The Bulldogs have never had a true offensive defenseman to quarterback their attack. Now they've got their man. Laviolette (who also has eligibility at forward in case it's ever needed) is a fantastic shooter whose long-range shot will immediately become one of the best in the league. Put this guy on the Dogs' power play and watch him rack up the points as he joins forces with the likes of Gord Roberts and Tommy Dunderdale.

2. Victorias: Harry Hyland, C
After suffering through a down year, the Vics get a consolation prize with this solid centerman who isn't much of a skater but is good on draws and has shooting skills that may be top-ten in the league. Hyland can also suit up as a defenseman, but I doubt the Vics will play him back there. Instead, he'll likely take a spot on the team's second line as an upgrade over Barney Stanley (a player likely to be selected by the Millionaires in the expansion draft).

3. Millionaires: Hugh Lehman, G
A rookie goaltender on an expansion team? What could possibly go wrong? There was a chance that the Bulldogs might have taken Lehman with the number-one pick, but I ran the numbers and found no statistical advantage (in terms of Strat-O-Matic game stats) over incumbent goalie Paddy Moran. The Bulldogs, thus, passed on Lehman to select the talented Laviolette, and the Vics passed on Lehman because they already have an elite goaltender in Bowse Hutton. As such, Lehman was available for the Millies with the third pick. Their conundrum was either to draft him here or let another team draft him, thereby forcing the Millies to take a goalie in the expansion draft instead. As Lehman's game stats are, technically, better than Percy LeSueur's, there was a very real chance that the Comets might have taken Lehman and exposed LeSueur to the expansion draft. In that scenario, the Millies would've ended up with a cup-winning goaltender in their first season (remind anyone of another recent hockey expansion team?), but the game stats really do say that Lehman is better than LeSueur. The Millies thus played it safe and drafted Lehman. Good luck, kid!

4. Thistles: Rusty Crawford, LW
His offensive skills are, well, rusty. Crawford will be valuable on the penalty kill, but he's a complete zero with the puck. And he's penalty-prone, to boot. The Thistles already have a couple of great defensive forwards, not to mention a bunch of goons up and down the lineup, so Crawford is going to find himself exposed to the expansion draft. But will the Millies select him, or leave him to rust on the Thistles' bench?

5. Comets: Joe Hall, D
The real-life Hall was a colorful player and valuable to his teams, but in Strat hockey, he doesn't seem to be very good. The Comets are stuck with him as the last remaining player in the entry draft, and the team with the league's deepest defense has absolutely no need for Hall's modest services. Like Crawford, he'll end up exposed to the Millies -- but with a pretty solid long-range shot and eligibility at forward to provide some versatility, he might just find a home with the expansion team.

Season 4 Awards

It was a wild ride, but the fourth season of my historical Strat-O-Matic baseball season is complete. That means it's time to hand out the hardware!

Position Player MVP: George Davis, Canaries

This guy led the league in most offensive categories...including nose hair! (Sorry, but blame Bob Uecker for that one.). Davis clubbed five home runs to set a new single-season record. His batting line looks like Mickey Mantle's, and, like the Mick, he's a switch hitter who runs well and steals bases to complement his prodigious power. Throw in his passable defense as a third baseman, and he's the game's best all-around position player.

Pitcher MVP: Mickey Welch, Haymakers

Simply put, this man dominated. In eight regular-season starts, he compiled a microscopic 1.61 ERA, far and away the best single-season mark for any starting pitcher over the past four seasons. And although wins and losses are a lousy measure of a pitcher's performance, it's worth noting that Welch more than doubled his career wins after posting a 5-1 record in Season 4. (Coming into this season, he had a career record of 4-8 in 17 starts.)

Playoff MVP: Pud Galvin, Canaries

While I could make a good case for Sam Thompson or Honus Wagner, I think this award needs to go to Pud Galvin. With his team facing elimination, Galvin absolutely saved their season. He turned in a performance that's tied for the most dominant postseason start ever: nine innings pitched and one earned run allowed (matching Old Hoss Radbourn's performance in the play-in game last season). But with an expansion team looming for Season 5, has this stalwart starter pitched his last game in Canaries yellow...?

Season 4 Championship, Game 3

What a night of baseball! This game was epic from start to finish -- an amazing way to close out a great season! 

We began with a rematch of our Game 1 starters, with Tim Keefe going for the Canaries and Mickey Welch for the Haymakers. In a shocking twist, Keefe was injured in the second inning and left the game. The Canaries went to Kid Nichols, but the loss of their longtime ace was a crippling blow.

With no choice but to carry on, the Canaries went to work against Welch. They broke through in the top of the fourth when Hugh Duffy and Ed Delahanty -- recently returned from an injury of his own -- hit run-scoring singles to give the Birds a 2-0 edge.

Nichols, however, couldn't hold the lead. In the bottom of the frame, he gave up an RBI triple to Roger Bresnahan, a sacrifice fly to Deacon White, and a solo homer to light-hitting shortstop Bobby Wallace. It was now 3-2 in favor of the Haymakers.

In the top of the fifth, Buck Ewing drove in a run to tie the game. Later in the inning, with two on and two out, the Canaries lifted Nichols for pinch hitter Pete Hill, but they failed to tally any more runs. The next inning, though, Roger Connor doubled home a run to give the Canaries the lead once more at 4-3. In the seventh, Monte Ward picked up an RBI single to stretch the lead to 5-3. 

Needless to say, the momentum was shifting in favor of the Canaries. Rube Foster had taken over for Nichols in the bottom of the fifth and was pitching well, as he'd done all season. 

Meanwhile, the Haymakers suffered another setback when catcher Roger Bresnahan was pulled from the game due to injury. White moved from third to catcher, Joe Kelley came in from center field to man third, and reserve outfielder Elmer Flick took over in center. 

In the bottom of the seventh, with the pitcher's spot up first, the Haymakers removed Welch for pinch hitter Jake Beckley, who singled up the middle to start a potential rally. A few batters later, Cap Anson hit an RBI groundout to make it 5-4, but the Haymakers were unable to tie the game.

Cy Young took over in the eighth, making his first career relief appearance -- regular season or playoff. He fared little better than Welch, giving up a home run to Honus Wagner that restored the Birds' two-run lead. The Canaries put men on base again in the top of the ninth and removed Foster for pinch hitter Frank Chance, although Frank blew his chance and the score remained 6-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Joe McGinnity became the Canaries' fourth pitcher of the night and had the unenviable task of shutting down the heart of the Haymakers' lineup. McGinnity was making his first-ever playoff appearance on the mound, and quickly found himself with runners on first and second with only one out. Next up was Cap Anson. After that, Sam Thompson. Gulp! 

With the tying run aboard and cheering Haymaker fans clamoring for a walk-off win to seal their threepeat, McGinnity started dealing. He got Anson on a shallow fly. Two down. Thompson stepped into the batter's box, looking to homer for the third straight game. Bat met ball, but this was not the towering home run that Thompson had blasted in the ninth inning the night before. It was a lazy pop fly that landed in the glove of center fielder Hugh Duffy. 

Game over! The Canaries have won the Season 4 championship and claimed their first title in franchise history!

Season 4 Championship, Game 2

With Ed Delahanty injured, the Canaries had to reconfigure the top of their lineup. Hugh Duffy retained his status as leadoff man, but slugger George Davis moved up several spots to the two-hole in place of Delahanty, regular cleanup hitter Honus Wagner took third, and Roger Connor fell back one slot to fourth.

These lineup changes made little difference at first. The Haymakers' Jack Chesbro worked quickly and efficiently, keeping the Canaries off balance in the early frames. His counterpart, Pud Galvin, matched him inning for inning. We had quite a pitcher's duel going, and neither team got a man as far as second base until the fifth.

In the bottom of that inning, the Canaries managed to load the bases with only one out. Unfortunately for them, the eight and nine hitters were up, and both Monte Ward and Pud Galvin failed to drive in a run. The Canaries had really struggled with runners in scoring position against Mickey Welch in Game 1, and it seemed that recent history was repeating itself.

Then we got to the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Davis smacked a ringing double. Wagner promptly singled him home, giving the Canaries a 1-0 lead. After Connor flied out, Buck Ewing and Fred Clarke hit back-to-back doubles, and in the blink of an eye the Canaries were up 3-0.

It was all the offense Galvin would need. Outdueled last postseason by the Blue Legs' Old Hoss Radbourn, Galvin made certain he was going to to lock down the win. The only question was whether he could pull off the first complete-game playoff shutout. With one out in the top of the ninth, Sam Thompson hit a moonshot that spoiled Galvin's shutout bid and pulled the Haymakers within two runs. They failed to score again, however, and the Canaries evened this series at one game apiece with a 3-1 triumph.

Next up is the winner-take-all Game 3 back on the Haymakers' turf. Galvin and Thompson are now the early frontrunners for Playoff MVP. I'm really impressed with Thompson so far. He's become the first player to hit multiple home runs during the same postseason, and it seems like he's in a position to change the course of the game every time he steps to the plate. If he were to win, it would be his second such trophy, as Thompson won this award in the Season 1 championship as a member of the Blue Legs after hitting the first grand slam in league history. Of course, we still have one more game to go, so perhaps another lad will step up and author his own heroic deeds!

Season 4 Championship, Game 1

Game 1 offered no small amount of drama! 

Right from the get-go, it was clear that Mickey Welch didn't have his best stuff. He allowed a lot of hits throughout the game, but managed to keep the Canaries off the board until Honus Wagner had an RBI groundout in the top of the third. Jesse Burkett tied the game in the bottom of the inning with a run-scoring single. 

In the fifth, Canaries star Ed Delahanty struck out on an awkward swing and was removed from the game. I consulted Dr. Dee Twenty (get it?), and it turns out that Delahanty will miss an additional game recovering from the strain. That's a huge blow for the Canaries. Delahanty has played his entire career for this team and has been a model of consistency and excellence over the past four seasons. Reserve outfielder Pete Hill will take his place in the meantime.

Things started to look up for the Birds in the top of the sixth, when ace pitcher Tim Keefe helped his cause with an RBI base knock, putting his team ahead by one. Their slim advantage wouldn't last for very long. Keefe took the mound in the bottom of the frame and promptly gave up a leadoff single to Cap Anson. Next up was Big Sam Thompson, who has absolutely owned Keefe this year. Thompson crushed a two-run shot that gave his team its first lead of the night. Thompson was followed by catcher Roger Bresnahan, who blasted a solo bomb on the very next pitch. For only the third time in league history -- and the first time ever in the playoffs -- teammates had hit back-to-back homers. Keefe wouldn't surrender another run, but the damage was done, and reliever Rube Foster finished up for the Birds.

Staked to a 4-2 advantage, Welch settled in and cruised through the later innings. In the ninth, he got two quick outs before giving up a single to George Davis. The next batter, left fielder Fred Clarke, legged out a triple that brought Davis home and tightened the score to 4-3. With the tying run just 90 feet away, Buck Ewing dug in against Welch. The veteran catcher couldn't square up to Welch's wicked screwball and grounded out to end the game. 

Game 2 will shift to the Canaries' field, and the Haymakers will try to claim their third straight league championship!

Series Preview

It will be the Canaries and Haymakers vying for the title -- a rematch of the Season 2 championship! Let's take a closer look at these two contenders.

Offense

• Haymakers: At 3.86 runs per game, the two-time defending champs are scoring almost a full run per game less than last season (4.7). Joe Kelley, Jesse Burkett, Cap Anson, and Sam Thompson are a fearsome foursome, but the lineup thins out quite a bit after that. The team's 10 home runs, however, is tied with the Season 2 Blue Legs for second-most by a team in a single season; Sam Thompson had three of those dingers.
• Canaries: This team smashed every offensive record in the books. Their 5.24 runs per game was the highest in league history, as were the 12 home runs they hit (George Davis collecting five of them). The Canaries also became the first team ever to eclipse 100 runs in a season and finished with 110. With Hugh Duffy, Ed Delahanty, Honus Wagner, et al, this team can flat-out rake.
• Advantage: Canaries

Defense

• Haymakers: Their defense was well behind the Canaries, but ahead of the Blue Legs. They're solid all around the infield aside from third (apologies to Deacon White), but the outfield is an adventure, to say the least. Bench player Elmer Flick is a capable late-inning defensive replacement for the outfield.
• Canaries: Honus Wagner struggled a bit at short (his four errors more than doubled his career total), but otherwise the team executed almost flawlessly in the field. I should note, however, that some less-than-elite fielders -- Monte Ward, Roger Connor, and George Davis in particular -- may have benefited from a bit of good luck, and although they didn't make lots of errors, their lack of range prevented them from getting to some balls that better fielders could have reached.
• Advantage: Canaries

Pitching

• Haymakers: The Haymakers allowed just 3.57 runs per game, the lowest in league history. Mickey Welch led the way with a 1.61 ERA and 5-1 record. He'll start Games 1 and 3, a prospect that ought to be terrifying the Canaries right about now. Jack Chesbro was 4-0 on the season and out-pitched Cy Young down the stretch to earn the Game 2 start. The Haymakers have power arms in Amos Rusie and Rube Waddell out of the pen, but expect Young to get the nod in high-leverage relief situations.
• Canaries: It was a great season for the Canaries staff, as they allowed 3.95 runs per game. Tim Keefe, last year's Pitcher MVP, had another solid year and will take the mound in the first and third games. Battle-tested Pud Galvin will start Game 2, but he'll have a short leash, with Kid Nichols waiting in the wings. Rube Foster and Joe McGinnity were both brilliant in relief, giving the Canaries a potential edge in late-game situations.
• Advantage: Haymakers

Prediction

They'll have to beat Mickey Welch at least once to do it, but I predict the Canaries will triumph by a margin of two games to one. They may have finished the regular season in second place yet again, but the Canaries are the better team.

We Have a Winner!

I hit the ol' Rewind button and brought Tiebreaker Take Two back to the end of the eight inning. This time, I made sure not to lift Amos Rusie for an ineligible pitcher. Rusie stayed in the game and carved up Canary hitters for four more innings, and the Haymakers won 6-4 in 12. As such, they claimed first place and home-field advantage in the championship series. After finishing Season 1 in last place, the Haymakers have reeled off three straight first-place finishes and will now be looking to claim a third straight playoff championship.

But are they the best team this year? Definitely not. Their 13-8 record gave them a .619 winning percentage, but their run differential was only +6. Indeed, their Pythagorean (expected) winning percentage, based on runs scored and runs allowed, was just .538. It looks like Lady Luck was smiling on Cap Anson's boys all season. The Canaries truly were the better team. They had a +27 run differential (the best in league history) and an expected winning percentage of .637 (compared to their actual winning percentage of .571). If their luck starts to turn around, they could become the first second-place team to claim a championship.

Strike Two!

Twice now I've tried to play the tiebreaker game between the Haymakers and the Canaries to determine first place and home-field advantage in the championship series...and I've whiffed both times! In the first attempt, I used an ineligible pitcher -- per my house rule preventing pitchers from pitching on consecutive calendar days -- in the middle of the game. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late to go back and redo the innings I had played. I was disappointed to have lost an exciting game (home runs by Roger Connor, Fred Clarke, and Cap Anson in a wild 10-9 win for the Haymakers), but elected to start the game over because I had inadvertently given the Haymakers the advantage of using a pitcher who should have been resting. So I started the game over and THE SAME DAMN THING HAPPENED AGAIN! When Tiebreaker Take Two went to extra innings, I brought in a Haymakers pitcher -- a different one this time -- who was not eligible. Once again, I did not catch my error until after the game (won 5-4 by the Canaries in 13 innings on an RBI single by Monte Ward). I could play the whole game a third time, but I'm pretty confident that I can roll Take Two back to the top of the ninth inning, with the game tied at 4. Let's hope third time's the charm!