The Canaries won't be able to end their title drought this year, nor will the Haymakers be able to add to their overflowing trophy case. This year's championship series will feature the game's best rivalry, the Blue Legs against the Resolutes. These teams have met twice before in the finals: In Season 6, the Resolutes trailed 2-1 in the best-of-five series and then stunned the Legs with back-to-back shutout victories to steal the title, and then in Season 8, when the Blue Legs savored sweet revenge by sweeping the Resolutes in three straight.
This year, the Blue Legs finished in first place with a record of 15-9, while the Resolutes came in at 13-11. Both teams had identical +10 run differentials, however, with Pythagorean records suggesting that the Legs were a little lucky and the Resolutes a bit unlucky. Despite the identical run differentials, the teams had very different approaches. The Legs led the league with 3.92 runs scored per game and, not surprisingly, had more home runs (and extra-base hits of any kind) than all other teams. They had solid pitching, but their run prevention was bolstered by a defense that was perhaps the best in league history. The Resolutes, meanwhile, posted a spectacular 3.04 runs against per game, thanks to a diverse pitching staff that limited hard contact. Offensively, they played "small ball," leveraging their plate discipline and speed to manufacture runs. It will be fascinating to see how these two very different teams fare over the five-game series!
No comments:
Post a Comment