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2005 IIBL
WORLD SERIES |
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VS
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Game 1
Seoul at Cambridge Clemens versus Oswalt. The way a World Series should begin with aces clashing heads and egos and comparing the size of their country ranches for bragging rights. And game one was everything it was billed to be… until the 7th. The aces plowed through six, opposing lineups presented few hiccups. A Victor Martinez RBI groundout plated Hideki Matsui in the Longfellow 4th and Hafner singled home Grady Sizemore in the Fighter 6th. With two outs in the 7th after a Mike Sweeney double, Seoul manager BJ Chang yanked Oswalt (perhaps prematurely) to bring in Matt Wise to pitch to Marcus Giles. Marcus yanks Wise’s third pitch over the short porch to put the Longfellows up 3-1 and the game gets out of reach for the Fighters an inning later against Chris Reitsma and Brad Thomson. 123
456 789 R H E Game 2
Seoul at Cambridge With John Patterson’s arm still unwell after his celebratory festivities, Brett Myers got the call for the Longfellows to oppose Seoul youngster Dan Haren. Haren stumbled through a rough 1st, giving up a home run to David Wright on his second pitch of the game. Six pitches and a Vlad impalement later, the score swelled to 3-0. Giles and Andruw Jones would each add 2-run HRs before the Longfellows told Javy Vazquez to close out the final two innings. This, of course, meant that the Fighters would hit a home run or two before the series shipped off to Seoul, and Chipper Jones and Miguel Cabrera obliged. 123
456 789 R H E Game 3
Cambridge at Seoul
Patterson and Harden played pinball in the 1st. Patterson pumped his fist
and bellowed “toto
123 456 789 01 R H E Game 4
Cambridge at Seoul The
Fighters brought Oswalt back on short rest to sustain the Game Three
momentum. And that they would.
123 456 789 R H E Game 5
Cambridge at Seoul The Longfellows jumped out to a 3-0 lead on an Andruw Jones double. Any other day, this would warm Roger’s cockles. The Rocket cruised through seven, the only blemishes solo home runs by Travis Hafner and Miguel Cabrera. The Longfellows didn’t even warm anyone up before the 8th, and then things went horribly awry. Ellis singled before a Hafner slapped his 2nd HR (his 4th of the series) to pull within one. Chaos broke out in the Cambridge bullpen. Coaches yelled for someone anyone to get ready. Relievers, who’d already switched to street clothes with a 3-run Clemens lead, searched for uniforms. Meanwhile, Clemens retired Cabrera and Chipper Jones (a miracle) on weak groundouts. LCS MVP Jonny Gomes reached on an infield single and the Longfellows rushed Betancourt to the mound to pitch to a struggling Jorge Posada. Posada ripped the pitch up the middle for a single. Cambridge yanked Betancourt in favor of the lefty Ohman to pitch to Vizquel. but Seoul had reserved Wily Mo Pena for just such a moment. Predictably, Pena singled, tying the game and Ohman who then also gets yanked, replaced by Joe Nathan with the Fighters tasting a potential series lead. An uneventful 9th begat free baseball, if only for the briefest of encores. Andruw Jones drove a Brad Thompson fastball into the Pacific to start the rally. Kenny Lofton singled and stole second. New reliever Kiko Calero walked Marcus Giles. After a risky double steal succeeds in eliminating the double play from pinch-hitter Matt LeCroy’s likely outcomes, the hulking mass slaps a double down the left field line to plate two and put the Longfellows up in the game and in the series. Chipper Jones contributed another desperate, meaningless home run – his fifth of the series – in the home end of the 10th that would only contribute to his gaudy offensive totals.
123 456 789 0 R H E Game 6
Seoul at Cambridge Seoul had nobody else, and in the bottom of the 1st, Moyer fueled further concern. After two well-struck doubles by Matsui and Bobby Crosby, Seoul felt lucky to escape the inning down only 1-0. Brett Myers slapped a two-out seeing-eye single between first and second to score Andruw Jones causing the Seoul manager to believe in a conspiracy of the fates. In reality, Brett Myers just wanted someone to love him. Travis Hafner, not letting Chipper hog the derby spotlight, homered off Myers in the 6th to bring the Fighters within one. The Cambridge bullpen readied but Myers shrugged off the blast and finished Seoul off in the 6th without further damage, striking out Jones and inducing a Gomes fly out to Andruw Jones. The score would stagnate until the bottom of the 8th neither bullpen willing to let the game fall out of reach. Former Longfellow, Brett Tomko, now working his second inning, walked Victor Martinez with one-out. Mark Sweeney beat out an infield single. In what can only be a case of temporary insanity, the Longfellows called for a double steal, the memory of the ploy’s success in Game Five still fresh. Posada throws pinchrunner Perez out at third. Sweeney advanced to second. Tomko intentionally walked Marcus Giles to set up the double play and bring up the pitcher’s spot. But Willy Aybar lined a 2-1 Tomko pitch into right field for a single. The throw from Jonny Gomes arrived too late to cut down the lumbering Sweeney to put the Longfellows up 3-1 heading into the top of the 9th. With the red hot Chipper Jones leading off, Cambridge turned to rookie left-hander Lenny DiNardo, mostly because he’d yet to surrender a home run to the Seoul third baseman. Chipper grounded the first pitch weakly back to DiNardo, who sprinted over to first and dropped the ball into Sweeney’s glove for the first out. Then Cambridge went to their bullpen again, bringing in Helling to face Jonny Gomes. Gomes flew out to Matsui for the second out. Longfellow faithful stood, anticipating precisely what they’d expected out of this club in March, but still, having not once reached the playoffs in the team’s history, never believed would happen during the current presidency. With Minute Maid rocking, Seoul pinch-hitter Eric Hinske singled and Omar Vizquel walked, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in the form of Seoul’s last bench option: Jeff Cirillo. Cirillo ran the count to 2-2 when Helling unleashed a twelve-to-six curveball, a filthy, unholy piece of gorgonzola cheese that fell off the table and only picked up speed in its earthward plunge. Cirillo swung over the pitch, the sound of the pop from Paul Phillips’ glove taking what seemed like minutes to reach the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park. Brett Myers raced from the dugout to celebrate with Helling and Phillips, the unlikeliest of triumvirates to appear on the front page of the Cambridge paper the next morning. The Longfellows’ glory, however, upstaged by the headline story: Mass Ave. Anti-Bush Rally Sparks Impromptu Street Musician and Ultimate Frisbee Festival. 123
456 789 R H E MVP: Brett Myers led the Longfellows with two victories and all Cambridge starters with a 3.00 ERA, and Vladimir Guerrero delivered three HR, including a dramatic game tying 9th inning home run (ultimately in a losing effort), however, David Wright deserves the honors. The Longfellow leadoff man registered a .462 batting average, .548 OBP, 2 HR and 8 RBI for the six game series after slumping mightily throughout the LCS. To qualify Wright’s impact on the series, Seoul manager BJ Chang twice intentionally walked Wright with runners on base, preferring to face Hideki Matsui, including an occasion in the 8th inning of Game Six with runners on first and third and the Longfellows threatening the break the game open. |
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