1991 AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFF PREVIEW

AL EAST CHAMPION QUIGLEY Q’S vs. AL WEST CHAMPION
BROOKLYN BRIDEGROOMS

These two teams have taken starkly different paths which now
intersect at the crossroads of the 1991 AL Playoffs.  Quigley makes its fifth consecutive
appearance in the junior circuit showdown after compiling a 104-58 record.  Even more remarkable is that the
Q’s have averaged over 100 wins in those five years.  Manager John Dewan brings a playoff
seasoned team to the show and is looking to make his third trip to the World
Series.

Brooklyn capped a worse to
first season by beating perennial Western division powerhouse Baltimore in a
one game playoff.  The Bridegrooms
had an AL
worst 69-93 record in 1990 and turned that around on the strength of a great
pitching staff.  Like Quigley, they
too won 104 games, although it took the extra game to achieve that.  This will be the first playoff
appearance for manager Rich Applegate as he attempts to keep the magic alive to
get to the big dance.

Let’s look at the matchups—

Catcher

QUIGLEY—Brian Harper, 5-57-.281(stats are from the SPB
season)

BROOKLYN-Tony Pena, 2-38-.259

I really thought that Harper would win this matchup easily,
but both players created 41 runs in about the same playing time.  Pena jacked up his batting totals over
his real life performance on the strength of batting average which kicked up
his oba to a respectable .334.  Pena
was much better throwing runners out attempting to steal, gunning down a third
of would be thieves.  Pena has the
added advantage of being able to play 7 games to Harper’s 6, however,
Chris Hoiles is a decent alternative for the Q’s.  Let’s give a slight advantage to
Pena.

1st Base

QUIGLEY-Orlando Merced, 7-39-.301 platooning with Ricky
Jordan, 2-33-.300

BROOKLYN- George Brett, 12-80-.249

I don’t really like platoons but Jordan really hammered lefties and Brooklyn will start portsiders at least three times.  His numbers plus Merceds versus righties
are much better than Bretts who is the waning days of his HOF career.  Let’s give Quigley the advantage.

2nd Base

QUIGLEY-Lou Whitaker, 19-76-.266

BROOKLYN-Roberto Alomar, 9-59-.270

Another close matchup as Sweet Lou brings power and onbase
and Alomar brings speed and excitement to the table.  I was ready to give Whitaker the nod but
Alomar’s stats are dragged down by his ineffectiveness versus lefties,
yet Quigley has no dominant lefties at all on the staff.  I’ll give the nod to Alomar
because his .399 onbase versus righties and his speed will set the table very
nicely for the Bridegrooms.

3rd Base

QUIGLEY-Bobby Bonilla, 14-92-.332

BROOKLYN-Matt Williams, 29-101-.259

A clear advantage here as Bonilla created 40 more runs than
Williams and is the straw that stirs the Q offense.  Williams is clearly the main power
source for Brooklyn but is too much of an all
or nothing hitter.  Bonilla gets the
big nod here.

Shortstop

QUIGLEY-Tony Fernandez, 2-42-.280

BROOKLY-Greg Gagne, 7-43-.276

Very similar stats paint a deceptive picture of
equality.  Fernandez has a much
better oba and Gagne is miserable versus righties and padded his stats killing
lefties, which he won’t see in this series.  Gagne is the better fielder but
Fernandez gets the advantage here.

Leftfield

QUIGLEY-Dave Henderson, 31-101.276

BROOKLYN-Ivan Calderon, 21-74-.274

This matchup appears to be close but Calderon really
struggled all year versus righthanders, something he didn’t do in real
life play.  Henderson struggled versus righties also but
kept his big power stroke.  Braggs
and Bush are available for a start versus a tough rightie if need be, something
that Brooklyn doesn’t have on  the bench.  This advantage will go to Henderson and
company.

Centerfield

QUIGLEY-Darryl Hamilton, 2-28-.309

BROOKLYN-Bernie Williams, 4-38-.233 platoons with Henry
Cotto, 5-14-.333

This is the pre All Star Williams who is below average and
brings little power to the plate.
Platoon options again won’t help versus the Q righty brigade.  Hamilton’s
a table setter versus righthanders but will have to sit versus the
portsiders.  Henderson can start with Braggs in left.  Clear advantage to Hamilton/Braggs.

Rightfield

QUIGLEY-Felix Jose, 6-96-.294

BROOKLYN-Joe Orsulak, 3-38.272

Switch hitting Felix Jose does quite nicely, thank you for
asking.  Better against righthanders
his drop isn’t tremendous when facing lefties.  He bangs doubles from both sides and can
steal an occasional base.  Orsulak
is clearly the lesser player but his splits are favorable since he’ll
face mostly righthanders.  His power
is minimal, however.  This is a
clear advantage for Jose.

Bench

QUIGLEY-Hoiles,
Jordan, Pena,
Velarde, Braggs, Bush

BROOKLYN-Marzano, Foley, Sojo, Cotto, Shelby, Morris

Advantage goes to Quigley

Overall Offense

Quigley wins the starter matchup 6-2.  The Q’s scored a healthy 800 runs
while the Bridegrooms touched the dish only 670 times.  Quigley has clear advantages in batting
average,onbase and slugging.  Brooklyn is swift on the basepaths and swiped 56 more
bags than Quigley.  Quigley wins the
overall offense advantage.

Pitching matchups-

STARTERS

QUIGLEY                                           BROOKLYN

Jose Rijo, 15-10, 3.33                          Tom
Glavine, 24-6, 2.08

Jose DeLeon, 13-8, 3.67                      Tom
Candiotti, 14-10, 2.52

Bryn Smith, 15-12, 4.16                       Mark
Portugal,
11-8, 3.77

Eric Hanson, 13-8, 3.67                       Randy
Tomlin, 11-12, 3.50

The seasonal numbers show that the two best starters sport
Bridegroom logos on their hats, and that is the two Toms, Glavine and
Candiotti.  That’s for or five
starts from the two best pitchers and Portugal and Tomlin ain’t
chopped liver.  Quigley’s top
three starters all dominate righthanded hitters but are vulnerable against
lefties in a big way.  The fourth,
Hanson, had big reverse splits, racking up lefties but being raked by righties.

Quigley could pull a playoff surprise and include Teddy
Higuera to start one game.  He was
dominant in seven regular season starts and don’t be surprised if
he’s matched up versus one of the Toms.   Starting pitching is a clear
advantage to Brooklyn.

BULLPEN

QUIGLEY                                           BROOKLYN

Kelly Downs, 12-2, 4.24                      Chris
Haney, 5-6, 4.29

Randy Myers, 7-6, 4.37                       Jesse
Orosco, 4-3, 2.54

Marvin Freeman, 6-5, 5.72                   Rick
Honeycutt, 3-0, 2.51

Greg Olson, 7-4, 3.65                          Bill
Swift, 5-3, 1.81

Steve Farr, 6-4, 1.99, 32 Saves            Mike
Stanton, 9-2, 0.75

Smith or Hanson?                                 Rick
Aguilera, 7-2, 1.66, 29 Saves

A rather odd configuration for Brooklyn’s
pen is it’s abundance of lefthanders.  This is offset, however, by Stantons truly
outstanding season in which he dominated all batters.  If he can maintain that during the
playoffs than their pen is much more balanced than it seems and the can be
dominant.  They led the league in
allowing only 24% of inherited runners to score.  Like their starters, Quigley’s relievers,
with the exception of Farr, are plagued by large splits.  This will be somewhat offset by Brooklyn’s lack of great pinch hitting
options.  The advantage in the pen
goes to Brooklyn.

FEARLESS PREDICTION

During the regular season Brooklyn
won six of the nine games played against Quigley.  Glavine won twice, both good
outings.  Jose DeLeon twice bested
Tom Candiotti.  Brooklyn
topped 10 runs in two games beating up on Jose Rijo and Teddy Higuera.

Overstating the obvious, this is a matchup of good offense
versus good pitching and the conventional wisdom says go with the good
pitching,  However, in a short
series weird things usually happen, so who knows?  This series should go the full seven and
if Glavine is the starter in game seven smart money is on Brooklyn.  However, I’ll cut against the
grain and pick  Quigley 4  Brooklyn 3.  Let the games begin!