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 whi= ch 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.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> 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 w= orse to first season by beating perennial Western division powerhouse Baltimore in a one game playoff. The Bridegr= ooms 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 aliv= e to get to the big dance.

Let’s look at the matchups—

Catcher

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

BROOKLYN-Tony Pena, 2-38-.259

I really thought that Harper would win this matchup ea= sily, 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 th= ird 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 advantag= e to Pena.

1^st 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 ri= ghties are much better than Bretts who is the waning days of his HOF career. Let’s give Quigley the advan= tage.

2^nd Base

QUIGLEY-Lou Whitaker, 19-76-.266

BROOKLYN-Roberto Alomar, 9-59-.270

Another close matchup as Sweet Lou brings power and on= base and Alomar brings speed and excitement to the table. I was ready to give Whitaker the n= od 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 ve= ry nicely for the Bridegrooms.

3^rd 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 a= n all or nothing hitter. Bonilla ge= ts 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 kill= ing 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 als= o but kept his big power stroke. Br= aggs and Bush are available for a start versus a tough rightie if need be, somet= hing that Brooklyn doesn’t have on the bench. This advantage will go to Henderso= n 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.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> 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 righth= anders his drop isn’t tremendous when facing lefties. He bangs doubles from both sides a= nd can steal an occasional base. Ors= ulak 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-H= oiles, Jordan, P= ena, 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 ba= tting average,onbase and slugging. = Brooklyn is swift on the basepaths and swiped 56 mo= re bags than Quigley. Quigley wi= ns the overall offense advantage.

Pitching matchups-

STARTERS

QUIGLEY &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = BROOKLYN

Jose Rijo, 15-10, 3.33= &nb= sp; = Tom Glavine, 24-6, 2.08

Jose DeLeon, 13-8, 3.67 &n= bsp; Tom Candiotti, 14-10, 2.52

Bryn Smith, 15-12, 4.16 &n= bsp; Mark Portugal, 11-8, 3.77

Eric Hanson, 13-8, 3.67 &n= bsp; Randy Tomlin, 11-12, 3.50

The seasonal numbers show that the two best starters s= port Bridegroom logos on their hats, and that is the two Toms, Glavine and Candiotti. That’s for o= r 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 fou= rth, Hanson, had big reverse splits, racking up lefties but being raked by right= ies.

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 &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = BROOKLYN

Kelly Downs, 12-2, 4.24 &n= bsp; Chris Haney, 5-6, 4.29

Randy Myers, 7-6, 4.37= &nb= sp; Jesse Orosco, 4-3, 2.54

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

Greg Olson, 7-4, 3.65&= nbsp; &nbs= p; = Bill Swift, 5-3, 1.81

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

Smith or Hanson? = &nb= sp; = 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 Brook= lyn won six of the nine games played against Quigley. Glavine won twice, both good outings. Jose DeLeon twice be= sted 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 off= ense 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 sev= en 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!