World Series Part 2: By Eugene Spitters

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Once again, the Eugene Spitters come through with another great article. Please leave constructive comments about the article (key word: constructive) on the comments section.

Despite the World Series concluding just yesterday, it seems like so much has already gone by.
Some teams look completely different than they did just 24 hours ago, as the bidding season came and went. Some teams emerged with renewed hope and promise for the new season, while others enter the offseason with frustration.

One thing that will not change is that the Season 93 champion is the Stamford Demo Yankees after defeating the Cincinnati Reds 3 games to 1 in the World Series.
"I think it means more that I faced some tough competition along the way," said Yankees. "Starting off with clinching the division the final day of over the Erie Spartans, then going through the playoffs facing great teams like Jaywalkers, Hot Rods and the Warriors, which means a lot. Then going through the world playoffs against Panthers and Horned Frogs.
"Finally, facing a competitor like Reds, who is #1 in the world, someone who is great at what he does and is a former champion. All of these things make this championship mean more."
The Yankees finished the regular season 46-14, ranked 12th in the world, and on a 10-game winning streak.
All of those 10 wins were needed, as they finished tied with the Spartans in the Southeast Division of Beta Compass. In that same 10-game stretch, the Spartans stumbled just a little, going 7-3, although they finished with four consecutive victories. The Yankees run differential of +168 was just good enough to break the tie over the Spartans +141.
Challenges awaited the Yankees. In their league championship series against the Spokane Warriors, the Warriors took Game 1. The Yankees battled back to win that title with a pair of extra inning victories, including taking Game 2 on a walk-off three-run home run.
The Yankees suffered only one more defeat the rest of the postseason, their loss to the Cincinnati Reds in the World series opener. They would not have made it to that opener if not for a 7-6 comeback victory over the Fort Worth Horned Frogs in the World Quarterfinals. The Yankees trailed that game 6-3 before two-run home runs in the seventh and eighth lifted them over the top.
"Every year, I think this team is championship or bust," Yankees said. "The last few seasons, my team had trouble closing, but this season, my team didn't have that trouble, which I'm grateful for."

On the other side of field, the Reds felt destined to make a run to the World Series.
They finished the regular season 54-6 and ranked as the top team in the world. This all came after they were continually scrutinized for how they acquired their players, placing insurmountable bids on players to keep teams from retaining them in the highly debated 10-minute period once bidding closes.
"I spend four or maybe five hours going over players, bidding on them and winning the bid only to lose them to the 10-minute rule," said the Reds manager. "That is why I bid high. If you are going to 10-minute rule me, it is going to at least cost you. This rule must go."
The Reds continued their winning ways through the postseason, sweeping their league matchups before winning twice in the world playoffs to advance to the World Series.
The World Semifinal matchup with Baltimore Orioles, a team that had been to the World Series each of the past two seasons, was a classic. The Reds came out on top in a back and forth affair thanks to a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to give them an 8-7 lead that wound up as the final score.

In Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees, the Reds put up 12 runs through the first four innings. They held on to win 13-12, but the Yankees ability to limit the Reds offense over the last half of the game was a sign of things to come.
The Reds averaged over nine runs per game during the regular season. In the next three games against the Yankees, which were all losses, they combined to score just 13 runs. The Yankees, who averaged just over six runs per game in the regular season, tallied 8, 9 and 9 runs in their wins against the Reds.
"Hot hitting at the right time and great pitching is the only thing that helped me win this championship," Yankees said. "Winning against the Warriors showed I needed a great bullpen, and as you see in the finals, I needed offense against Reds."
The Reds pointed to the Yankee pitching as the key of the series. However, he also attributed the lack of runs to an ill-timed slump.

While the Reds have two World Series titles, one in Season 51 and the other in Season 59, these kind of defeats can be crushing.
"I was in the 89 World Series too and fell short," Reds said. "That hurts, too. It sucks coming up short, but the Stamford Demo Yankees played better than my guys. That's why they are champs. I hope I see them next year."
For the Yankees, this was the first World Series title for the franchise, putting an exclamation point on an impressive 11-season run in their 20 season existence.
Beginning with a 41-19 mark in Season 83, the Yankees have won at least 40 games every season since. They have also remained consistent on offense and on the mound in that span.
They have recorded an ERA of over 4 just three times in that stretch. Their offense has averaged a range of 5.8 runs per game to 6.5 runs per game in 10 of those seasons, with the lone exception being a 7.9 runs per game outburst in Season 91.
"Finding the right players and understanding which stats to value over others," Yankees said when asked what the key to this string of success has been. "A lot of managers want those high triple-90 players, but if you look in my pen, some of the most consistent players don't have triple-90s. Hendricks had the most wins (11-1) and he wasn't triple-90. You have to find the right stats (batters getting on base and pitchers not letting batters on base)."
It may seem like a pretty straight forward strategy, but it has paid off. Before Season 83, the Yankees were coming off of back-to-back 29-31 finishes.
Yankees attributed making friends in the game as one of the big factors for his jump to success.
"I made friends during my time here, starting with Oakland Obzen," Yankees said. "I started off in his division. He gave me some good ideas and helped me out to begin with. That's how I grew. Along the way, I found different things that I prefer over others and lead to success. I help people along the way if they need help and make trades when I see fit."

The Reds storied franchise has been around since nearly the beginning of the game. They have won 3,680 games and numerous division and league titles.
Over the last 14 seasons, he has won at least 40 games in a season 12 times, including hitting at least 50 in three of those seasons.
The Reds got into the game because he likes sim games and found it one day. Looking ahead, he would like to see more attention shown to managers who subscribe.
"I have seen some good changes over the years, like game manager and newer stats, but I've seen a lot of bad things, like the 10-minute rule, and not taking care of subscribers that keep this game going," Reds said. "I know a lot of kids play the game and don't have the money like some of us do, but why should it hamper the game."

The Yankees have an interesting back story. First of all, he intended to only stick around in the game for a few seasons, which is where his name "Demo Yankees" comes from.
One of the reasons he has stuck around, though, is because he is a history teacher and hopes to use this game as a platform for his students.
"I'd like to see this game expand one day so that I can use it as a way to teach economics," Yankees said. "This has a great foundation already. A lot of young people play it already and it's easy to understand."

For now, the Yankees will look to recharge in an attempt to defend their title while the Reds regroup to make it back.
One thing that is clear is not much is predictable when it comes to Franchise Ball, especially in the postseason.
That is one of the reasons why the Yankees, despite being one out away from the championship, held their breath until that final out was made in Game 4 of the Season 93 World Series.
"When Game 4 ended, to be honest," Yankees said when asked when it sunk in that he could win the title. "You have to understand, this is a game based on probability, make one move and all of a sudden, you are down. You have to just cross your fingers and hope lol."