The Buffalo Rag 1999.8

[cramsey51]

The Bison enter the playoffs after one of their most successful since 1991 after registering 99 regular season wins, the most in a decade for them. Only two current players were on that roster back in 1991, utility man Billy Johanson and reborn pitcher Melvin Ripken. That team was packed with older veterans like Steve Nebraska and Matt Ryan.

Buffalo enters the playoffs with some real strong players on their club, but they are not without imperfections. So, setting up the postseason roster correctly is key. All of that starts with the pitching staff and the rotation is the tops of that. The Bison plan on utilizing a 3 man rotation and the easy top pick to anchor it is heavy Steve Nebraska Award contender Amen Mitrani. In hopes that he will be able to go deep into the ballgame and a fresh bullpen will be available for the next starter. This plays nicely into starting Melvin Ripken next, who has had a nice turn around season going from closer to starter. While his limited endurance left him to average just over 5 IP per start, he was very effective. The last spot is a bit of a gamble because no pitcher clearly stepped up to the role. Cletus Bullrush, Jr. fell apart after the All Star Break and it would be too much to hope he returns for the playoffs. So, by default, the third sport will go to Ken Gladden over John Oloughlin due to Gladden's better QS% across his starts.

The bullpen will be anchored by the trio of Richard Tolleson, Felix Padilla and Richard Wasson. Tolleson and Wasson handled the season as business as usual and the rookie Padilla really came on strong late in the season after his call-up.

Putting the runs across the plate will hopefully be superstar catcher Jeremy Hunter and solid 3B Alistar Sharpe. OF Eric Lockett and Kevin Greene will need to ge on base so they can be driven in by the big bats.

Overall, out of all the FL playoff teams, the Marauders were the toughest draw for the Bison. Buffalo led the season series against Calgary by a 7-5 margin. To go along with the pedestrian record, the Bison offense has a really tough time getting going against them, posting the one of the lowest averages as well as OBP in Team vs Team analysis. Hopefully the Bison can create some runs to put away the Marauders.

[7teen]

Don't choke! The only reason I rejoined the league was because I was promised a shot at beating you for the title!

[cramsey51]

Don't choke! The only reason I rejoined the league was because I was promised a shot at beating you for the title!

We're one step closer, becuase choke we did not