2052 Doubleday Preview: River Monsters vs Mounties (Best of 7)
Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2022 8:55 am
It took 5 games, but the River Monsters survived their first round playoff match-up over the Lumberjacks. Twin Cities faced a 2-1 game deficit, but then the Monsters offense took charge and pummeled Portland pitching for 18 runs in games 4 and 5 combined to advance. LF Felipe Vega was the series MVP and led Twin Cities by hitting safely in all 5 games and contributed 2 homers and 7 RBI's. Vega will now need to lead charge against a talented Vancouver team if the River Monsters hope to advance.
The Vancouver Mounties are led by their star 2B Daniel Pepper, who hit a career-high 45 homers in 2052. He also finished the year with 7.7 WAR and is at the top of many individual award ballots for this season. Pepper and SS Jose Gonzales provide great defense up the middle for Vancouver, which finished first in defensive efficiency in the Frick League. The Mounties' focus is great pitching, great defense and hitting homers at the expense of other attributes. The 2052 statistics make this obvious, as Vancouver led the Frick in home runs, yet finished dead last in batting average and on-base percentage. With Pepper leading the way, seven Mounties hit more than 20 home runs in 2052.
Starter Mahad Einan recorded a pretty 18-8 record, 3.31 ERA and 1.12 WHIP for the Mounties in 2052. The Vancouver rotation is loaded, with the other big-time starters in Phil Cole and Cristo Munoz. Jose Ordonez leads a deep relief corps, which shares stopper and closing duties.
Final Verdict: I'm not sure if Vancouver's regular season recipe will carry over into the playoffs. The River Monsters staff is fairly good at not giving up the longball. Thus I'm not sure if the Mounties will be able to produce the offense needed to stay with Twin Cities. Vancouver did dominate the River Monsters during the regular season, winning 5 out of 6 games. Nonetheless, I predict the River Monsters to continue their amazing run and win this series in 6 games.
The Vancouver Mounties are led by their star 2B Daniel Pepper, who hit a career-high 45 homers in 2052. He also finished the year with 7.7 WAR and is at the top of many individual award ballots for this season. Pepper and SS Jose Gonzales provide great defense up the middle for Vancouver, which finished first in defensive efficiency in the Frick League. The Mounties' focus is great pitching, great defense and hitting homers at the expense of other attributes. The 2052 statistics make this obvious, as Vancouver led the Frick in home runs, yet finished dead last in batting average and on-base percentage. With Pepper leading the way, seven Mounties hit more than 20 home runs in 2052.
Starter Mahad Einan recorded a pretty 18-8 record, 3.31 ERA and 1.12 WHIP for the Mounties in 2052. The Vancouver rotation is loaded, with the other big-time starters in Phil Cole and Cristo Munoz. Jose Ordonez leads a deep relief corps, which shares stopper and closing duties.
Final Verdict: I'm not sure if Vancouver's regular season recipe will carry over into the playoffs. The River Monsters staff is fairly good at not giving up the longball. Thus I'm not sure if the Mounties will be able to produce the offense needed to stay with Twin Cities. Vancouver did dominate the River Monsters during the regular season, winning 5 out of 6 games. Nonetheless, I predict the River Monsters to continue their amazing run and win this series in 6 games.