Baseball Toaster: The Griddle : The Battle of the Bulldogs begins in Omaha

Rank	Team	W	L	PCT	Division
1	Chicago Cubs	97	64	.602	C1
2	Philadelphia	92	70	.568	E1
3	Los Angeles Dodgers	84	78	.519	W1
4	Milwaukee	90	72	.556	C2
5	New York Mets	89	73	.549	E2
6	Houston	86	75	.534	C3
7	St. Louis	86	76	.531	C4
8	Florida	84	77	.522	E3
9	Arizona	82	80	.506	W2
10T	Colorado	74	88	.457	W3
10T	Cincinnati	74	88	.457	C5
12T	Atlanta	72	90	.444	E4
12T	San Francisco	72	90	.444	W4
14	Pittsburgh	67	95	.414	C6
15	San Diego	63	99	.389	W5
16	Washington	59	102	.366	E5

American League

Rank	Team	W	L	PCT	Division
1	Los Angeles Angels	100	62	.617	W1
2	Tampa Bay	97	65	.599	E1
3	Chicago White Sox	89	74	.546	C1
4	Boston	95	67	.586	E2
5	New York Yankees	89	73	.549	E3
6	Minnesota	88	75	.540	C2
7	Toronto	86	76	.531	E4
8	Cleveland	81	81	.500	C3
9	Texas	79	83	.488	W2
10	Oakland	75	86	.466	W3
11	Kansas City	75	87	.463	C4
12	Detroit	74	88	.457	C5
13	Baltimore	68	93	.422	E5
14	Seattle	61	101	.377	W4

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So where is that book?

Personal favorites that I wrote

The Metro Area Battles

New York

W L GB

Yankees 89 73

Mets 89 73

Baltimore/DC

W L GB

X - Orioles 68 93

Nationals 59 102 9

Chicago

W L GB

X - Cubs 97 64

White Sox 89 74 9

LA/Orange County

W L GB

X - Angels 100 62

Dodgers 84 78 16

SF/Oakland

W L GB

X - Athletics 76 85

Giants 72 90 4.5

X - Clinched

So long and thanks for playing this year

1. Washington (8/31)
2. Seattle (9/1)
3. Pittsburgh (9/6) *
3. San Diego (9/6) *
5. Baltimore (9/8)
6. Oakland (9/8)
7. Atlanta (9/9)
8. Kansas City (9/9)
9. Cincinnati (9/10)
10. Texas (9/13)
11. Detroit (9/15)
12. San Francisco (9/17)
13. Colorado (9/18)
14. Cleveland (9/19)
15. Toronto (9/21)
16. New York Yankees (9/23)
17. St. Louis (9/23)
18. Florida (9/23)
19. Arizona (9/25)
20. Houston (9/26)
21. New York Mets (9/28)
22. Minnesota (9/30)
23. Chicago Cubs (10/4)
24. Milwaukee (10/5)
25. Chicago White Sox (10/6)
26. Los Angeles Angels (10/6)
27. Los Angeles Dodgers (10/15)
28. Boston (10/19)
29. Tampa Bay (10/29)

* - Teams eliminated at same time

The last batter to reach on catcher's interference was ...

Seth McClung of Milwaukee by Koyie Hill of the Cubs on September 26, 2008.

FAQs

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The Battle of the Bulldogs begins in Omaha

2008-06-23 16:36

by Bob Timmermann

Tonight in Omaha at 4 pm PT, the final series of the College World Series begins. And if you've been reading this blog, you know it's the Battle of the Bulldogs, Georgia versus Fresno State.

Georgia comes in as a big favorite after going 3-0 through its bracket, beating Miami once and Stanford twice. Georgia is 44-23-1 and has two first round draft picks on its team in shortstop Gordon Beckham (White Sox) and closer Joshua Fields. Georgia has won the CWS once before, back in 1990, defeating Oklahoma State in the final.

Fresno State is the longest of long shots to make it to the College World Series. Fresno State is 45-30 and they have the most losses of any team to ever play in the championship series. Throughout the regional (where Fresno State was a #4 seed), the super-regional, and the opening games of the CWS, Fresno State has looked it was going to fold up. But these Bulldogs have shown a penchant for hitting with runners in scoring position and have played well defensively. In the opening games in Omaha, Fresno State beat #2 seed North Carolina twice and Rice in its other game. (Rice is the last team from Fresno State's conference, the WAC, to win the CWS back in 2003. The Owls play in C-USA now.)

Clayton Allison, who had been shut down for two weeks with tendinitis, pitched Fresno State into the final. Allison is a 27th round pick for the Dodgers.

I've been to both Athens and Fresno in my lifetime and I would have to say that the two cities are about as dissimilar as two American cities around.

Athens, which I visited once back in 1985, is a protoypical college town. UGA dominates the city. The college has lots of building that look sufficiently old-timey collegiate. Like just about every SEC school, football is king and Sanford Stadium on campus has a listed capacity of a little over 92,000. For most of us, Athens, Georgia is the home of R.E.M.

Fresno is the sixth-largest city in California (about 480,000) and the city is beset with high unemployment and crime rates. It's the biggest city in the United States that does not have an Interstate Highway passing through it. For most Californians, Fresno is the city you pass through on the way to Yosemite (the airport for the city has changed its name from Fresno Air Terminal to Fresno Yosemite International Airport). Fresno's most famous contributor to the arts would like be William Saroyan. Or possibly Cher. Fresno State's campus isn't unattractive, but it's not going to make you think you are the University of Virginia.

The green V you see on Fresno State's uniform stands for "Valley" and is designed to show the school's support to improve the Central Valley of California.

I suggest you head to your local market, buy some raisins to eat while watching the game and try to avoid losing your religion at the same time.

Comments

2008-06-23 14:17:15

1. underdog

I always think of Merced as the gateway to Yosemite, but I guess that's because I'm coming from NorCal most of the time, and Fresno needs to grasp on to something.

I'm rooting for them though, of course, as befits my nickname.

2008-06-23 15:22:36

2. Eric Enders

I always think of the bustling metropolis of Lee Vining as the gateway to Yosemite.

2008-06-23 15:27:07

3. Eric Enders

I assume the WAC is the only mid-major conference which, in the past decade, has had teams play for the national championship in baseball and basketball and also play in a BCS bowl.

Actually, there are probably a couple of BCS conferences that haven't done those things.

2008-06-23 15:31:44

4. capdodger

1 My parents drive from Visalia to Mammoth Lakes during the summer and they go up 140 through El Portal, as well. That road is a lot less windy than 41.

2 Nah... Everyone knows that it isn't Lee Vining but rather the Whoa Nellie Deli that's the real gateway to YNP's back door.

Oh. And go Bulldogs of Fresno.

2008-06-23 15:37:10

5. Eric Enders

3 Turns out that the WAC, ACC, SEC, Big 12, and Pac-10 are the conferences to do that. Neither the Big 10 nor Big East has played for the baseball title.

2008-06-23 16:40:53

6. Bob Timmermann

I kept this thread on top, but check the one below for a very rare play.

And it's not catcher's interference!