EXPANSIONIST EXTRAVAGANZA/3: ROUND 2 RESULTS

Back to our "best of the worst" NCAA tourney, which produced some routs in Round 1 thanks to some particularly bad expansion teams. (If you're just coming in on this, we took the 14 first-year expansion teams and supplemented them with the worst Dodgers and Yankees teams in the expansion era to create a "Sour 16" with which to lurch sideways; the hope was that we would not wind up with the Dodgers vs. Yankees in the final round.)

AND, as you can see, our wish was granted. The 1990 Yankees were bounced from the competition here in the second round, saving us from a "bad outcome" of our own devising. 

All four matches were much closer than what we saw in Round 1, however: the losing teams all had at least an outside chance of prevailing as things wound down to the last ~18 games or so. Most of the summary date looks reasonably orthodox, but there are some odd things to be found in the Dodgers-Diamondbacks and Rays-Yankees showdowns. Note that both these races feature lopsided disparities in results of one-run games (whereas the Angels-Colts and Royals-Rockies were as tight in this category as it's possible to get). Note as well that the Dodgers and D-backs both had no home field advantage--both teams played significantly better on the road. Finally, note that the Yankees outscored the Rays in their 162-game showdown, but still managed to lose. (Sorry, we left our violins at home...)

None of these leagues proved to be exceptionally high scoring--even the Royals-Rockies, with Mile High Stadium in the mix (it, not Coors, was in operation in 1993...) did not produce the lusty totals that are often associated with Denver baseball. 

Let's look at some of the notable hitters in the tourney--though due to the compressed scoring, there are no particularly stunning offensive performances to be found in Round 2. The best overall seasons came from L.A. leadoff men, both of whom had performed at much loftier levels against lesser competition in Round 1. Albie Pearson and Brett Butler will get to face off in Round 3, as their teams advanced to a showdown that should prove especially interesting. Solid seasons were turned in by Lou Piniella, Andres Galarraga, Jesse Barfield and Rays' part-timer Bubba Trammell. But who would have expected Fred McGriff to hit only nine homers in a season?

The list of notable pitchers in Round 2 is dominated by bullpen artists. And as you'll see, it's the bullpen that had a lot to do with  the Yankees turning in an 18-34 record in one-run games and sending them home. 

The best starter in Round 2? The Angels' Eli Grba (that's pronounced just the way it looks, by the way: "Grr-buh"). Other starters who turned up well included Orel Hershiser, Amaury Telemaco, Armando Reynoso, and Rolando Arrojo. 

Some unheralded relief folks turned in tremendous years: Bobby Tiefenauer for the Colts, Steve Wilson for the Dodgers, Darren Holmes for the Rox, Lee Guetterman for the Yankees. But the best overall reliever performances came from the Angels' Tom Morgan, the Royals' Moe Drabowsky, and--best of all--the Rays' Roberto Hernandez (1.30 ERA, 43 saves). Tampa's slot in R3 is surely due to the yeoman efforts of Hernandez...

So here's what the NCAA chart looks like as we head to Round 3. As noted, the Angels and Dodgers will square off in a battle of West Coast "titans" (though that's clearly stretching things...). And the Rays and the Royals will mix it up to see which one will make it into the final round. Stay tuned...