Springfield Isotopes - NL East Runner Up96-66 (.593)
Offense: 5.80 runs per game (5th of 12)
Defense: 4.62 runs per game (5th of 12)
Pythagorean Record: 99-63 (.612)
Team Summary:
The 2007 NL Wild Card series pits brother against brother, as Jon Kjarsgaard's Springfield Isotopes face older brother Joal's Fleetwood Walkers. The long-standing rift between these once-close brothers is well-documented, but the story of each of these 2007 teams is not.
Springfield left the starting gate fast, posting an 18-10 record in April. The team never looked back, posting a winning record in every month except for a brief June swoon (13-15). The Isotopes proved equally strong both at home (47-34) and on the road (49-32), and excelled in extra inning contests (9-3).
The 2007 edition of the Springfield Isotopes will be best remembered for their strong, homer-heavy offense. The Isotopes scored 940 runs, good for 5th in the league despite playing most of its games in a sometimes-less-than-hitter-friendly ballpark. Springfield hit 234 home runs (2nd in NL) versus only 162 allowed (best in NL), and further proved its lack of "small-ball" ethos by collecting just 5 sacrifice hits during the season (fewest in NL).
Top performers at the plate were Mike Cameron (.292, 47 2B, 10 3B, 24 HR, 84 BB), Justin Morneau (.297, 33 2B, 36 HR, 126 RBI), and Josh Willingham (.295, 82 2B, 31 HR, 88 RBI).
On the mound, the team was led by left-handed ace Cliff Lee (17-6, 3.04 ERA). RHP Vicente Padilla (17-8, 4.35 ERA) was also a key member of the pitching rotation, while RHP Chris Ray (3.30 ERA, 27 SV) and Jamie Walker (5-3, 2.01 ERA) anchored the bullpen.One of the team's key weaknesses throughout the season was its defense. The Isotopes converted just 65.8% of its x-chart chances into outs (2nd worst in NL). Its outfield corners in particular were suspect, as both Raul Ibanez (17 for 40 x-chart %) and Moises Alou (10 for 35 x-chart %) struggled to turn chances into outs.
To advance to the World Series, Springfield will rely on its long-ball offense, its ace Cliff Lee, and its versatile bullpen. At the same time, the team will need to cover its short-comings in the rotation and in the field in order to give its bats and its bullpen a chance.
Springfield Lineup:
1-Ray Durham (2B) .276/.346/.485, 21 HR, 80 RBI
2-Mike Cameron (CF) .292/.384/.540, 24 HR, 92 RBI
3-Raul Ibanez (LF) .296/.347/.516, 30 HR, 94 RBI
4-Moises Alou (RF) .269/.333/.487, 15 HR, 57 RBI
5-Justin Morneau (1B) .297/.352/.535, 36 HR, 126 RBI
6-Josh Willingham (DH) .295/.371/.548, 31 HR, 88 RBI
7-Hank Blalock (3B) .283/.348/.446, 20 HR, 67 RBI
8-David Ross (C) .223/.345/.574, 26 HR, 60 RBI
9-Orlando Cabrera (SS) .286/.357/.387, 6 HR, 72 RBI
Springfield Bench:
Shin-Soo Choo (OF) .351/.418/.527, 1 HR, 20 RBI
Ryan Garko (1B) .291/.377/.476, 7 HR, 31 RBI
Tony Graffanino (IF) .249/.319/.343, 2 HR, 39 RBI
Ben Johnson (OF) .331/.386/.534, 5 HR, 29 RBI
Mike Lieberthal (C) .260/.294/.404, 4 HR, 27 RBI
Daryle Ward (1B/OF) .355/.410/.682, 8 HR, 26 RBI
Springfield Rotation:
LHP Cliff Lee (17-6, 3.04 ERA, 204 IP, 123 K)
RHP Vicente Padilla (17-8, 4.35 ERA, 201 IP, 140K)
RHP Clay Hensley (12-8, 4.51 ERA, 190 IP, 122 K)
RHP Joe Blanton (12-10, 4.44 ERA, 187 IP, 89 K)
Springfield Bullpen:
RHP Chris Ray (3-5, 3.30 ERA, 57 IP, 27 SV)
RHP David Weathers (7-1, 4.33 ERA, 73 IP, 3 SV)
LHP Jamie Walker (5-3, 2.01 ERA, 49 IP, 0 SV)
RHP Pat Neshek (1-3, 2.12 ERA, 30 IP, 0 SV)
RHP Justin Speier (3-1, 2.42 ERA, 52 IP, 1 SV)
LHP Bill Bray (1-1, 4.20 ERA, 45 IP, 0 SV)
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Fleetwood Walkers - NL Central Runner Up98-64 (.605)
Offense: 6.17 runs per game (6th of 12)
Defense: 3.66 runs per game (1st of 12)
Pythagorean Record: 102-60 (.631)
Team Summary:
While not as formidable as its 117-win team the year before, Fleetwood still fielded a strong team in 2007. It posted 98 wins on the season, including a dazzling 20 wins in its last 23 games. Fleetwood was a powerhouse at home in John Locke Field (55-26), but struggled at times on the road (43-38). The Walkers also showed a strong tendency to win the close games, posting a 9-2 record in extra innings and a 24-14 record in one-run contests.
Fleetwood's offense was a step behind the best in the league (including Springfield's), but still boasted intimidating weapons in DH Miguel Cabrera (.348, 46 2B, 28 HR, 102 RBI) and CF Carlos Beltran (.278, 47 2B, 38 HR, 110 RBI). The Walkers also held true to their nickname, collecting 636 bases-on-balls (2nd in NL).On the other side of the ball, the Fleetwood Walkers really shined. Its pitching and defense allowed just 669, best in the NL. Starters Ervin Santana (19-6, 3.58 ERA) and Dave Bush (14-12, 3.28 ERA) led the staff, while relievers Trevor Hoffman (8-3, 3.48 ERA, 25 SV) and Juan Rincon (4-1, 2.82 ERA, 3 SV) anchored the bullpen. The team's defense also played a strong role in preventing runs, converting 74.4% of its x-chart chances into outs (T-3rd in NL).
For Fleetwood to win, it will need to its starting pitchers to keep the team in the game until its bullpen can match up in the late innings. The Walkers will also need to find offensive production from not just the top of its lineup, but from the bottom as well.
Fleetwood Lineup:
1-Jason Bartlett (SS) .308/.381/.366, 13 SB
2-David Wright (3B) .274/.336/.498, 31 HR, 112 RBI
3-Barry Bonds (LF) .256/.376/.517, 26 HR, 78 RBI
4-Miguel Cabrera (DH) .348/.426/.568, 28 HR, 102 RBI
5-Carlos Beltran (CF) .278/.389/.577, 38 HR, 110 RBI
6-Conor Jackson (1B) .272/.364/.410, 13 HR, 67 RBI
7-Nick Markakis (RF) .242/.304/.382, 14 HR, 56 RBI
8-Marcus Giles (2B) .249/.333/.331, 4 HR, 50 RBI
9-Javier Valentin (C) .253/.290/.402, 6 HR, 32 RBI
Fleetwood Bench:
Willy Aybar (2B) .288/.362/.342, 0 HR, 27 RBI
Melky Cabrera (OF) .280/.353/.373, 3 HR, 41 RBI
Bobby Crosby (SS) .227/.285/.322, 3 HR, 22 RBI
Ryan Doumit (C) .181/.282/.302, 1 HR, 19 RBI
Derrek Lee (1B) .249/.348/.463, 10 HR, 36 RBI
Mike Redmond (C) .337/.372/.411, 0 HR, 20 RBI
Fleetwood Rotation:
RHP Ervin Santana (19-6, 3.58 ERA, 214 IP, 145 K)
RHP Dave Bush (14-12, 3.28 ERA, 219 IP, 158 K)
RHP Kelvim Escobar (12-11, 4.26 ERA, 197 IP, 149 K)
RHP A.J. Burnett (10-7, 3.92 ERA, 142 IP, 119 K)
Fleetwood Bullpen:
RHP Trevor Hoffman (8-3, 3.48 ERA, 25 SV)
RHP Juan Rincon (4-1, 2.82 ERA, 3 SV)
LHP Scott Downs (4-3, 3.17 ERA, 77 IP, 3 SV)
RHP Keith Foulke (4-1, 1.74 ERA, 47 IP, 0 SV)
LHP Mike Stanton (4-2, 3.41 ERA, 63 IP, 2 SV)
RHP Justin Duchscherer (5-5, 4.72 ERA, 55 IP, 0 SV)
Primary Player Statistics For 2007 Springfield Isotopes Totals After 162 Games
NAME BAVG GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E
V.Rottino .500 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S.Choo .351 74 148 26 52 11 6 1 20 16 39 1 0 0 7 4 2
B.Johnson .331 74 118 24 39 5 2 5 29 12 29 0 0 3 3 0 0
D.Ward .316 30 76 13 24 9 0 4 18 6 13 2 0 0 0 0 1
J.Morneau .297 153 607 100 180 33 2 36 126 49 99 6 0 14 1 2 12
R.Ibanez .296 147 568 89 168 23 6 30 94 46 90 0 0 21 2 2 1
J.Willingham .295 143 518 85 153 32 3 31 88 44 108 22 0 15 2 0 5
M.Cameron .292 152 561 129 164 47 10 24 92 84 123 4 0 12 17 9 4
R.Garko .291 63 189 25 55 10 2 7 31 16 29 10 0 7 0 0 0
O.Cabrera .286 162 594 85 170 38 2 6 72 66 70 3 2 21 23 10 15
H.Blalock .283 141 502 77 142 10 6 20 67 51 92 2 0 18 0 2 8
R.Durham .276 135 497 90 137 31 5 21 80 55 63 1 0 13 5 2 7
M.Alou .269 103 353 64 95 30 1 15 57 33 38 3 0 10 1 0 6
M.Lieberthal .260 70 208 20 54 16 1 4 27 7 21 4 1 5 0 0 3
T.Ishikawa .250 10 20 2 5 2 0 0 0 3 6 0 0 1 0 0 2
T.Graffanino .249 126 385 50 96 22 4 2 39 37 59 4 0 6 1 4 10
D.Ross .223 99 256 48 57 10 1 26 60 42 76 7 2 5 0 0 7
A.Melhuse .182 31 88 11 16 3 0 2 9 3 21 0 0 3 0 0 0
M.Maier .125 8 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0
ALL PITCHERS ---- 162 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13
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TEAM TOTALS .282 5698 1609 51 909 982 5 62 96
162 940 333 234 573 69 154 35
NAME ERA W L PCT G GS CG SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO
J.Garcia 0.00 0 0 ---- 6 0 0 0 0 10.0 6 2 0 0 3 9
J.Kinney 1.84 1 0 1.000 11 0 0 0 0 14.2 10 5 3 1 6 14
J.Walker 2.01 5 3 .625 50 0 0 0 0 49.1 33 13 11 2 6 33
P.Neshek 2.12 1 3 .250 41 0 0 0 0 29.2 20 10 7 3 7 36
J.Speier 2.16 2 0 1.000 19 0 0 0 1 16.2 10 4 4 2 4 11
R.Helling 2.55 1 0 1.000 21 0 0 0 0 35.1 24 11 10 5 18 30
C.Lee 3.04 17 6 .739 31 31 4 2 0 204.1 204 74 69 25 56 123
C.Ray 3.30 3 5 .375 52 0 0 0 27 57.1 60 23 21 8 22 48
B.Bray 4.20 1 1 .500 33 0 0 0 1 45.0 60 21 21 5 18 34
D.Weathers 4.33 7 1 .875 56 0 0 0 3 72.2 54 36 35 12 41 48
V.Padilla 4.35 17 8 .680 33 33 3 0 0 200.2 198 102 97 21 82 140
J.Blanton 4.44 12 10 .545 32 32 1 0 0 186.2 237 103 92 17 56 89
C.Hensley 4.51 12 8 .600 36 27 1 0 1 189.2 185 100 95 18 75 122
L.Kensing 4.84 2 2 .500 14 0 0 0 0 22.1 18 16 12 4 14 26
R.Seanez 5.40 1 0 1.000 27 0 0 0 3 48.1 53 30 29 7 30 55
J.Hirsh 5.40 3 1 .750 6 6 0 0 0 33.1 31 20 20 9 12 26
M.Batista 5.55 9 17 .346 33 33 2 1 0 193.0 230 127 119 17 81 97
M.Delcarmen 9.59 2 1 .667 22 0 0 0 0 35.2 60 40 38 6 18 29
M.Albers 16.87 0 0 ---- 2 0 0 0 0 5.1 10 11 10 0 7 8
ALL NON-PITCHERS ---- 0 0 ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 3 -1
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TEAM TOTALS 4.30 66 162 11 36 1503 692 556
96 .593 162 6 1450.0 748 162 978
Primary Player Statistics For 2007 Fleetwood Walkers Totals After 162 Games
NAME BAVG GM AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO HB SH DP SB CS E
C.Pena .387 8 31 9 12 4 0 4 18 6 8 0 0 1 0 0 0
M.Cabrera .348 162 618 117 215 46 3 28 102 73 128 12 3 22 2 1 1
M.Redmond .337 112 175 18 59 13 0 0 20 7 20 4 2 4 0 0 1
J.Bartlett .308 116 344 49 106 13 2 1 31 22 50 19 0 3 13 0 14
W.Aybar .288 78 243 36 70 13 0 0 27 28 33 2 1 4 0 0 2
M.Cabrera .280 136 397 67 111 24 2 3 41 44 49 1 3 8 4 3 1
C.Beltran .278 160 539 113 150 47 0 38 110 94 112 7 6 11 9 0 0
D.Wright .274 155 620 95 170 38 4 31 112 49 137 10 0 30 14 1 17
C.Jackson .272 134 434 56 118 19 1 13 67 56 59 10 2 18 0 0 7
C.Iannetta .262 19 61 16 16 4 0 3 13 13 12 1 0 2 0 0 1
B.Bonds .256 141 429 62 110 28 3 26 78 75 71 10 1 19 2 0 2
J.Valentin .253 76 194 21 49 7 2 6 32 11 24 0 0 10 0 0 6
M.Giles .249 140 438 73 109 22 1 4 50 56 82 1 7 8 8 2 6
D.Lee .249 81 177 29 44 6 1 10 36 28 47 0 0 2 5 1 7
N.Markakis .242 155 500 60 121 18 5 14 56 43 82 5 2 16 1 1 2
B.Crosby .227 115 255 36 58 13 1 3 22 21 63 0 4 5 0 1 9
R.Doumit .181 61 149 15 27 11 2 1 19 9 43 12 0 2 0 0 3
J.Kubel .000 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
ALL PITCHERS ---- 162 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
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TEAM TOTALS .276 5605 1545 27 834 1021 31 58 82
162 875 326 185 636 94 165 10
NAME ERA W L PCT G GS CG SH SV IP H R ER HR BB SO
K.Foulke 1.74 4 1 .800 45 0 0 0 0 46.2 26 10 9 3 9 41
M.Corpas 2.63 1 0 1.000 9 0 0 0 1 13.2 13 4 4 1 3 10
J.Rincon 2.82 4 1 .800 71 0 0 0 3 70.1 71 24 22 3 24 63
C.Haeger 3.07 1 0 1.000 9 0 0 0 0 14.2 12 5 5 1 11 14
S.Downs 3.17 4 3 .571 62 0 0 0 3 76.2 59 29 27 11 19 62
D.Bush 3.28 14 12 .538 35 35 2 1 0 219.1 193 84 80 28 48 158
M.Stanton 3.41 4 2 .667 59 0 0 0 2 63.1 63 25 24 7 20 45
T.Hoffman 3.48 8 3 .727 54 0 0 0 25 62.0 57 26 24 6 13 55
E.Santana 3.58 19 6 .760 34 34 0 0 0 213.2 193 90 85 26 73 145
A.Burnett 3.92 10 7 .588 24 24 1 0 0 142.1 140 66 62 18 37 119
K.Escobar 4.26 12 11 .522 35 35 2 1 0 196.2 205 105 93 22 67 149
G.Maddux 4.55 15 10 .600 34 34 3 0 0 207.2 215 111 105 22 46 94
A.Rhodes 4.81 0 3 .000 29 0 0 0 2 33.2 35 19 18 2 20 32
J.Duchscherer 6.52 1 2 .333 15 0 0 0 0 19.1 25 14 14 7 1 14
C.Billingsley 6.85 1 3 .250 48 0 0 0 0 65.2 79 57 50 8 44 44
ALL NON-PITCHERS ---- 0 0 ---- 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Team 11 +0
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TEAM TOTALS 3.87 64 162 8 36 1386 622 435
98 .605 162 13 1445.2 669 165 1045
