rBBL Season 14 Playoff Preview - Wild Card Round

Another rBBL season has come and gone, and now it's time for the best part: the playoffs! Hey everybody, commissioner crazyei8hts here with an rBBL playoff preview. If you're unfamiliar, the rBBL (reddit Backyard Baseball League) is the oldest and longest running Backyard Baseball League, started in 2017 and currently on our 14th season. Coaches draft a team of 9-players on Backyard Baseball 2001 or 2003 and play against the computer, facing the teams drafted by the other coaches. Whichever coach puts up the higher run differential against the computer version of their opponent wins. 

Last season we expanded to three leagues, and we kept that up this season! The leagues are the 2001 League (played on BB2001 by the most experienced coaches), the 2002 League (played on BB2001 with less experienced coaches), and the 2003 League (played on BB2003, with a mix of old and new coaches). 

**2001 LEAGUE**

The 2001 league must wait a while because we have a FIVE WAY TIE for three spots in the National League! Some teams will fight it to the death before making the actual playoffs. Full first round writeup will come later, but my predictions for the tiebreaker games are:

• Brats win NLE tiebreaker game over Salamis
• Dice beat Monsters, clinching the 5 seed
• Ostriches beat Salamis, eliminating the Salamis
• Ostriches beat Monsters, clinching the 6 seed

**2002 LEAGUE**

*Skyway League*

First Round Byes:
1. San Francisco Giants (ROUTE66): 12-2
2. Riverdale Bullpups (Honorable Mention): 10-4

• First Round Matchups:
• 3. Conway Chanticleers (Disky): 8-6 vs. 6. New York Mets (MikeMadness): 7-7
  • Previous Matchup: Mets defeated Chanticleers, 9-7
  • Background: The Chanticleers are coached by Disky, one of the few returning coaches to the 02 league. Disky thought he belonged in the 01 league based on his last season's performance, but turns out he finished the S14 regular season in the exact spot as his S13, with one less win. The Chanticleers have bought into the grounderball tactic, employing a bunch of fast kids and one power hitter, Bobby Bulgrien. The Mets are coached by MikeMadness, another 02 returner and the most senior member of the 02 league. The Mets pulled off the most incredible turnaround in rBBL history, as they were 1-6 at the all-star break but went on a 6-1 tear to nab the final playoff spot at 7-7. The Mets are led by sluggers Lindsy Felgate and Jose Canseco.
  • Analysis: The Reapers Mets won their matchup against the Trojans Chanticleers this season thanks to the sand neutralizing the Trojans' Chanticleers' speedsters. (How convenient that I was able to use my exact same sentence from last season's playoffs!) I can't think of any other two teams that are more built for their home fields than these two. The Chanticleers want to run, run, run, while the Mets are built on strong arms and line drive hitters. I think all three games in this series will tilt in favor of the home team, which would imply the Chanticleers win, thanks to the home field advantage.
  • Prediction: Chanticleers in 3. 
• 4. Hoenn Sapphire (Pickleboom): 10-4 vs. 5. Johto Golds (Charguyder): 10-4
  • Previous Matchup: Sapphire defeated Golds, 13-6
  • Background: The Sapphire and Golds could have had first round byes if a few things turned out differently. The Sapphire started out the season 7-0 but slipped a little bit towards the end, losing out on the division title and first round bye at the hands of the Bullpups in game 14. The Sapphire and their home field of Sandy Flats enjoy frustrating opponents but can also score runs in bunches when they're on. Ken Griffey Jr. and custom players Geiselle Pachasa and Byron Buxton lead the offense for the Sapphire. The Golds have one of the top offenses in the league, at the expense of defense. The Golds racked up 225 runs this season, 20 more than the next best team. They have the lethal rBBL combination of speedy players to get on base (Grace Tipton, Olga Tollefson), and power hitters to drive them home (Marsellus Marx, Parker Collum, custom player Kenny Powers). However, we saw that defensive minded fields, like Sandy Flats, sometimes give the Golds trouble, as we saw in their matchup against the Sapphire in Game 4. 
  • Analysis: Not only is this series between the two fiercest rivals coming over from BBOL, but this is perhaps the heaviest-hitting first round matchup we could expect to see, in the 02 league or otherwise. Both of these teams had #1 seed potential, and it's too bad one of them won't even see the second round. We could go back and forth on team strengths and weaknesses, but the fact of the matter is Pickleboom has not been hitting well in the second half of the season and Charguyder is on fire. The Golds scored more runs in the second half than the Sapphire scored all season (135 vs. 119). These two teams are trending in opposite directions and I think the streaks will hold up in this series.
  • Prediction: Golds in 2. 

*Metro League*

First Round Byes:
1. Dayton Dragons (flyingj138): 12-2
2. Sliding Snow Cones (tculler): 11-3

• First Round Matchups:
• 3. Nittany Lions (iamslm22): 8-6 vs. 6. Major Monopolies (willthegod1): 8-6
  • Previous Matchups: Monopolies defeated Lions, 3-1. Lions defeated Monopolies, 18-15.
  • Background: The Lions are coached by iamslm, who played in the 2003 league last season but hopped over to 2002 to coach his college team, the Penn State Nittany Lions. This team has had their bats disappear at times, as we saw when they only scored a +1 against the Monopolies in the first matchup, but they can also go nuclear, as we saw when they scored a +18 against the Monopolies in the second matchup, with the division on the line. A trade deadline deal saw the Lions get Larry Walker and his clone Emily Lewbel as the catalysts of the offense. The Monopolies are coach by rBBL rookie willthegod, who has improved greatly since his first crack at the game. However, a late season slide saw the division title slip away from the Monopolies' grasp. The Monopolies' engine is Henri Deschenes, who is making MVP claims after carrying the offense.
  • Analysis: In an odd twist, I think both teams are better suited for the other team's field, as we saw in the two regular season matchups that each went in the away team's favor. The Monopolies' offense is more consistent than the Lions, so it's possible they just outscore the Lions with a steady stream of bombs from Henri, Mikey Thomas, and Petra Chekov. But also the Monopolies could hit into a double play on a Mikey Thomas pop up and then lose focus for the rest of the game. This is probably the closest of the four first round series for the 2002 league.
  • Prediction: Lions in 3. 
• 4. Montreal Expos: (matt95): 10-4 vs. 5. Humongous Hornets (wow.i.ex1st): 8-6.
  • Previous Matchup: Expos defeated Hornets, 17-8.
  • Background: matt95 burst onto the scene as an rBBL rookie, scoring copious amounts of runs and making everybody think he was gonna run the table. At 7-0 midway through the season, the Expos looked destined to win the World Series. Then Matt did the unthinkable and traded away his two best players (Larry Walker and Barry Larkin for Derek Jeter and custom player Ty Cobb) and the Expos are 3-4 since. Why would you ruin such a good thing? Still scratching my head at that one. Speaking of scratching, the Hornets scratched and clawed their way to another postseason berth, just like they did last season. The Hornets had to win 4 of their last 5 games to get to 8-6 and advance to the playoffs on head-to-head tiebreakers. But the Hornets win in a different style than the Expos, thanks to their defense anchored by Pete Wheeler.
  • Analysis: Despite the recent skid of the Expos and the hot streak of the Hornets, I have to say the Expos are still the heavy favorite in this series. Even after trading away those top two players, the Expos have averaged just under 12 runs per game while the Hornets are averaging just over 5 runs per game in the second half. The good defense of the Hornets is no match for a skilled hitter like Matt is with the Expos, and especially not at Dirt Yards.
  • Prediction: Expos in 2. 

**2003 LEAGUE**

*Frontyard League*

First Round Byes:
1. Seattle Fishes (munchsmith): 11-3
2. Chicago Cardinals (lillwaws26): 10-4

• First Round Matchups:
• 3. Junior Athletics (whiffspree01): 10-4 vs. 6. Little Devil Rays (MattySamms): 9-5
  • Previous Matchups: Athletics defeated Devil Rays 20-9, Athletics defeated Devil Rays 13-11
  • Background: This is coach whiffspree's first time in the 2003 league, but he looks like a wiley veteran after putting together a successful A's team. This team has offense on the brain, with Parks Dept. #2 as their home field and three players batting over .700 (Pablo Sanchez, Gwen Sears, Chipper Jones). This team has stumbled at times but overall are a good threat to score 20+. The Devil Rays are coached by MattySamms, the only rBBL rookie (out of 6) that made it to the playoffs in the 2003 league. The Devil Rays won with a surprisingly great defense, with Jay Green at shortstop and Stuart Sullivan at first base making up for Mr. Clanky's lack of aggression. This team started out 5-0 and only one team scored double digits on them at their home field of Steele Stadium.
  • Analysis: Unfortunately for the Devil Rays, that one team that scored double digits on them at home was the Athletics. Skilled offenses usually top tricky defenses in the rBBL, and I think this series will be no different. The Devil Rays defense will be stymied by the random bounces at Parks Dept #2 in games 1 and 3 (if necessary). The Devil Rays' main hope to win will be during game 2, but we've seen whiffspree excel at the bounce-free fields too.
  • Prediction: Athletics in 2.
• 4. Milwaukee Brewers (Natetastic28): 10-4 vs. 5. Little Rockies (Heinz): 9-5
  • Previous Matchup: Rockies defeated Brewers 15-10.
  • Background: Natetastic has had his best season in a while, thanks to the Brewers' top three bats of Claudia Villarta, Davy Marian, and Peggy Heffernan. The Brewers scored a little better in the first half than they have in the second, but they are always a threat for double digits. Their run production is heavily tied to the home run. Of the games with stats entered, they have only scored double digits one time in a game which they hit fewer than 4 home runs, but they have scored double digits all five times they hit at least 4 homers. The Rockies, as led by Heinz, are also a homer-minded team, playing at Parks Dept. #2. Zenon Estrada, Maria Luna, and Jeff Bagwell lead the charge on home runs. They scored double digits 9 times and single digits 5 times...hmmm, looks like their record! This teams gotta stave off the pop ups and they're in good shape.
  • Analysis: The run production from the Rockies is a little more consistent than that of the Brewers, but both teams could go off at a moment's notice. This will be one of those series where it's more about the concentration and determination of the coaches sustaining rallies, rather than the skill levels of the teams and players. The Rockies have already beaten the Brewers at their home field, so the home field advantage is not so advantageous. This is a very close series but I'll give the slight edge to the.... 
  • Prediction: Rockies in 3.

*Backyard League*

First Round Byes:
1. White Tigers (Vissery): 14-0
2. Red Hornets (sky): 11-3

• First Round Matchups:
• 3. Detroit Melonheads (jyknight): 10-4 vs. 6. Junior Bombers (The CRK): 7-7
  • Previous Matchups: Melonheads defeated Bombers 31-11, Melonheads defeated Bombers 27-16.
  • Background: jyknight was one day away from a first round bye, as a late penalty gave him the L against the Hornets in a game he would have won without penalty. As it stands, the Melonheads are still in a good spot, with a speedy team that can keep rallies going forever, when the situation is right. They have come across a bit of trouble against teams with good infields, but their speed wins out more often than not. All four of their losses are against playoff teams. CRK and the Bombers are in the exact same spot they were last season, sneaking into the 6 seed at 7-7. CRK made a team that will forever be entrenched in rBBL lore, drafting solely power hitters at the expense of defense. The Bombers hit the most home runs in rBBL history with 132, but their AI allowed 20+ runs 6 times, all to playoff teams. 
  • Analysis: The stars have aligned with everything the Bombers would want to avoid in a playoff matchup. They have to play up to two games at a field that is not conducive to home runs (Cement Gardens). They have to play against a speedy team that will take multiple bases all game long. Their opponent has already beaten them twice, with a combined run differential of +58. Melonheads win unless some disaster happens.
  • Prediction: Melonheads in 2. 
• 4. Humongous Red Sox (bobbyBONES): 10-4 vs. 5. Little Blue Jays (DEPaf679): 7-7
  • Previous Matchup: Red Sox defeated Blue Jays, 12-5.
  • Background: bobby's Red Sox have been one of the feel-good stories of the second half. After starting the season 3-4 and seeming like they would have to duke it out for the 6 seed, the Red Sox made some deadline deals and have won their last 7 games, nearly capturing the division title. Everything turned around when the Red Sox acquired Kathy Wolf and dumped Rose Fluegel for Bobby Bulgrien. Also, getting used to Dirt Yards has helped out the Red Sox, as they've adopted the grounder swing more and more. The Blue Jays as coached by DEPaf have been a puzzling case. They were the first team to beat the 7-0 Melonheads (who finished 10-4), but they were also the first team to lose to the 0-5 Reds (who finished 4-10). It's like we don't know which version of the Blue Jays team we're going to get from week to week. I will say though, that the Blue Jays are better suited for bouncy fields, like the Dirt Yards they'll get to play on in this series. Their top talent like Cheryl Reynolds, Marsellus Marx, and the Webber twins can be speedsters or power hitters.
  • Analysis: The Red Sox are on an absolute tear right now, but bobby is 0-8 in rBBL playoff history. However, I don't believe in curses! I think the Red Sox in their current state are too dangerous at Dirt Yards. It would be tough for the Blue Jays to beat them at their home turf. However, I could see the Blue Jays winning their home game, as the short left field porch is better for their power hitters than it is at Dirt Yards.
  • Prediction: Red Sox in 3. 

Good luck to all playoff coaches and to everyone else, it'll be fun to watch!