I would say that the playoff format provided for alot of drama this year. We had the revived and suprising Dodgers win over the Black Sox and thereby putting a "bona-fide" on their season. And the Black Sox and Yankees had to take an immediate run thru the losers bracket to join the Golden Marlins and Dodgers in the hunt for the 4th and remaining spot in the semi's and survival. that last spot proved to be a temporary stay as exhaustion overcame any exultation for the defending and 5 time champs. falling earlier to the surging A's proved to be not so random as the new franchise dispatched the regular season Thunder in three games. our 7 Clifton Commons night games added further challenge as we dealt with lights, and different surroundings. One day of rain is all it took to trip up some well laid plans and ultimatley force managers to think about new pitching rotations and player availability. And our number 1 seed had to wait quite awhile to even get into the fray, maybe too long. But ultimatley we have a Champion that weaved their way to the title through all the other teams pile-ups and stallings. The Hornets are one of the four founding franchises that has constatntly been in the hunt and ths year sealed the deal. the faces have changed alot since that first season but GM Jim Konstantakis has kept founding manager Don Hudson in his thoughts and kept the winning tradition alive for Don while he serves overseas in the military. mgr. Dick Stark again gets another league title after picking up a couple back in the 30+ O's days, he notably rejoined some of his old teammates to do that. so congrats to the champion Hornets fo 2009. Jreel 45+ comm.
Congratulations to the Hornets and their brain-trust Jimmy K. and Dick Stark....both who suffered finals losses last year with great class and were back again this year and now get to enjoy a well-deserved Championship!
Congrats also to the A's who in only their first season in the division defeat the defending Champs and this season's #1 seed to get to the finals. Great season A's!
Yes, Gino, the unbalanced schedule made it nice for several teams. The 45 Division operated smooth as silk and we have Commissioner John Reel to thank for it. And your Ed Rogers-led Dodgers had a whale of a season with some nice wins, including 8-6 over the Hornets during the season after the Hornets took a 6-1 lead into the 6th.
