The Chicago Fall Tourney

Well, the Vintage Baseball Season is done and that allows time on Saturday for this blog.

The next big event is the Chicago Fall Tournament hosted by Rob Spatz.  It should prove to be a wild one as the teams are limited to the 2000s, thus we enter the PED era of baseball.

I selected the 2002 Twins.  As usual, I feel pretty good about this team working it out against the 2002 A's (Moneyball), 1977 Yankees, 1909 Cubs, and the 2015 Royals.  They played some tough teams pretty tight and consistently beat the 2002 A's.  However, when I take a step back this team has some weaknesses, especially 5-9 in the batting order, they strike out too much.

The strengths are decent starting pitching: Rick Reed Byz, Santana Bxyw, and Eric Milton Cyz.  I may be optimistic calling that "decent.   Yes! A three man rotation for Chicago!

The Pen is solid by any measure: J.C. Romero A&Cx, Hawkins Axz, Guardado Bxz, and Mike Jackson in a pinch, Bz.

Batting Order:

1. Bobby Kielty  LF F2

2. Jacque Jones  RF  F2

3. Torii Hunter  CF  F3

4. David Ortiz  DH S

5. Corey Koskie  3B5

6. Doug Mientkiewicz  1B5

7. A.J. Pierzynski  C8

8. Luis Rivas  2B F8

9. Christian Guzman  SS F9

They field well, that's for sure.

Some speed at the top and bottom.

And a "motormouth" behind the plate.