So in one half of the bracket, "C" will play "G" ... who advances from the following into the first spot in the other half of the bracket?
| M is for Morgan, but Mc is for McPhee |  14 (16.87%) |
| N is for Nettles, Niekro and Nen | 0 (0.00%) |
| O is for Osteen, Olerud and Ott | 2 (2.41%) |
| P is for Perry, Palmer and Paige | 3 (3.61%) |
| Q is for Quiz, Quantrill and Quirk | 2 (2.41%) |
| R is for Ruth, Rodriguez and Robinson | 62 (74.70%) |
83 votes | 11 featured comments
It's the Ms. Martinez, Maddux and Mathewson at the top of the rotation is as good as anyone and much better than the Rs. The defence down the center of the diamond is superb, and the offence is almost as good as anyone's. They'll end up 5-7 games clear of the R's...
I'm assuming the M team will combine with the Mc team. The lineups for M & R are too close to call, but I'd give M the edge in the starting rotation and let Mathewson and Martinez carry the team to victory.
Team M are much stronger on the mound than team R, but probably are a touch behind them on offense. I think that these two are the strongest teams we've seen yet, but M takes it in a close one. The R pitching is better than you'd think; the M hitting is much better than you'd think.
I voted for R... but I think that its a pretty close match. Babe Ruth, however, is a pretty decisive factor...
Thats some darn pitching for the M's though
Thats some darn pitching for the M's though
I voted for R, but too hastily. I regret my pick -- the M's match up very well, and the more I think about it the more I think the M's have it. What an insanely deep and talented club!
Mickey Mantle actually played more right field than Joe Medwick did. Mantle, Mays and Musial would be as good an outfield as Ruth, Roush and Robinson with Ruth's edge over Mantle being more than offset by Mays' edge over Roush.
I looked at it a little more closely, and came to the conclusion that the M's would be the better team, and by a decent enough margin (maybe going 155-7 to 150-12, for example) I voted for the R's, but would change my vote.
As I see it, the R's have an advantage at:
1b, with Rose,
SS with A-rod (a huge advantage)
DH (Manny over Edgar, though Molitor or Mize could Dh, then not so much)
closer (Mariano)
and they have Babe Ruth.
The teams are somewhat even at:
C: I-Rod and Munson
3b: Matthews is a bit better than Brooks Robinson, but not by much
the M's win
Pitching - not even close to being close
2b: Joe Morgan's better than Jackie
OF: Their outfield (Mays, Mantle, Musial, has 3 of the top 15 players ever)
Bench: Another huge advantage
Looking at it closer, I dont see how the M's wouldnt win. Their lineups are fairly close (the only stinker is Rabbit Marinville) but the pitching and bench of the M's blows the R's out.
As I see it, the R's have an advantage at:
1b, with Rose,
SS with A-rod (a huge advantage)
DH (Manny over Edgar, though Molitor or Mize could Dh, then not so much)
closer (Mariano)
and they have Babe Ruth.
The teams are somewhat even at:
C: I-Rod and Munson
3b: Matthews is a bit better than Brooks Robinson, but not by much
the M's win
Pitching - not even close to being close
2b: Joe Morgan's better than Jackie
OF: Their outfield (Mays, Mantle, Musial, has 3 of the top 15 players ever)
Bench: Another huge advantage
Looking at it closer, I dont see how the M's wouldnt win. Their lineups are fairly close (the only stinker is Rabbit Marinville) but the pitching and bench of the M's blows the R's out.
If Ruth gets to pitch as well as hit, it's the 'R' team all the way. :)
I voted for the M's. I'm pretty comfortable with that team. Yikes.
Just to spell out why I think the M's have it, let's look at the roster a little more closely.
The front four of the starting rotation gives you Christy Mathewson, Pedro Martinez,Greg Maddux, Juan Marichal: that's simply a phenomenal foundation to build a team from. "Momentum is tomorrow's starting pitcher."
The oufield features Stan Musial, your choice of Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays, and Joe Medwick. That's some inner-circle Hall of Fame power in LF and CF that is respectable even when compared to the R's; Medwick pales with only just over 300 career Win Shares. (I'd rank Musial behind only Williams, Bonds, and Henderson in LF. Mays and Mantle are rivaled only by Cobb for #1 all-time in CF, in my opinion.)
HoF'er Eddie Matthews ranks 3rd all-time in the James' NHBA at third base, behind only Mike Schmidt & George Brett.
Joe Morgan is ranked as the best-ever 2B by James.
I could go on, but the only telling weakness when comparing the M squad to the R's is at shortstop, but that's no real surprise.
The front four of the starting rotation gives you Christy Mathewson, Pedro Martinez,Greg Maddux, Juan Marichal: that's simply a phenomenal foundation to build a team from. "Momentum is tomorrow's starting pitcher."
The oufield features Stan Musial, your choice of Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays, and Joe Medwick. That's some inner-circle Hall of Fame power in LF and CF that is respectable even when compared to the R's; Medwick pales with only just over 300 career Win Shares. (I'd rank Musial behind only Williams, Bonds, and Henderson in LF. Mays and Mantle are rivaled only by Cobb for #1 all-time in CF, in my opinion.)
HoF'er Eddie Matthews ranks 3rd all-time in the James' NHBA at third base, behind only Mike Schmidt & George Brett.
Joe Morgan is ranked as the best-ever 2B by James.
I could go on, but the only telling weakness when comparing the M squad to the R's is at shortstop, but that's no real surprise.
The R's pitching isn't exactly horrid.
RHSP Nolan Ryan**
LHSP Eppa Rixey**
RHSP Robin Roberts**
RHSP Amos Rusie**
RHSP Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn**
5 hall of famers who all had great peaks. Ryan may not have been a Cy Young contender but if it was a playoff situation I'd be tempted to take the guy with the 7 no-hitters over, say, someone like Pedro Martinez who might not last more than 6-7 innings.
CL Mariano Rivera*
LHRP Dave Righetti*
RHRP Jeff Reardon*
Now that is the way to close a game. Possibly the best ever to finish it, a guy who held the record for career saves for a short period, and a lefty who was one of the best in the game for awhile (briefly held the single season record for saves).
The M's have Mike Marshall, Jeff Montgomery, Randy Myers who all were solid but, unlike the R's, were not viewed as HOF potentials. In the pen I give the edge to the R's.
So the R's win in offense (5 HOF'ers, and 3 future HOF'ers plus Rose vs 7 HOF'ers and 2 never will be's-sorry Edgar) and bullpen. Starters are better for the M's but with 5 HOF'ers in the rotation it is hard to complain about the R's. M's may have the depth, but for starting 9 plus rotation and pen I go with the R's.
RHSP Nolan Ryan**
LHSP Eppa Rixey**
RHSP Robin Roberts**
RHSP Amos Rusie**
RHSP Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn**
5 hall of famers who all had great peaks. Ryan may not have been a Cy Young contender but if it was a playoff situation I'd be tempted to take the guy with the 7 no-hitters over, say, someone like Pedro Martinez who might not last more than 6-7 innings.
CL Mariano Rivera*
LHRP Dave Righetti*
RHRP Jeff Reardon*
Now that is the way to close a game. Possibly the best ever to finish it, a guy who held the record for career saves for a short period, and a lefty who was one of the best in the game for awhile (briefly held the single season record for saves).
The M's have Mike Marshall, Jeff Montgomery, Randy Myers who all were solid but, unlike the R's, were not viewed as HOF potentials. In the pen I give the edge to the R's.
So the R's win in offense (5 HOF'ers, and 3 future HOF'ers plus Rose vs 7 HOF'ers and 2 never will be's-sorry Edgar) and bullpen. Starters are better for the M's but with 5 HOF'ers in the rotation it is hard to complain about the R's. M's may have the depth, but for starting 9 plus rotation and pen I go with the R's.