1st Round Matchups

The first regular season in The Bigs is now complete. Here's a quick capsule of the 1st round matchups

NATIONAL LEAGUE

#3 Houston Oilers vs. #6 Cincinnati Dragons

Season Series: 8-2 Cincinnati

Key Matchup: Houston's Leo Miller & Lawrence Flanagan vs. Cincinnati's Bernard Robinson and Manny Christians. Basically the question comes down to can Houston hit Cincinnati's starters? If they don't, they'll have a hard time advancing. Cincinnati's starting staff is built for a short series, but Houston's got offense. So which one gives? My pick: Cincinnati

#4 Salem Sacrifices vs. #5 New Orleans Voodoo

Season Series: Salem 7-3

Key Matchup: Salem's pitching vs. New Orleans's offense. Salem's got the NL's 2nd best team ERA, led by Cy Young candidates Dwight Salmon and David Dunwoody. New Orleans had the NL's 2nd best batting average, led by MVP candidate Lyle Barber. My pick: Salem

AMERICAN LEAGUE

#3 Louisville Legends vs. #6 New York New York

Season Series: Louisville 9-1

Key Matchup: New York's young pitchers vs. Louisville's offense. New York knows, for the most part, what they can get out of Duffy Parnell, but the series could come down to the ability of #2 and #3 starters Miguel Benitez and Joey Hubbard. Can they slow down the top offense in all of baseball? My pick: Louisville


#4 Las Vegas Gamblers vs. #5 Nashville Sounds

Season Series: Las Vegas 8-2

Key Matchup: Nashville's lineup vs. Las Vegas's pitching. No one has figured out how to get Gregg Black out all year. But if the rest of Nashville's lineup gets going, they could pull the upset. Paxton Forrest, Kris Clinton, Midre Santiago, and mid-season acquisition Bud Klein all put up good RBI numbers, but all are prone to strike out. These guys could decide this series either way. I was thinking about calling for the upset before looking at the season series.
My pick: Las Vegas