Topic: Front Page
JANUARY 20 - The NBA had the Celtics. The NHL had the Canadiens. The Chinese had the Ming. And today, the NYLISL has a dynasty that rivals any in known history - the New Jersey Bandits.
It was already 1:00 pm the next day before fans of the Bandits began arriving home from the championship celebration that was held at the Fudd Dome the night before. Bandits fans were more enthusiastic than usual this year, as their team clinched their sixth Marillac Cup championship in eight years with a 4-3 series victory over the Massapequa Hitmen.
The first game set the stage for the entire series – a 9-8 rollercoaster ride that ended with the unlikeliest of heroes delivering the final blow. Roger Clemens successfully put down a sacrifice bunt to win the game, causing Hitmen Owner/GM Jason Boland to spontaneously combust at the injustice of it all. He was later heard ranting about the rule proposal that had been shot down weeks before at the 2007 Winter Meetings, where he unsuccessfully argued against a rule that would prohibit pitchers from pinch-hitting.
The Hitmen jumped ahead in the top of the first, only to have the Bandits tie it at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame. Both pitchers settled down until the 7th inning, when the Hitmen scored twice and once again jumped in front. The Bandits cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning, but a solo shot in the eighth gave Massapequa a 4-2 lead.
True to form, the Bandits worked their magic against the heart of the Hitmen bullpen and rallied to tie it up in the bottom of the 9th. The Hitmen managed to tack on the go-aheadd run in the 10th, only to have the Bandits tie it again in the bottom of the inning. Fast forward to the 13th inning, where Huston Street was seen making his first ever playoff appearance. The Bandit faithful could only watch in disbelief as the Hitmen brought three runs in on three straight doubles. But they were not home free, as Massapequa had completely depleted their bullpen. The only pitcher left to take the mound for the Hitmen was Tim Wakefield.
This was bad news for the Hitmen, as Wakefield has one of the slowest deliveries in the league and the Bandits had successfully tested Pudge Rodriguez's arm all day. New Jersey took advantage and won the game in stunning fashion, scoring four runs in the bottom of the 13th inning. Overall, the Bandits stole nine bases and were not caught stealing once, a statistic that would be considered utterly incredible if you had never met Chris Forster.
Signs of fatigue were everywhere as the second game started just 12 hours later. Roger Clemens and Ben Sheets pitched great games and the Hitmen rallied in the 9th, but Billy Wagner shut the door and the Bandits won 6-3 to take a 2-0 series lead. With talk of a sweep everywhere, Jake Peavy and the Hitmen were determined to prove that they were not just another Bandits victim.
Instead, the first victim was Carlos Guillen, who left the game in the top of the first inning after colliding with Jim Thome at first base on a routine grounder. The Bandits protested, claiming that Thome blocked the bag, but the decision went the home team's way. The Bandits later lost red-hot Jason Bay on a pitch that got away from Jake Peavy. New Jersey couldn't muster up a run with two of their biggest weapons out of the lineup and the Hitmen cruised to an easy 6-0 victory.
With the possibility of a sweep no longer hanging over their heads, the Hitmen started off Game 4 the same way they finished Game 3 – hitting the ball hard. They crushed Aaron Harang for 7 runs on 10 hits in just the first four innings. The Bandits refused to die, however, and clawed their way back into the game with multi-hit games from Freddy Sanchez, Garrett Atkins, Joe Mauer and Paul Konerko. The Hitmen were suddenly in trouble, with the heart of the Bandits bullpen available and most of their big sluggers already replaced by defensive backups. But little Jamey Carroll proved his might when he took Mariano Rivera deep in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the game and tie the series.
Game 5 was a repeat of the previous game. The Hitmen rocked Jeremy Bonderman for 6 runs in the first 4 innings. The Bandits then chipped away and managed to tie the game at 6 in the 6th inning. The game remained deadlocked until Torii Hunter hit a 2 run walk-off blast off of Billy Wagner in the bottom of the 11th. For the first time in almost five years, the Bandits were going home trailing in a championship series.
Roger Clemens won the first game with his bat and the second game with his arm. (No truth to the rumor that there had been a steroid needle in that arm the night before.) It was no surprise when the Marillac Cup Championship Series MVP declared before the game that the Bandits would not lose this game and that we were destined to play a Game 7. He delivered on his promise, driving in the eventual winning run and combining with Nathan and Street to allow just one run on four hits. A tearful Clemens announced after the game that he had pitched his last game as a Bandit and he was officially retiring after the series. He then threw a bat at Hitmen backup catcher Mike Piazza and left the podium, never to be seen again.
Fans streaming into the stadium before Game 7 reported that stores across New Jersey had run out of Roger Clemens jerseys, as both the casual and the die-hard fan scooped them up before the game. The Bandits set the tone in the first inning with a pair of two-run blasts by Vlad Guerrero and Jason Bay. New Jersey's pitchers paid tribute to Clemens by matching his performance the night before and allowed only five Hitmen to reach base. The Bandits took a 6-run lead in the 6th inning when Vernon Wells stole 2nd and 3rd before advanced home on a bad throw by catcher Mike Napoli (sound familiar, Tim?). The Hitmen added a run in the 8th, but Joe Nathan proved to be too much for the struggling Hitmen bats. The Bandits walked away with an 8-3 win, a six pack of championships and the eternal damnation of the league's sorest loser, Jack Flynn.
Afterwards, there was also a somber undercurrent to the celebration, as most of the fans are beginning to accept their fate and admit that this amazing run is most likely over. They said goodbye to fan favorites Clemens and Marlon Anderson (both retiring). Saying goodbye to some of the other players who may not be back next year, such as Wells, Bay, Guillen, Carlos Delgado and Luis Castillo, also helped to extend the party late into the next morning.
Bandits owner Chris Forster even climbed into the stands to thank and greet the loyal fans of his team. No one was seriously injured. When asked if 2008 would be a rebuilding year, he replied, "Absolutely not. Rebuilding implies that we are not playing for next year. We have every intention to make this team a playoff contender, but we will need to do it with a lot of new faces. Expect us to be very aggressive before and after the draft this year, as we have a lot of big shoes to fill."
Posted by nylistratleague
at 11:45 AM EST
