Which Diamondbacks Team is the Greatest? Tournament- 07 vs 98

Being a lurker-turned-actual-'Pitter, I guess its about time to actual contribute something of worth!

First FanPost! I did have one saved in draft from last year titled: "Why the Dbacks will win the 2011 NL West" but deleted it due to lack of substantial facts lol

I decided to set up a 14 team bracket that includes every Dbacks team, from the Inaugural 98 team, to Gibby's gritty NL West champs this year. I will be simulating the games on WhatIfSports.com 'SimMatchup' feature. I'll be adjusting the line-ups for every opposing pitcher, and realistically adjusting the rotation. This will also give me a bit of practice on my game recap skills, which will prepare me for a possible guest-cap next season.

Details, set-up, and first game after The Jump

Starting off, I listed teams by record 1 through 14: 1 being the 1999 team, and 14 being the god-awful 111 loss '04 team. I had to hold a quick tie-break between the '10 and the '98 team, which turned out to be the weirdest game ever played out at Bank One/Chase: Karim Garcia committed 2 errors and provided the go ahead 2-run home-run ALL in the eighth. '98 team ended up winning 3-2. Then i glanced at Andy Benes final line: 9.0 IP 0 hits 2R 1ER 6BB 9Ks. A 6 walk 1-earned run no-hitter!

So the bracket is set up like so: (in bracket is team's seed, followed by their wins)

The top two teams, as you can see, have a bye past the Divisional series (which is ironic, both teams were eliminated in the NLDS). The Divisional series will be 5 games, (going normal 2-2-1) and the rest being 7 games (2-3-2). Due to my personal handwritten bracket being flipped, the first game is The 12th ranked Inaugural 1998 Diamondbacks at the 5th ranked "Anywhere, Anytime" 2007 Dbacks.

 

Series 3 98 vs 07 Game 1 Brandon Webb goes toe-to-toe with AZ's first ace Andy Benes

'07 Dbacks strike early in the bottom half of the first off Benes. After Chris Young and Orlando Hudson go quietly, Eric Byrnes hits a grounder that Jay Bell can't get out of his glove quickly and the runner beats the throw. After Byrnes immediately swipes 2B, Conor Jackson cranks a double into the LCF gap scoring Byrnes easily from second. Stephen Drew follows that up with a single that (somehow) scores Jackson from first. Mark Reynolds continues the rally with a line drive to Left Center that moves Drew to third. With runners on the corners, Carlos Quentin gets hit in the knee by a pitch that loads the bases. Still with two outs, Chris Snyder grounds a ball that just beats Andy Fox to the leftside. Drew scores but Chip Hale holds Reynolds at third. Now batted all the way around to the pitcher, Webb grounds out harmlessly to 2B.

With a three run lead, Webb starts to lock up the Inaugural lineup. he faces the minimum till David Dellucci triples in the 3rd, but is able to work through the inning shutout intact. It wouldn't last long: In the 4th after retiring Kelly Stinnett, a single by Devon White, and a K by Matt Williams, the 98 team starts with it's own 2-out rally. Bell grounds it thru Hudson and Jackson to put runners on the corners. Brandon Webb, deciding a shutout would be boring, walks both Travis Lee and Garcia to score White from third. But thats all Webb would allow, as he gets Dellucci to ground into a 4-6 fielder's choice. In fact, thats all he would give the 98er's; working 8 innings allowing 6 hits and 4 walks, while K'ing 10 in 129 pitches. Interestingly, he doesn't get a clean inning the rest of the game, either allowing one hit and/or walk, but is able to come out unscathed.

The '07 team adds 2 in the 5th on Reynolds' double that scores Drew, and he touches home after Snyder's single to right. In the 8th, with Benes still laboring, Tony Clark delivers the knockout blow with a pinch-hit RBI single that scores Quentin. Benes final line: 7.1IP 12H 6ER 1BB and 4K's on 109 pitches. Besides a pinch-hit single from Tony Batista, Pena easily secures the W for the 2007 team:

1998 Dbacks boxscore: (Ive never heard of Bob Wolcott till this game)

2007 Dbacks boxscore: (Mmmm...Them delicious 2-out RBIs...)

For a detailed look into the game click on any screenshot.

Please let me know if i made any errors, and constructive criticism is always appreciated(and needed).