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Nobody pulled a Kentucky in round one of our Phillies Madness bracket, but there were a few upsets among the middle seeds. A lot of good video clips got sent home yesterday.
Let’s see where we are heading into the round of 32.
Ashburn Division
1 Bedlam at the Bank 97% – 16 Mike Schmidt cocaine PSA 3%
2 Stairs rips one into the night 92% – 15 Veterans Stadium implosion 8%
3 Victorino 2008 NLDS slam 84% – 14 Utley reacts to NY boos 16%
4 Halladay perfect game vs Marlins 86% – 13 Phillies clinch NL East 2008 14%
5 Realmuto can run for days 68% – 12 Jim Bunning Father’s Day perfect game 32%
6 Milt Thompson robs grand slam 1993 53% – 11 Kim Batiste goes goat to hero 47%
7 Cliff Lee casual pop-up catch 66% – 10 SAID guy video 34%
8 Cliff Lee death stare during ASG intros 66% – 9 Phanatic web gem 34%
All chalk in the Ashburn Division. I heard a lot of complaints about seeding but it feels like I got these seeds right. Bedlam at the Bank will be tough to beat going forward. But based on some comments, look for the Victorino slam as a sleeper pick: @Vincaso423 called it his greatest live memory at a game, and @Cornibal said he can see it winning the whole thing: “Loudest sporting moment I’ve attended and it was the moment that made the World Series feel inevitable.”
Round two matchups:
Roberts Division
1 1980 World Series win 93% – 16 Jankowski freezes, gets tagged out by catcher 7%
2 Chase Utley deke 64% – 15 Harper stare down (atta boy) 36%
3 Chase Utley gets a nickname 84% – 14 Seranthony night-night 16%
4 Ryan Howard “get me to the plate, boys” 57% – 13 Trea Turner ovation 43%
UPSET – 5 Joe Blanton World Series HR 37% – 12 Utley WFCs speech 63%
UPSET – 6 Duncan slam Mother’s Day ’93 45% – 11 Final out 1983 NLCS 55%
7 Eric Bruntlett triple play 51% – 10 Phillies clinch NL East 1993 49%
UPSET – 8 Velasquez throw from LF 35% – 9 Howard’s Homers 2006 65%
A few upsets here in the Roberts Division! Utley’s WFCs speech probably should have been seeded higher, but I’m still surprised that it demolished Blanton’s beloved World Series home run. As I admitted on Friday’s pod with Jamie and Renee, I have a little bit of a blind spot with the 1983 Wheeze Kids, so it surprised me to see them defeat the Duncan slam clip that always gets a lot of love. As @Section330 andy put it, “The slam was sick. No one had watched Mother’s Day games with any real interest in a decade. The [1993] hot start had everyone watching.”
The Velasquez throw losing to Howard’s 50th, 51st, and 52nd home runs in 2006 probably wasn’t an actual upset, will cop to that seeding mistake. Harper’s stare down also got a raw deal, it shouldn’t have had to face the Utley deke in the first round.
Going forward, the 1980 World Series win looks like a little bit of a wounded 1 seed. Did 7% of you really choose Janko from Lanco getting tagged out by the catcher at 2B??
Round two matchups:
Schmidt Division
1 2008 World Series win 97% – 16 Phanatic criminal news report 3%
2 Rollins triple 2007 final game 63% – 15 Schmidt 4 HR game 1976 37%
3 Victorino 2008 NLCS HR 83% – 14 Michael Lorenzen no-hitter 17%
4 Rollins 2009 NLCS double 83% – 13 Kendrick trade prank 17%
UPSET – 5 Final out 1993 NLCS 47% – 12 Phillies clinch division 2007 53%
6 Stott slam no announcer 67% – 11 Segura hit vs STL 2022 WC game 33%
7 Morandini unassisted triple play 66% – 10 Phillies visit CBP construction 34%
8 Harper walkoff grand slam vs Cubs 91% – 9 Daulton/Bowa Zubaz ad 9%
Another 5-12 upset here in the Schmidt Division. Getting back to the postseason in 2007 was a special moment for sure, but I’m surprised that getting back to the World Series in 1993 didn’t win. Might be an age thing / recency bias on that one.
Otherwise, pretty much chalk. The Phillies’ visit to the Citizens Bank Park construction site got a lot of love – “Ok, Pat the Bat in cutoff sleeves hitting tanks was cooler than I thought,” noted @josey8murphy. But an unassisted triple play is tough to beat.
The Harper walkoff grand slam is a very dangerous 8 seed.
Round two matchups:
Carlton Division
1 Mike Schmidt 500th HR 83% – 16 Kruk on Letterman 1993 17%
2 Halladay postseason no-hitter 95% – 15 Segura likes ice cream 5%
3 Brett Myers NLDS walk 79% – 14 Rollins/Howard remix 21%
4 Hamels no-hitter 90% – 13 Millwood no-hitter 10%
5 Rhys bat spike 85% – 12 Charlie Manuel “This is for Philadelphia” 15%
6 Schwarber moonshot off Darvish 60% – 11 Castellanos sliding catch 40%
7 Bryce inside-the-park HR and Trea slide 71%– 10 Parade hype man 29%
UPSET – 8 Suarez casually fields WS grounder 49% – 9 Nola 10 consecutive Ks 51%
Just one slight upset here, with Nola’s 10 consecutive strikeouts edging out Ranger’s laid-back fielding under pressure.
This division is pretty loaded. Schmidt’s 500th HR is iconic, but for a 1 seed it’s got a tough road. Also, the upcoming Hamels no-hitter/Rhys bat spike matchup should be interesting.
Round two matchups: