by Michal Hanus
This weekend starts the final series of the Czech Extraleague between the 2007 champion and winners of the regular season round robin, AVG Draci Brno, and the runner up in the standings, Arrows Ostrava. Both teams had to work hard to reach final, as both semifinal series went the distance of five games.
Draci had their problems against Express pitching star Leos Kubat, as he led MZLU to two wins. In the decisive fifth game he dominated too, but a small error on the Express side brought success for Draci. But Kubat’s performance brings him into considerations for the MVP award in 2008.
In the second series Arrows faced an excellent team of Technika Brno. Technika presented their team spirit without aces and fared very well against an Ostrava team with national team members in their lineup. Arrows prevailed in game five thanks to ace Jon Jon Robles.
What do we say about the final series? We expected a smoother promotion for Draci on their way to the final, but I believe that the semifinal series was a wake-up call for them. Draci is a strong balanced ballclub. The pitching staff is led by Schneider and Prochazka. Behind them is a precise fielding unit. Offensive wise they can expect support from their power hitter Pavel Budsky as well as Jakub Hajtmar, Karel Hrusovsky and Martin Vesely.
On the other hand Ostrava has a strong team which could break Draci’s dynasty. The pitching of Arrows is as good as the staff of Draci. Their aces are Robles, Bokaj and young prospect Jurdzin. But their squad is stronger on offense than on defense, as they have a roster full of good hitters, for example Cech (AVG .429 in playoffs, 2 2B), Citovecky (AVG .286, 2 2B, HR), Mike Griffin (AVG .231, 2B, HR), M. Kubovcik (AVG .286) and Navratil (AVG .235).
Playoff statistics for both teams:
AVG Draci Brno AVG .231, ERA 1.02
Arrows Ostrava AVG .203, ERA 1.54
Schedule:
Saturday, October 4:
14:00 Draci Brno – Arrows Ostrava
Sunday, October 5:
14:00 Draci Brno – Arrows Ostrava
Saturday, October 11:
14:00 Arrows Ostrava – Draci Brno
Sunday, October 12:
14:00 Arrows Ostrava – Draci Brno*
Saturday, October 18:
14:00 Draci Brno – Arrows Ostrava*
*if necessary