International League playoff preview

Two of the more experienced playoff teams in International League history will join two relative newcomers to the party when the Governors' Cup playoffs begin Wednesday, Sept. 7.

West Division winner Columbus, the defending league champions, and South Division champ Durham, making its fifth consecutive playoff appearance, meet in one best-of-5 semifinal series.

The other semifinals matchup pits North Division titlist Pawtucket, in the playoffs for just the second time since 2003, and Wild Card winner Lehigh Valley, which had never had a winning record in its three previous campaigns before 2011. The winners of those two series meet in the best-of-5 Governors' Cup Finals starting Tuesday, Sept. 13.

Columbus (West Division champions, 88-56) vs.
Durham (South Division champions, 80-62)

Columbus won the season series, 5-3
Game 1 at Durham, Sept. 7 at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 2 at Durham, Sept. 8 at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 3 at Columbus, Sept. 9 at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 4 at Columbus (if necessary), Sept. 10 at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 5 at Columbus (if necessary), Sept. 11 at 5:05 p.m. ET

It's hard to imagine two teams more familiar to the Governors' Cup playoffs than Columbus and Durham. The Clippers have won eight titles since 1979, more than double the next-best franchise, with the eighth coming last season when the Clippers beat the Bulls, 3-1, in the Finals for its first title since 1996.

"I told the players the first day this year, 'Last year was a great year with a lot of memories -- but that is in the past,'" Columbus manager Mike Sarbaugh said. "I think it's great to be defending champs, but that was last year."

This year the Clippers enter the playoffs with the league's best record thanks to an 18-5 start in April and a 21-9 June in which they buried the rest of the competition. Though many of the players who helped forge that record have been promoted to Cleveland -- including top prospects Lonnie Chisenhall and Jason Kipnis -- a number of weapons remain.

On offense, postseason IL All-Star Luis Valbuena is the foundation of the middle infield after hitting .407 against the Bulls this season. And the pitching staff includes a strong starting corps in right-hander Zach McAllister, who went 12-3 with a 3.32 ERA this season, as well as righty Mitch Talbot, who was 4-2 with a 4.26 ERA after spending most of the season with the parent Indians.

Sarbaugh said last season's title run was built on strong starting pitching.

"Last year we got some very good starting pitching from guys who had struggled at the end of the year," he said. "Our starting pitching set the tone, and our bats really came alive in Game 4 of the first round, and we took off from there."

That pitching will be tested by a Durham offense led by the last two IL MVPs. This season, outfielder Russ Canzler won the award by hitting .314 with 18 homers and 83 RBIs, while 2010 MVP Dan Johnson added 13 home runs and 52 RBIs in just 93 games this year.

The Bulls' pitching staff also has a strong 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation in lefties Matt Moore, who has gone 4-0 with a 1.37 ERA in nine starts since a late-July promotion from Double-A Montgomery, and Alex Torres, who was 9-7 with a 3.08 ERA and a league-best 156 strikeouts.

It's a formula that helped Durham claim its fifth consecutive South Division title.

"I will never, ever take it for granted," Bulls manager Charlie Montoyo told the Durham Herald-Sun. "To be lucky enough to have good kids and good players all the time -- it is awesome. With all the player movement that happened this year, this is pretty special."

Pawtucket (North Division champions, 81-61) vs.
Lehigh Valley (Wild Card champions, 80-64)

Pawtucket won the season series, 10-6
Game 1 at Lehigh Valley, Sept. 7 at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 2 at Lehigh Valley, Sept. 8 at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 3 at Pawtucket, Sept. 9 at 7:05 p.m. ET
Game 4 at Pawtucket (if necessary), Sept. 10 at 6:05 p.m. ET
Game 5 at Pawtucket (if necessary), Sept. 11 at 1:05 p.m. ET

Pawtucket and Lehigh Valley have spent most of this season battling for the North Division title. Now they will meet in a best-of-five series to determine which team will advance to the Finals and perhaps win their first Governors' Cup title in a long time.

How long? The Red Sox haven't won the title since 1984, and they've made it to the Finals just three times since, with the most recent appearance coming in 2003.

Though a previous iteration of the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate has won more recently, the team was located in Ottawa, Ontario, when it won the 1995 Governors' Cup. And it has made only one appearance since, losing to Pawtucket in the first round of the 2003 playoffs.

Lehigh Valley hasn't been so lucky: since the franchise moved to the Allentown, Pa., area in 2008, the team had never had a winning record -- not even for a single day of its previous three years of existence before this season.

Both teams have leaned on Triple-A veterans for their playoff berths. At the plate, IronPigs outfielder -- and former PawSox -- Brandon Moss ranks among the IL leaders with his 23 home runs and 80 RBIs, while outfielder Rich Thompson hit .276 and led the league with 48 stolen bases. On the mound, veteran righties Brian Bass (8-10, 3.81 ERA) and Nate Bump (5-9, 4.97 ERA) have anchored the Lehigh Valley rotation.

But IronPigs manager Ryne Sandberg said his team has received a boost from some younger players.

"We started off the season with a veteran group, but as we went on, we were able to bring up some young prospects from Double-A that earned the right," he said. "Phillippe Aumont throws up to 98 mph and has been outstanding out of the bullpen. Justin De Fratus throws in the mid- to high-90s and has turned into a closer.

"Freddy Galvis -- he's just 21 -- he was voted by the organization as the Phillies' Minor League Player of the Year. He hit .300 for us for a month, and he is an outstanding shortstop."

Pawtucket, which ranked second in the IL with a 3.57 team ERA, also has relied on right-handers Matt Fox, who is 10-4 with a 3.94 ERA, and Tony Pena, who is 9-6 with a 3.56 ERA. The bullpen features veteran arms in 35-year-olds Scott Atchison (6-2, 2.67 ERA, nine saves), Hideki Okajima (8-1, 2.29 ERA) and Randy Williams (1-1, 1.45 ERA, eight saves) along with 30-year-olds Tommy Hottovy (2-0, 2.62 ERA) and Royce Ring (1-2, 4.00 ERA).

"That means we have a lot of big league experience out there [in our bullpen], so we better get some guys out," Pawtucket manager Arnie Beyeler told the Providence Journal. "I expect them to get a few guys out.

"They live up to those expectations. They know that. They joke about it, yet they go out and get guys out. Those guys were there for a reason, depth for the big league staff. [Our parent club in Boston] showed all year long they're not afraid to come down here and get guys."

Close but no cigar: The race for the IL's Wild Card berth came down to the final day before Gwinnett was eliminated by Lehigh Valley's victory at Syracuse. The G-Braves actually led the IronPigs by percentage points on Aug. 29 before losing four in a row and never recovering. Gwinnett, led by Pitcher of the Year Julio Teheran, posted a final record of 78-65; those 78 wins are the most by an International League team that didn't make the playoffs since Ottawa was denied a berth despite an 80-61 record in 2002.

Close counts: All four Governors' Cup qualifiers are used to playing -- and winning -- close games. Columbus is 28-14 in games decided by a single run; the Clippers' .667 winning percentage is best in the league, and their 28 one-run wins is tied for the most in the IL. But the other three contenders are close behind: Pawtucket is second with a 27-16 mark (.628), Lehigh Valley is third with a 25-15 record (.625) and Durham is fifth with a 27-24 mark (.529).

A bonus awaits the winner: The Governors' Cup champion will play one more game this season, traveling to Albuquerque, N.M., to meet the Pacific Coast League winner in the Triple-A National Championship on Tuesday, Sept. 20. After losing the first three games in this series, the IL is on a two-game winning streak after Durham beat Memphis in 2009 and Columbus knocked off Tacoma last season.