I’ll talk about Jason Middlebrook’s big-league debut tomorrow, but first some unfinished business: Game Two of the High Desert/Lake Elsinore series.

In what turned out to be the final game at The Diamond in Elsinore, Storm power lefty Eric Cyr matched up against sidewinder Jim Lynch. On paper, this looked like a mismatch, as Cyr came in with a 1.61 season ERA over 100.2 innings, while Lynch owned a 6.64 ERA in 85.1 innings. But, as we all know, baseball is not played on paper.

The Mavs struck in the top of the first inning, only to be answered by Vince Faison’s leadoff homer down the left-field line in the bottom half of the frame. Cyr, working with a low-90s heater and an inconsistent breaking pitch, allowed three runs in the top of the third. He worked from behind in the count most of the night, and although his final line (6.1, 8, 4, 4, 1, 7) doesn’t look too bad, Cyr really was not very sharp.

Heading into the bottom of the fifth trailing 4-1, the Storm started chipping away at the lead, scoring a single run in each of the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. Relievers Andy Bausher, Bryan Gaal, and Andy Shibilo held High Desert in check, and heading to the bottom of the ninth, the contest was knotted.

Then came Faison. Already 3-for-4 on the night, with a triple, homer, and stolen base under his belt, the young left-handed hitter yanked Roberto Giron’s second pitch high and deep over the 38-foot wall in right. The Storm had come from behind to take a 2-0 advantage in the Southern Division series of the Cal League playoffs.

The Lake Elsinore squad completed the sweep the following night at High Desert with an 8-2 thrashing and prepared to play the winner of the San Jose/Bakersfield series. Unfortunately, due to the horrible events that followed, the Northern Division series was not completed. San Jose, which led the series, 2-1, and the Storm were named co-champions.

Congrats to both clubs on their championship, and to the Storm on posting the best record in all of Minor League Baseball in 2001.

As an afterthought, keep an eye on Faison next year. He finished the regular season very strong and was unstoppable during the playoffs. Here is his line from the series against the Mavericks:

Tiny sample, to be sure, but the guy just didn’t have a bad at-bat. He’s definitely high on my list of prospects to surprise in 2002.