OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

Westheim · 04-14-2019, 03:03 PM

2029 ABL PLAYOFFS

With the playoff bracket set, it was time to see who had the longest breath in the ABL. First applicant for World Series honors were the 93-69 Buffaloes, who had won the FL West by six games. Topeka lined up three strong left-handed starting pitchers with ERA’s under three, led by Jose Lerma (15-9, 2.69 ERA). Their pitching staff was by far the best in the Federal League, as was their defense, and they could not only rely on the best rotation, but also the best bullpen by ERA, and despite a 3.24 ERA, closer Adam Rosenwald had saved 42 games, so he sorta had to know what he was doing. The problems for the Buffaloes, who fell to the Raccoons in the 2028 World Series, was the offense. There was only select power in the lineup, with Ken Hess hitting 18 homers to lead the team, and they were also not hitting for average, sitting eighth with a .256 team average and seventh in runs scored overall. They were also not stealing a lot of bases outside of Alex Majano, who had nipped 39 in the regular season. They would offer a balanced lineup with options to load up on one type of hitter or another, depending on the opposing pitchers.

Those pitchers would be part of the 91-71 Warriors, who had a staff led by 20-game winner Pat Okrasinski and his 2.71 ERA, although they were a bit weaker further down the rotation and especially in their bullpen, where they could not show off more than two lockdown relievers, while the Buffaloes had an entire pen’s worth. The Warriors were not necessarily outdoing the Buffaloes in any offensive category, either; they had scored the fourth-most runs, but had done so on an even weaker team batting average (.253, 10th in FL). They did have a bit of power, but had still been led in the department by Justin Uliasz (.230, 20 HR, 94 RBI). Pedro Cisneros was batting .324 in the leadoff spot, but from there on down it was *a lot* of .230 batters… Their run differential had only been a paltry +9, and somehow that had been enough to stave off the Pacifics by three games to end up in this Midwestern “Middle of Nowhere” series.

Over in the Continental League the Condors were going to take another stab at making it to the World Series. They had the best record in baseball at 97-65, clinching home field advantage throughout the postseason after coasting to a 15-game margin of victory in an otherwise shoddy CL South. They had scored the most runs in the CL and had conceded the fewest for a +198 run differential, which was already a convincing case they were making. They had three starting pitchers with ERA’s under three, with so far unheralded Adam Potter (17-11, 2.69 ERA) leading them in wins and ERA. Their pen was perhaps a soft spot as they had gone through several closers over the year without finding The One. Last year’s CL Player of the Year, Shane Sanks (.279, 27 HR, 112 RBI) had been awesome again and had led the team in the power department. They had another 20-dinger slapper in Kevin McGrath, who hit 21 and drove in 93, and a well balanced lineup around that tough-as-nails core, although injuries had taken out two of their starting outfielders for much of the season as Adam Braun (knee) and Chris Murphy (oblique) were going to miss the playoffs.

The Titans were looking forward to adding to their pile of trophies, which was the tallest in all of the ABL, despite only breaking out of a tight CL North field in September and finishing the season 90-72 with the worst record of all the playoff teams. They had the second-fewest runs allowed, but had struggled offensively at times, and had only posted a +94 run differential. Power was not their game; they had the second-fewest dingers in the league, and their team leader was Rhett West, batting .237 with a paltry 10 long balls. On the other hand, they were following an Anaconda Plan approach, getting on base at the highest clip in the league and also stealing a second-highest 135 bases. And they sure were not shy about hitting bases-clearing doubles, either. Lack of offense had also left its marks on Dustin Wingo, who had posted the best ERA on the staff at 2.88, but had posted a 10-10 record. Lorenzo Viamontes (16-7, 3.24 ERA) had led the team in wins. Like the Condors, the Titans had injury troubles, having lost Jeremy Waite (elbow) and Ryan Corkum (labrum) from their staff a long time ago, and now were also missing infielder Adam Corder (knee), who was out for the CLCS, but might be available should the Titans get through the Condors.

The Titans had the tied-most playoff appearances (14) and the outright most championships (8) among all ABL teams, including those in the playoff field. The only other team with a title in the trophy case in the playoff field were the Warriors, who had won the World Series all the way back in 1978 and not once since. They had their tenth playoff appearance going, while the Condors were in October for the 11th time, and the Buffaloes for the ninth time. The latter two teams had never won the championship. The Condors had made it to the World Series three times, most recently in 2016 when they lost to the Pacifics, while the Buffaloes had lost the 2028 Series to the Raccoons, their most recent of three World Series appearances. The Warriors had made and lost in the World Series four times since their 1978 title, most recently in 2014 to the Crusaders. The Titans had won four titles in this decade, but had lost the 2027 World Series to the Pacifics.

The experts were pretty much convinced that we’d see a Condors-Buffaloes World Series, and thus also the number of teams to never win a championship reduced to three; the other two ringless teams being the Miners and Knights.

+++

Warriors @ Buffaloes … 5-3 … (Warriors lead 1-0) … SFW Mark Walker 3-5, HR, 2 2B, 4 RBI; TOP Steve Roundtree 2-4, 2 RBI;

Warriors @ Buffaloes … 1-2 … (series tied 1-1) … TOP Jose Lerma 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, W (1-0) and 2-3, 2 RBI;
Titans @ Condors … 2-5 … (Condors lead 1-0) … TIJ Juan Camps 2-3, BB, 2 HR, 3 RBI;

Titans @ Condors … 1-5 … (Condors lead 2-0) … TIJ Mike Matias 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI; TIJ Jorge Villalobos 8.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (1-0);

Buffaloes @ Warriors … 4-3 … (Buffaloes lead 2-1) … TOP Pat Green 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; SFW Pedro Cisneros 3-5, 2 2B, RBI;

Buffaloes @ Warriors … 5-3 … (Buffaloes lead 3-1) … TOP Alex Majano 2-4, 2 RBI; TOP Jay Elder 2-4, HR, 2 RBI;
Condors @ Titans … 3-1 … (Condors lead 3-0) … TIJ Kevin McGrath 3-5;

Buffaloes @ Warriors … 0-6 … (Buffaloes lead 3-2) … SFW Luis Ortegon 2-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; SFW John Rucker 7.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K, W (1-1);
Condors @ Titans … 5-7 … (Condors lead 3-1) … TIJ Shane Sanks 0-1, 4 BB; BOS Dustin Acor 2-3, BB, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI;

Condors @ Titans … 2-4 … (Condors lead 3-2) … TIJ Kevin McGrath 1-2, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI; BOS Dave O’Rourke (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI;

After being 3-hit by Jeff Little through six innings, the Titans rally from the dead with four runs off Steve Gowan in one third of an inning in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Warriors @ Buffaloes … 4-10 … (Buffaloes win 4-2) … TOP Ken Hess 2-3, BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; TOP Travis Benson 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; TOP Allen Retzer (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI;

The Buffaloes break up Eric Barlow (3 IP, 6 ER) quickly and thoroughly, then tend to their lead with care for the rest of the game, while David Elliott takes his second W of the series with six innings of 2-run ball as the Buffos win their second consecutive pennant.

Titans @ Condors … 0-3 … (Condors win 4-2) … BOS Bryan Hanson 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K; TIJ Joel Denzler 1-3, 2B, 3 RBI; TIJ Jorge Villalobos 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, W (2-0);

The game is scoreless through the middle of the eighth before the Condors load the bags against Pat Selby and Denzler hits a gapper that gives them all their runs in a 3-0 win that puts them into the World Series.

+++

2029 WORLD SERIES

The experts were right, and there would be a first-time champion in the 2029 World Series as the Condors would have homefield advantage over the Buffaloes in the best-of-seven contest. Would there be any runs scored at all? Both teams would cart up the best pitching of their respective league. The advantage would thus inevitably lie with the Condors, who had plated 112 more runs than the Buffaloes, and had allowed only 34 more than their Federal League opponents.

Neither team had suffered injuries during their LCS, but of course the Condors were still hampered and without Braun and Murphy, but the common tune on the sports talk shows before the first pitch was that the Condors would have enough to push through the Buffaloes here and win the first title for a team outside the United States since 1984.

Buffaloes @ Condors … 1-3 … (Condors lead 1-0) … TIJ Kevin McGrath 2-4, 2B, RBI; TIJ George Griffin 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W (2-0);

Buffaloes @ Condors … 1-5 … (Condors lead 2-0) … TIJ Joel Denzler 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI;

Condors @ Buffaloes … 1-5 … (Condors lead 2-1) … TOP Jay Elder 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI; TOP David Elliott 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (3-0) and 2-3;

Condors @ Buffaloes … 6-7 … (series tied 2-2) … TIJ Kevin McGrath 3-4, BB, RBI; TOP Steve Roundtree 3-5, 2B, RBI; TOP Ken Hess 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI;

The game is tied at six in the bottom of the ninth inning when Mike Baker stops retiring players at all. PH Allen Retzer draws a leadoff walk, then scores on straight singles by Ian Coleman, Steve Roundtree, and Alex Majano to walk off the Buffos.

Condors @ Buffaloes … 3-2 … (Condors lead 3-2) … TIJ Matt Good 2-5, 2B, RBI; TIJ Kevin McGrath 3-5, HR, 2B, RBI; TIJ George Griffin 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (3-0);

Buffaloes @ Condors … 4-2 … (series tied 3-3) … TOP Pat Green 2-4, RBI; TOP Ken Hess 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI; TOP David Elliott 8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (4-0) and 2-3, 2B, RBI;

David Elliott sure gave his everything in this postseason, going 4-0 with a 1.61 ERA in 28 innings in his first postseason at age 26. For good measure, he also batted .444 in October and kept the ball moving in the Buffo’s 4-run sixth inning, pretty much their only inning of activity, and it was just barely enough to set up Game 7. There, Ernesto Lujan (1-1, 4.00 ERA) for Topeka would oppose Tijuana’s Jorge Villalobos (2-1, 2.28 ERA).

Buffaloes @ Condors … 0-7 … (Condors win series 4-3) … TIJ Dave Bross 2-4, 2 RBI; TIJ Jorge Villalobos 8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, W (3-1);

Villalobos and Josh Sharp throw a combined 1-hitter to win Game 7 for the Mexican side, the only blip the Buffaloes manage to put on the scoreboard being a seventh-inning single by Alex Majano.

2029 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS
Tijuana Condors
(1st title)

04-14-2019, 03:03 PM	#2812
Westheim Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Germany Posts: 13,957	2029 ABL PLAYOFFS With the playoff bracket set, it was time to see who had the longest breath in the ABL. First applicant for World Series honors were the 93-69 Buffaloes, who had won the FL West by six games. Topeka lined up three strong left-handed starting pitchers with ERA’s under three, led by Jose Lerma (15-9, 2.69 ERA). Their pitching staff was by far the best in the Federal League, as was their defense, and they could not only rely on the best rotation, but also the best bullpen by ERA, and despite a 3.24 ERA, closer Adam Rosenwald had saved 42 games, so he sorta had to know what he was doing. The problems for the Buffaloes, who fell to the Raccoons in the 2028 World Series, was the offense. There was only select power in the lineup, with Ken Hess hitting 18 homers to lead the team, and they were also not hitting for average, sitting eighth with a .256 team average and seventh in runs scored overall. They were also not stealing a lot of bases outside of Alex Majano, who had nipped 39 in the regular season. They would offer a balanced lineup with options to load up on one type of hitter or another, depending on the opposing pitchers. Those pitchers would be part of the 91-71 Warriors, who had a staff led by 20-game winner Pat Okrasinski and his 2.71 ERA, although they were a bit weaker further down the rotation and especially in their bullpen, where they could not show off more than two lockdown relievers, while the Buffaloes had an entire pen’s worth. The Warriors were not necessarily outdoing the Buffaloes in any offensive category, either; they had scored the fourth-most runs, but had done so on an even weaker team batting average (.253, 10th in FL). They did have a bit of power, but had still been led in the department by Justin Uliasz (.230, 20 HR, 94 RBI). Pedro Cisneros was batting .324 in the leadoff spot, but from there on down it was a lot of .230 batters… Their run differential had only been a paltry +9, and somehow that had been enough to stave off the Pacifics by three games to end up in this Midwestern “Middle of Nowhere” series. Over in the Continental League the Condors were going to take another stab at making it to the World Series. They had the best record in baseball at 97-65, clinching home field advantage throughout the postseason after coasting to a 15-game margin of victory in an otherwise shoddy CL South. They had scored the most runs in the CL and had conceded the fewest for a +198 run differential, which was already a convincing case they were making. They had three starting pitchers with ERA’s under three, with so far unheralded Adam Potter (17-11, 2.69 ERA) leading them in wins and ERA. Their pen was perhaps a soft spot as they had gone through several closers over the year without finding The One. Last year’s CL Player of the Year, Shane Sanks (.279, 27 HR, 112 RBI) had been awesome again and had led the team in the power department. They had another 20-dinger slapper in Kevin McGrath, who hit 21 and drove in 93, and a well balanced lineup around that tough-as-nails core, although injuries had taken out two of their starting outfielders for much of the season as Adam Braun (knee) and Chris Murphy (oblique) were going to miss the playoffs. The Titans were looking forward to adding to their pile of trophies, which was the tallest in all of the ABL, despite only breaking out of a tight CL North field in September and finishing the season 90-72 with the worst record of all the playoff teams. They had the second-fewest runs allowed, but had struggled offensively at times, and had only posted a +94 run differential. Power was not their game; they had the second-fewest dingers in the league, and their team leader was Rhett West, batting .237 with a paltry 10 long balls. On the other hand, they were following an Anaconda Plan approach, getting on base at the highest clip in the league and also stealing a second-highest 135 bases. And they sure were not shy about hitting bases-clearing doubles, either. Lack of offense had also left its marks on Dustin Wingo, who had posted the best ERA on the staff at 2.88, but had posted a 10-10 record. Lorenzo Viamontes (16-7, 3.24 ERA) had led the team in wins. Like the Condors, the Titans had injury troubles, having lost Jeremy Waite (elbow) and Ryan Corkum (labrum) from their staff a long time ago, and now were also missing infielder Adam Corder (knee), who was out for the CLCS, but might be available should the Titans get through the Condors. The Titans had the tied-most playoff appearances (14) and the outright most championships (8) among all ABL teams, including those in the playoff field. The only other team with a title in the trophy case in the playoff field were the Warriors, who had won the World Series all the way back in 1978 and not once since. They had their tenth playoff appearance going, while the Condors were in October for the 11th time, and the Buffaloes for the ninth time. The latter two teams had never won the championship. The Condors had made it to the World Series three times, most recently in 2016 when they lost to the Pacifics, while the Buffaloes had lost the 2028 Series to the Raccoons, their most recent of three World Series appearances. The Warriors had made and lost in the World Series four times since their 1978 title, most recently in 2014 to the Crusaders. The Titans had won four titles in this decade, but had lost the 2027 World Series to the Pacifics. The experts were pretty much convinced that we’d see a Condors-Buffaloes World Series, and thus also the number of teams to never win a championship reduced to three; the other two ringless teams being the Miners and Knights. +++ Warriors @ Buffaloes … 5-3 … (Warriors lead 1-0) … SFW Mark Walker 3-5, HR, 2 2B, 4 RBI; TOP Steve Roundtree 2-4, 2 RBI; Warriors @ Buffaloes … 1-2 … (series tied 1-1) … TOP Jose Lerma 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, W (1-0) and 2-3, 2 RBI; Titans @ Condors … 2-5 … (Condors lead 1-0) … TIJ Juan Camps 2-3, BB, 2 HR, 3 RBI; Titans @ Condors … 1-5 … (Condors lead 2-0) … TIJ Mike Matias 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI; TIJ Jorge Villalobos 8.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (1-0); Buffaloes @ Warriors … 4-3 … (Buffaloes lead 2-1) … TOP Pat Green 3-4, HR, 2 RBI; SFW Pedro Cisneros 3-5, 2 2B, RBI; Buffaloes @ Warriors … 5-3 … (Buffaloes lead 3-1) … TOP Alex Majano 2-4, 2 RBI; TOP Jay Elder 2-4, HR, 2 RBI; Condors @ Titans … 3-1 … (Condors lead 3-0) … TIJ Kevin McGrath 3-5; Buffaloes @ Warriors … 0-6 … (Buffaloes lead 3-2) … SFW Luis Ortegon 2-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI; SFW John Rucker 7.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K, W (1-1); Condors @ Titans … 5-7 … (Condors lead 3-1) … TIJ Shane Sanks 0-1, 4 BB; BOS Dustin Acor 2-3, BB, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI; Condors @ Titans … 2-4 … (Condors lead 3-2) … TIJ Kevin McGrath 1-2, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI; BOS Dave O’Rourke (PH) 1-1, 2 RBI; After being 3-hit by Jeff Little through six innings, the Titans rally from the dead with four runs off Steve Gowan in one third of an inning in the bottom of the seventh inning. Warriors @ Buffaloes … 4-10 … (Buffaloes win 4-2) … TOP Ken Hess 2-3, BB, HR, 2B, 2 RBI; TOP Travis Benson 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; TOP Allen Retzer (PH) 1-1, HR, 2 RBI; The Buffaloes break up Eric Barlow (3 IP, 6 ER) quickly and thoroughly, then tend to their lead with care for the rest of the game, while David Elliott takes his second W of the series with six innings of 2-run ball as the Buffos win their second consecutive pennant. Titans @ Condors … 0-3 … (Condors win 4-2) … BOS Bryan Hanson 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K; TIJ Joel Denzler 1-3, 2B, 3 RBI; TIJ Jorge Villalobos 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, W (2-0); The game is scoreless through the middle of the eighth before the Condors load the bags against Pat Selby and Denzler hits a gapper that gives them all their runs in a 3-0 win that puts them into the World Series. +++ 2029 WORLD SERIES The experts were right, and there would be a first-time champion in the 2029 World Series as the Condors would have homefield advantage over the Buffaloes in the best-of-seven contest. Would there be any runs scored at all? Both teams would cart up the best pitching of their respective league. The advantage would thus inevitably lie with the Condors, who had plated 112 more runs than the Buffaloes, and had allowed only 34 more than their Federal League opponents. Neither team had suffered injuries during their LCS, but of course the Condors were still hampered and without Braun and Murphy, but the common tune on the sports talk shows before the first pitch was that the Condors would have enough to push through the Buffaloes here and win the first title for a team outside the United States since 1984. Buffaloes @ Condors … 1-3 … (Condors lead 1-0) … TIJ Kevin McGrath 2-4, 2B, RBI; TIJ George Griffin 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, W (2-0); Buffaloes @ Condors … 1-5 … (Condors lead 2-0) … TIJ Joel Denzler 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Condors @ Buffaloes … 1-5 … (Condors lead 2-1) … TOP Jay Elder 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI; TOP David Elliott 8.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, W (3-0) and 2-3; Condors @ Buffaloes … 6-7 … (series tied 2-2) … TIJ Kevin McGrath 3-4, BB, RBI; TOP Steve Roundtree 3-5, 2B, RBI; TOP Ken Hess 2-3, BB, 2B, 2 RBI; The game is tied at six in the bottom of the ninth inning when Mike Baker stops retiring players at all. PH Allen Retzer draws a leadoff walk, then scores on straight singles by Ian Coleman, Steve Roundtree, and Alex Majano to walk off the Buffos. Condors @ Buffaloes … 3-2 … (Condors lead 3-2) … TIJ Matt Good 2-5, 2B, RBI; TIJ Kevin McGrath 3-5, HR, 2B, RBI; TIJ George Griffin 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, W (3-0); Buffaloes @ Condors … 4-2 … (series tied 3-3) … TOP Pat Green 2-4, RBI; TOP Ken Hess 3-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI; TOP David Elliott 8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, W (4-0) and 2-3, 2B, RBI; David Elliott sure gave his everything in this postseason, going 4-0 with a 1.61 ERA in 28 innings in his first postseason at age 26. For good measure, he also batted .444 in October and kept the ball moving in the Buffo’s 4-run sixth inning, pretty much their only inning of activity, and it was just barely enough to set up Game 7. There, Ernesto Lujan (1-1, 4.00 ERA) for Topeka would oppose Tijuana’s Jorge Villalobos (2-1, 2.28 ERA). Buffaloes @ Condors … 0-7 … (Condors win series 4-3) … TIJ Dave Bross 2-4, 2 RBI; TIJ Jorge Villalobos 8.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K, W (3-1); Villalobos and Josh Sharp throw a combined 1-hitter to win Game 7 for the Mexican side, the only blip the Buffaloes manage to put on the scoreboard being a seventh-inning single by Alex Majano. 2029 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS Tijuana Condors (1st title) Attached Images __________________ Portland Raccoons, 94 years of excell-.... of baseball: Furballs here! 1983 * 1989 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1995 * 1996 * 2010 * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2026 * 2028 * 2035 * 2037 * 2044 * 2045 * 2046 * 2047 * 2048 * 2051 * 2054 * 2055 * 2061 1 OSANAI : 2 POWELL : 7 NOMURA \| RAMOS : 8 REECE : 10 BROWN : 15 HALL : 27 FERNANDEZ : 28 CASAS : 31 CARMONA : 32 WEST : 39 TONER : 46 SAITO Resident Mets Cynic - The Mets from 1962 onwards, here.