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pauwoo · 08-11-2020, 10:06 PM

Kansas City Royals (12-21, .364, 7th AL West) @ Portland Pines (11-22, .333, 8th AL West)
The last time we ran into Kansas City, I remember thinking that they looked a lot like us – lacking in talent, over-extended on contracts, and without any clear paths to contention. I also thought that we’d have a great chance at beating them… but, I was wrong – I allowed myself to get too hopeful, too confident that we belonged on the same field as them in real life because we looked so similar on paper. It was one of my first lessons in baseball humility – we ended up on the wrong side of a sweep, were outscored by 11 runs over three games, and were sent off to Seattle with our tails tucked firmly between our legs. But I guess that lesson in humility didn’t stick… because, here I am, all set to take on KC again, this time in our house, and I’m hopeful… confident, even. Their staff is in worse shape than when we first met and are now ranked dead last in three categories, their defense has allowed the most runs of any club in the American League, and their offense is ranked above only our own and that of the Seattle Mariners. The difference this time around is that we’re a hot club, coming off a series win against one of the most highly decorated clubs in our league and KC is not… they’ve lost 7 of their last ten contests and, most recently, dropped a set to the Texas Rangers at home. These circumstances seem to equal as good an opportunity a club like mine can expect coming into a home series… if we can show some mettle and get the series win here, it will go a long way towards solidifying our owners' belief in the long-term plans I set before him prior to Opening Day.

34 of 156: Brad Keller (1-4, 7.47) @ Mike Leake (0-3, 6.34)
Win, 6-1. And the good times aren’t killing me… Leake picked up his first W as a member of the Portland Pines (a couple more of those and we’ll put him back on the block) and went the distance in a complete-game, 7-hit, 1-run performance for the club, Odubel hit his second GRAND SLAM in as many days (what?!?), and Mallex Smith went 2 for 4 with a couple of runs. The team was sharp in this one – our lineup was sequenced perfectly, we only fanned three times as a unit, and recorded 6 runs on 7 total hits… that’s called being efficient. This was the start I was looking for – a nice game one victory and a small measure of revenge against the first club to sweep us in team history… now, to complete it, with an Inigo Montoya type flair, we’ll need to carry this forward tomorrow and take care of business once again.

35 of 156: Andrew Cashner (1-2, 7.62) @ Adan Kirk (1-0, 2.95)
Win, 8-7. Our first smash mouth, rock ‘em, sock ‘em slugfest… which we won despite KC out homering us 4-2. Jon Berti went 2 for 4 with a 3-run jack in the bottom of the 5th, Benny Hill hit a 2-run double in the bottom of the 6th, and nearly every start recorded at least one hit with only Braden Dickey coming up empty at the plate. We got everything in twos today… two doubles, two homers (one was Odubel’s 3rd jack in as many games), 2, 2-out RBIs, and 2 stolen bases for the club. Adan got shelled, but the Royals’ starter, Cashner, was even worse, and, while our bullpen had trouble holding the line, our offense made up for each of their transgressions on the mound. Note: Adan Kirk gave up THREE homers during the game which more than doubled his HRA total for the year… he’s now given up 5 jacks so far in 2020, which doesn’t even put him close to the top of that dubious category… some notable pitchers that are in the top 10 include Zach Grienke and Kyle Freeland.

36 of 156: Danny Duffy (3-4, 4.58) @ Emerson Barros (2-1, 5.29)
Win, 5-4. We snuck by the Royals in extras off a Bob Clark walk-off, run-scoring single in the bottom of the 12th, and have successfully enacted some sweet, sweet revenge against the Royals on the way to earning our first-ever series sweep in Pendleton Park! KC put three bad ones on us in the top of the 1st – coming off the line like a team on a mission – but we’d chip away at it with runs in the bottoms of the 5th and 6th before pulling ahead during the bottom of the 7th frame when Mallex Smith hit a dramatic 2-run moonshot. The Royals had no quit though… and would find their way home during the top of the 9th, setting Bob up for the walk-off run-scoring single. Two firsts for our club here – our first series sweep & our first win in extras.

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Elsewhere: The Philadelphia Phillies showed no remorse today after pummeling the Charlotte Imperials by a score of 23-0. During the game, Jean Segura hit two jacks, included a 3-run shot and a GRAND SLAM. In total, the Phillies hit 7 homers in a complete annihilation of Charlotte’s staff. It got so bad for the Imperials that they had to send their backup catcher (he allowed 5 runs) and utility infielder (he recorded the final two outs) out to the mound to finish this one up. After the loss, Charlotte now has a -156 RDiff for the season.

Recap: Every team is capable of going on a run during the long slog of a baseball season, even the worst of them. The game lends itself to this sort of thing – where one errant throw or infield hit can be the difference between a win and a loss. This then is likely ours – and, if I’m honest, the clock is ticking on it. We’re in the midst of a 7-3 stretch, have won our last 4 contests, and have the look of a club that is good for a few more. Surely, our hustle will get outpaced by reality soon, but, for now, I’d just like to sit back and enjoy it – to let myself occupy a world where this is supposed to happen if only for practice. We have a 4-year plan, we’ve put it in motion, have stocked up on draft picks, and I believe that we may be able to beat the timetable we laid out. Obviously, it’s not going to happen for us this year – there’s a lot of runway left, and we went into this attempt at flight knowing full well that we are down an engine and without a licensed pilot. So, even though we are still in the ‘faking it’ stage it feels good to reach for the stars and come down with a little bit of stardust for a change.

Record: 14-22, .389, 7th AL West

Up Next: We’ll head to Orange County and do our best to not get too distracted by all the bored housewives rocking their perfectly fitted yoga pants while Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon make a mockery of our pitching staff.

08-11-2020, 10:06 PM	#16
pauwoo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Seattle Posts: 2,255	2020 Season (5/7 – 5/9) Kansas City Royals (12-21, .364, 7th AL West) @ Portland Pines (11-22, .333, 8th AL West) The last time we ran into Kansas City, I remember thinking that they looked a lot like us – lacking in talent, over-extended on contracts, and without any clear paths to contention. I also thought that we’d have a great chance at beating them… but, I was wrong – I allowed myself to get too hopeful, too confident that we belonged on the same field as them in real life because we looked so similar on paper. It was one of my first lessons in baseball humility – we ended up on the wrong side of a sweep, were outscored by 11 runs over three games, and were sent off to Seattle with our tails tucked firmly between our legs. But I guess that lesson in humility didn’t stick… because, here I am, all set to take on KC again, this time in our house, and I’m hopeful… confident, even. Their staff is in worse shape than when we first met and are now ranked dead last in three categories, their defense has allowed the most runs of any club in the American League, and their offense is ranked above only our own and that of the Seattle Mariners. The difference this time around is that we’re a hot club, coming off a series win against one of the most highly decorated clubs in our league and KC is not… they’ve lost 7 of their last ten contests and, most recently, dropped a set to the Texas Rangers at home. These circumstances seem to equal as good an opportunity a club like mine can expect coming into a home series… if we can show some mettle and get the series win here, it will go a long way towards solidifying our owners' belief in the long-term plans I set before him prior to Opening Day. 34 of 156: Brad Keller (1-4, 7.47) @ Mike Leake (0-3, 6.34) Win, 6-1. And the good times aren’t killing me… Leake picked up his first W as a member of the Portland Pines (a couple more of those and we’ll put him back on the block) and went the distance in a complete-game, 7-hit, 1-run performance for the club, Odubel hit his second GRAND SLAM in as many days (what?!?), and Mallex Smith went 2 for 4 with a couple of runs. The team was sharp in this one – our lineup was sequenced perfectly, we only fanned three times as a unit, and recorded 6 runs on 7 total hits… that’s called being efficient. This was the start I was looking for – a nice game one victory and a small measure of revenge against the first club to sweep us in team history… now, to complete it, with an Inigo Montoya type flair, we’ll need to carry this forward tomorrow and take care of business once again. 35 of 156: Andrew Cashner (1-2, 7.62) @ Adan Kirk (1-0, 2.95) Win, 8-7. Our first smash mouth, rock ‘em, sock ‘em slugfest… which we won despite KC out homering us 4-2. Jon Berti went 2 for 4 with a 3-run jack in the bottom of the 5th, Benny Hill hit a 2-run double in the bottom of the 6th, and nearly every start recorded at least one hit with only Braden Dickey coming up empty at the plate. We got everything in twos today… two doubles, two homers (one was Odubel’s 3rd jack in as many games), 2, 2-out RBIs, and 2 stolen bases for the club. Adan got shelled, but the Royals’ starter, Cashner, was even worse, and, while our bullpen had trouble holding the line, our offense made up for each of their transgressions on the mound. Note: Adan Kirk gave up THREE homers during the game which more than doubled his HRA total for the year… he’s now given up 5 jacks so far in 2020, which doesn’t even put him close to the top of that dubious category… some notable pitchers that are in the top 10 include Zach Grienke and Kyle Freeland. 36 of 156: Danny Duffy (3-4, 4.58) @ Emerson Barros (2-1, 5.29) Win, 5-4. We snuck by the Royals in extras off a Bob Clark walk-off, run-scoring single in the bottom of the 12th, and have successfully enacted some sweet, sweet revenge against the Royals on the way to earning our first-ever series sweep in Pendleton Park! KC put three bad ones on us in the top of the 1st – coming off the line like a team on a mission – but we’d chip away at it with runs in the bottoms of the 5th and 6th before pulling ahead during the bottom of the 7th frame when Mallex Smith hit a dramatic 2-run moonshot. The Royals had no quit though… and would find their way home during the top of the 9th, setting Bob up for the walk-off run-scoring single. Two firsts for our club here – our first series sweep & our first win in extras. Elsewhere: The Philadelphia Phillies showed no remorse today after pummeling the Charlotte Imperials by a score of 23-0. During the game, Jean Segura hit two jacks, included a 3-run shot and a GRAND SLAM. In total, the Phillies hit 7 homers in a complete annihilation of Charlotte’s staff. It got so bad for the Imperials that they had to send their backup catcher (he allowed 5 runs) and utility infielder (he recorded the final two outs) out to the mound to finish this one up. After the loss, Charlotte now has a -156 RDiff for the season. Recap: Every team is capable of going on a run during the long slog of a baseball season, even the worst of them. The game lends itself to this sort of thing – where one errant throw or infield hit can be the difference between a win and a loss. This then is likely ours – and, if I’m honest, the clock is ticking on it. We’re in the midst of a 7-3 stretch, have won our last 4 contests, and have the look of a club that is good for a few more. Surely, our hustle will get outpaced by reality soon, but, for now, I’d just like to sit back and enjoy it – to let myself occupy a world where this is supposed to happen if only for practice. We have a 4-year plan, we’ve put it in motion, have stocked up on draft picks, and I believe that we may be able to beat the timetable we laid out. Obviously, it’s not going to happen for us this year – there’s a lot of runway left, and we went into this attempt at flight knowing full well that we are down an engine and without a licensed pilot. So, even though we are still in the ‘faking it’ stage it feels good to reach for the stars and come down with a little bit of stardust for a change. Record: 14-22, .389, 7th AL West Up Next: We’ll head to Orange County and do our best to not get too distracted by all the bored housewives rocking their perfectly fitted yoga pants while Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon make a mockery of our pitching staff. __________________ Be excellent to each other. the Portland Pioneers \| the Los Angeles Leopards Last edited by pauwoo; 08-12-2020 at 12:05 AM.