[Syd Thrift]

This post should take the league up to the World Baseball Invitational. This is the first time I've run a tourney in-game. Hope it doesn't break everything (I mean, I'm in a multiplayer league that uses it so I'm sure it won't).

November 10: Abrams v. United States: The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the conviction Abrams for inciting resistance to the war effort against Soviet Russia. This has to be called a W for the right wing: OFs Sean Hurd and Aaron Hubbard get bumps. Hubbard, by the way, is exhibit A in why I set my AI evals to 0 ratings in leagues like this. He's got MASSIVE power numbers but all that translates into in 1919 is 1 HR in 189 at-bats and a .196 average. Also, Russia offers to take on the namesake of the lawsuit and for some reason the Yankees agree. 2B Jacob Abrams is penciled in as the Reds' starting 2B but he seems like he's more into writing polemic in Yiddish than he is in turning the double play. I think he'll hit well enough to hold the position but man, I don't know about the fielding...

November 11: The Northwestern Army of General Nikolai Yudenich retreats to Estonia and is disarmed. Big, big victory for the Russians here. SP Fyodor Raskolnikov, who I have to admit I get confused with the protagonist of Crime and Punishment a lot, Bela "The Red Hungarian" Kuhn, and... Raskolnikov again get bumps because of this potentially war-ending turn of events.

November 11: The Centralia Massacre in Centralia, Washington (United States), originating at an Armistice Day parade, results in the deaths of four members of the American Legion, and the lynching of a local leader of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). This is a major setback for the American left: 1B Brian Mattice, who spent all of last season in AAA but who is on their active roster for some reason, and 1919 New World batting champion SS Hugo Castaneda take the hits.

November 11: First Remembrance Day observed in the British Empire with a two-minute silence at 11:00 hours. Did we not just have this story? Congrats, Britain, you get a second GRIT BUMP for your efforts. CF Glen Wilcox, who did some gritty things but not all of them, is now increasingly grittified.

November 14: Russian Civil War, Siberian Front: Admiral Alexander Kolchak's White forces begin the Great Siberian Ice March from the cities of Omsk and Tomsk to Irkutsk, escaping from the victorious Red Army. This seems a bit excessive and for that reason all Moscow gets is the GRIT BUMP. RF Andre Kataev goes from being a horrible bunter to merely a bad one. Will that be the bump he needs to be propelled into the Reds' lineup? No, probably not.

November 16: After Entente pressure, Romanian forces withdraw from Budapest and allow Admiral Horthy to march in. This kind of tangentially involves Austria in the sense that several of their players will form the beginnings of the Hungarian team in the spring but man... this seems pretty inconsequential so for now I am rulling NO BUMPS on this one. If only I could add/subtract teams in November (I mean, you can run expansion but I don't want an expansion draft so that's right out).

November 19: The Treaty of Versailles fails a critical ratification vote in the United States Senate. It will never be ratified by the U.S. Good thing we have baseball! Anyway, mild POW hit to all 3 American teams here. Yankees' C Nick Arnold, whose power didn't translate into any 1919 HRs anyway, gets hit, as does Defenders backup OF Roy Gray (which, by the way, man oh man are the Defenders walking between the raindrops on these rolls), and LA Stars

November 19 (not a news story but something I'll try to keep track of): The Chicago Defenders trade for SP Ernest Hemingway, sending back 2B "prospect" Ryan Price in return. I was looking up when exactly Hemingway moved to Paris in anticipation of trading him to the Revolutions but saw that he lived in literal Chicago after the war so I had to move him along. He goes to Paris by the way in the fall of 1921... the 18 year old Hemingway immediately gets slotted in as the Defenders' minor league affiliate in Dallas' #2 starter; Price hit .131 in the minors last year so it probably doesn't matter much what happens to him and anyway he didn't write For Whom The Bell Tolls, so who cares?

November 22: An annular solar eclipse took place at Atlantic Ocean. The greatest eclipse was 6º56'01.68" N, 48º52'42.24" W. Go home, Wikipedia, you're drunk.

November 27: The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine is signed between the Allies and Bulgaria. As hosts, the Paris Revolutions get some big ups for Avoiding K(onflict)s. RF Enzo Thomas, who started all year but only hit .251, gets some love, as does 3B Didier Tailander, who, truth be told, is kind of world class at avoiding k(onflict). He was nicknamed "Stony" before but now he's called "Peacemaker" in honor of this treaty.

November 30: Health officials declare the global "Spanish" flu pandemic has ceased. In truth, the "Spanish" flu probably originated in the American Midwest but since it's associated with Spain and Spain hasn't gotten much love, they'll be the recipient of the BAB(y)IP bump here: SS Hugo Martinez, who could use a bump, Gold Glove LF Gerardo Cordova, and Hugo Martinez for a second time all (both) benefit.