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pauwoo · 05-15-2022, 12:10 PM

With the All-Star festivities behind us now, and after a good showing by our players who spent 4-days representing the club & league, we’re whole once more and looking to get off on the good foot here as we begin the 2nd half of the 2079 campaign. But first, some All-Star notes…

Our own Otto Isaac won the HR Derby, besting Pittsburgh’s Mack Ramirez in the final after beating his teammate, Tom Franzone, one round prior.
Our Ace, Stephen Estevez, in being recognized for his first half brilliance, got the start for the National League, while former Leopard’s mainstay, and perhaps my favorite SP in the save (outside of the incomparable Josiah Weber), Michael “Brisky” Brisk, got the nod for the American League squad.
The game, contested at Smoothie King Field in New Orleans, was a low scoring affair that would see the often-beleaguered American League get the win by a score of 2-1. Otto scored the NL’s only run, putting himself in a position to score on a double before being brought the rest of the way around by Philadelphia’s Palmer Parker.
Estevez, in 1-inning of work, struck out the side and ultimately set the tone for what would be the opposite of a rollicking affair as defense and pitching ruled the day… fans like offense, chicks dig the long ball, so, as you can imagine, I think it’s safe to say that the game didn’t go according to the script preferred by the commissioner’s office.
CF Smith Wells, of the Salt Lake Alpines, won the All-Star MVP award on the back of his 2-for-2 performance that included the game-winning RBI.

A quick bit of roster news before we turn our attention to Brookyn… SP Dwight Beasley returns to the fold after his short stint on the IL – I’m told his elbow is as good as new – which, unfortunately, means that RP Tony Cartwright will return to Compton to ply his trade with our Triple-A outfit.

Los Angeles Leopards (54-34, .613, 1st NL West) @ Brooklyn Citizens (51-38, .573, 1st NL East)
Brooklyn has long held a low-key kind of allure to me – I’ve, on more than one occasion, seriously considered packing up my things here in Los Angeles and heading east to helm the Citizens. They of course get along just fine without me, making the playoffs in 15 of the last 16 seasons though they’ve not managed to win the whole thing since doing so waaay back in 2031. This year they’ve had the look of a club that should be dangerous in the post-season – not a lock to do the ultimate damage, but certainly an adversary worth keeping an eye on. In 2079, their staff has been sneaky good – ranked 1st in runs against, 2nd in FIP, with a defense ranked 2nd in efficiency – and their offense, while not otherworldly, has made a habit of impeccable timing and opportunistic run scoring. In that category, they rank 4th or 5th everywhere that matters, and have ridden that consistency to an NL East leading record over the 1st half of the ’79 campaign… backed by a fervent fanbase, formidable from the bump, and professionally competent in the box, Brooklyn is a tall order for any club – here we’ll try to get back on the horse after the break and attempt to display the form that had us kicking off this month on a 7-2 clip.

89 of 162: Keith Baeza (7-3, 2.43) @ Patrick Keith (1-0, 9.53)
Loss, 3-5. In a tale of two Keith’s, where ours allowed 5 bad ones to get across while theirs did not, we’d drop the first of three against the Citizens in less than dramatic fashion. And, while we’d best them in total doubles hit, 4 to 3, they’d bat the ball around to the tune of 12 hits while we could only muster 6 to go along with our unseemly 13 whiffs on the day… so much for returning from the break rested and ready to go… Weaver, Hanan, and PEPPER each drove in a run, Otto went 1-for-4 with that one being a weak little dribbler that he managed to leg out, and OH HONG came one K short of earning a Golden Sombrero. This was not the start we were looking for…

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Elsewhere: 1B Ansley Athanasios, who once hit a GRAND SLAM against the Ridgemont Community College Tasty Waves as a member of the Washington State Cougars, blasted two moonshots out of the park for San Marcos today in Bush League play, leading his Supremos to a 6-1 victory over the Naperville Nibblers on the back of his 3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, and 3 run day… 2079 marks Athanasios’ first year back in the Bush League since 2074 after toiling in the Minors for the 2nd time as he attempted to make his big league dreams come true, finally making it all the way to Charlotte for 11 games in the sun during the 2078 season. He gave a good account of himself during what little time he had up there, finishing 6-for-25 with an RBI before being released by the Imperials… here’s hoping he’ll stick around the BL for a while and reach low-key legend status in San Marcos.

90 of 162: Merl Crawford (9-5, 4.70) @ Bradley Hughes (8-2, 2.52)
Loss, 2-3. Pepper Grant, at the plate with a man on 2nd and another on 3rd, with the chance to knot this one up, two outs already on the board, would, instead, hit a weak little dribbler right to Heathcote Kinton who’d soft toss it over to 1st to secure the series victory and 2nd win in a row for Brooklyn… OH HONG, coming off that 3-K day, went 1-for-2 with a SOLO DINGER that brought us to within a run, Otto secured two hits, both inconsequential, and Merl gave us a solid 5-inning effort, allowing just one run before turning it over to Leonardo Duarte who’d end up saddled with the loss after allowing 2 more to plate. Some uninspired baseball after the break from the Yellow Tops here… not great, man.

91 of 162: Jan Hernandez (4-2, 1.52) @ John Aivazian (9-5, 3.36)
Loss, 1-4. In our first series after the break, we’d be swept under the rug by the Citizens, and summarily dismissed in Brooklyn… not our best look, not the start we were looking for as we begin to navigate the 2nd half, and certainly not what I expected of the boys here… Brooklyn’s Aivazian leaned into his fierce fastball over 6.2 innings of work, fanning 8 while allowing a mere 2 hits to go along with our 2 walks, and Closer Sawyer Dahlgren, in 2.1 innings of work, would pick up where Aivazian left off with 4 more K’s for Brooklyn. All told, 5 of our 9 batsmen would record 2 K’s, with Otto’s solo TRUCK being the lone highlight here for our shopworn, suddenly anemic offense that has sputtered off the line as we kick off the 2nd half of the race…

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Elsewhere: 1B Ben Compton, of the PDX Pines, somehow amassed 5 RBI during a 10-5 win for his club over the Boston Shamrocks on a 3-for-4 day that did not include a single EBH… I don’t know how you do that and, given that my club just got swept out of Brooklyn, don’t have the wherewithal to go through the game log to find out… nonetheless, some recognition for the 3x All-Star was, I think, necessary.

Record: 54-37, .593, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll take a long flight home, dejected, down, out, and no fun to be around, where we’ll meet up with the Montreal Alouettes to kick off a 7-game home stand with 4 games against the Canada-based ballclub.

05-15-2022, 12:10 PM	#101
pauwoo Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Seattle Posts: 2,255	2079 Season (July 14th – 16th) With the All-Star festivities behind us now, and after a good showing by our players who spent 4-days representing the club & league, we’re whole once more and looking to get off on the good foot here as we begin the 2nd half of the 2079 campaign. But first, some All-Star notes… Our own Otto Isaac won the HR Derby, besting Pittsburgh’s Mack Ramirez in the final after beating his teammate, Tom Franzone, one round prior. Our Ace, Stephen Estevez, in being recognized for his first half brilliance, got the start for the National League, while former Leopard’s mainstay, and perhaps my favorite SP in the save (outside of the incomparable Josiah Weber), Michael “Brisky” Brisk, got the nod for the American League squad. The game, contested at Smoothie King Field in New Orleans, was a low scoring affair that would see the often-beleaguered American League get the win by a score of 2-1. Otto scored the NL’s only run, putting himself in a position to score on a double before being brought the rest of the way around by Philadelphia’s Palmer Parker. Estevez, in 1-inning of work, struck out the side and ultimately set the tone for what would be the opposite of a rollicking affair as defense and pitching ruled the day… fans like offense, chicks dig the long ball, so, as you can imagine, I think it’s safe to say that the game didn’t go according to the script preferred by the commissioner’s office. CF Smith Wells, of the Salt Lake Alpines, won the All-Star MVP award on the back of his 2-for-2 performance that included the game-winning RBI. A quick bit of roster news before we turn our attention to Brookyn… SP Dwight Beasley returns to the fold after his short stint on the IL – I’m told his elbow is as good as new – which, unfortunately, means that RP Tony Cartwright will return to Compton to ply his trade with our Triple-A outfit. Los Angeles Leopards (54-34, .613, 1st NL West) @ Brooklyn Citizens (51-38, .573, 1st NL East) Brooklyn has long held a low-key kind of allure to me – I’ve, on more than one occasion, seriously considered packing up my things here in Los Angeles and heading east to helm the Citizens. They of course get along just fine without me, making the playoffs in 15 of the last 16 seasons though they’ve not managed to win the whole thing since doing so waaay back in 2031. This year they’ve had the look of a club that should be dangerous in the post-season – not a lock to do the ultimate damage, but certainly an adversary worth keeping an eye on. In 2079, their staff has been sneaky good – ranked 1st in runs against, 2nd in FIP, with a defense ranked 2nd in efficiency – and their offense, while not otherworldly, has made a habit of impeccable timing and opportunistic run scoring. In that category, they rank 4th or 5th everywhere that matters, and have ridden that consistency to an NL East leading record over the 1st half of the ’79 campaign… backed by a fervent fanbase, formidable from the bump, and professionally competent in the box, Brooklyn is a tall order for any club – here we’ll try to get back on the horse after the break and attempt to display the form that had us kicking off this month on a 7-2 clip. 89 of 162: Keith Baeza (7-3, 2.43) @ Patrick Keith (1-0, 9.53) Loss, 3-5. In a tale of two Keith’s, where ours allowed 5 bad ones to get across while theirs did not, we’d drop the first of three against the Citizens in less than dramatic fashion. And, while we’d best them in total doubles hit, 4 to 3, they’d bat the ball around to the tune of 12 hits while we could only muster 6 to go along with our unseemly 13 whiffs on the day… so much for returning from the break rested and ready to go… Weaver, Hanan, and PEPPER each drove in a run, Otto went 1-for-4 with that one being a weak little dribbler that he managed to leg out, and OH HONG came one K short of earning a *Golden Sombrero. This was not the start we were looking for… Elsewhere: 1B Ansley Athanasios, who once hit a GRAND SLAM* against the Ridgemont Community College Tasty Waves as a member of the Washington State Cougars, blasted two moonshots out of the park for San Marcos today in Bush League play, leading his Supremos to a 6-1 victory over the Naperville Nibblers on the back of his 3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, and 3 run day… 2079 marks Athanasios’ first year back in the Bush League since 2074 after toiling in the Minors for the 2nd time as he attempted to make his big league dreams come true, finally making it all the way to Charlotte for 11 games in the sun during the 2078 season. He gave a good account of himself during what little time he had up there, finishing 6-for-25 with an RBI before being released by the Imperials… here’s hoping he’ll stick around the BL for a while and reach low-key legend status in San Marcos. 90 of 162: Merl Crawford (9-5, 4.70) @ Bradley Hughes (8-2, 2.52) Loss, 2-3. Pepper Grant, at the plate with a man on 2nd and another on 3rd, with the chance to knot this one up, two outs already on the board, would, instead, hit a weak little dribbler right to Heathcote Kinton who’d soft toss it over to 1st to secure the series victory and 2nd win in a row for Brooklyn… OH HONG, coming off that 3-K day, went 1-for-2 with a SOLO DINGER that brought us to within a run, Otto secured two hits, both inconsequential, and Merl gave us a solid 5-inning effort, allowing just one run before turning it over to Leonardo Duarte who’d end up saddled with the loss after allowing 2 more to plate. Some uninspired baseball after the break from the Yellow Tops here… not great, man. 91 of 162: Jan Hernandez (4-2, 1.52) @ John Aivazian (9-5, 3.36) Loss, 1-4. In our first series after the break, we’d be swept under the rug by the Citizens, and summarily dismissed in Brooklyn… not our best look, not the start we were looking for as we begin to navigate the 2nd half, and certainly not what I expected of the boys here… Brooklyn’s Aivazian leaned into his fierce fastball over 6.2 innings of work, fanning 8 while allowing a mere 2 hits to go along with our 2 walks, and Closer Sawyer Dahlgren, in 2.1 innings of work, would pick up where Aivazian left off with 4 more K’s for Brooklyn. All told, 5 of our 9 batsmen would record 2 K’s, with Otto’s solo TRUCK being the lone highlight here for our shopworn, suddenly anemic offense that has sputtered off the line as we kick off the 2nd half of the race… Elsewhere: 1B Ben Compton, of the PDX Pines, somehow amassed 5 RBI during a 10-5 win for his club over the Boston Shamrocks on a 3-for-4 day that did not include a single EBH… I don’t know how you do that and, given that my club just got swept out of Brooklyn, don’t have the wherewithal to go through the game log to find out… nonetheless, some recognition for the 3x All-Star was, I think, necessary. Record: 54-37, .593, 1st NL West Up Next: We’ll take a long flight home, dejected, down, out, and no fun to be around, where we’ll meet up with the Montreal Alouettes to kick off a 7-game home stand with 4 games against the Canada-based ballclub. __________________ Be excellent to each other. the Portland Pioneers \| the Los Angeles Leopards Last edited by pauwoo; 06-13-2022 at 10:55 AM.