OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - South Georgia Baseball League (OOTP meets SimCity 4!)

rleb · 12-11-2016, 10:14 PM

WEEK 4 PREVIEW

This week's featured Friday Night game : "Stuck in quicksand"
Batallion Royals (4-16) at Grytviken Icebergs (6-14)

AT

Dominic Fry, GSN correspondant
April 24th, 2015

For two of South Georgia's larger cities with (theoretically) more resources, they certainly made a mess of their first month in the league. Both teams have been guilty of going for the "star" player to boost marketability for ticket sales, rather than build an entire team.

In the inaugural draft, Grytviken selected pitcher Taka Buchannon, and he became the focus of the team's promotional material. On paper, he is one of the best pitchers on the island, but this has not translated to results so far. On one hand, he has struck out batters at an impressive pace (36 K's in 5 starts), but he also allows hits and runs, and only holds an ERA of 5.88.

On top of that, Buchannon only pitches every 5th day. The rest of the week, the pitching staff's "great unwashed" are in the spotlight, and things have been desperate. The Icebergs have the SGBL's worst starting rotation. This week, all five starters had an ERA over 5.50 to their name. On the other side of things, their run production has also been lacking. In eight of the team's games so far, they were limited to scoring 2 runs or less (all of them losses, of course). The team started the year by losing 12 of their first 14 games.

Two days ago, in order to inject a new face in the team's struggling rotation, the team removed Taylor Trimble from the active roster, and replaced him with 23-year-old Bailey Williams, who impressed in 3 starts for the minor-league Grytviken AAA Blue Sox.

Bailey Williams will make his major-league debut tonight.

Meanwhile, Batallion's situation equally as bad.

They banked on Catcher (and Batallion native) Oskar Sorenson to be their star. He was selected in the first round of the inaugural draft, and Oskar appeared on most of the team's pre-season advertising and in team press releases.

A few weeks before the season, the team began a #BelieveInOskar social media campaign, to draw attention to the team. It worked, and the season opener at Queen Elizabeth II Park was sold out. However, the team's lack of competitiveness quickly became apparent, and attendance has since faded.

Perhaps owing to nerves from being thrust in the spotlight, Sorenson has struggled. Although he can draw the occasional walk, he is batting only .215 at the moment, and has produced almost nothing offensively. It is possible that the pre-season media pressure (or the snowball effect of a bad start to the year) left most of the team in a slump. The team is currently near the bottom in every major statistical category, whether it is offensive, defensive, or pitching.

To add to the drama (at least from an outside perspective) has been the hot-headedness of Batallion's Manager Magnus Hansen. Over the first few games, he has been... shall we say... 'animated'. His loud, no-nonsense style has been seriously tested in April. So much so, in fact, that the team and media gave him the nickname "Earl", referring to Earl Weaver, the legendary but wild and short-tempered Manager of the Baltimore Orioles from the late-1960s to the mid-1980s.

Depending on how he channels his passion, Manager Hansen might be helping or hindering the team's current slide. Time will tell if GM Fred Zagula will intervene.

On the mound tonight for Batallion will be Dylan McGregor.

This game will be an interesting game to watch from a human perspective. Which group will be able to pull themselves together for a win and start a glimmer of hope, and which one will sink further in the quicksand?

The game will be aired live on GSN on Friday night, don't miss it!

12-11-2016, 10:14 PM	#58
rleb Major Leagues Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 311	WEEK 4 PREVIEW This week's featured Friday Night game : "Stuck in quicksand" Batallion Royals (4-16) at Grytviken Icebergs (6-14) AT Dominic Fry, GSN correspondant April 24th, 2015 For two of South Georgia's larger cities with (theoretically) more resources, they certainly made a mess of their first month in the league. Both teams have been guilty of going for the "star" player to boost marketability for ticket sales, rather than build an entire team. In the inaugural draft, Grytviken selected pitcher Taka Buchannon, and he became the focus of the team's promotional material. On paper, he is one of the best pitchers on the island, but this has not translated to results so far. On one hand, he has struck out batters at an impressive pace (36 K's in 5 starts), but he also allows hits and runs, and only holds an ERA of 5.88. On top of that, Buchannon only pitches every 5th day. The rest of the week, the pitching staff's "great unwashed" are in the spotlight, and things have been desperate. The Icebergs have the SGBL's worst starting rotation. This week, all five starters had an ERA over 5.50 to their name. On the other side of things, their run production has also been lacking. In eight of the team's games so far, they were limited to scoring 2 runs or less (all of them losses, of course). The team started the year by losing 12 of their first 14 games. Two days ago, in order to inject a new face in the team's struggling rotation, the team removed Taylor Trimble from the active roster, and replaced him with 23-year-old Bailey Williams, who impressed in 3 starts for the minor-league Grytviken AAA Blue Sox. Bailey Williams will make his major-league debut tonight. Meanwhile, Batallion's situation equally as bad. They banked on Catcher (and Batallion native) Oskar Sorenson to be their star. He was selected in the first round of the inaugural draft, and Oskar appeared on most of the team's pre-season advertising and in team press releases. A few weeks before the season, the team began a #BelieveInOskar social media campaign, to draw attention to the team. It worked, and the season opener at Queen Elizabeth II Park was sold out. However, the team's lack of competitiveness quickly became apparent, and attendance has since faded. Perhaps owing to nerves from being thrust in the spotlight, Sorenson has struggled. Although he can draw the occasional walk, he is batting only .215 at the moment, and has produced almost nothing offensively. It is possible that the pre-season media pressure (or the snowball effect of a bad start to the year) left most of the team in a slump. The team is currently near the bottom in every major statistical category, whether it is offensive, defensive, or pitching. To add to the drama (at least from an outside perspective) has been the hot-headedness of Batallion's Manager Magnus Hansen. Over the first few games, he has been... shall we say... 'animated'. His loud, no-nonsense style has been seriously tested in April. So much so, in fact, that the team and media gave him the nickname "Earl", referring to Earl Weaver, the legendary but wild and short-tempered Manager of the Baltimore Orioles from the late-1960s to the mid-1980s. Depending on how he channels his passion, Manager Hansen might be helping or hindering the team's current slide. Time will tell if GM Fred Zagula will intervene. On the mound tonight for Batallion will be Dylan McGregor. This game will be an interesting game to watch from a human perspective. Which group will be able to pull themselves together for a win and start a glimmer of hope, and which one will sink further in the quicksand? The game will be aired live on GSN on Friday night, don't miss it! __________________ Former GM, New Orleans Trendsetters PEBABaseball.com Pro Baseball in Atlantic Canada? Yup! Follow the fictional Atlantic Baseball League! goldensailsbaseball.ca Watch on YouTube! Last edited by rleb; 05-02-2018 at 12:14 AM.