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Old 12-02-2019, 08:53 AM   #466
pauwoo
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Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Seattle
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2079 Season (4/3 – 4/5)

Miami United (0-0, .000, t-1st NL East) @ Brooklyn Citizens (0-0, .00, t-1st NL East)
In 2078 the Brooklyn Citizens took their moon shot. They loaded up their shuttle, stocked it with high-priced talent, made some key mid-season adjustments (Voorhis for Murphy comes to mind), and stuck the landing. They stuck it clean and for the first time in 40+ years... there was a parade, their stars made the rounds on the talk show circuit, and they were regaled with praise wherever they went. But, if the off-season fire sale conducted by the Citizens is any indication, sticking a landing on the moon isn’t cheap and, in this business, even if you make your payments on time the APR will increase with impunity. Brooklyn’s owner, Dante Searcy, pushed all of his chips into the middle of the table, caught an ace on the river, cashed in and stuck the profit into his pockets - it’s just business. Basically, the likelihood that the Citizens secure a repeat hovers right around zero. They still have a solid staff with a few absolute crackerjacks at the top (Krebs, Merl & Cam), and their offense is capable... not the type of lineup that gives you heartburn, but they’ll string good at-bats together against you, chip away at your starters pitch count, and put themselves in a position to get what they need, when they need it. So, this year’s version isn’t the world-beating club we saw run roughshod through the playoffs, the unit that broke my heart and sealed my fate in LA. This year’s version is something else, less exciting, racing to the middle... they’re likely a better club than we are, but, speaking as the guy who had his chest splayed open by them in the NLCS, at home, in front of 52K+ fans, it’s nice to see that, unlike my 2076 & 2077 Laker clubs, they will likely be a one-and-done. It’s the little things that make a life in baseball, they must be celebrated or at least recognized... if you let these sweet nothings slip by, you’ll likely find yourself on the wrong side of depression, holed up in the owner’s box, crying, with the lights set low.

Still, as satisfying as it was to watch the Brooklyn brass flounder their way through an off-season where they always seemed as short on funds as they were on imagination, I would have preferred to start my tenure in Miami against a different club, like Montreal or San Diego, hell, even an April trip to Minnesota would’ve been more agreeable. But here we are, introducing the world to Elvira’s new-look Miami club, against the reigning champions... where I’ll be forced to sit through their ring ceremony recounting all the things we did wrong against them in that fateful game 6 loss. What I need today is a win - a good first impression, a reinforcement of my decision to leave the comforts of Los Angeles for a houseboat and a little bit of Elvira’s loose change. Let’s hope that the trivia question we create here today has an answer we can feel good about.

1 of 162: Cathal Magill (0-0, 0.00) @ Matthew Krebs (0-0, 0.00)
Loss, 7-6
. While we didn’t get the result we were looking for in our inaugural game, we did give a good account of ourselves here and fought tooth & nail to get the victory – but, despite our 6-run top of the 8th, Brooklyn was able to hold on and give their fans a second thing to cheer about it after they were showered in applause during the ring ceremony. Magill left a bit to be desired – he faltered early, only lasted for 3.1 innings, and gave up 7 total runs, 5 of those earned. Our 4 errors, two of which belonged to OH HONG at 1st, didn’t help and pretty much erased any benefit our 2 two-baggers and homerun would provide. There’s the answer to the trivia question for you… how many errors did Miami United commit in their inaugural game? 4, Alex, the answer is four. That one is an automatic daily-double… Hong went 2 for 5 with a run and an RBI, Crouch, and DeTour scored, and Eldin Kemp drove one in on a SAC FLY. Our costly free-agent, and the key to the future of our franchise, Rex Engelstad, went 0 for 3 and struck out once.

Elsewhere: The Los Angeles Kings lost their season opener on the road in Houston… 1B Paul Aguilar, in his 1st AB of the game, hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th to seal the deal. Oh Hong replacement, Yoshimasa Sugawara went 0 for 4 with 4 K’s in the loss and DH Kirk Johnson, Megan’s one & only, went 0 for 4 with 2 K’s in his first ML start. Aiden was great though, always liked that kid. Also, Ian Hanan, playing his first game in an LA Galaxy Kit after signing with them in the offseason went 3 for 4 with a HR, 2 RBIs, and a walk during LA’s 6-2 loss against the Seattle Sounders… he was the whole show, folks.

2 of 162: Cliff Slavinski (0-0, 0.00) @ Merl Crawford (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 8-4
. Nice. Our first road win in a Miami kit… Slavinski gave up 4 runs in 8.1 innings of work and fanned 11 batters, Danny Switzer picked up his first save, and Oliver Woodward went 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and two runs… OH HONG hit a two-run double, but left early with an injury (he’ll be listed DtD for the next 6 days), Weaver scored, Steve Green put out his first long ball of the season, and we swiped two bags on the day. We got another solid effort from the club and were rewarded for it with the victory… felt good charging 5 to Crawford’s account too…

Elsewhere: I gave Yan Welli the keys to the castle as my General Manager here in Miami… and, she made the most of it yesterday with some furious waiver wire activity (and the demotions that followed)…

Assigned RP Christopher Pimentel to Triple-A Havana.
Assigned RP Davey Halimkusuma to Triple-A Havana.
Assigned 3B Ethan Cope to Triple-A Havana.
Assigned RF Wyatt Marinelli to Triple-A Havana.
Assigned 1B John Burkett to Triple-A Havana.
Signed free agent RP J.J. Denney to a minor league contract.
Promoted RP J.J. Denney from Double-A Barbados to Triple-A Havana.
Demoted RP Skip Dokken (the Dream Warrior) from Triple-A Havana to Double-A Barbados.
1B Hetereki Ailani was claimed off waivers from Carolina.
3B Diego Mateo was claimed off waivers from New York.
2B Jaime Negrete was claimed off waivers from New York.
3B Dalton Olson was claimed off waivers from Chicago.
SS Elias Franco was claimed off waivers from Dallas.
1B Rickey Morton was claimed off waivers by Los Angeles.
RP Davey Halimkusuma was claimed off waivers by Jacksonville.
RP Graham Doyle was claimed off waivers from Phoenix.
2B Jim Tepper was claimed off waivers from San Francisco.

3 of 162: Radoslav Borovsky (0-0, 0.00) @ Cam Murphy (0-0, 0.00)
Loss, 13-7
. Things fell apart pretty quickly for Borovsky in this one – 3.1 innings, 5 earned – but, a 4-run top of the 5th saw us threatening to get back in it. We’re battling, had shown ourselves to be doggedly determined to stay in it… and that’s when the wheels really came off. Our next two pitchers allowed 7 runs to plate in the bottom of the frame and the reigning World Series champions never looked back from there. Our two big dogs were all bark, no bite – OH HONG went 2 for 4, Rex-E went 0 for 4 – and despite the best efforts of our also-rans, we’d run into a brick wall here and, ultimately, lose our first series as a Miami based ballclub. Three doubles, a homer, 19 total bases, three 2-out RBIs, and a swiped bag were not enough to secure the series win. We did our level best… we can be happy about that… but the 90-minute rain delay in the 8th inning sufficiently soaked in the fact that 2079 will likely be a long, tough slog for the Flim-Flams.
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Last edited by pauwoo; 12-02-2019 at 08:58 AM.
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