Los Angeles Leopards (SVMLB)

[pauwoo]

San Jose Seals (72-74, .493, 5th NL West) @ Los Angeles (92-54, .630, 1st NL West)
With less than 20-games left in the regular season, teams like San Jose who, for all intents and purposes, are destined to finish outside the cake, are likely too preoccupied with firming up their plans for the offseason – travelling to see family, time spent fishing on the lake with friends, maybe a little scuba in the tropics – to focus too intently on the task at hand. Here, for the Seals, that task includes meeting up with us in Los Angeles for a date with the biggest bully on the NL West block… it also represents, despite their poor standing, an opportunity to get in a couple of bad ones before they exit stage left on the ’79 season.

147 of 162: Julen Morales (8-11, 3.78) @ Stephen Estevez (15-6, 2.00)
Win, 1-0. A triple from Otto would be followed up, expertly, by a SAC FLY courtesy of Satoru Ono, and serve as our opening salvo during the bottom of the 7th after our two clubs had idled the time by trading zeros before the stretch. And, that’s where we’d leave it as our offense continues to perform like a 90lbs weakling despite enjoying the comforts of our own beds. Estevez was lights out… 7-innings, 4 hits, nothing earned for our Ace, Turnbull retired a single batter to close out the 8th, earning his 15th hold in the process, and Haag locked it down in the 9th, throwing the ball a mere 10 times to enter his 54th save into the permanent record.

Elsewhere: A rare misstep at home for the Brentwood Bishops as they were manhandled, rag dolled, and tossed around effortlessly by the visiting Punxsutawney Phils, who took game 2 by a score of 11-2.

148 of 162: Lucas Torres (11-11, 3.43) @ Dwight Beasley (13-6, 3.16)
Loss, 2-3 (14). We’d require 14-innings to get this one sorted, with the Seals relying on an anticlimactic, run-scoring SAC FLY from Eden Holbrook to get the job done… and, at the risk of sounding even more like a broken record, our offense, diminutive in stature and lacking in strength, would once again give a poor account of themselves, this time only finding it within them to muster up 2 total runs for the game while our staff was out on the mound doing everything in their power to give our guys a chance to make things happen. I half expect to walk into the clubhouse with them split into two factions, the pitchers as the Sharks and offense as the Jets, engaged in a choreographed snap-off before leapfrogging each other in the hallways.

Elsewhere: Some playoff scores…



149 of 162: Bentley Hunt (13-12, 3.56) @ Keith Baeza (13-6, 2.67)
Win, 6-1. After losing our first series of the month to Mexico City, and splitting our next three – against Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and New Orleans – we’d win our first set of September, 2 games to 1, over the Seals on the back of a low-key offensive outburst from the Yellow Tops. Otto led the way – 2-for-4 with TWO WW2 STYLE SHERMAN TANKS and 3 total RBI – with OH HONG posting an identical 2-for-4, 2 DING DONG, 3 RBI line to follow his lead. Ethan swiped his 17th bag, Cox got caught trying to do the same, jumping from the second story balcony in shame, without his dungarees, for the 3rd time this year, and the pitching, as ever, remained resolute with Miotke sniping Baeza’s win, Duarte getting credited with a hold after giving up the game-winner late last night, and Kudo shutting the door over the final 1.1 for the 3rd time this year.

Record: 94-55, .630, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll keep slogging our way to the finish against the visiting Phoenix Coyotes after taking a day off between sets.

[pauwoo]

Phoenix Coyotes (84-66, .560, 2nd NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (94-55, .630, 1st NL West)
The Coyotes are riding into town on a 5-game winning streak, and are, no doubt, still buzzing at the fact that the last four of those came at the expense of the Las Vegas Outlaws, who, after dropping those four (3 of which required extra-innings to solve) find themselves a nearly insurmountable 4 ½ games behind Phoenix now. That, however, is where we come in… should we be able to improve on our 6-7 head-to-head record against these guys, in our park, and, knock on wood, maybe even get the sweep we may just see the race for second place tighten up once again. That’s what we like to call motivation… and, given our 8-8 performance so far in September, we can use all of that we can get.

Down on the Farm: Inglewood is now down, 2 games to none, against the Tijuana Goats – they’ll need to reverse sweep the Mexico based ballclub should they want to advance to the second round of the AA playoffs. Watts swept the Duluth Zeniths and will meet either Berkely or Everett in the second round – those two clubs will contest a game 5, winner-takes-all match tonight or maybe tomorrow – I can’t be bothered to look it up right now. And, lastly the Brentwood Bishops dispatched Punxsutawney 3 games to 1 and will meet the Hamilton Stingers (a Toronto affiliate) in the second round of the Short Season A playoffs.

150 of 162: Landon Sampson (15-4, 2.10) @ Merl Crawford (15-8, 3.15)
Loss, 2-5. In our first three meetings against Landon Sampson, our club couldn’t find a way to get a win in any of them, were fanned an average of 9 times per contest, and contributed to 3 of his 13 “official” wins this season as he’d claim the decision in each. And today would be no different as the 5-time Victor Pacheco award winner would earn his 4th win at our expense this season to improve to 16-4 on the year after keeping us on the business end of his Cutter-Curve-Changeup arsenal for 7-innings of 5-hit, 2-run ball. Merl, by contrast, could only manage to go 3.2 innings after giving up 5 total runs during the outing. It's a sad state of affairs, man… here’s hoping we don’t run into this guy during the playoffs.

Elsewhere: Inglewood stays alive! They’d take that first crucial step towards redemption with an 11-8 win at home and now trail the Tijuana Goats 2-1 in the series. And, in A-Ball it will be the Everett Storm who will lock horns with Watts as they managed to squeeze by a resilient Berkeley squad, at home, by a score of 6-5.

151 of 162: Prior Balazs (4-5, 3.18) @ Jan Hernandez (11-5, 2.13)
Win, 6-4. Preston Wallace went 2-for-3 with an RBI and 2 runs to power the Coyote offense, but it’d not be enough here as our guys, led by Dom’s 2-run, two-bagger and Hutchinson’s 2-run single, were awake long enough to earn some small measure of revenge for last nights loss. Hanan hit a couple of doubles and scored twice, Ono managed to find his way home a couple of times, and our bullpen, Duarte and Haag specifically, would find a way to close the door after Jan had given up 4-runs during his 6-innings of work.

Elsewhere: Inglewood has forced a game 5, folks. The kids, as they say, are alright…


152 of 162: Matthew Krebs (13-6, 3.71) @ Stephen Estevez (16-6, 1.91)
Win, 13-4. We’d pull even with Phoenix for the season at 8-8 with our most dominate performance against them this year, winning by a score of 13-4 as OH HONG and Otto led the way for us once again, each posting a sturdy 3 RBI with Hong adding a couple of runs to his line to sweeten things up. Four doubles for the club, including #27 for Pepper and #30 for Dom, a homer for Hill, his 2nd as a Leopard, and Mullens felt really cute out on the basepaths with 2 steals on the day. We needed this – Phoenix has performed better against us than most and given that seeing them in the playoffs is a very real possibility, we needed our boys to know that we can dust these guys when we kick things into gear.

Record: 96-56, .631, 1st NL West
Up Next: A 3-game home set over the weekend against the Austin Grackles.

[pauwoo]

Austin Grackles (58-94, .381, 6th NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (96-56, .631, 1st NL West)
The slog continues against a club in Austin whose only aim should be to stave off finishing the 2079 campaign with 100 or more losses. Here, we find ourselves with the opportunity to help usher a division-rival along the path to notoriety and could, with any luck, leave them at 97 L’s on the books once the dust has settled on this 3-game set. It’s always good to kick dirt into the face of a rival… right? That never blows up in your face down the road… right?

153 of 162: Dwaine Schilling (4-14, 4.31) @ Dwight Beasley (13-6, 3.16)
Win, 16-4. Ethan Mullens delivered the breakout performance we’ve been looking for since his return from the IL and finished 3-for-4 with a GRAND SLAM and 3 runs to power our offense while OH HONG, Satoru Ono, Hanan, and Hutchinson all contributed 2 or more RBIs to fall in line behind him. A double, two walks and an RBI from Otto, two SAC FLIES from Ian Hanan, and another lockdown performance from Kudo late would round things out for us here as we got off on the good foot against the lowly Grackles in game 1 of this 3-game set.

Elsewhere: The Tijuana Goats managed to crib the deciding, game 5 victory off our Inglewood Sentinels to advance in the Double-A playoffs, Watts has knotted up their series against the Everett Storm a 1-1 after earning a hard-fought, 7-6 victory on the road in game 2, and Brentwood took a 1-0 lead over the Hamilton Stingers, at home, with a 14-9 game 1 victory in the SA playoffs.

154 of 162: Joshua Moeller (4-15, 5.05) @ Keith Baeza (13-6, 2.64)
Win, 5-3. In a more workmanlike performance compared to our previous game, we’d spread our 5 runs over 5-innings with runs scored in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 8th, weathering a late rally attempt by Austin as they pulled within one after putting up a 2-run top of the 7th. Oh Hong would get the ball rolling with a SOLO HOMER during the bottom of the first, Pepper would follow that up in 2nd with a run-scoring double, and we’d just continue to chip away from there offensively while our staff, same as it ever was, came up smelling roses once again with Miotke, Turnbull, and Haag each posting a scoreless inning in relief to close this one -out and put us in a position to secure a much-needed, confidence boosting sweep.


Elsewhere: Brentwood extended their lead to 2-games, defeating the Hamilton Stingers by the slimmest of margins during a 13-12 slobber knocker. 1B Victor Janczewski finished 4-for-5 with two, two baggers, 3 RBI, and 2 runs to lead the Bishops to the hard-fought victory, improving their playoff record to 5-1 so far.

155 of 162: Tito Fonseca (0-0, 3.12) Merl Crawford (15-9, 3.35)
Loss, 1-3 (11). 1B DJ Wilders, not content to lie down & die politely, hit the game-winning, 2-run two bagger off Haag, who was saddled with the loss, his 7th of those this season, during the top of the 11th and after 10 innings of poor offensive baseball, our club would give the fans one more of those as we went out with a whimper during the bottom of the frame, squandering a chance at a sweep for the hometown faithful. We’d strike out 10 times as a club with two each for Oh Hong, Dom, Tyler Hill, Paulino, and Pepper, hit one inconsequential double (Hutchinson off Midas Haven during the bottom of the 9th), and Mullens swiped two inconsequential bags to bring his season total to 22. Midas, who pitched two innings for Austin tonight, finished with 3 K’s and earned the win for the Grackles for the 6th time this year.


Elsewhere: CF Richie Glow, of your Watts Warriors, went 3-for-3 with a SOLO DINGER and 2 runs to power his offense to a 6-3 win over the Everett Storm in the Class A Playoffs. Watts now leads that series 2 games to 1.

Record: 98-57, .632, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll embark on our final road trip of the regular season, kicking off our final 7 games in Las Vegas where we’ll play 3-games, throw some coins into the slots, and try to keep a low profile as we work our way to the finish line.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (98-57, .632, 1st NL West) @ Las Vegas Outlaws (83-72, .535, 3rd NL West)
Las Vegas is in a weird way – ranked 4th overall in the Majors in RDiff at +97, operating at 6 games below the Pyt, and currently riding a 30-37 post all-star break record, the Outlaws have problems, clearly. The biggest of which, in my estimation, seems to be finding anything in the data that definitively identifies the problem they need to fix. That they’ve simply been unlucky isn’t a sufficient hypothesis for their number crunchers, who are furiously working their TI-30X IIS’s in search of a theorem, any theorem, that will cure what to me, a mathematical layperson, looks like an elaborate case of the metaphorical yips. Where instead of being a wrist ailment, there is some systemic issue at the club level causing muscle jerks strong enough to keep the team from securing a timely hit, saving some of these runs they’ve scored for close games, and finding a way to produce in the clutch. Even as a rival, I’m frustrated by where they’ve ended up this season – I thought they’d be in a position to battle us for the division – but, if their 4 1/2 -game lead over Mexico City holds for one of the last Wild Card slot in the NL, then they’ll have their opportunity to overcome this unluckiness and have their say in the end.

156 of 162: Jan Hernandez (12-5, 2.30) @ Mitch Hudkins (9-9, 3.73)
Win, 6-1. We’d put our first three runs on the board during the top of the 4th – Tyler Hill’s 2-run TRUCK was followed by a SOLO SHOT from Pepper – and not look back from there, adding three more to the mix off a 3-Run MOONSHOT courtesy of Otto, while our staff, as is their wont, held it down for us something fierce. 5.2. innings of work from Jan – allowing a mere 4 hits and 1 earned – before handing it off to Leonardo Duarte for the 3.1-inning save, his 2nd on the year, to successfully close the book on this one. And, it should be noted that there was no bad luck for Las Vegas involved here – we just handled them like a proper playground bully handles the smallest kind on the jungle gym.

157 of 162: Stephen Estevez (17-6, 1.85) @ Jake Talley (10-12, 3.63)
Win, 5-1. Down one and under pressure to answer back before the stretch, Otto would get us started with a 2-run TRUCK during the top of the 7th, taking a lead we’d not relinquish the rest of the way as we’d pour 3 more on for insurance before finalizing a fantastic game 2 win over Las Vegas in Sin City. Estevez, who was only able to go 5.1 innings for us tonight, kept the Outlaws off balance to start the game, holding them to 3 hits and a single run before handing it off to Dylan Miotke who was credited with the win, improving his record to 8-1 on the year.

Elsewhere: The wheels may have fallen off in Watts… they’re wobbly at best.


158 of 162: Dwight Beasley (14-6, 3.29) @ Andy Giddings (6-4, 3.40)
Win, 3-2 (11). We’d knot things up at 2-2 during the top of the 9th when Hutchinson hit a run-scoring double off Las Vegas closer CL Johnny Dial, who was charged with his 8th blown save of the year, and followed that up with a workmanlike Dom Cooke SAC FLY to bring Tyler Hill home to score the game winning run. Three doubles, a solo TANK (Ian Hanan with his 11th long ball on the year), a SAC FLY, SAC BUNT, and 2 swiped bags (Ethan & Hill did the honors) for the club offensively, doing just enough to not waste Dwight’s 6-inning, 4-hit, 2-earned performance and, with Closer Don Haag getting the win here, improving to 12-5, head-to-head, against the Outlaws.

Record: 101-57, .639, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll close out the regular season with a 4-game set contested in Mexico City – the land of world-class tacos, mezcal, and trouble around every corner – against the Jags. And, Mexico City will be a motivated club as the WC situation is still undecided, sort of.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (101-57, .639, 1st NL West) @ Mexico City Jaguars (79-79, .500, 4th NL West)
To end the regular season, in Mexico City, against a .500 club who is currently 3-games out of the last wild card slot is not necessarily the position I wanted to be in at the close of the 2079 campaign. I wanted a leisurely stroll, a walk in the park, a relaxing jaunt against a foe with one foot already out the door. Instead, we’ll get Mexico City – owners of our league’s 2nd rated offense that they’ve paired with a pitching staff that holds water like a colander – they’re a halfway house, just as their 79-79 record suggests, with an offense that is more than capable of outrunning that poor pitching. If nothing else, for us this 4-game series represents an opportunity to improve on our 6-7 head-to-head record against Mexico City and head off into the sunset on something of a high note.

159 of 162: Keith Baeza (14-6, 2.71) @ Davey Halimkusuma (5-8, 4.05)
Loss, 3-6. Davey Halimkusuma is from Spackenkill, NY, and went to college at Holy Cross in Worcester, MA – that’s a lot of difficult to pronounce words strung together… also difficult, for one day only, was putting any sort of consistent offense together against him in this tilt as he gave us the business over 6-innings of work, allowing 5 hits and 1 earned run while whiffing 4 of our guys. Pepper would try to make a game of it with a 2-run MOONSHOT during the top of the 9th, pulling us to within 3, but it was all for naught as the Mexico City offense found a way to put 6 on the board, outpacing a bullpen that was bound to come unglued a bit before this one was all said and done. With the win, they get off on the good foot here – improve to a game over .500 and stay alive in the hunt for a wild card slot for at least one more day.

Elsewhere: Watts forced a game 7 against Everett in the League Championship of the A-Ball playoffs.

160 of 162: Merl Crawford (15-9, 3.29) @ Randy Keramidas (4-7, 3.42)
Loss, 1-6. Another game, contested at altitude, where our offense comes up lame against one of the, statistically speaking at least, worst pitching staffs in the National League. Offensively, the Jags took it to us here – 3 doubles as a club with Benjamin Herrera’s 2-run double in the 3rd representing the opening salvo of what would become a 4-run inning for the Jags, a solo homer from their backstop, Gary Alvarado, and a total of six runs while leaving only two more stranded. Over these last two, Mexico City has looked like a rock-solid, contending club and now find themselves two games off Philly’s pace with a lot of hard work still laid out before them, not to mention all the luck a playoff bid would require, if they are to find a way to supplant Philly and sneak into that last wildcard slot as our ’79 season winds down.

Elsewhere: Big news out of Class-A as our Watts Warriors wrestled victory from the jaws of defeat, relying on a phenomenal 4-run top of the 15th to defeat the hard-charging Everett Storm by a final tally of 8-5. They’ll move on to face the Edison Scholars, a New York Sluggers affiliate, in the Final Series. And, our short season A-ball club, the Brentwood Bishops, successfully closed out the Hamilton Stingers, 4 game to 2, and will advance to the Final Series as well where they’ll face off against the Laredo Longhorns (Mexico City’s S A club).

161 of 162: Jan Hernandez (13-5, 2.27) @ Lee Myers (16-13, 3.52)
Loss, 2-5. We’d lead this one until the stretch, 2-1, but relinquished that lead during the bottom of the 7th when 3B Rishon Orosz took Ram Chen yard, knotting this one up and, ultimately, setting the table for a rip-roaring, come from behind onslaught that saw Mexico City win against us, at home, for the 3rd time in a row. We’ve had a tough go of it here – the offense is in shambles, handcuffed by a subpar staff, and our pitching has not been as resolute in relief as we’ve grown accustomed to. Meanwhile, Mexico City, in doing everything within their power to keep their hopes and dreams alive, would see them extinguished today as Philadelphia, with a 3-2 win over the Brooklyn Citizens, has managed to secure the final playoff spot in the National League, and, by extension, all of baseball.

162 of 162: Dwight Beasley (14-6, 3.28) @ Jaxon Dupre (11-11, 3.34)
Loss, 4-5. Well… why not? We’d go out with a whimper here as the surely dejected Mexico City squad dug deep for their hometown faithful one more time, walking us off on a run-scoring double from the incomparable SS Rich Bell… not our best look here, a supposed championship caliber club limping into the post-season on the wrong end of a 4-game sweep… offensively, we’re in a bad way, and while the Jags batted it around during these last 4 games a little bit, we are playing at altitude, so I’ll, mostly, give my guys a pass – what’s clear is that we’ll need to tighten up on both sides of the ball, rest up a bit while awaiting the winner of Phoenix versus Las Vegas during the first round (a quickie, best of 3 sitch), and get right with the lord if we are to fulfill our destiny as back-to-back MLB champions.

Record: 101-61, .623, 1st NL West
Up Next: We await the winner of Phoenix Vs. Las Vegas before plotting course towards immortality.

[pauwoo]

Down on the farm: In a bit of sad, unfortunate news, both of our remaining development clubs would lose the final series of their respective leagues, each failing to bring home the ultimate prize at their level. First, the A-Ball Watts Warriors would succumb to the Edison Scholars, 4 games to 2, as the New York Sluggers’ affiliate won their first A-Ball title in only the 2nd year of the leagues history. And, secondly, our Short Season A club, the newly formed Brentwood Bishops, lost in the final series of their league to the Laredo Longhorns, as the Mexico City affiliate won the inaugural SSA championship, 4 games to 1.

Brackets, as ever, are attached… and, yes, I do need to sort out my round names at this level still…

Also, in MLB News… the Denver Miners and Detroit Motors each won their Circle Series in the American League to advance to the Second Series, while Las Vegas and Brooklyn did the same in the National League. Las Vegas advances to meet us… and, I am not very happy with this turn of events. They’re a tough draw no matter how you slice it.

That bracket is attached for you perusal as well…

[pauwoo]

Las Vegas Outlaws (2-0, 1.00) @ Los Angeles Leopards (0-0, .000)
That the Las Vegas Outlaws were on my short list of opponents I’d have rather avoided during the playoffs should not be surprising at all – and while we ran roughshod over their club during the regular season, besting them 12 times in 17 tries, and are, down to a man, a poor matchup for their club, they are a club that looks to have turned a corner, to have put their regular-season unluckiness behind them, finally playing up to their capabilities and getting the results expected while doing so. This then, without even a single game contested so far, is gut check time – are we the team who has a date with destiny, on the road to fulfilling it as back-to-back champions, or are we just another casualty of false bravado, misplaced confidence, and shoddy post-season execution?

1 of 7: Cam Murphy (1-0, 2.57) @ Stephen Estevez (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 2-1. We’d kick off the Second Series on something of a somber note, quietly going about our business and riding a superb, 5.2-inning, 6-hit, shutout performance from Estevez as our offense has seemingly carried our last regular-season performance, that 4-game disaster in Mexico City, into the postseason. Oh Hong managed to get our Leopards on the board early with a run-scoring double off Cam during the bottom of the 3rd and Tyler Hill smashed his first DINGER of the postseason an inning later to give us what would turn out to be all the cushion we’d need as Ram Chen, who managed to complete the hold despite allowing a runner to plate, and Don Haag each performed admirably in relief, shutting the door on our NL West nemesis in game one.


Elsewhere: Brooklyn’s Bradley Hughes pitched a 7-inning, 5-hit gem and fanned 10 Pittsburgh batters during the Citizens’ 6-1, game one victory over the Pipers in their park. The game would also feature a 4-run top of the 2nd as Heathcote Kinton kicked things off with his 2nd homer of the postseason, a solo shot in this instance, followed by runs batted in for C Jasper Herrera (2) and RF Roan Munoz (1) during the frame.

2 of 7: Jack Sanchez-Flores (1-0, 3.86) @ Merl Crawford (0-0, 0.00)
Loss, 4-5. Clipped, at home, by the Las Vegas Outlaws – a sort of theme for the ’79 season – as Vegas was buoyed by a 3-run top of the 1st, not relinquishing that lead the rest of the way, en route to claiming one of two against us in our park to start the series. The usual Sin City suspects of Jason Bland, Homer Wingard, Jacob Wells, and Ray Gerhold all came to play, while their bullpen did the same, taking over for Sanchez-Flores in the 7th and not allowing another run the rest of the way… for our part, we’d get good performances from Bill Cox and Dom Cooke, with Bill’s 2-for-3 day with a run-scoring double and 2-run TANK leading the way for us offensively while Merl Crawford allowed four earned with another getting across on a Hutchinson error that, ultimately, if you want to attempt to blame it on one thing, sealed our fate.

Elsewhere: The rest of our playoff games featured blowouts as Brooklyn and Denver each shut out their opponent, on the road, by a score of 7-0, Brooklyn over Pittsburgh, and Denver over the Vancouver Mounties, while Toronto opened things up at home with a smash mouth, 12-2 win over the visiting Detroit Motors. Evan Prag led the way for the Leafs, finishing 4-for-4 on the day with TWO TANKS and 8 TOTAL RBI. And, while it sure would have been cool, neither DINGER was a grand slam.

Record: 1-1
Up Next: We’ll head to Las Vegas for some fall baseball, contesting the next three games of this series in their house…

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (1-1, .500) @ Las Vegas Outlaws (3-1, .750)
It’s not that I/we don’t like it in Sin City – its chintzy regalia, unbridled debauchery, and money-hungry middle managers – we do… it’s just that, at this point of the season, playing a set in Las Vegas, where the odds are always tilted in the house’s favor, doesn’t lend itself to the type of environment a guy like me is looking for. Not at all – see, what I want is a club that’s lucky to be here, wide-eyed and taken aback by their sudden, undeserved good luck with a fanbase who is just happy to be part of the show… a patsy, a loose collection of stiffs set up to fail against the biggest bully on the block. Instead, as it always seems to be this time of year, we’ll look across the diamond at a team that is, in many ways, our equal, capable of ruining our dreams, taking us for all we’ve got, and sending us back to suburbia with barely enough in gas money to make it to our driveway. Our goal here is to not get Clark’d – to just break even at the blackjack table and avoid all the other casino games altogether… easier said than done? Sure. But, if winning championships was easy, Charles Barkley wouldn’t need a day job.

3 of 7: Keith Baeza (0-0, 0.00) @ Jake Talley (0-0, 0.00)
Loss, 3-4. It’s not that the wheels have fallen off, they’re not even wobbly, it’s that someone sprayed WD-40 into our Mongoose Supergoose BMX Stem and, as a result, we can’t keep our handlebars upright long enough to steer our bike with any confidence – here we’d get left behind on the dirt track, failing to even qualify on our first attempt, and will likely not be ready to challenge Bart Conner and his lackey’s to some weird & uncomfortable BMX dance-off set to ‘Send Me an Angel’. We’d do a little offensively with Tyler driving a couple in and OH HONG bringing one across on a well hit single, but, as is the theme lately, would mostly fire blanks offensively, leaving our staff high & dry, putting all the pressure on them to bring home the win for us. Baeza left after 4 2/3 as our manager, Mr. Scott, was trying to get cute with his bullpen usage, bringing in Miotke a bit early, leading to three runs scored and only one out to show for his efforts. We’ll regroup, get our newspaper tossing arm good an stretched, and do our level best to put them all on the porch during our daily route tomorrow.

Elsewhere: Brooklyn was bested by Pittsburgh, losing game three of their series by a score of 3-2… each game has been won by the road team so far in their series… kind of interesting, I guess.

4 of 7: Dwight Beasley (0-0, 0.00) @ Mitch Hudkins (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 3-1. We’d do enough to pull even, guaranteeing at least one more game in our park, with Otto leading the way – he’d finish 1-for-4 on the day with a 2-run TRUCK – and Satoru Ono doing his best to fall in line behind him finished with a 1-for-4 day of his own that included a double and a solo shot. Good stuff from Beasley on the bump, finishing his 5.2 innings of work with only 5-hits and 1-earned charged to his account, while Miotke, Turnbull, and Haag closed the show in their typical style, delivering a much-needed win for the good guys. It’s good to be a winner in Sin City, putting it down legit while the Pit Boss looks on knowing that there is nothing he can do about it.

5 of 7: Stephen Estevez (1-0, 0.00) @ Cam Murphy (1-1, 2.92)
Win, 6-4 (14). With neither team interested in being on the brink of elimination, it’d take us 14-innings of hard-nosed, strategically sound baseball before a winner could be declared with Simon Paulino coming up clutch in a PH at bat, driving in the game winning run on a single before Pepper Grant would add one more to the tally, cushioning the lead… in the end, that’s where we’d leave it as Leonardo Duarte closed out the final three frames for us in spectacular fashion, fanning four on 32-total pitches. You read that right – 32 total pitches in 3-innings of work – your boy is, if nothing else, efficient.

Elsewhere: Brooklyn closed out their series over Pittsburgh, securing a ticket to the League Championship where ourselves or Las Vegas will join them

Record: 3-2, .600
Up Next: We’ll make a quick hop back to LA, take a day of to rest up, and get back after it against Las Vegas in our park.

[pauwoo]

Las Vegas Outlaws (4-3, .571) @ Los Angeles Leopards (3-2, .600)
Back in our park, with a game in hand, and needing just one more W to advance… there’s nowhere else we’d rather be… well, it would have been nice to get a sweep, but, you know – beggars (that’s us) can’t be choosers (that’s the universe), and all that.

6 of 7: Jack Sanchez-Flores (2-0, 4.85) @ Merl Crawford (0-1, 8.31)
Loss, 2-4. Jack Sanchez-Flores gave a better account of himself the second time around, holding our guys in check of 7-innings of 6-hit, 1-earned baseball with 10 K’s and his 3rd win of the playoffs entered into his permanent record. And, Merl, who we extended during the offseason, had himself another ho-hum outing, allowing all four of the Outlaws’ runs on 7 hits where he’s only fan 5, walk 2, and allow one, monstrous DINGER to Vegas’ Homer Wingard. Our offensive effort was childish, lazy, and altogether uninspired as we’d not give our staff enough to work with once again, allowing our division rival to put themselves in a position to embarrass us, in our home park, tomorrow during Game 7…

7 of 7: Jake Talley (1-0, 4.26) @ Jan Hernandez (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 2-0. We did it, by an unacceptably thin margin, but the deed got done nonetheless… here, with our backs up against the wall, we came out like a Pitbull while the Outlaws didn’t back us down an inch, doing enough to impress Bodie and get an ego-saving, game 7 win to advance to the LCS in our park, in front of our hometown faithful. Not a lot to parse out – Otto was the whole show offensively, his 2-run JACK during the bottom of the 5th would prove to be the game winner, and Jan, called upon to be great, was all that and more in 6-inning of 4-hit lockdown baseball. Ram Chen picked up the hold, pitching to just 1 batter to end the 8th after being called into action with the bases-loaded, and Haag helped Las Vegas out the door, earning his 3rd save of the post-season and guaranteeing that we’ll live on to fight for one more day.

Elsewhere: Denver and Toronto both closed out their series and will meet in the ALCS to determine who will represent their league in the World Series. Bracket is attached…

Record: 4-3, .571
Up Next: No sleep til…

[pauwoo]

Brooklyn Citizens (6-2, .750) @ Los Angeles Leopards (4-3, .571)
Brooklyn, like us, faded at the end – though their collapse was, perhaps, more spectacular than ours as it cost them their division, making this run to the NLCS more satisfying than it could have been. Though, you could argue, likely successfully, that whatever they gained in satisfaction they would’ve gladly traded for a division crown and an opportunity to rest while the Circle Series sorted itself out. They’ve played admirably thus far in the playoffs, dispatching both Pennsylvania clubs with relative ease, and bring their 3-4 head-to-head record against us, to our park, to start off this series that, on the outside looking in, has taken on the look of a coin toss. As ever, we’ll need to be at our very best to get over on the Citizens, to make our way back to the World Series, and to fulfill what I believe to be our destiny as back-to-back MLB champions.


Elsewhere: Before we get the NLCS & ALCS started, let’s take a moment to give a tip of the ol’ cap to ‘Fast’ Eddie Williams who won the Short A Manager of the Year award with our Brentwood Bishops, leading the team to a league best, 58-18 record during the regular season. Good on ya, Eddie… We’ll keep an eye out for better opportunities for you in our development system.

1 of 7: Patrick Keith (1-0, 1.06) @ Keith Baeza (0-0, 1.93)
Win, 2-0. Once again, we’d get it done on anemic offense and lights out pitching as Otto donned his cape once more on offense, hitting the deciding 2-run TRUCK during the bottom of the very first frame, and Baeza put together another quality playoff performance, going 6 strong while allowing a mere three hits and nothing earned… Not much to work our way through here – Brooklyn’s Keith was mostly lights out, going the distance with 12 total K’s after giving up those two early runs, while their offense was thoroughly bewildered by Baeza, Turnbull, Hansen, and Haag…

2 of 7: Bradley Hughes (1-1, 2.70) @ Dwight Beasley (0-0, 1.59)
Loss, 0-1 (13). In the 1st two games of the NLCS, we’ve scored a scant 3 runs between us – today it was our turn to get shut out as Brooklyn’s staff, despite Hughes leaving 1 out into the third with an undisclosed arm ailment, giving us the business over 13-innings of hard scrabble work. You could argue that our staff was better, striking Brooklyn out 22 times over the course of the game, including a Platinum Sombrero for CF Marco Paredes and a Golden Sombrero for RF Roan Munoz, but Ram Chen allowed a runner Miotke left on get across on a single from Brody Owens that ultimately erased all the good work that had come before it. We’re in absolute shambles offensively – something’s got to give, lest we find ourselves eliminated in Brooklyn, left wondering where it all went wrong.

Record: 5-4 in the playoffs, 1-1 against Brooklyn so far
Up Next: Where heading to Hipsterville, USA for a 3-game set against the Citizens.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (5-4, .555) @ Brooklyn Citizens (7-3, .700)
Heading into Brooklyn, on a 1-1 tie, with an offense so preoccupied by being polite that I have to wonder why the equipment manager brought the bats, helmets, and gloves at all. We’re in a bad way at the plate, off-balance, uncoordinated, and unable to get out of our own heads – and, if we don’t find the cure for all that ails us, and soon, we’ll be leaving Brooklyn in a few days a shell of our former selves, stuck in some depression spiral as we wait on hold with our travel guy trying to find a suitable, leave-all-your-worries-behind resort we can drink ourselves into a stupor at.

3 of 7: Stephen Estevez (1-0, 2.08) @ Josiah Kawka (2-0, 2.25)
Loss, 4-9. Brooklyn’s Quinn Charvat powered the Citizens offense with a 3-for-4, 3 RBI performance with several of his peers falling in line behind him, and contributing to the cause… and, while our offense found a way to double our previous output, our efforts at the plate would be all for naught as the staff sprung a leak, with Estevez being the main culprit (1.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER) while Duarte and Chen followed suit in allowing 3 more runs between them. TRUCKS from Otto and Ono are no consolation here – but, if they can build on their offensive reawakening, and our pitching can get back to being good at throwing the ball, we might be able to find a way to at least win one of the next two contests.

4 of 7: Merl Crawford (0-2, 7.45) @ John Aivazian (1-0, 0.00)
Loss, 0-2. We’d find ourselves on the wrong side of another shutout, only managing to secure a paltry 3 hits on the day (Otto, Tyler, and Ian), as Brooklyn Starter, John Aivazian, went the distance, cuffing our offense to the steering wheel as he went into our house and stole all our most prized possessions. For their part, they’d not do much offensively – just enough to saddle Merl with his 3rd loss of the postseason as your boy has been mercilessly Kershaw’d in the 2079 postseason. It’s a sad, sad state of affairs.

5 of 7: Keith Baeza (1-0, 0.84) @ Patrick Keith (1-1, 1.44)
Win, 3-0. We’d find a way to stay alive in Brooklyn, narrowing our series deficit to 3-2, as Satoru Ono heated back up with another solo shot, his first since game 3, to open our scoring during the top of the 5th, complimenting Baeza’s 6-inning, 1-hit, 8 K shutout nicely and, ultimately, giving us all the cushion we’d need to stave off elimination for at least one more game… this was a much-needed, confidence-boosting win in Brooklyn, no doubt, but our club will be far from jubilant on the plane ride home as we realize that the real hard work is ahead of us yet.

Record: 6-6, .500 (down 2 games to 3 against Brooklyn)
Up Next: We’ll be back home in Los Angeles, in a must-win situation with everything we’ve worked so hard for on the line.

[pauwoo]

Brooklyn Citizens (9-4, .692) @ Los Angeles Leopards (6-6, .500)
It’s almost always good to be home… almost. With our backs against the wall such that they are, there really is no place I’d rather be, but, given the stress of our current predicament, I’d be lying if I said that our situation is ideal. For our part (and what other part is there at this point, really), we’ll need to push past our self-doubt, find ways to diffuse the pressure we’ve put on ourselves, and play the brand of Leopards baseball that saw us run roughshod over nearly all comers during the regular season en route to achieving the best regular season record in all of baseball. If we can do that than this is a cake walk.

6 of 7: Dontrell McNeil (0-0, 6.00) @ Dwight Beasley (0-0, 0.77)
Win, 4-1. No hit until the bottom of the 7th, down 1-0 until Ethan broke through with a 3-run TRUCK, we’d find a way to dig deep and muster enough offense to get over on Brooklyn, forcing a game 7, in our house, tomorrow. OH HONG broke up McNeil’s no hit bid for us in the 7th, with Ian and Hutchinson getting on base during the bottom of the 8th to set the table for Ethan’s difference-making homer, his first of the post season. Our pitching was stout, with Beasley coming correct over 6.1 innings of work where he’d allow only one runner to plate, followed by a 1.2 inning effort from Ram Chen, who’d be credited with the W here, and closed out by Haag to earn his 6th save of the playoffs – he’s had a hand in 6 of our 7 victories so far in the post season… which says something about his ability to eat pressure and our proclivity to play these things too close to the bone.

7 of 7: Josiah Kawka (3-0, 3.13) @ Jan Hernandez (1-0, 0.00)
Loss, 1-2. I’ve never wanted to force close OOTP so badly, to rip my laptop from its power chord and ultimate frisbee it into the wall like some aggro granola who splits his time evenly between wellness retreats and hacky sack circles. That such a long, arduous season has come to this unsatisfying, unfair, and utterly devastating conclusion is par for the course, I suppose. Baseball, and OOTP’s version of it, is a fickle mistress prone to seducing those within its grasp with visions of immortality, whispering the secrets of the universe into your ear, before flipping that script and finding ways to oppress your hopes and dreams in the vilest way possible. Here, that’d come in the form of a Heathcote Kinton, game-winning, solo DING DONG during the top of the 9th, putting the Terror Squad up 2-1, and leaving us to attempt to answer back with the bottom of our order – Tyler Hill struck out, Ian hit a weak grounder to 2nd for out #2, and Bill Cox, with the weight of the world resting squarely on his shoulders swung mightily on only the 4th pitch he’d seen during the AB, catching nothing but air to usher in what will surely be the longest off-season of our lives. This one will sting a bit.

Elsewhere: Like ours, the series between Denver and Toronto would go the distance, and, unlike ours, the home team would get the win to secure a spot in the world series in front of their hometown faithful as the Toronto Leafs advance to take on Brooklyn, winning over the Miners by a score of 2-1 after 12-innings of baseball. LF Evan Prag hit the walk-off of a lifetime during the bottom of the 12th to cement his name in local Toronto lore from here to eternity.

Record: Doesn’t matter, we lost.
Up Next: Decisions, decisions… we’ll watch the World Series, decide on our next move, and, if Phil doesn’t fire me, look to rebound from this unfortunate turn of events in 2080 – retooled, reenergized, and ready to find our way back to the championship. Or, I don't know, go outside instead...

[ayaghmour2]

Tough break in the end. Team has looked really good and deserved a chance to repeat, but they should be back next year

[pauwoo]

Originally Posted by ayaghmour2

Tough break in the end. Team has looked really good and deserved a chance to repeat, but they should be back next year

Yeah, man. For sure. Gutted for my fake baseball team! Ha! However, as a glutton for punishment, I'm hammering through the offseason as we speak so I can spend the next few months working through 2080... enjoying every minute of it until our inevitable collapse at the end.

[pauwoo]

In the end, after a grueling and hard-fought finale, the Toronto Maple Leafs would come out on top, besting the Brooklyn Citizens in a rock ‘em, sock ‘em robots styled World Series, 4 games to 3, behind a dominant 9-2 game 7 win at home. Toronto, the only 100+ win team besides us in the Majors in 2079, claimed their 6th World Series trophy with the win, capping off a phenomenal season by earning its ultimate prize.

The bracket, as ever, is attached.

[pauwoo]

Offseason Awards:

• CL Don Haag won the Kingston Cashmore award as the NL’s top Reliever – it’s his first such honor. His 56 saves in 2079 rank 5th all-time, tying him with our own Donovan Turnbull who accomplished that feat only one year earlier.
• 1B Satoru Ono, C Dom Cooke (3x), and CF Otto Isaac (4x) each took home a Silver Slugger Award. This marks Ono’s first such honor.
• Our Skipper, Michael Scott, took home manager of the year for the 2nd year in a row. Let’s hope it doesn’t go to his head.
• SP Stephen Estevez won the Victor Pacheco Award, beating out Phoenix’s Landon Sampson for the honor. This is Stephen’s first Pacheco.
• CF Otto Isaac won the NL Boyce Rigg for the 2nd year in a row and 3rd time overall, beating out Tom Franzone and Palmer Parker for the honors.

Summary of Offseason Changes:
Bush League Updates:

• The Hagerstown Hummers became the Hagerstown Beavers
• The Quincy Quackers moved to Frankfort, KY and will henceforth be known as the Sultans
• The Nolanville ‘Nauts have relocated to Gulfport and have been nicknamed the Growlers
• The Dearborn Dilly’s have moved to Peabody, MA and will now be known as the Briners
• The Shreveport Sashimi Samurai are moving to Lackawanna and have been christened the Lickers.

MLB Updates:

• The Portland Pines have updated their name to the Portland Pioneers

Summary of Offseason Roster Moves:

• RP Dylan Miotke (30yo, 60/60) entered free agency, signed a 1-year, $7.2mm deal with Phoenix.
• 2B Ian Hanan (29yo, 60/60) becomes a free agent, signed with Denver for $54mm over 3 years.
• RP Kaoru Kudo (31yo, 62/62) becomes a free agent, signed with Dallas for $19.6mm over 2 years.
• 3B Pepper Grant (36yo, 53/53) becomes a free agent, signed with Montreal for $16.4 over 1 year.
• Traded RHP Keith Baeza (27yo, 62/62) to the Brooklyn Citizens, getting RHP Dontrell McNeil (29yo, 53/53) in return.
• Traded RF Bill Cox (29yo, 49/49), minor league LHP Toni Cartwright (27yo, 51/54), and minor league RHP Beau Skrivan (23yo, 33/47) to the Montreal Alouettes, getting LF William Henderson (29yo, 48/48) and minor league 3B Sebastian Roberts (22yo, 23/38) in return.
• Traded LF Tyler Hill (30yo, 56/56) to the San Jose Seals, getting CL Manny Sepulveda (29yo, 70/70) in return.
• Signed RF Ethan Mullens to a 3-year contract extension worth a total of $115,200,000.
• Signed CF Otto Isaac to a 3-year contract extension worth a total of $129,600,000.
• Signed RP Don Haag to a 3-year contract extension worth a total of $48,000,000.

Summary of Notable FA Signings:

• RF Aitor Cubas (28yo, 80/80), that former Seattle Stalwart, signed a $110mm, 3-year deal with… Las Vegas.
• SP Burt McElheny (33yo, 58/58) signed a 3-year, $68.4mm contract with the Vancouver Mounties.
• C Rex Engelstad (30yo, 80/80) signed a 3-year, $109mm deal with the Philadelphia Founders.
• 1B Mustafa Boltz (33yo, 58/58) signed a 3-year, $78mm contract with Mexico City.
• 2B Rich Hamilton (38yo, 69/69) signed a 1-year, $16.4mm deal with Buffalo.
• SP Josiah Kawka (32yo, 62/62) signed a 3-year, $73.2mm deal with the Portland Pioneers.
• SP Julen Morales (34yo, 53/53) signed a 2-year, $26.2mm deal with Vancouver.

Here’s a look at our lineup & rotation…. and the preseason predictions…



Money was an issue… surprisingly. And, we have depth issues… but, I still think we’ll finish ahead of Las Vegas.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (0-0, .000) @ Austin Grackles (0-0, .000)
We’ll kick off the 2080 campaign in Texas’ capital where the locals save their entertainment dollar for concerts, festivals, world-class bar-b-que, and any sporting event not named baseball… Only the most ardent, hardcore Grackles fan will be in house, even on Opening Day, as the Austin-based club did little of note during the offseason, all but ensuring another ho-hum season for their beleaguered club. And it’s not just what they didn’t do that is giving their fans agita – their front office has perfected the art of questionable deals with the RHP Joshua Moeller (29yo, 59/59) for minor league lefty Leonardo Espinoza (25yo, 26/36) trade, where they agreed to retain 95% of Moeller’s salary, top of mind, and when they did dip into the free agent pool, that they came up with 2B Scott Kaszuba (29yo, 49/49, 3 years, $54mm) while already having much better options at the position is enough to incite a riot amongst their season-ticket holders… both of them. The outlook in Austin is grim – destined to finish at the bottom of our division, and, if the preseason predictions hold any water at all, last in the entire National League – this is a club in absolute shambles attempting to trade on their most ardent supporters unrealistic hopes and dreams long enough to at least break even for their penny-pinching owner, Victor Davies, whose con, after 7-straight losing campaigns, is reaching Madoff-level proportions.

1 of 162: Stephen Estevez (0-0, 0.00) @ Sean Kenny (0-0, 0.00)
Loss, 0-1 (10). In an effort to bore all those in attendance, neither team would find a way to score until Austin 1B, DJ Wilders, put everyone out of their misery, walking us off on a well-hit, run-scoring single that brought new edition 2B Scott Kaszuba in from third. So, maybe that signing wasn’t so bad after all… for our part, same as it ever was, we’d present an offensively challenged version of ourselves as OH HONG would be the only batter to secure more than a single hit and we’d not put even one EBH on the board as a unit. The pitching was the other side of that coin, with Estevez giving us 5-innings of 2-hit burn, and 5 total relievers being trucked out to the mound before all was said and done. Don Haag would be saddled with the loss in this one – the newly anointed Kingston Cashmore award winner likely had something else in mind for his 2080 debut.

2 of 162: Merl Crawford (0-0, 0.00) @ Matheo Trachtenburg (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 5-3. Otto showed some of that Boyce Rigg winning form, finishing 1-for-3 with a 3-run TANK, 2 runs, and a walk, Satoru Ono hit his first two-bagger of the season during a 2-for-4 effort, and Merl Crawford had to dig deep to earn the win during a 5.2-inning, 3 earned, 2 K performance. Ethan swiped his first bag of the season – hopefully our Skipper sees fit to turn him loose a bit this year – and secured an OF Assist, gunning Rajkumar Kosciusko down at 3rd, and the defense looked sharp with an around-the-horn, Tignor-Hutchinson-Ono, double-play. Good enough to get it done, sure, but… we’ve got a ways to go to work ourselves into the form required to repeat as division champs in the NL West.


Elsewhere: SP Keith Baeza, making his first start with the Brooklyn Citizens, hurled a 6-inning, 1-hit gem with 6 K’s as his new club improved to 2-0 on the season with an 8-3 win over the Montreal Alouettes. In other former Leopards’ news… Pepper Grant finished 2-for-5 with a run in his 2nd game as an Alouette. In his debut with Montreal, Pepper put out a 2-run TRUCK in his very first AB… we’re big PEPPER supporters around these parts, were gutted when we couldn’t fit him into our future plans given his price tag but are happy to see him get off to such a great start up north.

3 of 162: Jan Hernandez (0-0, 0.00) @ Dwaine Schilling (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 6-4. We’d secure a hard-earned series victory to get the 2080 campaign off on the good foot as Satoru Ono put us ahead 5-4, with the bags loaded and two outs already on the board, drawing what would become the game-winning, run-scoring walk off Austin closer, Elmar Pirov. Ethan came alive for us a bit with a 3-for-4 day including a 2-run DING DONG and 3 total RBI, William Henderson scored his first run as a Leopard, and Ono hit his 2nd double of the season in as many games as he brought us to within a run during the top of the 8th. Hernandez gave a solid account of himself, nothing fancy… 5-inning, 3 hits, 2 earned, Nakagawa allowed two more in relief, with Ram Chen, Sepulveda, and Haag, who picks up his second save here, closing the show.

Record: 2-1, .667, 3rd NL West
Up Next: We’ll make the hop from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Mexico City International and finish up these 7 road games to start the 2080 campaign in Mexico against the Jags.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (2-1, .667, 3rd NL West) @ Mexico City Jaguars (0-2, .000, t-5th NL West)
Like Austin, the Mexico City Jaguars idled their time during the offseason, doing nothing of note, and ambling into the 2080 campaign without a care in the world. Internally the expectations are low, their fanbase, to the degree that they have one at this point, seems indifferent, and, really, they’ve taken on the look of a neglected plaything that has fallen out of favor with their owner, Daniel Vega, as he focuses most of his attention on his families Mezcal empire. They arrive back in town after dropping two in Sin City to the Outlaws, each by a run with the second requiring extras to sort out, and are looking to secure a few wins for their home crowd before thoroughly disappointing them as the regular season gains steam. Our goal here will be to not let that happen against us…

4 of 162: Dwight Beasley (0-0, 0.00) @ Jaxon Dupre (0-0, 0.00)
Loss, 2-8. Mexico City, in giving us the business in front of a raucous home opener crowd, may have staved off calls for their collective heads if only for one more day as defeating the likes of us, by a 6-run margin no less, on the regular is surely not in the cards for this beginner’s Pokémon deck styled ballclub. JJ Barbari led the way for the Jags with a 2-for-5 day that included 3 RBI and RF Cedric Mauldin contributed 3 RBI to the cause during a 2-for-4 day of his own, while their staff, most notably RP Davey Halimkusuma, held us in relative check during the game in allowing only two of our guys to plate while leaving 8 more stranded. Two fielding flubs for the club today, including one for Pepper replacement Walt Tignor – I’m going to miss having a gold glover manning the hot corner…


Elsewhere: Aitor Cubas, settling in quite nicely in his new Las Vegas digs, went 3-for-5 with a triple, a GRAND SALAMI, 5 total RBI and a run during the Outlaws’ 7-5 win over the San Jose Seals in Las Vegas. With the win the Outlaws remain unbeaten and have already taken on the look of a club that may make good on BNN’s NL West Division Champion prediction, leaving us to secure a wild card as our way into the dance.

5 of 162: Dontrell McNeil (0-0, 0.00) @ Paul Finley (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 20-5. On a mission for some of that sweet, sweet get back, new guy, William Henderson went 5-for-5 with 2 TRUCKS, a double, 7 total RBI, and 5 runs to power our offense as it came off the line like a finely-tuned, purple & gold metal flake dragster hell bent on breaking the sound barrier. There’s too much to parse out here, and, even if I had the wherewithal to do it, I’d not do it justice anyways… so, instead, peep the carnage for yourself…



6 of 162: Stephen Estevez (0-0, 0.00) @ Ben McGillicuddy (0-0, 0.00)
Loss, 3-6. After our 20-run explosion, we’d not have much left in the tank, and, given that Mexico City barely even bothered to show up for that last one, they showed that they were no worse for wear as they took a 2-1 series lead heading into the 4th and final game tomorrow by a score of 6-3. 3B Martin Wainwright led the way with a 3-for-3, 3 RBI day and starter, Ben McGillicuddy, recovered nicely from a 3-run top of the 1st to finish with 5-innings pitched, 4 total hits, and 3 earned for his troubles. Unlike yesterday, there’s not a lot to parse out in the way of Leopards highlights – Hutchinson brought two in on a single and we’d field another tasty little around-the-horn, Tignor-Hutchinson-Ono double play. We had most of what it takes to get the nod here, just, especially after yesterday’s effort, not enough to get started.


Elsewhere: LF Aitor Cubas, a major problem who plays for our most reviled division rival, was at it again for Las Vegas as he capped off a 3-for-5 day at the plate with a double, 2 JACKS, and 4 RBI to power the Outlaws to a 13-6 win over the San Jose Seals… don’t look now, but as of today Las Vegas, at 5-0, is one of three undefeated squads in the majors… the AL West’s Vancouver Mounties and the NL East’s Philadelphia Founders round out that exclusive club.

7 of 162: Merl Crawford (1-, 3.18) @ Steve Allen (0-0, 2.08)
Loss, 9-10. Otto’s 2-for-4 day and 3-run TANK wasn’t enough to power our team over the Jaguars as Mexico City Catcher, Gary Alvarado, and right fielder, Cedric Mauldin, each brought 3 runs across with Mauldin’s coming on a bottom of the 9th DING DONG that would ultimately send us off to the showers despondent, unsteady on our feet, and thoroughly confused by what had just transpired… only 7 games into the season and Haag has already amassed two loses, our starting rotation is in shambles with an 11th ranked 7.42 ERA, and we find ourselves near the bottom of the NL West table, mixing it up with the likes of Austin and San Jose – not ideal.

Record: 3-4, .428, 4th NL West
Up Next: We’ll get an undeserved day off, spend it travelling back to Los Angeles, and get back after it against the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday.

[pauwoo]

Phoenix Coyotes (4-2, .667, 2nd NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (3-4, .429, 4th NL West)
After surprising the punditry last season by rising above their assigned station, Phoenix put together another nondescript offseason where they’d dip into the FA pool a bit, signing RP Elliot Dunne (34yo, 54/54) to a 1-year, $4.5mm deal and LF Travis Scharmer (33yo, 50/50) to a 2-year, $23.6mm contract. The net result of which was another ho-hum preseason prediction that has them coming in right behind us at 3rd on the NL West table… but, be that as it may, and because no matter what the predictions say we still have to play the games, Phoenix has come off the line looking something fierce, dropping 4-straight L’s on the Austin Grackles at home before making the hop over to Los Angeles to have a quick, early season word with us. Phoenix, for all their offseason inaction, their lack of bluster in FA negotiations, and apparent indifference to making their club better by trade is still a well-built outfit, primed to destroy lesser-made clubs while giving the likes of us a run for our money every time we meet on the diamond.

8 of 162: Max Harrington (0-0, 14.54) @ Jan Hernandez (0-0, 3.60)
Win, 4-2. Otto delivered our opening salvo, during the bottom of the 3rd, with a 2-run triple off Phoenix Starter, Max Harrington, and OH HONG would add an insurance run on a double two frames later. The Coyotes would, of course, try to make a game of it as 3B Gavin Nalley took Jan deep for a 2-run MOONSHOT in the top of the 6th before we handed things off to the pen, allowing Donovan Turnbull and Don Haag to befuddle our visitors over the last three innings of the game with DT earning his 2nd hold while DH pocketed his 3rd save of the year. Three uncharacteristic fielding flubs for the good guys today – we tried to give this one away – luckily for us, the representative from Arizona isn’t about handouts.


Elsewhere: Buffalo Backstop, Johnny Alavez, finished 2-for-5 with a GRAND SLAM, 5 total RBI, and 2 runs to power the Nickels offense against their most reviled division rival, the Toronto Leafs, defeating the Canadian club, in their park, by a score of 11-5. With the win, Buffalo finds themselves at the top of the pops in the AL East – their time on the throne will, undoubtedly, be short – they’re not that guy. Just an average club, filled with average players, that is destined to do average things…

9 of 162: Mike Clendenin (0-0, 3.60) @ Dwight Beasley (0-1, 7.71)
Loss, 4-5. Phoenix’s offseason signing, Travis Scharmer, went 3-for-5 with a 2-run DINGER during the top of the 9th that was all the rally the Coyotes would need, going up by a run that we ultimately would fail to answer as Demetri, Ethan, and OH HONG went down in order during the bottom of the frame, with Demetri going down swinging while Mullens and Hong watched their 3rd strike fly by. Beasley failed to give a great account of himself for the second start in a row, allowing three runners to plate in 5-innings of ho-hum work, and after Nakagawa, Hansen, and Chen put it down fierce enough to keep Phoenix at bay, Haag would, once again, come up lame, allowing that fateful homer and taking his 3rd loss of this young season.

10 of 162: Ferdinand Loving (1-0, 0.00) @ Dontrell McNeil (0-0, 12.27)
Win, 4-0. After giving up 5 runs in less than 4 innings of work in his Leopards debut, Dontrell McNeil made a much better impression during his home debut, tossing it around for 7-innings and allowing only 3 hits with no runs scored, while C Dom Cooke got us off on the good foot early, smashing a 2-run single during the bottom of the 2nd that would prove more than enough to carry us home. Shared shutout for the staff with McNeil, Ram Chen, and Sepulveda each taking part, a well-crafted Hutchinson-Paulino-Ono DP, and Otto’s 4th homer of the season would round out the storylines for us as we managed to win our second series of the season and scratched our way back to a .500 record so far.

Record: 5-5, .500, 4th NL West
Up Next: We’ll welcome the 7-2 Las Vegas Outlaws to town for a 3-game set over the weekend… they’ve come off the line something fierce and have taken on the look of a real life boogeyman already. Should be… harrowing.

[pauwoo]

Las Vegas Outlaws (7-2, .778, 1st NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (5-5, .500, 4th NL West)
In extending SS Ray Gerhold (27yo, 80/80) for $123mm, picking up 2B Jaden Utley (35,yo, 66/66) on a discount at $52mm over 2-years (should he not drop off the proverbial OOTP cliff), and making, arguably, the biggest free agent splash by signing LF Aitor Cubas (28yo, 80/80) for $109mm over 3-years, Las Vegas made the baseball world aware that they mean business in 2080… and so far, at 7-2 and trucking opponents with relative ease, business is good. And, while I have them pegged as a paper tiger, good not great, this set, in our park, represents our first chance to prove me right… of course, given our form, fitness, or lack thereof our first chance to smack these guys on the jaw couldn’t have come at a less opportune time. We’ll need to dig deep, find our true selves from within, and play up to our capabilities if we are to give ourselves a chance at winning, at giving a good account of the club, instead of wholesale embarrassment in front of our family and friends.

11 of 162: Evan Church (0-0, 10.38) @ Stephen Estevez (0-1, 6.23)
Win, 3-1. Estevez started things off for us with 5-innings of shutout baseball before handing it off to the pen to protect our 3-run lead, and, except for Haag who gave up a run during another shaky late-game performance but still earned his 4th save, they were equal to the task, keeping the Outlaws revamped lineup guessing until the top of the 9th. Otto brought our first run across during the bottom of the 3rd on a single and would strike once more during the bottom of the 5th with a 2-run BLAST that served as notice to the baseball punditry that even with the arrival of Aitor Cubas in the division, Isaac is still the top dog around these parts. William Henderson, henceforth known as Hendo, swiped his second bag of the year while Ethan was caught with his hand in the honeypot on an attempt at the same, and we’d leave 7 stranded on 8 hits and 3 free passes as our offense, while serviceable, still has yet to get things into gear.


Oh, and in semi-devastating news, RP Donovan Turnbull will miss 8-9 weeks with shoulder inflammation. RHP Kordell Littles will join us on the big club from Compton, where he was already 2-0 with a 1.62 ERA in 2 starts on the year… he’ll work out of the pen, hopefully he can make that small adjustment and give us some good reps over the next couple of months.

12 of 162: Cam Murphy (2-0, 1.64) @ Merl Crawford (1-0, 8.64)
Loss, 1-7. It’s been said that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction… except, in this case, Las Vegas paid us back for saddling them with their 3rd loss of the season yesterday by thoroughly shellacking us in front of our hometown faithful and putting it on us twice as badly as we did them yesterday. Ethan, as our only offensive player that showed up, got us on the board late, staving off complete embarrassment, with a bottom of the 9th DING DONG during a 2-for-4 day, while the 2x reigning NL MVP, Otto Isaac, could only look on with envy as former Leopard, Andy Shepard, who signed with Las Vegas under the radar during the offseason, styled on our staff to the tune of 4 hits in 5 tries and 3 RBI… I suppose that he (& we) can take some solace in the fact that Aitor Cubas posted a Golden Sombrero against our staff today – so, things could have been much, much worse.

13 of 162: Jack Sanchez-Flores (0-1, 1.98) @ Jan Hernandez (1-0, 1.74)
Win, 2-1. In the debut of our Sunday Alternative Kit, we’d give the fans something to cheer for with a walk-off, series win courtesy of an Ethan Mullens run-scoring single that made these brand new, crispy purple lids look about as good as anything in that color can (your boy Dwight Beasley will be modelling the new look directly after this game recap – for your viewing pleasure, to be sure). We’d hit two, two-baggers as a club, a triple (Ethan, stand up!), and swipe a bag (Ethan’s 3rd on the year) offensively to give our commentary team a little something to talk about during the bottom of a couple of innings – but, our pitching was the story here as Jan improved on his already stellar ERA in 5-innings of shutout work, before handing the pill off to Armendariz who let one get by in the 7th, setting Sepulveda for 2.1 innings of lockdown work in relief before Haag came in to snipe the win, tossing a 4-pitch strikeout to the last Las Vegas batter of the game.


Elsewhere: your boy, Dwight Beasley out here showing folks how to make purple look good…

Record: 7-6, .538, 3rd NL West
Up Next: We’ll board an early evening flight bound for San Jose, where we’ll do battle with the Seals over our next three games.