Moneyball in Montreal, A challenging fictional story.

[dgally]

Opening day is early this season, taking place March 22nd. And, spoiler, the Lynx are not a March team.

We start the season on the road in Mexico City and Buck leads us to an opening day 7-4 W. However, the series goes downhill from here as our offense goes to bed, scoring only one run in the next two games. 1-2

The home opener is against division rival Mississauga. We lose in extras 7-4. We take the next but lose the rubber match. 1-2

Back on the road, we head down to Tijuana and have a bad time. We lose all three, getting the first sweep out of the way early. Rebuild seems correct. 0-3

Last day of March, thank goodness. It's the start of a home series hosting the Chicago War Eagles. We drop the game in a 12-3 blowout. 0-1

March malaise. 2-8 Let the season next start in March again.

April arrives and we finish our last two games against Chicago with them finishing us in each. Swept again. 0-2

The boys have a team meeting and vow to stop embarrassing themselves. They show signs of life as Honolulu comes to town. This time, we're the sweepers as our offense shows its first signs of life, outscoring them 24-6 in the series. 3-0

We head to Monterrey and continue fine form, taking the first two but losing the sweep. Still, series W. 2-1

Back home against the Big Trains of Naucalpan. We win one, lose the next but take the rubber in a 1-0 pitching duel W by our ace, Buck. 2-1

Division opponent Managua is next, away. The boys show resilience and against, win the series with Managua avoiding the sweep in the last game. 2-1

San Luis, our nemesis who has knocked us out the last two years in the playoffs are next. They're struggling this year sitting at a .400 win rate. However, they manage to put a stop to our series winning ways, taking 2 of 3. 1-2

We visit the Havana Judges next, expansion team, for a quickie two game set. They judge us harshly the first game putting up 13 runs. We come back the next day to split the two game series. 1-1

San Diego Snappers visit Montreal after a day break. They're looking like a playoff team this year and show it, taking 2 of 3. 1-2

Fellow Cali team, Los Angeles Kangaroos are next, coming into town for a 3 game series over two days. We take both on the double header but fail to sweep LA, giving no run support to Buck who takes an L in a 0-1 affair. 2-1

A much better April ends with division leader Ottawa. We take game 1, 8-3. 1-0

We finish a respectable 15-11 in April, almost clawing back to .500. English leads the team batting .305 with 8 HR and 26 RBI. Grizz is bouncing back after his injury-laden season last year, his numbers close to English's. Davis leads the staff with #3 Hughes close to being replaced by I don't know who. Still our numbers in pitching and batting are bottom half in the league. Not good. We sit 3rd in the division, 5 1/2 back against a surging Ottawa.

Also a look at League Leaders.

[darkcloud4579]

following along

[dgally]

The team is looking what experts refer to as 'meh'.

We start the month finishing the series against division opponent Ottawa. We split the two in May 1-1

Home for bagels against Guatemala where we get bookend wins to take the series 2-1

Away again, this time at Phoenix where we lose the first but have stellar pitching in the next two and we win our second series of the month. 2-1

Home again. What the hell schedulers? This time against Mexico city who take the first and the last to deal us our first series loss of the month. 1-2

And...road again, against division rivals Mississauga. After a strong opening 8-2 win, we get trounced in the next two, giving up 20 runs and only scoring 3. 1-2

Home again. I'm starting to recognize a trend. Tijuana comes to town and we show them a good time at their expense, registering a sweep. 3-0

Road trip. The first trip of the month home or away that will last more than three games. Apparently, that messes with out heads as we come into Chicago with no fight, getting swept right after doing a sweeping. 0-3

Woes continue in the next series against WS contender Honolulu who are sporting a + .600 win rate. They beat us handily in each game delivering a back-to-back sweep and an 0-6 road trip. 0-3

The boys recover their wits at home against fellow 'mon' Monterrey putting together strong games. The fourth series in a row goes down for a sweep, this time in our favor. 3-0

The last series is away against the Big Trains of Naucalpan. Our pitching thinks its batting practice in the first two as the Trains put up a baker's dozen then a regular dozen. We figure it out though, winning 16-1, avoiding the sweep on the final game of May. 1-2

Tough month as we are just below the water line at 14-15. The division is tight so we're still in play-- of course it's early.

Player dev is not great. This save is brutal in that regard. Everyone only declines and the dev lab has essentially brought two players from 4 star guys to 2.5 star guys at best. Not that I use stars but, it's tough out there. Top prospect Gross did improve and looks to be on track so far to meet his potential and meet us in the Bigs for the first time come roster expansion.

[dgally]

As the weather heats up and we reach toward the heart of the season, moods are mid in Montreal as the team struggles to stay afloat. Both from a record standpoint and financially. We have -22 mil in monies thanks to an oopsie by me when I decide to start a charity.

First series of the month is a big one against division rival & leader Managua. We fight hard to win game 1 in 12 in a batter's duel 9-8. However, we drop the next two 1-2

At this point we've relegated Igme Tavares, who's on his final contract year to the BP in long relief, opting instead for Brackmann, the #43 pick in 2025 draft. We're using him in a Follower role.

Playoff nemesis San Luis is next on the docket and get the best of us in this series, taking the rubber game and series. 1-2

Homeward bound, expansion team Havana comes into town for a full three game series. We split a two game series back in May. The Lynx show that the Bigs are a tough place to be, sweeping the Judges. 3-0

Next, we head to the road against San Diego who promptly wipe out the three games we just won with three loses, trouncing us each game with a series combined score of 25-5. 0-3

The draft pool is revealed. We have the 26th pick and the mock has us taking a 17 year old shortstop, forgetting we picked a SS just two drafts ago. The class is lead by pitcher "Gummy" Threlkel who looks like a bonafide star to be.

We continue on the road, up the 5 to Los Angeles, the worst city this manager's ever been to. Ew. We split the first two but they take the rubber match in three tight ball games. 1-2

Time to host. In this case, divisional opponent Ottawa comes into town. They shut us out the first game but we win back to back 10 inning affairs to have our first series win in what feels like a while. 2-1

Down to Guatemala. We take another series, gaining some momentum. 2-1

At home, against Phoenix, we continue, taking 2 of 3 with a couple of emphatic wins. 2-1

Down to Mexico City, our momentum hits a wall against a WS contender. They undo our recovery of June by sweeping us like gutter rats. Two games, 0-4 and a smashing 3-12 loss. Oof. 0-3

Last game finds us at home against divisional rival Mississauga. They kick us while we're down, shutting us out for the 3rd time in 4 games. 0-1

June sees us drop to 8 back in the division as we post a 12-16 record. A spring to forget, hopefully we can rebound in the high heat of summer.

Also, funnily, English was injured for 9 months in the start of June but OOTP crashed just a few days later before the save kicked in. I'll take it.

[darkcloud4579]

Sounds like a rollercoaster month! It's good to see the team rebounding with some sweeps, but those back-to-back series losses must've been rough. Do you think the travel-heavy schedule is impacting the team’s consistency?

Also, with player development taking a hit, are there any prospects besides Gross who you’re optimistic about, or is it looking like you’ll need to make some moves to stay competitive?

And hey, at least Gross is showing some promise—having him on the roster come expansion time could be just the spark you need down the stretch. Good luck.

[dgally]

The schedule is certainly doing us no favors, bouncing back and forth between hom and away. Last season, we struggled for much of the year with 1 run games. This year, it's the road that's eating us up. We're 25-35.

The farm is average at rank 19 of 32 but we have 3 guys in the top 100 besides Gross. Problem is, they're all in R ball. I've wanted college players in drafts but by the time its my pick, there aren't any round 1 worthy ones left.

I'm hoping Gross can make an impact. Though it's early WC teams are floating just above .500 so we have plenty chance. Koch and Brackmann have contributed for us this season. Brackmann (former #43rd overall) looks to have a ceiling of a #4 while Koch was #485th overall in the same 2025 draft. I have their profiles posted in July's recap.

[dgally]

Good thing is, we've been here before-- sub .500 and getting into the meat of the season. However, we can't have another month like June. That'd put us too far in the hole.

However, July doesn't start off hot...baseball wise. We continue our series with division rival Mississauaga and lose two heartbreaking 1 run games. Swept again. 0-2

An early All-Star break give the boys some time to regroup. Like last year, our only two Lynx are English and Buck.

We come back (hopefully refreshed) as we head down south to Tijuana. The boys come out swinging, winning the first two games 7-6 and 9-3. We can't complete the sweep though, losing the last game 6-1. But hey, series win. 2-1

Home to Montreal against Chicago. 21 yr old rookie Brackmann tosses a fine ballgame with the pitcher's duel completed by relief after 6 1/3 for a 1-0 win. We win the next too but again, can't complete the sweep. 2-1

WS contender Honolulu comes into town next. They swept us back in May and they brought their brooms with them again. Three loses, all pretty narrow. 0-3

Off to Monterrey next where we take being swept out on the Canucks, sweeping them and getting our three games back. 3-0

We hop on the plan, have a day off and face the Big Trains of Naucalpan. The day off didn't hurt our momentum however as we sweep the trains too, including a blow out 15-3 middle game led by a 6 RBI game by star 2b man English.

Road time against division leader Managua. We lose our ground. The fourth sweep in a row with this one going against us. 0-3 We fall to fourth in the division. Worse is we lose English for (only) two weeks. SS Crecelius will shift and former 1st rounder Hazelwood will come into SS.

Former MVP Crecelius is having an abysmal year, batting .224 with 2 HR. Dev be unkind.

Bouncing back home again, we face playoff nemesis San Luis. We win the first, 5-1 off Brackmann again who's pitching as a FO. We squeak out the second but fail for a fifth straight sweep. 2-1

Off to Cuba. Expansion team Havana hosts us in a four game series including a double header on day 1. This is the last series of the month and we're sitting at .500ish for the month. Day 1 goes swimmingly. Buck pitches a 8 inning 1-0 shutout and we follow it up with a 4-3 win. The broom is back. We sweep Havana.

Incredibly of the 9 series in the month, 6 are sweeps. 3 in favor, 3 not. Still the last series proves huge as we post a 16-11 July, 2 games below .500. While we're 9 1/2 back in the division, we're only 2 back of a packed WC race. Starting LF Kunz goes down with injury, out two weeks.

Rookies Brackmann and Koch have proven solid starters while CF Arnold and SS Crecelius are near liabilities.

At the deadline, we trade away backup C Fourie for some cash and SP Moises Fuentes (he'll be a rental). After 11 months on the IR, Turrieta looks done so we needed help there. We also need cash as we're 21 million over budget on our money available.

Looking at prospect Gross in AAA for a sept call up, he's playing well aside from hitting for average. I don't know how I'll play him but if we're out of the running, I'll let him play over Crecelius who's contract is up and I hope gives us a supp pick.

[dgally]

Sitting two games below .500 after the trading deadline has August being a decisive month. Either we make a playoff push or, we drift into obscurity and miss the playoffs for the first time in the league.

We start the home stretch against identical record, San Diego and Fuentes, our SP pick deadline pick up, starts his first game as a tabby. It's a good one. He goes 8, giving up only 1 run. 3-1 Win. Then, we fall apart. We lose the next two. 1-2

Los Angeles comes to town next and puts us to the broom. Sweep. To make matters worse, we learn English is not out just two week but now has an 'uncertain return date'. Oh boy. 0-3

We head to Ottawa to face our divisional opponent. They kick us while we're down, once, twice and thrice. Another sweep as our losing streak extends to 8 games. 0-3

Back home to Guatemala. They put 12 runs on us in the opening then shut us out and pile on the misery by handing us our 3rd straight sweep. 11 games. 0-3

Something needs to be done. We fire the bench coach who no one was getting along with apparently and hire a new guy. Hope?

We head to Phoenix. Buck stops the big hurt, pitching 8 innings and bringing his ERA back down under 3.00. The reprieve is short lived however as Phoenix storms back to win the next two and the series. 1-2

Mexico City at home. English finally returns after an extra two weeks on the DL. It doesn't help. We get blanked in game one, lose two but avoid a sweep by winning game 3 (yay). 1-2

Mississauga is next away. Our divisional rival brings back terrible memories of a week ago as we get swept for the fourth time in a month. A record? 0-3

Back home, we face up against Tijuana. We win a series, the first of the month as game 3 is August 26th. 2-1

We head to Chicago next and the boy's pulses beat for the first time. Pitching and hitting come together and we finally do a bit of sweeping ourselves. 3-0

Last game of the month pits us against Honolulu who have beat us up, stolen our lunch money and made a mockery of us this season. The WS hopeful takes game 1. 0-1

8-18 Memories of March. A brutal beating and this puts us well below .500 and almost mathematically out of the playoffs. That message will come soon. The problem? Hitting. And away games.

Roster expansion though. We bring up Gross who will start games over Crecelius. He'll take 2nd while English will move to SS. He's rated 17 there as opposed to 19 at 2nd. It'll do.

[dgally]

Given the early start of the season, it ends mid-Sept. At this point, I'd prefer loses for a better draft pick.

The first series is against Honolulu, two games to wrap up what started the last day of August. We split them but it's a series loss in the end. 1-1

Next up is Monterrey. We take the first two but can't complete the sweep. Spoiler, it's our only series win of the month. At least there's only 5. 2-1

Over to the Big Trains of Nauc where we take game one but use up all our offense, falling in the next two, scoring two runs each. 1-2

Division rival and leader Managua comes into Montreal next. They impose their will. Salt in the eyes. We take the last game, saving embarrassment in front of the home crowd. 1-2

Playoff rival (not this year) San Luis is the final series of the season-- away. Again, we take game 1 before losing the next two. The last game is an 8-1 loss and sums up the season. 1-2

Top Lynx prospect Gross hits only .229 in the month but it's a small sample size of 38 PA.

6-8 for the month. Time to watch the playoffs from home. The Big Trains win the WS. Not totally unexpected but they were middle of the pack rather than favorites.


A little offseason news. Crecelius sadly takes our arby offer. Terrible luck. Maybe we can trade him. I sign CF Puentes. He's a 4 time all star but coming off a 5 month injury. We sign him to 5 years/15.5mill. It's a bit of a risk but I think it's worth the upside. He sures us up at CF after Arnold's decline and dismal .172 avg performance. Montreal cold apparently kills attributes. We'll eventually have to move Puentes over to LF but he should do the job for now. We're also looking for a catcher. I can't agree to rental Fuentes who had a solid string for us. Too many years.

A look at the final team of the year. Brackmann and Koch turned in solid rookie years. I hope to see more from them. Davis and English led the team in their respective categories.

In other news, the budget didn't go up but the owner at least wiped clean out neg money available. We'll need that when we sign our INT amateurs.

[dgally]

The rest of the offseason is pretty slow. You can only do so much with so little money. I sign Mattingly as a starting C for just under 7/yr. He's got a cannon for an arm. If he does half as well as his namesake then I'll consider it good business.

Rather than the usual star player signing in the INT, I end up signing three. With a rebuild in full swing, we'll need the farm to be better than it is. We sign a couple of East Asian lads. A well rounded 2b and a power hitter. To round things up, we grab a RP since good RPs are like an oasis in a desert in this OOTP.

Our final piece of business comes in the Rule 5 where we grab Valdes to help in relief.

The dev lab:

SP #5 Brackmann has a successful stint improving his secondary pitches. Hopefully he'll take this positive growth in the new season and move his way up the rotation.

CF Jon Arnold has a successful session, improving contact. Maybe he'll hit above .175 while his replacement Puentes finishes his recovery.

SP (hopeful) Dubois has a poor showing and sees a decrease in Velocity.

4th OF Moylan also sees a poor dev as his contact and power decline likely ending his career in the bigs. (yet to technically be seen).

No improvements from McWilliams in the stamina dept or former #88 prospect Gurriola in the secondary pitch dept.

This is the only OOTP save where I've had 4 decreases in as many years that are all significant.

But something finally heads our way. Draft lottery. Suddenly, the Lynx get a chance to bring in a big name with the #2 pick, jumping up 5 spots from #7. At a glance, it's a heavily hitting class. There's an interesting two way player that is mocked for pick 20 or so. Lots of scouting to do. What's not great is the figures some of these guys are asking for. 10+ million.

Spring Training we put forward a not so great effort, going 12-18. Grizz seems to be struggling. Mattingly and Arnold both went under .200 for spring.

It should be noted former #2 SP Tavares goes unsigned in FA. Montreal is where players go to decline it seems.

Opening day is early again, March 21st against the San Diego Snappers. Our system is 22nd with Gross leading as he has for the last few years at #42. He starts this season, plugging in at 2b. Former top #100 prospect, now #195, Gabe Garza will also start in the bigs this year, acquired last year in a trade for 5th OF option Rios. SP Alex Rios, (idk if there's a relation) #183, our #2 round pick in 2025 sits in AAA but will likely see a call up to the bigs if aka when one of our SPs falter.

Some nice names on waivers including former Lynx RP Manny Hernandez. Too bad we have no money to make any claims. Damn Crecelius and taking the arby offer. We will be looking to trade him ASAP.

English and Buck still hold to their top player status. English #14 among hitters and Buck #2 for pitchers.

We're projected at 76-86 for the season while our owner wants .500 ball with a #30 budget. (Payroll is 22nd).

We'll see what holds true when the season kicks off later this week.

[dgally]

2029 is here, the 6th season of Lynx baseball. Unfortunately, in this story, we find ourselves a little down and out. Picked to finish 4th in the division and sub .500, the Lynx have a lot to prove. The bullpen looks shaky, the hitting looks inconsistent, and the backend of the staff up for grabs.

We float Crecelius day one and find a bite. An all star catcher who would make Yady Molina's catching look blasé. Apparently, that 7 contact is a 'high' 7. We take the deal. It will also give us much needed breathing room on the money side of things. Now this does pose a problem. We just signed a new catcher in Mattingly. We'll be looking to deal him now. A #4 starter would be great or a solid BP arm. That waits for now.

March baseball again. I don't like it. March 21st is our opening day at home against San Diego. We take the first game of 2029 on the back of a stellar performance by Buck and a big 3 run shot by sophomore farm product, Koch. We lose the next one but come back to take the series, 2-1

Over to Ottawa, our divisional opponent. The boys are not ready to leave the comforts of home as we're downed, 3-5, 3-5, 2-6 for the first sweep of the season. 0-3

Back in Montreal, we face a good Honolulu team. They hand us another loss but we storm back in the second game putting up a football score, winning 24-7. It was a much needed show of offense since we'd looked emaciated at the plate. Only 5 extra base hits in those runs though one was a Grandy by Garza, our LF hopeful. However, we're unable to replicate it during the rubber match in a 13 inning 3-5 loss. 1-2

March baseball wraps up down in Guatemala. New #5 Valdes pitches a shut out in the opener with help from the BP. But the Guats strike back in a close game 2 to split the March half of the series. 1-1

4-7 A slow start but we're not a March baseball team. We know this.

[dgally]

Things are going not superly. Rare have I had the failures in the league I've seen here, even with small budgets. I might be playing moneyball slots if my team continues this start. Spoiler, April did not go well. Like two years ago, 1-run games have returned to be our nemesis.

The last game against Guatemala started the month of with an 11 inning shutout. We're 1st in the league in K's. 1-0

Then, like the Irish may say, the troubles started.

Our first full series was against WS champs, Big Trains. The first two games we got close but couldn't finish, losing by 1 before getting swept in the final game. 0-3

Next, we head over to Managua against our divisional opponent. All one run affairs. We take the first, they the second and we lose a 12 inning barn burner in the rubber. CL Bobby Rodriguez, so touted, loses his job to the 23-stuff Wolterman. 1-2

San Luis comes into town with former Lynx MVP Mike Bryan. Our 1-run game woes continue as they take the first two 4-5, 3-4. We pull out a win in the last game. 1-2

Puentes can't get healthy soon enough as CF Arnold continues to not even sniff .200. We have no one to really replace him. 1b Koch is also suffering from sophomore slump things, batting under .200 despite reaching his pots.

Monterrey wraps up the homestand and we open the series with a 1-run loss. They also take the second but we avoid the sweep in the final game. 1-2

Off to Phoenix where we win the first two games of the series to solidify our first series win of April. They take the final game however in a 12-2 beating. 2-1

Back home against the LA Kangaroos. McWilliams wins the pitcher's duel in game 1, 2-1 but we fail to off up any offense the rest of the series, losing the next two. 1-2

A big away series against division rival Mississauga is next. We're not up to the task, digging our hole deeper as they sweep us. Two of the games are 1-run losses. 0-3

Mexico City Spiders come into town for the final game of the month. They're a solid team but hovering at .500 this year. We take the first but lose the next two and the series. 1-2

A brutal 9-18 April. 2-8 in our last 10, 5-11 in 1-run affairs and 9 games back in the division. We have a mountain to climb and with a 27th ranked farm, we'll be climbing for a while. The very small brightside of April is rookie Gross gets RotM award, looking good on reaching his pots.

[dgally]

After a rough and tough start to the season this Spring-- deja vu anyone, we go into May with hopes of at least stabilization. Our SP is struggling, Buck included.

We start the month finishing up the series against Tijuana and while our offense shows up, theirs shows up more and we lose 7-10. 0-1

Havana is next at home. The expansion team is a team we've played well against. That continues here as we take the first two but fail to sweep the Judges in the final game. 2-1

Next up, we head on the road to the Windy City where it's quickly appear the winds are sweeping us right back out the door. We lose all three, giving up 25 runs in the back two. Ouch. 0-3

The road puts us in San Diego and boy are the boys homesick. The offense is anemic as we are swept again, pushing our losing streak to 7 and failing to take a single road game. 0-3

We make a trade of former starter turned backup C Mattingly, dropping him for some cash and a 'hopeful' setup man in Omar to sure up an already well-worked BP.

Home, thankfully, we square off against divisional opponent Ottawa. We do a little sweeping of our own, making back some of the games lost 3-0

Though we head back to the road against Honolulu, we keep up our winning ways taking the first two but failing to sweep the struggling Arrows. 2-1

A good Guatemala team makes us feel pain things, scoring 31 runs against our home fans, embarrassing us in a sweep. They're a .600+ team at the moment but it still hurts. 0-3

We find a bit of redemption as we face the World Champ Big Trains in their home field. We sweep the champs and try to forget. 3-0

Home against divisional opponent Managua, we streak to a second straight sweep. Just like last year, sweeps seem to be high. But in this case, I will take it. 3-0

CF Puentes comes off and we do not let him rehab assignment even though we should. We put Arnold on waivers. No one claims him so we accidentally eat his contract by releasing him in what some are calling a Freudian Slip. A bummer, since he's still owed 15 million. I would have loved to find a sucker for that.

San Luis is next away. We lose the first two but avoid a sweep. 1-2

So far, Puentes is looking a lot like Arnold in his batting. I hope he shakes the cobwebs off soon cause he costs double.

Last game of the month, we face Monterrey away. We win an 8-3 affair to send us over .500 for the month and 7 back in the division. 1-0

A decent 15-14 month.
LF Garza is looking good, batting .330 while Rookie Gross is putting up fair numbers including a .373 OBP. Elsewhere Brackmann struggles with an ERA over 7.00 while 1b Koch shows signs of recovery after his own sophomore slumping Spring.

Elsewhere, a look at the standings.

[dgally]

May day, we should have stayed in May. How low can we go? This will be a dry and dirty report. No need to reflect too much on the pain.

We finish our series with Monterrey, splitting the two games. 1-1

Phoenix then comes into town and puts us to the broom, sweeping us. 0-3

We then go to LA to face off against the Kangaroos. We take the first two but fail to finish the sweep. This will be our only series win of the month. Spoiler. 2-1

Back home we face divisional opponent Mississauga. We split the first two but they take the rubber match. 1-2

Off to Mexico City where the Spiders take the back two after we win the first in a nice 5-1 performance. 1-2

Sorry home crowd, Tijuana comes in and shows no mercy, trouncing us 0-13, 10-15, 3-6. We get swept away at light breezes these days. 0-3

Two game away stint at Havana. I feel like we're always playing them in odd schedulings. We split here in two close games. 1-1

Chicago comes to town next in a low scoring series. We split the first two but lose the last. 1-2

San Diego next. They've put some beatings on us. We come out swinging in game one, winning 9-4 but that's all we got. We lose the next two including a 1-13 game. The relievers might have shell shock after this month.

Last series of the month-- it's two games against Ottawa. Both close but neither fall our way as has the way of things been. 0-2

8-19 Under .300 winning percentage. We are the CWS right now. Right at .400 for the year, 12 1/2 back (surprised this isn't more). This is likely the worst I've ever done. I'm surprised I'm not fired. Maybe in July we can make a few trades and make a #2 pick for the future.

All our categories are near the bottom. Buck is having an off season as far as ERA is concerned. Things look dire. Matt Gross is at least improving but we need much more than that. Years more, likely.

[dgally]

After a tortuous June, the Lynx lick their wounds and prepare for the second half of the season. With down years by English and Buck, the front office is already looking at draft lottos and the future. Attempts to trade for prospects are heavily rebuffed with most teams requiring a child and mortgage for even the most middling young talents

We open the month against Ottawa, finishing up our last series from June. 0-1

An early break then, with the All Star game occurring the day prior to July 4th. Despite the poor start to the season, English is the only Lynx to make the team.

Post break, Honolulu comes into town. The first two are two identical losses at 2-3, the second taking extras. The team salvages the last, winning 13-5 in a rare offensive breakout. 1-2

World Series contender Guatemala is next. They show us a bad time, sweeping us in three no contests and pushing the staff's ERA higher. 0-3

Back home, World Series Champ Big Train roll into town. They're be lucky to mount a defense of that championship as they are on the playoff bubble at .500. Still, we help them out in a sweep to continue our own woes. The L streak at 6. 0-3

Off to Managua for a divisional matchup and the Diamonds have a near double digit lead in the division. But, the tabbies show some life, breaking the L streak and winning the second for the first series win of the month. 2-1

Draft day. A strong hitter class with almost no star SPs. Also no clear top picks (imo). We take Francisco Calderon, the best SP on the board-- mostly since he's also a 1st round worthy CF too. He was projected in the mock close to 20 but I think he's worth it here. The post draft rankings give us confidence as he slots in at #30 overall (no one in the draft class cracked the top 10).

San Luis comes into town next. The team plays well and we take the rubber match in a 1-0 win as Buck returns to some form. 2-1

In a trade we deal RPs Silva and Sopp for southpaw Blanchard, still under team control. He doesn't have flashy stuff but has put up 3ish WAR the last few seasons. I'm sure he'll put up numbers nowhere near that in our pitcher friendly park. For now though, he slots into the #2 spot ahead of a declining McWilliams.

Monterrey comes into town and we take the MON name crown, playing well in a 3 game sweep. 3-0

Phoenix is next. A good team, we take the rubber match to win a fourth straight series. But not all news is good. We lose summer signing Puentes, who goes down for 9 months. 2-1

LA comes into town for the final series of the month. We get good performances from Brackmann (who's looking a bit better) and Asenjo but Buck can't bring the sweep home as we lose the last match in extras. 2-1

Deadline day goes by pretty quietly. We deal former 1st rounder and top 50 prospect Hazelwood for a #4/5 pitcher in Cedrun. He immediately gets injured and is out for 10 months. #UnluckyLynx.

A 12-13 July. A once 'meh' month looks downright great to me now. Let's hope we can at least stop this alternating months of decent play and downright abysmal play. Team Stats look sad.

[dgally]

Since September is a half month, I'll combine it and August as we play for nothing at the end of the season, posting them back-to-back.

August kicks off against Mississauga. The kick off kicks our butts as our divisional rival sweeps us off the board as our anemic offense rears its ugly head. 0-3

Mexico City comes into town next and we bounce back a bit, taking two of three. 2-1

Continuing our games with out extra-southernly neighbor, we pop down to Tijuana-- a team that's really had our number this year. Sure enough, they outscore us 15-1 in the first two. We avoid the sweep, winning 8-2. 1-2

Home again for a 3 day, 4 game series against Havana, one of the few teams we've been good against. That stays the case here as we win the double header and take the final game too. 3-1

A six game road trip to Chicago and San Diego follows. All that travel trips us up as we come up with only 1 win in the 6, getting sweep by San Diego-- something I feel has happened twice already this year. 1-5

A quick homestand against Ottawa follows-- our fellow bottom feeder. We take two but fail to win the final. 2-1

Back on the road to faraway Hawaii. We take the first and then the rubber match for a rare back-two-back series win. 2-1

Home for top tier squad Guatemala. The boys could feel my fear and subsequently are swept in a rather uneventful three games. 0-3

Last series of the month. Two games away at The Big Train. We show up big, no pun intended, in the first game as Koch goes deep twice to put him at 28 dingers for the year in a 10-1 win. We take the second in extras, leaving the sweep open come Sept. 2-0

13-17 for the packed month of August.

[dgally]

Only 13 games, so we'll jump right in and talk Offseason.

With nothing to play for, most of the boys seem to already be mentally in the offseason.

We pick up the last game from the last series of last month against the Big Train. We lose 0-2 in a pitcher's duel. 0-1

Division leader Managua comes into town, playing for playoff seeding. They walk all over our boys, handing us another sweep. 0-3

San Luis is next. Former Lynx star Mike Bryan is having another solid season, putting up 4 WAR. Just like us, SL is having a tough time after being a perennial playoff team. We take two of three. 2-1

On the road in Monterrey (not that one). We split the first two but lose the rubber. 1-2

Final series of the season sees Phoenix come into town. The boys yawn through a swatting of a sweep where Pho puts up 8 runs in each of the three games. 0-3

3-10 puts us at a miserable 64-98 .395 win percentage. Lower than a Ted Williams BA.

Guatemala goes on to win the WS, their 1st.
In a minor consolation, we find solid looking Yin Mok in a scouting assignment who sports a 13/18/16 pot breakdown from the 1b position.

English and Buck have down years. Koch says what sophomore slump, his split .268/31/107. Rookie Gross looks good too and set to continue improving, putting up solid #2 numbers at .266/14/64. Pitching is in shambles. McWilliams can barely huff to 5 IP. CL Wolterman is prob the standout of the season, putting up 2.2 WAR.

The Lynx curse of decline continues as Wells and Blanchard, both traded for, put up ~3 less WAR than they had the season prior. We have 17m in extension and FA money with most players retained. Maybe we can pick someone up. Lots of coach contracts expiring to be replaced. Aside from that, salary looks to stay the same-ish. We have a few solid BP looking prospects coming up which would be much needed.

The Lynx curse dissipates some it seems. Crecelius, after two terrible seasons, posted a 4.3 WAR season. Silva, a struggling RP, dropped his walks by 3.1 and posted a sub 3.00 over 20 innings. Bonilla, our former CF, (original, not Arnold) has posted between 2-4 WAR the seasons since he'd left, after post under 1 the last two seasons with us. UGH

See you in the Offseason.

[dgally]

Spoiler, we don't have much money. With about 15 million in the bank, we need to grab someone who can pitch decently and a SS who isn't a negative WAR guy.

The International Complex goes poorly. Both the guys we want don't want us. Understandable as Montreal is where talent goes to wither-- perhaps under the French blaise gaze. We sign a 3b who needs defensively help if he's to be of use to us. But that's a tomorrow problem.

Crazily, over the course of a month we see former Lynx SP Figueroa go down with a career ending injury. (He reminds me now of McWilliams who I wrapped up in a terrible contract). Hindsight. Then, we see utility man Hopkins go down. Only 25, solid bench guy who could field 6 positions decently. Something's in the water here.

For free agency, we sign Valdez in a steal (imo). 5.7/m over 1 year. He'll take the #2 spot and he's a leader which we need. We also sign Gubernick, another slow speedy guy but who is shifty on the basepaths with a 22/23 stealing/baserunning split.

Dev center goes alright. Pitching prospects Castro (#79) and Gurrola (#135) succeed with improve secondary pitches and movement respectively. Gurrola is a Sept call up maybe sooner while Castro looks like he needs another year or two.

Spring training is uneventful as we sit below the .500 mark. Opening day is once again in mid-March. At least we're improving with predictions. Or are we? I'd have to look back. It might be the same. 76-86 is the prediction, 3rd in the division. The division's weak with only Managua proposed to be above .500. We're gonna be a speedy team, with over 200 bases bagged via predictions. We'll need to make a trade sometime for BP help.

Here we go. The rebuild continues next. Oh, and budget hasn't budged since inaugural season, so, neat.

[dgally]

The new, 2030 season kicks off. The BNN predicts us to creep toward a .500 record. This is the third early March start in the year and, spoilers, again for the third straight year, we got off to a sluggish start, digging a deep hole for ourselves.

Opening day against The Big Train. Buck goes 7 innings but probably shouldn't as the Train put up 6 on him.

The Lynx curse continues. New 1-yr signing and #2 starter and captain of the squad Valdez goes down in his first inning in his first start. Out for year. My goodness, this is unlike anything I've experienced in this game. This level of bad luck + depreciation of skills.

An ominous start to the season as the first series finishes off in a sweep. (0-3)

Division top dog for last year and this year in predictions, the Managua Diamonds are next. We get our first win of the season but that's it as they storm back and take the series (1-2)

San Luis is next. They've been having tough times too but, unlike us, have a top 5 budget and have spent so they're looking for a big bounce back season. Like Managua, we take the first, a no walk, complete game shutout by Buck. However, we fail in the next two, losing the series. 1-2

March caps off with a series against WS champs, Guatemala. They hand us big L's the first two, scoring 19 runs but we prevent a sweep, winning the last game on the last day of March. 1-2

3-9 March. Abysmal, again. Aside from Buck, we're a rotation of spot starters at best. Brackmann might blossom to a #3 but is struggling again. Though he's still only 23. Hilariously, Omar Lemos, a middle RP who we traded for and got hurt only to then get hurt again during his rehab assignment got hurt again during his rehab assignment from his rehab assignment injury. The curse strikes again. I have no doubts that by the time he gets healthy, he'll be completely shot.

April starts of off against top payroll squad, Tijuana. We split the first two but they take the rubber match. 1-2

Next, LA comes into town but where we just avoid a sweep in the final game 1-2

CF Puentes goes down for the month. It's his third 4 week+ injury with us. Fragile and not worth 17m for sure. I wonder if we can get anything for him. Prob not. No one will touch McWilliams who went from a #2/3 to a middle reliever since he got paid.

Divisional opponent Chicago comes into town. They slam us for 25 runs and sweep us off their field.

Havana, finally, someone we can beat. Buck is dominant for us and seems to be returning to his 2029 form. We take the second meaning we win our first series of the season, oof. We can't finish the job however as they avoid the sweep. 2-1

San Diego swings into town and we lose our swing against em. They take the first two, we avoid the sweep. 1-2

Monterrey is next. We take care of business in extras for a game 1 win and follow it up with a game 2 thumping. New signing Gubernick is off to a hot start on the basepaths, already nearing 20 stolen. We fail again on the sweep attempt 2-1

Ottawa comes into town. And we go down in game 1 in a tight 2-3 L. But, we bounce back and take the last two and series. The Lynx finally show signs of life. 2-1

Over to Phoenix next where we continue our winning-ish ways, again taking the series 2-1

Mississauga stops us though in the final series of the month, taking the first in an 11 inning 3-5 nailbiter. They take the second too but we win the third. 1-2

12-15 April

Tough start. 15-24 for a sub .400 record. We're only 6 back though, that feels quite unmanageable for us. Garza, who hit nearly .300 last season is off to a seriously bad start, hitting .170. Wells continues his decline per Lynx uniform tradition and it's looking unlikely he'll sniff a .200 BA. Aside from Buck, our SP's are all sporting 6.00 + on the ERA. Every pitching category is bottom tier. Most batter is too. I think this is going to be another .400 or just above season at best. We have the #3 pick at least. Hopefully, our drafting gets a bit better. Last year's #2 pick is still going strong so far at #30 overall.

[dgally]

I may have used this title before. Sue me.

We head to Luau Honolulu for the first series of the month. The faithful there are treated to free baseball as the first game goest 10 innings while the third goes 13. We take both but lose the standard game. 2-1

Our roadtrip continues down to CDMX where the boys enjoy drinks at Tokyo Music Bar (I know) and then play hungover as the broom comes out to sweep us right out of town. We give up 11, 8, & 11 runs in the series. 0-3

Homebound pits us against the Big Trains. Pitching dominates the first two game but our boys fall flat yet explode for 11 runs in the final game to get us something from the series. 1-2

LF Martinez is traded to San Luis alongside Andrade in a salary dump deal. On his last year of contract, we need money to sign draftees and we get a hopefully bp arm to help us out since Andrade def wasn't. We also start floating other options like Puentes & English.

Over to a divisional matchup against top dog Managua. We take the first but drop the next two. Koch is finally picking up though with a 14-day hitting streak. 1-2

San Luis is next at home. They are rebounding this season thanks to a big old budget. Jelly. We split the first two but they take the third. 1-2

Over to the champ's house next. We give Guatemala a run but lose in extras in the first game. The second we take 4-2 in a rare 4 inning shutout by the bp. Still we lose the last to lose the series. They also snuff out Koch's hitting streak at 20 games. 1-2

Tijuana comes into town. They immediately wipe the floor with us in the first two, where we manage a combined 1 run. Still, we avoid the sweeping by taking the rubber match. 1-2

Off to LA where we split two and lose the third. Is winning 1 of 3 good? 1-2

Chicago comes into town next. The 1/3 share continues as they take two, we take one. 1-2

Finally, last series of the month. Havana. Oh, sweet Havana. A team we can beat. A team with a worse record than us. First game is a 3-0 victory led by Buck's 8 innings of 2 hit, 1 walk ball. He's in fine form this season. The second is a barn burner comeback where, with a 3-run bomb, catcher Wells takes the game in walkoff fashion 6-5. 2-0

11-18 Enough to solidly put us bottom barrel.

Still, tough month. I think it's firesale time. Wells, Puentes, and English are all on the block. Though we may wanna keep wells just for a supp pick. I doubt anyone will give me a better prospect for him. In other news, former Lynx Lingenfielder is having a renaissance. A surprise since my scout still thinks him as dogwater. We tried giving Gurrola Valdez's spot in the rotation but stuck him in the bp after his ERA ballooned. Giving up way too many HRs. Still, hopefully the bp will help push our prospect toward development.