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02-09-2020, 09:52 AM | #341 |
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At the end of July, Waffletown sat in second place, 2 game back of division rival Green Mountain. Whether it was coincidence or something more, the arrival of Joe DiMaggio lit a fire under the squad for the August/September stretch run. The club went on a solid 38-19 tear down the stretch, and when the dust settled, the Syrups celebrated their second consecutive division crown as they finished with a solid 102-60 record, 11 games ahead of Green Mountain.
"Sometimes you just feel everything coming together at the right time. We're hopin' that carries through the playoffs this time." said long time Syrups member Freddie Lindstrom. On the mound, the club had a strong showing from each member of the starting 5 with two winning 20 games, 2 winning 16 games and an additional 14 wins from the fifth. On the backend of the pitching staff, Chief Bender had an impressive season, racking up 50 saves (1 off the team record), with a 1.76 ERA, and a 252 ERA+ (narrator rant regarding Bender: after being shafted multiple seasons now for the Reliever of the Year award, if he doesn't get it this year there's something wrong with the programming on how this award is given out.) At the plate, newcomer Joe DiMaggio settled in right away and avoided any rookie jitters with a solid .294 average, 4 home runs and 34 RBIs. Considering he batted right behind cleanup batter Bill Terry (.326 avg, 18 home runs, 111 RBIs), it's impressive he had anything to drive in at all. Looking at the playoff tree, if the Syrups manage to make a run at their first Perfect tier crown and all other branches go as expected, Waffletown will need to defeat three 130+ win teams "It's time to break out the cliches.... take it one game at a time... anything can happen... regular season doesn't mean anything in the playoffs..." said catcher Ernie Lombardi Waffletown will face off against Whatever Whatever (narrator note: don't struggle too much with a team name there ) who won 131 games during the regular season. The two teams met 6 times during the regular season with Whatever winning the series 4-2 |
02-09-2020, 01:47 PM | #342 |
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didn't even realize this was on-going until it was over.... too bad it had to end during the playoffs:
Chief Bender sets a new club record for save streak with 35 |
02-09-2020, 01:50 PM | #343 |
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Waffletown knew it would be an epic challenge to make a push for their first Perfect tier crown this season, and they weren't wrong. Three games played, three games lost for a quick exit.
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02-16-2020, 09:45 AM | #344 |
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Early on in the existence of the Waffletown Syrups if you would have asked management, players and fans how they would feel if their boys finished a season at the Perfect tier with a record of 92-70, most would have gladly taken it as a successful regular season run. This season, a solid performance of 92-70 in the AC Central was only good enough to land a tie for 2nd place; and a ticket to be a spectator for the post season as the club missed the 2nd wild card spot by a single game.
"Repeated success just builds up expectations. It's no longer good enough to just have a solid winning record. If we don't make the playoffs, the season was a failure, but that's just my opinion." said ace starter Ed Walsh. |
02-16-2020, 10:26 PM | #345 |
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How's Snuffy doing? Considering adding him as a platooner. (Lets face it, I just like guys with funny names)
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02-16-2020, 10:39 PM | #346 | |
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struggling a bit at the plate so far.... got him starting shortstop vs lefties (and of course, he has a higher average vs righties last season ).... his defense as short has improved nicely, and has picked up some defense at third as well from spot starts when Appling has needed a rest.... |
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02-16-2020, 11:03 PM | #347 |
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I was thinking of platooning him at 3b with Frank Baker, who struggles vs lefties.They should get along just fine. I always like a good defensive sub as well.
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02-17-2020, 06:25 PM | #348 |
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Welp, I'm looking on the AH for a new OF, and lo and behold there's 99 DiMaggio for a very reasonable 60K, right in my budget and I remember you mentioning the Snuffy mission. Well...I'd been wanting to save up for a 100 Mantle, but Joe fits well into the team, he's there right now and I have the PP. And now I can just do the Snuffy mission rather than buy him, and get a diamond pack to boot. Icing on top, he's already fully trained at RF and ready to start! Thanks for the inspiration, it was not the way I planned to go but makes a lot of sense when you throw the mission into the equation.
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02-17-2020, 06:28 PM | #349 | |
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02-17-2020, 08:51 PM | #350 |
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Sadly, the Waffletown war chest won't benefit from this one but....
the first perfect game thrown by a Waffletown pitcher in team history! (happened in the TWIPT tourney): Last edited by stl jason; 02-18-2020 at 07:38 PM. |
02-23-2020, 09:55 AM | #351 |
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When the dust settled on the 2066 regular season, Waffletown once again celebrated a successful year at the top tier with a solid 106-56 record (only 1 win off their all time best). Unfortunately for the Syrups, they were in a division with a team that won 113 games, so their efforts were only good enough to secure the top wild card spot.
"Just need to make sure we don't stumble in the wild card. Nothing worse that winning over a hundred games during the season only to lose in a one-and-done series." said closer Chief Bender. The offense hummed along all season, ranking 1st in runs scored (808), batting average (.289), on base pct (.352), OPS (.782), and wOBA (.343). The team average of .289 set a new single season team record, breaking the 40 year old record of .288 set in 2025. On the mound, Rube Waddell had another stellar season as he tried to make a run for a third pitching triple crown, but fell just short (2nd in ERA / 2nd in wins / 1st in Ks). Waffletown will host the Vracov Citizens in the wild card game. The two teams met 7 times during the regular season, with Vracov winning the series 4-3. (narrator note: as if the baseball gods were already lining up against me, the *only* team that had a winning record against Waffletown this year was Vracov, and here we are in a one-n-done playoff series with them gotta stay positive ) Last edited by stl jason; 02-23-2020 at 11:18 AM. |
02-23-2020, 11:05 AM | #352 |
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and my general pessimism comes to fruition as my almost-triple crown winning pitcher gets rocked for 11 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings, while my league leading offense can't buy a hit. Why do I play this game?
Waffletown heads to the off season still dreaming of that elusive first Perfect tier title. |
02-23-2020, 02:15 PM | #354 | |
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I was rooting for ya, so were Joe and Snuffy. My Rube pitched a no hitter Game 1, whatcha gonna do...WC games are no fun.
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02-23-2020, 02:20 PM | #355 | |
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got my eye on a couple possible new additions for next season, should the AH gods feel generous and it all work out... can only afford one of 'em, so we'll see if either one makes an appearance in Waffletown next season |
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02-23-2020, 02:40 PM | #356 | |
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Great season for Snuffy, as far as a platoon guy goes. I had wanted to start training mine at 3b but was too busy with the division race. We would love to make some adds too, as but probably won't have the cheddar next season, as the biggest need now is adding an elite closer.
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Last edited by Orion; 02-23-2020 at 02:41 PM. |
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02-23-2020, 02:51 PM | #357 |
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02-23-2020, 04:42 PM | #358 |
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Angel Fire jumps out to an early 2-0 over the Expos. Montreal counters with game 3 Tim Keefe to stem the tide. Will it be enough?
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02-23-2020, 08:14 PM | #359 |
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Wasting no time in the off season, the GM of Waffletown pulled the trigger to bring aboard a new starting pitcher for next season. Joining the squad:
SP - John Clarkson (99) - 1889 Clarkson will step into the 3rd starter role. Lefty Gomez will shift to the bullpen, where his jump to 128 stuff will hopefully be a boost to the relief staff. Wilcy Moore will be sent to the reserves to make room. Management would like to thank Moore for his 36 years of service to the club. Joining Waffletown in the 2030 season, Moore spent a bulk of his time with the Syrups as a top notch closer and stands as the all-time team leader in saves with 1018. https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/clarkson-john |
02-23-2020, 09:44 PM | #360 |
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Rube Waddell brings home his third Pitcher of the Year award:
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