A tale of two teams

[stl jason]

The sweet scents of success permeate the grounds at The Spile in Waffletown as the Syrups have found their groove. After two sub .500 months in April and May, the band of old timey players started to click in June and finished that month 16-11. As the final games of July approach, Waffletown find themselves sitting atop the NC West division at 55-49, 3 games ahead of the Lajas Pineros. A fantastic month (15-8) has been fueled by the inspired play of Luke Appling (.471 avg over the last 8 games), and the pitching of Red Faber. After a disappointing 2-7 start, he has found his sweet spot (and then some); as the team has been victorious in his last 11 starts; and he has claimed victory in 9 of those.

12/5 points gained: 425

[stl jason]

As the month of August comes to a close and we roll into September, Ghost Hill continues to run in place. They followed their 13-13 month of July with an equally mundane 14-13 month of August; to finish at 69-66, 2 games behind Nashville for the NC West league.

Management finally had enough of the inconsistency from Johnny Cueto and placed him on waivers (up for auction). To replace him on the starting staff, they called up Zach Davies (66). In his only start so far, Davies went 7 innings, giving up 7 hits and 3 runs in a 4-3 victory.

From the sale of iron level players and acquisition of points through play, Ghost Hill managed to amass enough to obtain two more packs. In return they received: 3B - George Kell (76), and RP - Darren O'Day. As Wade Boggs already occupies the hot corner, Kell will replace Marwin Gonzalez on the bench as the utility infielder. Management hopes they can slowly train him to play 1B and get him into the lineup on a regular basis. O'Day replaces Juan Minaya in the bullpen; and hopes to improve an already impressive relief staff (2nd in the league in bullpen ERA).

points gained 12/6: 710

points gained 12/7: 705
pack purchased 12/7: -1000

(2nd pack purchased 12/8 and will be logged with that total)

[stl jason]

The sweet aroma of success at The Spile in July quickly turned to a malodorous stench of atrociousness in August. After a fantastic month where they went 18-8 and were flying high atop the NC West division; the Syrups apparently forgot that the season didn't end after July 31st. The month of August turned into a mirror opposite of July, and they limped to a 9-18 record for the month.

Thankfully, the NC West division continues to be an anemic race. Even after the dismal month, Waffletown finds themselves tied for the division lead with Crippling Depression. Both teams sit at an unimpressive 67-68.

The Waffletown GM continues to scour the rolls of players for sale in the hopes of finding more suitable players and upgrades to help the team get on the right track. He obtained CF - Johnny Frederick (77) for 502 points, in the hopes he would provide a bit more pop from that position (to replace Roy A Thomas). Unfortunately, Frederick is batting a dismal .159 after 24 starts and now finds himself riding the bench as backup to Thomas and the other outfielders.

12/6 points gained: 1100

12/7 points gained: 750
12/7 AH purchase: CF - Johnny Frederick - 1929 (77) - 502 points

[stl jason]

As the regular schedule of the inaugural bronze season comes to a close, the champagne flowed freely in the Ghost Hill clubhouse as the Green Dragons secured the NC West division crown with a 84-78 record. While they only managed a 15-13 record in September, it was good enough to end up on top (as Nashville, the leaders after August, stumbled to an 8-20 record for the final month).

Ghost Hill now prepares for their LDS series matchup with the NC East division champs, the Brooklyn One-Eyed Jacks. The teams met seven times during the regular season, with Ghost Hill taking the series 4 games to 3; but as all baseball fans know, that means absolutely nothing once the post season begins.

For individual performances, Yasiel Puig led the team in home runs (27) and RBIs (95), but his lackluster .226 average left a lot to be desired. Wade Boggs set the pace for batting with his .324 average, with Matty Alou coming in a close second at .318.

On the mound, Clay Buchholz had a fantastic season, ending with a 16-5 record, 3.11 ERA, and 153 strikeouts. Chad Green had an equally strong season on the backend, racking up 42 saves to lead the league in that category.

Special recognition goes to journeyman starter turned reliever, Luis M (Ironman) Castillo. The 57 rated pitcher performed well above expectations with respect to his rank; finishing with a 6-0 record with 1 save, 2.58 ERA, 76.2 IP, 27 BB, 76 K, while holding opposing batters to a .199 average.

12/8 points gained: 1627
pack purchased 12/8: -1000

[stl jason]

While the players tried to maintain an outward expression of cautious optimism, internally the outlook was more pessimistic than not. As the season moved into the final week, Waffletown found themselves in an odd position. They were in first place in the NC West division with a dismal 77-79 record. They clung to a 2 game lead over Crippling Depression. While most teams would feel rather confident being in control of their own destiny, the reason for Waffletown's pessimism lie with their opponents for the final 6 games (and the opponents of their division rivals). Waffletown would face 3 games against Vancouver (final record 121-41) and Hollywood (final record 94-68), both division champs. Crippling Depression would face Philadelphia (final record 65-97; and Roosevelt (final record 57-105).

Waffletown managed to take 2 of 3 games from Vancouver to mirror the performance of their rivals and maintain their 2 game lead with 3 to play. Both teams won again the next day and a small wave of relief washed over The Spile as Waffletown secured at least a tie for the division lead. The next day, Hollywood defeated the Syrups, while Roosevelt was overcome by Crippling Depression to reduce the division lead to 1 game with only 1 game to play.

Waffletown fans traveled to a packed stadium in Hollywood for the final game of the season as the staff ace, Red Faber took the mound to face Patrick Corbin. Hollywood jumped out quickly to score a run in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead. Waffletown would answer (and more) in the top of the third when Allie Clark hammered his team leading 28th home run with 2 men on to give Waffletown a 3-1 lead. Hollywood answered again in the bottom of the 6th, scoring 2 runs to tie the game. For unknown reasons (perhaps to save his starter for the post season), Corbin was pulled from the game after 89 pitches and replaced in the 7th inning with Ryan Butcher.

The Syrups took advantage of the change and scored in the 7th of Butcher, and again in the 8th off Corey Knebel; and again in the 9th off Edubray Ramos to secure the 6-3 victory and lock up the NC West division title.

No doubt, some teams in the Omikron Sigma league will say the Syrups don't deserve a spot in the post season with their 81-81 final record; but the Waffletown players will take it.

"The whole point is to finish one game better than your competition; and that's exactly what we did." Eddie Collins told a reporter as he took a champagne shower.

Waffletown will face those same Hollywood Ripples in the LDS. The teams met six times over the regular season, with Waffletown winning the series 4 games to 2.


12/8 points gained: 1725
12/8 auction purchases: 400 points for CL - Hugh Casey - 1942 (79) (replaces Bob Turley on the staff); and 132 points for 2B/IF - Billy Herman - 1937 (72) (replaces Bud Harrelson)

[stl jason]

Ghost Hill rode their hot hand and pitched Clay Buchholz in game one of the LDS; emerging victorious to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Unfortunately, Brooklyn took control from that point and took down Ghost Hill in three straight games to secure their ticket to the LCS against Kagoshima.

Ghost Hill wishes the One Eyed Jacks good luck the rest of the way and look forward to next year in the Silver League.

[stl jason]

In Waffletown, the Syrups went into the LDS with cautious confidence. They had faced the Ripples of Hollywood six times already in the regular season and defeated them in four of those games. While regular season success doesn't always translate to the post season, it was still a reassuring feeling to know they had defeated their opponents before.

Waffletown jumped out to a 7-4 road victory behind their staff ace Red Faber. Hollywood managed to take game 2 to even up the series. Once back home, the sweet scents of success permeated Waffletown, and they took games 3 and 4 to claim the series three games to one.

"Our record might not reflect it, but this team has a lot of heart. We're better than that and we're ready to show it." shortstop and LDS MVP Luke Appling said during the clubhouse celebration.

Wafflletown will face the winner of the LDS between the Vancouver Wagons and the Pork Chop Express. The Waffletown players will no doubt gain confidence with the knowledge that they had winning records against both clubs during the regular season as well (4-3 against Pork Chop Express; and 4-2 against Vancouver... one of only three teams to have a winning record against the Wagons).

[stl jason]

Waffletown went into the LCS with a small sense of hopefulness that they could continue their winning ways, despite the juggernaut they were about to face in the Vancouver Wagons.

They lost a slugfest in the first game, 12-9.... and then lost a close pitcher's duel 3-1 in game 2.... and then fell behind 3 games to none with a loss in game 3... thing were looking bleak for the Syrups but they reminded themselves they could only win one game at a time, so they put their focus into game 4...

Waffletown pulled out a 7-4 victory in game 4 to avoid the sweep.... and won a nail biter in game 5, taking it 5-4 to narrow the gap to 3-2 as they headed back to Vancouver...

Unfortunately, that's where the luck ran out as Vancouver took game 6 and won the series 4 games to 2.

It was an up-and-down season for Waffletown, but they had plenty to celebrate in their first season; and look forward to building on their success next year in the Silver League.

[stl jason]

The new season is underway and the Ghost Hill Green Dragons find themselves in the Silver Sigma Omikron league in the AC West division. With only 11 games played so far, it's hard to gauge how teams will fare, but with only 1.5 games separating first from last in the division, it could be a dogfight the entire way.

Ghost Hill lineup is relatively unchanged from last season:

CF- Matty Alou (64)
RF - Yasiel Puig (80)
3B - Wade Boggs (86)
SS - Javier Baez (86)
C- Francisco Mejia (81)
DH - David Freese (70)
2B - Ildemaro Vargas (63)
LF - Anthony Alford (73)
1B - Scott Speizio (64)

bench:
C - Kevan Smith (59) - replaces former backup C - Danny Jansen
2B/IF - Mark Bellhorn (69)
3B/IF - George Kell (76)
CF/OF - Kevin Pillar (66)

pitchers:
SP - Clay Buchholz (66)
SP - Jake Arrieta (69)
SP- Zach Davies (66)
SP - Larry Jansen (65)
SP - Garrett Richards (65)
RP - Hal Brown (63)
RP - Nick Pivetta (60)
RP - Luis M (Ironman!) Castillo (57)
RP - Chaz Roe (68)
RP - Darren O'Day (75)
RP - Luis Avilan (76)
CL - Chad Green (80)



12/9 points gained: 560

[stl jason]

After promotion to the silver level, Waffletown finds themselves surrounded by many familiar faces (the 120+ win teams from Aliquippa and Vancouver, Tarkir, Hollywood, and the Pork Chop Express just to name a few of the top teams from last year's bronze level season).

Near the end of the playoffs, the Waffletown GM obtain another new starter to try and improve the squad: SP - Elmer Riddle - 1941 (84) has joined the staff this season (Charlie Robertson has moved to the bullpen to replace Tom Morgan).

With only 11 games played so far in the new season, the Syrups are off to a great start and find themselves atop the NC Central division at 8-3. How long that success will last is anyone's guess, as they find themselves in the same division as Vancouver (who knocked the Syrups out of the post season last year); as well as Tarkir (93 wins last year); and Pork Chop (90 wins last year). The only unknown team is the Scranton Stranglers.

Outside of Elmer Riddle, the Waffletown lineup is unchanged from the end of last season:

2B - Eddie Collins Sr - 1911 (78)
SS - Luke Appling - 1943 (76)
LF - Heinie Manush - 1934 (70)
DH - Allie Clark - 1948 (64)
RF - Paul Waner - 1932 (66)
3B - Pepper Martin - 1933 (73)
CF - Johnny Frederick - 1929 (77)
1B - George H Burns - 1926 (60)
C - Pat Borders - 1992 (62)

bench:
C - Tucker Barnhart - 2018 (64)
2B/IF - Billy Herman - 1937 (72)
3B/IF - Eddie Yost - 1952 (62)
CF/OF - Roy A Thomas - 1901 (72)

pitchers:
SP - Red Faber - 1921 (83)
SP - Elmer Riddle - 1941 (84)
SP - Curt Davis - 1934 (81)
SP - Burleigh Grimes - 1928 (80)
SP - Herb Pennock - 1927 (70)
RP - Larry Jansen - 1947 (65)
RP - Eddie Rommel - 1920 (60)
RP - Charlie Robertson - 1922 (69)
RP - Eddie Lopat - 1950 (67)
RP - Jack Quinn - 1931 (67)
RP - Firpo Marberry - 1926 (60)
CL - Hugh Casey - 1942 (79)


12/9 points gained: 220

[stl jason]

After winning the division in the bronze league with only 84 wins, Ghost Hill knew their time in the silver league would be a challenge. As the month of May rolls into the last week, they find themselves already 9.5 games out and in need of a serious shake up to get things turned around. They limped to an 11-15 record in April and hoped to improve on that in May. With 5 games remaining in May, the best Ghost Hill can hope for is to break even as they currently sit at 10-15 for the month.

The pitching staff as been mediocre at best, with both the starters and the bullpen struggling to find they rhythm. The lone bright spot so far has been the play of Matty Alou at the plate, as he holds the second best average in the AC at .357.

12/10 points gained: 710
12/10 pack purchased: -1000 (no improvements)

[stl jason]

While they moved up from the bronze league to the silver league, Waffletown finds themselves in familiar territory in a manner of speaking... they continue to play their patented style of one-step forward and one-step backwards baseball. After the hot start to begin play, the Syrups came back to reality and ended April with a 12-14 record. They hoped to turn things around quickly in May, but it takes more than just hope to make a difference. Currently they sit at 11-12 for the month with 5 games left to play. If they hope to contend for the division title, they definitely need to improve their play against their divisional opponents; as they own a dismal 9-15 record against them so far.

On the pitching staff, Burleigh Grimes struggled mightily to find his groove; losing his first 6 games before finally tasting victory. Red Faber, Elmer Riddle and Curt Davis have each tallied 5 wins, but their 4+ ERAs leave a bit to be desired.

12/10 points gained: 268

[stl jason]

As the season's halfway mark comes and goes, Ghost Hill management considers changing the team name to the Zombies, as they seem to be staggering through each week (possibly in search of the brains they seem to be lacking). Shockingly enough, the team did have two representatives at the All-Star game (catcher - Francisco Mejia, and third baseman - Wade Boggs).

Outside of those two minor highlights, there hasn't been much to celebrate. A dismal 12-18 May was followed by another unimpressive 12-15 month in June. With 5 games remaining in July, Ghost Hill can't even hope to achieve a break even month with their 7-13 record so far.

Management did acquire enough funds to obtain another mystery pack; but received only a minor change to the bullpen (RP - Jordan Hicks (66) replaces Nick Pivetta).

12/11 points gained: 500
12/12 points gained: 290
12/12 pack purchased: -1000

[stl jason]

In Waffletown, it seems it might be time to tap a new tree as the Syrups have apparently run dry. But perhaps running dry isn't an apt analogy, as they are actually running backwards rather than not running at all. A so-so month of May (13-15) was followed by a horrific month in June (9-18). The team hoped the brief All-Star break would help them restart their season and get on the right track.

(shockingly enough, starting pitcher Red Faber, was selected as the Syrups lone representative at the All-Star game. When he was advised of his selection, he stared back in disbelief. "Who the hell votes for a guy with an 8-9 record?" Faber muttered).

Management hasn't gone out to obtain any new talent as of yet. The only changes has been minor shifts in the lineup. Johnny Frederick has settled into his spot in centerfield, and has been moved into the 3rd hole in the order. His 14 homeruns and 53 rbis are second on the team in both categories (behind cleanup batter Allie Clark in both). Heinie Manush dropped to the 5th spot.

"Management seems to have become rather parsimonious with their funds lately... and I thought Charlie Comiskey was a skinflint." Eddie Collins muttered after a recent 7-2 loss to St Louis.

12/11 points gained: 460
12/12 points gained: 950

[stl jason]

The Green Dragons continue to go through the motions as the final month of their season arrives. At this point, they are simply playing for pride and to try an avoid relegation back to the bronze league (that and to play potential spoiler for any teams still in the playoff hunt). After another dismal month in August (9-19), Ghost Hill sits in the basement of the AC West division (perhaps they can think of themselves as the 'foundation' to make it sound better) with a record of 54-83. Management knew it would be a struggle going with their mystery pack-only option to improve the team, so they are looking to the long term for future success.

There have been some minor bright spots on the team, despite the lackluster overall performance. Second baseman, Ildemaro Vargas (63) has quietly gone about his business to have another solid season. After a partial season last year (59 starts, 235 AB, 5 HR, 32 RBI, /306 avg, 1.3 WAR); he found himself as the opening day starter for this season. He currently sits on a .302 avg (2nd best on the team), with 5 HR, 65 RBIs and a 3.0 WAR.

Third baseman (and utility infielder as he has been training at first base as well this season) George Kell moved from his fill-in roll off the bench into the designated hitter spot; as David Freese and Andrew McCutchen both continue to struggle at the plate. Kell has settled into his role and holds a .304 average (which would be 2nd on the team if he had enough appearances to qualify).

12/13 points gained: 350
12/14 points gained: 1825 (800 points from a 16 K performance from Buchholz)
12/14: 2 packs purchased -2000

one pack provided: Ken Giles - CL (83) - who will replace Jordan Hicks (66) and settle into a setup role for current closer Chad Green

[stl jason]

Like Ghost Hill, the mood in Waffletown is a 'wait-till-next-year' outlook. While they aren't in any danger of relegation, they are solidly mired in 4th place in the NC Central division with a 60-75 record (24 game back of the lead, and 12 games back of 2nd-3rd place).

On the individual performance side, after a lackluster start when he first arrived last season (which relegated him to a bench support role), Johnny Frederick was given another chance to start in center field this year. He has settled in nicely with a .252 average, 19 HRs, and 72 RBIs.

Designated hitter, Allie Clark, continues to be a rock of stability in the cleanup position. After last years performance (.264 avg, 28 HR, 81 RBIs); he is on pace to perhaps surpass all of those this season (.269 avg, 24 HRs, 79 RBIs) as we roll into the final month.

Management continues to sit on their funds as they watch the market for potential player upgrades (4771 points on hand). Manager Joe Shlabotnik talked with the media recently... "I've been helping by watching the market for some quality names like Turkey Gross... Ham Iburg... or hopefully someone like Pickles Dillhoefer."

When asked what he thought of Shlabotink's thoughts on new players for the team, third baseman Pepper Martin gave the reporter a confused look and said... "Players? I thought he was talking about lunch?"

12/13 points gained: 500
12/14 points gained: 1010

[stl jason]

The regular season mercifully came to a close as the Ghost Hill Green Dragons limped to a dismal 67-95 record. Within the AC West division, Ghost Hill actually held their own (ending with a 38-38 record against their divisional opponents), but outside the division they weren't as lucky.

A few bright spots from the season:

-2B - Ildemaro Vargas quietly went about his business to have another solid season at the plate. He finished with 5 HR, 76 RBIs, while batting .309 to lead the team in average. His 3.7 WAR ranked third on the team behind Boggs and Mejia.

- C - Francisco Mejia improved across the board in virtually every category from the 2019 season to 2020. In the same number of games played, he nearly doubled his homerun output (7 in 2019; 12 in 2020), raised his average from .258 in 2019 to .300 in 2020; improved his WAR from 2.3 to 3.8; and improved his fielding from .993 to .995

- the "Ironman", Luis M Castillo had another solid season in the bullpen. Perhaps his iron rating (57) continues to fool the opposition into not taking him seriously. In 2020, he appeared in 41 games, going 1-0 with 1 save, 24 walks, 67 strikeouts and a 2.47 ERA (the lowest ERA on the staff, not including late addition Ken Giles)

- bright spot for the team as a whole: Ghost Hill managed to climb out of the basement to finish one game ahead of Philadelphia (and both teams managed to avoid relegation, assuming the two lowest winning percentages league-wide are dropped, and not one from the AC and one from the NC).

Ghost Hill looks forward to next season in the silver league, and hopes to step up to the challenge to compete for a title.

12/15 points gained: 170

[stl jason]

In Waffletown, they followed their mundane 81-81 division winning season in 2019 with another mundane season in 2020 with a record of 74-88; only this year that dismal record wasn't close to being good enough to win the division as the Syrups ended up in 4th place, 27 games back of the lead.

Bright spots for the team in 2020:

- Johnny Frederick settled into his role as the regular center-fielder as well as the 3rd position in the batting order. He hit 23 homeruns and knocked in 87 runs (good enough for 2nd in each category behind Allie Clark).

- Allie Clark had another solid year in the cleanup position, blasting 27 homeruns and driving in 93 to set the pace for the team.


Before the season ended, management went out and obtained some new blood to try and give the team a boost going into the 2021 season. They picked up first baseman, Bill Terry - 1930 (77), who will replace George H Burns in the starting lineup. Burns will move to the bench as a backup to replace Eddie Yost.


12/15 points gained: 390
12/15 auction purchase: Bill Terry - 1931 (77) - for 700 points

[stl jason]

The third season is only hours away... Ghost Hill finds themselves seeded into the NC East division of the Silver .261 league; and happily discovered they received 500 points overnight to give them enough for another mystery pack. (points obtained from the Platinum Stick award to Francisco Mejia; and the Great Glove award to Anthony Alford (2nd consecutive)).

With the pack Ghost Hill obtained: Ryan Pressley - RP (75). He will join the bullpen for the new season. Hal Brown (63) will move from long relief into the 5th spot in the starting rotation, and Garrett Richards will be sent down to the reserves (after going 16-24 with a 5.53 era over the past 2 seasons)

Along with some familiar faces in the league, Ghost Hill finds themselves opposite another very familiar team - the Waffletown Syrups, who reside across the way in the AC West division.

12/16 points earned: 500
pack purchased -1000

[stl jason]

As we roll into the middle of June, the chatter in the stands at Ghost Hill shifts between 'wait-till-next-year' and 'maybe relegation won't be so bad'. The team got off to a horrible start in April, going 9-16. Hoping to improve on the slow start, they managed an ever-so-slight bump to rack up 11 wins in May (to go with 16 losses). At the mid-point of June, they currently stand at 7-8 for the month to give them a 27-40 record for the year; placing them solidly in the basement of the NC East division (though they have company down there as they are basically tied with the aptly named Crippling Depression).

"Happily" (for some) there are two other teams in the league with worse records, so Ghost Hill is currently safe... barely... from relegation... but there's a long way to go.

Shockingly enough, Ghost Hill leads the league in batting average, but they struggle to put those hits to use (only ranking 10th in runs scored). The starting pitching has been horrendous to the point that former starters Larry Jansen and Hal Brown have both been sent to the reserves and replaced by Bobo Newsom (68) and Alec Mills (67) (formerly a relief pitcher converted to starter). Management hopes the new blood with help spark the team to perform better.

12/17 points gained: 565
12/18 points gained: 1535
2 packs purchased: -2000

from the 2 mystery packs: SP - Bobo Newsom (68) (replaces Larry Jansen); RP/SP - Alec Mills (67) (replaces Hal Brown); SS/IF - Ketel Marte (66) (replaces Mark Bellhorn on the bench)