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Old 09-15-2019, 10:31 AM   #321
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2076 Season (9/18 – 9/20)

Los Angeles Lakers (89-58, .605, 1st NL West) @ San Diego Chargers (71-76, .483, 4th NL West)
The playoffs are slowly starting to slip from the grasp of the “good, but not quite good enough” San Diego Chargers, who at 71-76, find themselves sitting idle at 4th in our division. Theirs is a problem of power, or complete lack thereof at 12th in the HR rankings, and suspect depth in their starting rotation where it’s Burt McElheny, who is a sort of poor mans Ferdinand Loving, and everybody else. McElheny is a sparkplug – he gets the pistons firing – but, if you spark an engine in the woods, does it fire in time? The 30-year old, San Bruno native, with the nasty changeup and serviceable forkball, is out there every 5th day doing his level best to will his team to victory… he’s 15-9 with a 2.98 ERA, 161 K’s, and a 5.2 pWAR. He’s the two-time all-star with a model on each arm – the life of the party, the guy who maximizes every single opportunity that comes his way, an equal opportunity opportunist who will try anything twice. He spent his formative baseball years partying in the Palouse as a Washington State Cougar – binge drinking on Greek row, showing up to his classes still feeling the effects of the previous evening’s escapades – and yet somehow managed to make the Dean’s list in each of his 4 years studying Urban Planning. Here’s a guy who occupied the #5 prospect ranking in 2069, who finished 2nd in RoTY voting during that same season, who has pitched six 3-hitter or better games, and, ever the renaissance man, who owns a chain of “paint n’ sip” establishments aimed at entertaining the bored housewife wine drinking set with mislabeled merlot and finger paints. In short, who really cares about the San Diego Chargers as a unit? Let us just focus on the king of the San Diego underground and enjoy the Burt McElheny experience.

149 of 162: Nat Millard (15-6, 2.83) @ Burt McElheny (15-9, 2.98)
Win, 6-4
. McElheny came out in the top of the 1st like a man without a care in the world – his curve was hanging, his forkball looked like a spoon, and his changeup never really made the type of transformation required to fool Major League level hitters – we, in short order, charged 3 to his account and never really looked back from there. It did, however, come at a cost as we lost Nat to an undisclosed injury after facing only one batter in the bottom of the second and also lost 1B Ian Hanan due to a brutal collision at 2nd base. Lonzo hit a 2-run double, Rudolf got his 23rd save, Ash got his 4th hold, we stole three bags (Lonzo, Otto, Marshburn), and completed 3 double plays. All in a day’s work.

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Note: 1B Ian Hanan is out for 4-5 weeks with a strained hamstring, Rudolf is considered DtD for the next three weeks with a sore shoulder – and, fortunately, Nat’s injury was not serious – a strained oblique – he should be available for his next start.

150 of 162: Lee Myers (14-6, 3.91) @ Reed Pirelli (6-4, 3.30)
Loss, 11-4
. The Chargers got to us early and often in this one – 6 charged to Myers (with another two getting across due to an error committed by SS Larry Williams), and 3 going against Olston who looked like doo-doo water in relief. When we finally woke up in the top of the 9th – where we’d put 3 runs on the board – it was already too late, the damage had been done… 2B Justin Cobb drives in three against us, LF Travis Scharmer scores twice on us… you get the picture, we got caught by a bad one here.

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Elsewhere… the San Jose Sharks won their first-round series against the Newport Beach Gypsies in the International League playoffs. Golden State prospect, SP Reece White, struck out 8 in the closeout game. They’ll advance to take on the Salem Silverbacks who earned a first-round bye during the regular season, due, in large part, to the play of SP Riley Valentine, who, coincidentally is currently biding his time on the Big Club since the rosters expanded where he has pitched 4 innings, allowed only 1 run, and has earned 7 K’s.

151 of 162: Newton Weiser (5-6, 4.58) @ Aden Grey (9-9, 5.01)
Win, 8-7
. This was far from a pitcher’s duel – Newton looked terrible as he gave up 7 runs in only 5.1 innings (his ERA is not a poor 5.06), but our offense was cooking and Barbaccia earned his 25th save of the year. Austin Rollins, who is once again manning 1B with Hanan out, went 5 for 5 with two doubles, a homer, 3 RBIs, and 3 runs, and Oh Hong, getting the start at DH today, responded with a 3 for 4 performance with 2 RBI and a run. Otto went 0 for 5 with 4 K’s, Ethan scored twice, Lonzo gets his 35th steal and contributes an outfield assist. With this win, we are now 19-19 in 1-run games.

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Elsewhere… Jacksonville & Phoenix both secured playoff bids today – the two teams I like the least… in the Bush League, the Naperville Nibblers become the first club to secure a playoff spot, while Decatur, Coney Island, and Columbia were all eliminated…. Orlando City’s CF Masaharu Watanabe still has a comfortable lead in strikeouts in the Majors, but Otto has started to make his move – and after whiffing 4-times in our last contest has moved to 2nd in the league with 162 K’s on the year… and we get a much-needed day off before welcome the Timberwolves to town for a 3-game set – it’s getting close to the end y’all…
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Old 09-15-2019, 02:54 PM   #322
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2076 Season (9/22 – 9/24)

Minnesota Timberwolves (69-80, .463, 5th NL West) @ Los Angeles Lakers (91-59, .607, 1st NL West)
After our last meeting, a disastrous 2-1 series loss in Minneapolis, we fell to 9-4 in H2H matchups this year – we still own these guys, sure, but our domination of them is less thorough than it once was. The truth is – Minnesota is a tough team to beat, a team that is getting better incrementally each time out, and, if styles make fights, as they say, their style is built to give us fits. Not unlike the Phoenix Suns, we have a hard time getting comfortable against these guys, and while we have won 9 of our 13 contests – many were hard-fought games that could have went either way. Shawna has laid the foundation, the interior is starting to take shape, the floor plan looks well designed, and it’s getting close to the step where she and her brain trust start filling its shelves and bringing this thing to life. At 20th in Payroll and 4th in merchandise sales – the Timberwolves are flush with enough cash to make a splash in the free agency pool – not a cannonball, mind you, but a splash nonetheless. If they don’t – they may find that the goodwill paid to them by their hometown fans will come due and that it will require a lot more than novelty to stay current on the rent due to occupy a small space in their sports fan heart.

152 of 162: Braylen Shively (5-9, 5.14) @ Dejuan Burns (16-8, 3.45)
Win, 10-2
. It’s a new day rising – Dejuan goes the distance, allows only 2 to plate, and 1B Austin Rollins hits two bombs and scores three times. 2-RBI for Ethan & Newman, Rajkumar gets an RBI double and scores, Otto scored & didn’t strike out, we’d get a couple of steals, and 3 double plays – on a partly cloudy evening where the wind was blowing out to right at 8 MPH, the star-studded La La’s brought their own sunshine and aimed it right into the eye’s of Shawna’s T’Wolves. Round 1 goes to the good guys.

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Elsewhere… the Philadelphia 76ers officially claimed the NL East Division Championship, it’s their 15th divisional crown… LF Richard Beverage went 4 for 4 with an RBI and 3 runs in the Salem Silverbacks 11-6 game 1 victory over the San Jose Sharks – here’s a guy who I didn’t know existed with a name that makes me laugh (oh the possibilities), unfortunately, his potential tops out at 33, which usually means he might be good for a season or two in the bigs before taking his talents to the Bush League…

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153 of 162: Adrian Hollyfield (5-6, 6.56) @ Michael Brisk (16-7, 3.50)
Win, 2-1
. We’d score two in the bottom of the 1st and then hold on for dear life in this one – Brisky looked good gave up one earned & K’d 8, Barbaccia gets his 26th save, and Ethan completes an OF assist & swipes a bag. This one clocked in at a crisp 2:26 – so, even though it was boring, we didn’t keep the fans around long enough for too many of them to fall asleep.

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154 of 162: Gregory Highman (7-16, 4.85) @ Nat Millard (15-6, 2.81)
Loss, 12-4
. So, maybe there was more to Nat’s nagging injury than we thought – he didn’t even make it out of the top of the 1st in this one as he gave up 6 runs on 40 pitches before handing it off to the pen… this game was not amongst our finest moments – 4 errors, a passed ball, and all-around poor effort from the club today. But, let’s give credit where credit is due… the club from Minnesota decided that it wasn’t funny anymore, walked up to the plate in the top of the 1st and smacked us in the mouth – leaving us confused and off-balance for the remainder of the game. Unlike last night, this one lasted 3 ˝ hours – not that it matters, though, as most of our fans left after the 4th inning. Los Angelinos have no love for a loser. Had they stayed, they would’ve seen Otto put two out of the park – but, whatever, I doubt any of the jaded wannabe movie stars that make up our usual crowd would’ve cared anyway.

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Elsewhere… the Hagerstown Hummers have officially earned a bid into the Bush League Playoffs – let’s hope they go far enough for us to see Postseason Bae. And, up next for the La La’s is a visit from the Suns, who are 4-6 in their last 10 and without Gerhold – we currently have an 8-game lead on the snakebit club from Arizona, and given their continued injury problems, we don’t expect that to change much.
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Old 09-15-2019, 06:40 PM   #323
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2076 Season (9/25 – 9/27)

Phoenix Suns (85-68, .556, 2nd NL West) @ Los Angeles Lakers (93-60, .608, 1st NL West)
Prior to the injury that has SS Ray Gerhold sidelined until at least the 2nd round of the playoffs, if asked, I would’ve identified the Suns as the team that I feared the most in the postseason. They are the only team in the Majors that has a winning record against us, and, when we play, they have a knack for keeping us off balance and putting us in a position to make mistakes. They’ve been in our head… occupying a studio apartment beneath the abode where we house our self-confidence… sounds of their loud hammering can be heard at all hours of the night, they’ve not paid the rent we are due, and everything we’ve tried to do in order to evict them has failed – they’re the baseball equivalent of Michael Keaton’s character in Pacific Heights. The problem here, as I see it, is that if we are forced to play Matthew Modine’s character in the same film, we’ll need more than a super-sleuth wife of Melanie Griffith’s caliber to survive the ol’ golf club to the head gambit. Heck, even without Gerhold, these guys are formidable – and, if I’m being honest, this should be their year… we are only ahead of schedule by virtue of them being perpetually injured. We have an opportunity for some get back here – to turn back the league’s top offense while it is without its lynchpin – and even if a series win here will feel like it is incomplete due to Ray’s absence, it won’t stop us from partying like we won the whole thing if we do. We want this monkey off our back – and we don’t really care how we get that accomplished.

155 of 162: Patrick Keith (9-2, 1.90) @ Lee Myers (14-7, 4.08)
Loss, 5-4
. And so it goes… same as it ever was. The Suns take game one in extras – on a solo HR for Maddox Whalen off of former Sun, Ash Newman… Keith gave up 4 in 8, Myers only allowed 2 in 6, and Kwaku went 2 for 4 with a HR and 2 runs… 3 HRs for Phoenix for the contest – we’d hit two of our own (Otto & Kwaku), Lonzo stole his 36th, and Barbaccia blew his 4th save before Ash served up the beach ball that led to the game-winning homer. This one stings… it starting to feel like this rivalry isn’t really a rivalry at all – instead, it’s just the Suns dismantling us every time we get together for a friendly game of baseball.

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Elsewhere… WOW. OOTP is really messing with me right now – word is that 2B Heathcote Kinton may be out for the season after colliding with a player at 3rd and tearing a ligament in his thumb – it’s looking like 3-months of rehab for him. In September, the MLB has now lost the top two WAR leaders in the league for the rest of the season. Crazy. If Josiah ends up on the IL before the playoffs are completed – we riot. Also, Jacksonville clinched their division and the Impact secured a Wildcard spot.

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156 of 162: Julen Morales (13-8, 4.33) @ Newton Weiser (5-6, 5.06)
Win, 6-1
. Newton Weiser gives us a complete game, 6-hit, 1-run performance, and practically wills the La La’s to victory here – this is his first CG in the Majors… that’s called having a flair for the dramatic. Rollins went 2 for 2 with a double, a homer, 4 RBI, and a run… Lonzo Gonzo scored twice and swiped a bag, Kwaku hits a 2-out RBI, Rollins hit a SAC FLY, and Otto was hit by a pitch – he was injured on the play (of course), so Nasty Nashy came in as a pinch-runner and scored – because that’s what that guy does. Not sure as to the severity of Otto’s injury, I’m almost afraid to move ahead by a day, but if it’s in keeping with the recent injury trends of this verse then it’ll be a career-ender.

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Note: He’s fine – was just being a baby, our star has a tendency to behave as if he is as fragile as a flower… Also, we won the NL West – take that Phoenix – not this season, Satan.

157 of 162: Bentley Hawkins (12-11, 4.56) @ Dejuan Burns (17-8, 3.39)
Loss, 7-0
. Frustrating, that’s what this is… we just can’t dial these guys in. Bentley Hawkins played us like a yo-yo in this one – he walked the dog, went around the world – you name it – and hung a complete game 7-hit shutout around our necks. Burns gave up 6, all of our players sucked, our skipper sucked, our fans sucked, the weather sucked, it was smoggy out, I couldn’t get my jetpack to start on my way home and had to use my rocket shoes instead – NOTHING WORKED OUT FOR THE LA LA’S TONIGHT. Don’t worry though, guys, I called my accountant – she’s pulling my money out, in small denominations, and meeting me at the airport with a new identity, passport, the whole nine… I’m getting out of dodge, heading to Costa Rica, buying a small bungalow, and am going to spend my days playing Neil Young covers on my ukulele from my hammock while wearing nothing but a sun visor and a jockstrap. Life will be great in Costa Rica, the coconuts are free (or, so I've been told).

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The good news… Pepper is back and will be on the roster for our two-game parlay against the Whitecaps. The bad news… obviously, we can’t beat Phoenix. The cool news… Pittsburgh’s Tony Voorhis won the PoTW award in the NL – love that guy, I think I might make a run at him in the off-season – can you imagine a Voorhis-Otto-Ethan outfield? Maybe I can loose Lonzo & Nat in the deal and come out of it with Tony and a low-key bottom half of the rotation type prospect. I’d do it for that.

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Old 09-16-2019, 10:00 PM   #324
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2076 Season (9/29 – 9/30)

Vancouver Whitecaps (77-79, .494, 3rd NL West) @ Los Angeles Lakers (94-62, .603, 1st NL West)
The Whitecaps playoff prospects look solid – they have two against us (could go either way… we’re 8-7 against them) and four against the Minnesota Timberwolves (could go either way… they’re 6-7 against them). Solid, in this case, doesn’t necessarily mean good – they have their work cut out for them here and at 4-6 over their last 10, something will have to give if they are to navigate this stretch successfully. Or, more likely, a lot of little things will have to give – they’ll need LF Arthur Grant to add to his 24 total HRs, they’ll also need Bill Marvin to keep hitters off-balance deep into the game so that they don’t have to call on their bullpen (12th in BP ERA), and they’ll definitely need Adam Gunter to add to his 206 K’s. Basically, if they want to earn a ticket to the dance, they’ll need to get themselves all gussied up and convince someone to extend them an invite.

158 of 162: Bill Marvin (11-10, 2.74) @ Michael Brisk (17-7, 3.43)
Loss, 2-1
. Put a check next to Bill Marvin’s name – he went deep (8-strong), kept it close (only 1 allowed), and kept the hitters off-balance (6 total hits). Great effort from their Ace when nothing else would suffice… Brisky, obviously, did not fare as well – he gave us 6.2 and gave up 2 runs. PEPPER went 3 for 4 and his solo HR was the only score we had – a one-man show for us here. Otto & Ethan combined to go 1 for 8, Kwaku committed an error, Ethan got caught trying to steal a bag, and, as a team, we stranded 6 runners – we had some opportunities, but in keeping with recent trends, declined to capitalize on any of them.

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159 of 162: Steve Unger (11-12, 4.40) @ Nat Millard (15-7, 3.06)
Loss, 5-0
. Anything Bill Marvin can do, Steve Unger can do better. Did he go deep? Yeah – deeper, actually… your boy scored a CG. Did he keep it close? Yeah – I mean, he pitched a shut out, is that close enough? Did he keep the hitters off-balance? Well, I’m not sure about where you’re from, but around here 7 total hits and 6 K’s makes folks look noodle-legged. Nat – well, not so much… he gave us 6 with 8 hits, 3 runs, and 5 K’s. SMH… I’ll make sure not to put this series on my resume. Otto, Rollins, and Mullens combined to go 0 for 12, Cooke committed an error, and Newman got caught trying to steal a bag. Déjŕ vu much?

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Elsewhere, sorta… Some good news for the La La’s… it seems that everyone’s favorite Laker, SP Michael Brisk, won the NL Pitcher of the Month award. Brisky went 5-1 with 36 K’s and a 1.76 ERA over the 46 innings he pitched in September. Also, Seattle’s 1B Frodo Gonzales won the AL RoTM honors – it seems that everyone’s favorite 6’2” hobbit is starting to get his bearings despite being so far from home. And, finally, in Bush League news – the Hagerstown Hummers defeated the Quincy Quackers by a score of 7-0 to advance to Round 2 where they will face the Naperville Nibblers in a best of 5 series. Bae is still about one week out from returning – let’s hope he makes it back in time.

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Old 09-17-2019, 11:10 AM   #325
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2076 Season (10/1 – 10/4)

San Francisco 49ers (74-84, .468, 5th NL West) @ Los Angeles Lakers (94-64, .595, 1st NL West)
The injury bug has stormed through the 49er’s clubhouse like an agent of chaos - in fact, said bug has been busy throughout the Strangeverse all season, robbing us of some of our most interesting talents, not content to allow the cream to simply rise to the top. While injuries are never great, they don’t always have to be bad - at least at the club level, where teams like the 49ers will be getting healthy at nearly the same time, they are drafting some college superstar with a top ten draft pick next year. So, on a club where potential, even if that potential had a likely 2nd round ceiling, has gone unfulfilled taking a run at it in 2077 with a restocked development system becomes a real ‘making lemonade out of lemons’ situation. They’re down now, patiently taking their standing 8-count while their internal infirmary is operating at maximum capacity, and looking forward to the championship rounds, where, in 2077, they may be able to pull this thing off again. That is the message they are putting out into the universe, anyway, the company line - delivered with an undercurrent of frivolity - because even the most hardcore fan knows that this isn’t easy and that you can do almost everything right and still end up wrong. Sometimes you have to take two to give one, and sometimes one of the two you take just knocks you out.

159 of 162: Jerome Tucker (7-16, 4.87) @ Lee Myers (14-7, 4.05)
Note… somewhere along the line, I messed up my game count – wishful thinking, I suppose.
Loss, 3-1. Lee Myers gave up 2 runs over 5 innings of work, and an error by Pepper led to a 3rd. Otto woke up – 2 for 4 with a HR, but it was San Francisco’s SS Tony Zepeda who was the difference-maker – his solo HR in the 3rd put the 49er’s up for good. Mullens also got caught stealing – again – he’s now 0 for 2 in his last two attempts.

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Elsewhere… the Vancouver lost to Minnesota by a score of 1-0, leaving the door slightly ajar for San Diego & Brooklyn.

160 of 162: Kent Miller (1-9, 6.48) @ Newton Weiser (6-6, 4.65)
Win, 3-2
. Weiser gives us 7, allows 2 runs, and K’s 9 in the win & Dom Cooke hit a 3-run homer that would prove to be all we needed to get our first win in our last 5 tries. Otto earned steal #43, we fielded two double plays, and no one committed an error – we’ll take it, something to build off of…

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Elsewhere… the Chicago Fire & Vancouver Whitecaps secured wild card bids. There is one spot left in the NL (Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, and San Diego are in the hunt) and 4 spots left in the AL where 6 teams still have a shot at it. Sad news out of the Bush League… SP Adrian Bae, fresh off the IL, has been released by the Hagerstown Hummers. Heartless.

161 of 162: Jan Hernandez (7-3, 2.60) @ Dejuan Burns (17-9, 3.55)
Win, 10-1
. Finally, a breakout performance for the La La’s. Dejuan Burns gave us 6 innings of shut out baseball, RF Rajkumar Kosciusko, one of our more solid prospects, went 2 for 4 with a HR and 3 RBI, and Nashty Nash Aguilar, who recently shaved off his mustache, went 1 for 1 with a HR and 2 RBI as a late PH. Pepper also hit one out, Otto stole another bag (Lonzo got caught trying to do the same), and RP Logan Elsinger got a 3-inning, 32 pitch save – it was his first of the year.

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Elsewhere… The Pittsburgh Steelers secured the final playoff spot in the NL – which means that the San Diego Chargers did not. The tight AL is still up in the air.

162 of 162: Lenard Henos (8-5, 4.42) @ Michael Brisk (17-8, 3.41)
Win, 4-3
. We end the 2076 campaign on a 3-game winning streak – nice. Brisky’s final regular-season effort is a good one – 7 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned, and 6 K’s. Barbaccia picked up his 28th save, Otto finishes the season at 37 homers, and we manage to complete two double plays. A couple of small areas of concern – Ash got the hold here but gave up a run (solo blast), and Barbaccia’s save included a solo HR against him. We’ll need them to tighten it up.

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Elsewhere… the LA Galaxy won the AL West with an 83-79 record… the New York Jets clinched a Wild Card berth – nice to see Hamza in the postseason, and the Seattle Sounders won a play-in game against the Toronto Reds BC for the last playoff spot in the AL by a score of 13-5. Frodo Gonzalez, rookie extraordinaire, went 3 for 6 with a double, 3 RBI, and 3 runs for the game. And, lastly – Michael Brisk & Dejuan Burns tied for the National League lead in wins for 2076 at 18 each. Cliff Slavinski, of the New York Jets, won 19 in the American League.

The 2076 playoff bracket is attached below… a couple of notes… we will either face Phoenix or Philadelphia (if we face either) but cannot face both – lucky. We finished 5-2 against Montreal in the regular season – we like that matchup – and finished 8-9 against the Whitecaps, we would rather not see them if possible. The smart money is on a Jacksonville-Philadelphia World Series, with Philly taking the crown – let’s see if we can win one for the dreamers.
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Old 09-17-2019, 11:37 AM   #326
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Some 2076 statistics…

Batters; notes: Heathkote Kinton finished at an 8.8 WAR – he’s out for the season, unfortunately, so we will never know what he could have done in the postseason for the Galaxy. Our own Austin Rollins finished with a league-leading 122 RBIs…CF Masaharu Watanabe, of the Orlando City, was able to hold off a late charge by Otto to secure the dubious honor of striking out more than any other player. LF Palmer Parker had the most EBH by a sizable margin, with our own Austin Rollins coming in a distant 2nd…

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Pitching; notes: SP Landon Sampson cleaned house for a struggling team… and SP Jake Payne, of the Chicago Fire, got teed off on often – he leads the league in HRA at 36… and, Vancouver SP, Adam Gunter, was the most charitable of all pitchers, leading the league in free passes at 115.

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Old 09-17-2019, 12:36 PM   #327
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2076 Playoffs

Wild Card Series Notes:
The Carolina Panthers beat the New York Jets 2-1, they’ll move on to face the Los Angeles Galaxy. The Panthers finished 4-3 in head-to-head matchups with the Galaxy – expect a closely contested series. 1B Pablo Madera won the Series MVP – the current AL batting champ went 5 for 9 with 3 HRs and 6 RBI in the series… Hamza went 1 for 11 and was a non-factor.

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The Chicago Fire earned the right to face the Jacksonville Jaguars with a 2-1 series win against the Seattle Sounders – Frodo went 3 for 11 with 2 HRs and 4 RBI in the losing effort… his is a bright future, and C Johnny Alvarez won the series MVP with a 6 for 10 performance where he added a homer and 4 RBI – the 2nd overall pick of the 2074 draft is well on his way to becoming the superstar that many in the Chicago organization pegged him for.

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The Vancouver Whitecaps will meet us in Los Angeles next after dispatching the Montreal Impact 2-1 in their wild card series – SS and former Laker, Sammie Fregoso had the series of a lifetime in a losing effort… he finished 6 of 11 with 3 RBI for the set, and RF Reading Minor, a slightly above replacement level performer during the regular season, took home the series MVP honor off of a 7 for 11 performance with 2 HR and 3 RBI – something for us to look forward to, I guess…

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Phoenix’s SS Jess Alford punished the Pittsburgh Steelers over two games to lead the Suns to a 2-0 victory in the Wild Card Series – he finished 5 for 9, with a HR and 3 RBI. Alford, you may recall, came to Phoenix via trade in 2074 and has slowly worked his way into a solid everyday player (a stellar defender with an OK bat), even if he did finish the season at a 0.1 WAR. The former Nittany Lion will look to build on this performance in 2077.

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Old 09-17-2019, 07:30 PM   #328
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2076 Playoffs (10/13 – 10/21; or hopefully shorter)

Vancouver Whitecaps @ Los Angeles Lakers
We are 8-9 against the Whitecaps in 2076 – they play us tough. We don’t expect that to change in this series… it will be a dog fight, or, at least, that is our mentality heading into it. There really isn’t much left to be said – this is what we play the game for… the chance to make it to the World Series, and, ultimately win it. Obviously, meeting Vancouver in the divisional round isn’t necessarily ideal for us, as I said – they play us tough – but it is a challenge that we should be up for. After coming so close last year, losing a gut-wrenching Game 7 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the general consensus is that our time is now – unless, of course, you ask anyone outside of our fanbase and organization… if you extended your query outside of these friendly confines the answer would, unanimously, be Philadelphia. And that’s good – we need that, we need to play with that underdog mentality and a chip on our shoulder. If we can’t muster at least that – well, then we never had a chance anyway.

Game 1: Bill Marvin @ Nat Millard
Win, 5-4
. A strong showing here for the La La’s, as we were able to ride a 5-run bottom of the 4th all the way to victory. Nat continues to be serviceable – he’s not been what we thought he would be lately, but he got the job done here – 6.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, and 4 K’s four our “Ace”. Kwaku Kwaku, batting 8th in a surprise Game 1 start, went 1 for 3 with a 3-run HR, Otto put one out, Ethan went 2 for 4 with a double, and we got caught stealing twice (yikes… Ethan & Mario’s tires need better tread it seems). Newman struck out the only batter he faced, Barbaccia got into some trouble (he left two on base when we turned the ball over to Rudolf), and Caldwell threw 3 total pitches to earn the final two outs and earned his first postseason save in a Laker's kit.

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Elsewhere… Phoenix took game one over Philadelphia by a score of 7-3 after finally getting to Josiah late in the ballgame… Weber gave up 4 for the game while SP Patrick Keith (PHX) only allows 3 to plate – with two of those coming by way of a monstrous 2-run homer courtesy of Palmer Parker. I expect this series to be a 7-game dog fight, no doubt.

Game 2: Adam Gunter @ Dejuan Burns
Win, 2-0
. A nice, timely shutout to take the commanding 2-0 lead… Dejuan gets it done over 6 innings of work (he allowed three to get across), Austin Rollins went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI and a run, and PEPPER finished at 2 for 4 with a 3-run HOMER in the 5th. Barbaccia flubbed another save, leading to Rudolf having another opportunity to save the day – he notched his second save of the postseason (though this one required 13 pitches – he allows two hits and struck two out). Lonzo Gonzo went 3 for 5 with 2 runs (he also jacked a bag), we left 11 runners stranded (we will need to be better than that in Vancouver BC), and Kwaku went from hero to zero as he committed our first error of the postseason.

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Elsewhere: Phoenix shuts out Philadelphia in game two – Julen Morales (FORMER LAKER) delivered a CG shutout. They’ll take their commanding 2-0 lead back to Phoenix for a couple of games… they got Philly against the ropes here. Jacksonville walked the Chicago Fire off in the bottom of the 13th to take a 1-0 lead in their series – unheralded also-ran, SS Craig Ramis, drove in the winning run (which is undoubtedly the best moment of his life – including the time he married Miss Wisconsin in 2072 (and I say that because they are no longer married – seems he liked Miss Michigan better)) for the Jaguars. And, lastly… the LA Galaxy charged 10 runs to the Carolina Panthers account, winning Game 1 of their series by a score of 10-6. Carolina RP, Al Bundy, gave up 5 late runs in 2-innings of work – he’s a long way from the glory days at Polk Community College. Carolina & Chicago both got revenge in game two, both series are tied 1-1 after the dust settled…

Sidenote: Ian Hanan is looking good for a return. Hopefully, he won’t be rusty, we could use his stick right about now. We won’t start him straight away, or at least I think we won’t – my skipper has a mind of his own at times, so nothing is 100% off the table.

Game 3: Michael Brisk @ Steve Unger
Loss, 3-2
. Ouch. Brisky allowed 2 runs and Barbaccia – Mr. Undependable – allowed the only one that mattered as his malfeasance on the mound gets us walked off in the bottom of the 9th… OK, well, not exactly… see what had happened was he left a guy on base when he handed it off to Rudolf, who promptly shows everyone that, he too, can be terrible at pitching. How do you run the closer by committee playbook when both of your “Closers” can’t get the deal signed – 2nd place is a set of steak knives, 3rd place? YOU’RE FIRED. Also, Lonzo put one out of the park – so, I’ll leave you with something to kind of feel good about.

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Elsewhere… Ruh-roh – Phoenix continues to wreck Philadelphia’s poetic run in the tricentennial season… and are now up 3-0 after securing a 7-4 victory at home.

Game 4: Lee Myers @ Jake Renfer
Win, 5-2
. We are on the cusp, as they say – Lee Myers, Penbrook PA’s favorite son, gave us 7 solid ones and allowed only a single run on 5 total hits and PEPPER continues to shine with a 2 for 4 performance that includes a double, a homer, 3 RBI, and a run… Mullens drove in two, Otto scored, Rollins did too, Marshburn stole a base, and Caldwell, the game two pariah, secured his 3rd save of the postseason (Barbaccia still sucked though – allowing an Arthur Grant home run in the bottom of the 9th… not sure why my Skipper keeps insisting on trotting him out there).

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Elsewhere… Phoenix swept Philly, and I officially hate this game you guys. Chicago shut the Jags out, 6-0, and take a 2-1 lead in their series… the LA Galaxy scored in the top of the 9th and held on for dear life against the Panthers in their 4-3 win to take a 2-1 lead in that series.

Game 5: Nat Millard (1-0, 5.40) @ Bill Marvin (0-1, 5.91)
Win, 5-3
. We did it… but now we must face my old nemesis… the Phoenix Suns. Gut check time is just around the corner. Nat goes 7, finally gets past the 6th here, allowing only 3 to plate and Austin Rollings got us going in the 4th with an RBI and a run in that frame. The old man (he’s only 30, but I see some gray hairs in that goatee) still has it. Lonzo & Ethan steal a bag each, Otto drives one in and scores, Dontrell Gay hit a double (he drove one in on it), and Barbaccia, the place where saves go to die, actually earned a 2-inning save (his 1st of the postseason) on 21 pitches… we’ll need a lot more of this from our $9.5 million-dollar man if he has any hope of not getting traded during the Winter Meetings.

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Elsewhere… Chicago bounced the defending champion Jaguars out of the playoffs, winning their series 4 to 1. With Jacksonville and Philadelphia out of the mix, this thing is now as wide open as it gets… the LA Galaxy, without the services of Heathcote Kinton, managed to get past Carolina in 6 games – fromer Laker, SP Case Tunnell, struck out 7 in the deciding game. Note: Adrian Bae never threw a single pitch for Carolina… adding insult to injury (literally), the Hagerstown Hummers defeated the Nolanville ‘Nauts in 7-games to take home the Bush League Championship. Without him. Let that sink in a minute… OOTP is a cruel, cruel world y’all – and I love it. So – it’s LAG v CHI and LAL v PHX in the League Championship Series…

Series MVP’s… SS Shifty Culp (LAG), SS Joshua Norman (CHI), PEPPER (LAL), and 3B Homer Wingard (PHX) took home the hardware for their efforts.
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Old 09-17-2019, 10:34 PM   #329
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2076 Playoffs (10/22 – 10/30ish)

Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Lakers
Phoenix, at 10-7 against us, is one of only two teams that we have a losing record against in 2076. The other team was the Vancouver Whitecaps… you saw how that went for them. Obviously, I’m kidding – this series will be a tough one, for sure, and if we lose it then my days as the Los Angeles Lakers GM will most assuredly be kaput. Not that there is any shame in losing to the Suns – this is easily the hottest team in baseball, they seem to have peaked at the perfect time, with the #1 ranked offense in all of baseball and a pitching staff that is ranked a respectable 5th in the National League. This is respectable because their staff hasn’t been completely healthy all season – until very recently, that is. So, my most hated rival, peaking at the perfect time, is headed our way with a winning record against us in 2076 and with a trip to the World Series on the line. What could go wrong? I’m not worried – seriously… we got this. Easy. I mean, c’mon – what me worry? Never.

LCS Game 1: Patrick Keith (2-0, 2.45) @ Dejuan Burns (1-0, 4.05)
Loss, 7-2
. Crushed, at home, in front of all we know & love. Dejuan gave up 5 runs in 2 innings, Newton performed admirably in relief – he allowed 1 run to plate over 5.1 innings – and, unfortunately for Phoenix Patrick Keith left with an undisclosed injury. We’d get only 6 total hits in this one, an error out of Mullens, and strike out 7 times as a team – Phoenix is in our heads, it’s that simple. And, oh yeah – almost forgot – Ray Gerhold went 3 for 5 with 3 RBI. So, that’s awesome.

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LCS Game 2: Julen Morales (2-0, 1.76) @ Nat Millard (2-0, 4.61)
Loss, 5-2
. Phoenix has now won 8 straight postseason games. EIGHT. Jason Bland went 2 for 4 with a double and a HR against us, and Julen allowed only two runs over 7 innings of work. Nat was solid through 6 – only 3 hits and 1 earned, but the Barbaccia/Caldwell dynamic duo strikes again – they gave up four runs in the 8th and 9th to hand this one over to the Suns with ZERO resistance.

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LCS Game 3: Michael Brisk (0-0, 2.57) @ Cam Murphy (1-0, 2.45)
Win, 11-4
. Brisky gave up 4 runs over 8 innings and Weiser closed the show, only giving up one hit over two innings of work. Lonzo scores, Otto brought two in (one on a double), Rajkumar scores twice, as do Williams & Marshburn, we steal two bags, and we'd complete FIVE double-plays (we also got an outfield assist). This was the effort we’ve been looking for.

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LCS Game 4: Lee Myers (1-0, 1.29) @ Liam Anderson (1-0, 2.57)
Win, 7-6
. We tied up the series in a gutsy extra-innings win – Austin Rollins was the star of the show – 3 for 4, two doubles, 2 RBI, and 2 walks… and Larry Williams hit the 2-run double that ended up being the difference-maker for us. Lonzo went 4 for 6 with a run, Otto struck out 3 times (is he just an Alex Rodriguez clone? He disappeared in the playoffs last year – particularly in the World Series, so…), PEPPER also struck out three times, Dom plates twice, and we turn 3 ferocious double plays. Of note: Barbaccia blew the save, Caldwell wasn’t much better – but somehow ends up with the win, his first of the postseason. These guys, man. Straight clown shoes.

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LCS Game 5: Dejuan Burns (1-1, 8.31) @ Julen Morales (3-0, 2.01)
Win, 4-2
. Dejuan bounces back nicely from his crushing game one defeat with a 7-inning, 6-hit, 2 earned performance and manages to outduel Julen who gave up 4 over the same stretch. Barbaccia gave up two hits and posted a 0.0 IP, 2 H night – that’s pretty nifty, it only took him 6 pitches to make that happen – efficient… and Caldwell, someway, somehow, earns his 4th save of the postseason. Wow – they do like to take my emotions on a journey, don’t they? Otto scored, two RBI for Dom, Dontrelle got pegged by a wayward pitch, and we put another double play on the board. Heading back home now with a 3-2 series lead against the Suns – neither team has won a home game in this series yet, so I’m not sure if the trip back to LA is good or bad.

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I tend to smash through the playoffs quickly – I’m just way too impatient to take my time in the postseason. So, I’ll now force myself to step away and pick up this series tomorrow after work (I could seriously keep going all the way through the Winter Meetings tonight if I gave into this OOTP obsession)… incidentally, the LA Galaxy are up 3 to 1 on the Fire – we could have an improbable Los Angeles versus Los Angeles series on our hands… if we are lucky.
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Old 09-19-2019, 09:45 AM   #330
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2076 Playoffs (10/22 – 10/30ish, continued)

Phoenix Suns (8-3, On Road: 5-0) @ Los Angeles Lakers (7-3, At Home: 2-2)
Winning a 7-game series where you are ahead by three games to two has a 68.3% chance of happening based on historical outcomes. Seems good. Interestingly, 80% of teams that take a 2-0 lead in a 7-game series go on to win. And, even more interesting, is the fact that teams who fail to capitalize on a 3-2 series lead, and drop game 6, experience a 20% decrease in the probability that they will win the series. Needless to say, game 6, at home, against Phoenix is the most important game we will have played thus far in 2076. Of the top five teams in the final Power Ranking of the 2076 season, only ourselves and Phoenix remain - Jacksonville, Philadelphia, and Montreal have each been unceremoniously dispatched - so, many Strangeverse pundits see this as a battle of the eventual champion. Of course, that is all poppycock, nonsensical drivel espoused by the talking heads that get paid handsomely to espouse nonsensical drivel. Theirs is a confidence so complete, that you’d think they found the Sports Almanac from the future that Marty McFly got his hands on - but they didn’t, because that’s not real, and they very well may be wrong because the Galaxy & Fire are both really good clubs, and are imminently capable of dispatching whichever team comes out of the National League. For the La La’s, and by extension me (and my future employment with the club), there is no time like the present. We just need to buckle down, to ignore the pundits, put the probabilities away, and play the very best baseball of our lives.

LCS Game 6: Julen Morales (3-1, 2.76) @ Nat Millard (2-0, 3.66)
Loss, 7-2
. Nat Gave up 4, and reliever, Jonny Garcia, gave up three more in an embarrassing game 6 loss for the La La’s. Ethan finished with 2 RBI and a run, and Dom went 3 for 4… outside of those performances, we didn’t get much from our guys. 3B Homer Wingard drove in 3 runs for Phoenix, with the remaining 4 runs being spread throughout the lineup. With the loss, we are now 0-3 against Phoenix in our park… where we now have to face these guys one more time – winner takes all.

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Elsewhere, just down the street: The Chicago Forced a Game 7 against the LA Galaxy, winning Game 6 by a score of 4-1.

LCS Game 7: Jack Sanchez-Flores (0-0, 1.35) @ Michael Brisk (1-0, 3.86)
Win, 6-3
. Brisky goes 6, only allows 1 to plate, Barbaccia gets his 4th hold (with 2 K’s), and Rudolf finished the Suns off in the top of the 9th on 11 pitches. This was an incredibly satisfying triumph on a number of levels – we get the Phoenix monkey off of our back, our closers are starting to tighten it up a bit, and 54-thousand fans came to see us make it to our second straight WS (while only 44 thousand were in attendance at the LA Galaxy’s Game 7 loss to the Chicago Fire). Lonzo Gonzo scored twice, Rollins secured 3 RBI, Dom drives in two of his own, and Ethan managed to put one on the board. Otto & Pepper are nonfactors in this Game 7 – we’ll need them to dial it in against Chicago in the next round.

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Old 09-19-2019, 05:10 PM   #331
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2076 Playoffs (11/2 – 11/10)

Chicago Fire (10-5, On Road: 3-4) @ Los Angeles Lakers (8-4, At Home: 3-3)
The fact that we finished the 2076 Season with a 4-2 record against the Chicago Fire is, at this stage of the game, meaningless. The World Series is just a snapshot – representative of each club’s current form – where the winner will be decided not based on history but based on only the here and now. I’d describe our current form as sufficient – we’ve managed to get the job done, just not in an otherworldly fashion. We’ve been installed as the favorite here, but, until we actually play the games, all that talk is just that. Talk. Hot air produced by overpaid wing bags to generate clicks – puffs of sound so meaningless that they may be better left unheard. The reality is that, while the Chicago Fire do not inspire much support with their brand of play, they are consistent. You can count on them – they always play hard, they always make the right play, and they always leave it all out on the diamond. Like clockwork – just consistently ticking away as each second passes, each interval the same as the last. The Fire’s issue is not that they aren’t any good – they’re here aren’t they – it’s that they are boring. Stodgy even and stuck in their ways. This will be a battle of contrast – the flashy club from La La Land, replete with superstars and a jaded fanbase, against the lunchpail crew from Chicago who just come to work, get it done, and then go about their business like it ain’t nothing. For me… I like a little flash, a little pizazz, and lots of winning… let’s hope we can deliver on all of those things during this series.

WS Game 1: Ashton Hughes (1-1, 5.82) @ Dejuan Burns (2-1, 5.74)
Win, 3-2
. Dejuan gives up two over 6.1 and Larry Williams hit a double and scored… Still not getting much from Otto – he went 0 for 3 and scored. Mullens, in the same boat as Otto, managed to steal a bag, Ash faced one batter and struck him out, and Barbaccia completes his 2nd save of the post season over two innings where he struck out every batter he faced – we’ll take more of that, sir. We got the win here, in a closely contested ballgame, where we played the type of ball that Chicago excels at. Can’t help but feel like this one was a gift – we’ll need to inject some more of our personality into the games that follow or may find ourselves on the wrong side of our second straight world series.

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WS Game 2: Jake Payne (2-1, 3.92) @ Nat Millard (2-1, 4.21)
Loss, 8-2
. Nat gets destroyed in the top of the 2nd – he’d have 6 total runs charged to his account – and Matt Olston gave up another two in relief as the Chicago Fire put on a Laker-Like performance in Game 2 to knot this thing up at a game a piece. Otto got his first RBI of the series, Mullen went 0 for 3 with a run (a great Game 1 Otto impression), and, outside of a nice piece of baserunning from Lonzo (SB #6 in the postseason) our team was listless and in poor form from the opening pitch. We really took one in the teeth here…

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WS Game 3 (@ Chicago): Michael Brisk (2-0, 3.15) @ Nathaniel Firestone (1-1, 4.99)
Win, 9-6. A return to form for the La La’s… PEPPER goes 3 for 5 with a double, a homer, 3 RBI, and 2 runs, Rajkumar finished at 4 for 5 with 2 RBI and a run, and Brisky allows three to plate over 7 innings of work… Pepper hit the run-scoring double that put us up for good in the top of the 9th, Otto scored twice and drove one in, Lonzo & Otto both steal bags, and Barbaccia blows the save in the 8th but ends up getting the win after Pepper’s heroics in the top of the 9th. Funny – another win, our second, where we were fortunate to come away with the victory… Chicago is living up to their billing as the most consistently annoying club in the Majors.

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WS Game 4 (@ Chicago): Lee Myers (1-0, 2.02) @ Evan Church (2-0, 2.53)
Win, 3-1
. One more win for immortality… Lee Myers matched Church’s effort over 7 innings, both starters allow only one run to score, though Evan gave up only 3 hits to Lee’s 7. Larry Williams hit a solo homer in the top of the 8th that put us up for good, Mullens hit a SAC FLY for insurance in the top of the 9th, Barbaccia gets the hold, and Caldwell closes the show over 6 pitches where he’d earn both outs by pop up. Otto? 0 for 4 with 2 K’s. Mullens? 0 for 3. We are getting it done with our also-rans – never would have thought we’d be up 3-1 with the performances we’ve had from our “stars”.

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WS Game 5 (@ Chicago): Dejuan Burns (3-1, 4.91) @ Ashton Hughes (1-2, 5.53)
Loss, 7-3
. Burns got toasted for 5 earned, Ash gave up 2 more in his worst performance of the playoffs, and Chicago’s 3B Gavin Nalley hit two-out against Dejuan. Offensively, there really isn’t much to highlight – Chicago pitched four guys against us, and outside of some early success against Ashton, we were kept off-balance throughout this contest. I blame the 55-minute rain delay in the 8th inning for this loss – our guys don’t play well when they get rained on… in November… in Chicago. That coupled with a 9 MPH win blowing out towards right field is enough to shiver me timbers – I’m legit surprised that no one suffered a season-ending injury due to frost bite.

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Old 09-19-2019, 07:41 PM   #332
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2076 Playoffs (11/2 – 11/10, continued)

Chicago Fire (12-8, On Road: 4-5) @ Los Angeles Lakers (11-6, At Home: 4-4)
Nothing is certain yet, of course, but that didn’t stop the clubhouse attendant from stashing 15 cases of Champagne in the training room… that I found it is a problem – but, don’t worry, I instructed some of our interns to stash it in my office before the players arrived. I’ve done good work here – saved us from a real, “seeing the bride before the walk”, situation. We can’t give in to illusions of grandeur when we have, potentially, two games left against a club that is rumored to have ties to the Sicilian Mob with death on the line…

WS Game 6: Jake Payne (3-1, 3.54) @ Nat Millard (2-2, 6.00)
Win, 5-0!
As it turned out – I did save the day… of course, that I waited for Barbaccia to get the final out before texting my head intern to break out the champaign was just a mere formality – he was, surprisingly, good for it. Nat pitched like the version of himself we traded for, and, was often unable to be in 2076 – 7 innings, 2 hits, and 6 K’s for our Ace, Ethan put in some work – 2 for 3 with a double and two RBI, and PEPPER went 2 for 3 with 2 runs in our FIRST WORLD SERIES WIN in franchise history. Otto went 0 for 3 in the win – a real nonfactor throughout this series… not sure what I will do with him, a trade would surely net some good returns. This WS win is something of a surprise – I really thought that Philly would run roughshod over all comers – and when we had to go through Phoenix to even make it to the Series, well, I thought we’d be cooked for sure – forced to watch my Ex go on to achieve all of her hopes and dreams… but, it was our year – turbulent at times, often inconsistent, and, well, really great. To have this result so early in my tenure makes me ponder what else there is left for me to do in LA… some big personal and personnel decisions are in the cards, for sure. For now, though, I’ll just savor this hard-earned victory and enjoy the view from the top of the mountain.

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Some notes:
  • LF Lonzo Gonzo permanently etched his name into the hearts of the Laker faithful with a World Series performance for the ages – 10 for 27 with 3 RBI… wait, what? Whatever. He’s your World Series MVP and you’ll like it.

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  • Our owner, Phil Murray – the Galactic Commando from Outer Space – extended my contract – 2-year extension for lots of money. It was his right – he had the clause in my contract, but I don’t know where my head is at yet… I mean, rumor has it that Shawna may have a GM opening in Minnesota soon (and I’m hearing that her marketing teams are cooking up something sinister for the 2077 campaign) … so, who really knows what this means.
  • We have 7 guys eligible for arbitration – survey says… we’re about to be strapped for cash.
  • Mario Marshburn and Lonzo Gonzo both won Gold Gloves & Otto won a Silver Slugger – so, that’s pretty rad.

Your major award winners are as follows…
  • AL Boyce Rigg (MVP) – 2B Heathcote Kinton (LAG) - .321/22/88 (1st)
  • NL Boyce Rigg (MVP) – LF Palmer Parker (PHI) - .380/37/115 (1st)
  • AL Pacheco – SP Bradley Hughes (SEA) - 13-6, 3.15 (3rd)
  • NL Pacheco – SP Landon Sampson (SF) – 17-7, 2.43 (4th)… note: Josiah came in 2nd in the voting.

Some dubious honors...
  • Orlando CF Masaharu Watanabe led the league with 203 strikeouts – yet, he didn’t even crack the top 50 all-time, and came in 50 K’s short of the all-time single season record holder, 3B Random Bondarenko (OKC), who, coincidentally led the league in K’s in 7 of his 13 MLB Season… he set the record of 253 K’s in 1999… while in OKC who would eventually move to Minneapolis… there’s a Prince joke in here somewhere, but I just can’t find it.
  • SP Jake Payne, of the Chicago Fire, led the league in HRA at 36 – the single season record holder, SP Jajuan Ramos allowed 55 of them in 2022. Payne managed to only allow 4 homers in 40 IP’s during the postseason (and none in the World Series)…

In shortlist news.. a personal favorite of mine… RF Jules Winfield’s contract with Brooklyn is set to expire in the offseason. He only appeared in 37 games for the Citizens, 104 PA, 89 AB’s… and a .180 average. It seems like he’ll either head back to the Bush League or retire – it’s the end of an era.

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And, on the future of Strangeverse… Not sure how I am going to move forward with this. Do I stay with the Lakers and make an attempt at putting together a long-term dynasty? Maybe, could be fun. Or, do I move to a smaller market team and try to navigate the challenges of not having money or talent? A long haul, for sure, but a fulfilling journey if I can achieve a similar result to the one we got here – Minnesota could be a good time. Or, do I follow a single player as he makes his way through College and into the Majors? I have found a kid on the MIT Equations that looks like a future star – and, I have, of course, changed his name and gave him a killer facegen (the return of Boogie Barnett) – so, maybe writing about him from college through his time in the bigs could be cool. Of course, that sort of thing could be accomplished in small updates in posts as I GM a squad. Or, do I step back into the mode I was in prior to taking over Phoenix, and just post high-level reports on Strangeverse as a whole? I do enjoy the “watcher” style of play – maybe something with monthly updates and a lot more detail could be fun (I recently read, "Big Hair and Plastic Grass", so maybe I could try to cop that style) – but, it would be hard not to run a club at this point. So… um, yeah… I have some choices to make.

HOWEVER… two things are happening in the off-season for sure… 1. I’m rebranding a club, though they will stay in the same town – more on that later, and 2. I’m adding a 6-team AA League so that the BIGGER clubs (plus Minnesota) can have a more extended development program than the rest of the league – in time all will get AA clubs, but I want to manage this in waves.
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Old 09-20-2019, 01:43 PM   #333
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2077 Pre-Season

Long post alert!

On that last note… rebranding? Check. 6-team AA League? Messed this one up, will need to re-add for the 2078 season – ran into a no players / no schedule issue. Timing is everything.

So, after (not) very much deliberation – staying with the La La’s to try and make another run at the Championship seems like the way to go. I have two years left on my contract and intend to play that out – I am, after all, a man of my word (plus – the money is good). After essentially buying the 2076 Championship - Phil Murray’s words, not mine – he has reduced my yearly budget to $206M. That he did this after I had signed Pepper to a dumb contract and Michael Brisk to a fair contract, put me in a position where I’d need to dump some salary to get under the new budget. The results, while solid, have been mixed (the net result is a predicted 2nd place finish in the NL West). We now have the 5th ranked payroll & the 9th ranked budget – but, our books are balanced, so I’ll head into the 2077 campaign without Phil breathing down my neck about that. This whole debacle created a situation where, after overpaying Pepper, I had to trade him away to get under the cap. Of course, Pepper is my boy – so, I freaked out, and got him back for Ash and another solid reliever. Essentially, Pepper’s contract and my stupidity are responsible for whatever step back we take in 2077. I ended up on the wrong side of that one – I just can’t see a scenario where Pepper remains serviceable for the entirety of that contract… it will undoubtedly be the contract that hangs me in the end. But, so be it… loyalty is important.

Ch-ch-ch-changes… I’ve been busy:
Our marketing department unveiled a new hat at the start of the World Series - it was announced as a permanent change. It didn’t go over well - low adoption rate, articles in the local rags decried the move as a thinly veiled cash grab, and fans simply ignored them and went with their “throw-back” gear during the series. So - undeterred, our overconfident marketing gurus, armed only with their “big data analytics” and an overdeveloped sense of self, unveiled a new-new cap for the 2077 campaign... substituting gold for purple and incorporating the original cap logos monogram on the crown. While, a bit more kind, the local rags had a field day with this change - some started referring to us as the yellow-tops, while others, used terms for the cap that I will not repeat here. We’ll take it. Internally, despite the widespread mockery, we considered this response a win - especially given the fact that a complete rebrand to the LA Kings was on the table - with Phil’s full support - until an intern who was wise beyond her 22-years, convinced the larger team that the idea was, well, dumb.

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Meanwhile... in Minnesota, Shawna’s brain trust was busy on a rebrand of their own after their initial, and well documented, failure to ingratiate themselves with the Minneapolis community. The artist formerly known as the Timberwolves will henceforth be known as the Minnesota North Stars. This rebrand was met with some low-key fanfare and almost no mockery... it seems that the locals were happy enough with this change that they didn’t call out the fact that Shawna’s club, with the exception of some improvements to their prospect funnel, hasn’t made any significant strides towards contention.

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Lots of faces in new places - which I’ll cover as I work through the season - and we’ll turn our attention towards two, potentially generational talents, who just began their college careers in Boogie Barnett (MIT) – batting .368/1/5 through 5 games - and Bulldog Johnson (FSU) – who, by the way is out for 4-5 weeks due to an abdominal strain (too much binge drinking on Greek Row?). I probably won’t go too terribly deep into their collegiate career but will highlight them occasionally as they work their way to the majors.

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Offseason Moves:
I couldn’t resist making a play for Voorhis – I had to give up way too much to get him, but, when I want something logic tends to take a backseat to irrational thought.
  • Traded 26-year-old first baseman Ian Hanan and 25-year-old shortstop Larry Williams to the Pittsburgh Steelers, getting 29-year-old left fielder Tony Voorhis.
I’ve also overpaid Pepper & Brisky – because, why not (it’s not my money), and Brisky wanted a Lambo. Not sure why he got a vanity plate that reads “FRKBLL” considering that he doesn’t have that pitch in his arsenal. Whatever… Brisky gon’ Brisky.
  • Signed free agent 3B Pepper Grant to a 3-year contract worth a total of $72,000,000.
  • Signed free agent SP Michael Brisk to a 3-year contract worth a total of $81,300,000.
Later Nat, I hardly knew ye…
  • Traded 34-year-old starting pitcher Nat Millard and 23-year-old minor league starting pitcher Vincent Urquhart to the Philadelphia 76ers, getting 26-year-old starting pitcher Paul Yeager and 21-year-old minor league reliever Hank Wilson in return.
And, some moves I made that were of the, “Hey, I want to make a trade”, variety… net-net, I think that I’ve not gained or lost anything here…
  • Traded 27-year-old reliever Matt Olston and 21-year-old minor league reliever Hank Wilson to the Minnesota North Stars, getting 26-year-old reliever Paul Wilson and 23-year-old minor league reliever Dwight Beasley in return.
  • Traded 25-year-old shortstop Kwaku Kwaku, 25-year-old minor league closer Mickey Anzaldua, 29-year-old minor league reliever Brent Durkin and 25-year-old minor league center fielder Clint Wolf to the Montreal Impact, getting 29-year-old second baseman Chandler Bosquez and 23-year-old minor league starting pitcher Rad Taylor in return.
  • Traded 25-year-old starting pitcher Lee Myers to the Carolina Panthers, getting 26-year-old reliever Aiden Jensen in return.
  • Austin had to go – it was a money issue. Phil Murray cut my budget, I won the title overbudget last season, but it seems that the ol’ Gopher Destroyer likes to make money as much or more than he likes to win.
  • Traded 31-year-old first baseman Austin Rollins, 23-year-old minor league shortstop Michael Sutton, 22-year-old minor league third baseman Hugo Janssen, 23-year-old minor league catcher Jeff Washburn and 23-year-old minor league reliever Orian Heredia to the Montreal Impact, getting 32-year-old starting pitcher Ferdinand Loving, 23-year-old minor league second baseman Brian L. White and 21-year-old minor league shortstop Paio Olivo in return.
  • Traded 30-year-old left fielder Joshua Newman and 26-year-old minor league reliever Charles Fane to the Toronto Reds BC, getting 28-year-old first baseman Arnold Webster and 24-year-old minor league first baseman Senol Delalto in return.
And, in my finest moment, in another move inspired by my need to manage the budget allotted to me by Phil Murray, I traded Pepper – only to freak out and get him back. It was costly though as Newman is a tip-top reliever and Miyakawa is excellent as well. Whatever – I got PEPPER back, so all is right with the world.
  • Traded 33-year-old third baseman Pepper Grant and 23-year-old minor league second baseman Brian L. White to the Dallas Cowboys, getting 22-year-old minor league right fielder Lang Hammer, 22-year-old minor league left fielder Bakari Konaté and 23-year-old minor league right fielder Eric Beach in return.
  • Traded 31-year-old reliever Ash Newman and 33-year-old reliever Johnny Miyakawa to the Dallas Cowboys, getting 33-year-old third baseman Pepper Grant in return.
Lastly, I went ahead and got Hamza – not because I had to, but because I wanted too – look, after these moves, I’ll be the first to admit that this incarnation of my club only has a remote chance of repeating as champion – but we are just a tad under budget, and we will be fun.
  • Traded 29-year-old shortstop Chandler Bosquez and 26-year-old left fielder Kumar Bovie to the New York Jets, getting 26-year-old shortstop Hamza McDonnell.

The 2077 Lineup…
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  1. Hamza – Great baserunner, good fielder, and so-so hitter who flexes a mustache that rivals the one Brisky sports. He’s had some injury problems – so, I’m rolling the dice a bit here.
  2. Tony Voorhis – Here’s a guy with some pop who doesn’t fit the proto-typical LA player mold – he’s more of a lunch pail and get ‘er did type than a razzle-dazzle glamour boy tailor made for sunset strip.
  3. Ethan – killer ‘stache, timely hitting, solid fielder, and fan favorite.
  4. Dom Cooke – He’s not my favorite – too many passed balls – but solid Catchers are hard to come by, so, he’s a keeper.
  5. Otto – one of the best in the game, hasn’t been able to bring his talents to the postseason though. Your boy seems to fade into the background during our biggest moments.
  6. Oh Hong – fan fave with lots of upside who likely isn’t ready to start on the big club. But, without Austin in the fold, we’ll need him to accelerate his development… let’s just hope he isn’t ruined by the fast-track.
  7. Arnold Webster – a bootleg power bat who hit 29 dingers last season, while only batting .233 – he’s also not very good in the field, so he’ll be our DH. Meh.
  8. Pepper – a legend in everything other than consistent performance. Who cares – I love him, so he stays.
  9. Mario Marshburn – great, great fielder. So-so at everything else.

The 2077 Rotation…
  1. Paul Yeager – my 3rd Ace in three seasons… he’s basically a younger version of Nat with less long-term upside. Cheap though…
  2. Brisky – the man, the myth, the legend. He needs no introduction.
  3. Dejuan – Yeah, he’s still on the team. In a word – serviceable.
  4. Aiden Jensen – New guy, youngish, with some untapped potential.
  5. Newton Weiser – He was up and down at the end of 2076, hopefully, he will be a bit more consistent and is ready for primetime.

Key Bullpen Guys…
  1. Barbaccia – our closer who never quite returned to form late last season… let’s hope an offseason on a paleo diet with a grueling workout schedule will pay off for him.
  2. Rudolf – I mean, he breaks my heart on the regular, but I couldn’t get enough value for him in trade talks…
  3. Ferdinand Loving – he’s been a starter for his entire career… let’s hope that the transition to the pen is a smooth one for the old vet.

The TL;DR version… My budget was reduced, I made a lot of trades, we are not as good as last season, and Shawna rebranded her club… oh, and before I forget – I eliminated the wild cards from my playoff format… now the top two teams in each division will meet for a 7-game series before the LCS & WS, respectively.
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Old 09-20-2019, 04:25 PM   #334
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Wanted to check in before the next season started - just binged this dynasty and I definitely enjoy your style of writing and some of these character names (PEPPER GRANT). Good luck in the next season.
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Old 09-20-2019, 08:11 PM   #335
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Snider&Hodges View Post
Wanted to check in before the next season started - just binged this dynasty and I definitely enjoy your style of writing and some of these character names (PEPPER GRANT). Good luck in the next season.
Cool, man! Thanks for checking it out - that makes me happy! Glad you like it too!
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Old 09-21-2019, 09:54 AM   #336
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2077 Season (4/5 – 4/7)

Note… Phil grabbed me in the hallway on my way to my office this morning to tell me that he expects this club to, at the very least, make the playoffs…. Um, yeah dude, me too.

Minnesota North Stars (0-0, .000, 1st NL West) @ Los Angeles Lakers (0-0, .000, 1st NL West)
If the preseason predictions, where everything happens inside of a vacuum, are to be believed then the new-look club from Minneapolis will finish the 2077 season 23 games off the pace. It seems that even ushering in a new identity will not be enough to solve their most basic problem – that they are just not good enough to compete with the Big Dogs of the MLB. They did some good things in the offseason – improved their Minor League system enough to crack the top ten (#8), traded for Matt Olston, dumped their once-in-a-generation Catcher, Rex Engelstad, for Norm Rodriquez (they won’t be able to afford Rex next year), and purchased the contracts of two Bush League players (who belong in the Major League system). So, not a complete loss – just not enough to immediately improve their lot in life. These seeds will take some time to grow if they grow at all.

Speaking of which… CL Frosty Dillard, who earned 38 saves in 2075 for the San Francisco 49ers, and who was one of my guys during my Phoenix days, is now officially a Bush League guy – he signed with the Columbia Blowfish for ~$3.4M during the offseason. He made 18 appearances for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season – I find it hard to believe that he will be in the BL for long. I’m sure that Columbia is looking forward to the buy out fee and not being on the hook for his contract in short order. And, because I failed to mention it earlier, Donny Jeter, now with St. Louis, is the only Jeter Bro in the bigs as Derek remains unsigned… not for long though, I’m sure.

1 of 162: Norm Rodriquez (0-0, 0.00) @ Paul Yeager (0-0, 0.00)
Loss, 6-5
. It’s always nice to lose on opening day. It’s even nicer if you manage to lose on opening day after your Championship Ring presentation, and even better still if you take the L in extras. So, yeah, we checked all those boxes here and are off to a rip-roaring start to the 2077 campaign. Yeager pitched well over 7.1 innings where he allows only three runs to plate – it was a solid debut – and Rudolf Caldwell picked up right where he left off as he gave up 3 in 2 innings and allowed 2 home runs. Good stuff. Voorhis is fitting right in, a 2-run ding dong & 3 total RBIs for the new guy, Otto, Hamza, and Cooke all scored, and Pepper committed a suspect fielding error – maybe his glove hand is tired from carrying all that cash we gave him in the offseason – dunno, not sure.

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Elsewhere: Former Laker, Nat Millard, pitched 8 innings with 10 K’s in his Philadelphia debut… so, that’s cool. Philly won the game by a score of 4-2 over the Pittsburgh Steelers (who, by the way, have a swanky new ballcap).

2 of 162: Matt Olston (0-0, 0.00) @ Michael Brisk (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 7-2
. New guy, 1B Arnold Webster, hit his first HR in the Purple & Gold, and drove in 3 runs, and Brisky, who recently tried to tell our clubhouse manager that he couldn’t afford his clubhouse dues because he has 7 traffic citations to pay first (give a man a Lambo and he thinks he owns the world), went 8.1, allowed two runs, and K’d 5 in his first win of the season. As a club, we stole 4 bags (Rajkumar, Arnold, and 2x for Hamza), got caught once (Ethan – this is his second time being caught mid-thievery so far in 2077), and PEPPER hit a double. A nice bounce-back effort to draw us even on the season.

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Elsewhere: St. Louis RF Jonah Dove hit his 300th home run for his career today against Orlando City. It came off of SP Cathal Magill in the top of the 9th (stash that one away for all your trivia night needs). He is currently sitting at 1992 hits for his career, so we should be hearing about another milestone in relatively short order. Nash Aguilar & Rocco Navarro were claimed off waivers – was hoping we’d get away with that. It’s no bother though – Nashty hasn’t been as cool without his dead-sexy ‘stache anyways. RF Boogie Barnett went 4 for 4 with a run in MIT’s loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs – the Equations are now sitting at 6-5 on the year, so Boogie’s .419 average, 2 jacks, and 10 riblets aren’t leading to W’s just yet.

3 of 162: Octavio Cervera (0-0, 0.00) @ Dejuan Burns (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 5-1
. Okay, cool, we opened the 2077 campaign with a series win over the North Stars – we can live with that. Burns gave us a complete game, 1 run effort in this one, Voorhis, who is fitting right in, went 3 for 4 with two doubles, and Ethan drove in two runs. Otto is easing his way into 2077 so far – he’s hitting .200 with no homers or RBIs. Lonzo Gonzo stole a bag, Hamza committed his first error in a Laker kit, Dom hit two doubles, and Arnold hit a SAC FLY – he’s a solid teammate, glad I picked him up… even if he’s only hitting .187 so far. Oh, side note… I demoted Oh Hong back to Compton. It seems that me wanting him to be ready and him actually being ready are two very different things.

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Elsewhere: Rocco is gone – he’ll be plying his trade in St. Louis going forward… good luck young man, we hardly knew ye… AND, Nash Aguilar is also gonzo – he’s now located up north with the Toronto Reds where he will most likely languish on the bench for the rest of the year. Derek Jeter is still unsigned… clocks ticking on his career… The La La’s have a day off before heading out to Orlando & Brooklyn for a 6-game road trip… neither club has high expectations this season, so we may be getting off easy over our first 9-games of the season, we have some real patsies on the docket to kick off the season of the 100-year anniversary of the release of The Clash’s self-titled LP.
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Old 09-21-2019, 06:41 PM   #337
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2077 Season (4/9 – 4/11)

Los Angeles Lakers (2-1, .667, 2nd NL West) @ Orlando City (0-2, .000, 6th NL East)
Already looking down the barrel of an 0-2 start, and with the La La’s and Phoenix coming to town for the first 6 of their 9-game homestand, I think it is safe to say that Orlando will not get off to the kind of start their most loyal fans would have hoped for. Theirs looks like as rough an opening schedule as any team in the Majors with 3-straight heavy hitters on the docket to start the 2077 Campaign. In December, City traded long-time face of the franchise, SP Nacho Valadez, to the Chicago Fire for CF Bob Clark (who is currently assigned to Mexico City) and SP Mirko Samsonenko (same) – not sure what this move was meant to accomplish, unless getting Nacho’s free-spirited, and some would say lazy, personality off the club so they can start getting more serious about baseball was the only goal they had in mind. Chicago has Nacho slotted in as their #2 while Orlando ended up with a couple of minor league talents – and, while Nacho’s debut was less than stellar, he still should be a positive for the club that almost won the whole thing last season.

4 of 162: Newton Weiser (0-0, 0.00) @ Vicente De La Cruz (0-0, 0.00)
Loss, 5-1
. De La Cruz pitched a gem and Newton did not. That’s the story here, folks. Otto is now batting .143, Lonzo hit his second double of the year, we got caught stealing twice (Hamza & ETHAN are the culprits), Ferdinand made his first career appearance from the bullpen – going 1 inning with 2 K’s on 15 total pitches. We are now a .500 ball club again.

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5 of 162: Paul Yeager (0-0, 3.68) @ KJ Judd (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 3-1
. Another solid outing for Yeager – 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, and 7 K’s – to earn his first win in a Laker uniform and Dontrell Gay, in his first appearance of the season as a sub for Arnold (poor baby is tired), went 1 for 3 with a HR and 3 RBI’s. Barbaccia picks up his first save, Otto improved his average to .222, and Lonzo Gonzo swiped his first bag of the season as we get our 3rd win in front of 33-thousand semi-quiet Orlando fans.

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6 of 162: Aiden Jensen (0-0, 0.00) @ Morgan Holguin (0-0, 0.00)
Win, 9-4
. Voorhis was at it again – 3 for 4, a double, a homer, 2 RBI, and 3 runs, Pepper hit a 2-run double, and Aiden Jensen went 7 strong for us with 7 K’s and 4 earned. We get our second straight series win of 2077 here, Otto’s average dropped to .190, Mullens went 3 for 5 and scored, Dom hit his 3rd double of the year (Tony has 4 so far, just sayin’), and we lifted three bags off of City (Otto, Ethan (finally, he’s 1 for 4 so far), and Marshburn). Another solid effort out of our club – it’s early, but the team is off to a great start and already playing better than I thought they would early in the year… usually, these things take time to set, but we’ve come together like instant pudding.

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Elsewhere: LF Jerry Landowski (PHX), a key offseason acquisition for Phoenix, has already paid some immediate dividends for the Suns – he won the Player of the Week honors (over Voorhis?!?) and hit .478 with 3 jacks and 9 RBIs to kick off the 2077 campaign. Tony went .385/2/5 over the same stretch – so, fair play to Landowski. We’ll head to Brooklyn next – flying from the land of make-believe to the new age hipster paradise… a real cultural whiplash possibility for our guys here.
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Old 09-21-2019, 08:32 PM   #338
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2077 Season (4/12 – 4/14)

Los Angeles Lakers (4-2, .667, 1st NL West) @ Brooklyn Citizens (5-1, .833, 1st NL East)
At 5-1 already in 2077, the Citizens have swept the Minnesota North Stars and won a series against the Impact – Minnesota I can understand, but beating the Impact in Montreal, even at such an early stage of the season comes as a bit of a surprise. So far, Brooklyn has been making their living off of pitching, with every starter, with the notable exception of Merl Crawford (who we face first), coming out of the gates hot. They have a combined 2.28 Starters ERA even when you factor in the 17.18 ERA Merl is contributing – and, sure, I get it, he gave up 7 runs in 3 innings in his only outing so far… regardless, they’ve been on fire from the mound so far. It can’t last and it won’t, but for the Brooklyn fans, who haven’t had a Championship banner raised since 2031, this is something to, at least for now, feel good about.

7 of 162: Michael Brisk (1-0, 2.16) @ Merl Crawford (0-1, 17.18)
Win, 7-0
. Six innings of shutout baseball from Brisky (6 K’s too), a break out day for Otto where he goes 3 for 5 with two doubles, a homer, and 4 RBI’s, and some vintage Ethan – a double and 3 RBIs – were all we needed to snap Brooklyn’s 4-game winning streak in spectacular fashion. Hamza scored twice and stole his 4th bag, Pepper struck out three times (ouch), and reliever Patrick Wilson went 2.2 innings in relief and struck out 7 batters. It’s early, obviously, but I do want to call out that he has a 24.3 K/9 rating right now. We had a 58-minute rain delay in the 7th – but the La La’s handled it better than we did when the same thing happened in last seasons World Series.

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Elsewhere: 1B Austin Matthews hit 2 HRs, drove in 3 runs, and scored 3 times in the St. Louis Rams 4-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. Matthews is hitting .320 with 3 homers and 9 RBI so far for his new club and looks to be pretty happy about their 5-1 start.

8 of 162: Dejuan Burns (1-0, 1.00) @ Nick Demmer (1-0, 0.00)
Win, 11-7
. Burns is charged with 2 of the 6 runs that scored in the 5 innings he pitched today, and Ferdinand Loving was stellar again in relief – he gave us 4 innings with 2 hits, 1 run, and 4 K’s. Brooklyn reliever, Taylor Todd, gave up 6 runs in the 8th as we poured it on late to extend our winning streak to 4-games. Hamza went 4 for 5 with 3 runs and an RBI, Dylan Tucker hit a 3-run homer in a PH plate appearance, Dom drove in 3, and Arnold Webster hit his 2nd homer and drove in 4 runs. We might be a lot better than I thought…

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Elsewhere: Green Bay’s SS Jackson Walsh hit 2077’s first GRAND SLAM against the Houston Dynamo in a 7-2 winning effort for the red-hot Packers. The 2075 AL Boyce Rigg recipient took a step back in 2076 but looks to be on the verge of recapturing the form that he displayed in the award-winning season. He’s off to a .452/3/14 start and already has 4 doubles to his name. Walsh led the league in doubles in 2074 and 2075. Also, Derek Jeter signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Reds. He’ll begin the 2077 season with their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo.

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9 of 162: Newton Weiser (0-1, 6.43) @ Kikuzo Ueno (1-0, 2.25)
Win, 8-0
. Newton pitched a CG shutout to complete our first sweep of the season and brings his ERA to a solid 2.81 in the process – that he only allowed 6 hits and K’d 8 is a bonus. Arnold put another one out of the park, Marshburn hit his first of the season and drove two runs in, Pepper scored twice, Gay scored twice, and Otto – ever the rebel- went 0 for 4… Mullens stole a bag, Voorhis got caught trying to do the same – but two doubles, two bombs, 8 total runs, and the best game of Newton’s career are the real story here. We’re 7-2 – craziness.

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Elsewhere: There were three CG shutouts in Strangeverse today – Dallas Cowboy, SP Dylan Tuyay struck out 10 in his CG shutout victory over the Carolina Panthers and San Diego SP Julius Trowbridge earned a CG shutout win over the Philadelphia 76ers where he K’d five hapless hitters.
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Old 09-21-2019, 09:50 PM   #339
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2077 Season (4/16 – 4/18)

Phoenix Suns (6-4, .600, 2nd NL West) @ Los Angeles Lakers (7-2, .778, 1st NL West)
Through the first 10 games of the 2077 season, the Phoenix Suns have been something of an offensive juggernaut, where they rank 1st in every category save SBs and Base Running. They’ll arrive in Los Angeles with ill-intent, looking for a small measure of payback for the 2076 playoffs, and will bring all their weapons to bear in an effort to knock our train off the tracks. We’ll get their Ace in game one and while he has not gotten off to a good start – he has an ERA of 11.57 and has a record of 0-1 (in his last appearance he only lasted 2.1 innings against Montreal) – we expect him to have it dialed in for their visit to Los Angeles. Their new-look offense, led by key offseason acquisition LF Jerry Landowski, has the ability to give our #1 ranked pitching staff fits – to put it lightly, if we navigate these three games and maintain or improve upon our 2.8 R/G allowed then the commissioners office may as well just call this whole thing off and declare us the 2077 Champion.

10 of 162: Patrick Keith (0-1, 11.57) @ Paul Yeager (1-0, 2.51)
Win, 6-2
. A 5-run 3rd chases the struggling Patrick Keith out of this one early and Yeager, looking mighty fine out there as our Ace, went 8.2 with 4 Ks and 2 ER. Our hot start continues here – and we managed to only allow 2 runs in the effort – Otto goes 2 for 3 with an RBI & 2 runs, PEPPER hit a double and scored, Dontrell drove in two runs, and we got a clutch double-play late when the Phoenix offense was trying to put a little something together in the 7th. Of note: SS Ray Gerhold was held to 0 for 3 and LF Jerry Landowski went 1 for 4. When your pitcher manages to keep those two quiet, a W is most assuredly in the cards.

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Elsewhere: Minnesota’s C Jarel Paige hit a GRAND SLAM against the San Diego Chargers to help his North Stars earn their 3rd straight victory today – Paige hit the HR off of SP Burt McElheny in the top of a brutal 5th inning where he helped contribute to the 6-runs scored during the frame. Minnesota took the game by a score of 7-2. This was the first GRAND SLAM for Jarel, at any level. Also, RF Jonah Dove, who recently hit his 300th HR out of the park, has reached another career milestone – his 2000th hit came in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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11 of 162: Jack Sanchez-Flores (2-0, 0.00) @ Aiden Jensen (1-0, 5.14)
Loss, 7-3
. And just like that our winning streak is snapped – in semi-spectacular fashion, no less. Aiden gets shelled – 5 earned were charged to his account… there will be a bounced check fee, and we get runs from Voorhis, Otto, and Rajkumar, but not much else. Otto registered his 3rd double, Dom got charged with a passed ball, and we lose this one, handily, despite the three errors that the Phoenix infield committed during the game. Ferdinand Loving, in his 3rd relief appearance, gave up his first run as a Laker – 2 innings, 2 hits, 2 earned, 2 walks, and 2 K’s for Mr. Consistency today.

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Elsewhere: MIT RF Boogie Barnett went 3 for 5 with his 6th double and 2 RBIs in the Equations 4-3 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. MIT is now 14-7 on the season and look like they have a good chance to earn a postseason bid out of the Independent Division in the NCAA League.

12 of 162: Julen Morales (1-1, 3.55) @ Michael Brisk (2-0, 1.23)
Loss, 2-1
. Our first series loss of the season – and of course it comes against Phoenix. When Julen was a member of our club, he and Brisky were fast friend… both like a good clubhouse prank, both like to carouse with the local talent, and both are often looked at as the life of the party. So, today was a hug before the game, fierce competition during it, and a handshake afterward. Morales outdueled Brisky by a run and the Suns’ C Norton Manning went 2 for 4 with the go-ahead RBI. Not much of note for us in this one – Ethan drove in our lone run on a SAC FLY, and the two-headed monster of Rudolf Caldwell and Steven Barbaccia pitched a combined 2.1 scoreless innings with 2 K’s.

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Elsewhere: SP Rad Taylor made his CITY OF COMPTON debut today – he went 6 IP, with 5 hits, 1 earned and 2 Ks. Nice effort for the recently acquired prospect who at 24 is running out of time to deliver on his early potential – I’m hoping that a stint in Compton will position him for a Big League call up in September. And, file under craziness… SP Landon Sampson signed a 3-year, $111M contract with the San Francisco 49ers and is now the 2nd highest-paid player in the MLB behind SP Bradley Hughes of Seattle. 1B Austin Rollins is 11th with a $28.4M salary per year – now you can see why I had to trade him despite the fact that he led the league in RBIs last season. Also, PEPPER GRANT ranks 24th. That one is on me.
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Old 09-22-2019, 11:19 AM   #340
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2077 Season (4/19 – 4/21)

Los Angeles Lakers (8-4, .667, 1st NL West) @ Vancouver Whitecaps (5-8, .385, 5th NL West)
The club from British Columbia is better than they have shown so far in 2077 on both sides of the diamond. Offensively, they are working their way into things and with newcomer, LF Eloy Delando, as healthy as he’s been in quite some time the general consensus is that the Whitecaps will dial it in soon. The Eloy signing was surprising – here is a guy who is both brittle and often unhappy – but they got him for cheap and if he can stay healthy and recapture some of the form he displayed in 2074 when he hit 30 HRs, then they’ll come out smelling like roses. Eloy’s signing, as it turned out, was just an appetizer for the main course when a mere two weeks later, the Whitecaps surprised everyone when they signed C Laz Braun to a 3-year, $86 million dollar contract – he’s good, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t help but feel like they overpaid for a guy who is a so-so catcher with a good arm who best season at the plate yielded a .240 average with 13 homers and 58 RBI. And all of this nonsense says nothing about their real issue – pitching – where the dropoff from their Ace, Adam Gunter, is as drastic as any in the MLB. Already ranked 10th or worse in every major pitching category, the idea that this collection of arms will be enough to give them a chance to make it to the postseason is fundamentally flawed. The reality is simple – their staff isn’t good enough to get them where they want to go.

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13 of 162: Dejuan Burns (1-0, 1.93) @ Nick Rich (0-1, 5.06)
Win, 9-8
. Six total home runs in this one – we’d get homers from Otto, Pepper, and Dom, while Vancouver finally got one from Angry Eloy who went 2 for 3 with a triple, a homer, and 2 runs for the contest. Burns sees his ERA balloon to 3.72 after giving up 5 runs through 5 innings, Ferdinand is no better – he gave up 3 in 2 innings of work – and Barbaccia, despite being surrounded by poor pitching, manages to come through, in the end, to earn his 2nd save of the season. Hamza hit a double and scored twice, Otto & Dom get 3 RBI each, and we get SAC FLIES from Tony & Dom. 4 jacked bags, too… Rajkumar, Ethan, and a couple for Hamza.

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14 of 162: Newton Weiser (1-1, 2.81) @ Anthony Boswell (1-1, 5.68)
Win, 6-3
. Newton posts his second quality start in a row… he gave us 7 innings here and only allowed 2 earned runs but it was Ferdinand Loving who’d get the win, his 2nd in the Purple and Gold, as this one required extras before we’d get it sorted on a 2-run single in the top of the 14th from Ethan. Otto drove in two runs, Owen Mack scored, Rajkumar hit a SAC FLY, Voorhis drove one in, and Lonzo got caught trying to steal a bag for the 2nd time this year. 3 double plays today too…

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Elsewhere: LF Harlem Peterson, of the Montreal Impact, hit 2 HRs during their 11-0 shellacking of the Pittsburgh Steelers today, including a GRAND SLAM in the 5th off SP Gregory Morgan. This is Harlem’s second career Grand Slam. Not to be outdone, SS Derek Jeter, went 4 for 4 with a double, a homer, and 4 RBI in Buffalo’s 7-5 loss to the Hartford Whalers – Jeter is slowly making his case for a spot on the big club… he’s hitting .455 with 6 RBI and 4 walks – it seems like he should be getting the call from Toronto any minute now.

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15 of 162: Paul Yeager (2-0, 2.35) @ Adam Gunter (1-0, 2.89)
Win, 6-4
. ROAD SWEEP! 7-strong from Yeager and a 3-run homer courtesy of Otto Isaac to close out the series sweep in Vancouver… Rudolf picked up his 1st save of the year, and we survived two fielding errors to get it done in the frozen north. We have some momentum behind us now – looking forward to seeing how long we’ll be able to ride this wave…

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