Bel Air Princes

[omniart]

The Bel Air Princes win the Gold .278 Series! We lost in the finals of the Bronze Series, and won the Silver Series last season. We did all this despite playing with the handicap of having no cards rated higher than our 87-rated Will Smith card. No perfects; no diamonds.

This trip through the playoffs was charmed, to say the least, and I'm writing this down because I feel a powerful need to record their tale somewhere.

The Princes were smoking hot early in the season (39-16 in April and May). By August 1, we had a 10-game lead in our division. We cooled off dramatically in August and September (29-27), and I frittered away our lead. We ended the season at 99-64, tied with the Atlantic City Degenerates for first place in the division. We lost game 163. We were a good team, but we weren't playing our best, and now we'd given ourselves the long road through the playoffs.

In the Wild Card Game, we squandered a 4-1 lead. The game went to extra innings, and it wasn't until the 12th inning that we scored the winning run.

In the Division Series, we faced the team with the best record in the entire league, the 112-win Avon Lake Shorepeeps. They won the first two games of the series. Back home for games three and four, we won, 10-2 and 5-2. The deciding game five was a pitchers' duel between our Larry Dierker and their Justin Verlander. In the sixth, a Willie Wilson single, an errant pickoff throw, and another single scored the game's only run. We won by the narrowest of margins, 1-0.

The Sub-League Series was a tightly fought contest. We played the Pittsburgh Black Cats. We split the first two games by scores of 3-2 and 4-2. Game three was scoreless for 10 innings. The games only run would be unearned, as our Gold Glove winner Nellie Fox bobbled the would-be third out. Fox would then end the game in the bottom half of the inning by flying out with the bases loaded. Poor Fox was the game's goat. We came back in game four as Larry Dierker pitched a Maddux, shutting out the Black Cats on three hits and 96 pitches. Pittsburgh took game five, 6-1. We took game six, 7-5. We went to a game seven, facing elimination for the sixth time in these playoffs. Pittsburgh took a 4-3 lead into the ninth inning. Trevor Hoffman retired our first two batters. Down to our last out, Richie Ashburn doubled and, on a 1-2 pitch, Willie Wilson singled! Ashburn scored! Tie game! A Wade Boggs double and Rod Carew single gave us two more runs, and the Princes won game seven, 6-4!

The Gold Series Finals were against Delicious Tators, the team that we beat in the previous season's Silver Series Finals. We won game one in 12 innings, 5-4. We won game two, 7-6. They took game three, 7-5. Then we won game four in 11 innings, 5-4, and then game five in 12 innings, 4-3. The winning run was scored by backup catcher John Wockenfuss. He walked and, despite being one of the slowest men on this or any other diamond, stole second base. It was his very first stolen base of the season. Richie Ashburn singled, and Wockenfuss huffed and puffed his way around third to give us the win. We won in five games. All four of our wins were by one run, and three of our wins were in extra innings.

On to a Diamond League! The Bel Air Princes are a bit of experiment. How far can we go without buying 88+ rated cards? Can defense, an offense reliant on high contact and high gap, and pitching that emphasizes high movement compete with the whales? It has so far, but I know that there are teams out there that are stronger than any that we have yet faced. Improving my team is becoming more challenging (and much, much more expensive), but I know that I can't get complacent.

[5rings]

Originally Posted by omniart

The Bel Air Princes win the Gold .278 Series! We lost in the finals of the Bronze Series, and won the Silver Series last season. We did all this despite playing with the handicap of having no cards rated higher than our 87-rated Will Smith card. No perfects; no diamonds.

This trip through the playoffs was charmed, to say the least, and I'm writing this down because I feel a powerful need to record their tale somewhere.

The Princes were smoking hot early in the season (39-16 in April and May). By August 1, we had a 10-game lead in our division. We cooled off dramatically in August and September (29-27), and I frittered away our lead. We ended the season at 99-64, tied with the Atlantic City Degenerates for first place in the division. We lost game 163. We were a good team, but we weren't playing our best, and now we'd given ourselves the long road through the playoffs.

In the Wild Card Game, we squandered a 4-1 lead. The game went to extra innings, and it wasn't until the 12th inning that we scored the winning run.

In the Division Series, we faced the team with the best record in the entire league, the 112-win Avon Lake Shorepeeps. They won the first two games of the series. Back home for games three and four, we won, 10-2 and 5-2. The deciding game five was a pitchers' duel between our Larry Dierker and their Justin Verlander. In the sixth, a Willie Wilson single, an errant pickoff throw, and another single scored the game's only run. We won by the narrowest of margins, 1-0.

The Sub-League Series was a tightly fought contest. We played the Pittsburgh Black Cats. We split the first two games by scores of 3-2 and 4-2. Game three was scoreless for 10 innings. The games only run would be unearned, as our Gold Glove winner Nellie Fox bobbled the would-be third out. Fox would then end the game in the bottom half of the inning by flying out with the bases loaded. Poor Fox was the game's goat. We came back in game four as Larry Dierker pitched a Maddux, shutting out the Black Cats on three hits and 96 pitches. Pittsburgh took game five, 6-1. We took game six, 7-5. We went to a game seven, facing elimination for the sixth time in these playoffs. Pittsburgh took a 4-3 lead into the ninth inning. Trevor Hoffman retired our first two batters. Down to our last out, Richie Ashburn doubled and, on a 1-2 pitch, Willie Wilson singled! Ashburn scored! Tie game! A Wade Boggs double and Rod Carew single gave us two more runs, and the Princes won game seven, 6-4!

The Gold Series Finals were against Delicious Tators, the team that we beat in the previous season's Silver Series Finals. We won game one in 12 innings, 5-4. We won game two, 7-6. They took game three, 7-5. Then we won game four in 11 innings, 5-4, and then game five in 12 innings, 4-3. The winning run was scored by backup catcher John Wockenfuss. He walked and, despite being one of the slowest men on this or any other diamond, stole second base. It was his very first stolen base of the season. Richie Ashburn singled, and Wockenfuss huffed and puffed his way around third to give us the win. We won in five games. All four of our wins were by one run, and three of our wins were in extra innings.

On to a Diamond League! The Bel Air Princes are a bit of experiment. How far can we go without buying 88+ rated cards? Can defense, an offense reliant on high contact and high gap, and pitching that emphasizes high movement compete with the whales? It has so far, but I know that there are teams out there that are stronger than any that we have yet faced. Improving my team is becoming more challenging (and much, much more expensive), but I know that I can't get complacent.

I was rooting for you and I to meet in the WS, two underdogs. If my bullpen hadn't blown 3 saves, I had Tators beat . Congrats to you, didn't think anybody could beat Avon.

[omniart]

Originally Posted by 5rings

I was rooting for you and I to meet in the WS, two underdogs. If my bullpen hadn't blown 3 saves, I had Tators beat . Congrats to you, didn't think anybody could beat Avon.

That would make you the Grover Beach Bulldogs? I noticed that you had a lead against the Tators in the Sub-League Series. Too bad they came back. The Diamond League that we're in is far tougher than the Gold League. The Ozark Mountain Ducks and Portland Mavericks have both won three championships! I'm curious to see how the Mavericks and Tators do in the same division.

Your division is strong, but you definitely have a chance. The Atlantic City Degenerates have a lot of good players but they lack a soul. The Kalamazoo Kings have a little more personality to them. (I lost to the Kings in the Bronze League Finals, so I wouldn't mind a rematch.)

Hey! We just started a series against each other! Looks like I won game one, 7-5. Two of those runs came courtesy of Ray Lankford errors. You have a great offense but, wow, your defense is a leaky ship, if I do say so.