THE WBC 19 NEWMANISTAN ROCKETS
World Baseball Classic 10, 12, 15, 17 Champions.
World Baseball Classic 7, 9, 11, 14 Runners-Up.
The Greatest Nation in WBC History.
Technical stuff:Choose my runscorers: Yes
Choose my lineup: No, as my lineup is posted here. Follow that!
Follow my Pitching Rotation: My starting pitcher for the next game
will always be announced in my RP from the previous game.
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes, but only to the extent of saying so and so was injured. I’ll determine the severity
Godmod injuries to my players: No
Eject my players: Yes on a basis of no more then one more then you eject from your own team.
Godmod other events: No, except for weather. That you can.
NO NO-HITTERS/PERFECT GAMES AGAINST US UNLESS YOU ARE RANKED IN THE TOP 5 IN THE WORLD. I CONSIDER IT A GODMOD IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE THAT AND PLAYING US.Additional Information that is very important to me: Newmanistan does not prescribe to the modern day concept of pitch counts determining how long a starting pitcher is kept in for. In fact, pitch counts are not even kept track of outside of curiosity sake. Such count is not displayed on the scoreboard, so if you want to track it for your pitcher, you must do it manually. If Newmanistan has given up 3 runs or less, then the starting pitcher has gone all nine innings. No ifs, ands, or buts. This is true even if it would have been a save situation.
– Another Newmanistan trait is aggressive base stealing. Think back to the days of Vince Coleman and Ricky Henderson in their primes.Head Coach- Christina Sanders (Southport)- has coached all of our teams so far.
Hitting Coach- Allyson Payne (North Charlotte)
Pitching Coach- Carrie Lynsder (Hampton)
Home Stadium for all Group Stage games will be Empress Jessica Stadium (formerly Pocono City Stadium). The DH is NOT used. Timeline Note: The Newmanistanian timeline considers all sporting competitions in its progression. In Newmanistan, the year is currently 2104, which makes it two years after WBC 18.
Rotation: (pitchers bat with the same hand the pitch with)1A)Courtney Ratigan (RHP- Pocono City)- At 31, Courtney has done her part to become one of the most fabled pitchers in Newmanistan history, which if you know us, is a big accomplishment. She’s already been on two championship teams, but is two as desireable as three? Of course not. Her specialty is the heat, but that wicked cutter will give your batters fits. Also has an impressive curveball and slider. Made headlines last season by not re-signing with Olympia and took a huge contract from Pocono City, which now means her and Jessica Brasfield are teammates at the club level as well. If by chance the Rockets end up in Olympia during WBC 19, she will probably be booed.
1B)Jessica Brasfield (RHP- Pocono City)- The 30-year old finally became the “Brashfield” in the WBC as she is back in Pocono City with all of her trash talk. She clearly got in the head of Tarrentum’s Gina Torretta in the championship series, and you could see the effects of Gina’s, then the Falcons, unraveling. Jessica backs it all up on the mound, and like Ratigan, has already won two championships. She also had a great WBC 18, and was in no way the reason for the team’s early departure. She’s at her best when she changes the speeds of her pitches. She has a great fastball, and knows how and when to mix in a a great changeup and curveball. Her slider has also developed quite well. Now teammates with Courtney Ratigan in Pocono City, “Brazzy” is actually the 1 and Ratigan the 2 with the Capitals.
1C) Courtney Keisler (RHP- Stroudsbourg)- The second coming of Stacey Keisler returns as the now 18-year old returns for her second tour of duty. She had a great WBC 18, including a 1-hit shutout in the group stages. Her fastball is still developing, obviously, but is still impressive. She may be more reliant here on the curve and slider, plus a splitter.
1D) Meghan Stewart (LHP- South Tier)- The 23-year old is the daughter of former SP Tara Stewart (who is also a WBC Hall of Famer). Tara Stewart and Stacey Keisler’s careers coincided, so it’s not that completely coincidental that they would have daughter’s around the same age as well. While Courtney has gotten all of the attention, and bypassd Meghan, coach Sanders is obviously eager to see what Meghan could do at this level as well. The opportunity presented itself, and this hard thrower should capitalize.
1E) Stephanie Marshall (LHP- Dover City)- You wouldn’t think you would see a 26-year old international rookie as a part of the Rockets starting rotation, would you? Neither do many radio talk show hosts in the Empire, but the fact is ever since Stephanie left Seminole Bay and signed with Dover City, her career has taken off. She’s a power pitcher, and working with the pitching coaches with the Mountaineers has enabled her to become a more complete pitcher with the addition of a nasty splitter. It’s atypical of us, but she has earned it.
Bullpen: (Smaller then most because of the nation’s reliance on starters)
Cassie Herrick (LHP- South Tier)- Cassie is actually a starter with South Tier, but the 31-year old is more then happy to continue to pitch on the senior team as a reliever, which she now does for the 4th time.. Look for the southpaw, who brings the heat but also a nice cutter and slider, to act as the main long reliever in case a starter needs to be pulled early.
Brittany Castelli (RHP- Fairfield City)- The 28-year old was a starting pitcher for the Rockets in WBC 15 through 18, and still starts with Fairfield City, butwith Keisler and Stewart now in the fray, she was downgraded to long reliever for WBC18. Many people think she should have gone back into the rotation here. The coaching staff is confident that she will be able to accept the decision and do well.
Rachel Cosgrove (RHP- Tundra Falls) - Rachel will likely be assigned the middle innings, or extra innings. With the Mariners, the 28-year old is a starter, so that will be just fine with her. Her curve is her out pitch, but she will bring the heat as well.
Set up/Short Relief: Sara Schaefer (RHP- South Tier)- Sara is a versatile pitcher that could pitch in long relief, but will instead be used here. The 35-year old was widely considered our top reliever during WBC 15 as a 7th inning or an extra inning specialist before stepping into this role for the WBC 16 and since then always steps up when called upon. Unlike the other relievers here, she actually is a reliever at home. Extremely consistent, and showing no signs of aging yet.
Closer: Erica Barrett (LHP- Southport)- She will not be the first name that comes to your mind when you thinking of great Newmanistanian pitchers, or great closers in the game. But this was the one spot in the roster that we struggled in the early days to find stability with. Barrett, at 27, has provided that, and figures to be in this role still for quite a while as long as she remains as effective as she has been so far. She is a hard thrower and mixes in a cutter and splitter to go along with it, and just when you think you might have her figured out, she’ll add a knuckleball just to keep you off balance.
Batting Order: (throws/bats)-:
1) Caitlin Leffler- CF (R/R- Stroudsbourg)- The 23-year old stepped into the leadoff spot in WBC 18, and performed well, though she has pretty big shoes to fill. Look for Sanders to try and get this speedster more involved during this Classic.
2) Kaylee Picard- LF (R/S- Nashua)- The toughest decision that coach Sanders had to make was to figure out which speedster deserved to take the spot vacated by Meadows. But in thinking about it, she opted to simply put Leffler and Picard 1-2, giving the Rockets twice the speed threat at the top of the lineup. At 22, Picard has also been a teammate of Leffler’s at the Keisler Cup level.
3) Julie Sexton- 1B (R/S- Olympia) Sexton may have taken a Classic to get comfortable with her starting role, replacing the great Natalie Monroe, but in WBC 17 she definitely showed why she got the nod to start. The 27-year old mainly hits for average, but continues to increase her HR total year by year and now averages 19 per season. She hit 7th in WBC 18, and moves up here with the international retirement of Meghan Butler.
4)Courtney Weinman- RF (R/R- Tundra Falls)- Courtney has emerged as the leader of the offense. One of the top things about the 34-year old veteran to appreciate is the fact that she doesn’t look like someone who’d be a power hitter based on her physical stature, but she is. She also has a career .342 BA and averaged 45 HR’s per season. Weinman has long hit in the 3rd spot, but moves into the cleanup spot, where Butler had been, for this Classic.
5) Kristen Wheeler- SS (R/S- Pocono City)- At 31years of age, “Miss Clutch” is still in her prime and should continue to impress at this level. She has all the tools, hitting for average and power (averages 29 long balls a season), and has a career BA of .467 with runners in scoring position. Don’t forget about her on the basepaths either, or she will steal bases often as well.
6) Courtney Stafford- 2B (L/S- Olympia)- When the Rockets trailed Tarrentum, 3-games to none in the championship series, coach Sanders made a subtle change to the starting lineup to “wake it up”. That change was replacing Rachel Cuyler with Stafford at 2B. The rest, they say, is history. The 25-year old now has the job full-time, and since the championship victory, you can see her confidence soar even further. Since that move her BA the last four years has been .340, .345, .342, .349 and HR totals 35, 41, 39, 42. Watch for her on the basepaths, she will steal bases.
7) Jessica Larkin- 3B (R/R- Putnam Lake)- Jessica makes her debut in the starting lineup, but was on the bench in the last Classic and also has previous experience in the Keisler Cup. The 25-year old inherits the hot corner from Meghan Butler, and is more of a contact hitter then a power hitter, but she’s also outstanding with the glove.
8) Tara Rulison- C (R/S- Centralia)- The 34-year old has a career BA of .269 and averages 12 HR’s, so she is not a liability with the bat in her hand. But make no mistake, she is here for her behind the plate ability. She is a master of working with pitchers, and in throwing out baserunners (and remember we run a ton in Newmanistan, so Rulison is well-experienced in attempting to throw people out).
9) Pitcher
If DH: Danielle Scott- OF by trade (R/S- Southport)-[/u] The 30-year old started from WBC 14 to 17, but became the odd woman out when Sanders opted for more speed at the top of the lineup. Scott is just fine with this, especially since Sanders is also her manager with Southport. Danielle is mainly a contact hitter, but has a career .325 BA, so she does it well. She also averages 102 walks a season.
On the bench: (we have more people here then most only due to our small bullpen. It all evens out.)Kristen Snider- C- Only to be used as a substitution behind the plate, never to pinch hit.
Rachel Cuyler- MI
Erica Hilton- CI
Jillian Sanderson- OF
Corinne Gratton- OF
Kristen Graves- Utility
OOC to those not as familiar with me in baseball: The Newmanistan media and players are arrogant. They act like they are the #1-ranked team in the World (though technically now ranked #2, they still feel they are better then Tarrentum), and the winningest team (championship-wise) of all-time and they flaunt it whenever possible. Don't take offense.