World Baseball Classic XXV - Everything Thread

[Qazox]

First off, that 22 inning game between Cyborg Holland and Supr-llamaland is the longest group stage game in WBC history.

QAZOX beats Milchama on historic day.

Milchama                         0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0  4
Qazox                            0 1 0 0 2 0 0 4 X  7

A 4-run rally rally, capped by a 2-run double by pinch-hitter Denise McAllister that gave Qazox their 1st lead of the day; concluded a historical day @ Pheonix Stadium. A 50-minute long pre-game that included all 5 Qazoxian members of the WBC Hall of Fame, finished with 74 year old Frank Sanchez throwing out the 1st pitch to 16-year old Natalie Benz. The pregame ceremonies included highlights of all 3 Qazoxian WBC titles, and various other big games played in Qazox during the 50 year history of the WBC.

WIN: Neville Chance
LOSS: Tim Lillian
SAVE: Zander French
MVP of Game: Yossi Millar (MIL) 4-5; 2 doubles, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI.

After the historic opening game at home, Qazox' 2nd game was a 6-4 win at Pretty Awesome Persons.

Qazox                            1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1  6
Pretty Awesome Persons           1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0  4

Qazox took the lead for good in the 6th, after a 411-ft HR by Sean Orton off of Wayne Kelly made it 5-2 Qazox. Zander French closed out his 2nd straight game 1-2-3. Qazox is off to a 2-0 start and will now host Mapletish tommorrow night.


WIN: Kevin Milan
LOSS: Wayne Kelly
SAVE: Zander French (2)
MVP of Game: Sean Orton (QZX) 3-5; 2-run HR, 2 runs, 2 RBI

[Schmiegelland]

Schmiegelland wondered after the second match. How can this be? How has Schmiegelland only scored 6 runs and conceded 20? What went wrong? With a comprehensive 11-2 loss to the hosts, Schmiegelland was dead last after the first match. Now, as the only team without a win, the Sviingis were dead last, still.

[Kinzar]

International Baseball in Kinzar

In ten years or so, there will be about a million people who will tell you they attended the historic game at Hudson Stadium between our Wildcats and The Royal Kingdom of Quebec. In reality, 62,552 people did, filling the stadium to maximum capacity, with some allowance for standing room only patrons. Many who couldn’t get a ticket (which in some cases sold for as much as $750), watched the game from the parking lot off giant television monitors. If you couldn’t make it to Hudson, all you had to do was go to your local ballpark. In all Major League stadiums, the game was shown, and there are reports of many of these stadiums selling out as well. Therefore in a sense, a million people or so may have felt they attended the game in Hudson today.

There is no denying history. For Kinzar, the record books began filling with firsts after the victory over Pretty Awesome Persons in Madrid. Now it was time to begin the home edition of the record book, and the fans couldn’t be any more excited. The game itself did not start out too well, and it might have had some Kinzites thinking “this looks familiar”, but only in a negative way, in comparison to the first game. The 49th ranked Expos took advantage of Javiar Arroyo’s inability to get a good 12-6 break on this curveball as Francois Boudreau and Garret Gardner led the game off with consecutive doubles. After a walk to Soo Man Yeong, the Wildcats turned a double play Travis Labadie, but an Elzear Fitzroy single drove in Gardner to make it 2-0 in favor of Quebec. The Wildcats settled in after that, and a good battle between the teams emerged. After falling behind 3-1, a big home run from Howard Treadwell tied the game at 3 in the 4th inning, and the chess match between Seung Geun Park and David Rogers was underway. In the 8th, an error by Ho Kim on what would have been the third out of the inning allowed Devon Charles to reach safely. The winning hit came right after that as hometown hero Curtis Carreon doubled into the right center field gap, scoring Charles from 1st. It was the only time that the Wildcats led in the contest, but the time was just right to do it. Closer Francisco Velazquez shut down the Expos in order in the 9th to preserve a 4-3 win for Kinzar, and get the team off to a 2-0 start as they head to what will certainly be a hungry Milchama team, at 0-2.

After the game, Carreon was relentless interviewed by reporters. The 32-year old catcher who plays here in Hudson had become the hero of the game with the clutch hit. Though Carreon sports a quality .294 career BA, some felt he was added to the team only to have as much of a Hudson presence as possible on the national team. Carreon, as you would expect from a catcher, deflected any credit given to him and put on to his pitchers, “Arroyo settled in after a tough first inning and gave us six quality innings. He could have gotten really nervous based on what happened in Pretty Awesome Persons when the shoe was on the other foot with Thierry Lefebvre, but he really stepped up. Our bullpen then did a terrific job. We were lucky to basically get a 4th out to work with there in the 8th, and we capitalized. It will be memorable to say that we won our first ever home game.”

With the 2-0 start, some fans might be getting too carried away. The next game is one of those games that will allow us to see just how good, or bad, we really are. Forget the fact that Milchama is 0-2, that only makes them more hungry to beat us tomorrow. Though even the most skeptical fan would say that a win would open up a nice three game cushion on them would just seven games left, wouldn’t it?

[ViZion]

ViZion Daily
Sports Page - C1

Gamers Start Off 0-2


Hollier is out breaking up the double play

By: Tom Hesh

Vitalita, ViZion - Well doesn't this feel oddly familiar? Not a good way to start off the World Baseball Classic by any means, but familiar? Yes. In World Baseball Classic, the Gamers say there at 0-2 through the first two games, having struggled mightily and were simply outplayed by their competition. Here we sit, in World Baseball Classic, having simply been outplayed by the competition with zero wins through two games.

Today's game was much better in quality than yesterday, although we're finding quickly that the team has to avoid the "big inning". Yesterday, it was the four-run first that doomed the team to a 7-4 loss. Tonight? A four hit, one walk sixth inning lead to three runs. The final score? 4-2. Prevent that sixth inning melt-down, and the team wins 2-1. Prevent yesterdays first-inning grand slam, and the team sits 2-0 against some seriously tough competition.

That shows that, while the numbers say it looks terrible, the team is just a small adjustment away from a string of good-quality wins that put them into the playoffs. They just need to make that adjustment.

These two losses do not say this team is outclassed. Sure, they aren't as seasoned at many other teams. They certainly do not have the international pedigree that a team such as Western Cuba possesses. But that isn't to say they aren't world-class in quality. Surely, there are plenty who'll say "That team won't ever go anywhere! They're not good enough!" But don't tell that to the Gamers. A fellow ViZionarian reporter made such a mistake after todays game, and manager Lumar Johnson ripped into him.

"The hell are you talking about? These guys are among the world's best! Yes, we're down 0-2, but that doesn't mean shit. This team can and will steamroll teams to win games and break into the playoffs. We have the talent. We have the capability. We have a few people returning from our successful run in World Baseball Classic 19. This team is world-class, it is championship caliber. Don't you go talking like this team is not worthy!"

This team clearly expects more out of itself. The team has struggled to score runs, and struggled to prevent runs. But the team has quality pitching and high-end offensive talent, highlighted by Hollier. The team is young, athletic, powerful, and very rambunchous. And while they haven't played to their capabilities, this team, I believe, will start. They expect it. And so do I.

Tomorrow, the Gamers' crafty lefty Jose Valverde faces Maklohi Vai's righty, Aonmai Rutulotoa. Let this team get onto it's winning track tomorrow!

[Pretty Awesome Persons]

After the game versus Qazox, in which PAP was defeated 6-4, Amelia van Stegen holds a press conference.

"Hey guys, welcome. I know this isn't very common...a national leader holding a press conference about a baseball game...but, I had the feeling that many of you would have questions for me. Oh! And the commissioner of the Awesomite Baseball League is with me tonight as well, Luka Zupancic."

Zupancic takes a step forward, "Hey guys."

"Alright, we'll start with...you! In the gray sweater."

"Hi, I'm Ante Rakitic, with the New Madrid Times. I was wondering why Jeff Novik was picked to close games? He didn't have the lowest ERA or WHIP or the most saves for a closer last season, if I recall."

Zupancic steps up and clears his throat. "Uh...well, Natan Tajloro had the lowest ERA and WHIP and most saves in the league, right? Tajloro had a 2.75 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 45 saves, but Novik isn't that much worse, he had a 3.05 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 39 saves. There is not difference between Tajloro and Novik, they're both elite closers. Besides, Novik had 130 strikeouts last season."

"Are you sure it had nothing to do with the fact that he's Native Awesomite...?"

"Woah woah woah!" Amelia van Stegen pushed Luka aside and took over the microphone. "Let me stop you right there, mate. I don't, and the entire country doesn't appreciate you bring that up. Race DID NOT matter in who was chosen to represent the nation." Some of the journalists there began to clap.

"I'm sorry, but there were many Native Awesomites who were snubbed. Sure, our nation might be 99,73% white, but shouldn't the best players be chosen to represent the nation?"

"Mate, I'll tell you what you want to hear. Pretty Awesome Persons should be represented by white Awesomites. Natives have their own nation, and therefore natives represent that nation. Happy? Anyone else? You, in the navy suit, what's up?"

"Definitely not your approval ratings. A new poll was released yesterday, 57% of eligible voters polled would vote for you, while 30% would vote for Marija Vidovic, your main opponent. A month ago, 78% of eligible voters polled would vote for you. Do you think this has anything to do with the team's recent results?"

"No, no...I think Vidovic is running an effective campaign, that's all. She's a very good woman, excellent politician, so I'm not surprised people would vote for her instead of me."

"Maybe people see the WBC as a big PR stunt?"

"Well, I can tell you it's not. I've been a big baseball fan my whole life, and I supported a domestic baseball league in my first term. Outside of baseball, my policies have made the Awesomite economy the strongest its ever been, we are a regional economic powerhouse and our country is overall much better now than it's ever been. If people really think Marija will be able to make the country even better, then...so be it. Anyone else have a question...?" The room was silent and nobody raised their hand. Amelia had somehow shut the room up.

"Alright then. Go Bombasi."

[Estope]

Estope traveled to Riverside Stadium in St. Catherine, Lycrabon for their second game of the World Baseball Classic. Estope was heavily overmatched and hardly stood a chance against the eighth ranked team. Lycrabon was able to take the lead early in the second inning and never looked back. Once again the starting pitching was solid, allowing on one earned run in six inning (the fourth inning run came off a dropped routine fly ball by Meister). However the relief pitchers, who were supposed to be the strength of this team, allowed to runs in the eighth. Usually a pretty good baseball team, Estope finds themselves winless at 0-2 and last place in their group. Unusual for this young team that has had success at every tournament they have played at. While Estope has been underdogs, there is no excuse for their lack of any offensive skills. It has been horrible to watch and no player has stepped up to be the playmaker. Manager Felipe Sweigart announced today that hitting coach Josh Paula would be relieved of his duties effective immediately. While it is still early in the tournament, the team has high expectations to live up to and it has become obvious that the offense has been slowing them down. It is too early to tell what effect, if any it will have on the remainder of the season. Sweigart was unclear as to whether he will hire a replace before the tournament is over. The next three game will be an easier game after facing two top twenty opponents. Tomorrow, Komodo Dragon will be coming to Thomas-Johnson Field for Game #3. This should be an easy for Estope as they hope to rebound and qualify for the second straight year. Estope President Leon Bare will throw the opening pitch for the highly anticipated game.

Estope                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Lycrabon                         0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 X  4

Batting

Player 	           ab 	r 	h      rbi 	bb 	so 	lob 
Alex Avez 	   3 	0 	1 	0 	1 	1 	0 
Max Meister 	   2 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 
 - Clark Schack	   1 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 
Cory Keys 	   4 	0 	3 	0 	0 	1 	0 
Jessie Driggers    4 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	2 
Henry Fowler 	   3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	1 
Fabio Fernandez    3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 
Austin Forde 	   3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 	0 
Cedric Mothershed  3 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	1 
 - Jonathon Nitka  0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0 	0
James Campella 	   3 	0 	1 	0 	0 	1 	0 

Totals 	        29	0 	5 	0 	1 	7 	4

Pitching

Player  	         ip 	h 	r 	er 	bb 	so 	wp 	bk 	hbp 	ibb 	ab 	bf 	fo 	go 	np 
Cedric Mothershed 	 6.0 	4 	2 	1 	2 	8 	1 	0 	0 	0 	21 	24 	5 	5 	110 
    L   (0-1)
Jonathon Nitka  	 2.0 	1 	2 	2 	0 	1 	0 	1 	0 	0 	8 	8 	4 	1 	33

Group 5                         Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 New Montreal States               2    2   0     9    5   +4    1.000
2 The Serbian Empire                2    1   1    10    9   +1    0.500
3 Aardenland                        2    1   1    15   12   +3    0.500
4 Komodo Dragon                     2    1   1    15   14   +1    0.500
5 Lycrabon                          2    1   1     7   10   −3    0.500
6 Estope                            2    0   2     2    8   −6    0.000

[The Serbian Empire]

The Serbian Empire 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 3
New Montreal States 0 0 1 0 0 4 0 0 X 5

The Serbian Empire lost 5-3 to New Montreal States, but considering the ranking of the opponent and the lack of flamethrowing set-up man Milos Nemecek this was expected. A grand slam was launched off of a Vaclav Mursak knuckleball which ended up in the center of the plate. Anton Anzic came in as a relief pitcher striking out 7 batter with a combination of a fastball in the upper 80s, a forkball, and a cutter which is as fast as the fastball.

Serbian Empire Box score

1. CF #10 Ivan Jovanoski 1-4, 1 RBI, BB
2. SS #8 Momcilo Dusanovic 0-5,
3. C #16 Josip Petrovic 1-4, 3K
4. 1B #33 Jure Klemenic 3-4, R
5. 3B #2 Marko Pavelovic 1-4, 2B
6. LF #19 Darijo Sreckovic 3-3, RBI, BB
7. 2B #6 Zdenko Mihalic 1-4, HR (1), RBI
8: RF #28 Borislav Cedomiric 2-3, 1 R, BB
9: #47 Vaclav Mursak 0-2, 2 K, BB
PH: #70 Tomaz Kopitar BB

Pitching stats
Mursak 5 IP, 5 ER, 6 K, 9 BB
Anzic 3 IP, 0 ER, 7K, 1BB

[Super-Llamaland]

Group 3

Super-Llamaland 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Cyborg Holland 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4

Group 3 Pld W L RF RA RD Win %
1 Quebecois Acadiana 2 2 0 8 6 +2 1.000
2 Cyborg Holland 2 1 1 8 8 0 0.500
3 Super-Llamaland 2 1 1 5 5 0 0.500
4 Yesopalitha 2 1 1 8 3 +5 0.500
5 Skeckoa 2 1 1 7 11 −4 0.500
6 Bloodbath Generation 2 0 2 6 9 −3 0.000

It was one for the record books. Literally, as the game was the longest group match in WBC History.
And yes, we've played an average of sixteen innings a game so far.

Apparently, the team decided breaking a record was good enough for the day, so they gave up a walk-off solo shot to Cyborg Holland.
However, pushing the nation that could be their biggest rival to twenty-two innings was a silver lining for the llamas.

The game began quite normally-Cyborg eked out a fourth-inning run and Alex Cameron then doubled in two in the fifth to make it 2-1 Llamas early on.

After the fourth, Ryan Lucas was spot-on to throw seven good innings. However, Tom Yaft made the stupid decision of slotting in Alex Carson. Seriously? After Carson just went 1 2/3 yesterday? Anyways, Carson gave up a run and the lead was blown.

Two sacrifice bunts changed the scoreboard to 3-3-one RBI went to pinch hitter Duncan Roberts.

Then, the pitchers took over. From the tenth inning to the twenty-first, nobody scored.

Yaft's micromanagement might have lost the game, and he ended up having to put in a starter in inning seventeen after using up all of his relievers. Yaft chose knuckleballer Chris Lee. The wind blew the right way, and Lee threw 3 2/3 shutout innings, fanning six.

Yaft then slotted him out and put in Allan Roswell, who threw 1 1/3 innings before giving up a walk-off homer to lead off the inning.

The Llamanean fans got a great game that lasted 7 hours 22 minutes, and the Llamanean Team got a spot in the records...and a loss.

[Saintland]

Byfugland                        1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  5
Saintland                        0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

  Group 1                         Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 Central North America             2    2   0    19    3  +16    1.000
2 Raxillion                         2    2   0     7    3   +4    1.000
3 Byfugland                         2    1   1     6    5   +1    0.500
4 Free South Califas                2    1   1     7   13   −6    0.500
5 Ko-oren                           2    0   2     5    9   −4    0.000
6 Saintland                         2    0   2     3   14  −11    0.000

Editorial: Saintland's World Baseball Classic woes a consequence of our sins
By: Sister Maria Polus

(SP) Like the rest of our Blessed and Righteous Kingdom, I watched our recent World Baseball Classic games against the nations of Central North America and Byfugland. Like everybody else, I am disappointed that Our Righteous Kingdom lost, but let me remind you that everything that happens in this World is all part of God's plan.

Why would God seemingly forsake his Faithful Servants and deliver us unto defeat? There is but one possible answer: Far too many of us have rejected Him in our hearts. We have also been far too tolerant in recent times of immoral conduct by foreign residents, a trend I have been doing my part to correct over the past few weeks. God is angry and we are but a Kingdom of Sinners in the hands of an angry God. Unless we shall repent and turn toward God once again, our Kingdom will continue to be defeated on the battlefield of baseball.

I am calling upon everybody in the Kingdom to get on their knees and pray as one to the One True God before our next game. If we ask God to forgive our sins and heal our Land, he will do so. With God on our side, anything is possible. With God against us, nothing is possible.

What can we do to gain the One True God's forgiveness? We can start by following the Holy Bible and the Teachings of the True Church more faithfully. I have a few other suggestions. Everybody in the Kingdom should do everything in their power to attend Church services daily instead of merely weekly, as has become the norm in these lax times. I also suggest that all married couples practice celibacy until the end of this Tournament.

What is clear is that we need to strive more boldly to move Forward toward the Kingdom of God on Earth. Far too often, of late, we have forgotten our Greater Purpose. If we turn toward God once more, He will be with us once again. Most importantly, he will be with Our Blessed and Righteous Kingdom's baseball team as they visit Raxillion for a must-win game.

Sister Maria Polus is a nun currently stationed at the foreign resident school Progress High School in St. Ioannes Village. She is the High Inquisitor at that school.

[Milchama]

"So thoughts on our start in the WBC"

"Time to fire the manager"

"What?"

"We lost 2 games. It's clearly his or her fault. She or he has got to go"

"You don't even know the gender of the manager. How can you possibly call for their firing?"

"First off, I am fairly certain that there is only one manager. The word "their" is clearly wrong and misleading. Second, since when did I need an excuse. Remember when we almost fired all the players last WBC? We can do the same thing here. I'm sure it will work"

"You're crazy"

"Yes, I'm aware"

"I mean on this issue"

"Oh see that's where you're wrong"

"Ok please explain"

"Sure, the manager sets the lineups, deals with clubhouse issues and inspires the players. Therefore, if the players are playing uninspired baseball, or not hitting in the optimum lineup or really just losing in general it is clearly, always, ALWAYS, the manager's fault"

"Then why did we try to fire the players last WBC"

"Baseball stats are always advancing. We used to think it was the players who decided things on the field. But now it is much clearer that it is the manager's who actually wins and loses"

"Yeah you're just wrong, sabermetrics has been saying the exact opposite thing for years. Lineups only help for up to three wins a season and while clubhouse stuff may be unquantifiable, the mystery says that the Da-sein of the manager is important"

"No need for Heidegger here bro"

"Don't call me bro"

"Sorry dude"

"That's much better"

"You're welcome"

"Anyways, that's exactly my point. Firing the manager doesn't matter and it looks like we're doing something about this poor start!"

"So you've just changed your argument 180 degrees"

"Oh yeah the other way was going nowhere, now I have better reasons!"

"Oh dear"

"Fire the manager! He or she sucks!"

"Can we just root for Milchama to win a couple of games and get out of this slump"

"Sure but as long as the manager gets fired at the end"

"Yeah sure that can happen"

"Great"

"Come on You Warriors!"

"Let's Go Milchama!"

[Michael VII]

MICHAEL VII FALCONS ROSTER FOR WBC 25

Manager: Tyler Rekish (48) [Manager for West Frbiba, Played for Riverside and Jagoza State]
Third Base and Batting Coach: Jerry Onslow (44) [Hitting Coach for West Frbiba, Played for Nileside (Minors) and Frbiba State]
First Base and Pitching Coach: Michael Ostend (37) [Pitching Coach for Riverside, Played for Riverside and Riverside State]
Trainer and Physio: Geoff Asher (30) [Physio and Trainer for New Schmejgland (Minors), Played for Riverside and Jagoza]

Rotation
Josh Daniel (Ace) 33 Years, Bats: Right, Throws: Right, College: Jagoza, Pro Team: West Frbiba
Gary Pasher 38, L, L, Jagoza, Jagoza
Vincent Kartmalle 28, R, R, Frbiba State, Riverside
Carl Bonseph 25, R, R, Jagoza State, West Frbiba
Bullpen
Harold Bauchmann (LHS) 23, R, L, Tripoli, Jagoza
Viktor Aushmen (RHS) 32, L, L, Riverside State, Frbiba
Yusef Manchmal (LR) 37, R, R, Frbiba State, Frbiba
Derek Felmen (SU) 41, R, R, Frbiba State, South Coast
Marco Demehr (SU) 21, L, L, Western A&M, South Coast (Contracted College Player)
Friedrich Palo (CL) 29, R, R, Jagoza, Jagoza
Infielders
Joseph Yales (1B) 35, R, L, Frbiba State, Frbiba
Jimi Lyle (2B) 30, L, L, Jagoza State, Jagoza
Petr Narls (IF) 28, L, R, Mayfield, West Frbiba
Trent Marsch (3B) 23, R, R, Mayfield, Meshkete
Walter Carlsson (SS) 39, R, R, Catsore Bay High School, South Coast
Ender Match (IF) 29, L, R, Mount Sinai Grammar School, Karoe
Thomas Pferdner (SS) 33, R, L, Army, Michael VII Defense Force (Minor League)
Catchers
Melko Bryte 31, R, R, Navy, Michael VII Defense Force (Minor League)
Norman Fuerte 37, L, L, Western Sahara Junior College, Easton
Outfielders
Craig Hertz (LF) 41, Both, R, Air Force Academy, Michael VII Defense Force (Minor League)
Rohan Kashmir (RF) 33, Both, L, Northwestern Frbiba State Community College, Meshkete
Thomas Dako (CF) 24, R, R, Frbiba State, Jagoza
Ercan Matyshk (OF) 27, L, L, Jagoza, West Frbiba
Shakhtar Mendfehrshenskikh (OF) 29, L, R, Frbiba State, Jagoza
Designated Hitter
Pauli Auschtaus (1B) 33, R, R, Charleston, Jagoza

* Contracted College Players have been drafted by Pro Teams but are currently playing as amateur student-athletes.
** Those who have graduated from Military Academies work in the Military, but play in the Semi-Pro (AA) Bronzedale League

P: See Rotation
(Batting Order with DH) [Batting Order without DH]
1B: Joseph Yales (3) [3]
2B: Jimi Lyle (7) [6]
3B: Trent Marsch (1) [1]
SS: Thomas Pferdner (4) [4]
RF: Rohan Kashmir (2) [2]
CF: Thomas Dako (9) [8]
LF: Craig Hertz (8) [7]
C: Norman Fuerte (6) [5]
DH: Pauli Auschtaus (5) [NA] Only used sparingly
P: See Rotation (NA) [9] Always used at home

Uniforms:
White with Blue pinstripes (Home)
Blue with Golden side panels (Away)
Blue Chest and Tan Sleeves (Alternate)

Stadium
University Field at Jagoza (52,341)
Outfield dimensions, 310' 345' 395' (Centre Field) 380'

RP Permissions:
Do what you like if you RP first, but TG me if you want any major injuries. Day-to-day injuries are fine!

Style Mod: +4

WE DO NOT USE THE DH AT HOME!

[THRILLEDGE]

Letter to second in command:

James,

This is bad, really bad. I don't have the slightest clue why this is happening but I fear that we may be on the verge of completely losing it. The first loss to Lymantatia was not a killer but this, this is unacceptable. I did not think three runs in the first would be too hard to overcome but where are the bats? I can't do it all myself. We need to do something about this. We need to revamp our system. Here is what I propose: We cut the soccer funds in half. I understand that we have the Campionato Esportiva going on but this Classic is in danger. Push more money into player development and the TBL. We cannot take such a large retreat after the significant progress we made last year. Going 0-2 in the first two games without even playing Zwangzug yet, could spell disaster. There is no doubt that I am worried not only for this current Classic but even next year's and Classics to come. Word cannot get out to our people about this failure so make sure you get a grasp of every newspaper before it goes out to the public. Citizens must not read slander about our team. We need support James. Rally them, my friend. If needed bring out the wigs. Anything will do. Do your best, you cannot fail.

Your Leader,
Blastings

[Vaugania]

VauganiaSportsToday

Vaugania                      0 0 1 1 3 0 1 1 0  7
Zwangzug                      0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1  5

Vaugania's 7-5 upset win over Zwangzug gave them sole possession of the group lead. After two games, they are the only Group 9ers to win both games. Below, we break down the scoring innings for you.

3RD INNING

Through the first 2 innings, both Stian Losnedahl and Danny Gnieth-Pfeno took care of shop. Losnedahl got to three strikes on three batters and his opposite from Zwangzug got the better of Radim Mencher and got the other five out one way or another. Asmund Skjeggestad flew out on his 2nd pitch to kick off the third inning, but Mathias Hummel got one to drop in left field for a single. Stain Losnedahl got workd to a 2-2 count, but eventually hit a hard grounder up the middle of the field and put runners on first and second. Francois DuBois came up to the plate and promptly smashed a line drive into right field and got Hummel around the bases. The inning ended with Rychel grounding into a double play. Zwangzug answered with a run of there own after exhausting Losnedahl.

Vaugania 1, Zwangzug 1

4TH INNING

Bzibziak + Bat + Ball = HR

Vaugania 2, Zwangzug 1

5TH INNING

The Golden Eagles worked there way back through the order and Kerby Rychel eventually blooped a shot into center field and got DuBois across the plate. After Radim Mencher flew out, Marty Bzibziak came up to the plate once again. He crushed it.

Vaugania 5, Zwangzug 1

6TH INNING

Zwangzug started to get down Losnedahl's rhythm in the 6th. Stain managed a strikeout, but the Zebras drove in a run on a double. Manager Solberg became concerned with his pitcher at this point in the game.

Vaugania 5, Zwangzug 2

7TH INNING

Jaromir Braun kicked things off with a single into shallow right field. It provided a little bit of inspiration for Asmund Skjeggestad who hit one a good ways into center field, but some good fielding kept runners at first and second. The center field wasn't so lucky when Mathias Hummel knocked a line drive into right center and Braun found his way to home plate. Losnedahl grounding into a double play and DuBois popping out ended the Vauganian half of the inning. After Zwangzug weaseled another run out of him, he was replaced by set up man, Whit Kedzierski.

Vaugania 6, Zwangzug 3

8TH INNING

The 8th ran much like the 7th. Both teams squeezed one more run off of the opposing pitcher and Marty Bzibziak collected his third hit of the night. Though much to Vaugania's dismay and Zwangzug's joy, it was only a single. Jonas Abel would come in for Kedzierski after the 8th.

Vaugania 7, Zwangzug 4

9TH INNING

After allowing runs in 5 out of the last 6 innings, Zwangzug finally put out the fire and retired the Golden Eagles in 4 batters. They eearned themselves a run against Abel, the closer, but any hopes of a comeback were doused after a last at bat strikeout.

Final Score: Vaugania 7, Zwanzug 5

Leif Solberg was happy with the offense, but dismayed at the pitching performance. He has expressed that he will want more consistency when the Golden Eagles face off against 29th ranked Lymantatia in their first home game at Landvik Memorial Ballpark.

[Maklohi Vai]

Part 1
Part 2

OAM was not yet an official organization, still merely the brainchild of one man, adopted by another. But as the word spread from these two men out through their friends and family, more and more people were intrigued by the founding of this group. All had a belief in Margaret in common, so it only made sense to get together to share this.

Kumalo received three emails and two calls during the day of the Allinlia game. These came from people whom he had met before, but also from people of whom he had only a vague idea or recollection. To each, he replied the following: Thank you for showing interest in our group. It is called the Observers for the Awareness of Margaret, or OAM. We will pray tonight at 9 o'clock at my house. Please bring any rubber chickens you may have."

With that, Kumalo waited with 15 chickens in hand. OAM was growing for sure, and while it was still something that he could control at the moment, he wanted to control it right. That evening, at 9, Lokumo was the first to show up. He brought 2 chickens, just like last night. Over the next 10 minutes, 5 more people showed up. First was Munulo Koparanakai, a friend of Kumalo's brother. He brought 4 chickens. Second was Pomulo Rutoranakapai, a co-worker of Lokumo's at his tech firm. He brought 2 chickens. Third was the first woman, Rilani Mokanalopani, a cousin of Kumalo's wife. She brought 1 chicken. Fourth was Nuko Womarakapalai, a heavyset friend of Lokumo's. He brought 6 chickens. Last was Nilani Porunakalanapai. No one was quite sure where she had showed up from, but she brought 12 chickens.

Together, this misfit group of worshippers had brought 27 chickens in addition to Kumalo's 15, to make 42 total. It would be a plentiful bounty for Margaret indeed. Kumalo readied himself by taking deep breaths and closing his eyes, sort of a pseudo-meditative exercise.

After his followers had waited for 5 minutes, Kumalo was ready. He stood up and addressed the group:
"I thank you for coming here tonight to honor our great Margaret. I hope to make this quick, so let us begin."

"Margaret, we pray to you tonight both in gratitude and in hope, but above all with our utmost deference and respect.
Your talents are great and unfathomable by our mere mortal minds, and your works almighty beyond our possible construction.
Your powers, Margaret, are what we thank you for tonight and what we pray to you for you to use.
Our team's recent victory has brought much joy upon our land, for this team is one that carries the hopes of our populace on its back.
Margaret, it is through your great works alone that this team has risen to its current stature, and along with it, our people.
For this alone we owe you a great debt, for your selfless and all powerful acts are too much for us to repay.
We offer you our greatest support tonight, as well as a sacrifice that may help to appease your mighty hunger.
We also wish to ask another favor, as our team's journey is not yet complete, nor even close to the end.
Margaret, we pray to you to use your all-powerful skills to smite our opponents and lift our glorious team to victory.
You alone can do this, and so it is to you alone that we pray with all of our deference here today.
It is with the greatest humility that we ask of this gift, and we give you our utmost respect so that you may consider it worthy.
In addition, we bring forth a sacrifice to help you on your duties, and above all we thank you, Margaret, the all powerful."

"Well that was deep."
"Yes, yes, very good."
"I liked it."
"Hey, Kumalo, can we try one on our own one day?"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yes, of course you can try one on your own... Sure... yes..."

As Kumalo conducted court, it appeared that OAM was certainly off to a fast start. Only Margaret could decide whether their prayers were in vain.

---

Game Recap

Maklohi Vai                      0 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 0  6
Allinlia                         0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2

Scoring Summary
2nd: Mae'ao led off with a solo shot to center.
3rd: After back to back singles by Iao Laina and Ri’ino Uilnai, Mae'ao blasted his second homer of the game, this time a 3 run shot to right.
5th: Aputo Roma’ai singled to lead off the inning, but he had to wait for Mae'ao to come to the plate with two outs before coming home. The cleanup hitter jacked one to deep left off of a hanging curve.

Stat update:
HR: Mae'ao 6, Arnao 1
RBI: Mae'ao 10, Arnao 3, Iao Laina 1

[The Sova Empire]

Place: IHOP, New Bethlehem, TSE
Occasion: Team Breakfast

"Congratulations on your win last night, guys" Coach Greg opens up his daily speech. "I just picked up a Thrilledge newspaper this morning, and clearly our win got their attention. I can guarantee you that our 2nd match against them will be significatly harder. But for now, let's look at our next game. This next match will still be a doozy..." The outfielder's snickered at the slang used by the usually official coach. "...as we are going to be facing 15th place Zwanzug. Zwanzug just lost to Vaugainia 7-5, but hit almost all of their runs late. We can't rely on early scoring to put us in a position of victory, we need to play solidly all nine innings, maybe more. After all, 1 out of group match went 22 innings and another went 17, so extra innings are something we need to be ready for."

"Coach, where are we playing against Zwanzug?" DH Dee Ayche inquired

"Temple Dome. Boys, we are at home for this next game, so Dee Ayche will not be getting a day off yet. Sorry, mate. You can expect our whole fan club here tonight.all 10 members, that is" Uproarious laughter filled the IHOP as the upstart team was reminded of the reality of their situation. The team finished their pancakes and started the walk to Temple Dome where warmups would begin and a fateful match would take place tonight.

[Zwangzug]

From the journals of Gareth Amatchi that he's sort of planning on publishing some day, if the editors keep deciding to play ball, as it were

It's difficult to get Danny down after a loss. Or at least, it was this time around. I haven't really gotten to meet Sonia, our new leadoff hitter, yet--maybe he's different back with the Red-Tails. (Actually, that begs the question. What do the Red-Tails do after any game, anyway? It isn't like their town is big enough to have any sort of restaurants or something to go out to, they must just hang out and snack at the concessions stand.)

Okay, but, the point was, today he shrugged off the loss as an excuse to go off on some sort of political diatribe. Apparently there's a new team, the somebody (not Belpub) Wildcats (note to self, look up how to spell this country's name, if they're good by the time this thing is published you don't want to look like an idiot) (note to whoever's reading this, I'm writing this on a flight to The Sova Empire, hence lack of web connection--I'd ask Tikva or somebody about the spelling but she's snoring next to me). Point being, the politicians there apparently can't live up to their campaign promises all the time, no surprise, but according to Danny it's just a symptomatic failure of the democratic blah di blah di blah...and can be cured no doubt by worldwide revolution. Yawn.

The rest of us are a little less relaxed with regards to the standings--it feels like it's shaping up to be one of those tournaments, where it's never clear which way things are going to go. Okay, for we Zebras, a lot of tournaments are these tournaments Maybe it's just Janvier's high standards. The last time a Logrove manager took over the national team, after all, was Toussaint Bonner who won the thing, just four cycles ago. Before any of our time, of course.

Dai, who was the only pitcher to arrive in Classic 23, didn't make the roster this time around, so the seven of us are the oldsters on the block. Feels a little weird, though that could just be knowing how rough it's been for the Bears. Peter's taking it in stride. And Danny...well, is Danny. Who knows. Maybe he'll pick up the win in relief a couple days down the line and not appreciate it because the free market is scaring him.

[The Priory of St Luc]

Two Lessons in Humility

The Pelicans started off their World Baseball Classic lives with two of the most difficult games imaginable. First, 19th ranked Maklohi Vai came calling and then against the World’s best at their own field. That both games were definitive losses was not unexpected. And now we can concentrate on making some actual noise in this tournament.

Game 1: The Priory 4 Maklohi Vai 8

Early on it was evident that the Pelicans were outclassed as they fell behind 3-0 and looked pitiful as they had three straight 3-and-out innings. The pitching was average, some even say better than expected, as they faced a very tough lineup. It was at the plate where the men struggled to figure things out. One shining moment for the Pelican came in the 4th inning as Ratai Moi had a rare lack of focus. Brother Miguel recorded the first international hit for the Pelicans as he singled on a high hop that cleared Aputo Roma’ai. He then went on to record the first stolen base for the Priory before Sir Jaminez was walked on four straight called balls. Brother Cardiman singled to right, loading the bases in the process. Sir Stephen then struck out and Sir Obadiah promptly followed suit. It was Friar Benedictus that shined as he faced the full count pitch from Moi. The blast sent the ball soaring into the stands and the Pelicans had achieved a 4-3 lead. Too bad that wouldn’t last very long as a return to obscurity found the Pelicans in the final fie innings as they gave up 5 runs and managed just two hits in the process. In the end we were beaten soundly by a much better team.

Game 2: Western Cuba 9 The Priory 3

How far apart are the Pelican from where Western Cuba is today? We cant even begin to measure that. Perhaps the most telling fact is that the game programs in Western Cuba listed us as St Lud. No one would dare to insult the top team in the world like that. But we did have a moment of glory as the sac-fly from Sir Stephen sent Brother Miguel home and gave the Priory a 1-0 lead over the Hammers in the 1st inning. The rest of the game was a massacre as Western Cuba scored nine runs in the next seven innings and easily won. But hey, we did manage a lead in the first and scored three runs on ace Alejandro Torres. That is something to build on.

Game 3: The Priory vs Aninlia

Now the Pelicans return home where we might have an actual chance against the Aninlian All Stars. Sir Laken and Eli Wells will both be looking to give their teams that much needed first win. Expect this one to be close either way.

[Byfugland]

The Byfugland Jets

Managed by: Hank Boudreau, Minister of Sports

Batting Order: (Bat/throw)
1) Salvador Limones, 2B, #2 (Right/Right)
2) Cocomo Liones, SS, #19 (R/R)
3) Buddy Koback, LF, #24 (Left/R)
4) Hank Pruitt, 1B, #44 (L/L)
5) Ivey Easterly, DH, #3 (R/R) (If no DH just move everyone below up a spot)
6) Ariel Ovando, CF, #21 (Switch/ L)
7) Rodrigo Watsononez,RF, #89, (L/R)
8 ) Rocco Brunelli, C, #12 (R/R)
9) Scooter McKee, 3B, #9 (S/R)


Rotation:
SP 1) Sandy Barlow, #32 (L/L)
SP 2) King Ramirez, #55 (R/R)
SP 3) Duke Tomlin, #41 (R/R)
SP 4) Merlin Archer, #51 (R/R)
SP 5) Joe Aldrete, #60 (L/L)
LR 1) Mason Allen, #30 (R/R)
LR 2) Troy Kasko, #45 (R/R)
MR 1) Matt Bryant, #39 (R/R)
Lefty Specialist) Danny Motte, #65 (L/L)
SU) Joel Humphries, #99 (L/L)
CL) Chase "Rocket" Ramsey, #27 (R/R)

Bench:
Thomas Decker, 1B/3B, #40 (L/R)
Connie Doljack, C, #22 (R/R)
Manny Calavera, 3B, #33 (R/R)
Snapper Dobson, OF #1 (S/R)
Dustin Wright, IF, #6 (R/R)

Stadium: The Airfield
Left: 355 Ft, 10 ft high
Left Center: 354 ft, 10 ft high
Center: 393 Ft, 22 ft high
Right center: 344 ft, 19 ft high
Right: 298 ft, 13 ft high
Capacity: 40,000
Foul area: small
Surface: Artificial Turf

RP Permissions:
Choose my runscorers: Y
Choose my lineup: N
Follow my Pitching Rotation: Y
Godmod scoring events: Y
RP injuries to my players: N
Godmod injuries to my players: N
Designated Hitter at home: Y

[Free South Califas]

As a member of Saintland's group in WBC XXV, the Federal Team of Free South Califas watched with amazement as UK Central North America clobbered them 9-2, before themselves falling 10-1 to the same nigh-unstoppable force. Then, the editorial of one Sister Maria Polus of Saintland, calling the kingdom to commit to daily church attendance, practice celibacy, and chastize perceived sinners in their midst; was of such a provocative nature that it occasioned a special meeting of the Baseball Assembly merely to discuss it and struggle toward a meaningful response.

Though exercising unity with a supermajority vote on the resolution, the BA was of a split or dual consciousness in its official statement on the matter. As a Group 1 member growing wary of UKC's quick successes and still waiting to face Saintland twice, it was decided that the Federal Team was officially "Polist", offering full support to the proposed policies on the grounds that they appear to be voluntary and would likely lead to decreased performance against us.

On the other hand, as a sometimes vaguely responsible member of the international community, the BA also felt strongly that it could not wholeheartedly endorse the editorial in an ethical or deontological sense, nor its conclusions or call to action. We hesitate to be so irreverent, but wonder whether our City, County, Community, Workplace and Federal Assemblies are not more comprehensive and integrative parts of the average Califan's life than any productive function of church attendance that would not itself be better acheived by keeping the gathering-place and removing the preacher. Yet, the Baseball Assembly feel they are not alone in refusing on principle to even suggest that attendance should be mandatory, in any moral sense compulsory, or driven by social pressure.

If we did argue such a thing, though, it is notable that it could actually increase the freedom of those affected; by more consistently gathering with their fellows to reach democratic decisions about the matters affecting their lives, neighbors can share skills, build relationships (reducing the time of commitment in future meetings), distribute authority and power evenly, actively resist exploitation, and integrate with their society as full people and citizens whose perspectives, opinions and needs are more or less equally important under any legitimate authority.

It would be nothing like the daily church attendance proposed by Sister Polus. If these services are anything like the practice of Christians in our Federation, they are a site of mass financial and moral appropriation, consolidation and exploitation. Cancelling out what minimal benefit is gained by the mere fact of organizing communities is the weightier fact that such an organization excludes prospective members who are actually more ethically consistent. Then there is the matter of what happens there: people are told that they are spiritually and morally ignorant, by a fraud who would control their minds given half the chance, who then proceeds to explain one long, boring, self-contradictory, pro-genocidal and pro-slavery novel until everyone is exhausted; then the mode of exploitation transitions from the temporal into the fiduciary.

It has not escaped our attention that Sister Polus would have her people spend so much time in supplication to ostensible god-botherers that they cannot simultaneously cultivate a fulfilling family life and their own personal development. She would have them rid of what little time they might have to study the social sciences, philosophy, linguistics, the arts and literature, etc., and to organize non-hierarchically in their communities and workplaces to take control over their own lives. When they do have the time for these activities, they would be exhausted and seek the private hell of infinite intoxication, the Platonic cave of sensory isolation, or another escapist tactic.

This is how wage slavery is perpetuated: instead of feeling empowered to come together, learn about their shared conditions, and shape their own destiny; workers are run-down, weary, deprived, degraded, occluded and isolated. In this state, they can easily be convinced that it is necessary to perform back- or mind-breaking labor for as many as twenty, forty, even, as unimaginable as it is here, eighty hours during which they can reasonably be ordered around like huskies. The boss steals the product of their labor and shares with them a small pittance, small enough that the employer would never accept the reverse agreement without considerable resentment. From this scrap of the wealth they have produced, a tumor-sized chunk is confiscated for "rent", whose apparent purpose is to trap them outside the wonders they have made for others while generating another revenue stream which does not require consistent work--only available to a certain class, of course. Then, the measly crumb is plundered again for fuel, again for food, again for the material they are required to drape themselves with and again for what few services are offered when they should be plentiful and free.

In South Califas, on the other hand, workers who took control of their factories and other workplaces found that they could often slash work hours and prices while boosting wages and alleviating unemployment. It is not uncommon now, about a decade into the revolution, for Califans to spend a mere 4-10 hours at scheduled labor similar to what is recognized as "work" or "employment" in other regimes. Those who feel a burning desire to do more work can staff the shelters and meal programs, patch the roads, contribute a treatise on philosophy, or do anything else they please in their spare time as long as they are not exploiting others. If they do perform more work, they are rewarded with more credit-hours, with which to purchase luxury goods, sponsor some other work, or again, do whatever non-exploitive activity they please.

That being said, if the proposal applies to Saintland's baseball team, we are all for it. God bless!

OOC: Fuck me I just put a couple of hours into expanding my roster post and filling it with all kinds of stuff, then just as I was about to post it, Internet Explorer decided that I wanted to close it and of course would not want that information back. I was going to link to it here, but instead here's a sob story. Oh man, I kind of hate baseball right now, even though it's totally irrational.

[Karditan]

Adair Sports
presents
PonySport!

Next up in our lineup of pony-centered baseball products, the Bat-Guard:

Some humans may be perplexed as to how a pony bats. Do unicorns swing using telikinesis? Do pegasi grab the bats with their wings? Do earth ponies tape the bat to their hooves and stand on their hind legs? Well, all three are certainly possibilities, but also have the key problem that it is impossible to get much behind any of those swings. Our crack development team have been working on the strongest but trickiest form of a pony's swing, one that works independent of race: holding the bat in the mouth. It is without a doubt a dangerous idea, as there can be incredible kickback from the collision of bat and ball, but giant leaps in material science and extensive testing have produced a revolutionary item: the Bat-Guard! A highly specialized mouth guard designed to aide in getting a solid grip on a bat, featuring the latest in shock-absorbing technology. A brand new chemical concoction--that is completely safe to ingest, on the off chance that something pops--similar in consistency to gelatin has proved to do wondrous things when shaken. The material itself is set wildly a-wiggling, but absolutely none of the energy is transferred out of it, making it the perfect center component of the world's most stressed mouth guard. We assure you that the batter will feel nothing more than a slight thunk on contact and the ensuing feeling of having a mouth full of sentient jello as they run to first, making this by far the safest and most effective way for a pony to bat. Following is a clip of our most famous customer, Gale Wind, showing the proper usage of the Bat-Guard in the recent Karditan-Sicoutimont game:

The camera pans over the Sicoutian cityscape, briefly, before zooming in on Field PowerEternite. It's the top of the seventh, and the scoreboard indicates the Wild Kards are down by 1 with one out and two runners on. Ricky Hormuz is bouncing around on third base, annoying the hell out of Fernard Dantes. It almost seems like he's about to take off and tie the game by stealing home, which isn't a joking matter with Hormuz. Batl Skard is patiently leading off of first, slowly edging further and further away from the bag while Dantes is distracted. The third base coach gives the batter, Wind, the sign to take a pitch. The minute Dantes begins his delivery, Skard is off and running. Jose Colognon fires off a beautiful throw, but Dantes had started the at-bat with a changeup (a bad one, too) and Skard slid into second barely--but definitively--under Pedro Santana's glove. Ricky Ledée cheers from the dugout; though Wind is an incredible hitter, she has a propensity for hitting into double-plays. With that option removed, the third base coach gave Wind the sign to swing away. She didn't, initially--Dantes broke off a nasty last-second-diving curveball, but her eye caught the movement early and she laid off for ball two. Logic might dictate that they should now walk the cleanup hitter, rather than continue to pitch from behind; however, the scouting reports had red marks all around Jeffery Snider's sheet that yelled "PITCH TO HIM WITH TWO OUTS!" Snider's stats indicated that he would be an instant hall-of-famer if his production with zero or one out carried to his performance with two outs. It would be suicide to pitch to him with the bases loaded and only one out, but second and third with two outs? If the statisticians had their say, that's almost a guaranteed out. So continue to pitch to Wind it is. Dantes still pitches from the stretch, as going to the windup would just be begging Hormuz to take off, and lets the fastball fly. The view changes to a dugout camera, zoomed in to the point of Wind's body taking up most of the screen. The bat is firmly gripped in her mouth, roughly sideways, the sweet spot being a bit further forward than the handle. Her neck muscles bulge as she yorks her head around, the bat slicing smoothly through the zone. The bat makes solid contact with the ball, a thunderous crack coming from the collision, but it doesn't faze Wind at all. She just keeps turning her head and with it, the bat. The ball is lifted up and away, and it keeps going up and away until it's roughly on top of center-fielder Loic St-Ignace; only then does it finally top out and begin to descend. It finally comes to rest well beyond the wall. Hormuz needlessly sprints his last ninety feet because that's just what he does. Skard casually jogs around third and makes his way home. Wind takes her sweet time rounding the bases with a big smile plastered on her face, showing off the stylish and effective mouth guard hugging her pearly whites. The Kards are now up by two with two-and-a-half innings left. What could go wrong?

[Ko-oren]

Raxillion                        0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1  3
Ko-oren                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2

--reader submitted column---
I would be positive, but...

I was going to write a positive story. Really. But after last night... I mean, you can hardly blame the team for losing against a team that is more mature in the sport. Not that Raxillion are less serious about baseball than any other nation, I won't claim that, but I expected a win at least from the team. Looking at yesterday's column, there seems to be a truth that holds so far this tournament: watch out for those last innings. 0-0 after four innings, 2-2 after eight innings, and a 3-2 loss after all nine innings.

In other news, Central North America beat Free South Califas 10-1. So it is possible to beat them. And not just that, FSC have been beaten by the 'hand that feeds them', one could say. Everyone knows CNA and FSC have a lot of ties together, though the countries are nothing alike. And then CNA haven't even got their team together, they're still relying on sudden call-ups and the like. Free South Califas don't even know what hit them.

Interestingly, an unranked team and the 83rd team of the world lead the group 1.000. Then the 11th and 25th team of the world are behind that on .500. And then we've got the 27th team of the world on 0.000. Together with another unranked team, I'll admit that. But at least that team has got a solid team together, starting to get professional at this and I would've wished them a good flight... If we didn't need more success and luck right now than them. If you would've told me the group ranking was completely inverse with 6th at 1st place and the current 1st place at 6th, I would've believed you earlier than what is the actual ranking...

---

Do you want your column to appear in the KSN too? Submit a column of not more than 500 words (longer will be ignored/redacted) and hope it will be published! Your columns could also appear in your local edition: Northeast, East, Northwest/Center/West or South.

[New Matawan]

Harper knocks 2 HR, 5 RBI to win ballgame

Rookie Toby Harper came onto the national stage in a big way yesterday. In his maiden World Baseball Classic appearance, playing left field in lieu of outfielder-turned-DH Tomas Thorsson, Harper became crucial to New Matawan's first victory.

The 21-year-old city slicker never appeared to be heading towards greatness at a young age. "I was, heh, not much of a player." said Harper in an exclusive interview. "At all. I would do everything to improve my fielding, but nothing seemed to work. And my bat didn't help much." Harper speaks no lie: two seasons ago in the NMPBL (New Matawan's premier baseball league), Harper hit a paltry .184 with a sub-.600 OPS, and had absolutely no range in the infield.

However, Harper quickly shaped up after a move to first base, a position not well-known for its defensive stress. "After that move, my bat took off. I still hit .240, .250 but I was still able to slug .480 or so."

Harper was voted into the World Baseball Classic by fan vote; while not quite an all-star yet, Harper was always a crowd favorite thanks to his amiable personality and humble nature. Absolutely no one expected him to show the performance he showed today. In the second inning, with one out and the National Team up by three in the fourth inning, Harper was up to bat with Santana on first. After just one pitch from Schmiegelland hurler Kaion Pladfil, Harper sent a curveball high over the left field wall game. And in the top of the seventh, Harper did it again: a 440-foot 3-run monster that all but secured New Matawan's victory. Doused with champagne and pumped for his second start, Harper should begin to show much more promise in the WBC.

[Sicoutimont]

"Tell us a story, Carver!"

"Yeah! You won the Club World Championship, after all! Must be somethin' you can say about it!"

Boullion Carvier smiled. Yes, it had been only 3 weeks ago that his club team, the Ile Perrot Epee, became the first Sicoutian club team to have any success internationally, becoming the BCCC 10 champions. The memory was still fresh in his mind, as the Epee beat Darmen's Augusta Athletics in 4 games to take the World Title. Now, they were ranked 3rd in the world.

"Fine. Whatddaya want in the story?"

"Give us somethin' funny!"

"Technical!"

"Do an impression!"

"Ya want somethin funny? Here goes....."

"Tis game 4 of the finals. So we've got the 2-1 series lead. We're in the Stade de Saugeais, and if we take this game, we've got the title. Same scenario last game, but we got beat 8-6 by Augusta. So anyway, bottom of the 2nd. We're up 1-0, and we're pitchin'. Solo shot, tie game. So it's later in the game, and--

"This ain't funny!"

"Shut up. It's not supposed to be funny."

"Oh, give us a good story! Something funny!"

"Fine! So we're in the 5th round. If we win the game, we go to the finals. We've got Imperial County from Free South Califas, and we're up 6-0. Basically, the game's over, we're in the 9th, so our manager throws in a minor league pitcher we've been using as a closer. He only ever played 1 game before. First ball, home run. Second ball, triple. Third ball, home run. The guy got took deep twice in 4 pitches. Finally, we pull him out. He sits down on the bench. We start cat-calling him, 'Oi, nice game deepman!' So he goes insane! He grabbed all the bats, and bashed them off the water tank. We're all sittin' there laughing at him, and he's just ripping it up. So our next pitcher gets two outs, a few singles, the get to 4 runs, and we end the game. We all run out to celebrate. But this guy, he's pissed at us. He picks up the water tank, runs out, and dumps it all over us! We're cheering him on, and he's just steaming. He thought he'd get us back, but we got him unknowingly instead!"

"Umm....a....congrats?"

"Oh, shut up. You had to be there."

Manager Maurice Sorotane called, and the team headed off for batting practice.


Royales Beat Karditan in 10-Inning Barnburner

Les Royales took to the field at Field PowerEternite against groupmate Karditan, ranked 28th in the world. The game started one sided, as Karditan got up to a 5-1 lead after 2 innings. Les Royales came back in the third and fourth, making it 5-3 after a Victor Santana home run in the fourth. Boullion Carvier led the 6th inning with a 2-run shot to tie the game, and a few at-bats later Jose Colognon made it home to get the lead for the Royales. In the seventh, Karditan broke away, going up 8-6. This was thanks to a Gale Wind home run that brought 2 other runners home. In the eighth, the Karditani and Sicoutian bats fell silent, as the score remained 8-6. And then, the ninth inning. With 1 out, Pedro Santana made it to second base. Victor Santana put runners on the corners. Loic St-Ignace put a sac fly to put both Santanas in scoring position. The next shot, a poke from Jose Colognon, put P. Santana home to make the score 8-7. Martin Vauton then hit an RBI to put V. Santana home, tieing the game. Jaeg Nordstrum struck out, and that brought us to the 10th inning. Claude Perrault threw a perfect inning, not allowing a single hit in the top of the tenth inning for Karditan. And then, after Pedro Santana and Francis Boullion got taken out, Alfonso Soriano got up to bat. We give you the play-by-play of Oscar de la Rovere, host of Radio-Baseball 750:

And Soriano up to bat now.....In this game he's been 2-5, getting stranded on 2nd in the first inning, and being caught stealing in the 6th. Hessefa Merana, the Karditani pitcher, he's been in since the end of the ninth inning. Here we go, the first pitch, it's high inside, Soriano pops it behind him into the crowd for strike 1. The next pitch is a little too low, and Soriano will not swing here...ball one. The count is 1-1. For those of you just joining us, this is Karditan-Sicoutimont, in the bottom of the tenth inning, game tied 8-8. Next pitch from Marena, Soriano swings....strike 2. 2-1 is the count now, with 2 outs. Next pitch, it's a fastball right down the middle and Soriano swings....it's going! Deep right! Going, going....gone! Home Run Sicoutimont! Alfonso Soriano has won the game for Les Royales, who take this affair in extra innings, 9-8! The team is out to mob Soriano as he trots around the bases, and Les Royales are 2-0 at the group stage of the World Baseball Classic. Tune in again for Sicoutimont-Taeshan, once again from Field PowerEternite!

As said by Oscar, an Alfonso Soriano 10th inning shot won the game for Les Royales. And once again, tune in for the next game, Sicoutimont against top-ranked Taeshan. Taeshan is currently 1-1 after these first two games. And remember, all Royales baseball games can be caught live on TVSportSicoutimont, on a live stream from sicoutiansportsnow.scm, or on the radio with Oscar at Radio-Baseball 750!

[Equestrian States]

RP Cutoff for Match Day 3

[Equestrian States]

World Baseball Classic 25 - Match Day 3 Results

Group 1

Saintland                        0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  3
Raxillion                        0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 X  4

Free South Califas               3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
Byfugland                        0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0  3

Ko-oren                          0 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 1  6
Central North America            0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  5

  Group 1                    Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1  Raxillion                3    3   0    11    6   +5    1.000
2  Central North America    3    2   1    24    9  +15    0.667
3  Free South Califas       3    2   1    11   16   −5    0.667
4  Byfugland                3    1   2     9    9    0    0.333
5  Ko-oren                  3    1   2    11   14   −3    0.333
6  Saintland                3    0   3     6   18  −12    0.000

Group 2

West Guiana                      0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Birolika                         0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 X  3

Darmen                           1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  4
Shadowbourne                     0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 X  5

Elykyellek                       1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1  4
Songhia                          0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2

  Group 2                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1  Birolika                3    3   0    12    3   +9    1.000
2  Elykyellek              3    2   1    10    9   +1    0.667
3  Darmen                  3    1   2    11   10   +1    0.333
4  West Guiana             3    1   2     7    8   −1    0.333
5  Shadowbourne            3    1   2     8   11   −3    0.333
6  Songhia                 3    1   2     5   12   −7    0.333

Group 3

Yesopalitha                      0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0  5
Bloodbath Generation             0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0  3

Cyborg Holland                   0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 3  8
Skeckoa                          0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0  5

Quebecois Acadiana               0 1 0 1 0 0 3 1 0  6
Super-Llamaland                  1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2  5

  Group 3                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1  Quebecois Acadiana      3    3   0    14   11   +3    1.000
2  Yesopalitha             3    2   1    13    6   +7    0.667
3  Cyborg Holland          3    2   1    16   13   +3    0.667
4  Super-Llamaland         3    1   2    10   11   −1    0.333
5  Skeckoa                 3    1   2    12   19   −7    0.333
6  Bloodbath Generation    3    0   3     9   14   −5    0.000

Group 4

Sicoutimont                      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  2
Taeshan                          0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Parsee Mizuhashi                 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Karditan                         0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 X  4

Powersith                        0 0 3 0 0 0 3 1 2  9
Rodard                           0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1  4

  Group 4                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1  Powersith               3    3   0    21   11  +10    1.000
2  Sicoutimont             3    3   0    15   12   +3    1.000
3  Taeshan                 3    1   2     7    7    0    0.333
4  Karditan                3    1   2    13   14   −1    0.333
5  Parsee Mizuhashi        3    1   2    12   17   −5    0.333
6  Rodard                  3    0   3    12   19   −7    0.000

Group 5

New Montreal States              0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Aardenland                       0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2

Lycrabon                         1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1  4
The Serbian Empire               0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Komodo Dragon                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2
Estope                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

  Group 5                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1  Aardenland              3    2   1    17   13   +4    0.667
2  Komodo Dragon           3    2   1    17   15   +2    0.667
3  New Montreal States     3    2   1    10    7   +3    0.667
4  Lycrabon                3    2   1    11   11    0    0.667
5  The Serbian Empire      3    1   2    11   13   −2    0.333
6  Estope                  3    0   3     3   10   −7    0.000

Group 6

Slembana                         0 0 3 0 2 1 0 1 0  7
Grandterre                       0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Thatius                          2 1 0 2 2 0 2 0 2 11
Saugeais                         1 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 0  5

The Alphabet Letters             0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0  4
Michael VII                      0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

  Group 6                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1  Thatius                 3    3   0    21   13   +8    1.000
2  Saugeais                3    2   1    12   12    0    0.667
3  Slembana                3    2   1    13    5   +8    0.667
4  The Alphabet Letters    3    2   1    14   10   +4    0.667
5  Michael VII             3    0   3     3   12   −9    0.000
6  Grandterre              3    0   3     3   14  −11    0.000

Group 7

Kintratar                        0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Tyneala                          0 3 0 0 3 1 1 0 X  8

Schmiegelland                    0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 2  5
Strawbee                         1 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 X  6

Equestrian States                0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0  4
New Matawan                      0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1  3

  Group 7                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win %
1  Strawbee                3    3   0    20   15   +5    1.000
2  Tyneala                 3    2   1    15    9   +6    0.667
3  Equestrian States       3    2   1    18    9   +9    0.667
4  Kintratar               3    1   2    13   20   −7    0.333
5  New Matawan             3    1   2    15   13   +2    0.333
6  Schmiegelland           3    0   3    11   26  −15    0.000

Group 8

Mapletish                        0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0  2
Qazox                            2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 X  3

Kinzar                           1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3  5
Milchama                         0 0 4 0 3 0 0 0 X  7

Pretty Awesome Persons           1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
The Royal Kingdom of Quebec      0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 X  2

  Group 8                          Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1  Qazox                          3    3   0    16   10   +6    1.000
2  Kinzar                         3    2   1    17   12   +5    0.667
3  Mapletish                      3    2   1    11    6   +5    0.667
4  Milchama                       3    1   2    13   16   −3    0.333
5  The Royal Kingdom of Quebec    3    1   2     6   10   −4    0.333
6  Pretty Awesome Persons         3    0   3     7   16   −9    0.000

Group 9

Zwangzug                         0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  2
The Sova Empire                  0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 X  3

Lymantatia                       3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  5
Vaugania                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0  4

Thrilledge                       0 1 1 0 1 0 0 2 1  6
Backyard Sports                  0 2 0 5 1 0 0 0 X  8

  Group 9                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1  Backyard Sports         3    2   1    15   14   +1    0.667
2  Lymantatia              3    2   1    12    9   +3    0.667
3  Vaugania                3    2   1    17   13   +4    0.667
4  The Sova Empire         3    2   1    11   10   +1    0.667
5  Zwangzug                3    1   2    11   12   −1    0.333
6  Thrilledge              3    0   3     8   16   −8    0.000

Group 10

Allinlia                         1 0 0 2 0 6 0 1 0 10
The Priory of St. Luc            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

ViZion                           0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  2
Maklohi Vai                      0 0 1 0 2 1 1 1 X  6

Western Cuba                     1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0  4
Kerblaekistan                    0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

  Group 10                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1  Maklohi Vai              3    3   0    20    8  +12    1.000
1  Western Cuba             3    3   0    20    8  +12    1.000
3  Kerblaekistan            3    2   1    13    9   +4    0.667
4  Allinlia                 3    1   2    15   14   +1    0.333
5  ViZion                   3    0   3     8   17   −9    0.000
6  The Priory of St. Luc    3    0   3     7   27  −20    0.000