World Baseball Classic 26- Everything Thread (IC)

[Saintland]

Following Game 1 of the Round of 16 in Brattleboro, Cassadaigua, the members of Feministvs Sanctvsterra were ecstatic. The relatively young population of Brattleboro had proved very welcoming to the group, even moreso than Concord Heights had been. Still, the start of the World Korfball Classic was now imminent, so they would have to leave soon for German Zerabithea. They had a discussion in a private room in their hotel.

Agrippina - As you know, I had discussions with the palace. Just like our friends from New Sideburn, they offered us safe haven in their nation, but I respectfully declined on behalf of the rest of you.

Catharina - If we took that offer, we'd be betraying the women of our homeland. We're doing this for them, not for ourselves.

Georgius - I thought we were in this for gender equality? Why are we siding with Cassadaigua, a nation that oppresses men?

Maria - Georgius, you really need to check your privilege. You're starting to sound like one of them.

Iulietta - Yeah. I can't believe you still don't get it.

Georgius - I'm sorry, but I do think Male Equality Now have some legitimate grievances. I don't condone the terrorists.

Elizabetha - Of course, Male Supremacy Now doesn't have any legitimate grievances. They are a reactionary movement that seeks to bring about counter-revolution in order to bring back the Patriarchy. Everything they say is just cover for this.

Lucas - Georgius, we should defer to the opinions of women because they are oppressed and we are privileged. When you argue with them over their experiences, you are asserting hegemony over them.

Iulietta - Lucas gets it.

Maria - I wish you were as good a feminist ally, Georgius.

Georgius - I'm sorry. From now on, I'll be quiet and respectful.

Catharina - Good.

Agrippina - Wasn't it great to see Saugeais get 5 runs off of Bebius?

Martha - Of course, it was.

Matthaeus - Can they beat Fundanus tomorrow?

Catharina - Definitely. Last time, he didn't look good against Slembana.

Maria - Slembana? Who?

Iulietta - Some team so incompetent their entire roster hasn't even been named.

Agrippina - Tomorrow is our last day at the WBC. Let's do our best job protesting and hope Saugeais eliminates the oppressors tomorrow.

Martha - I wish we could spend more time here.

Agrippina - Trust me, Martha, we'll be returning to Cassadaigua soon.

The following day, Feministvs Sanctvsterra protested yet another game while the Kingdom of Saintland faced elimination against Saugeais...

OOC: Admittedly, this isn't up to my usual standards, but I wanted to get something in while tired, after I hadn't been able to access a computer for 30 hours.

[Maklohi Vai]

OOC Disclaimer: I in no way mean for this piece to compare to segregation in any way, as that is a exponentially more serious problem. However, I do know that some people will read it like that, but I decided to post it anyway because of the message value. I chose this speech because I believe it is one of the most powerful ever written, and that it could be adapted very well. I in no way mean to offend anyone, or belittle the great Dr. King. Thank you for your understanding.
OOC 2: Maklohi Vai made a dimension jump in early 2012 (NS founding date), IC written as existing in RL before the jump. This IC has been in place for a long time and was not made up just for this RP, no matter how perfect that seems.

Ulanako Tumapakai walked up to the podium. He had prepared a special speech for this gathering of the Maklohi Vai Sabermetrics Association. He was to remind them of the greatness of the past dimension, and the men of a now far off country who revolutionized baseball: Bill James and the sabermetricians.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for sabermetrics in the history of baseball.

One score and fifteen years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, wrote the Baseball Abstract. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of baseball statisticians who had been seared in the flames of the withering injustice of objective statistics. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But thirty five years later, the sabermetrician still is not free. Thirty five years later, the sabermetrician is still sadly crippled by the manacles of batting average and the chains of ERA. Thirty five years later, the sabermetrician lives on a lonely island of numbers in the midst of a vast ocean of material objectivity. Thirty five years later, the sabermetrician is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land of baseball. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

Instead of honoring this obligation to numbers, the baseball universe has given the sabermetrician a bad name, a name which has been marked as obscure and fringe. But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice in baseball is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there is insufficient care in the great vaults of compassion of this community. So we have come to establish our position — a position that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off of a Triple Crown or to take a tranquilizing drug. Now is the time to make real the promises of sabermetrics. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of objective statistics to the sunlit path of glorious numbers. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of outdated statistics to the solid rock of sabermetrics. Now is the time to make justice a reality for baseball fans everywhere.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the sabermetrician’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Two thousand twelve is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the sabermetrician needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in baseball until the sabermetrician is granted his rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with statistical force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the sabermetrics community must not lead us to a distrust of all objective statisticians, for many of them, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of sabermetrics, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the sabermetrician is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of batting average. We can never be satisfied as long as we are victim to RBIs and ERAs. We cannot be satisfied as long as the sabermetrician’s basic mobility is from a smaller outcast to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self right and robbed of their dignity by broadcasts only providing batting averages and home runs. We cannot be satisfied as long as a sabermetrician in Mississippi cannot speak and a sabermetrician in New York believes he has nothing for which to speak. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow debates with the MLB. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of objective statistics. You have been the veterans of uncreative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Kansas City, go back to Chicago, go back to Philadelphia, go back to Atlanta, go back to San Francisco, go back to the hideouts of our cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this baseball community will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "Nine men. Nine innings. One team."

I have a dream that one day on the green pastures of Yankee Stadium the sons of former sabermetricians and the sons of objective statisticians will be able to sit down together at the table of baseball.

I have a dream that one day even the BBWAA, a organization sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little statistics will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by their experience and name but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Atlanta, with its vicious objectivists, sabermetric boys and sabermetric girls will be able to join hands with objectivist boys and objectivist girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every field shall be exalted, every stadium and park shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of baseball shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go to the offseason with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our community into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to analyze together, to collect data together, to stand up for statistics together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of San Francisco. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pittsburgh!

Let freedom ring from the Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of Los Angeles!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Atlanta!

Let freedom ring from Ranger Park in Arlington!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Cleveland. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of baseball’s children, sabermetricians and objectivists, DHers and Purists, power advocates and speed advocates, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old, “Play Ball!”

OOC: If you would like to refer yourself to the original speech, please do so here.

---

OOC: Stat update not coming tonight, on phone.

[New Montreal States]

SS Samuel Vaillancourt and 2B Greg George are standing in front of a theater in Concord Heights.

VAILLANCOURT: Welp, we can check seeing an all-female version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead off the ol' bucket list. Two hearty cheers!

GEORGE: I think that was a really solid production.

VAILLANCOURT: Meh.

GEORGE: It's better than going out on the town and having to dodge pervs trying to take pictures of my ass, incognito.

VAILLANCOURT: Barely.

GEORGE (pointing to a newsbox whose contents are headlined "Reformed Expos swing good wood all night, vigourously round bases on their way to 18-4 piledriving of Kinzar): D'you want to have to deal with three dozen terrible pickup lines punning off of that?

VAILLANCOURT: I dunno, let me flip a coin. (He pulls a coin from his pocket and flips it) Heads! Let's agonize about it for the next two hours.

GEORGE: Philistine.

VAILLANCOURT: Bite me.

GEORGE: It's relevant, dammit!

VAILLANCOURT: Why yes! We're all gonna get beheaded at the end of the WBC.

GEORGE: Two people talking to each other, but also kind of talking past each other at the same time, on their way to an inevitable demise? Aware of what's going on, and that they're being controlled by something bigger than themselves, but unwilling or unable to alter the final outcome? I feel like there's been a lot of that going around lately.

VAILLANCOURT: Feh. That play doesn't have shit to do with shit. "Denmark" isn't even a real place. Hey, where did Ephraim go?

GEORGE: He left with that executive VP-type who was sitting next to us.

VAILLANCOURT: The one who wouldn't shut up about her fucking Pacitalian sports car?

GEORGE: Yeah, that's the one. She pulled out a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs at the start of Act I and told him he would have to use them sometime before the play was over. Neither of them came back from the intermission.

VAILLANCOURT: Chekov's pickup line?

GEORGE: I'm surprised you've heard of it.

VAILLANCOURT: I always thought that was an urban legend.

GEORGE: Not anymore.

pause

VAILLANCOURT: Where do we go from here?

GEORGE: We'll end up where we belong.

VAILLANCOURT: Oh God no please don't start with this...

GEORGE: Wheels have been set in motion, and they have their own pace, to which we are...condemned. Each move is dictated by the previous one - that is the meaning of order. If we start being arbitrary it'll just be a shambles: at least, let us hope so. Because if we happened, just happened to discover, or even suspect, that our spontaneity was part of their order, we'd know that we were lost.*

VAILLANCOURT: And now you're quoting that shit back at me. Get away from me, it might be contagious.

A well-heeled female audience member, having been eyeing the two baseball players from a distance, feels like she's spotted her moment and makes her move.

HORNY CREEPER: There must have been a moment, at the beginning, where you could have said -- no. But somehow you missed it.**

GEORGE: Exactly!

HORNY CREEPER: The nicest martini lounge in Concord Heights is a block and a half thataways. Would you like to go get a drink?

VAILLANCOURT: No. See? There's your fucking moment, right there. Let's go back to the hotel.

*taken directly from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead
**slightly edited version of possibly the most famous line in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead

[Ko-oren]

Revenge in progress

Ko-oren                1 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 2  7
Lycrabon               2 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0  5

The first game of the second round, Ko-oren showed that it means business. Despite the history of the two teams, even if that history played out 4 WBC's ago, Ko-oren won the 1-0 lead in the series. With a 7-5 win that looked like it would not happen until the seventh inning, Lycrabon is now in the position that they need to win both remaining games. As we all know from the Taeshan v. Ko-oren series, being 1-0 behind is far from decisive. The Greenblues beat Taeshan eventually with 2 consecutive wins. And now the first game against Lycrabon is the third consecutive win. Even with two or three games per series, it is funny to see how a team can still get to those statistics: who would have guessed that the team would be able to win three times in a row? Out of the next two games, the Greenblues need to win one. The team should be okay, but still... We're far from there yet.

In other games, Milchama won as predicted. Maybe some Warriors expected a bigger win (instead of 7-4), but it's all about the series now, not the run difference. New Montreal States, the #8 seed, beat Kinzar, the #9 seed. Despite the small difference here, the run difference was 14! The game ended 18-4 with 8 runs for NMS in the fifth inning. They even neglected to score a run in the last two innings altogether... Saugeais comfortably beat Saintland. In the 5-1 game, Saintland only scored their run when it was too late, in the 8th inning. Saugeais had already scored 4 runs before that. Maklohi Vai won 6-2 against the Equestrian States after an amazing start. Sicoutimont also won against The Sova Empire, but they only earned their victory in the ninth inning. Until that time, they were 1-0 down, but they still won 3-1. Zwangzug beat Western Cuba in a game that started off slowly, but still had 11 runs in total. Lastly Allinlia upset Karditan 3-1. Four out of eight games were 'upsets' with the lowest seeded team winning. NMS (9) won against Kinzar (8), so that is a small difference, but Ko-oren (12) won against Lycrabon (5). Sicoutimont (11) beat The Sova Empire (6), but the biggest unexpected result came from Karditan (7) and Allinlia (23!).

In a Classic that is already unprecedented in terms of how far the Greenblues got, can they keep at it and win a spot with the last eight?

[Cassadaigua]

(1) Milchama vs (17) The Serbian Empire @ Concord Heights

Milchama               0 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 0  8
The Serbian Empire     0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Milchama wins series, 2G-0

(8) Kinzar vs (9) New Montreal States @ Rutland

Kinzar                 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
New Montreal States    0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0  2

series tied, 1-1

(4) Saugeais vs (13) Saintland @ Brattleboro

Saugeais               0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Saintland              1 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 X  5

series tied, 1-1

(5) Lycrabon vs (12) Ko-oren @ Winchester

Lycrabon               0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 1  6
Ko-oren                1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  3

series tied, 1-1

(3) Maklohi Vai vs (14) Equestrian States @ Grande Mountain

Maklohi Vai            1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Equestrian States      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  2

Maklohi Vai wins series, 2G-0

(6) The Sova Empire vs (11) Sicoutimont @ New Lakeland

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

Sicoutimont wins series, 2G-0

(2) Zwangzug vs (18) Western Cuba @ Starksville

Zwangzug               0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0  3
Western Cuba           1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Zwangzug wins series, 2G-0

(7) Karditan vs (23) Allinlia @ Victoriaville

Karditan               0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  4
Allinlia               1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  3

series tied, 1-1

Challenge: (In no way does this need to be followed. The purpose is to provide inspiration for RP when it could not otherwise be found).

Historical Challenge: Reference a past World Baseball Classic that I pre-determine: Today, World Baseball Classic 8

[Ko-oren]

1-1 again

After a tense game against Taeshan, it is time for another nail-biter against Lycrabon. While the Greenblues won the first game, and looked confident enough to advance, they lost 6-3 against Lycrabon in the second game of the series. Tomorrow is the last game of the series, where the winner will take all and the loser will go home. The biggest turning point this night was the four-run sixth inning, where Lycrabon earned more runs than Ko-oren in the entire game. For more than half of the game, though, the Greenblues did not seem to lose. 1-0 after one inning, 2-0 up until the sixth inning. Godaigo started the game fantastically with a home-run right off the bat, opening the score but unfortunately he was the only one to be on any base at the time. After some muddling and honestly poor batting, the first next highlight was in the fourth inning. Jinmu batted himself to second base, and Shotoku batted him home. After saving the Greenblues in the fifth inning with a clever throw, Minamoto completely misjudged a ball in the sixth inning, allowing four runs. Only in the ninth inning he restored some of his image with a walk and Ashikaga and Fujiwara brought him back home: 6-3.

The stadium in Winchester was hardly filled, unlike yesterday. A quick look at the city's demographics might already provide the cause: most people living in the city are the elderly, who do not really have an interest in what events are going on in the city, though apparently they were curious enough in the first game. Let's hope they will come to the stadium en masse for the last game, it should be a close one!

Lycrabon               0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 1  6 R   12 H   1 E
Ko-oren                1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  3 R  10 H   1 E

@Winchester. A: 43,927. T: 2:57

PITCHING
Name			IP  K  BB H  ER ERA
Yoritomo		4.1 7  1  4  0  0.00
Yoshimitsu		3.2 8  2  7  5  12.27
Yoritsune       	1   2  0  1  1  9.00

HITTING
1B - Minamoto (2nd, 3rd), Jinmu (6th, 7th), Ashikaga (5th, 9th)
2B - Jinmu (4th),  Shotoku (4th), Fujiwara (9th)
3B - N/A
HR - Godaigo (1st)

OOC: Without much baseball knowledge, I puzzled this together. If you find any inconsistencies or anything else that doesn't seem realistic, please let me know.

[Saintland]

Saintland defeats Saugeaus in Game 2

(SP) Andreas Fundanus was at his best today, as he held Saugeais to a single run and the Kingdom of Saintland picked up a 5 to 1 victory to force game 3. Cash Augustin pitched well today for the most part, but it will appear that way on the stat sheet because of the grand slam home run by Lucius Maccius in the bottom of the 6th inning. With Paulus Famulus set to pitch tomorrow, the Kingdom of Saintland is seemingly in good condition going into what could be their final game of World Baseball Classic 26. "Today, Andreas [Fundanus] pitched well and we were able to produce enough runs to pitch up a victory. We're going to need another strong start from Paulus [Famulus] tomorrow. If we win one more game, we will face either Ko-oren or Lycrabon again. If we win 3 more games, we're probably facing the favorites from Milchama in the semis, but if we face Kinzar or New Montreal States, we'd be facing a team that had upset the favorites. Then, we'd be guaranteed a top 4 finish. Right now, the only thing that matters is beating Saugeais again tomorrow. Tomorrow, we play for the Glory of God. We will leave it up to Him. If it be His Will, we will advance. If it not be His Will, we will come back to the next WBC and we will, God willing, win it then. Even if we lose tomorrow, WBC 26 was a success for our team and our Kingdom." - Petrus Tragus

After Fundanus struck out the side in the top of the first, Petrus Tragus led off the bottom of the first for the Sanctii. He took Cash Augustin's first pitch to right center. Osvald Stewart and Pip Joubert were both positioned in spots that were not ideal to field this ball. Neither of them could get to it quickly enough, as Tragus made his way into 3rd base for a lead-off triple. Ioannes Sentius hit a fly ball to left field, which was caught by Hervé Hoefler. There was no way that Hoefler would throw Tragus out, as the Sanctii captain quickly tagged up and broke for home. He scored easily. The Kingdom of Saintland led 1 to nothing after the first inning.

That would remain the score in the middle of the 6th inning. Marcus Vagnius led off the inning with a line drive single. Marcus Tragus struck out. Petrus Tragus hit a rocket into the middle of center field. Tragus quickly arrived at second base, while Vagnius was held up at 3rd. Ioannes Sentius drew a walk to load the bases. With the bases loaded and 1 out, Paulus Sittius came up. Cash Augustin forced him to pop up behind the plate and Marco Bishop caught it for the 2nd out. That brought up Lucius Maccius. Maccius fouled off pitch after pitch after falling behind 0-2, while taking an occasional ball. Eventually, he forced a full count. Cash Augustin got anxious as he went to release his 3-2 pitch and made the mistake of throwing Maccius a fastball. Maccius recognized it immediately and hit it over the center field fence for a grand slam. Suddenly, the Kingdom of Saintland had a 5 to nothing lead.

Saugeais got a run back in the top of the 7th, as Fundanus conceded a solo home run to Radcliff Snyder. However, Fundanus left the game after 7. Petrus Nonius came in, shutting down Saugeais in the 8th. In the 9th, the Sanctii turned to their closer, Josephus Oppius as they defeated Saugeais 5 to 1 to tie the series at 1. Oppius lived up to his nickname as he walked the bases loaded before striking out Wolfe Wilkinson and Osvald Stewart back-to-back to end the game.

Tomorrow, it all comes down to game 3. Lycrabon defeated Ko-oren 6 to 3 to tie up that series, so the Sanctii will face the winner of Lycrabon VS Saugeais in the quarters. Rodney Rey is the presumed starter for Saugeais. Paulus Famulus, probably the most dominant player in this tournament, will be starting for our Kingdom. Tomorrow's game will be decisive in this series. Be sure to tune in on Royal One and see if the Sanctii can move on to the next round and continue to annoy those Dagans. The SP believes that Feministvs Sanctvsterra will not be around tomorrow, as the next edition of that mixed gender "sport" they play will reportedly start soon, apparently in Free Republics this time around. Let's hope the departure of those terrorists from Cassdaigua convinces the ladies of their country to stop throwing apples at our players and start acting like ladies.

[Kinzar]

"Are we copying Milchama?"

"No, because then we'd be winning."

"Not in regards to that."

"In regards to what?"

"Like, as in roleplaying style?"

"Roleplaying?"

"Yeah, like when you go into a steamy singles chatroom and you pretend to be someone you're not, and talk to some girl who's pretending to be hot but is probably very much not, and you two act things out?"

"I've never done that. But you seem to know alot about the topic."

"Well uhm how about we talk about something else?"

"About how I scored with hot Cassadaigua girl while you are pretending to be something you are not?"

"Shut up. Did you look at that website from Cassadaigua about the hottest men in the World Baseball Classic?"

"No. Why would I give a damn?"

"Becuase then you hit on the Cassadaigua women that respond. That's why."

"I prefer to hit on women in person, not on the computer."

"Anyway do you think we'll win tomorrow to play Milchama?"

"No."

"Where's your spirit?"

"We lost 18-4 in the first game."

"Yes but then we won game 2"

"Because they felt sorry for us."

"Game 1 was the fluke. We're better then them, go Wildcats!"

"Yeah yeah go back on your computer, I have to enjoy my last day in Cassadaigua since we will be eliminated tomorrow."

[Maklohi Vai]

OOC: I'm going to be without WiFi for the next 12 days, but I might be able to sneak some 3G in order to get up a draft that I've already saved. Also, these things are written based off of the game Civilization 5, so if you know that game some of it will make sense. I'm going to try to link these back at the end of the WBC, but the first couple will be entirely disjointed.

The year is 1760 AD, and the German Empire is expansive across the globe. Founded on the west coast of North America, it now reaches four continents with over a dozen cities. Berlin, the capital, is the control center of the empire, having access to both a prosperous Central Valley as well as the expansive Pacific. Hamburg, the second largest city, controls the silver based wealth of the country, holding nearly a monopoly worldwide. Munich lies on the western edge of the Great Plains of America, farms expansive to the south, mines to the west, and woodcutting to the north and east. It is the largest city of the empire, having access to a wide variety of food, production, and wealth. Essen is the sixth city, laying on the Gulf of Mexico at the breaking point between the deserts of Mexico and the jungles of Central America. It is at the bottleneck of the southern Empire. This part of the empire consists of four cities: three founded, one captured. Dortmund, at the breaking of the Mexican jungle; Stuttgart, the resource magnet of the Central American economy; Hanover, at the junction of South and Central America, the gateway to the Mongol empire that resides further south. And then, the captured city: Jenne, formerly of the Songhai Empire until its destruction by German forces, struggling to grow on Hispaniola in an empire two eras ahead of its former rulers. There are two former Songhai states in the German Empire as well. Gao lies at the mouth of the Mississippi, a potentially gigantic center of production once it gains its footing. Tombouctu lies in the grassland of Pennsylvania, not quite on the East Coast or the Great Lakes. It has limited spaced with which to work, but it hopes to prosper in later years.

Situated to the west, approximately halfway to Munich, lies Orleans, the southernmost city of the former French Empire, conquered over the course of two consecutive Franco-German Wars spread only a century apart. Orleans, situated at the junction of the Mississippi and the Missouri, represents a beacon of hope for the conquered states, as it now grows and functions as any founded German city would. To the northeast lies Tours, situated between the forest and the tundra of southern Canada. It was one of the latest cities to join the Empire after puppetry, as it had financial issues. To the northwest of Orleans lies Troyes, on the banks of the northernmost parts of the Missouri. Its diversity of production looks to break out in further years. At Troyes begins the Northwestern Road, a single highway connecting the Great Plains to the upper reaches of Canada; it is the backbone of the former French Empire. Laying next on that road is Lyon, a small city due to its location at the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. It specializes in timber. Further up the road, at its culmination, is the former capital, Paris. It is a small city, as it lies at the reaches of the Canadian forest, practically on the icy slopes of the far north. There are two more cities in North America: Bremen, on the West Coast at the last refuge before icy Alaska, and Leipzig, situated in the heartland of the central Canadian forest.

There are six more cities in the Empire: three in Siberia, and three in Micronesia. Cologne and Frankfurt are the jewels of Siberia, ambitiously founded so as to get a foothold in Asia. Dresden has also been founded there recently as a way to gain increased access to top notch Siberian iron. In Micronesia, the first city to be founded was Dusseldorf, on an island off the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was intended to be a gateway to the South Pacific and Australia, and it is already heading down that path. Founded on the eastern reaches of Guinea, Duisburg seeks to become the major city in the region, and with only three city states to compete, it seems as though it can achieve that goal. Lastly, there is Bonn, the first city in Australia, founded at the northern tip where forests and farms can still be had.

Across the world, there lie several known civilizations and several unknown ones. In Alaska, the four city Persian Empire is struggling to find food or friendly diplomacy. In South America, the Mongols try to expand while also balancing the interests of two very large and hostile city states. In Central Africa, the Greek Empire flourishes in the jungle with much territory to expand to. With Moscow on the Nile, the Russian Empire seeks to dominate East Africa and the Middle East, and is surely ready to fight for it, having just declared war on the Roman Empire that occupies some of that space. In Western Europe, the Aztecs are overaggressive, and have indeed fought with the German Empire before, but they are beginning to settle down and grow. Southern Europe and Asia still lie largely unknown, but it can be hypothesized that the English Empire occupies the former. The Indian Empire controls eastern Scandinavia and western Russia. The Japanese Empire controls parts of Central Asia and Interior Russia, while the Chinese Empire, their rivals, lie directly to the east, occupying a vague space in Southern Siberia, Mongolia, and Manchuria. The rest of Asia is unknown to the German Empire besides the glimmer of an American Empire residing in Thailand.

In diplomatic matters, there has recently been a slew of denouncings against Germany. After having destroyed France and Songhai, combined with rapid expansion of territory, many leaders feel threatened by their own shortcomings and decide to take it out through a verbal attack. It is truly cowardly to do so.

The German Empire’s current strategy is to expand to new lands while building at home. After four wars that greatly taxed the nation, a pax germana is in order. New settlements are being aimed for Australia, Borneo, and later Java. Chile could be another target, as is further expansion in North America, likely up the east coast. Seeing as this could push almost 10 cities, the German Empire is fine with taking things slow. In addition, with industrialization coming within 10 years, a jump in productivity is expected.

The army will maintain a presence around Rio de Janeiro, a city state which occupies the territory north of the Great Lakes, as they have been violent in the past when they were allied with France in the Franco-German wars. There will also be sentries watching the Persian Empire in Alaska, as well as Siberian sentries observing the Chinese Empire. No conflicts are expected, but the army, the largest in the world, will be maintained for defense purposes.

[Saugeais]

"Familiar situation we find ourselves in, eh?"

"It is slightly disgraceful, don'tcha think? I mean, we are one of the top 10 nations in the world in baseball, and we have Saintland hanging around like a ball and chain. With the talent we have on the roster, we should be winning right out, not losing by the likes of 5-1."

"Cash Augustin could've pitched a better game, I agree. Hopefully, the southpaw will get another chance to redeem himself this Classic, or the management have to think about dropping him."

"Well, that goes without saying, but I think he'll be dropped regardless. There are plenty of young pitchers in the SBO for Gagné and Nopro to choose from. Hell, maybe Nopro can pick his boy from the Blue Wave, Charlie Adkins. 22 year old, power pitching southpaw. I think he'd be a great addition to the national staff."

"Domestic dominance doesn't always translate to national success, though I too would love to see how well he does at the international level. But another problem I have is that the bats are very selective on this team. Very moody. One game, they'll be red hot, and the next they'll be ice cold. They need to be a little more consistent. Hell, even during that 7 game winning streak they had a couple games where they skated by on the pitching. That can't happen anymore, especially now with the deciding game 3 looming."

"Rodney Rey is a quality pitcher, and has shown several times in the past that he can get himself out of a jam. Maybe he'll get the rest of the team out of this jam as well?"

"It certainly can't hurt to hope. And it certainly won't be a bad game to watch."

[Lycrabon]

Blue Jays win, face game three

WINCHESTER - Obviously, they were already looking ahead in game one.

After falling to the Ko-oren Greenblues in game one, forcing the Lycrabon Blue Jays to win two straight to advance to the quarterfinals, the Jays won 6-3 behind Fitzpatrick's complete game ten-hitter. Tom Benson will return to a familiar role, starting a pressure packed win-or-go home game for the Jays. History against Ko-oren isn't long; according to their media, the two last met four Classics ago. Saugeais (long history) or Saintland (recent, nasty history) is next for the Jays, should they win. Should Lycrabon lose, the whispers will start about why a foreigner - granted, one with an extremely successful Classic history such as miss Brianna Bruce - is managing the national team.

Lycrabon 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 1 6 R 12 H 1 E
Ko-oren 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 R 10 H 1 E

@Winchester. A: 43,927. T: 2:57

PITCHING

Ko-oren			IP    K  BB H  ER ERA
Yoritomo (L)		4 1/3 7  1  4  0  0.00
Yoshimitsu		3 2/3 8  2  7  5  12.27
Yoritsune       	1     2  0  1  1  9.00

LYCRABON
Fitzpatrick (W) CG, 8 K, 3 BB, 10 H, 3 ER

[Cassadaigua]

Cutoff for the game 3's has arrived!

(8) Kinzar vs (9) New Montreal States @ Rutland

Kinzar                 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0  6
New Montreal States    0 0 1 4 1 1 0 2 X  9

New Montreal States wins series, 2G-1

(4) Saugeais vs (13) Saintland @ Brattleboro

Saugeais               0 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 0  5
Saintland              0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Saugeais wins series, 2G-1

(5) Lycrabon vs (12) Ko-oren @ Winchester

Lycrabon               1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0  4
Ko-oren                0 0 0 3 1 3 1 3 X 11

Ko-oren wins series, 2G-1

(7) Karditan vs (23) Allinlia @ Victoriaville

Karditan               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Allinlia               2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 X  4

Allinlia wins series, 2G-1

QUARTERFINALS:
(1) Milchama vs (9) New Montreal States @ Brattleboro
(4) Saugeais vs (12) Ko-oren @ New Lakeland
The winner of these series play each other.

(3) Maklohi Vai vs (11) Sicoutimont @ Concord Heights
(2) Zwangzug vs (23) Allinlia @ Grande Mountain
The Winner of these series play each other.

Historical Challenge: Reference World Baseball Classic 11

[Maklohi Vai]

OOC: Continuing the Civ 5 line I started earlier. See here. Heads up also that this will be my last RP for this WBC until the very end, unless there's some miracle that gets me internet in the next two weeks.

1765-178
Berlin begins construction of the Louvre with the aim of finishing in the early 19th century.
The former Songhai colonies are still working on basic buildings.
The 2nd Cavalry unit is in Chile, seeking to eliminate the barbarians in preparation for the arrival of a settler departing from Hanover.

1770-179
China denounces Japan, further escalating post war tensions between the two.
The 1st Cavalry unit engages with barbarians on Borneo, winning a decisive first battle.
A settler is trained in Tombouctu with the intention of settling the east coast of America. A landsknecht unit awaits the arrival.

1775-180
The German Empire industrializes, the first civilization to do so.
The American Empire denounces Japan, putting the Japanese firmly on the negative end of Asian diplomacy that is not attacking Rome, which is currently fighting the Russian, Japanese, English, and Ottoman Empires.
The 1st Cavalry unit clears out Borneo, and likewise the 2nd unit clears out Chile.

1780-181
Both the Chilean and East Coast settlers are on their way, and will found at similar times.
The Australian city state of Lhasa has allied with England and then summarily declared war on Rome.
The Empire ups the education ante, ordering the construction of 5 new universities and a library.

1785-182
A golden age begins for the German Empire after many years of prosperity. It is expected to last nearly 40 years.

1790-183
Rome, now confirmed to be on the Indian Subcontinent, gets very paranoid at the presence of three units of German origin near Rome’s borders. Two caravels and a scout is nothing to worry about, Julius. Keep your attention on the five wars you’re fighting already.
Bochum is founded on Narragansett Bay, close to cattle and oil resources.
New settlers are trained in Duisburg, Dusseldorf, and Bonn with the intention of founding cities in Java, Borneo, and northern Australia.

1795- 184
England denounces Japan, despite the Japanese capture of the Roman city of Circei, a target of the English in their war with Rome.
Bielefeld is founded on the northern reaches of Chilean coast, close to ivory and horses.
An archer unit engages successfully against a barbarian crossbowman on Sri Lanka.
Cologne finally establishes daily trade with Berlin, creating a large revenue stream for the empire.

1800- 185
India declares was on England, immediately drawing a denunciation from the Aztecs despite their own hatred of the English.
China and the Ottomans make peace after years of ineffective attacks.

1805 -186
Mongolia is upset about the settlement of Bielefeld being close to their borders, despite the fact that they could have just crossed the mountains 500 years earlier and founded a city in the exact same spot.
The Ottomans denounce China only five years after they declared peace. Another war would not be surprising.
Karlsruhe is founded in NE Australia, close to marble, horses, and a beneficial seaport.
Barbarians are successfully defeated in Sri Lanka by an archer-caravel pair.

1810 -187
The American Empire is confirmed to be of Southeast Asian origin, with the capital, Washington, being in the Mekong delta.
Exploration continues of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and an expedition to discover the East Asian coast has been started.
A new settle is trained in Bochum with the intention of going further up the American East Coast.

1815- 188
The Ottomans make peace with Japan and Rome, apparently ready to stop most of their fighting.
Gelsenkirchen is founded in the north of Borneo.
The settler aiming for Sumatra is beaten by an American group, and so has to land at Java with the intention of founding there.
A settler is trained in Bonn with the intention of going to NW Australia.

1820- 189
Weisbaden is founded on Java, the furthest west Germany had gone into Asia.
The Aztecs approach with a proposition to declare war on Japan, but seeing as there are no German troops situated appropriately, Germany declines.
Germany is now able to mass construct factories, allowing for highly increased production in cities.
Further exploration of the East Asian coast reveals that the Ottomans are situated in Central China, while the English are mostly wedged in between them and the Chinese, occupying northern China, Korea, and Japan.

1825- 190
Munster is founded in NW Australia close to sheep and the outback.
The East Asian exploration takes a hit as the English Empire refuses to grant open borders, even with a trade deal that would give them 8 to 1 value.
A new settler is trained in Bielefeld with the intention of going to central Chile.
The Ottomans denounce Japan without much obvious reason apparent to outsiders.

1830- 191
England and India sign a peace accord, but it does not appear very strong.
The German Empire sets a course to discover electricity by 1860.
A new policy is adopted: Secularism, which will increase specialists’ production.
A new settler is trained in Leipzig who will inhabit the shores of Hudson Bay to the east.

1835- 192
Catherine and Gandhi launch an attack on the Aztecs at the same time, with a city state each. Apparently they didn’t communicate, however, as Russia denounces India.
The East Asian coast is now explored to the fullest extent it can be without access inside English borders.

1840- 193
Japan denounces India for no apparent reason.
Rostock is founded further up the North American east coast, around oil and timber.
Chemnitz is founded in South Central Chile at the last available point where it can have overland access to Bielefeld.
A settler is trained in Karlsruhe with the intention of settling in Eastern Australia.

1845- 194
Braunschweig/Brunswik is founded as a joint settlement on Hudson Bay, close to plentiful iron resources.
The Louvre is completed in Berlin, creating a plethora of new culture as well as two great artists ready to expand borders. Victor Hugo will go to expand borders in Colombia, and Du Fu will go to the north to build a cultural monument.

1850- 195
New plans were being laid for expansion in Australia, and as such a settler was commissioned in Munster.
Nothing much of interest happened on the international front.

1852- 196
Aluminum has been discovered at five locations throughout the German Empire, and mining is planned for four. The other site is of too great economic importance.
Halle is founded off the east coast of Australia. It will be the easternmost Australian settlement.
A new settler is trained in Munster that will go to central Australia.
The Empire begins research into higher levels of dynamite and explosives.
An ambitious campaign is launched to expand into West Africa, where the Congo-based Greek Empire has not yet gone. Settlers are trained in all three former cities of Songhai.

1854- 197
China declares war on Japan, surprising no one. Tensions had been building rapidly.
Five settlers take off around the globe.

1856- 198
The American, Aztec, and English Empires declare war on Japan, but not through cohesive action, as England denounces the Aztecs.
Barbarians attack Duisburg, but are fended off by strong city defenses.
Monchengladbach is founded on the west coast of Australia, close to stone and spices.

1858- 199
Greece denounces Russia. The only possible explanation is that Greece thinks Russia is too large and encroaching on its space. Guess what you can do? Build cities.
Victor Hugo creates a great work in Colombia, increasing prestige and expanding German borders.
Kiel is founded in Central Australia near oil, iron, and stone.
The government starts research on replaceable parts.

1860- 200
Life progresses. Literally nothing of note.

1862- 201
The first settler lands on the coast of Africa, with the other two to come shortly.
Berlin starts production on the Sistine Chapel, scheduled completion date of 1880.

1864- 202
India declares war on Japan because why the hell not, everybody else is doing it.
The German Empire attempts to sign Open Borders agreements with China and the Ottomans, but both leaders are cold and unresponsive.
Wuppertal is founded on the west coast of Africa, with cities planned to the north and south. No Greek opposition has come yet, but it is expected.
The Empire decides to focus research efforts on refrigeration.

1866- 203
The German and Greek Empires sign an Open Borders agreement with no strings attached, signaling the good will between the two states.
Freiburg is founded on the northern part of the west coast of Africa, roughly Morocco. The third settler is still traveling south.

1868- 204
Hagen is founded in inland West Africa, close to wheat and dyes. More settlers are planned, but the capacity is not present to train them at the moment.

1870- 205
Russia denounces the Ottomans and England denounces Japan, both for what they perceive to be good reasons but are actually quite petty.
The German Empire makes a large gift of 1000 gold to its most loyal city state, Stockholm.

---

Equestrian States      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2
Maklohi Vai            3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 X  6

Scoring Summary:
1st: Mae'ao drove in Aputo Roma'ai and Iao Laina, each of whom had singled, with a home run to left.
2nd: Wolo Rakinalmanai led off with a single. After outs by the pitcher and Roma'ai, Iao Laina singled to send Rakinalmanai to third. Ri'ino Uilnai then walked, setting up Mae'ao for a single that drove Rakinalmanai and Laina in.
8th: Mae'ao hit a solo shot to left.

Maklohi Vai            1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Equestrian States      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  2

Scoring Summary:
1st: After a two out Uilnai double, Mae'ao hit a triple down the right field line that drove him in.
2nd: Arnao hit a solo shot to right.
3rd: Mae'ao hit a home run to left to lead off the inning.

Stat Update:
HR: Mae'ao 23, Arnao 4, Wolo Rakinalmanai 3, Iao Laina 1
RBI: Mae'ao 58, Wolo Rakinalmanai 7, Arnao 7, Moalna’akai Lai 3, Koilani Ruputuo 2, Iao Laina 1, Ri’ino Uilnai 1, Rimai Lomukiwo 1

[Maklohi Vai]

EDITED OUT. Posted by mistake, this was intended to be a backup RP for a later date. Still may be used.

[Milchama]

"Well that was simple"

"Yep"

"Pretty much expected"

"Yeah"

"You know what?"

"What?"

"I think we should do a Liamist States RP"

"Nobody even knows who the Liamist States is, heck he was barely around when we first started"

"How do you know? You're not immortal"

"That's what you think, I mean uhh... no"

"Yeah sure"

"Whatever"

"I would say we should do some old style RPs"

"What does that mean?"

"Newspaper reports"

"Three problems: 1. those are boring and repetitive to write. There's a reason why nobody really RPs like that anymore, second everybody's copying us now. We can't go upsetting people and finally it's bad luck"

"Yeah people like us, they really really like us"

"Well I guess that's what happens when you're the top side in the world"

"Yep"

"Wait what about this bad luck stuff"

"Oh well every time since about World Cup 31 when we've done a newspaper report we tend to lose"

"But we've lost plenty of time with this RP style"

"Sure but confirmation bias"

"Ok"

"Quickly changing topics: so how many times have we faced the Reformed Expos?"

"A lot"

"Any ideas on how many times?"

"Nope but I think our first meeting was at the World Cup of Baseball"

"Right"

"Any ideas on our meetings against the Paladins?"

"Nope"

"You're a wealth of information"

"I know right!"

"I was being sarcastic"

"Oh"

"Yeah"

"Well?"

"It's an old school rivalry. Two Chicago boys going at it"

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it"

"Ok"

"Anyway, it's been a long time"

"And this is definitely the most important match up we've been in with them in a long time"

"Yes"

"So then any memorable games?"

"Probably but I don't remember and I'm too lazy to go through the history and figure it out"

"You're a good one"

"Yeah"

"It's not helpful is it?"

"Nope"

"So it goes"

"Yep"

"Cool"

"I miss Avi Belmowitz"

"Meh, that's a subject for a different time"

"Ok"

"Sweet"

"Shorter sentences"

"Right"

"And now the necessary good luck signoff"

"Yep"

"Come on You Warriors!"

"Let's Go Milchama!"

[Ko-oren]

Record Run!

As has been said multiple times, the Greenblues are breaking record after record! Now they are with the current top eight sides of the world, and there is no reason why Saugeais should put a stop to that. The previous series were against Taeshan, the world ranking's number eight, and Lycrabon, who were not ranked as high as Taeshan or seeded as high as Saugeais, but definitely come close. Talking about that team: Ko-oren won the series against them!

About last match: apparently the tension was back. Or at least to such an extent, that the people of Winchester made it to the stadium to watch some quality baseball. We will grant them that last match was not as spectacular as this one, but for this match it was just a pity that it was not sold out. It had runs, hits, everything. Fast pace, and it took long to finish too: more baseball for the same price! They saw Lycrabon opening the score in the first inning already. And it stayed calm after that for a while, until a steam train in two familiar colors started rolling and maintaining some pace. That started in the fourth inning: 3 runs. Then one run. Then Lycrabon finally caught their breath and tried to stop the Ko-orenites. They were too late, honestly. They still had two runs, but after that the Greenblues continued where they left off with another three runs. Then a run for both sides. And the eighth inning (Ko-oren did not get to play the last one) saw another three innings for the Greenblues. Welcome to the second-best scoring Ko-oren game of this WBC! The most-scoring game was against the surprisingly good Sangti side in the group stage (12-3). After such a good game, the players and the handful of fans that made it all the way from Ko-oren to Cassadaigua were out of their minds with happiness... And immediately felt the pressure too. Every next series is going to be even more difficult to perform in. Next up is Saugeais, who took three games to fight off Saintland, but eventually made it through with a 5-1 win.

For the last eight teams: three groups are still represented very well. Group 2, 5 and 9 have two teams in: Milchama/Ko-oren, Sicoutimont/Saugeais and Zwangzug/Allinlia. Furthermore, only three teams of the last eight are actually currently ranked in the top eight: Milchama, Zwangzug and Maklohi Vai. Allinlia and New Montreal States are pulling off the biggest fairytale, ranked 39th and 28th. As far as seeding goes: four of the last eight are seeded in the top 8. New Montreal States (9), Sicoutimont (11), Ko-oren (12) and Allinlia (23!) are doing very, very well in this regard. Six out of eight teams are over-performing, in the sense that their seed is higher than their ranking. The two nations that are doing 'exactly as planned' are Milchama and Sicoutimont. Sicoutimont is ranked 11th and is seeded 11th, and Milchama is not to blame for their results: they are already #1 in rank and seed. Again Allinlia and New Montreal States have the biggest difference: Allinlia is +16, NMS is doing even better with a +19!

Lycrabon               1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0  4 R  9 H 3 E
Ko-oren                0 0 0 3 1 3 1 3 X 11 R 15 H 1 E

@Winchester. A: 49,483. T: 3:22

PITCHING
Name			IP K  BB H  ER ERA
Yoritomo		6  12 3  8  3  4.50
Yoshimitsu		3  5  0  1  1  3.00

HITTING
1B - Hidetada (1st, 2nd), Godaigo (2nd, 3rd), Minamoto (3rd), Jinmu (6th), Nobunaga (8th) 
2B - Nobunaga (1st), Tsunayoshi (5th), Godaigo (5th, 7th), Minamoto (7th)
3B - Ienari (6th)
HR - Ashikaga (4th), Yoshinobu (8th)

"You know what I've been wondering?"

"What?"

"Who are those people talking all the time?"

"Who exactly are you talking about? This has been just the second or third time."

"No, not us. But you know who."

"No, I don't."

"You've never seen a newspaper from Milchama, have you?"

"No, I hardly read newspapers here in Ko-oren. All long stories and so on on the front page. And that continues on to page 30 or so. But no, I've never seen a newspaper from there."

"You do know how they hate statistics in newspaper reports?"

"Yeah"

"Well, rumor has it that their newspapers just banned journalism too. They now just transcribe a dialogue."

"Okay"

"Right, so I was wondering... Who are those people exactly?"

"Come on You Greenblues!"

"Let's Go Ko-oren!"

[Sicoutimont]

Podcastin' With Jacques And Fidel!

"YES! It's going deep! Deep!"

"Ha, Fidel, it's only the second inning. We're here in New Lakeland for Game 2 of Sicoutimont vs The Sova Empire, and Loic St-Ignace just went deep to put Les Royales up 1-0!"

"What a great hit by St-Ignace. That shot could give Les Royales the momentum they need to win Game 2 of this series."

"Now now, Fidel, it's only the second inning. Remember what happened in Game 1? Sicoutimont were down the entire game until the final inning, where 3 runs gave them the victory."

"Yeah, but this home run could take away any momentum The Sova Empire had going into this game, showing them that we can win a Game 2."

"Maybe so, but what does it matter? See, Jaeg Nordstrom just struck out to end the inning. Now they've got a chance to tie the game."

"It's just been announced in the stadium that Maklohi Vai held on in Grande Mountain to win Game 2 of their series, advancing to the second round. That means that if Sicoutimont win tonight, they will play the team from MV in a rematch of last Classic's Round of 16."

"What a great story that would be. Now, with both teams in or on the verge of the top 10 in World Rankings, that would truly be a battle between two very even sides."

"Very true, Fidel. In other Classic games, Zwangzug and Western Cuba are tied 1-1 after the 4th inning, Zwangzug hold the 1-0 series advantage there."

"Now it's Sicoutimont's half of this inning, Alfonso Soriano will come up to hit."

"Strike 1......ball......foul....hit!"

"Soriano runs....double."

"A good double by the DH there."

"Let's skip ahead a bit, Fidel."

"Ok"

"We're back, in the top of the 9th inning now. Sicoutimont lead 3-0 due to a Victor Santana double to RBI Boullion Carvier, and a Loic St-Ignace triple for Santana to go home. St-Ignace would be caught stealing for the first out, and Martin Vauton and Jose Colognon would hit into the double play to end the inning. Now, in the ninth, Claude Perrault pitching with 2 outs. Igor Bcuz up to bat, an 0-0 count."

"First pitch, swing and missed, strike 1. Perrault straightens himself at the mound, Bcuz in the box. Jose Colognon makes the call for a fastball, it comes in, but it's a bit wide, ball 1. Now, he will pitch again. The throw....it's a change-up! Bcuz swings too early, strike 2. Claude Perrault is a strike away from winning the series for Les Royales. The throw..it's a knuckleball that Bcuz just tips foul. Perrault and Colognon meet now, this is the most important pitch of this game. The ball goes in, it's a curveball, Bcuz shifts his hands and the ball goes right into Colognon's glove....STRIKE 3! That's the match!"

"Have you been playing too many video games lately, Fidel? 'That's the match,' where'd you get that from?"

"Sicoutimont have just won their second straight series and advance to the Quarterfinals! What a performance by Maurice Sorotane's Royales!"

"Not gonna answer my question, ok then, whatever, but Sicoutimont will now move on to play against Maklohi Vai. That series will be played in the capital of Cassadaigua, Concord Heights. 72,000 people can fit into the seats over there, and we'll be two of them!"

"Really?"

"Um, Fidel, we're getting paid to watch these games, you know?"

"What a nice living that would be, getting paid to watch awesome sports games and talk with people like you? Although the talking part could be left out haha...."

"Fidel, that is our living right now, you know......watching baseball games....."

"Really? Awesome!"

"Alrighty then, Fidel, could you tell us how we will be getting to Concord Heights?"

"Driving!"

"No. I'm not driving back across the entire country of Cassadaigua, that would take days."

"Listen, man, there's other series still need to be played! We leave tonight, we can get there the day after tomorrow!"

"You and Steven can drive if you want, but there's a seat on the AirSicoutimont flight to Concord Heights with my name on it."

"Why would your name be on the seat?"

"Fidel, your from Riviere St-Denis, right?"

"Yeah"

"You know like, street smarts, right?"

"All of them!"

"Hm. Interesting you think so......hey, speaking of the city on the river, the Rangers just won the LBS championship, eh?"

"They did? Awesome! I saw game 2 when we were in the hotel in Brattleboro, didn't know Game 5 was tonight."

"Um, they didn't play 5 games..."

"What, the swept them?"

"Yeah!"

"Bring out the brooms, the brooms, you're going home!"

"Um, excuse me, what?"

"It's an old fans chant. You wouldn't know it, Ile Perrot fan....."

"The Rangers can't boast 2 World Baseball Club Championship titles, or 2 LBS titles, now can they?"

*happy Sicoutian fan in the background*

"Yeah, but none of you have what the Mets have!"

"Shut up, when's the last time St-Simeon did something in any playoffs besides losing out in the first round of the BCCC every year?"

"6 Straight! 6 Straight!"

*chant of '6 Straight' fades off into the distance*

"Anyways, we'll be back from Concord Heights for Game 1 of Sicoutimont-Maklohi Vai, it's the playoffs, it's going to be exciting, you're going to be here! Watch us! Now!....."

[Zwangzug]

What kept me going that last game was realizing that I pitched just as well the first inning (single, walk, single to right, the way it cleared Sonia) as I did in the next couple. The first two were lucky, I don't want to blame the ump which I would have done all day, had we lost and then later on, we started making more plays. The second ends with this comebacker to the mound and so I just chucked it over to Hendrickson, who's new, and she gives me this look of "give me time to get to the bag" but I was so nervous, I was rushing...

and then I'm going back to the dugout and it's like, I need to stop rushing because that's making me mess up, and then Amy gets on so I have to bat, and that goes predictably well. Popped out to the mound. As you do.

So sure enough Sonia reaches and it's Vesle, again, pushing in Amy, so I have time to exhale a little and after that it's back to those just-close-enough outs. I never got into the flow, it wasn't like it possibly being my last start for the Zebras distracted me I don't think, but what the hey. I lead off the fifth, nothing comes of it. Sixth inning, then, we take the lead! Moana belts one to the wall to push in Hendrickson, her again, and then after we chased the starter Brian scored her. Danny closed things out.

So that means we get Allinlia again, and don't we know they can spring the upset. These last couple times I feel like we've got our losses out of the way early

Darmen didn't even make the playoffs? When did that fail to happen. And we beat Western cuba, who I guess are seeded above us, but the Warrriors are still around. When the rotation is like this all the pressure is spread out, anyway. Upsets do happen one way or the other that last champion series, with the Dragons and

Off to Grande Mountain now. Polzin says we don't have to worry about rental insurance on our cars because if we're trying to drive cars anyway we're doing it wrong.

[Cassadaigua]

Now, let's move on to the quarterfinals!

(1) Milchama vs (9) New Montreal States @ Brattleboro

New Montreal States    0 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  7
Milchama               3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

New Montreal States leads series, 1G-0

(4) Saugeais vs (12) Ko-oren @ New Lakeland

Ko-oren                0 0 0 0 4 2 0 4 0 10
Saugeais               0 0 1 0 0 1 2 3 1  8

Ko-oren leads series, 1G-0

(3) Maklohi Vai vs (11) Sicoutimont @ Concord Heights

Sicoutimont            4 2 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 11
Maklohi Vai            0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  3

Sicoutimont leads series, 1G-0

(2) Zwangzug vs (23) Allinlia @ Grande Mountain

Allinlia               2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Zwangzug               0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 X  4

Zwangzug leads series, 1G-0

Historical Challenge: Reference World Baseball Classic 16
Hint: Your host won this championship.

[Maklohi Vai]

OOC: So I drove about 90 minutes to get internet in order to post this. Am I addicted to NS? Probably, but is that really a bad thing?
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8

Kumalo was still recovering from the shock of having his grandmother curse him out on the phone. She was, besides religion, an exceptionally nice woman. She headed a local charity organization and did volunteer work 4 times a week. But religion made her a different person. It was repulsive to her, and she acted accordingly. Her outburst to Kumalo was only contained because he was related. She had almost fought a couple people who came to her door advertising their faith. Mormon, Jehovahs Witnesses, it didn't matter.

Luckily for Kumalo, his own mother was more accepting. She was atheist, but not anti-theist. Anti-fundamentalist, sure, but she found no fault in a calm organized religion that didn't try to stuff its beliefs down your throat. This was Kumalo called after he got off the phone with his grandmother.

"Hello?"

"Mom, it's Kumalo."

"Honey, how are you? I haven't talked to you since Tuesday."

"Sorry, mom, I've been entertaining foreign guests."

"Ooh, you'll have to tell me about that."

"Not right now, I have something else I want to talk to you about."

"Ok, what is it?"

"It's tama Lorimuna. Her attitude towards religion."

"Well, are you religious?"

"No."

"You do that Margaret group, right?"

"Yes, mom. But I decided I had to talk to her about it."

"Oh, honey. Oh, oh, oh."

"I can tell you have an inkling of the conversation."

"Yes. When I was growing up, she would go on these rants, these tirades, about how religious people were idiots and unworthy to receive government healthcare and services. And she would attack everybody: Hindus, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, even smaller faiths too like Sikhism and Zoroastrianism. Oh, oh, oh. Did she give you an earful?"

"I guess not as bad as it could have been. She lashed out and hung up."

"Mmm, it probably means she's more shocked than anything else. You shouldn't call her for a couple days. Wait a week to be sure."

"But I need to solve things with her. I need to be open about who I am."

"You do, honey. But things with tama aren't easy. You may never have the same relationship with her."

"Ohhh..."

"I know, I know it's tough. But she'll be dead soon anyways. She's already 102."

"Mom, life expectancy is 118 for native Vaians though. I can't stand 16 years of it."

"Oh, oh, oh. Here's what you have to do when the time comes. You need to be upfront about it and don't give any ground. You say you're sorry she feels this way, but that that's who you are and she has to accept it. Leave it at that."

"It sounds a bit harsh to put it like that."

"You have to bite back her bite. She doesn't take kindly to weak folk who can't defend themselves. She's a vulture."

"Ok, I guess I can try that. How long should I wait?"

"Now that I think about it, wait a week. She'll need time."

"Ok, thank you Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Kumalo. Talk to you soon."
*click*

---

Sicoutimont            4 2 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 11
Maklohi Vai            0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  3

Scoring Summary:
2nd: Mae'ao led off with a monster home run to left. Two hitters later, Arnao did the same.
8th: After a Ri'ino Uilani single, Mae'ao doubled to right, driving him in.

HR: Mae'ao 24, Arnao 5, Wolo Rakinalmanai 3, Iao Laina 1
RBI: Mae'ao 60, Arnao 8, Wolo Rakinalmanai 7, Moalna’akai Lai 3, Koilani Ruputuo 2, Iao Laina 1, Ri’ino Uilnai 1, Rimai Lomukiwo 1

[Sicoutimont]

Podcastin' With Jacques and Fidel!

"Welcome back to Podcastin' With Jacques and Fidel! We're here in Concord Heights for Game 1 of the Quarterfinals, Sicoutimont vs Maklohi Vai. The score is currently 7-2 in favour of Les Royales here in the 7th inning, which has just started. Carlos Santa Maria pitched the first 6 innings, before Claude Perrault was brought in from the bullpen. But now, Martin Vauton is up to bat. He reached home in the second inning off an Alfonso Soriano home run to make the score 6-0. Maklohi Vai would strike back and make the score 6-2 with homers from Mae'ao and Arnao, but Victor Santana would bring home Xavi Esquinardes for the only run of the 6th inning to make the score 7-2."

"C'mon, Vauton! Hit the ball!"

"Martin Vauton takes the pitch, a strike, going down 0-2 in the count. The pitch, tipped just foul by Vauton, and the Vaian pitcher composes himself on the mound. The pitch, a ball, 1-2 the count. Now the pitch comes in, it's hit deep to right....Wolo Rakinalmanai gets the ball, throwing it to Arnao, keeping Vauton grounded at second base. Now up for Les Royales, it's Jose Colognon. The catcher swings on the first pitch, a single, putting runners on the corners. Now it's Alfonso Soriano, who won't stay silent, the first pitch a ball. The knuckleball comes in, Soriano swings....it's long! Oh, this could be a home run! It is!"

"Yes! Run home!"

"The ball goes out of the playing grounds for a home run, and the score becomes 10-2, with 0 outs for Les Royales. Now it's Pedro Santana who began the game with a single, he pops up....caught by the catcher, the 1st out for Les Royales. Xavi Esquinardes will reach first base, and now it's Boullion Carvier......long fly ball....warning track......Esquinardes reaches 3rd base, he's being waved home.....he just beats the tag, making the score 11-2. Carvier somehow stopped at first base. Now it's Victor Santana, but he hits into the inning ending double play. Claude Perrault is up to pitch now...."

"Let's skip ahead a bit, Jacques.."

"Ok"

"We're here in the 9th, Ingham Reginald brought in to pitch. His slider takes Iao Lanai down to 0-2, with 1 out on the score. Aputo Roma'ai is on second base after a double, Wolo Rakinalmanai began the inning with a strikeout. Reginald.....brings down Lanai, now at 2 outs here. This next out will end the game. It's Ri'ino Uilnai up to bat. The first pitch, he swings......strike 1. Reginald composes himself, throws.....the curveball puts Uilnai's focus on a curve, putting him down 0-2 in the count. Uilnai hits the ball, it's popped up....oh, Colognon drops the ball, it rolls to Reginald, Uilnai stays at home however. The next pitch, Reginald with a knuckleball down the middle....strike 3! 'That's the match,' as Fidel would say!"

"Jacques, Les Royales have just ensured that they have never lost a Game 1 in the playoffs. This 8-run victory over the 8th-ranked team is a great opener to the series, with the 11th seed scoring 11 runs, and the 3 seed scoring 3 runs. What a great game by Les Royales."

"Now, the question is, can Trent Davis deliver the win in Game 2, sending Les Royales to the semifinals for the first time ever?"

"Good question. Maklohi Vai are a great team, and last time we saw Les Royales go up 1-0 on them, guess what. Sicoutimont lost the series in 3 games."

"What will Les Royales need to do to win tomorrow?"

"Keep up the pressure. Trent Davis will need to be on his game in the first inning. If Maklohi Vai get hitting early on, they can regain their momentum for the rest of the game. If Davis can shut them out, and Les Royales' top of the order can get things going early, the next game might be in favour of Les Royales. Of course, that's all just speculation, and anything can happen tomorrow, as we've seen in the past."

"Right then. Hey look, it's Victor Santana! Hey Victor, come over here!"

*guitar music plays*

"Eh, Jacques and Fidel! What's up guys?"

"Nice game Victor. What do you think of your team's play here tonight in Game 1?"

"I think we did really well. We needed this game, they're a higher ranked team than us, and our goal was to show them that we're here to play with the big boys."

"So, Trent Davis will pitch tomorrow, Fidel Sanchez either Game 3 if needed or, if possible, Game 1 of the next series. What do you think of your team's chances tomorrow?"

"If Trent can pitch like he has for us so far in this tournament, we have a great chance of winning this game. Of course, our offense will need to keep up the good work tomorrow night. It sure is great to see all the violet et bleu in the stands, especially at an 'away' game like tonight. It makes every game a home game, you know."

"It certainly was nice to here the 'Eh, Royales, Eh!" chant in the third inning. What do you think of your team's run so far?"

"Oh, well.....it's been great. We've done so many great things here this year, that no matter what happens, we'll be a better team in WBC 27 then we were here.....it'd certainly be nice to accomplish it all, but I think that for us, we've already passed our expectations, and we're now wanting to expand on our good fortunes."

"Thanks for this, Victor."

"No problem, guys."

*guitar music plays*

"Sicoutimont have not lost a game since Game 2 against Strawbee in the play-in playoffs. Can Les Royales bump up there Game 2 record to 2-2 tomorrow night? We'll be here, and so should you! Give 'em a reason, Fidel!"

"Um.....our great...uh.....personality?"

"What?"

"Yeah, I don't know.....our great.....jokes?"

"Yeah, sure. Join us back here at Podcastin' With Jacques and Fidel for our....uh....jokes....and baseball! We'll be back in the stadium at Concord Heights for Game 2, Sicoutimont vs Maklohi Vai, can Sicoutimont gain a place in the Final 4? Find out here, as anything can happen in the playoffs, and with us, Jacques and Fidel!"

[Zwangzug]

"Always looking for signs. Charlie. Charlie back home. On base, the coach."

Hiroto started things off and...they didn't go well. Capps lashed a single into left, and with two outs, Majuwitz' double drove him in. Silver fouled off a bunch of pitches before thwapping one past the mound, and then it was 2-0.

"Manager, coaches. Their job to pull me out of the game, they count the pitches."

Hiroto was wilder the second inning, too. One of the pitches to the leadoff batter would probably have been officially wild, if there'd been anyone on base.

"I wish I could tell, figure out the signs. When I'm getting sick. When I can shrug it off, when I have to step back."

Susanna was in for Amy today and did she pay off. Drawing the walk, where Vesle could push her in after Sonia reached too.

"We're Zebras. Bleepit. Zwangzug, whatever you call it. It's not like we're gonna, I don't know. Doping scandal. We play fair, they can help me, but I want to know, for sure."

We were still losing, most of the game. And yet the batters seemed unaffected, they didn't swing more wildly, the waited for their pitches. And waited, and waited, Eastman mixing things up. (They, too, were back to the top of their rotation. So were we. We just took the long way.)

"That's too much to ask. I've been lucky."

We tied it in the sixth, Joseph's sacrifice fly pushing in Moana. He didn't really look like he was trying to crank it deep, at least, not more so than usual--he's got this fast swing and yet he can still send it pretty far.

"After I stop playing? I have no idea. I don't think it'll be easier. If I'm used to one thing it's this."

By the eighth they'd brought in Boof Mendoza. What a name! It sounds ridiculous, and--it was a ridiculous play. Brian singled, Amy hit this bouncing ball right towards Capps and so they got the out at second, but Brian broke up the double play--sliding probably too hard to do it, but whatever, we didn't care. Then Duha poked it into right-center, first and third, one away, right in time for Sonia to double. Honestly I thought she could have legged it into a triple, but maybe you want to take it easy in that case. Although she got stranded--well, not our job to second-guess.

"I'm not like you. Can't write a book, no one cares about Esperanto, to say nothing of--well."

"Aminda," I say, fingers in the journal to mark my place, "you're not saying nothing."

[Ko-oren]

Those waiting in the wings

The Ko-orenites are now settled in New Lakeland. Winchester was not bad, although the stadiums were mostly emptier than in the rest of the Classic, but it was not bad at all. Especially not with the results that came from there. The new venue is New Lakeland, a city that has not always been part of Cassadaigua. The city breathes optimism and opportunism, and it seemed to inspire the Greenblues. With billboards and ads all over the place, including in the stadium (which admittedly was a bit distracting), the game saw many, many hits and many, many runs. The attendance was also almost twice as high as Winchester's, but as most players play for the eight biggest clubs of Ko-oren, that all draw between 50,000 (on a monday) and 90,000 (weekends) fans, the sudden 85,271 was not something to worry about. At least not to the experienced players that have seen all Ko-oren games until now. Rumor has it that some players will quit international baseball after this Classic, and why wouldn't they: there is no pitcher under 40 years old and the youngest player on the entire roster is 30. But back to the game, as it was entertaining, important, interesting and satisfying enough to write a book about.

With 27 hits shared between both teams, and only 2 errors, the game was remarkably failsafe. The players obviously knew what they were doing (hence the quarterfinal) and they all played solidly and confidently. It again took a while before the game took off (as seems to be the new constant for the Ko-oren team), but let's say the game really started in the fifth inning. By that time, Saugeais already found one weak spot in the defense, and luckily managed to squeeze only one player through that gap: 0-1. A Grand Slam, the first one for the Greenblues during this campaign, helped 4 players to a run and a 4-1 lead. The lucky batter was Minamoto, who had gotten some bad reviews for his past games. Usually he hits very consistently, and he has hit the ball during the past games, but big scores just did not happen. He only managed to get himself and others one or two bases further up, but that was it. Not much for someone who tends to hit at least once per game, but has a tendency to hit it far. The sixth inning started with 2 more runs for the Greenblues versus only one for Saugeais, and the difference between the teams now really started counting. 6-2, and we were just halfway. And all that while knowing that it takes the oldies of the national team some team to get fired up. The seventh inning, however, saw no Ko-orenite runs, but Saugeais did repair the damage slightly (6-4). Then the eighth inning came, which must have been one of the more interesting innings in this Classic to neutral baseball fans. Four runs for Ko-oren, and three to Saugeais: two home runs (one for each team) and some extra hits! After the grand finale came the coda, which also happened to be a reprise: the ninth inning saw just one Saugeais run, just like the third inning. They were unable to undo the damage, and the Greenblues won the first game of the QF series 10-8!

This game was also the first to see an interesting pitcher situation. Usually the team needs two or three pitchers, but the coach used Yoritomo for almost four innings. He is used to pitching up to 8 innings, but with a minor injury he had to be replaced. Yoshimitsu is always the second one to get on, and as he uses the other hand to pitch, it usually throws off the opposing team for a while. Pitching as long as Yoritomo, but conceding three times as many runs, he was substituted after the seventh inning by Yoritsune. He does not always play these big games, but he pitched the 'dreaded' eighth inning that saw 7 runs total. With three runs earned in such a short time, the coach decided to give Yoshiaki, who hasn't played yet during the season, a chance. He only pitched for two outs, and did what he had to do. Earning just one run, he played out the game until the end, without doing anything out of the ordinary.

Ko-oren                0 0 0 0 4 2 0 4 0 10 R 15 H 1 E
Saugeais               0 0 1 0 0 1 2 3 1  8 R 12 H 1 E
@New Lakeland. A: 85,271. T: 3:06

PITCHING
Name			IP  K  BB H  ER ERA
Yoritomo		3.2 4  2  4  1  2.45
Yoshimitsu		3.1 5  2  4  3  8.11
Yoritsune               1.1 3  1  3  3  20.30
Yoshiaki                0.2 1  0  1  1  13.43

HITTING
1B - Tenji (2nd), Godaigo (4th, 6th), Jinmu (5th, 7th), Shotoku (8th), Ashikaga (9th)
2B -Ashikaga (1st), Jinmu (3rd), Ieharu (8th), Hidenobu (8th)
3B - Hidetada (3rd), Fujiwara (6th)
HR - Minamoto (5th), Godaigo (8th)

Lastly a note on circulation of players. With the same group of players staying together for so long, there have been some players that do not make the national team regardless of their quality. Some of these are already reaching 30 years old, and still they have the title of 'talent' or 'prodigy'. Now that some of the older players will be more or less forced to retire, it will be interesting to see which players will make the team. Also because the Ko-orenite domestic league has 8 very big clubs and there are eight pitchers on the national team (and guess what: the eight NT pitchers are all starting pitchers for these eight clubs), young pitchers can only aspire to become second pitcher after the eight, or move to about 3 or 4 smaller clubs that have many talents, but none the experience of any of the clubs that have national team players. With the current generation retiring, we could see some interesting shifts in power in the league, too...

[New Montreal States]

"Jean-François, vous n'étes pas le père du petit Mathieu!"

"MENTEUSE! PUTAIN! JE LE SAVAIS BIEN, CHRISTI CONNARDE, TU M'EMMERDAIS, T'EMMERDAIS TOUT LE MONDE, EH BIEN, TU PEUT ALLER PRENDRE UN COURS EN COMMENT FERMER TES JAMBES PIS ENSUITE ALLER TROUVER QUELQ'UN D'AUTRE POUR EMMERDER..."

*click*

"...arrested after diverting 650,000 oz. of public money into a business scheme to breed 'super alpacas' that were twice as soft and produced three times as much wool as the normal..."

*click*

"...back as the oldest rivalry in international baseball enters another chapter as the Reformed Expos took to the field against Milchama's Warriors last night in Brattleboro. On the scene, our baseball correspondent Patrice Filon. Not what anyone expected going in, right Patrice?"

"That's right, Marc. The rivalry between the Reformed Expos and warriors predates the modern World Baseball Classic, hailing back to the first-ever international baseball competition in An Archy. The Warriors won big and have kept winning ever since, while the Expos have drifted in and out of competition but never making it close to the Warriors' level. So when the current world number ones took a three-run lead off of a three-run moon shot from left fielder Yossi Millar in the bottom of the first, it looked like more of the same."

"And yet it wasn't."

"Eddie Hunt showed why he was only the third starter by issuing two leadoff walks to start the second inning. From there it was the proverbial long, dark tea-time of the soul* for him, as he was tagged with six runs. Here's Michel Boucher-Thivierge hitting a hard liner into the gap to drive Loic Cloutier home. Larry Walker would follow him home when Sam Vaillancourt blooped this one into a very inconvenient part of right field. Here's Fabrice Chapleau striking out, because that's what happens when you let pitchers bat. Ephraim Zimbalist Jr. kept the rally going with another RBI single before Greg George took a hanging curve six rows deep in left centerfield. The Milchamans are forced to go to the pen much, much sooner than they usual want to, and Teashmo Contallion gets Jean-Charles St-Anton to jump out ahead of a changeup to stop the bleeding."

"And after that, it was pretty much all about the pitchers for the rest of the night, right?"

"You have to hand it to Fabrice Chapleau: he made a bunch of mistakes in the first inning, and certainly you could feel like the sharks were circling a bit as he came out to the mound in the bottom of the second but he got his confidence back against the soft underbelly of the Warriors' lineup. He looked much better during his next trip through the big bashers - Marion Halivni can only watch this slider dance back over the plate for strike three. Chapleau gets even with Millar next inning, leaving him swinging at air with a 96 mph burner just above the knees. He got the hook after the sixth inning, but the bullpen picked up right where he left off: here's Ben Baffle fighting his way back from a 2-0 count to freeze Karl Flork for a called third strike."

"Milchama's pen did some good damage control as well, though."

"Teashmo Contallion wasn't pretty at times, but he got through three and two-thirds innings before giving up another solo shot to St-Anton. But Contallion and long reliever Helton Skelton managed to keep the Reformed Expos at bay and keep the Warriors from having to dig too deeply into their bullpen."

"Big upset for the Reformed Expos tonight in Brattleboro. Up next here on the Entertainment, Sports and Pandering Network: I'll be joined by a sports psychologist who'll tell us if Ephraim Zimbalist Jr. has developed Stockholm Syndrome since his arrival in Cassadaigua's extremely matriarchal society. I have to admit, that's not something I'd ever thought I'd have to say when I became a sportscaster. We'll be right back after these-"

*click*

*this bit plagiarized from the late Douglas Adams

[Allinlia]

The Ride Never Ends?
Allinlia's thrilling playoff run could come to an end against Zwangzug tomarrow


(2) Zwangzug vs (23) Allinlia @ Grande Mountain

Allinlia               2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Zwangzug               0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 X  4

Zwangzug leads series, 1G-0

reporting from Grande Mountain

The Allinlian players have had alot of fun with suddenly finding themselves in the world of international baseball relevancy. They won a series against Free South Califas where they were the clear underdogs but who many whispered could win, then they beat Karditan who almost no one outside the empire's borders thought they would beat. They've had fun signing autographs for Cassadaiguan fans and fans from other nations and they had fun getting a bit of revenge against Strawbee's gloating last WBC by getting farther than them this time but they have now drawn up the opponent that could finally finish them for good.

Zwangzug was the finals runner-up of the last WBC and they look like they have not lost a step since then, they stormed to an 8-2 record in what is now widely regarded as one of, if not the definite, toughest group in this year's classic, group 9. The very group 9 that Allinlia took 3rd place in. Allinlia was 1-1 against them before yesterday's close loss. Aiden Stairs, Paul Majuwitz, and the 3 ace starter combo of Matt Eastman, Eli Wells , and Buddy Cox have done great things for Allinlia so far and by defeating 2 group leaders to reach the quarterfinals, the elite 8 if you will, they have finally justified Allinlia's boasting that they were a team that deserved to be in the conversation as one of the world's top teams. The Allinlian players have finally justified their huge domestic contracts and supposed high talent level as veteran professionals, and their penchant for lateness has translated into a staying in the playoffs far later than many expected, as Emperor Tomni predicted in jest.

Zwangzug however may just be too talented, too seasoned, too determined to win, for Allinlia to handle just yet. Eli Wells and the Allinlians will have something to say about that today, but with yesterday's 4-2 game 1 loss, this match could be the one where the ride ends for the Allinlian Empire.