The Pitching is Sh*t, but at least the Lions are .500
by Alpha Lion
Best Teams at Consistently Playing Below Their Talent Level
1. Nova Anglicana
2. Nova Anglicana
3. Nova Anglicana
4. Nova Anglicana
5. Imo-just kidding, it's Nova Anglicana
Seriously, folks. If there were an award for playing down to your opponents, the Lions would take it every year. In the WBC this year, they struggled their way to a 5-3 record and 2nd place in the group despite being the top seed. Then they needed three games each to beat Brenecia and Patistan, followed by getting swept by Western Cuba in the quarters, a team who hadn't entered in seven Classics.
So enter the IBS. The Lions have always had success in this event (we're not going to talk about IBS IV) and they entered as the number two overall seed. Who was in group A with them? A bunch of nobodies. Literally. No team who had entered the IBS or WBC before. The format had even changed to playing three game series instead of single games. Nobody expected the Lions to go 24-0, but the chances of IBS giants winning two out of three against rookie competitors every time out had to be pretty huge. As it is, the Lions sit at 3-3. Purely mediocre. The offense has been there, averaging seven runs a contest. Kareem's already got three homers and ten RBI. That's not a problem. The problem's been the pitching, especially the starters. Man, I love me some Felix Murphy, but I have to ask:
Murph's had two pretty terrible starts so far. He gave up seven runs in 5.2 innings against Globus (though to be fair, two of those runs scored after he had left the game), and then delivered an absolute clunker against Bitburg, allowing seven runs in just four innings. He's got a 13.03 ERA in 9.2 innings pitched, with ten strikeouts to three walks. It looks a little fluky right now, as he's given up three home runs in his two starts and is sporting a .333 BABIP against a career rate of .284, but still. As the ace of the staff, he has to be a shutdown guy that can get the Lions a win when they need one.
But it hasn't been just Felix Murphy. Justin Garcia got shelled for six runs in 5.1 innings against Globus, even though the Lions won the game 9-7. Chris Keyes slopped his way to five runs allowed in six innings (Globus), and Nate Freeman got lit up for six runs in 5.2 innings (Bitburg), though the Lions eventually won that one. Brad Bryan, the man many had thought would never appear in a Lions uniform again after his inconsistent WBC performance, pitched eight innings of two-run ball against Bitburg, striking out nine. The bullpen has been marginally better, with an ERA of 5.49, including some good extended shutout innings. But they've blown saves and doomed the Lions' chances of rallying as well.
They have got to get back on track pitching-wise. Elmer Sutton or Bates has got to do something, or the Lions will play themselves out of contention because they can't stop throwing the ball in spots where the other guy with the long stick can hit it. That, or they've got to score about ten runs every game. Come on offense, you're letting everyone down!
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(OOC: Logo at top shamelessly cribbed from Pride of Detroit, Detroit Lions blog. Once again, I've proved that I am the worst at rank-cruising. I just don't get it.)