World Baseball Classic 40- IC Thread (Finals G6 Posted)

[Super-Llamaland]

LSN RECAP: GILSON-ENGEN SHUT DOWN FOR PLAYOFFS

By Alyssa Zhao - LlamaSportsNet Baseball

In a press conference early this morning, Laurent Mårtensson dropped a bomb on the team's plans for the remainder of the fortieth World Baseball Classic - Matthias Gilson-Engen, the team's second starter in the group stage, will no longer be starting. It's a huge shock to the rotation, but one that a lot of people saw becoming after a horrendous effort in game two saw Newmanistan put nine runs past the starter. "While Matthias is very, very talented," the Tigers manager said, "and pitched well in the group stage, the playoffs has been a whole different ball game. I have utmost confidence that he can bounce back from this rough patch in future Classics, but he simply hasn't looked ready for playoff baseball against Newmanistan and Schiltzberg."

Indeed, the Tigers rotation looks very different now. Although Maddie Wagner and Justin Zheng will still start games three and four against Newmanistan, it will be rookie starter Natalie Wu in game five instead of the volatile Gilson-Engen. A young, talented ace for Kyrinson and the nephew of former Tigers star Drew Gilson, Matthias simply hasn't looked ready to pitch against the Rockets again, and Wu will be expected to step up in his place.

"Is it disappointing, being demoted?" Gilson-Engen said later today. "It's very disappointing. But my performances just weren't up to the standards Laurent demands out of his starters, and we have a lot of talent behind me - Natalie Wu and Axel Florentssen are fantastic pitchers. I'm confident that I can still contribute in a bullpen role, and I'm confident that they'll step it up as starters. All that really matters is that we win this Classic, and I think Laurent knows this configuration will increase our odds in that department."

It wasn't all smooth sailing though, as Drew Gilson himself spoke out against Laurent Mårtensson's decision. "As Tigers manager," the national team closer said on LSN Morning, "he has the right to make decisions like this. But it's foolish to think that one game defines Matthias like that. Outside of that one poor start, he's done very well this Classic, and I think he should be a lot more upset than he is right now. I think Mårtensson is hitting the panic button too early, and although Natalie Wu is a great pitcher, this is very poor managing."

In unrelated news, New Llama Cyclones GM David Windhorst flew to Los-Juantos to close a deal with Los-Juantos Athletic for starting pitcher Jarred Atkins. The half-season rental addresses the team's needs in the starting rotation very effectively, and after getting back on a plane to New Llama City, the deal is believed to be waiting approval by the league office.

[Cassadaigua]

Series: (1) Schiltzberg vs (4) West Phoenica

Game 3:

Schiltzberg            0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  3
West Phoenica          0 0 1 0 0 3 1 0 X  5

Game 4:

Schiltzberg            0 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 0  6
West Phoenica          1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0  4

Schiltzberg wins series, 3 games to 1


Series: (2) Newmanistan vs (3) Super-Llamaland

Game 3:

Newmanistan            0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  6
Super-Llamaland        0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  3

Game 4:

Newmanistan            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Super-Llamaland        0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 X  4

series tied, 2-2

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

DUVALL VS ROOKIE IN GAME 5

by Brianne Henry,

After pitching ten innings in Game 1, Justin Zheng was given the ball again for the Tigers, with Laurent Mårtensson’s desperately needing a win in game 4 after the Rockets took the third game of the series. Once again, Justin Zheng shut down the Newmanistan lineup, throwing six perfect innings to start off, before the Rockets finally managed a seventh inning single from Lexi Alcorn. Zheng continued to shut down the Rockets, though Newmanistan did pick up a ninth inning run off of him. That tied the series. Very well, then.

Unfortuantely for Super-Llamaland, you have to wonder if they just made a big mistake. Managing a pitching staff in a playoff series, especially a five game series, can be tricky. No one was saying that Zheng was not ready to pitch game 4, but when the Rockets did not match up Duvall with him, and stayed with the plan to pitch Jessica Gray in the game, it did indeed create a mismatch for Game 4. Zheng, the dominant ace for the Tigers was going up against Newmanistan’s #4-starter, who had good numbers, but mainly because she had all of group starts against the lowly nation of Gim. Gray is 23, and making her first appearance in the World Baseball Classic, and she pitched quite a strong game most of the way, matching the scoreless innings that Zheng was putting up, until the 7th. Eventually, they got to Gray, but the young Putnam Lake pitcher should be applauded for her effort. Super-Llamaland gets the win that they absolutely had to have.

This will take us to game 5, and not surprisingly, Kaitlyn Carroll will be bypassed to go with Courtney Duvall. She will be opposed by a pitcher who was born in the same year as Jessica Gray. In a complete role reversal, it will now be 23-year old Natalie Wu taking on the ace of the opponent. All Laurent Mårtensson has to do here is show Wu how Jessica Gray stood up against Zheng. After all, they are at a similar point in their career: a young pitcher with potential, in a pressure situation. Most Newmanistanians will say that Gray did everything she could. Now, can Wu step up and do the same thing? Well, let’s just say that Newmanistan has a track record of capitalizing on situations like this.

I want to take you back to World Baseball Classic 17. I know, not many of you were around back then, so this may be a bit of a history lesson for you. Most of you have likely the read the books and know that this was the year that the Rockets overcame a 3-0 series deficit to Tarrentum in the finals, to win the best-of-seven, four games to 3. It was a monumental comeback, but it started when Tarrentum did not go for the kill. The first couple games were close, the stars of the Rockets rotation then, another Courtney and Jessica, (Ratigan and Brasfield), those are just popular first names in Newmanistan, I guess. Anyway, Tarrentum was able to win two close ones against Ratigan and Brasfield, kind of like they won game one of this series. They then got very complacent. With a 3-0 series lead, their coach put a very inexperienced pitcher on the mound, and he was not even a starter. The purpose of this, I do not know. It was a strange decision of overconfidence by Tarrentum back then, and of course, that is where this year is different because of course Laurent Mårtensson had to pitch Zheng in game 4. It was do or die for them. But back to (WBC) 17, the Rockets were down and out and had to put their #4 starter on the mound. Looming in the distance were Ratigan and Brasfield for games 5 and 6, our superstars, but we could not get one of them on the mound for game 4. Tarrentum needed to finish us off in the fourth game, but could not. Lo and behold, Ratigan and Brasfield got a chance to redeem themselves, and you weren’t going to beat them twice in the same series. Newmanistan prevailed in game 4, and knowing their aces were going back to the mound, they had plenty of confidence. Ratigan and Brasfield took care of business as expected, and Newmanistan tied the series. At that point, Tarrentum was on the ropes, and the reverse sweep signs were in full effect.

The similarity here is that it is very unlikely that Courtney Duvall is going to be beaten twice in the same series. Natalie Wu is a good pitcher, and it’s not as if it will be easy for Newmanistan, just like Jessica Gray held her own against Zheng for a while. But if you are a fan of the Rockets, you have to like how things line up.

And just maybe, we are one win away from that showdown we’ve all wanted but always seemed too good to be to true. Schiltzberg is in the final. Will it be Newmanistan on the other side? Just one win away!

[Schiltzberg]

SCHILTZBERG RETURNS TO THE FINALS!

After a win against West Phoencia in game four of the semifinals in WBC 40, Schiltzberg won the series three games to one and will now advance to the finals for the first time since they won their fourth title in WBC 37. With just three teams left in the tournament, Schiltzberg is the only team left to have never been up against elimination all season, and one more will be eliminated tonight, the other of which will challenge Schiltzberg in the finals. And it will be a worthy challenger.

The two other remaining teams are Newmanistan and Super-Llamaland, four-time and three-time champions, respectively. They are currently tied two games apiece in their semifinals series. The deciding game five will be tonight, and with the way this series has been going, it will likely be a close one to cap off the series. The winner of this series will challenge Schiltzberg in the finals, while the loser will take on West Phoencia in the third place series.

If Super-Llamaland were to advance, they would be fighting or a fourth title, while Schiltzberg will be fighting for its fifth. Super-Llamaland's strongest point of their team is their ace pitcher Justin Zheng, who has carried their team all season. In order for the team to put up a fight against Schiltzberg, Zheng's continued success is critical. Schiltzberg does not have one star that has been particularly dominant this season, but their team has been dominant as a unit this season, more so than Super-Llamaland's has, as the Tigers have been heavily leaning on Zheng for much of the season. Granted, Super-Llamaland's team is very good overall as well, but if they want to defeat Schiltzberg, Zheng could be the one who tips the balance.

If Newmanistan advances, it will likely be a similar situation, their star player being Courtney Duvall. Much like Zheng, Duvall has been putting up legendary numbers. The determining point will be whether or not she will be able to keep putting up these numbers against Schiltzberg's hitters, which have put up the best offensive numbers all year. The spotlight has been on Duvall and Zheng all season, but Schiltzberg's pitching has been a silent killer all season. During the regular season, Schiltzberg's pitching gave up the least runs by far of any team, and while they may not have a Zheng or a Duvall, their rotation overall is much more solid and balanced than either Super-Llamaland's or Newmanistan's. If Newmanistan wins tonight, the finals will be truly legendary, and the winner will win a record fifth championship. Either team would be deserving at this point.

The third place series, as always, will bring less excitement. Neither team playing will seem to have much enthusiasm, knowing that they have been eliminated from contention for the championship. West Phoencia is a good team, but the whichever team they end up playing will likely beat them. Unlike Super-Llamaland and Newmanistan, this team does not have any star player that they can always depend on, and unlike Schiltzberg, they do not have much depth as a team. That being said, they will likely put up a fight, but their challenger will likely win the series. How long must we wait for these series to begin?

This Is Your New Schiltzbierg Times Sports News!

[West Phoencia]

West Phoenicia Confederates suffered a blow as they were knocked out at the Semi-Finals 3 games to 1 by Shady Schiltzberg.

West Phoenicia has placed bets that either Newmanistan and Super-Llamaland would be a more graceous winner and bets will be high on the the winner of their semi games to win overall to help line West Phoenician pockets.
West Phoenicia Confederates are hoping to go up against Super-Llamaland, who Schiltzberg seems to forget West Phoenicia beat Super-Llamaland in the World Baseball Classic #39 in the Quarter-finals 3-1. So West Phoenicia is definitely hoping to go up against them again as its a team playing style West Phoenicia is aware of.

West Phoenicia is also proud of their well rounded team, while one media outlet slammed West Phoenicia for not having one star player. And the point? Each Confederate is a star. You put all your eggs into one basket and what happens when that basket breaks? You get a crappy omelette. West Phoenician strategy has always been to train each person to be a star.


West Phoenicia is continuing to make leaps and bounds in the baseball world. And some nations seem to have forgotten West Phoenicia first place win at the Aeropag Summer Olympic Games a title they will be fighting for at the next Olympics. Out of depth? No. West Phoenicia has deserved their spot in the classic and will continue to fight each classic. At the end of the day when you're at the bottom all you have is the ability to look up. When your at the top all you have is a downward spiral.

[Super-Llamaland]

Justin Zheng walked into the video room, looking for somebody. He wasn’t disappointed - the night’s starter, Natalie Wu, was sprawled across a chair looking at one of the screens.

“Are those Duvall’s highlights?” He said as Wu turned to face him.

“They’re something...a little more sentimental,” the 23-year-old rookie starter said. “Here, I’ll rewind it to the beginning.” Zheng sat down next to the Cyclones ace and watched her rewind to a pitcher warming up before the first inning of a game.

A literal giant appeared to be taking the mound. The young-looking pitcher was six-six and hulking. His jersey bore the logo of the University of Vargas, the nation’s best collegiate baseball team. The commentators were gushing about the pitcher, and for good reason - the statistics in the corner showed that he’d been dominant - a sub-two ERA with ten strikeouts a game.

“The best collegiate team in this nation, and a college ace to match. Here in the deciding game three of the College World Series, it’s Derek Fletcher taking the mound for the number-one-ranked University of Vargas,” the first announcer gushed. His counterpart agreed as the first batter stepped up to the plate: “In his senior year, this is a chance for Fletcher to solidify his spot as a first-round pick in this year’s draft. He’s had his share of injury problems, but there’s no doubt that he has ace potential.”

“Huh, I remember this guy,” Justin said, leaning forwards. “I think he was in Xingcheng’s bullpen for a few weeks last year, right? Where’s he at now?”

“Don’t really care,” was the terse response, the rookie pitcher not even taking her eyes off the screen. “He might’ve gone abroad. Injuries caught up to him - but he was really good for Vargas.” The two watched Fletcher absolutely destroy the opposition, the sixth-seeded Xingcheng Polytechnic, for an inning before the tape cut to the Xingcheng starter, warming up. The starter looked uncertain on the mound, a long way from Fletcher's self-assured stance. Zheng leaned in closer. It appeared to be...Natalie Wu.

“...This is the 2028 College World Series, right? Weren’t you a sophomore then?”

“Yeah, I think our starter got injured. I came out of the bullpen that year.”

The commentary seemed to fit this humble background. Wu was “a promising talent” in the eyes of the announcers, but still “a relative unknown” who had yet to prove that she was capable at such a level. Indeed, the Natalie on the screen got off to a very shaky start, loading the bases with two outs before inducing a weak foulout with a beautiful cutter.

“Didn’t expect you to get out of that one. Not bad,” Justin said, to which he received no reply. The two sat in silence for the next few innings - every time Derek Fletcher finished off three new Xingcheng batters in the top of an inning, it was Natalie to come back with a scoreless frame in the bottom. As she kept pitching, the sophomore southpaw became more and more confident on the mound, taking over the game entirely. Soon, the announcers wouldn't stop talking about her, and consensus first-round pick Derek Fletcher was barely even noteworthy.

Justin turned to her again after the bottom of the fourth, reaching over to pause the tape. “So...what happened?”

Natalie smiled. “We scored four runs in the sixth. I think the final score was six-one.”

“So...you won the College World Series your sophomore year? I didn’t even know.”

“Yeah,” she said, standing back up and tossing the remote at him. “I guess I did.” The 23-year-old pitcher walked out of the room, closing the door halfway before turning around one more time. “Feel free to switch it to Duvall’s highlights if you want. I’ll be on the practice field if you need me.”

Instead, Justin hit play again, watching Wu finish her six shutout innings. He smiled as he watched her leave the field onscreen, jubilant. Courtney Duvall didn’t stand a chance.

[Super-Llamaland]

The offices of Llama Sports Today! -- somewhere in New Llama City

"Bryant! I've got bad news. Really bad."

Bryant Kennedy, Llama Sports Today! reporter, turned away from his laptop to meet panic-stricken Kyle, the new intern. He'd clearly run to the office, judging by the sweat marks on his white dress shirt, and looked as agitated as Bryant Kennedy was not.

"You know that story you wrote on Rory Quinlan? How he was coming to the Cyclones? It's not true!"

Kennedy leaned back, slightly confused but not particularly worried. "Well, you never know. Our certified sources did see David Windhorst board a plane to Tallow, Tenburg, with a layover in Los-Juantos. I can even show you the email! I'd ask them, not me. A lot of more established papers will often try to discredit us smaller guys by contradicting what we say, but our sources are perfectly reliable."

"Well...I guess that's the thing! David Windhorst got off at Los-Juantos. He didn't even go to Tenburg! He went to Los-Juantos to trade for Jarred Atkins, the starting pitcher. He was never going after Quinlan! We're doomed!" the intern screamed, running out of the room.

Bryant Kennedy couldn't help but laugh as he pondered the situation. The intern was taking this far too seriously. Quinlan's contract was expiring soon, and it wasn't like Atkins was anything more than a two-month rental pickup. Kyle had definitely pointed out a setback, but more experienced reporters would have known that the story could still be run with. All you needed was spin.

For now, though, he couldn't do much about spinning. He would have to distract his readers with something else. Something a little more...sensational than Rory Quinlan not signing with the Cyclones.

He was scrolling through the internet, looking for ideas to steal, when suddenly a lightbulb went off in his head. He closed the tab; he wouldn't need it. He knew exactly what to write.

EXCLUSIVE: Cassadaigua's Soccer Team Threatens STRIKE Over WBC Stadium Usage!
Bryant Kennedy - Llama Sports Today!

CONCORD HEIGHTS, CASSADAIGUA -- According to our reliable sources...

[Cassadaigua]

Series: (2) Newmanistan vs (3) Super-Llamaland

Super-Llamaland        0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  3
Newmanistan            0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  2

Super-Llamaland wins series, 3 games to 2

Championship: (1) Schiltzberg vs (3) Super-Llamaland @ Concord Heights (Best of Seven!)
-- Reminder that the games in the finals are scorinated one per day, and not two per day. Good luck to both of you!



Third place: (2) Newmanistan vs (4) West Phoenica @ New Lakeland (Best of Five)
-- Third place series games are scorinated two per day.

[Schiltzberg]

SCHILTZBERG VS. SUPER-LLAMALAND FINALS REMATCH

In an exciting close game for game five of the semifinals, Super-Llamaland overcame Newmanistan and Courtney Duvall, scoring two runs in the last two innings to take the lead and defeat Newmanistan by a lone run, 3-2, making this the closest and most exciting series thus far. Now, having defeated Newmanistan, Super-Llamaland is not out of the woods. They now advance to the finals, but they are faced by Schiltzberg, an even tougher opponent, possibly the toughest team in the world.

Schiltzberg will be a major obstacle for Super-Llamaland if they are to win this title. They have such a strong team overall and have so much depth that they can seem just simply unstoppable. They have looked it this season too, as they have flown through the season, winning the top seed in the preliminary round and making easy competition of tough opponents in the playoffs, shutting down Free Republics in the round of sixteen, three-time champion Cassadaigua in the quarterfinals, and West Phoencia in the semifinals, never going up against elimination or being down in any series at any point all season. As good as these teams were Super-Llamaland is better, and they will pose easily the hardest challenge yet for Schiltzberg this season.

Super-Llamaland has been great all season, but if any team could beat them, it would be Schiltzberg. At the number one rank in the world, they are currently the biggest juggernaut in the baseball world. A title here would make them the winningest team in the history of the World Baseball Classic, and at this rate, it would not be unlikely for them to win more titles in future seasons. They have finished in the top three for each of the past six seasons now, and they hope to finish this one with a championship after finishing two seasons in a row in third place. Second place would be an improvement on the last two seasons, but still a letdown for the Schiltzbergers. They have been on a roll since their very first season, and a championship here would allow them to make a claim that they are the greatest team in history, as they would be the only team in history to have five titles.

Inversely, if any team could beat Schiltzberg, it would be Super-Llamaland. As the number four rank in the world and the number three seed in this tournament, they have been a threat for the title for a long, long time now, long before Schiltzberg even existed. Winning three titles in WBCs 28, 30, and 31, climaxing at a perfect WBC 31 season, they make themselves one of the best teams ever as three-time champions. They maintained their strength despite having their dynasty fall from dominance for a few seasons, and they returned to the finals in WBC 37, only to be toppled by the same Schiltzbergian team that they will play in the upcoming series. Super-Llamaland has been predicted to go far in all of the recent tournaments, but they suffered upset exits in the quarterfinals in WBCs 38 and 39. After several seasons without a championship, this team is ready to return to the throne. A championship here would make them the third team to win four titles.

In this epic WBC finals rematch, Schiltzberg looks to reestablish itself as the most dominant team in baseball, while Super-Llamaland seeks to settle the score and switch the results from last time. With the match up between three-time champion Super-Llamaland and four-time champion Schiltzberg, this will be the greatest finals match up that the World Baseball Classic has ever seen. A lot is at stake, as this is not just for the title, but for the bragging rights of being able to say that they are better than the other, even the best in the world. No matter who wins, it will be a hard battle, and the best team will win. Until then,

This Is Your New Schiltzbierg Times Sports News!

[Newmanistan]

OOC: Being vague in “how” we lost so Super-Llamaland can be the one decide how his team won the game on his end.

THE ROCKET REPORT

DREAM ENDED, STILL BASEBALL TO PLAY

by Brianne Henry


Courtney Duvall gave up two runs over nine innings, a great start by anyone’s standards, but it was a ninth inning run by Super-Llamaland that will put a huge damper on her season. It wasn’t the game-winning run, but a game tying run, and some are starting to question if even the mighty Duvall was showing signs of fatigue after pitching a ton of innings during the World Baseball Classic. Closer Shannon Spencer could not get the job done in the tenth, and the end result is the Tigers staying in Concord Heights while the Rockets don’t actually go home, but instead travel to New Lakeland for the third place series.

Would third place be a successful result? Sure it would, but don’t tell anyone on the team that. The Rockets had a 2-1 lead in this series, but could not finish Super-Llamaland off. Newmanistan wanted Schiltzberg and the battle of four-time champions. Instead, we get a four-time champion versus a three time champion, and the rest of the world will certainly be treated to an amazing series. Those two locked horns so impressively during World Baseball Classic 37, that it had the Rockets come back for 38. Ok, so that was not the reason we came back, but it made for a nice sentence. Newmanistan will take on West Phoenicia, a nation that we have been informed we have been spelling wrong all this time. “Phoenicia” always seemed like the right spelling, but we were going with the information that we have had. I had to add “Phoenica” to my spell check so I was not alerted to it every time I typed it out, so now I will have to go with the conventional spelling. This could seem like a let down series, but when is a third place series not a let down series? You’re so close to the finals, but fell just a bit short. For us, it’s a little painful, given we had a 2-1 series lead, and a 2-1 overall lead in game 5 going into the 9th.

West Phoenicia was in our qualifying group in (WBC) 38 that we hosted, just like Super-Llamaland. They were a “pot 3" team, and ranked 22nd overall, and did not do much during qualifying. We played them in our very first game back, and with Courtney Duvall on the mound, we won the matchup 12-2. Our next game saw us win 7-3. In matchday 9, we defeated them again, 10-3, and at the time the Confederates were disappointing 2-7. The 4th game was another Newmanistan victory, with us winning 1-0. No, that was not a Courtney Duvall start, Kaitlyn Carroll was on the hill that day. Matchup 5 went to West Phoenicia, as they won in 14 innings, by the score of 4-3. They were 7-10 at that point, so playing a little better from the initial hole they were in. The final match went to the Rockets, by the score of 9-3. West Phoenicia finished qualifying at 9-15, in 4th place, and not looking like a team that was about to become a semifinalist in the next two Classics. Newmanistan was 17-7 and finished, while the group was won by Super-Llamaland, at 20-4.

To their credit, West Phoenicia is a completely different team now. I’m not really sure what was the turning point with this team, perhaps it was more media coverage inspiring the team. Us reporters always like to exaggerate the importance of media coverage to a team, don’t we? They may not have the intimidating resume, and coach Stevens will have to remind the team that they are completely different then the Confederates from (WBC) 38. The good news for West Phoenicia in this series is that may avoid Courtney Duvall, at least until the very end. Since she pitched game 5 against the Tigers, it will be Jennifer Hughes and Breanne Burks getting the starts for games 1 and 2. The bad news for West Phoenicia is that Hughes has also put up great numbers, just not Duvallian numbers, and Burks is “hot” right now. The Rockets would likely go to Jessica Gray for game 3, who held her own well Justin Zheng in game 4 of the Super-Llamaland series. Anything beyond that is a question mark.

No, in our past, we haven’t always fought hard to win these third place series’. They are very bittersweet. But this one is different. Third is a good result this year, and with the way this team fought during this Classic, there’s a lot of reason to be hopeful that a championship series is in our future soon. Remember, it took the Rockets four Classics to win their first one.

[West Phoenicia]

We will take 3rd place---West Phoenicia predicts....

The West Phoenician Confederates coach Mary Zomdonia has come out guns a blazing by declaring the Confederates will take out the Newmanistan Rockets and claim the 3rd spot.

Coach Mary Zomdonia dream of ending on a high with the Confederates is still a possibility with the Confederates going into the 3rd place play off against the Rockets.

Mary Zomdonia admits The Confederates are not the same team they were in World Baseball Classic #38. It was a season plagued with injuries and infighting, they gave up from the start and never got a running momentum.

They returned for the World Baseball Classic #39, like a brand new team. Post season included full on training and studying their opposition. They had to be torn down to be built back up.


While other nations may see 3rd place as a loss, West Phoenicia sees it as a gain. A 3rd place win would see their rank and position improve. To achieve this the Confederates need to fizzle any sparks The Rockets may attempt.

Rocket pitchers Jennifer Hughes and Breanne Burks pitching style have been studied by Mary Zomdonia and her assistants. And batters have been warned of typical pitchers from these two women.
The Confederates look forward to battling it out with The Rockets, a new breath of fresh air after being dealt shade by team Schiltzberg.

[Super-Llamaland]

Top of the ninth inning. Bases empty. One out. Newmanistan two, Super-Llamaland one.

Roughly half of the Concord Heights crowd has gone utterly quiet; the other is celebrating its imminent ascendance to their first finals appearance in decades. But the Llamaneans aren't celebrating. They were celebrating in the sixth inning when the Tigers put runners on the corners with one out, or in the third inning when Markus Wright had hit a fair ball over the fence into straightaway center...before Hannah Bates came out of nowhere and snag it. But now? They'd gone quiet. The Tigers had two more plate appearances before their season ended.

Against any other team, against any other pitcher? They had a pretty decent chance. The Llamaneans were no stranger to clutch situations, and all they needed was one run. But when you were up against Courtney Duvall and her literal 1.00 ERA, that was a lot harder than you thought. And everyone in the dugout and in the stadium knew that Duvall was not going to yield easily. She'd already given up her run for the day. It wasn't over yet. But they'd have to play very well to get out of this.

And what a shame it would be if they wasted Natalie Wu's effort. The rookie pitcher had seriously stepped her game up, throwing seven strong innings and striking out ten Rockets. But she'd made one too many mistakes against the heart of Newmanistan's order, and that had cost her. If they couldn't score, she would take the loss, although that was the least of her worries.

It was a pinch-hitter, Tanya Ericsson, up. Laurent Mårtensson had pinch-hit her for Gudjon Frandsen, the center-fielder, and planned to shift Isak Gunnlaugsson to center and Ericsson to left. It was a gamble - taking the free-swinging, power-hitting Ericsson over the on-base machine Frandsen. But against Courtney Duvall, the odds of getting two consecutive hits was low. He needed somebody who would take advantage of Duvall's rare mistakes, even if it meant decreasing the probability of a baserunner.

Ericsson stepped up to the plate, eyed Duvall warily, and crouched in the box. The first pitch came in - a fastball, far too high, ninety-four miles an hour. A pitch Duvall had thought Tanya Ericsson would chase. But the Rockets' ace was wrong about that - Ericsson, perhaps seeing it coming, let it go by. 1-0. Duvall came back with another chase pitch, a fastball up and in, but this time Ericsson swung, fouling it straight back. Then a slider that barely nicked the lower edge of the zone as it passed her, making the count 1-2. The veteran outfielder was one strike away from becoming the twenty-sixth out of Duvall's complete game.

But she fought back, fouling off two sliders before letting a curve bounce in front of her. The count was 2-2 now. With Ericsson's playstyle of almost never taking walks, Duvall had expected a short, easy at-bat. This was not what she had bargained for, and she looked a little...nervous on the mound. The next pitch was another high fastball. Ericsson didn't bite, and it was a full-count. She'd gone from 1-0 to 1-2 to a full count - it was almost unheard of for Ericsson to display this much plate discipline. But the veteran outfielder was doing it, coaxing seven pitches out of the Newmanistanian ace. They were all flawlessly executed. But how much longer could she keep it up? Ericsson knew there was going to be a mistake eventually.

Pitch number eight was the mistake. It was a fastball on the inside corner of the strike zone. Low, inside, hard - a pitch Ericsson had to swing at, but a pitch she couldn't do much about. At least, that was what Duvall had intended for it to be. But she missed, the ball instead sailing higher than she intended, tailing into the middle of the strike zone. Ericsson swung. The ball took off into left-center. She glanced up, saw it was going out, and began sprinting around the bases. It was something she'd always done. This would perhaps be the last time she would ever do it. It was a tie game.

There was still only one out in the inning. But by the time Tanya Ericsson made it back to home plate, the entire dugout had emptied to meet her. There was no way they could lose this game now. And they didn't, working a run off Shannon Spencer just an inning later to punch their ticket to the finals.

[Tenburg]

Tennish Players React to WBC Semi-Finals


It would seem that some of the players for the Tennish national team, despite being eliminated in the last round, have neither gotten over the loss, nor lost their sense of humor.

Newmanistan fell to Super-Llamaland in Game 5 of their semifinal matchup by a score of 3-2, ending what had been a fantastic series of baseball. Newmanistan, of course, swept our own Metros the series prior, which included a controversial game 3 that saw RF Jack Lynch take a fastball to the head. While the players have begun gearing up for NBL baseball, it would appear that some of the players have continued to pay attention to the Classic.

First baseman Dylan Maloney fired the first shot:

Dylan Maloney @D_Mal4
Ladies, welcome to the losers club; I've saved u a seat @ the bar #WBC40
2,775 10,381

Pitcher James Cullen took it a step further, retweeting from Maloney with an obvious reference to the incident with pitcher Breanne Burks:

James Cullen @JamesCullen
Careful w/ the stronger drinks; they'll hit u like a fastball 2 the head #WBC40

4,002 6,376

Jack Lynch himself, on the other hand, wasn't so quick to insult the Rockets, with a not-so-subtle elbow nudge to his Metro teammates:

Jack Lynch @Engine66
Fellas... really? 3rd plc. is a lot better than we managed
8,091 16,446

This tweet caught fire with international sports pundits, as did his next one confirming his prediction that Newmanistan will take 3rd place in the Classic:

Jack Lynch @Engine66
U kidding? Theyre gonna bitchslap WP like they're looking for rent money
6,221 12,905

Whether or not his prediction is true remains to be seen.

In related news, 2B Diane Fiore has signed a six year, 75 million-credit deal with the Firebirds, the first contract of this size, and certainly not the last considering the newfound pouring of money into the NBL. Word has it that the career .282 hitter will lead off in the batting order. Additionally, Schiltzbergian pitcher Leo Kaiser will be joining Lynch, fellow ace Rory Quinlan, and Michael Maguire in Tallow, inking an 8-year deal; the value of the contract has yet to be revealed. This, of course, will only add fuel to the rumors that Quinlan, who threw Tenburg's very first no-hitter in the Classic, may end up playing in Llamaland's domestic league next season.

[Cassadaigua]

3rd Place: (2) Newmanistan vs (4) West Phoenicia

Game 1:

West Phoenicia         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Newmanistan            1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 X  5

Game 2:

West Phoenicia         0 0 1 2 0 2 1 0 0  6
Newmanistan            0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Series tied, 1-1


Championship: (1) Schiltzberg vs (3) Super-Llamaland

Game 1:

Super-Llamaland        1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1  4
Schiltzberg            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Super-Llamaland leads series, 1 game to 0

[Schiltzberg]

Dying Is EASY

Just one toot of the train whistle,
And just like that, you keel
Your fresh cut corpse across the tracks,
Your body bent by a train wheel.
It's not all that hard to notice,
But you notice anyway:
There aren't much things to live in life
That can't be taken away one day.

Just one hissing of horrid honking
And four bumpings of the tires
Are all it takes to call the moment
When one's final breath expires.
You don't sympathize the notice
That hits your doormat with your name.
You don't sympathize for life
When you'll be dying all the same.

Just one slip in weary wiring
Or the flipping of the fuse
Could quickly blow your breathless body
Straight from here to Baton Rouge.
Now it's not even worthy noting
That your little life was lost.
Just one tiny little misstep,
And all your tables have been tossed.

Now don't go on your life living
Like you're one slip away from hell
Heavens no, because, you know,
You're lucky you're still alive and well.

[West Phoenicia]

West Phoenician Confederates continued to fight the 3rd place fight against Newmanistan.

In Game 1 Newmanistan blew The Confederates out of the water beating them 5-1. Much to the outstanding performance of pitcher Jennifer Hughes of Newmanistan who was successful in stopping West Phoenicia from gaining any ground.

The Confederates took the loss on the chin and without too much negative thought pushed ahead to fight back in game 2. Beating there opposition 6-1. The star player of the day was Jacob Texas, who scored 2 home runs for the team.

West Phoenicia needs to keep up the momentum in game 3 and 4, with a tight race, the Confederates need to win one of the next 2 games to push Newmanistan into the 5th game and show the baseball world The Confederates are able to hold there own and should not be easily dismissed.


In other baseball news Coach Jacob Prosper who currently in head coach for the West Phoenician national team The Baal Territory Titans has been selected to lead the Confederates as Head coach for the World Baseball Classic #41 series. Prosper who has been coach of the Baal Territory Titans for 5 years has led his team to 2 grandfinals where they came out as the winning team.
Moving forward Propser plans to keep the training set up by Mary Zomdonia whose discipline and hardwork has started to pay off.

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS FINDING MOTIVATION

by Brianne Henry


“We can’t let this be the way our season ends,” outfielder Lexi Alcorn began in an interview, “Courtney (Duvall) had such a great qualifying campaign, but it’s going to be remembered for the pitch that got away. We can’t let that happen!” Agreeing with Lexi was shourtstop Kayla Carey, “We all agree that Courtney carried us to where we are, now we got to pick her up!” Because like Mallory Harris stated, “Two teams leave Cassadaigua on a winning note. We’d rather be the other one, but we still want to be one.”

It’s the nature of the third place series. That bittersweet series that no one really wanted to be in a week ago when they were playing in the semifinals. In the past, Newmanistan may not have been excited about the third place series, but it is different this time, since they are coming back from a long hiatus, and still only have a #10 ranking. This performance will surely increase that ranking, and the Rockets will be looking for a rank around 6 or 7 following this one. Anything higher is probably unlikely based on how the teams within those spots have been performed, but it will get the Rockets safely into “pot 1", and they will look to stay there. West Phoenicia also seems excited to be here, they have a program on the rise and making it this far in two consecutive classics is something to be proud of. It’s not easy to accomplish that, and they too are hungry to win this series. For them it’s about earning respect, though the Rockets have not treated them with anything less. For us, it’s about returning to glory. Either way, this series is important for both teams, making what is going on in New Lakeland just as intense as the finals in Concord Heights, and that does not always happen.

In game 1 of this series, Jennifer Hughes completely shut down the Confederates. As this Classic has gone on, Hughes has quietly cemented herself as our second biggest pitching weapon. At 25, she is still really young, and she had a lot of fan support here. Only people who understand old One Big Island history will know why. But here’s a crash course. Back in the day when Newmanistan and Cassadaigua were in the same region, they bordered the old nation of Secristan (also a former WBC participant). Newmanistan on the west, and Cassadaigua on the east. When Secristan ceased to exist, Newmanistan and Cassadaigua took over that land. Newmanistan got the former Secristani city of Amherst, the former capital, and Cassadaigua got Lakeland, the second biggest city. Newmanistan renamed Amherst to be Jessicaville, in honor of our first leader, Empress Jessica I, and Cassadaigua chose to re-name Lakeland to be New Lakeland. New Lakeland, of course, is where this series is being played. Hughes plays for us in Jessicaville. So, old school Secristani loyalists who may be attending this game and would have been otherwise neutral, seemed to favor the player from former Amherst, even though our nations reside in completely different regions now. Jennifer tossed a complete game, and a three run blast off the bat of Stephanie Reynolds in the fourth played a large part in the Rockets’ 5-1 victory.

The second game featured the red-hot Breanna Burks on the mound. However, as Newmanistanians know, the thing that keeps Burks from being ahead of Hughes in the rotation is some occasional inconsistency. In this game, she did not seem to have it, and was roughed up early. Newmanistan struggled to score in this game, and were handed what was one of their worst results in quite some time. This puts as all square at one for the best of five series.

Game 3 will see Jessica Gray go to the mound. She last pitched game 4 of the Super-Llamaland series, against the second best pitcher in the world, Justin Zheng. The 23-year old youngster was impressive early, pitching six scoreless innings, before the Tigers figured her out a little bit towards the end of the game. Gray has had a good overall Classic, but her starts in the qualifying round were against the lowly nation of Gim, so these have been her toughest two starts. For Game 4, a Courtney Duvall on proper rest will get a chance to redeem herself. Newmanistanians would love to see Duvall have an opportunity to pitch the series winner in game 4, and to be able to finish the series off on a high note.

I look forward to this game, here’s a look at some recent tweets from Rockets players!

Hannah Bates (@hannah_the_rabbit)

Looking forward to closing this out! #WBC40 #morefunthenaTenburggolfcourse #RocketPower

Kayla Carey (@KaylaCarey_NCharlotte)

@dmal_4 @JamesCullen Cassadaigua is beautiful this time year. Glad I am still here! #WBC40 #15-2 #RocketPower

Kayla Carey (@Kayla Carey_NCharlotte)

@dmal_4 @JamesCullen I’d have to be hit in the head to want to go to a Tenburg bar. #WBC40 #RocketPower

Meghan Covington (@MCovi_2B)
@KaylaCarey_NCharlotte Tenburg is still talking? Hasn’t it been a month since they last played? Seems that way. #WBC40 #RocketPower

Courtney Duvall (@Official_CourtneyDuvall)

@KaylaCarey_NCharlotte Kayla, be nice. #WBC40 #RocketPower

Courtney Duvall (@Official_CourtneyDuvall)

@Engine66 Glad you are feeling better. Let me know if you’re ever in Loudon. #WBC40 #RocketPower

[Super-Llamaland]

It had been a pretty good day for David Windhorst. In just six hours, he’d managed to fly to Los-Juantos, negotiate a deal for Jarred Atkins with their GM, and send everything into the Commissioner’s Office. The new pitcher would be coming to New Llama City that night, and he couldn’t wait to see how Atkins could help his rotation.

And the Cyclones’ rotation could certainly use a Jarred Atkins. Natalie Wu, who’d also arrived in a trade, was very solid at the top. But she was still pitching for the Tigers, who had gone all the way to the finals, and none of David’s other pitchers were even remotely as good as her. The back of the rotation needed shoring up too - he’d already lined up another trade with Derrierton - but the Cyclones’ roster was well on their way to another deep playoff run.

David was very happy with the trade, having given up barely anything of value for Atkins. But he knew it wasn’t a long-term solution. Atkins’ contract was expiring at the end of the season, and although they could afford him, there were better options on the open market. The only two pitchers he had locked up long-term were Wu and the fourth starter, Jimenez. He needed to make a splash during the offseason.

There was still another hour until his plane landed in New Llama City, so he turned on his phone, connected to the in-flight wi-fi, and opened up LSN’s website.

QUINLAN TO CYCLONES?? THREE REASONS JOURNALIST* BRYANT KENNEDY SAYS IT’S HAPPENING

Fake news and rumors, as usual. He hadn’t even known where Tenburg was until they’d upset Frenline Delpha to make the quarterfinals. He hovered over the “close” button, then stopped.

Wait.

What if I signed Rory Quinlan?

[Super-Llamaland]

LSN RECAP: WAGNER HAS GAME TO REMEMBER, TIGERS UP 1-0

Alyssa Zhao - LSN Baseball

She used to be the Tigers’ fourth starter. By WBC40, she’d established herself as the third starter. When Matthias Gilson-Engen was shut down for the playoffs, the Emerald City pitcher became the team’s second starter. But tonight, Maddie Wagner pitched like an ace. And it took an ace-like performance for the Tigers to be able to shut Schiltzberg out completely in game one, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.

She’s always been a strong pitcher, but even Emerald fans questioned her mentality at times. But based on her performance tonight, she’s cemented herself as an ace - maybe even the ace after Justin Zheng retires. Sure, every pitcher gets lucky once in a while. But in such a high-pressure situation, holding Schiltzberg to two hits and a walk over a complete game shutout is only a feat top, top pitchers can manage.

The win tonight is a triumph for Maddie Wagner, and a validation of the Tigers’ intense, sabermetrically-influenced preparation. She seemed to be able to anticipate everything Schiltzberg tried, and the middle of the order went a combined 1-for-10 with a single against her, indicating that she was able to shut down every part of Schiltzberg’s lineup. Even when she got into jams - and there really only was one, a runners-on-the-corners, one-out scenario in the fourth inning - Wagner stayed calm, maintained her focus, and executed the game plan flawlessly. The 29-year-old pitcher finished the game with eleven strikeouts and a game score of 93, both amazing numbers even for a complete-game shutout.

Of course, she couldn’t do it on her own - you can’t win without scoring runs! And the Tigers got her support in the very first inning. With leadoff man Markus Wright singling on the first pitch of the first inning and second hitter Sofia Rasmussen needing just two more pitches to stroke a run-scoring double down the right-field line, the Tigers’ first run felt like a hit-and-run (and not the baseball kind). Schiltzberg was down 1-0 after just two minutes of play, but David Toups managed to keep things close until the sixth inning.

Isak Gunnlaugsson led things off by drawing a five-pitch walk, and things only got worse for Toups as he walked Lucien Russo as well. Emery Novak had been having a quiet WBC in the fifth spot, but when Toups hung a slider, he executed perfectly and plated two runs with a hard-hit double off the wall in right-center. With Wagner pitching the way she was, the game was basically over at 3-0. Not that it stopped Nick Rousseau from hitting a solo shot in the top of the ninth to wrap up the scoring.

A strong team effort from all sides, and the Tigers must be elated to start things off with a win. It’s hard to believe that the Llamanean baseball team is just three wins away from their record-tying fourth championship, and all of Super-Llamaland will be watching tonight as Axel Florentssen tries to make it two. And if the Tigers keep playing like this - one and zero could be on the horizon.

[Cassadaigua]

3rd Place: (2) Newmanistan vs (4) West Phoenicia

Game 3:

Newmanistan            0 3 0 1 1 0 1 0 1  7
West Phoenicia         0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  3

Game 4:

Newmanistan            3 1 0 0 0 0 5 0 1 10
West Phoenicia         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

Newmanistan wins series, 3 games to 1


Championship: (1) Schiltzberg vs (3) Super-Llamaland

Game 2:

Super-Llamaland        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2
Schiltzberg            0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 X  3

Series tied, 1-1

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS TAKE 3RD WITH AUTHORITY

by Brianne Henry,


Newmanistan will finish 3rd in the 40th World Baseball Classic, its best finish since winning the title in the 17th Classic, accomplishing the feat in just the 3rd Classic back after a long hiatus. While the players will be disappointed to not have had a chance to take on Schiltzberg in the final, the result should put Newmanistan on the map as a top contender in the minds of everyone, not just Newmanistanians.

After being handed a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of West Phoenicia in the second game, the Rockets came out smacking the ball all over the place in the third game, winning it by the score of 7-3, and then finished the Confederates off by virtue of a 10-1 blowout score. In game 3, Jessica Gray pitched well, going 8 innings, and Mallory Harris led the offense with a 4-for-5 day, that included two doubles, and 3 RBI’s. In the second game, Kayla Carey was five-for-five and hit for the cycle to back up Courtney Duvall’s nine inning masterpiece. After the game, Carey told reporters that, “It’s another step forward. We did not meet our goal, but I think we put the world on notice during this Classic, that we are capable of winning that fifth title, and doing it soon.”

Most of the Rockets players will not be returning to Newmanistan right now, and are actually going to go to Concord Heights to watch the finals to their duration. “It’s baseball!” Carey told us, “We’re one of two teams that will leave Cassadaigua with a win, so I think that helps our mindset to not be disappointed right now. We’re over losing to the Tigers.” When Carey was asked who she was rooting for, she did not hesitate, “Super-Llamaland. It validates our loss to them.” Courtney Duvall and many others also plan on staying in Concord Heights. Said Duvall, “No reason to rush back. Going to the games will be enjoyable.” Meghan Covington will be staying in Cassadaigua, but have another plan, “I’m going to go to a World Cup qualifier. Something different, but I like soccer too, and its not like we’ll have one in Newmanistan.”

[Schiltzberg]

SCHILTZBERG TIES SERIES, NEWMANISTAN TAKES THIRD

Both the finals and the third place series have been extremely intense and exciting in this World Baseball Classic 40 in Cassadaigua. Now, the third place series is over, and the undistracted focus of the international baseball community will be focused on this great finals match up between the almighty Schiltzberg and its worthy challenger, Super-Llamaland.

The finals have been extremely exciting thus far, one of the most exciting in recent memory, as Super-Llamaland and Schiltzberg split games one and two to even out the series this far. It is still anybody's series, and after Newmanistan's taking of third place, a Schiltzbergian victory would finalize the New Schiltzbierg Times Sports News' perfect prediction of the top four in order. It still is a possibility, but it could really go either way at this point. It should be a good one to watch. Here is a recap of the first two games.

Game One

The star of game one was Super-Llamaland's pitcher Maddie Wagner. This was a bit of a surprise, since she is not one of the Tigers' star pitchers, but she had a game to remember, shutting down Schiltzberg's offense and finishing a complete game shutout to win the first game of the series for the Tigers, 4-0. This was the first time all season that Schiltzberg was down in a series. Schiltzberg's David Toups was on the mound for the Schiltzbergers, and he did fairly well, but he could not keep up with Wagner, and the Tigers scored four times, which was more than enough to win the game for them. In this seven-game series, the Tigers had an opportunity to put themselves in a very good position over Schiltzberg after winning this first game.

Game Two

Game two was a bit better for Schiltzberg, as they were able to get the win and tie up the game. On the mound was ace pitcher William McKey, who had an extra day of rest after winning game one of the series against West Phoencia. He went the distance in this one, allowing just two runs and getting the win, as he has not lost a game yet this postseason. Offensively, Schiltzberg has seen better games, but thanks to McKey's splendid pitching performance, they did not have to score much. They had just five hits in the game, but the star of this was a three-run home run by Ducky Fitzhugh in the fourth inning that ended up being the game-deciding hit. This was an improvement on the previous game, when Schiltzberg's offense had been completely shut down, but the hitters did not look good in this one. The pitching has been the strongest point for both teams this series, and it has been a critical part to both team's gameplay.

Key to the Series

Super-Llamaland: If Super-Llamaland is to overtake Schiltzberg, the key for them will be to continue to shut down Schiltzberg's offense, as they have thus far in the series. If they can shut down the offense, their hitters will likely be able to score enough runs off of Schiltzberg's pitching, even with as good as their staff is, and they will win the series. If they cannot control Schiltzberg's offense, however, they will likely not be able to score enough runs off of the best pitching staff in the world to win the series.

Schiltzberg: The key for Schiltzberg if they are to succeed will be to wake up offensively. They have not looked good in that department over the first two games, and that could cost them the series if they keep it up even for another game or two. Their pitching has been good, but if they don't score any runs, it is impossible to win the game. This will be the key for them if they are to get their fifth title or not.

Third Place Series

This was no real surprise, as Newmanistan defeated West Phoencia three games to one. Believe it or not, this is the best finish for Newmanistan since they last won the World Baseball Classic all the way back in WBC 17. West Phoencia finished or its second consecutive fourth place finish, which, needless to say, was a disappointment for the team and its fans, but expect them to come back even stronger next season. This finish was not the championship that Newmanistan had hoped for, but they are no doubt very happy to finish in third and finish the season with a win in only the third year of their return. Expect them also to come back as good as ever next year.

This Is Your New Schiltzbierg Times Sports News!

[Super-Llamaland]

LSN COMMUNITY - WHO STARTS GAME SEVEN?

Chris Tyler - Community Researcher - LSN Baseball

Game Two of the finals against Schiltzberg, a close 3-2 defeat that evened the series at one game apiece, only confirmed what everyone knows - the Tigers only have three functioning starters. When they’re in form, the trio of Justin Zheng, Maddie Wagner, and Natalie Wu are utterly unstoppable - and all three pitchers are clearly in scorching form right now. But there’s one small issue - the game seven starter. When one of your starters is a 23-year-old with little professional experience, you can’t run a three-man starting rotation. And Laurent Mårtensson will need to find an alternative very, very soon.

The starters for the next few games seem clear. Justin Zheng will take the mound on Game Three, looking to give his Tigers a 2-1 lead with another scintillating performance. In Game Four, it’ll be the overperforming rookie Natalie Wu, who threw seven stunning innings against Newmanistan, to take on the bottom of Schiltzberg’s rotation. In Game Five, Maddie Wagner will be able to pitch again. But that leaves games six and seven. Wagner clearly won’t be able to pitch either game, having gone in Game Five. And although Laurent Mårtensson could technically throw Wu out there on short rest, she’s never pitched on short rest before, and Game Seven of the WBC Finals is not a great time to start doing that.

Unless Justin Zheng has somehow become even more of a machine, that means that Zheng will go Game Six, and that the Tigers don’t have the pitching staff for a seven-game series. Of course, it’s entirely possible that the series won’t go the distance, but what if it does? Here are a few options Laurent Mårtensson will have to choose from:

1. Send Out Matthias Gilson-Engen or Axel Florentssen

This is the most conventional option. Sure, Matthias Gilson-Engen (who gave up nine runs to Newmanistan in his last start) and Axel Florentssen (who couldn’t finish the fourth inning against Schiltzberg) aren’t exactly inspiring options. But they’re still starters for one of the best national teams in the world, and it might not be wise to judge their performances off a handful of poor starts. If Laurent Mårtensson does go this route, it’ll likely be Axel Florentssen to start the deciding Game Seven - not only has Gilson-Engen been worse for much longer than Florentssen, but he’s also being converted into a reliever for the rest of the series.

Unfortunately, Florentssen hasn’t been inspiring either. The team’s original fourth starter, the young righty has only one playoff start - and that didn’t go very well. Going from group stage appearances and the LBL playoffs to Game Seven of the World Baseball Classic is a huge jump. If Mårtensson picks this route, he’d better hope Axel Florentssen will be up for the challenge. And, based on how Schilztberg and Ducky Fitzhugh scored three runs against him in four innings - that were even shakier than a 6.75 ERA might indicate, considering that the four innings took him 97 pitches to finish and that he struck out none of the batters he faced - I would doubt it.

2. Send Out Matthias Gilson-Engen AND Axel Florentssen

What’s better than one underachieving young starter? Everyone knows that the answer to that is two underachieving young starters! If Axel Florentssen knows he’s coming out after three innings, then he can pitch his heart out in those three innings without having to worry about pacing and getting as many innings as possible. Similarly, Matthias Gilson-Engen would do much better in a three-inning appearance than in a start, as he’d be able to leverage his dominant fastball to a much greater extent. Florentssen for three and Gilson-Engen for three, as Mårtensson might reason, is far superior to either for six, and with nothing after Game Seven, he’d be able to use the full bullpen however he likes to finish Schiltzberg off.

This might be a better idea than #1, but it’s not exactly the greatest, either. Both pitchers might have huge problems adapting to the unfamiliar arrangement, and in a deciding Game Seven where every little play matters, that could have immense ramifications on the Tigers’ execution. This might not be something you want to play with in Game Seven. But will Mårtensson have any other choice?

3. Have Natalie Wu Start Anyways

Depressingly enough, this might be the most viable of Laurent Mårtensson’s options. Natalie Wu has never started on short rest before, but she’s certainly shown that she can perform in clutch situations - something both Gilson-Engen and Florentssen lack. But will Wu’s parent club, the David Windhorst-led New Llama Cyclones, even allow this to happen? Windhorst, who recently returned from Los-Juantos having closed a deal for pitcher Jarred Atkins, runs a tight ship in Super-Llamaland’s capital city, and the risk of losing his best starter for the season might be too much to stomach for a General Manager of a team without other aces.

Even if Windhorst does give Laurent Mårtensson the green light, though, there’s no guarantee this plan would work. Throwing Natalie Wu - who actually has only pitched in two playoff games, the fourth game of the quarterfinals and the decisive Game Five of the semifinals against Newmanistan - into the fire like this might lead to the young starter heavily underperforming and choking under the pressure. It’s already hard enough to throw such an important game (although Wu seems to have no troubles with it), but doing so on short rest for the first time? This could go south very quickly. But out of all of these plans, Wu in game five might have the greatest upside.

4. Bullpen Day!

A sabermetrician’s dream scenario, but the one that’s least likely to happen. Many followers of advanced analytics love the concept of a cunning manager being able to control every single matchup and break 27 outs into a number of tiny subsections. And the Tigers definitely have a big pen, with twelve pitchers (including Gilson-Engen, Florentssen, and Maddie Wagner, who could pitch an inning on two days’ rest if she had to). But even if Mårtensson decided he wanted to try it, he’d have a very tough time implementing it. Every single reliever would need to be given a specific section of the order to focus on, with Plan Bs, Cs, and Ds in case things didn’t work out. And even then, there’s no guarantee the bullpen would be able to step up to the plate. They haven’t exactly been inspiring so far, although going five scoreless innings against Schiltzberg was a step in the right direction.

Who knows? If any Tigers manager is audacious enough to try this plan, it’d be Laurent Mårtensson. But not even the fearless Mårtensson could guarantee that a bullpen day would work.

5. Save Justin Zheng!

The boring option - saving Justin Zheng for game seven ensures that the Tigers will probably win the elimination game. There's one small issue, of course - this doesn't solve the problem, it just pushes it around. If Laurent Mårtensson does this, it'll give him a slightly more effective start out of Justin Zheng and likely seal the championship if they push it to seven games. But what if the Tigers go down in Game Six, and Zheng never even pitches? It'd be a massive mistake.

And if you're going to push an issue around, you'd prefer to push it back a little. By doing this, Laurent Mårtensson would actually limit his options for Game Six - Wagner would be completely unavailable, and Axel Florentssen might not be as effective on "short rest". While it may seem sensible to hold your ace until Game Seven, Mårtensson won't risk losing in six.

***
The options on the table are hardly inspiring, and we’d prefer that Justin Zheng just win us games Three and Six and finish up the series. But the Tigers need to be prepared for every possible outcome. And if things do go seven, this is what we’ll have to do. Let’s just hope we can finish things earlier than that, or that elusive fourth title might be even harder to win than we thought.

Tigers in 5! -Chris

[Cassadaigua]

Championship: (1) Schiltzberg vs (3) Super-Llamaland

Game 3:

Schiltzberg            0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Super-Llamaland        1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 X  3

Super-Llamaland leads series, 2 games to 1

[Schiltzberg]

ZHENG STIFLES SCHILTZBERERS, SUPER-LLAMALAND REGAINS LEAD

Games one and two of the WBC finals were rough for Schiltzberg's offense, as they only scored three runs over the course of the first two games. Those games were even before facing Justin Zheng, Super-Llamaland's ace pitcher, who has been on fire all season. Game three they faced Zheng though, and it was not pretty. Zheng held the Schiltzbergers to one run and only four hits in a masterful performance, completely shutting down the greatest offense in the world. Despite a solid pitching outing from the Schiltzbergian side, their offense failed them once again, and this allowed Super-Llamaland to take the lead in the series.

As we said in the last issue of this newspaper, the key to this series that will determine who wins will be whether or not Super-Llamaland is able to keep Schiltzberg's offense in check. So far, they have been. Zheng was able to shut down the Schiltzbergers, and the only run scored was on a solo home run by Ducky Fitzhugh in the fourth inning. Fitzhugh seems to be the only player not in a slump now for the Schiltzbergers, as he got two of the four hits last night, including the home run, and he also hit the game-deciding home run in game two as well. He has four RBIs in the series, which surprisingly is all that Schiltzberg has scored through three games.

Schiltzbergian pitcher Henry Price was able to keep it close for most of the game, but with practically no help from his offense, he was fighting a losing battle. He gave up a solo home run in the first inning, but he managed well beyond that point. Besides the home run, he held Super-Llamaland scoreless through the early and middle innings, and with the Fitzhugh home run in the fourth, the game was tied. Without further run support though, he would not be able to hold off the Tigers for long, and he got in a jam in the seventh where he had runners first and third with two outs. With a full count on the batter, Price gave up an RBI single, and the runner from first advanced to third, as Super-Llamaland took the lead. Price knew that with the struggling offense, he would have to minimize the damage, but he was out of steam. He walked the next batter, loading the bases, and he hit the following batter, giving up another run, prompting his removal from the game.

Price's performance was actually not bad, giving up just three runs in six and two-thirds innings, but up against Zheng, that was enough to get the loss. The offense should really be credited for the loss, but I suppose that is not how baseball statistics work. If Schiltzberg wishes to win this series, they need their offense to wake up quickly. Down in the series two games to one, they can only afford one more loss, and they need to get three more wins. They could pull it off though, and they have before, but if they wish to pull off another championship this time around, their offense needs to wake up right away. The Schiltzbergers have been fighting a losing battle all along this series, which is unusual for them, but they could still turn it around. If their offense comes alive in the next game and they are able to beat Super-Llamaland's pitching, the series will be tied, and things will look a whole lot different. If they don't come alive and lose tomorrow's game, things will not look good for the Schiltzbergers. Stay tuned for updates on this finals match up.

This Is Your New Schiltzbierg Times Sports News!