World Baseball Classic 15: Everything thread

[Quintessence of Dust]

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Pointless Analysis Time: Wally the Win Expectancy Worm
Posted by MetaNarrativesFTL

Almost every day of the year, an international sports competition is underway, and the results are churned out day by day. Those following games online can usually use the well regarded newswire "Communicating Unfailingly The Official Fixtures' Final Scores" ("CUTOFFS"). Today's CUTOFFS report included the football matches currently taking place in Quintessence of Dust for the Introduction of Fire, the Round of 16 stages of something called the World Bowl (?) - and opening day from the World Baseball Classic.

Around the world, people have been quick to notice that this time, the CUTOFFS data supplier - based in The Babbage Islands - have been providing the scores in a new format, including full line scores so we can see innings-by-innings match progress. This has caused some consternation, the fiercely conservative Rocket Report bridling at the change, the upstart Tarrentum Falcons Sporting News embracing it. It doesn't really make that big of a difference in the scheme of things: some press sources, such as NordicNation and QSPN almost always provide line scores, others, such as Cassadaigua's official player blogs, generally eschew them.

It's our understanding that CUTOFFS will continue publishing line scores throughout the WBC15, though they might disappear again for WBC16. We also understand that, because CUTOFFS is a central clearinghouse of information, some wires might get crossed on the innings-by-innings results: although we all know that CUTOFFS results are rigorously fact-checked, the individual line scores might vary from actual game results. So be it.

But while we do have the line score data available, it gives an opportunity for a new edition of Pointless Analysis Time. This post has mostly been inspired by a Zwangzugian blogger, who made a very interesting post about a domestic baseball game that helped bring the concept of "Win Expectancy" to my attention. I've been reading up on it, and it's on this basis that I'd like to pay my dues to the Society of Zwangzug Baseball Research, and announce that I have an idea for a mascot our team (remember, the competition to pick the name is still open!): Wally the Win Expectancy Worm.

Wally relaxing after a busy day against Brewdomia

Win Expectancy is a way of determining how likely a team is to win a game based on the game situation. It takes into account runs, outs, and bases. Note that this is based on in-game factors. (I recently read a Rocket Report that guessed that they'd "win 19 of the 20 games against [Virabia]". This isn't the sort of probability Win Expectancy discusses: the issue is whether a team has a 4 run advantage after 3 innings, not whether a team has two championships to its name.)

Win Expectancy can be calculated to take into account every play in a baseball game. On defence, getting outs and stopping runners advancing, and on offence, getting on base, moving into scoring positions, scoring runs and avoiding outs, increase the probability of your team winning. Below, we discuss the WE data from our home game against Brewdomia, but I thought it might be interesting to start with a much simpler look at the other games on show today, and just see how their win expectancy changed on a by-innings basis. (Note: the aforementioned possibility of inaccuracy in the CUTOFFS line scores means the following analysis is not ironclad.)

All apologies for the slightly crude graph designs, but they illustrate some interesting points. For example: Barnettsville's ninth inning rally captured a great comeback win over the Zebras. But how great?

By the ninth innings, Barnettsville's win expectancy had sunk below 10%. Of course, we all remember the story of WBC14, when the entire Quodite team was briefly suspended after gambling heavily that Stars first baseman Hank Everly would end his career with a walk off grand slam (their legal defence that "it was pretty obvious that was going to happen" thankfully stood up in court). But in truth late rallies are very rare: a team with a ninth inning lead has a very high probability of winning, making the Blue Jays' upset win all the more surprising.

Until that remarkable fightback, the win expectancy trended strongly one way. This is often the case. Teams that score the first and second runs of the game have a high probability of winning. But sometimes games seesaw a little more. A real topsy turvy one that put Wally through some calesthenic twists and turns was fought out between Undeadzombiee and Steroga:

This kind of graph is much more unusual. Steroga (who it seems to us are one of the unluckiest nations in international sport) were trending toward a win, but the impact of runs in later innings is illustrated by the huge spikes and troughs as the lead changed hands.

The shape of the graphs depends on the data set you use. You might notice that the one we use includes a slight home advantage, which is why Wally's tail starts slightly above the 50% mark. We've expressed the result in terms of the WE of the home team. Sometimes, it is given as the WE of the +50% team: instead of saying that Steroga's WE was 30.0% (or .300) at the beginning of the eighth inning, you could say that Undeadzombiee's was 69.9%.

The graphs are very simplistic here. A more complex WE chart takes into account each play, and this can be used to show the value of an individual player's contribution. For example, Johnny Stryker hit a 3-RBI home run in the first inning of the Nordics' visit to the hosts (how the Quodite players resisted the urge to bet on this, I don't know). You might be tempted to brush this off: Johnny Stryker hits a lot of home runs, is one really so special? But by our calculation, that home run improved the Nordics' WE from ~56-58% with two runners on, no outs, to almost 75%. In other words, he increased the probability of his team winning by almost 20%! By contrast, Kevin Monroe's ninth inning home run had virtually no impact on the WE - less than 0.1%.

With that in mind, let's turn to our game, and look at the most important plays. We have prepared a much more extensive data set on our own game, but the Undeadzombiee-Steroga clash really tired Wally out, so we're letting him have a rest and will have to do without graphic representation. I've expressed the values in hard terms; this presents a bias towards early innings events. Expressing the changes as proportions of the total WE would probably be fairer, but let's keep things simple for now.

1 & 2. Natalia drives in Amanda, twice (WE changes: +15.5%, +12.5%)

Natalia Kivistö had a fantastic debut: 2 for 3 with a hit by pitch and a stolen base, she hit the first home run of the WBC15 campaign. But that wasn't her biggest play. In terms of win expectancy, her fourth inning RBI single boosted the Quodite WE from 73.3% to 88.8%. That play was a lot bigger than when Masami scored from first on a single in the same inning, and it was bigger than her first inning home run.

Naturally, one might be inclined to distrust a statistic that suggests a hit worth 1 base and 1 RBI was better than a hit worth 4 bases and 2 RBI, but the key thing is that in came later in the game. Quintessence of Dust's lead was cut to 1 by Brewdomia's RBI double, sacrifice fly combo in the fourth, but Natalia's single restored a 3 run lead. Additionally, it came with 2 outs - her home run was the second at bat for the home team. Because a runner on base with 2 outs is likely to be left on, a 2-out RBI is very valuable.

Of course, Win Expectancy be damned, there's no escaping which moment the fans at The Frosty Dome cheered the loudest for.

3. Momoko's web gem at second (WE change: +9.7%)

It's really important to stop rallies in baseball. No football dream would dream of having a defender who only played 5 minutes per game, because their opponent will have many attacks over 90 minutes. In baseball, most of the "attacks" come at once, and the majority of runs are often scored in a single inning, explaining why - unlike the 5 minute defender, the short reliever does exist, and is often in high demand. In the fourth inning, after trailing by 3, Brewdomia began to put runners on base and score runs. Their batter drew a walk, the next hit a double, the next a sacrifice fly. They were within 1 run of the home team.

Then Momoko Koumura justified her Silver Glove at second base in the FABL Free League with a dazzling piece of individual fielding. Shorter than many middle infielders but with a better arm than a number of third basepersons, Momoko has always relied on her footwork to help her out, and it was only a brilliant waltz she danced in the infield dirt to deny a hit that would have advanced a runner into scoring position - and ended up silencing that fourth inning rally, during which they had increased their WE from 14.2% to 38.8%.

Because fielding is a notoriously difficult part of the game to quantify, Win Expectancy should not be completely relied on here. Had it been a routine groundout, it still would have been a big play: the WE change does not reflect the probability of what happened (how many fielders in the world could have scooped and dived like that?) but the impact of what happened on the game situation. Of course, good fielders will probably make a lot of such plays over time.

4. Leadoff hitter caught stealing (WE change: +9.6%)

Let's be clear: there is nothing wrong with stealing bases. So long as you pull it off. (Actually, there occasionally is something wrong, as having a runner on first against a left handed pull hitter makes the second baseperson's role more difficult - but this is negligible.) Everyone agrees that getting caught stealing is a blow, and that the fourth biggest play of the game was a pickoff is no surprise. After singling to short, the Brewdomian leadoff had given their team a great start (in fact, it was the only time in the entire game their win expectancy was above 50%).

Had he stolen effectively, he would have improved his team's WE by about 2.5%. But a sharp pickoff from Hannes Huuskonen, justifying and then some his selection ahead of Radosav, slayed him at second, and that his set his team back almost 10 WE points. That differential illustrates how much more valuable outs are than bases - and why one can be sceptical of the true value of base stealing to a team's overall probability of winning.

5 & 7. Brewdomia's sacrifice fly, RBI double (WE changes: -9.3%, -8.3%)

The biggest play for Brewdomia was their fourth innings sac fly. With a runner on third from the RBI double, their batter hit a deep fly to centre, and Masami Tamagotchi could only make the catch, not the throw. That brought the lead down to 1, illustrating how volatile runs in the early and middle innings can be on the overall WE of a team.

6. Fielding error at shortstop (WE change: +8.4%)

If one great piece of fielding can sharply change a game's profile, another dreadful one certainly can too. Maybe it took a bobble in the dirt - but this isn't an infield that's been played on all Classic. New sand, freshly raked - you could putt a golf shot on it. Well, you could - Brewdomia's shortstop certainly couldn't, as he appeared to possess all the coordination of a hepped-up lab monkey as he let the runner to begin the comeback in the bottom of the fourth.

8. Django's sixth strikeout (WE change: +7.9%)

Brewdomia had another good chance at a rally in the sixth, though they laboured to get their by amassing outs. Still, back to back singles put runners on the corners, and a hit from their batter would have driven in at least 1. But he couldn't get anything on a sinking fastball from Scheinhardt, and two more followed - and then a knee-buckler of a changeup.

Django had a very Django-like game: faintly unimpressive, but did the job. He struck out six and walked four, and gave up nine hits for two earned runs. With the win under his belt he has plenty of time to prepare for what now looks like being a tough encounter against Barnettsville.

9. Masami's outfield double play (WE change: +7.5%)

We always knew she could hit, and we always knew she had a hell of an arm. Perhaps we should be embarrassed for not putting two and two together sooner. In any case, any doubts about Masami Tamagotchi's transfer to the outfield were eradicated as she roped two hits and drew a walk, stole two bases and scored a run from first on a single, and - most crucially - had two outfield assists. Her double play was a highlights reel heartstopper. But as mentioned, such plays can be showy irrelevancies - not this one. It stopped Brewdomia's seventh inning rally and moved the team's WE above 98%.

10. Emily's solo home run (WE change: +7.1%)

Way down at 10 comes the home run, though it was a good 'un, travelling over 400 feet. That's not the issue. It's that it was a hit with a win expectancy already nearing 90%: it had a lesser impact on the game situation than the above plays. Surprising, perhaps, though such an assessment had no bearing on Sanderson's joyous celebrations as Quintessence of Dust's most consistent international hitter rounded the bases in style.

[Taeshan]

Bloodbath Valley      000 100 001 - 2
Taeshan               102 303 10X - 10

X Island Inquirer

Purple Knights Win Opener

So another season of baseball has begun. With this being the last for many a player on the Taeshan National Team it seems that this could be the final year for many of them to have another great chance at a gold Medal around their necks. On the mound for the Knights in the opener was surprise, surprise Number 1 Pitcher Alexis Rielas up against a team of literally unknowns from the small country of Bloodbath Valley. A nice name at that do they have, but it seemed their manager didn't even know how to fill out the lineup card and to top it off they didn't even speak English, or German for that matter and could not seem to communicate their lineup in any way. In other news we have are first ever Inning by inning scorecard thanks to the nice people at The Babbage Islands committee of Statistics.

So the game was as close as many people predicted it to be. A 10-2 blowout victory for the Knights. The pitching was solid as Rielas pitched 7 innings with only one run score din the fourth. The final two innings saw Zack Lee Harper and Socki Lewis team up for the 6 outs. Lewis continued to play his position in right, but he would switch in for a few batters in the first work he has gotten on the mound in some three Classics. In the hitting department the day was pretty good. A solid 29 hits for the 10 runs. In the first inning they scored off of a sacrifice squeeze by Adam Menigen after Alexander Parea hit a double, and stole third on the first pitch. In the third the Knights would get two runs on a Socki Lewis home run. In the fourth and sixth the Knights would get 3 rbi's on bases loaded doubles from both Riane Totalez in the fourth, and pinch hitter Jay Nedved in the latter inning. The tenth run would be scored on a solo homer by Miron Washington.

[Zwangzug]

You're at work, or maybe on the train. You're surrounded by metal. Maybe it's what's causing the static? You expected it to be crystal-clear here, not something that required constant rotating, reshuffling, searching.

But it's okay. Here, hold it like that, just this angle. Yes!

You're listening to WTB, AM 1450 in Zwischen...

"Well hello there, people! I'm Oliver Craudren."

"And I'm Roderick Sultoshdan."

"Welcome to World Baseball Classic 15."

"We're members of the Society for Zwangzug Baseball Research. I'm from the Danhy chapter--"

"You're from Danhy?"

"Yeah. We're the ones who found the old scorecard for Danhy Monkeygeese 4, Trink Fishcattigerstuff 3. It's up on fangaffes.zz now."

"Hah, well, not like things worked out too well for your stupid Monkeygeese."

"We don't like to talk about the past, back in Danhy."

"Not like you're gonna be able to research a lot, then, is it?"

"Hold on, I'm getting to that. The SZBR has branched out recently. After the WBC began, Az-cz got good, people started looking to them, studying to see what they did well."

"Of course. We've been doing a lot of statistical research."

"But I think we've lost sight of our original goal. You know, researching baseball in Zwangzug."

"Yeah."

"So that's why they sent me here. Fans, if you have information about old games, please shoot us an e-mail. Oliver will find some during the tournament to read over the air, and hopefully we can learn more about some of the older leagues."

"It's the president's birthday here in Barnettsville, and Garry Barnett Jr. is gonna start for the home team. Do you know if any Composite Ministers' children played baseball? If so, drop us a line..."

"...laces a double off the right-field wall. Kersten comes in to give the Zebras an early lead."

"The pressure could be getting to Barnett, they'll try to go after him early..."

"...skied into the outfield, the center fielder coming forward. Won't get there in time. Arzaga rounding third, he'll score to make it 2-0..."

"...I've got an e-mail here from Michelle in Slaite."

"Chane throws to first, runner who'd drawn a walk gets back there."

"Michelle remembers Jeff Coriolis as having been a decent athlete. Preferred track and field, though."

"Winds and delivers--oh, it hit him! Two on and nobody out to lead off this bottom of the ninth, little trouble here for Chane in his international debut."

"Solid against the Liventian teams, he should be fine once he calms down..."

"...the sign from Turner. Chane winds and delivers. This one's hit hard, Throop can't make it. It's a two-run double and this game is tied."

"Croes on the phone to the bullpen, looks like they'll get Helmsley up..."

"...fired over the plate. Swung on and...deep to right-center. Arzaga chasing back, it's...over the fence. Put this one in the books, Barnettsville 5, Zwangzug 3."

[Virabia]

The Vonghurst Star
Say What. We won? Really? Oh Damn!

VONGHURST - Rugby League World Cup aside, Virabia is accustomed to not doing all too well in international sport, however today's win over Newmanistan may mark a reversal in that trend. Now let's not get ahead of ourselves, a win against a team like Newmanistan is a rare occurrence, but it shows that the team can play at the level required to beat a top ranked team like Newmanistan, and that if they've done it once they can do it again. However, what does the teams manager think about all of this. We interviewed Manager Joe Macguyver on what he thinks the teams future will be.

Q: There is no doubt that you got through this game with some impeccable pitching, and some strong offence. Is there anything else you'd say helped contribute to this win?

A: Well, I know its a cliché but the will to win certainly helped. Even though the odds were largely not in our favour we wanted to win from the get go, and once we got out to that early lead we kept with it and won. We wanted it more and we got it.

Q: Newmanistani players made it seem like that it was their mistakes that led to their loss, not your teams superior play?

A: I'd say that it's a little bit of both, sure they made mistakes, but we also played what I think was a fundamentally better game of baseball. What the rocket report diddn't say is how their hitters would often falter to to the Eephus. Still, it wasn't all us, they made quite a few vital mistakes, and we got lucky with foul balls. If those things didn't happen we definitely wouldn't be the victorious team today.

Q: On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your teams play today. Also, In which fields do you think you can improve, and do you think you can sustain this kind of play throughout the classic?

A: Id give us a solid 8.5/10. We played well, as for areas of improvement, we need to not give up as many hits. Newmanistan got on base a lot and quite a few balls could have easily been home runs. We cant have that as they're not always going to go foul. We also need to improve in just getting on base, and getting those solid hits. We've done well, but we can do better.As for sustaining this play, we definitely can against the two weaker teams and we may be able to afainst Milchama. However come time for our matches against Qazox and our away fixture with Newanistan, we will not look this good. I can guarantee you that.

Q: How do you think you'll do tomorrow in Veridet?

A: Now I hate to gloat, but I foresee us winning. By how much, that is un-certain but I think we'll come out on top.

Q: Finally, How do you think you'll end up doing in this cup?

A: I think We'll do a solid 5-5 or 6-4. We won't advance, but it'll help us in the rankings, and give us experience in international play. So either way this cup won't be put to waste.

[Tarrentum]

TNNC:Tarrentum National News Corporation

"Vallena dives for the ball....

...We're sorry for interrupting tonight's ballgame, I'm Reni Dalmati. We have a special news alert brought in by the Tarrentum National Press Committee. Tarrentum Police have found the body of Michael Grastiona in a downtown alleyway tonight in Napoliroma. Grastiona was pronounced dead at the scene. No suspects have been named but police are currently searching for three women whom Grastiona was last scene with. Our hearts go out to the parents of Michael Grastiona.

Once again Michael Grastiona has been found dead in downtown Napoliroma by Police. He was 34 and currently looking forward to his first international start for the Tarrentum Falcons.

We now return you back to the game at Imperium Stadium.

...That was one of the most spectacular defensive innings we've seen out of the Falcons. Stefan, I'm just getting news from the truck. It appears that TNNC cut away to break the story that Michael Grastiona has been found dead in Napoliroma tonight. My word Lanca, did you just say that Grastiona has passed away?...

[Milchama]

Milchama National News- Tribune- Sun- Times- Post- Gazette- Chronicle- Journal- Dispatch- Telegram- Star- Monitor- Enquirer

Sports Section

A Rude Awakening

On the first game that MBL players have faced international competition since WBC 8 the Warriors got a rude awakening at the hands of the Qazox Phoenix, losing 8-4. The Warriors were clearly nervous to play under the international spotlights for the first time, none more so than Mickey Hermeton who didn't even go 5 innings while giving up 7 runs. This for a pitcher who only had one game all of last season where he pitched less than 7 innings. The Warriors could not come back from the 7-1 deficit as they only scored 3 more runs the rest of the way losing 8-4. Manager Eitan Morey said, "This was not the ideal start for us but it's nice to get the nerves out of the way, I expect that we'll come back and be better tomorrow."

Of course the opponents weren't schlubs either, Qazox is the only other team to have played in every WBC and their international experience showed as they weren't nervous hitting the Warriors right from the off. Their leadoff hitter, Thomas Brown doubled on the second pitch that Hermeton threw, and while he did induce a groundout from their second hitter, Dyana Garski singled on a hanging slider to right field for the Phoenix to take a 1-0 lead. It was all downhill from there for the Warriors as, after a scoreless second, they would give up runs in each of the next 4 frames.

The only good to come out of the game was Martin LaPlante who proved that he doesn't believe in lost causes, after all he did lead the Comets to a upper division finish, as he smoked two home runs in the fourth and sixth innings. James Merter also had a fine game going 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, but besides those two the Milchamian bats were almost silent. Both O'Kelt and Evers went hitless and walkless and the rest of the offense seemed to follow their lead. Eltanor and Thomas might as well have been called the rally killers for their helpless slashing and the lack of plate discipline did not befit a team whose MBL average OBP was .393.

It must be put down to a learning experience and after the 6th inning the Warriors definitely started to play better. If they can keep down those butterflies, this is a quality team and we fully expect them to do better in the day ahead.

[The Babbage Islands]

By Bryndís Óskarsdóttir and Scott Clinton

Scott: Tocrowkia got us back, didn't they? Seven-to-two at home on opening day of the World Baseball Classic.
Bryn: That's one game. We've got nine more.
Scott: Tommy Thunder took it to us, face it.
Bryn: And Catherine Delaney came out flat. The bullpen did okay limiting the damage for a while.
Scott: Three Nordic home runs versus zero for the Bumblebees.
Bryn: We can hope to do better against Steroga.
Scott: Perhaps. We're not a power in world baseball like we might be in football or handball.
Bryn: What would it take to move baseball to the next level? We've got a decent professional league and good feeder programs.
Scott: Chronowire Communications just signed another broadcast deal with BIB as well. The edisons are there. The players are there. The fans are there. The world's great baseball showpiece is here soon. What do we do?
Bryn: Qualifying to the last 18 will help! We won't do that if we don't play better.
Scott: As you said, it's only one game.

Bryn: On to the World Bowl, where there was a bit of confusion in the round of 16.
Scott: I understand an intern or two are being let go over munging the reservations for a couple of teams, sending them off to face the wrong opponents!
Bryn: We don't use many interns here, do we?
Scott: Either that or we cover for them better.
Bryn: But we're still playing Sarzonia, right?
Scott: Right. A tough match where we are underdogs. Just the kind we like.

Until our next conversation, remember, we're BS all the time!

[The Babbage Islands]

Qualifying Phase: Round 2 Results

The published line scores reflect how the scorinator arrives at final scores. The final scores and number of innings shown are official. No nation's RP will be penalised for using, or for not using, the generated line scores.

REMINDER: Tomorrow is an off day. Round three scorinates on Monday morning, and round four on Wednesday morning.

Group A

Mantwenic             100 000 010 - 2
Tsenor                010 000 000 - 1

Silver Beach          000 000 001 - 1
Secristan             010 020 03X - 6

Bluth Corporation     054 201 000 - 12
Sarzonia              032 011 010 - 8

Group B

Barnettsville         010 010 100 1 - 4
Quintessence of Dust  100 110 000 0 - 3

Kalasion              100 240 010 - 8
Brewdomia             000 000 100 - 1

Zwangzug              106 010 000 - 8
Tarrentum             001 410 04X - 10

Group C

Taeshan               000 011 001 - 3
Dancougar             009 001 05X - 15

Delaclava             000 210 700 - 10
The Fanboyists        000 110 000 - 2

Bloodbath Valley      300 000 010 - 4
South Norwega         001 000 100 - 2

Group D

The Babbage Islands   101 010 010 020 00 - 6
Steroga               101 100 001 020 02 - 8

Toiletdonia           020 100 002 - 5
Undeadzombiee         000 000 000 - 0

Tocrowkia             100 112 000 - 5
JoeDad                000 000 000 - 0

Group E

Virabia               100 210 020 - 6
Verdriet              200 000 120 - 5

Qazox                 120 010 000 - 4
Emothica              010 003 10X - 5

Newmanistan           200 120 000 002 - 7
Milchama              001 001 201 000 - 5

Group F

Cassadaigua           020 200 010 002 - 7
Vephrall              401 000 000 000 - 5

Yafor 2               010 020 100 - 4
Albundania            103 001 00X - 5

Kazzoria              000 202 000 - 4
Western cuba          111 020 00X - 5

Tables follow round three.

[Tarrentum]

[OOC:Changed to reflect Zwangzug's correct realization that I had written in 5 runs in the bottom of the fourth instead of four. Thanks for the heads up Zwangy]

Tarrentum Falcons Sporting News
FALCONS WIN! FALCONS WIN!

UPDATED WITH PITCHING AND BATTING BOXSCORES!!!
Napoliroma, Tarrentum, Tarrentum - It is a day of juxtapositions here in the Tarrentum Valley. The Falcons, amazingly, won against on of the top-ranked ball clubs in the world and yet the mood is dampened by the passing of Michael Grastiona, Tarrentum's troubled pitcher. Still no word from authorities this morning (as TNNC told me this morning) on what caused Grastiona's death or if there was any foul play. Could it possibly be a [censored by Tarrentum National Press Committee]? Grastiona, for all of his faults, will be missed. Tiberius Wavi, Tarrentum's manager, has yet to announce if they are bringing in a fresh arm or if they are going to move up Romeo Vasparian, who pitched magnificently in relief yesterday, to the fifth starting spot. We'll have to wait and see.

On to the game breakdown at Imperium Stadium last night.

From the get go anyone in the stands could tell that Zwangzug was going to be playing methodically, error-free ball and that's exactly what we got to see last night. DeRosi gave up a costly 2-out, solo homerun in the first to Zwangzug third baseman Benjamin Mercer. DeRosi's pitch seemed to sail up the plate and right down the middle. It was a precursor of things to come.

After having a terrific inning in the top of the second against the heart of the Zebra lineup where he only gave up one hit, DeRosi threw a softball to Cordemoy who smacked a dribbler past third baseman Xavier Gradoni. With one on Jamie Kersten stepped up to the plate and drove DeRosi's cut fastball down the left field line. Gaele DeRosi then threw Ida Pratt to a full count before Pratt waited on the perfect pitch, DeRosi told me it was a fastball inside, and belted it to the right field wall. The double scored Cordemoy and Kersten. With the first three batters reaching base successfully, Utteroni called time from the homeplate ump to speak with his pitcher.

Utteroni relayed to me that he wanted to know if DeRosi had eaten his Italiana Energy Bar before the game because he was looking as limp-wristed as a Bigtopian dung slinger. After a brief conference on how to handle Mercer, DeRosi promptly gave up a first pitch homerun blast to left-center. Upon this homerun and the four previous hits given up, manager Tiberius Wavi called for Vasparian to begin warming up. After causing Arzaga to hit a ground ball out after taking him to another full count, DeRosi gave up a hit to Rustrian. Wavi trotted out to the mound and after a short conversation, pulled DeRosi from the game and called in Vasparian.

It was like a fresh wind blowing in on a summer's day when the door's swung open and out ran Vasparian. It is widely known to our female readers that Romeo Vasparian has been at the top of Tarrentum's "Most Beautiful Person" list for the past two years and when he entered it looked as though Emperor Cesear Farnellius himself had come back. After a brief warmup Vasparian quickly struck out Throop then gave up a double to Jehoshaphat Turner, the Zwangzug catcher. With a runner on third and second Vasparian bared down on Irene Scricle. Down 0-2 in the count, Scricle looped a deep, but easy, pop-up to left fielder Jax Ianello who amazingly missed the catch. The ball hit Ianello's glove and dropped out. Both Rustrian and Turner scored on the play. With Cordemoy back up and the entire Zwangzug lineup having been to bat in the top of the third, Vasparian finally registered the third out by striking out the opposing pitcher in four pitches.

The bottom of the third found some success for the Falcons of Tarrentum as Ionian started the inning with a lead-off single. Vasparian sacrifice bunted to move him to second and then Zappa hit a bloop shot to right field which gave the Falcons baserunners on first and second. Nicolai Rioi hit a deep sac fly which then advanced Ionian to third. Zappa got a great jump on an attempted pick-off attempt by Cordemoy from the mound and stole second. With Ianello up he redeemed himself by hitting a soft line drive down the left field line. It was enough to score Ionian but Zappataro was held up at third. Utteroni then struck out swinging on a 2-2 count.

Vasparian pitched a great fourth inning not allowing a single hit or baserunner. The Falcons lineup responded by first taking Cordemoy "yard" (as they say) when Dessea Vallena showed uncharacteristic power and belted a line drive homerun just over the left field wall. Puloni then reached base on a single and Gradoni struck out on a perfect inside curveball. With Ionian up again, he ripped a changeup that drifted high in the zone deep up the alley in right-center, scoring Puloni from first and recording a triple in the process. With Vasparian up Cordemoy beaned his fellow pitcher. There were some choice words from Romeo as he walked slowly up the base path, something about Cordemoy's mother being a zebra (but things can get lost when you are told this by one of the cameramen down near the field). With runners on first and third Zappa laid down a perfect bunt down the third base line, easily reaching first as Vasparian got in just under the throw to second. With the bases loaded Cordemoy looked in trouble and boy, was he ever!

Rioi stepped up to the plate and took a 1-2 outside fastball to the opposite field for a 2-run scoring double. With Zappa on third and Rioi on second, Ianello stood in the batters box next. Zappa had a significant lead off third and he finally got his chance. Turner mishandled a low curve from Cordemoy - it skitted pass the catcher and towards the backstop - Zappa raced home but Turner expertly whipped the ball back to Cordemoy who applied the tag to Zappa at the plate. Wavi came racing out of the dugout to dispute the call but it was all in vain as the man in black in white sided with the Black and White. Cordemoy subsequently gave up a single to Ianello before causing Utteroni to fly out to third to end the inning. With the score now 7-5 the Falcons had clawed their way back into this game.

The top of the fifth saw Vasparian give up two doubles, with the Zebras bringing another run, Rustrian, across the plate. However the Falcons answered back in the bottom half of the inning when Gradoni, with two outs in the inning, hit a solo shot off of Cordemoy to bring the spread deficit back to two runs.

Vasparian pitched great the next two innings, as did Cordemoy, both retiring six straight batters. Vasparian was then pulled in the top of the eighth and Liona Marrada became the first woman to pitch for Tarrentum in an international event. Marrada gave up one hit but no runs in her appearance on the mound. She was helped in large part by a mind-bending double-play from Dessea Vallena. Vallena first stepped the wrong way towards an oncoming ground ball, then circled back to catch up with the ball in shallow rightfield. Her quick pick-up and falling-away throw to second was just in time and Zappa was able to turn the double-play on his throw to first.

Then the bottom of the eighth started and Cordemoy wished he had just stayed in the dugout with his arm in his little black-and-white jacket. Puloni started the inning by reaching first base. Gradoni then reached safely by hitting an off-the-wall single into right field. With runners on first and second, Ionian popped up a fly ball to the pitcher. Marrada sacrifice bunted to move Puloni and Gradoni into scoring positions at third and second. Cordemoy then gave up an uncharacteristic walk to Zappataro to load the bases with two outs. Rioi came up to bat next and the rest is Tarrentum history. On a full count Rioi took a low fastball and ripped it up and over the right field fence. Tarrentum's first grand slam of the tournament was a godsend as the crowd went crazy. The Falcons had pulled ahead of the Zebras in one swing. Cordemoy was pulled for Tiffany Smalls who struck out Ianello on three pitches.

With the start of the top of the ninth, Wavi brought in Francisco "The Machine" Azzri. The longtime closer for Krozuy Falcons lived up to his reputation by recording three straight strikeouts to end the game.

The stadium erupted in celebration on the final out as the Falcons, unbelievably (but inevitably?), beat the Zwangzug Zebras.

We'll report to you next from Barnettsville.
-Giani Boco

Box score:

Pos SS 1B LF C 2B RF 3B CF P P P

Name Ferdini Zappataro Nicolai Rioi Jax Ianello Valerio Utteroni Dessea Vallena Cesare Puloni Xavier Gradoni Norian Ionian Gaele DeRosi Romeo Vasparain Liona Marrada

AB 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 0 1 0

H 2 2 3 0 1 2 2 2 0 0 0

R 2 1 0 0 1 2 2 1 0 1 0

BB 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

AVG .400 .500 .600 .000 .250 .500 .500 .500 --- .000 ---

HR 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

RBI 0 6 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

SB 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Name Gaele DeRosi Romeo Vasparian Liona Marrada Francisco Azzri

IP 2.3 4.6 1 1

W 0 0 1 0

L 0 0 0 0

S 0 0 0 1

ERA 19.57 1.96 0.00 0.00

ER 5 1 0 0

UnER 0 2 0 0

H 7 4 1 0

W 0 0 0 0

K 1 2 0 0

WHIP 3.04 0.87 1.00 0.00

[Toiletdonia]

We won wahoo la la la la la la!
I think I've got a cold Achoo la la la la la!
What is baseball? La la la la la!
Serious I don't know either and I don't know how to play football! La la la la la!
Everyone shut up! La la la la la!
Only if you stick your butt up! la la la la la!

Jancotta: Are we nearly there yet we've been singing for 2 hours?

Spurone: No were not we would be but someone had to go and and forgot to lock the car!

Moss: Don't know what your talking about!

Jancotta: Damn you Moss!

Moss: Hey were's the manager?

Spurone: I don't know!

Jancotta: There is a chicken in his spot and its label says:

Snack Pack chicken. To be killed cruelly and flog to a fast food restaurant.

Moss: On no they must have swapped them around some how!

Jancotta: Which means...

Miles away at Toiletdonia chicken kill co.

Manager: You can't kill me I'm a baseball manager!

Slaughter house dude: No your not you tasty oversized chicken! You'll taste just great with fries!

Moss: Oh well he was from Vatalors he's disposable.

Spurone: I know thAT BUT WHO WILL COACH US NOW.

JANCOTTA: I KNOW LETS MAKE THE CHICKEN OUR COACH!

Moss: That's an idea idiot!

Spurone: Yeah so chicken what do we do? Drink?

Chicken: *Chicken noise.*

Spurone: I take that as a yes!

[Undeadzombiee]

The game for the Zombiee’s went sour, as Yukin Jankotta threw a no-hitter, and they got slaughtered, 5-0. The first inning was a pitcher’s dream, as both threw three strike outs. Teasdale, the Zombiee’s pitcher was on a roll, but hit a batter with a pitch, by accident, and started unraveling in the second, giving up two walks, and two singles, and a double.

He did manage to pull himself together with a bases loaded strikeout, and it didn’t look to bad to all the Zombiee fans, as they were thinking, “hey, we scored eleven last time, let’s do it again.”

But Jankotta threw five strikeouts in the next two innings, and the only time someone got contact was a weak grounder to first. Even though Teasdale got a one hit inning, with no runs, it looked pretty ugly.

Then, Teasdale gave up a one-out homer to Vetran Govs, putting Toiletdonia up 3-0. The fans were still hopeful, because there were still fifteen outs to win, but they started booing after another perfect inning for Jankotta.

After four, it was 3-0 Toiletdonia, and that score didn’t change for the next four innings, and Jankotta was thinking about a perfect game going into the ninth, and the Teasdale was sweating, after pitching out of three straight bases-loaded situations without allowing a run.

Then, the manager put Ron Boerger in as a relief pitcher, and after two outs, it seemed like the Zombiee’s might have a small chance. But, he walked Numik Janlar, and Billy-o-Berten hit a homer, sending Janlar home. Boerger then struck out Ino Moss, but it was too late, the damage was done.

The Jankotta, perhaps feeling the pressure of the moment, walked both Hadfield and Soltis, but got three more strikeouts, leaving fans wondering how Toiletdonia can be stopped after two straight shutouts.

Toiletdonia           020 100 002 – 5 12 0
Undeadzombiee         000 000 000 – 0 0  7

Random Stat of the Day: ERA for the tournament (Zombiee pitchers only)

Teasdale 3.38
Wadsen 4.50
Schoepp 9.00
Boerger 18.00

As you can see, the bullpen is preforming poorly, as compared with the starters, but none are preforming at a good level

[The Fanboyists]

Nationals get to bad start, 0-2 after first rounds

Things didn't seem too bad at first; after all, the Nats managed to hang close to Dancougar in their first game, more or less, only falling in the seventh inning. Not bad for a team that's almost completely new against one of the world sporting powers.

Then there was last night's game: Delaclava squished the Nats, 10-2, in what was nothing except humiliating. The pitchers all gave up multiple runs, the Nats were hard pressed to put up any points of their own, and, in general, suffered depressingly historic amounts of butthurt.

We're just going to have to hope they can gear up for their next game and snap the losing streak, which, combined with the one from last outing, is long.

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

BUT... DIDN’T THEY WIN?

Milchama- After a stunning loss in Virabia, the Rockets did what they needed to do in the second game of the group stage, avoid the teams first ever, yes, ever, two-game group stage losing streak in baseball; something a road tilt in Milchama, given the Warriors have actually decided to bring a national team to this classic could have provided. But Newmanistan gets the win, and they are 1-1 now after winning by the score of 7-5. After the game, coach Christina Sanders did not seem all that pleased with the result, possibly for the first time showing disappointment over the fact that they did lose in Vonghurst in the opener. “This Classic has been a hitters delight. I’m not happy about allowing five runs. Especially on the heels of having allowed five in the prior game. That’s 10 in two games, and that is not Newmanistan baseball. There seems to be a lot of scoring already, with I think as many teams getting in the double digits in this classic already as there has been in the last five total Classics combined. A bunch of 8's on the scoreboard today, scoring is definitely up this year. For a team that thrives on pitching dominance, this is going to make things tough. We’re going to have to adapt at some point.” Carrie Nicolette, the greatest WBC second baseman of all-time, who now does color commentary for Southport Baseball Tonight said she noticed it right away, “The trend is heavy on the offensive side right now. It’s not going to be easy on our staff, and Christina has to make adjustments. Opponents of Newmanistan are going to like the possibility of starters not going nine innings as we have been so used too.”

How can one explain the offensive outbursts that we are seeing in this Classic, and scores that look more like domestic league scores then international scores? Sarah Boland, another former Rocket thinks she might have a clue, “Bat technology. We all know it was coming. There used to be a day where a bat was a fine piece of wood that you shaped to your liking but today your bat is like a high-tech machine. As a power hitter, when I heard of the latest bats being produced by Lewiston Slugger, I had to check them out. They give a little more pop I think. And just a little bit more can be the difference between a base hit and an out, a home run and fly ball to the warning track. I know there are probably other causes, such as batters getting smarter, but technology gets some credit.” Back to Nicolette, she also offers her idea, “There is a lot of parity in the WBC now. The amount of nations that can win a championship has doubled or even tripled from where it was when we joined in WBC 7. And you can see the potential in a couple of the newer nations this time around too, Tarrentum being the most notable. As long as they get that one guy to keep his anti-female baseball player comments to himself, that Falcons team could go a long way. But you don’t want to start trash talking Newmanistan, Cassadaigua or Tocrowkia yet. You have to earn that. Of course, Zwangzug is fair game since they beat them.”

For this second game, Newmanistan had Courtney Ratigan on the hill, and they gave her some run support before she even took to the mound. Stacie Meadows led the game off with a single, and stole second, and then took third when Milchama catcher Henry Thomas elected to throw the ball into centerfield instead to one of his teammates covering the bag. Danielle Scott then hit a deep fly ball to left as a sac fly to bring in the run, but the sky blue and white was not done. With two down, Natalie “The Better” Monroe, ripped a double into the right centerfield gap, and scored on a Kristen Wheeler single to make it 2-0. Ratigan really only made one mistake over the first five innings of work, and that was in the third when she surrendered a leadoff triple to the speedy Dani Eltanor, which pretty much painted the right field line. Eltanor would score on a fly out by Thomas to make it 2-1. The triple was just one of two hits that Ratigan allowed, and she began getting more run support. Natalie Monroe hit a solo HR with two away in the fourth, and then in the fifth, three consecutive doubles, starting with Courtney Weinman and ending with Jessica Sorenson accounted for two runs, and the Rockets were cruising. 5-1, and the game was in the bag, Newmanistan’s pitchers simply do not blow leads like this.

But, whether it’s the bat technology, smarter hitters, more parity, or better scouting material out there then what may have existed previously, what would normally be a “don’t worry about it, everything’s under control lead” suddenly began to unravel. It wasn’t the solo HR off the bat of Martin LaPlante in the 6th that did it. It was just one run, and the lead was still looking good. After the 7th inning stretch though, things got a little weird. Ratigan did get the leadoff batter, but then walked Dani Eltanor, which is a mistake. It became a two-base walk and Ratigan looked flustered. Henry Thomas hit a deep fly ball to the warning track that was caught by Stacie Meadows, but then pinch-hitter Ben Aminton, who would serve as a DH for the Warriors in such games, sliced a two-put double to left to make it 5-3. Then the next batter, Forest O’Kelt drove him in with a single and it was 5-4. Ratigan got out of it, but that was the end of her day. Erica Darby pitched the Rockets through the 8th, but allowed two hits in the process. But this is why team’s have closers, and even though Newmanistan does not have the traditional bullpen makeup, Kristen Collins is a closer and the best at it in the Empire, and she showed it in her retiring of the first two batters she faced, but then allowed a game-tying HR to Itay Hafava to tie the game.

In the end, Newmanistan did pull this out, but getting there was not easy. Sara Schaefer pitched an amazing 10th and 11th, she just shouldn’t have had to have been used tonight. Natalie Monroe’s 2-run single with the bases loaded and two-outs in the top of the 12th was pretty clutch as well, but by then the team should have long celebrated the victory. Cassie Herrick got some work, and it was good to see her shut down the Warriors in the 12th, and to make sure that Newmanistan would get out of here with a win. But unlike after the loss to Virabia, where the mood was still upbeat throughout the locker room with no one really that concerned with it, there was a more somber feeling on this day. They won, but they were fortunate. They almost gave it away, and that is not Newmanistan baseball.

(OOC: Some line scores, such as this one, I will use when they seem workable to me).

[Tarrentum]

Tarrentum National Baseball Committee Official Press Release

^{Brought to you by McSquiggie's}

The TNBC is saddened to report that Michael Grastiona was murdered yesterday in Napoliroma at the age of 34. The TNBC has the full confidence in the Bendarei Agency Police Force for determing the cause and suspects of Grastiona's murder. Michael Grastiona is survived by three ex-wives: Mariana Grastiona Salluci; Astania Grastiona Debullanci and three daughters: Julianna Grastiona, 14; Sgt. Isabella Ianelli, 22 (step-daughter from second wife); Hera Grastiona, 2.

Turning to the recent success of the Tarrentum National Baseball Team, the TNBC has nothing but best wishes to send to the team on their trip to Barnettsville to face the Blue Jays.

Manager Tiberius Wavi has moved Romeo Vasparian to the fifth starting pitcher spot on the roation.

Graloso Mannani (R/R, #72) has joined the national team from the Verindi Miners as a Mid-Reliever. Mannani, 29 years old, recently posted a 3.25 ERA during last years ASML season.

You can watch the Tarrentum Falcons tomorrow night while eating your McSquiggie Bacon Bacon Cheezburger...MMMMcSquiggie - Eat the MEAT!

[Milchama]

Milchama National News- Tribune- Sun- Times- Post- Gazette- Chronicle- Journal- Dispatch- Telegram- Star- Monitor- Enquirer

Sports Section

Mad Dash Comeback Falters in 12th

The Warriors fell to 0-2 after a 4 run comeback to tie the game 5-5 was dashed by 2 runs in the 12th inning by the Rockets. Right now the worry seems to be the starting pitching, for the second straight day a starter gave up 5 runs in 5 innings, though Foster did manage to at least go 6 innings this time. However, the bullpen was excellent. Fernal's in was perfect, and Jenny Seaver absolutely shutdown the Rockets in her 3 innings. Of course Kevern would give up 2 runs in the 12th but as a unit 5 innings of scoreless ball is nothing to be ashamed of. As manager Eitan Morey said, "This is not how I would have liked it to go, but that said we showed some real heart coming back from 4 down to create extras. Now we just need to get a couple more runs to win games. Remember, we played the two toughest teams in our group first and came out of it looking like we can beat anybody. Things can only go up from here."

In what is becoming all too disturbing of a trend, the Rockets scored 2 in the top of the first. Again the leadoff man (woman?) got on then a steal, an error, and a sac fly brought her in. Now that's something the Warriors could replicate, good run manufacturing right there. Anyway, another double and a single and the lead was 2-0. The Warriors did cut into the lead in the third when Dani Eltanor tripled and scored on a sac fly to make it 2-1 but that was soon undone by more mistakes by Foster.

Foster did not look comfortable today, with grandpappy, and WBC winning hero, Phil in the stands Ezra never really got his A stuff going. He always looked like he was laboring and 5 runs in 6 innings seems like a good result considering his fastball was down a couple of MPH from his regular stuff in the MBL, not to mention a curveball that didn't break. This accounted for a home run by Monroe and at least 3 other extra base hits in different innings, 2 of which led to runs. That said, he sure knew how to labor without his best stuff and did what you want to starter in those situations by eating innings.

After Foster was relieved in the 6th the game looked all but over, the Rockets are known around the world as a defense and pitching team. Those types of teams don't blow 5-1 leads. Somebody forgot to tell the Warriors, however, Martin LaPlante hit another home run to take one run off the board. Then things got interesting in the 7th inning. It didn't start out well as Davies smashed an at 'em ball right at the second basemen for one out but then Eltanor drew a walk. The speedy Eltanor then took the Rockets pitcher, Courtney Ratigan, off her game by jumping up and down the line with his crazy leadoff. He, of course, stole second while Ratigan left a hanging breaking pitch to Henry Thomas who normally crushes those for home runs. Which is just what he did, if the ball wasn't robbed at the wall by Stacie Meadows. Either way, Eltanor tagged to go to third but with 2 outs it looked like another snuffed out rally. Morey decided it was time to go big so put in Ben Aminton who justified the decision by smacking a double to left center field easily scoring Eltanor to make it a 5-3 game. The next batter was Forest O'Kelt. O'Kelt has struggled so far in the WBC and it looked bad after he fell behind 0-2, especially after he looked awful with his swing on the second pitch. He fouled off the next two pitches, took a 5th one for a ball and on the 6th one singled to right field to score Aminton to make it a 5-4 ballgame. Kelsey Evers, has also been struggling with only one hit in the WBC so far. However, she still knows how to get a hit when necessary as she Wee Willie Keelered the ball up in the air on the infield getting a hit and moving Aminton to third on the play. LaPlante then drew a walk to load the bases for Itay Hafava, or the one the guy you don't want up in this situation. Morey elected to keep him in and what happens in most Hafava at bats happened in this one as he struck out swinging on a 3-2 slider to keep the game at a one run deficit.

The 8th inning again looked promising, James Merter led off with a single and Jenny Seaver was allowed to hit for herself. It was a decision she justified by cracking the ball down the first base line for a double to put runners on second and third with none out. Dani Eltanor then tried everything he could to hit a long fly ball but since he has no power it was a just an infield pop up and easily caught by the shortstop for the first out. Since Henry Thomas does have power everybody in Milchama was hoping for him to just hit it deep and tie the game up, of course he didn't do that, as all he could do was meekly ground to first. With the infield in there was no way Merter was scoring, and there were two outs for Ben Aminton. Aminton had already driven in one run and after working the count to 3-1 it looked likely he would drive in another. The 3-1 pitch went 59 ft so, after a nice block from Jessica Sorenson, Aminton took his walk to load the bases for Forest O'Kelt. It looked like O'Kelt had finally gotten over his struggles in the last at-bat. Darby again fell behind 2-0 on O'Kelt and on her third pitch he ripped it down the third baseline and almost past a diving Meghan Butler who instead dove not just to catch the ball but also right on the third base bag for the third and final out.

Newmanistan again went scoreless in the 9th but it looked like the wind was out of the Warriors' sails as well. After such bad luck (she had to dive right on the bag, seriously!), and failing to score despite having runners on second and third with nobody out, it seemed like nothing could tie the game. Furthermore, Kristen Collins is a shut down closer and she very much looked the part as she struck out both Evers and LaPlante on 7 pitches total. This brought up Itay Hafava again who had already struck out in a clutch situation before during the game. This was not the person the Warriors wanted at the plate, sure he was a three true outcomes guy, but of those outcomes strike out is always the most common. The first pitch it sure looked like a strike out as he over swung an atrocious breaking ball in the dirt. Of course one of three true outcomes is home run and that's what happened on the second pitch. Collins threw a cutter that caught just a little too much of the plate and Hafava crushed it. Danielle Scott didn't even bother to move as the ball went 463 ft to tie the game at 5 and send it to extras, after Merter grounded out to second to end the inning.

The 10th and 11th innings were boring as both sides only managed one hit but no more than three batters in each inning. Things got rough in the 12th for the Warriors, however. Manager Morey brought in his trusted man, Yossi Kevern to continue the game. He started off well enough as he got Jessica Sorenson to pop up to the first baseman for the first out. Then he got into trouble, first with a double (yeah rhyming!), to pinch hitter Stacie Gallant. This was followed by a walk to leadoff woman Stacie Meadows to put runners on first and second. A seeing eye single by Danielle Scott loaded up the bases for Meghan Butler. Butler is considered to be one of the best hitters in Newmanistan, which probably makes her one of the best in the world. But in baseball even the best can look foolish and that's exactly what Butler did as she struck out looking on a hellacious 2-2 slider to put two down. He then got ahead of Natalie Monroe but it didn't matter as she stroked a single to right field to score two runs. Kevern would get the next hitter but the damage was done. The Warriors would go down meekly 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the inning succumbing to their second loss in as many games.

Damn.

[Tarrentum]

KrozileBaseballUnderground.ast

Well your friendly Krozilitan Baseball Fanatic has been trolling the ol' ball games forums lately trying to see what the other countries think of the WBC so far. Well as best as we can tell, the women from Cassadaigua and Newmanistan really don't like TFSN reporter Michealan Gardini. But he's just a money-grabbing suit for TFSN's television partner, TSPNN. Ahh but enough of those Tarrentians! Let's talk Allied States Baseball baby!

I have to hand it to the Quintessence of Dust sports blog TalkBaseball.qd. If you love in-depth, random sabremetrics I would tell you to go there. Well, not right now, read the rest of my blog post first. Let's take a look at overall standard stats for the Falcons so far this Classic tournament. Remember, it's only been two games, two WONDERFUL games, so some of the stats aren't that telling. But some are very intriguing!

The tale of the batters:
WBC Total Batting Statistics

Pos SS 1B LF C 2B RF 3B CF IF P P P P P

Name Ferdini Zappataro Nicolai Rioi Jax Ianello Valerio Utteroni Dessea Vallena Cesare Puloni Xavier Gradoni Norian Ionian Trego Saronna Brodi Jacobo Fironte Sareb Gaele DeRosi Romeo Vasparain Liona Marrada

AB 10 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1 2 1 0 1 0

H 5 3 5 3 4 3 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 0

R 4 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0

BB 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

AVG .500 .444 .556 .333 .444 .333 .222 .333 1.000 .000 .000 --- .000 ---

SB 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

HR 0 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

RBI 0 8 2 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

So what is the tale to tell from this table? Well the first is that we're hitting at a team BA of .372. This is a great stat. We are proving that within a ball game our boys (and girls) are getting a hit 37% of the time. Quite frankly that is great way to continue playing ball. I'm not going to wax eloquent like QoD and Zwangzug do (for all the good it does the ZZZZZebras) about these stats but merely to point out that our team is performing...okay. A BA of .372 is good but let's take a deeper look at the batting statistics. Today's advanced statistic is the Secondary Batting Average or, quite simply SecA. No it's not a new Tarrentum Intelligence Agency organization...it's a complimentary average of how contributory a player is.

SecA takes Total Bases and subtracts out total hits and caught stealing attempts but also adds walks and stolen bases for the player. All of this is divided by the number of At Bats the player had. All of these additional variables (rather than just hits as in BA) shows us how productive (and thus contributory) a player is.

In the two games so far the BA and SecA for the Fielders (ie., no Pitchers) are as follows:

Pos SS 1B LF C 2B RF 3B CF IF

Name Ferdini Zappataro Nicolai Rioi Jax Ianello Valerio Utteroni Dessea Vallena Cesare Puloni Xavier Gradoni Norian Ionian Trego Saronna

BA .500 .444 .556 .333 .444 .333 .222 .333 1.000

SecA .400 .889 .000 .444 .556 .111 .444 .222 1.000

So what do all of the percentages mean and how do we look at this table? Well the surprise is definately Rioi. He is currently batting .444, which is good enough for third on the team, and we see that his SecA - a ratio of bases gained from other sources - is .889 or 88.9%. Even though Rioi hasn't gotten a lot of hits, the types of hits he is registering are contributing a lot to the team. Rioi currently has two homeruns, two singles and a double. As you can guess, the two homeruns lead the team. So what can we tell of someone's underlying poor performance? Let's take a look at Jax Ianello.

Ianello is batting a team-leading .556 batting average but is registering a .000 for his SecA. When a .500 SecA is considered outstanding and anything less than .200 is considered poor...Ianello is having a horrible two games when we look at contributory behavior. The rest of his stats are evidence of this. He has only 2 RBIs, no extra base hits and only one run scored. Clearly, without SecA we'd all think that Ianello was the rock of the team. No ladies and gentlemen (and Q's), the rock of the team is Rioi.

Well, are your eyes tired yet? TOO BAD! It's time for the pitching stats:
WBC Total Pitching Statistics

Name Brodi Jacobo Fironte Sareb Gaele DeRosi Romeo Vasparian Liona Marrada Francisco Azzri

IP 6 3 2.3 4.6 1 1

W 1 0 0 0 1 0

L 0 0 0 0 0 0

SV 0 0 0 0 0 1

ERA 3.00 0.00 19.57 1.96 0.00 0.00

ER 2 0 5 1 0 0

UnER 0 0 0 2 0 0

H 3 5 7 4 1 0

BB 1 0 0 0 0 0

K 5 2 1 2 0 0

WHIP .67 1.67 3.04 0.87 1.00 0.00

Apart from DeRosi's third inning blowup against Zwangzug, our pitchers have faired very well in this year's WBC. But let's go deeper into the stats. I invite you to meet Messrs BAbip and XBH% (he's a bit odd that XBH%). So BAbip is a measure of Batting Average of balls in play, simply, the number of plate appearances against a pitcher and how many hits were credited against him, homeruns are not counted. This is an efficiency measure of a pitcher. XBH% is quite simply (once you think about it) Extra Base Hits Percentage. It's a measure of how much a hitter is likely to get an extra base hit (double, triple, homerun) off a pitcher.

Pitcher Brodi Jacobo Fironte Sareb Gaele DeRosi Romeo Vasparian Liona Marrada Francisco Azzri

ERA 3.00 0.00 19.57 1.96 0.00 0.00

WHIP .67 1.67 3.04 0.87 1.00 0.00

BAbip .188 .714 .455 .250 .250 .000

XBH% 4.76% 22.22% 28.57% 16.67% 0.00% 0.00%

Whew! Let's take a look at those crazy numbers once more. Fironte Sareb is holding an ERA of 0.00 after 3 innings of ball. But his BAbip is a team high .714. This tells us that he's giving up a lot of hits in relation to the number of batter's who have recorded a plate appearance against him (71.4%). Seventy-one percent! Means it's abnormal for a hitter NOT to have hit against him. Well, it was only one game, I guess I should give the kid a break. I would expect that this high BAbip is going to go down as he gets more chances now with Vasparian moving into the starting rotation. The pitcher looking really good is, surprisingly, Gaele DeRosi. DeRosi's 19.57 ERA is astronomical but he only has a BAbip of .455. What we should take away from this is that DeRosi is going to get around half the batters out but half will get a hit. Unfortunately for DeRosi, the numbers were against him last game as the "50/50" odds kept coming up "tails" to his "heads".

Delving into the XBH% we see that, unsurprisingly, DeRosi and Sareb have the two highest percentages. Vasparian also has a fairly high XBH% however, which is no surprise because he gave up 3 doubles in the game yesterday.

Well...that's all from the mountains of Krozile. May your bats be straight and your homeruns deep. I may not be as eloquent as the Q's but I've got the heart baby! Oh, upcoming schedule:

Game 3 - @Barnettsville
Game 4 - @Brewdomia
Game 5 - Quintessence of Dust
Game 6 - Kalasion

It's two games away then two at home...let's hope we're still boasting when we traveling to Zwangzug and face the Zebras again!
-Jurri Saltadeffici

[Zwangzug]

(OOC: Tarrentum, you seem to be following the posted line score, but your RP makes it look like you scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth? Don't see how it adds up.)

"...Utteroni going out to the mound."

"Zwangzug taking the lead 3-0 here in the third inning on Pratt's double."

"And Utteroni heads back to the plate. The sign, this one is...driven into deep left-center! Ionian going backwards, he won't get it, it's out of here! Another home run for Benjamin Mercer, and the Zebras lead 5-0."

"Wavi on the phone to the bullpen already..."

"...this one'll be skied to left. Ianello drifting back, settles under it--"

"Oh!"

"Misses the catch! An error on the left fielder, Ianello, Rustrian already in, they'll send Turner too. Zebras now up seven to nothing."

"Say, in keeping with our research tendencies, anybody know if Zwangzugian political theorist Nicole Ianello has any connections to baseball?"

"Don't think so, Oliver, she lived maybe four hundred years before the game really took off."

"Right, just checking, send us an e-mail if you have anything."

"Perry Cordemoy stepping into the box.

"For the second time this inning..."

"...the pitcher Vasparian steps in."

"A fan favorite here in Tarrentum, there's been some discussion of moving him to the starting rotation."

"The windup, this one--hits Vasparian!"

"A rare loss of control for Perry Cordemoy and that'll put runners on first and third..."

"...fouled back to the screen."

"Cordemoy filling up the count. How many pitches is he up to by now?"

"Not sure, he only needed twenty-three to get through the last two innings but this one has been more troublesome."

"Smalls and Helmsley up in the bullpen now."

"This one's a little low, but it'll be drilled into right. Arzaga up against the wall...and so are the Zebras as that one leaves the yard..."

FanGaffes.zz

BearBooty: No, before you ask, this wasn't Danhy-level ridiculous. That said, it came close...

[Delaclava]

-

[Qazox]

QSPN.com/ W B C 15 Coverage

(OOC: I'm assuming that any team in my group who hasn't posted a roster uses the DH at home and has a RHP as a starter...)

LINE SCORE

Qazox    120 010 000 - 4  9 1
Emothica 010 003 10X - 5 12 0

SCORING SUMMARY:

Qazox 1st- Brown flied out to center; Sanchez doubled to center; Garski doubled to right, Sanchez scored; Tyson walked; Savoy flied out to right; Calvin struck out.1 run, 2 hits, 1-0 QAZOX.

Qazox 2nd- Rabbinski singled to left; Wright flied out to center; Grahame singled to left, Rabbinski to 2nd; Brown singled to right, Rabbinski out at home advancing (9-3-2), Grahame to 3rd, Brown to 2nd on play; Sanchez singled to right, Grahame & Brown scored; Garski stuck out. 2 runs, 4 hits, 3-0 QAZOX.

Emothica 2nd- 2B singled to center, SS singled to right, 2B to 2nd; RF grounded into 4-6-3 DP, SS out at 2nd, 2B to third; C singled to center, 2B scored; CF singled to right, C to 2nd. DH flied out to left. 1 run, 4 hits, 3-1 QAZOX.

Qazox 5th- Sanchez flied out to center; Garski popped out to short; Tyson HR to right, Tyson scored; Savoy stuck out. 1 run, 1 hits, 4-1 QAZOX.

Emothica 6th- RF struck out; C singled to left; CF walked, C to 2nd; DH HR to right, CF, C & DH scored. LF singled to left, 3B singled to center, LF to 2nd; <<Pitching change Qazox: Atkins OUT/Coleman IN>>; 1B struck out; 2B singled to right, LF out at home advancing (9-4-2); 3 runs, 5 hits, 4-4.

Emothica 7th- SS doubled to center; RF grounded out to 2nd, SS to 3rd; C popped out to 1B; DH reached on Grahame's throwing error, SS scored on throw, DH to 2nd; LF struck out 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 5-4 EMOTHICA.

QSPN Players of the Game:
Qazox: Jason Tyson (2-3, BB, HR, RBI)
Emothica: DH (1-4, 3-run HR in 6th, 3 RBI)

[Tocrowkia]

NordicNation.net

World Baseball Classic 15 coverage

Perfecto!

Code: Select all

TEAMS        1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   R H E
TOC          1 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0   5 11 0
JOD          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   0 0 0


WIN:
Alexandria Dassow (1-0)
HRS:
Jill Haviland 1 (2), Michael Hammer 1 (1)

Coming into the game, the last no hitter in Nordics team history was thrown in the 11th WBC by Matthew Shaporio who just missed a perfecto with one walk. Well today in the 15th edition of the World Baseball Classic, young Alexandria Dassow accomplished the rarest of feats. She was perfect for 9 innings. Twenty-seven up, Twenty-seven down. Dassow was dominant from the get-go when she struck out the side with ten pitches in the 1st in which she had an early lead to work with thanks to a Johnny Stryker RBI single. In the 2nd, Dassow got the first two swinging again but their 2nd baseman cranked a sharp liner up the middle, but a great diving catch by Michael Hammer who made a throw to 1st on his wallet robbed him of a hit. The great play was but one of a few that preserved Dassow's gem and certainly confirms the fact that a perfecto is a team effort.

Jill Haviland hit a solo homerun in the 4th, and Hammer had a two run blast, the first of his WBC career in the 5th. But as the game marched these homeruns, titanic as they were, were starting to become pale in comparison to what was happening on the mound. In the 5th inning Dassow still had not allowed a baserunner and had punched out seven to that point. The Nordics fans present all seemingly noticed the zero in the hit column by that point, and from then on every play was magnified. In the 6th their center fielder hit a high line drive to center that looked like it would carry out, but Dmitri Rykov timed his leap perfectly and brought it back in for the 2nd out of that particular inning. The next inning, another hitter pulled one sharply into left but Kathrin Jordan made a great diving catch to rob the hot.

Dassow Marched on to the late inning, racking up seven more K's to that point. There was one more brief scare in the 7th when yet one more hitter timed a fastball and lined it toward right, but Hammer again left his feet and pulled it in to retire the side. Dassow than retired the next five hitters she faced on strikes, and the last one, trying to prevent the perfecto managed to make contact, but just barely. A little groundball to Jill Haviland who fired to 1st to end the game and put this day in the record books triggered a celebration on the mound. "I was just feeling it out there, I mean...wow..." Dassow said after the game, obviously at a loss for words to her own performance. "You always dream of this as a kid. I grew up watching people on this stage. It may be cliche to throw her name into the ring, but I watched Stacy Keislers perfect game while I was in the minors and that's one of the things that inspired me. At the time I was in a bad place, my mechanics were all messed up after a shoulder injury and my ERA was in the 5's. Every pitch I threw got turned around and went off the wall or into the stands it seems. I was about to call my mom, tell her I was gonna call it quits. But then she told me to turn on the TV and watch the game she was throwing. I watched every second of it, and then she called me back and said 'That can be you one day'. I changed my mind, obviously, and here I am."

[Secristan]

MILLIONAIRES WIN FIRST TWO GAMES

It’s been an amazing first two matchdays of baseball so far for the Millionaires as they have not only won their first two games, but have accomplished some pretty amazing things in those games. The team opened things off with an amazing 5-3 win in Tsenor that saw Todd Meyer hit four solo HR’s and leadoff batter Jonas Kindlan stole seven bases. Even with that the most amazing thing may have been Eddie Forte turned three unassisted triple plays during the game. Forte’s achievement amazed even himself as he admitted the chances of a player even turning one in their lifetime is pretty rare, but to do it three times in one game was so amazing it’s something that not even the biggest godmodders have done in a World Baseball Classic before. Pitcher Brendan O’Sullivan also set a new record by striking out five batters in one inning. You have heard of pitchers getting four strikeouts in an inning before because of the dropped third strike rule, but what were the odds of that happening twice in one inning? That’s a job for a Quintessence of Dust or Yafor 2 statistician. More amazing feats occurred in Secristan’s second game of qualifying, which was a 7-1 win over Silver Beach. Since two no-hitters in the WBC at this point could never be enough, Matthew Courville just had to make that three. Courville had been perfect through 8 2/3rds when he just seemed to lose control and suddenly walked four in a row to allow in a run. Todd Meyer hit three more HR’s to take a commanding lead in the home run category, and he had all 6 RBI’s which our numbers that only someone like Socki Lewis could replicate. Kindlan stole four more bases and even stole one while running backwards. He claims he always wanted to do that and never heard of anyone having done that before. Though this game was at home, there was never a ticket auction for it, as the SDOS and other govermental agencies allowed it to be “government night at the ballpark”. Some of the nations more wealthy business leaders were also allowed in as friends. But the common fan, even those with deep pockets, did not have the ability to bid unless they knew someone at the upper levels of national government.

Unfortunately, due to the Secristan Department of Sports not making an effort to televise these games, we have no proof if any of the above ever happened or not. According to an anonymous member of the SDOS, the agency simply gets sick of traveling to these little rinky-dink countries to offer a pay-per-view that hardly anyone is motivated to buy anyway and are tired of low average bid prices per seat in home games against minor teams, furthermore he says that they had boardroom discussions earlier this week that they would not offer the first two games in any fashion to prove a point to viewers that they should purchase every game because you never know what might happen in the games you don’t buy. That could have motivated the agency, if they were inclined to make things up, if they were so inclined. Though really, we all know the SDOS is the most honest sporting agency in the entire world and they would never do anything like to this level that would be so financially motivated. A few Secristanis that traveled to the game that we know have been tight-lipped to say what might have really happened in the games. Though this writer did notice that one of those people was able to buy a brand new luxury car this morning. On the SDOS website, where you would normally be able to purchase highlights, there is nothing other then the player describing the play in their own words while in the locker room. The next game in Bluth Corporation will be televised. That nation should have enough name recognition to draw some interest.

[Cassadaigua]

Jennifer’s Space

It wasn’t the greatest of starts, but we finished off the game very well and pick up our second victory of the World Bowl in what was slated to be one of our more difficult games, in Vephrall. We put ourselves in a hole as the Auric Wolves scored a quartet of runs in the bottom of the first against Stacey Franklin. Her control could have been better, she is the first to admit that. Even though she did not actually walk a batter in the first inning, Vephrall batters were able to get ahead in the count on most occasions. Juchona Taratchy had the biggest blow against her, delivering a 2-run double after getting the green light to swing on a 3-0 pitch. Stacey forced a fastball down the heart of the plate, and it got ripped. They had a few more hits and got out of the inning up by four, but we bounced right back with a pair in the second. It was the bottom part of the order that got the job done as well with Katie Mancuso, Deanna Hudson, and Michelle Driver hitting three straight singles to cut the lead in half. Jing Sytrobes homered in the bottom of the third for Vephrall, and that wouod be the end of Stacey Franklin’s day. She wasn’t happy with the result, but in came Superwoman, or else the Vephrall matters may have been thinking she was. It was Sarah Cerutti’s first ever appearance as she is a Keisler Cup graduate who was not a part of the championship team. She took to the mound in the fourth and gave us five shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out seven. This enabled us to chip away at the lead and eventually tie the game at 5. A 2-run bomb by Rachel Weston immediately got us back in the picture in the fourth, and the game was tied in the eighth on an RBI-triple off the bat of Deanna Hudson. Give Deanna her props, she often gets overshadowed on our roster. Adter Cerutti exited, Brittany Mitchell came into pitch the 9th, and stayed in through the 11th. The Auric Wolves got good bullpen work as well, but in the 12th, we would win it. Amanda Meyer led the inning off pinch hitting in the 9 slot and led it off with a double. The speedy Meaghan Billington was then brought in to pinch run, and that worked well as she scored on a single from Brittany Anderson. After an out, Rachel Weston drove her in with a single, and Gabby Whitman finished off the home team in the bottom of the inning to win it 7-5.

It was a pretty exciting ballgame. Afterwards, though, there was concern about Stacey Franklin who reported tightness in her elbow after the game. She has been evaluated by our training staff and so far she is questionable as to whether or not she will make her next start. We hope for a quick recovery and know if she gets her next start she will want to prove to everyone that today was just an aberration. But if she cannot go, we have a couple transformed starting pitchers that serve as long relievers in our bullpen. Sarah Cerutti would certainly be a top choice if it is against Vephrall given her performance. Some of the fans in the stands of Capitals Park made fun of the fact that we use the designated hitter at home, something that may cost you a leg if you suggested doing that in Vephrall. But they were bitten by a DH tonight anyway, as Amanda Meyer came up to pinch hit in a big spot in the 12th and got the big hit. Had the DH been in effect, Vephrall may have an easier time against a conventional 9-1-2 lineup in the inning. The victory gives us two wins in as many games, and even though there have been some very rare things happening, and in some cases, allegedly happening, we continue to not need excessive dramatics to win baseball games. Western Cuba comes into Concord Heights next and I hope to see all of you at the game, but if not, be sure to catch us on TV, computer, your casPhone, or whatever else you may use. Peace!

[Mantwenic]

Mantwenic's team 1-1 in WBC 15

Mantwenic's national baseball team started off their third WBC with a 6-5 loss to Bluth Corporation. It was close but in the WBC that doesn't count. Mantwenic has been third and just missed the cutoff to the playoffs in WBC 13 and 14. The players are out to change that. The second game was a 2-0 win over Tsenor. Things look to be turning around for this baseball club as they look to take on Sarzonia in the third game of the Classic!

[Newmanistan]

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?- Stacey Keisler- P
#1 of ?? In a series

Good morning everyone, I’m Shannon Spencer enjoying a gorgeous morning in Tundra Falls. Temperatures are expected to reach 80 by this afternoon, and it should just be a great day of relaxing for everyone on the baseball team. They could use it, as the 10 runs giving up by the team in two games is seen as a very ugly statistic. As we go forward with this Classic, I will be taking the time to interview players of past Classics who have worn the sky blue and white with pride. There are several players worthy of being the first person I highlight in this series, and we will get to them, but the one player that did the most for Newmanistan baseball is Stacey Keisler.

Stacey’s legacy went from World Baseball Classic 7 through 12, retiring as a champion following the 12th Classic, which as The Rocket Report analyzed during WBC 13, is one of the two greatest WBC champion teams ever, with only a past champion from Milchama having the right to question that claim in our opinions. But it wasn’t the championships that made Keisler, it was games leading up to that point. By the time Stacey won her championship, she had already proven herself. It started in the Rockets debut, in World Baseball Classic 7 as a newbie nation. Now, Newmanistan had already won a Di Bradini Cup and a Baptism of Fire in football (soccer) heading into that tournament, so the Rockets were seen in a higher regard, perhaps, in comparison to other first-time nations, including another that would eventually win a title (Tocrowkia). WBC 7 was special as first time nations were not supposed to have success, but the Rockets just kept winning and winning, and that was possible thanks to their pitching. At the time, Stacey was second in Newmanistan’s rotation to domestic rival Tara Stewart, and both of them performed brilliantly in getting Newmanistan not just out of the group stage, or out of the first round, but all the way to the championship series against Zwangzug. Keisler remained strong in the 8th classic, but a WBC 9 in which three starts saw her only give up one total run (earned OR unearned), including a championship series shutout over Qazox, is where she took the next step towards good pitcher and respected pitcher to being the legend she would become. That stretch in WBC 9 was all against nations ranked within the top 5. There were no Newbiestans beaten. In WBC 10 she tossed a perfect game against Lurikastan (OOC: the only time I have, to this date, done something rare unless you think some of Brittany Wright’s SB totals were too high). Later in WBC 10, Keisler was beaten for the first and only time in a group stage game in her playing career. It was to Secristan. And Stacey would have the last laugh as the Rockets again met Secristan in the championship series, eliminating their geographic neighbors. WBC 11 went well, and 12 ended in another championship. In that, Stacey was the starting pitcher in the deciding game, coming full circle as the Rockets got revenge over Zwangzug from WBC 7. It’s the only time that a first-time nation has had quite a strong run. Sure there’s been a Barnettsville or a Jeffgordonville that got into the playoffs, but no one coming close to doing what we did. Perhaps such teams only come around once every 7 or 8 Classics.

Keisler was not a modest pitcher. At the beginning of WBC 11, for example, she predicted that she would not lose a game during the entire tournament. She backed it up. Stacey was known to guarantee victories often, and even promise large victories, and it seemed as though every time she did, her boast proved to be correct. Keisler was not afraid of anyone, and wouldn’t be shy about hitting anyone with her 95 MPH fastball. She wasn’t afraid of the consequence, because she knew she would just get the next batter out. Despite freely putting down opponents, Keisler was only ejected from a game once, and it was a game against those pesky Millionaires from Secristan. The drugged up Secristani Manny Rodriguez and John Fusco were the only two that really seemed to attempt to challenge Keisler, and for WomanRoid, it was probably more a case of the drugs messing with his head. When the Rockets had brawls with Sarzonia, it was when Michelle Harrison was on the hill. Take on Keisler? Not even Kate Schmidt or Tocrowkia’s Jill Haviland wanted a piece. Perhaps it was out of respect in knowing that when Stacey talked, it was not empty boasts, but instead her telling of the future.

Stacey’s last ever World Baseball Classic was the championship winning start in WBC 12. Like a few of her teammates, that would be the last Classic for much of the core that debuted with the team. She continued to pitched for her Southport Tigers at home for a few more seasons, but since then has worked in Southport’s front office. Not as a manager. No, Stacey is not the managing type. “I’m not interested in going into coaching,” said Keisler for this interview, “I have a ton of respect for what coaches do, but it takes a special breed to manage. That’s not me.” She’s not interested in being a pitching coach, at least not right now, “If I ever take some kind of position in coaching it would be as a pitching coach but right now I am not interested in that either. I like working in the front office of the Tigers, doing things like scouting for the team, especially the young players, and they definitely come to me looking for advice about international players.”

Young players, why of course. It was Stacey who got the ball rolling on the Keisler Cup, which competes a U-21 and U-16 version. It did not get held after WBC 14, but did after WBC 13. “The Keisler Cup is very special to me,” she said, “And it’s not just because of its wonderful name. Baseball is a great sport, there is nothing like it in the world and we need to continue giving young players an avenue for success and development. Competing in a juvenile competition goes a long way. You see right now that there are several players on various teams who have graduated from the last Keisler Cup that we held. There will most definitely be a second Cup this time around, and we won’t forget to hold it again as was the case after the last classic. That was probably since Newmanistan also hosted WBC 14 as a whole. But we’re excited about bringing the Cup back to the Empire, and there are positive vibes I get from around the world that they look forward to it as well.” There were some that felt as though Keisler, given the style of pitcher she was in her day would not be a good role model for younger kids too look up too, but Keisler simply laughs that off and reminds us that baseball needs people of all kinds of personalities in order to thrive.

Stacey continues to live in Southport and her official title in the front office is Directior of Interregional Scouting. She remains single by choice, claiming to have no time for a man in her life, even if she is 41 now. “I haven’t found a man who can keep up with me,” Keisler jokes, “And I am not exactly looking either, I am just having too much fun doing what I am doing right now.”

[Tarrentum]

Tarrentum Falcons Sporting News

Barnettsville - Well it's a wonderful day here in Barnettsville. We found the accomodations adequate for our needs and the stadium, well at least we could find it admist all of the buildings and people. The Falcons and Blue Jays are probably going to have one of the more exciting games tomorrow admist Group B. Both countries' teams have 2 wins and 0 losses. Here is an expanded breakdown of Group B Standings:

Nation Barnettsville Tarrentum QoD Kalasion Brewdomia

Wins 2 2 1 1 0 0

Home Wins 1 1 1 0 0 0

Away Wins 1 1 0 1 0 0

Losses 0 0 1 1 2 2

Home Losses 0 0 1 1 1 0

Away Losses 0 0 0 0 1 2

With two cames down, but eight to go, Group B is still wide open. But the fairy tale story so far has been our Tarrentum Falcons. Unknown on the international stage of baseball before this tournament we are now riding a wave of confidence. Everything points to another win tomorrow against Barnettsville but the Blue Jays themselves have surprised some experts by winning against both the Zwangzug Zebras and Quintessence of Dust (INSERT NAME HERE). But you have to feel bad for the Zebras they've missed the herd and taken down by eager young lions in the past two games. Each team (Barnettsville and our Falcons) taking the lead in the last two innings by way of a homerun. It's a shame that such good baseball can't be played all of the time.

Practice for the Falcons today went great. The beloved Julianna Italiana Buconi looked poised during her warmups. Even an errant Barnettsville heckler could not dampen her spirits. Actually they helped them it seemed as Antoni Favella (the catcher for tomorrow's game) had to tell her to take something off of her throws becuase she was wearing out her arm. Buconi's a pure finesse pitcher and we should expect very little by way of fastball pitches tomorrow. She is a woman on a mission with her Circle Change, Changeup, Breakingball, Slurve and Palmball pitches. I'm sure she could rocket one in there if she had to, just to confuse some of the ol' boys she'll be up against.

The rest of the team looked relaxed and ready for the oncoming Blue Jays. The young mister Favella looks eager to have his chance in the lineup as Utteroni has been benched because of a bruised bicep ([OOC:awww everybody loves aliteration]) which he suffered when he attempted to drive his bat into the ground after his last strikeout. Unfortunately, physics won out and Utteroni's hand slipped and he fell on the bat. Quite odd, quite peculiar, but he'll be ready in case of any trouble.

The newest Falcon, reliever Graloso Mannani, is looking decent. He was never known for his powerful pitching in the ASML but he is consistent and should be a good addition to the club for mid-game short-relief.

I have not heard anything further from the Bendarei Security Corporation Police Force about the death of Grastiona. It's still a shock to Giani and myself. But rest assured, the Falcons will be playing in Michael's memory for the remainder of the tournament.

Until tomorrow's practice update, have fun and don't have an anxiety attack waiting for the game to start.
-Michealan Gardini