World Baseball Classic 51 – Everything Thread (IC)

by **Daskel** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 9:38 am

GOLDEN BATS IN WBC51
By Kanō Kahori

Hits! Hits all around!

Another years rounds the corner for Team Daskel, who had several new, yet well known faces in their squad; Genji Motohiro, Nakajima Yasunobu, Nagae Kōtarō, Ikebata Shintarō and Takaoka Kōhei were all members of the famous IBS-winner team. Now, they all in their twenties, are official part of the adult squad, and An Takashi tested them in the first round, even when they didn't start for the Daskies.

Grey County                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Daskel                     3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  3

Game one was a display of what a good pitching squad can do. Kanao, Suwada and Izo dominated the field for a 0 on the scoreboard. From Daskel's batting, the team scored their only runs all in the bottom of the first; with three runners on base and no outs, Gō doubled for the Daskies, and then Shibaike hit a deep sacrifice fly for the last run. The game, after that, was really tight until the end.

Grey County                0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  3
Daskel                     3 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 X  7

The first runs for Grey County finally arrived in the second game of the series. However, the three runs could not surpass a hungry daskelian lineup, and neither their pitchers. The first inning was sort of a deja vu for the Daskies, who scored in very similar fashion against the unranked team. However, things started to change in the next inning, when Kanao Tōru gave up two runs against Grey County's batters.

After the copycat first inning and a lone homerun by Gō, the Daskies scored three more runs in the sixth inning, bringing Fuji, Cho and Reizei back home. For this game, Sawamura sent Rokukawa to close the inning. 3-7 Daskies.

Grey County                0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0  4
Daskel                     1 0 4 0 2 0 3 0 X 10

Golden bats kept hitting in the last game of the series, a big 10-run win against Grey County, who scored two and two runs against Nagai and Tama. This game was all about batting, as team Daskel propelled itself since the first inning with two doubles, RBI for Kishimoto. This game, all batters had, at least, one hit against their opponent. An and Sakamoto decided to send Genji and Nakajima to hit, and they delivered in a three-run seventh inning. 4-10 Team Daskel.

After these exciting games, Team Daskel is first in the group table, Next game will be vs Silvedania. The're little to none reports from their playstyle, so it will be an interesting match to watch.

Kanō Kahori
Sport Reporter, DDN Daito Daily News.

by **Bardney** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 10:05 am

New base ball succeeds, old base ball stumbles

Anthony Rossi, Bristol Post

Well, well, well Mr. Colburn. How are you feeling now?

After our esteemed competitors at the Bristol Herald spent quite a lot of time denigrating so-called "international rules" base ball and the new planned Bardneyian League, it looks like they have got egg on their faces. While the fuddie-duddies at the World Base Ball Classic played "traditional base ball" and looked amateurish doing it, the team that is competing at the Escandinavian Base Ball Championship got off to a great start. Let's compare the two, shall we?

At the World Base Ball Classic, we must begin by giving credit where credit is due. The Dartford Flash, Kermit Connelly himself, pitched an excellent game against the team from Chromatika in the first tilt, tossing all nine innings and allowing only one run. The Duquesne Dynamite, Emmett Harrison, doubled in two runs in the eighth to provide the winning margin. So the WBC Bardney team won their first game. But it wasn't to last.

"Honest" Horace Geiger looked like a shaken man over the first four innings, allowing seven runs, including five of them to a female Oriental (OOC: this is the term at the time, no offense intended, esp. with recent incidents of anti-Asian-American violence), Alisen Moyamoto. But it was a pair of immigrants, near and dear to my heart of course, but far removed from Mr. Colburn's, "Papish" Hamish Monaghan and Gerhard "Long Gerry" Zeidler, who almost pulled Geiger's chestnuts out of the fire. In the fifth, their back-to-back hits scored four runs and the team would eventually tie the score at seven runs apiece, knocking the Chromatik pitcher out of the box. But Geiger couldn't hold the lead, surrendering two runs in the top of the seventh. Big Stan Otis would pitch the last two innings, allowing one run, but although Harrison knocked in another run in the bottom of the ninth, the rally fell short, and Chromatika took the second game, 10-8.

In the third game, Miles Savey and Thaddeus O'Neill both pitched admirably. Savey pitched ten innings, which I know is not common outside of Bardney, and although Too-Tall Tad bested him in innings pitched, pitching all eleven, he gave up five runs to Savey's four, losing the ballgame for Bardney. Give credit to Frenchy Laplace, whose three-run double in the bottom of the fourth briefly gave his team a 4-2 lead. The Bardneyian team began 1-2. At least Mr. Colburn can take solace in the fact that they lost to a team called the "Amateurs", which basically means he can't accuse them of being ungentlemanly.

Now when it comes to the true Bardneyian team, not playing by "international rules", but by the way everyone else but us plays it, they started their tournament off extremely well. Drawn into a group with our former colonial overlords, Sasunn, their traditional rivals Qatre-Rivieres, and the Oriental nation of Zhong Gua, they figure to have a good shot at advancing to the playoffs. For their first game, they would play Qatre-Rivieres, and although the game was tied through five innings, the sixth inning changed all that. Tricky Nicky Delmonico and Slammin' Sam McGee would each hit two-run homers, and the merry-go-round continued when Martin "Luther" Schneider nailed the Qatre-Rivieres pitcher to the church door with a two-run double. This six-run outburst led to an eventual 7-3 win for Bardney, with "King" David Cohen earning the win on the mound. Bardney began 1-0, much better than the "traditional" team.

In the other game in Bardney's group, Zhong Gua rallied from an early 3-1 deficit to win 10-4, an expected result against Sasunn. Sadly, my ancestral nation of Apenninia was shut out by our socialist neighbors to the south, Pueblos Unidos de America, 4-0. But we Apenninians are tough, so they'll bounce back. But if you were a gambling man, you probably would have lost money on two of the other results. In Group A, the African nation of Lukanga held a 3-0 lead on baseball powerhouse Hellaniki, lost it to go down 6-3, but rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth and then won it, 7-6 in the bottom of the tenth. If you'd asked me, I would have pegged Lukanga to go winless, but instead, they shocked the world. Meanwhile, in Group D, the Empire of Taiyou Teikoku is just as good at baseball as they are at taking over nations, but they suffered a shock defeat to the Malkhot bayt David. Yes, the eternally oppressed nation of the Jewish people defeated the Babylon of the baseball world by scoring seven runs in the first inning. They scored nine times before those Taiyou bastards scored once, and won 9-4.

If you ask me, the Escandinavian Base Ball Championship is a hell of a lot more worth watching than the World Base Ball Classic. It's exciting, modern, and Bardney's actually winning. But then again, if you ask me, the Post is a much better newspaper than the Herald, but Mr. Colburn seems to disagree. How about this, Rudy, if Bardney does better at the EBC than the WBC, you'll stop your column and admit the superiority of new base ball, and I'll do the same if the WBC results are better. Do we have a deal?

Group A
Hellaniki               0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0  6
Lukanga                 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 3 1  7

PUdA                    0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0  4
Apenninia               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0


  Group A               Pld   W  L   RF  RA  RD  Pts 
1 PUdA                    1   1  0    4   0  +4    3
2 Lukanga                 1   1  0    7   6  +1    3
3 Hellaniki               1   0  1    6   7  −1    0
4 Apenninia               1   0  1    0   4  −4    0

Group B
Guryeo                  1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  4
Alemagnia               0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0  3

Notosland               0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  2
Benelujx                0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 X  3


  Group B               Pld   W  L   RF  RA  RD  Pts 
1 Guryeo                  1   1  0    4   3  +1    3
2 Benelujx                1   1  0    3   2  +1    3
3 Alemagnia               1   0  1    3   4  −1    0
4 Notosland               1   0  1    2   3  −1    0

Group C
Bardney                 0 1 0 0 0 6 0 0 0  7
Qatre-Rivieres          0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0  3

Zhong Gua               1 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 4 10
Sasunn                  3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  4


  Group C               Pld   W  L   RF  RA  RD  Pts 
1 Zhong Gua               1   1  0   10   4  +6    3
2 Bardney                 1   1  0    7   3  +4    3
3 Qatre-Rivieres          1   0  1    3   7  −4    0
4 Sasunn                  1   0  1    4  10  −6    0

Group D
Taiyou Teikoku          0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1  4
Malkhot bayt David      7 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 X  9

Jyvaskyla               0 1 1 0 1 0 3 1 3 10
Hispali                 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  3


  Group D               Pld   W  L   RF  RA  RD  Pts 
1 Jyvaskyla               1   1  0   10   3  +7    3
2 Malkhot bayt David      1   1  0    9   4  +5    3
3 Taiyou Teikoku          1   0  1    4   9  −5    0
4 Hispali                 1   0  1    3  10  −7    0

by **Tikariot** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 10:29 am

The studios of Tikariot Sports TV are all decked out for the occasion of Tikariot and South Newlandia co-hosting the 51st edition of the World Baseball Classic. A new trio of pundits has taken their spots behind the glass desk, with Tikariot Sports TV's Grant Davis and Mikael Dahlgren as well as the national team's former starting pitcher De'Andre Stevens.

Grand Davis: Good day, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to our continued coverage of the World Baseball Classic 51 here in Tikariot and South Newlandia. We are still getting used to brand new studio for the occasion, but what an exciting feeling it is to have the biggest tournament in baseball coming to Tikariot and South Newlandia!

Mikael Dahlgren: Oh, it's an awesome feeling to see that when we co-hosted the International Baseball Slam we apparently did a good enough job to win the trust of the international baseball community. We also have a very special guest for the Classic with De'Andre Stevens, who had been one of our starting pitchers in the two previous editions, welcome to the fold, De'Andre.

De'Andre Stevens: Thank you, thank you, it's a pleasure to be here.

Mikael Dahlgren: So how does it feel to be on the other side?

De'Andre Stevens: I'm not going to lie, it does feel a bit weird, but it's also exciting to be able to join you here in the studio.

Grand Davis: So the first series is past us against the Britland Isles, who are a completely fresh page in the book and I would say that we had a pretty good start to the Classic.

Mikael Dahlgren: A sweep to start off surely is always nice, even though to be perfectly honest, in game 2 I could have done without the nailbiter end.

Grand Davis: It was a fascinating game nevertheless and to be down 3-0 by the bottom of the ninth inning and then rally back to put six runs behind them shows that this team definitely has the character and spirit to get itself out of unfavourable situations. De'Andre, you have played with most of these guys during the last two Classics, is it an advantage that there has only been very little turnover within the team?

De'Andre Stevens: Yeah, it definitely is. Even though we're obviously playing for different teams, mostly, to know how the others play and their strengths and weaknesses is a big bonus. I know that baseball is a bit less of a team sport than others where you don't rely as much on the playing together, but not to have too many unknown variables is a plus.

Mikael Dahlgren: Looking at our group, we have two brandnew nations, how do you approach this unknown?

De'Andre Stevens: Well, of course there's always some sort of risk, but that's when you just stick to your gameplan and try to read things as they happen.

Grand Davis: Scouting is a big thing in baseball, same for statistics.

De'Andre Stevens: They are, but then again, sometimes people tend to overanalyze things and forget that there's always a human factor that you can't calculate, if a player is off that day or there's wind or whatever else, sometimes it's good to still go with your gut feeling of what you'll think will work. That being said as the tournament progresses it surely is good to be able to study the other teams, because you'll have firsthand data of the tournament and not any historic stuff that might very well be outdated.

Mikael Dahlgren: You mention studying teams. How much do you adjust your game to the opponent?

De'Andre Stevens: That's hard to pinpoint, because if you adjust too much, you lose your own game, you know? The biggest adjustment, I think, is to try to pair the right pitcher with the best batters, like if they're lefties or are particularly strong against the slider or fastball or whatever. But you also have to think that the other team is going to try the same, so you just have to find the right balance between instinct and math.

Grand Davis: Makes sense. Let's go over to Port Rhovanyon, where Walter Bismuth is ready for an interview with - someone?

The picture cuts to the Oceanview Park in Port Rhovanyon, where the cameraman seems to be roving through the catacombs, obviously trying to find Walter. Somewhere in the distance we can hear a voice that the cameraman is seemingly trying to follow.

Walter Bismuth: Hello? Is this on? Hello Glenn, this is Walter Bismuth from Port Rhovanyon calling. I have been trying to find Coach McCricket, but he seems to be hiding somewhere.

Looking left and right down corridors, the cameraman seems to be closing in as the voice gets louder.

Walter Bismuth: Why is nobody answering me? Helloooo!

Rounding a corner, the cameraman finally sees the man in the old-fashioned corduroy suit, standing in front of a wall, his head craned upwards, talking into a security camera.

Grand Davis: I think we seem to have some, uh, technical problems here, maybe we will get back to Walter a little later.

The picture cuts back to the studio, where in the background hushed voices are wondering who actually signed up Walter for this.

Mikael Dahlgren: OK, so next, ehm, a lookout over the next series, shall we? Sarzonia.

Grand Davis: They are the big fish in our pond for sure as number 5 in the world. They swept the other unranked team in our group, Barnettsville, only allowing one run in the three games. How do you go into a game, or series, like this, De'Andre?

De'Andre Stevens: Pretty much like any other game. Once you're at the WBC you can't afford to look at the top teams and go slack-jawed or get nervous, you just have to go out and play your game to your strengths and hope that in some cases luck is on your side.

Mikael Dahlgren: One of our viewers ask on twii.tur if you as a starting pitcher prefer to start against a team like Sarzonia or rather Britland Isles.

De'Andre Stevens: That depends on the pitcher. I've always liked the challenge to go against the best, so I'd go with Sarzonia, but overall it's always good to be able to start a tournament with what people would call an "easy" opponent to build up the confidence.

Grand Davis: Speaking of confidence, how does it feel to know that you might be able to play the knockout games in front of the home crowd?

De'Andre Stevens: It's awesome! There's nothing better than to be able to play at home and this could be a factor that can make a team to take it to the next level, too.

Mikael Dahlgren: Meaning past the Round of 16?

De'Andre Stevens: Haha, yes, hopefully. The level of competition is extremely high in the WBC, so even just to get to the Round of 16 is an achievement, but yeah, we're definitely ready to take the next step and go deeper this time.

Grand Davis: I am being told that we can go back to Port Rhovanyon to Walter, so let's give this another try.

This time Walter is standing in front of the actual camera, still in the catacombs of the Oceanview Park.

Walter Bismuth: Are you sure this is the right camera this time?

The cameraman moves the camera up and down in agreement.

Walter Bismuth: Good, good. Whoever put that imposter camera all the way up there should get a stern talking to! I could have told them God know what secrets! It is so bad these days, you really don't know who to trust anymore and then it all--

The clearing of a throat makes Walter stop and turn his head.

Walter Bismuth: That was rude, who do you think you-- Oh! Coach McKlingon!

Graham McCrory: McCrory.

Walter Bismuth: That's what I said, McCrispy.

Tikariotian coach Graham McCrory, who is not especially known for his patience to begin with already is starting to look annoyed at the bumbling Walter.

Walter Bismuth: So Coach McClaydoll, you just finished your first series against the Britney Speers and it looks like you won all of the games. How does it feel to almost be the WBC champion?

McCrory looks at Walter with an utterly incredulous look before he briefly massages his temples and sighs.

Graham McCrory: How can you get so many things wrong in so little time...? OK, the series against the BritLAND ISLES went very well and it definitely has given us a good picture of where we stand this early in the QUALIFICATION stage. We're hoping to be able to work on some of the weaknesses we had shown to qualify for the knock-out stages LATER in the competition.

Walter Bismuth: I am not sure why you keep emphasizing things so randomly, but oh well. Next up is Seasonia, what are your plans?

Graham McCrory: SARZONIA is the top seed of the group, so we can definitely expect a lot more resistance than by the Britland Isles, but we'll just bring our game and play our best.

Walter Bismuth: Interesting, interesting. So Coach McCrockpot, with--

It is clear that McCrory has had enough. He puts his hand on Walter's shoulder, which completely takes him by surprise.

Graham McCrory: OK, Mr. Vermouth, maybe memorize a few more things next time before we talk, ok? For tonight, I'm done.

As the coach walks away, Walter stares at his back with barely concealed anger.

Walter Bismuth: It's Bismuth! How rude not to even try to get your interview partner's name right!

The shaking of the camera indicates that the cameraman is trying his best not to burst out laughing before the picture becomes blurry from the camera quickly moving away from Walter. As the feed cuts back into the studio, it shows the three pundits howling with laughter. As Grant sees the red light on the camera he makes a hand motion to cut the feed and the picture goes black.

by **South Newlandia** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 10:51 am

Cutoff for Groups 1-5, Series 2! I see that some teams are on fire already; others not quite yet. How will the next series go?

OOC Note: The RP of Barnettsville came in after I had already started scoring. As such, it was not counted for this MD, but I will treat it as if it had for future Matchdays.

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 51

GROUP STAGE - SERIES 2 – GROUPS 1-5

Group 1

Game 1
Hapilopper                 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1  5
Super-Llamaland            0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Daskel                     3 0 1 0 3 1 1 1 0 10
Silvedania                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2

The Luck of Jirachi        0 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 1  5
Grey County                0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1  4

Game 2 
Hapilopper                 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0  5
Super-Llamaland            0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  3

Daskel                     1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Silvedania                 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 X  4

The Luck of Jirachi        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Grey County                0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 X  3

Game 3 
Hapilopper                 0 1 0 0 0 2 9 0 1 13
Super-Llamaland            0 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 0  7

Daskel                     0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1  4
Silvedania                 0 0 2 0 0 0 4 0 X  6

The Luck of Jirachi        0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0  4
Grey County                0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

P Group 1               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Hapilopper              6    6   0    33   17  +16
2 Daskel                  6    4   2    36   19  +17
3 Super-Llamaland         6    3   3    29   32   −3
4 The Luck of Jirachi     6    2   4    15   18   −3
5 Silvedania              6    2   4    21   34  −13
6 Grey County             6    1   5    15   29  −14

Group 2

Game 1 
Sarzonia                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Tikariot                   0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 X  3

Devonta                    0 0 0 0 7 0 1 0 0  8
Britland Isles             0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0  3

Barnettsville              0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1
Norrhem                    0 0 0 0 4 1 1 1 X  7

Game 2
Sarzonia                   2 4 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 10
Tikariot                   0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3  5

Devonta                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Britland Isles             0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 X  3

Barnettsville              0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  2
Norrhem                    1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 X  3

Game 3
Sarzonia                   0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 1  6
Tikariot                   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Devonta                    1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0  4
Britland Isles             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Barnettsville              0 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 0  6
Norrhem                    0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

P Group 2               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Sarzonia                6    5   1    28   10  +18
2 Norrhem                 6    4   2    23   14   +9
3 Tikariot                6    4   2    30   24   +6
4 Devonta                 6    3   3    17   18   −1
5 Barnettsville           6    1   5    10   22  −12
6 Britland Isles          6    1   5    13   33  −20

Group 3

Game 1
Drawkland                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Cassadaigua                4 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 X  7

Le Choix                   0 2 0 5 0 0 0 2 0  9
Ethane                     0 0 0 0 3 3 0 1 0  7

Delaclava                  1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2
The Hannasean Federation   1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 X  4

Game 2
Drawkland                  1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2
Cassadaigua                1 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 X  6

Le Choix                   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Ethane                     0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  2

Delaclava                  1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  3
The Hannasean Federation   0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1  4

Game 3
Drawkland                  0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1  4
Cassadaigua                0 1 0 0 3 2 0 0 X  6

Le Choix                   5 0 3 0 1 0 3 0 0 12
Ethane                     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Delaclava                  0 0 4 1 2 0 6 1 0 14
The Hannasean Federation   0 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 0  6

P Group 3                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Cassadaigua                 6    6   0    32   13  +19
2 The Hannasean Federation    6    4   2    25   30   −5
3 Le Choix                    6    3   3    33   20  +13
4 Delaclava                   6    3   3    36   30   +6
5 Drawkland                   6    1   5    22   36  −14
6 Ethane                      6    1   5    16   35  −19

Group 4

Game 1
Mapletish                  0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1  4
The 189                    0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2

Ranoria                    1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  3
Newmanistan                1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1  4

Abanhfleft                 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
Pluvie                     1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3  5

Game 2
Mapletish                  0 0 1 0 4 0 0 4 2 11
The 189                    0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  4

Ranoria                    0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0  3
Newmanistan                3 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 X  8

Abanhfleft                 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Pluvie                     0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 X  3

Game 3
Mapletish                  0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
The 189                    0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 X  4

Ranoria                    1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  3
Newmanistan                3 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 X  7

Abanhfleft                 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 0  6
Pluvie                     0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  2

P Group 4               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Newmanistan             6    5   1    30   18  +12
2 Pluvie                  6    4   2    26   21   +5
3 Abanhfleft              6    3   3    32   18  +14
4 Mapletish               6    3   3    25   32   −7
5 The 189                 6    2   4    19   28   −9
6 Ranoria                 6    1   5    20   35  −15

Group 5

Game 1
Kriegiersien               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Squidroidia                0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 X  3

Ko-oren                    0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 0  6
The Greater Nordics        0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0  4

Xanneria                   0 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0  5
South Americanastan        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2

Game 2
Kriegiersien               0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 1  5
Squidroidia                0 2 1 0 0 3 2 0 X  8

Ko-oren                    0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0  3
The Greater Nordics        0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Xanneria                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
South Americanastan        0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 X  3

Game 3
Kriegiersien               0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0  6
Squidroidia                1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2

Ko-oren                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
The Greater Nordics        0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 X  3

Xanneria                   0 2 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 1  8
South Americanastan        0 0 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 0  7

P Group 5               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Ko-oren                 6    4   2    28   19   +9
2 Kriegiersien            6    4   2    24   19   +5
3 The Greater Nordics     6    3   3    23   19   +4
4 Squidroidia             6    3   3    23   26   −3
5 Xanneria                6    2   4    20   24   −4
6 South Americanastan     6    2   4    22   33  −11

by **Barnettsville** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 11:05 am

Swept by the Stars

ST. CATHERINE - The group stage has not started out well for the Blue Jays. Barnettsville traveled to Sarzonia for three to open and were swept by a combined 11-1. Getaway day truly was, in the worst possible way, as the Stars blasted the pitching staff 6-0.

Tyler Randall pitched decently, giving up all 3 runs in the opening defeat, as the offense only managed 1. Ian MacGregor allowed 2 runs, but the offense was no-hit. Rick Benson only lasted four innings, allowing five of Sarzonia's 6 runs.

(OOC: Apologies for being past the cutoff.)

by **The Sherpa Empire** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 11:49 am

Between the end of the SIBA season and the beginning of the World Baseball Classic, the Sherpa national baseball team went to Kunming for a short training camp. The players played on rival teams in SIBA, so practicing together in Kunming was a good chance to build up some team cohesion before they took on the rest of the multiverse, as well as just generally staying sharp. Wangdi Ai, Geli Ananthan, and Pei Tan made it as far as Kunming before the Ministry of Culture ruled that they would not be allowed to play because of their positive drug tests. Their replacements -- Sarki Sachdeva, Ongchu Xiang, and Pratap Johar -- were also in Kunming because the team knew Ai, Ananthan, and Tan were in the process of appealing drug-related suspensions, and Chongba Lee wanted to be prepared in case the appeals were denied.

So getting Sachdeva, Xiang, and Johar ready to play was easy. They were already there training with the team. The hard part was giving the news to Ai, Ananthan, and Tan.

Tan accepted it with some dignity. He looked devastated, but he said he understood.

Ananthan smashed a trash can on his way out, but he left and that was that.

Ai, on the other hand, refused to leave. He continued hanging around the ballpark trying to talk to other players, Chongba Lee, etc., hoping to convince everyone that he was innocent and get them to protest on his behalf. Lee had to empty out Ai's locker, including the big cannister of Shen Nong's Miracle Powder, and dump everything on the curb before Ai would take his stuff. Even after that, Ai turned up again to protest that he had been wrongly accused and he was not using any performance enhancing drugs.

"Drug tests don't lie," Lee replied drily. "It was probably something in that 'Miracle Powder' you were using all the time."

Ai looked offended. "That doesn't have steroids in it! It's an herbal supplement! Besides, Wen uses it too and he didn't test positive for drugs!"

Lee looked troubled as he took a moment to consider this. "I might need to have a talk with Wen..."

Ai's arm and Ananthan's bat would be missed, but their attitudes wouldn't. Sachdeva and Xiang were much more level-headed and agreeable personalities. On the flight to Hicaña, they asked the WBC veterans for advice and Sachdeva talked about his plans to get married in a few months. That's not to say the whole team were model citizens. Luochong Zhuang gave an hours-long spiel about whale songs for no discernible reason and Kami Akunjee and Xiao Wen had a crude debate about which team had more attractive players, Cassadaigua or Newmanistan -- but leaving Ai behind definitely made it easier to focus.

The series in Hicaña went decently, with the Sherpas winning 2 games out of 3, but there was still room to tighten things up a bit.

by **Kriegiersien** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 12:04 pm

KRINUNE

The Kriegiersien Nude News

international edition with clothed moderators and guests

Kriegiersien wins all three games against Xanneria. Sarah Strongarm and Leon Prince dominating all three games.
We have talked with a sponsor about the game.

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What do you expect for the Kriegiersien team?

I think they are able to lift the trophy?

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Yes, with these two leading the way, everything is possible.

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Back to Baseball. The next opponent is Squidroidia. Your thoughts?

Normally a good opponent, but I am missing quality in their squad. Can’t really say I see anyone good there in the moment. We should squash them.

Thank you. More naked truth tomorrow.

Thank you for having me here.

by **South Americanastan** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 1:04 pm

SABaseball: WHO WANTS TO WIN?

The Hotshots walked back into the locker room, dejected, saddened, and, in some cases, angry, as Darby Nikkolasson demonstrated by hitting a trash can with a baseball bat. They had decisively lost yet another series, and tensions were high, while morale was low. Micheal Kelly walked into the locker room, as most players were packing up to leave.

"Darby, drop the fucking bat." Kelly took off his hat and rubbed his forehead. "2 and 4." He paused "We are currently 2 and 4, and ranked last in our group. If this keeps up our chances of qualifying for the playoffs are slim to none. Do you guys want to win? Do you understand what is at stake here? If we keep losing, that means no playoffs, no trophies, hell, with how the sports commission has been behaving, I might not have a job! I could not care less if you are from above or below the old border, we are a TEAM, goddamnit, and we need to win! I am sick of seeing you guys give up 6 unanswered runs in one game! WHO HERE WANTS TO WIN?"

The locker room erupted in cheers. However, it was still to be seen if Kelly's would be answered.

by **Kohnhead** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 4:15 pm

We get the 3-0 start we wanted

Two shutouts in three games helped us reach the 3-0 mark

The first series of the 51st World Baseball Classic saw Kohnhead travel to the cricket loving nation of Pratapgadh whose schools had met our schools more than a few times in the NSCAA. Runs were expected to come at a premium with our three best pitchers on tap for the series and this proved true in all three games.

Kohnhead                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Pratapgadh                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Game one would go scoreless through nine innings, something that is quite the rarity in baseball but our ace Bloggs and Jethmalani their ace would duel all game long with Bloggs pitching through eight scoreless innings and allowing only three hits completely stifling the Pratapgadh hitters as his sinker was on point. While we would do better hitting wise, it wasn't by much stranding five runners in scoring position with Jethmalani notably striking two out in a row when the bases were loaded in the bottom of the 6th. Our best performer would be Jessie Cherry who got two hits on the day and the go-ahead homer in the top of the 10th inning. Jasmine Millington was brought in for the ninth inning given that the game was tied and we trust her a lot especially if the game was to go on for a lot longer.

She struck out the side and then Kohnhead stepped up in the top of the 10th inning with the score tied at 0. First into the batter's box was Lucca Hahn the best player on our team who had struggled all day and he would be facing the Pratapgadh reliever. Hahn felt a good pitch but got under it too much and it was a routine fly out to Divit Gajjar in center field, Hahn walked off clearly frusterated as he knew that was a very hittable pitch. Jessie Cherry wouldn't miss his opportunity however and sent the first pitch he faced into the bleachers at Rajendragadh University Park to give Kohnhead the 1-0 lead. We would get another hit, a single from Dudley but couldn't score again and Maddy Lane was brought on in the bottom of the 10th to try and keep the win. She'd only throw seven pitches in the inning and we got out of it with a 1-2-3 inning to close out the 10th and the game. The Pandas were 1-0 although it wasn't in the fashion we would have liked, still however a win is a win.

Kohnhead                   0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
Pratapgadh                 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0  3

The second game of the series and WBC saw Fletcher Crouch fresh off of signing a deal to play baseball in South Newlandia for the Rüsselsheim Blue Sox take the mound against Hamdev Thanki a 22 year old right handed pitcher for our opponents in Pratapgadh. Fresh off of one run in 10 innings against them in the first game it was good to see our offense get going in the third inning with Clayton leading off with a walk making it the first time he's reached first base on the team. Hahn followed up with a single that sent Clayton to third and then Cherry hit an rbi single to bring Clayton home. Ratliff would strike out but then strode up Callie Dudley who with a 1-2 count blasted a low pitch 356 feet for a three run homerun the first of her career as a member of the Kohnhead National Baseball Team.

These runs gave Kohnhead a 4-0 lead and it looked like it would be an easy win for us especially with the way we had pitched in game one. However Crouch would give up a solo shot to Naseem Nathani in the bottom half of the frame that we had our four run explosion in. Just two innings later Dorsey failed to track a ball properly in the sun leading to two runs from the opposition to make it a 4-3 game giving him the error. Crouch would be pulled midway through the fifth in an okay first game of the WBC however we expect better games from him in the future giving that he's our number two. It was just one of those games where it looked like he didn't have it from the first pitch and while he wasn't awful and he only gave up one earned run it would have been worse had he stayed out there and it probably should have been worse.

Fortunately the bullpen got got 2.1 innings from Arroyo who is looking to prove that she can be more of a reliable option to turn to especially with the bullpen being pretty young overall and we have no one who we can really trust with the exception of Millington. Once again we turned to Maddy Lane in the bottom of the final frame and once again our young closer performed well walking Sachdev with two outs in the frame and then striking Murjani out. Kohnhead improved to 2-0 with this win although both were uninspiring one run wins against an unranked side so there are a lot better 2-0 teams out there.

Kohnhead                   1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  5
Pratapgadh                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

The third game was the first time Kohnhead really showed that we were the better team and there's a reason we are ranked so highly in comparison to Pratapgadh. This was the first game in which I felt we really deserved a victory with Allan Fox showing exactly why he was moved higher in the rotation. Fox looked cool and collected on the mound and while it wasn't a no hitter or a one hitter it was a deserving shutout that saw him go all nine innings for possibly the first and only time in his career due to having such a low pitch count. It wasn't as if he was consistently striking them out, it was more that the balls that were put into play were really easy for our defenders which led to the pitch count. The real question with Fox is can he string together back to back performances like this given his consistency issues, that's what's really preventing him from taking the next step forward.

On the offensive side of things, we performed a lot better in a more complete performance than we've had yet this classic with runs across four different innings including three in the first two thanks to a two run homer from Wagstaff in the second as well as a score from Hahn in the first inning with the rbi going to Ratliff. With a 3-0 lead we couldn't do much else after this against Inaksh Modi but with the way Fox dominated on the mound it didn't matter at all. In the eight and ninth inning we'd get some extra runs to give us more insurance although they proved unecessary with the way Fox dominated.

Our undefeated start will surely come to a screeching halt as Banija comes to town to take on our 4, 5, and 1 pitchers in Mclellan, Park, and Bloggs. Banija went 2-1 surprisingly against the lowest ranked team who has a rank in the tournament in St. Saratoga surprisingly losing the third game 7-4 after a 5-4 win and a 5-3 win in games one and two respectively. Banija do look a bit vulnerable although as does Kohnhead and we are really lucky to be sitting at 3-0, South Newlandia on the other hand swept the floor with pot four Sicoutimont beating them by at least three runs in all three games to go to the top of the group on run differential right ahead of The Pandas.

Let's get it done against Banija!

P Group 8               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 South Newlandia         3    3   0    19    8  +11     3
2 Kohnhead                3    3   0    10    3   +7     3
3 Banija                  3    2   1    14   14    0     2
4 St. Saratoga            3    1   2    14   14    0     1
5 Pratapgadh              3    0   3     3   10   −7     0
6 Sicoutimont             3    0   3     8   19  −11     0

by **Newmanistan** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 4:26 pm

THE ROCKET REPORT

RANORIA SWEPT

By Taylor Larson,

The Rockets completed a three-game sweep of Ranoria at the Proving Grounds in Tundra Falls, continuing their mastery of that nation for now as they try to make their way up the ladder in the World Baseball Classic. These three wins, which are now five in a row since the opening day loss, puts Newmanistan on top of Group 4 with a 5-1 record, a game ahead of little known Pluvie.

Game 4- Newmanistan 4, Ranoria 3

How teams scored:

Top 1st- Leonardo Harrison RBI single, scoring Nicholas Lux, who doubled. (RAN 1, NEW 0)

Bottom 1st- Jenna Schuster, sacrifice fly to center, scoring Brooke Sauter who singled, then stole second and third. (RAN 1, NEW 1)

Top 4th- Tim von Kun singled, advanced to second on Sierra McKinley’s throwing error. Jesse Griffith, RBI double scoring von Kun. Judas Acker, RBI single scoring Griffith. (RAN 3, NEW 1)

Bottom 7th- Sierra McKinley sacrifice fly to left, scoring Jenna Schuster, who doubled and stole 3rd. (RAN 3, NEW 2)

Bottom 8th- Hannah Mitchell, RBI double, scoring Lexi Burrows, who singled. (RAN 3, NEW 3)

Bottom 9th- Sierra McKinley RBI single, scoring Jenna Schuster, who singled and stole second. (NEW 4, RAN 3)

Pitching:
Julia Donaldson- 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Kristen Phillips- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Crystal Madden- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Lauren Allen- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K (W, 1-0)

Game 5- Newmanistan 8, Ranoria 3

Bottom 1st- Brooke Sauter singled, stole second. Jenna Schuster walked. Sauter & Schuster double steal. Sierra McKinley, single to left, scoring Sauer & Schuster. Nicole Larkin RBI double, scoring McKinley (NEW 3, RAN 0)

Bottom 2nd- Nicole Hoskins grounded out, Allie Macek struck out. Brooke Sauter singled, stole second. Jenna Schuster RBI single, scoring Sauter. Schuster stole second and third. Sierra McKinley, two-run HOME RUN to center. (NEW 6, RAN 0)

Top 5th- Jesse Griffth, 2RBI double, scoring Tim von Kun and Phillip Franklin. (NEW 6, RAN 2)

Bottom 5th- Lexi Burrows, solo HOME RUN to right. (NEW 7, RAN 2)

Top 6th- Rubin Graves, RBI double, scoring Abraham Leinhardt, who walked. (NEW 7, RAN 3)

Bottom 6th- Nicole Hoskins RBI single, scoring Hannah Mitchell, who singled and advanced to second on an error. (NEW 8, RAN 3)

Pitching:
Allie Macek- 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 K (W, 1-0)
Paige Bell- 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
Kathryn Riggins- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K

Game 6- Newmanistan 7, Ranoria 3

Top 1st- Philip Franklin, RBI double, scoring Leonardo Harrison, who reached on an error by Chelsea Harlow. (RAN 1, NEW 0)

Bottom 1st- Brooke Sauter, leadoff double and stole 3rd. Jenna Schuster grounded out, but scored Sauter. Sierra McKinley flew out. Lexi Burrows doubled and scored on Nicole Larkin’s double. Chelsea Harlow RBI single, scoring Larkin. (NEW 3, RAN 1)

Bottom 4th- Nicole Hoskins, two run single, scoring Nicole Larkin and Chelsea Harlow, each of whom had singled and advanced on a wild pitch. Kelsie Carmichael RBI single, scoring Hoskins. (NEW 6, RAN 1)

Top 8th- Judas Acker two-RBI double, scoring Tim von Kun and Philip Franklin, each of whom had singled. (NEW 6, RAN 3)

Bottom 8th- Nicole Larkin, solo HOME RUN to left. (NEW 7, RAN 3)

Pitching:
Kelsie Carmichael- 7 ⅔ IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9K (W, 1-1)
Lauren Allen- ⅓ IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Amanda Stinnett- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K

by **Hampton Island** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 4:39 pm

Setting: Stafford City Stadium, CEO and assistant converse

CEO: I just got a strange inquiry from the Cassadagans.

Assistant: What do they want?

CEO: They want to know if one of our bears are available to play in their country.

Assistant: They want one of our bears?

CEO: I guess they have seen them in the World Baseball Classics, and they have a team wondering if they’d be available for a full 162-game season. I mean, I suppose they are and I should try to milk them for a large sum of money, but do you think this could work?

Assistant: Take the money, who cares if it works.

CEO: Yes, but if it doesn’t work, then we could get sued. So, we need to make sure it might work. The bears aren’t used to the day to day demands of a season. They play in the Classic, and then we just let them be bears. Well, be bears in a fenced off plot land, but good enough. They would not understand the grind.

Assistant: Then, tell them no thanks.

CEO: Yes, but then we could make a lot of money. They would have to have one of our trainers there, and it would be very important for them to know their feeding regimen.

Assistant: That is very important. Maybe use Boomer, he is the younger one, the others are five now so a little smarter and might not like it. Boomer is just getting started with all of this.

CEO: Good call on Boomer.

Assistant: I am sure he could get used to playing with people from Cassadaigua if we sent him there, but with trainers, which will come with a price.

CEO: The trainers will have to agree to go, too.

Assistant: That’s why it is a package. We keep adding bells and whistles to it, we can make a good sum of money and really for nothing because we would just be loaning him off for a season. Let their team worry about if he can handle a long season or not.

CEO: Very well. I shall them that he is available.

by **South Newlandia** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 4:54 pm

Notes
I’m going to RP my baseball league in here. See this preview post of the prior season for some info, but otherwise, I’m not going to bother. If you’re now thinking “Well, this is very lazy, isn’t it?”, you’re probably right. Also, I didn’t quite end up finishing this edition, so use your imagination for the rest.

NORTHEAST

P Northeast                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD    Win % 
1 Masmow Dragons             72   45  27   329  225 +104    0.625
2 Newport Owls               72   39  33   336  306  +30    0.542
3 Newport Dolphins           72   38  34   322  285  +37    0.528
4 Lexen City Rebels          72   31  41   268  300  −32    0.431

MASMOW DRAGONS

Last season: 48-24, 1st in NE; lost in SNBL Final Series (2-5 Rhinos)

Notable personnel:
Coach: Sofia Rasmussen, 47, Super-Llamaland
SP: Jay Kramer, 22
RP: Barnaby Butt, 24
RP: Kerry Mercer, 29, Nova Anglicana (new signing)
1B: Gabriel Acosta, 26, Super-Llamaland
2B: Len Pijpenbroek, 24, Ko-oren
SS: Jason Valbuena, 25, Super-Llamaland
LF: Daryl Dunlop, 26
CF: Marcia McMahon, 26, Super-Llamaland
RF: Denis Caamano, 25, Ko-oren

Rasmussen led her star-studded team to another top finish in the strong Northeastern division. They did win three games less than last season, but had their pitching absolutely crush the league. Only 225 runs given up through 72 games not only led the league, but combined for a team ERA just over three. They did it by getting a peak year from the promising Kramer, along with having the best bullpen in the league, spearheaded by Barnaby Butt and their new acquisition, Nova Anglican fireballer Kerry Mercer. Having the best defensive infield around Gabriel Acosta certainly helped as well. In general, the three Llamanean infielders did a fantastic job at reducing errors and, along with the equally good outfield, holding opposing batters to the lowest BABIP in the league. Caamano especially added a terrific season from the plate, too; but despite a run differential north of 100, they failed their goal at becoming the strongest team in the North.

Big win: MD9: Masmow Dragons 11-1 Ratzupalfu Rhinos
The Dragons hosted the Rhinos, the team that defeated them in the championship last year, early in the season, and absolutely crushed them. Kramer pitched a masterpiece, allowing just 3 hits and a walk through eight innings, and there was run support from all over the place, including two Acosta home runs for 5 RBI.
Big game: MD62: Masmow Dragons 10-3 Elephant Valley United
After losing the previous 6 games in a row, the Dragons needed to get back going soon; a big late season slide could’ve seen them out of the postseason entirely. They did come back, handily beating United at home. After the game was tied at 3 after six, the Dragons produced a seven-run inning featuring two home runs (Acosta and Caamano). How they managed to hold on to their 10-3 lead in the ninth may confound some Drawkian fans, but they did, sparking a streak of eight wins in a row.
Big loss: MD3: Chekar Tigers 3-1 Masmow Dragons
The Dragons almost exclusively lost to good teams that season, but matchday three was an exception. Visiting Chekar, their bats fell silent, and Mercer’s three no-hit innings toward the end didn’t get any help.

NEWPORT OWLS

Last season: 34-38, 3rd in NE, missed playoffs

Notable personnel:
Coach: Rick Shepherd, 31
SP: Miles Savey, 26, Chromatika
RP: Ian Capan, 23
RP: Brayden Colhusion, 26
1B: Wota Radinka, 23
RF: Gary Promises, 18

The Owls, after missing the postseason the year before, were eager to get back there. They had a really good season, collecting 39 wins, and even managed to jump their big rivals from across the city to finish second in the Northeast. For the third straight season, they were driven in large part by their talented Outfielder Promises, who put up 37 home runs, helping the team become 3rd in the league in scoring. Savey provided a good season pitching, and the Owls’ bullpen rivalled the Dragons’, thanks to a fantastic season by Colhusion, who passed Capan to become the teams’ best reliever. Otherwise, the roster lacked some talent, but the Owls made do with what they had.

Big win: MD37: Kinjestad Peacocks 6-12 Newport Owls
Matchday 37 serves well as an indicator for the Owls’ season. Their pitching was mediocre at best, with their starting getting hooked after five innings with 6 ER, 9 hits and three walks, before relief saved the day, while Promises added two dingers from the plate. A strong four-run eighth put the game well out of reach for the Peacocks.
Big game: MD35: Newport Owls 1-0 Lexen City Rebels
Matchday 35 saw the Owls finally get decent pitching for once. They took the Rebels into extras with no runs scored yet, and it would take until the bottom of the 15th inning until Promises ended this game with a towering solo shot into deep left. They took this as inspiration to win the next nine games as well.
Big loss: MD47: Newport Owls 5-17 Newport Dolphins
We have to talk about the Newport game. Colhusion was notably absent that day, and there was no one to save the Owls. Despite a home run getting them the early lead in the first, the Dolphins kept adding on runs, leading 16-2 by the eighth.

NEWPORT DOLPHINS

Last season: 43-29, 2nd in NE, lost in divisional round (1-3 Dragons)

Notable personnel:
Coach: Daniel Nunez, 44
SP: Ben Gonzalo, 19
RP: Montaro Wakajoshi, 23, Ko-oren
RP: Ethan Ress, 19
C: Brad Moore, 22
SS: David Drum, 23
CF: Kendra Annovar, 24, Chromatika
RF: Mike Larsen, 22

After cruising to the playoffs with ease last year, the Dolphins ran into some more trouble this year. That wasn’t really their fault, with a team definitely capable of a deep run. Gonzalo had a very reasonable season, and especially Annovar had a strong season at the plate.

Big win: MD47: Newport Owls 5-17 Newport Dolphins
Big game: MD68: Ruditown Dachshunds 13-6 Newport Dolphins
Big loss: MD10: Newport Dolphins 4-11 Walstreim Lions

LEXEN CITY REBELS

Last season: 29-43, 4th in NE, missed playoffs

Notable personnel:
Coach: Mitchell Garoo, 41
SP: Jack Beard, 20
RP: Matt Townsend, 27, Nova Anglicana (new signing)
C: Bradley Jenkins, 25, Drawkland
LF: Oliver Landry, 21
RF: Yousuf Conway, 22

Jenkins is quite good, and was probably the best pitcher of the league. Townsend was quite reasonably decent.

Big win: MD38: Lexen City Rebels 14-1 Southwestern Baselanders
Big game: MD1: Southwestern Baselanders 3-2 Lexen City Rebels
Big loss: MD66: Masmow Dragons 11-1 Lexen City Rebels

by **Super-Llamaland** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 5:55 pm

I. Oladipo Arrives
II. Alasan Senghore
III. The New Way Forward
IV. Kai Söderstrom

INT. ANONYMOUS BOARDROOM, LLAMANEAN BASEBALL ASSOCIATION HQ.

It’s the same boardroom from a few days ago. This time, Isaac Oladipo has brought Alasan Senghore with him, with the other scouts from the previous meeting back as well. Among them, sitting opposite the table from Isaac and Alasan, is JULIUS WOODMAN, the young head of analytics for the national team, who has come to see what all the fuss over the new traditionalist manager is about. As Isaac sits down, Julius is writing a few more names down on the whiteboard.

JULIUS: I’ve had the team crunch the numbers again, and we think we have a few more interesting candidates to replace Wei and Bendtner. Around thirty starting pitchers, since I know you weren’t too enamored with your options last time around.

SCOUT #1: Which one do you want to start with, Isaac?

ISAAC: None of them. (This is met with audible confusion from everyone else at the table, except Isaac and Alasan.)

JULIUS: What are you talking about?

ISAAC: You’re trying to replace their numbers. What we need to do is replace their output. We can’t just aggregate a few more players together to get the same number of runs prevented. We need pitchers with the heart to replace Cedric, April, and Calisto.

SCOUT #2: Who do you want to talk about?

Isaac nods at Alasan, who stands up and walks to the whiteboard. To the astonishment of the scouts, he writes a new name: SAM VANDENBERG.

SCOUT #1: Oh, come on.

SCOUT #2: Isaac, if I may - if you’re trying to replace Calisto Gutierrez, you can’t replace her with someone who pitches to soft contact. Vandenberg’s a real throwback, and she’s found success, but it’s been fueled by an incredibly low BABIP. I mean, nobody can sustain .244 over more than one season.

JULIUS: She doesn’t have the stuff, either, especially as a direct replacement for Gutierrez as a relief ace. She’s getting some weak contact so far, but there’s also a lot of harder-hit balls that didn’t fall for outs last season. It’s just not sustainable enough at the WBC level.

ISAAC: Do we care about any of that? We need someone who can close out games for us. And she’s been doing an awful lot of that in the LBL.

ALASAN: She’s got a real competitive streak, too, just like Calisto. Great clubhouse fit, especially for the closing role we want her in.

SCOUT #1: Isaac, this isn’t the kind of thing you can just look at saves for. Her average leverage index was in the sixty-first percentile for all qualifying relievers last season. She’s not good enough.

ALASAN: Well, she’s been getting results. (Upon Isaac’s signal, he writes the second name on the whiteboard: GENEVIEVE STRAUSS. The scouts all groan again.)

SCOUT #2: Ten years ago Strauss was a huge name. She’s really going to pique fan interest at first. But she’ll be lucky to keep her ERA below five if we bring her back.

SCOUT #3: She’s, what, thirty-eight? The velocity is gone, she’s a defensive liability, and the strikeout stuff might not still be there.

JULIUS: I got thirty-four pitchers who are better than her now. The strikeout rate is on an express ride to zero, she’s giving up an alarming number of home runs, and the movement on her breaking pitches is dipping.

ISAAC: She gets outs and she has WBC ace experience. If you want an ace to replace Cedric and April, she’s going to be an ace for you. Besides, she did fine last year.

SCOUT #2: Look at the FIP, though.

ALASAN: I don’t know what to tell you. She gets outs, and she’s got the will to win. He then writes a third name on the whiteboard: KAI SÖDERSTROM.

JULIUS: Okay, you’re not even being consistent now. Kai Söderstrom can’t go deep into games!

SCOUT #1: His opposing batting average on the third time through the order is three twenty-five. If you want someone to get outs, we’ve got tons of pitchers who can do that better than Kai Söderstrom.

ALASAN: I didn’t see any of them throwing shutouts in the President’s Cup finals.

JULIUS: Oh, come on. He threw eight innings over two games. He’s good because of how the Wizards used him, and nothing more. I think he’d be fine if you used him properly, but something tells me you’ll be trying to get him to go six, seven innings a game. That’s just not something he’s been capable of doing.

ALASAN: Is that his fault, or the Wizards’?

SCOUT #1: If he could pitch the third time through the order, they’d leave him in.

ALASAN (aggressively, perhaps due to his own past experience): Maybe if they left him in more, he’d learn to pitch the third time through the order.

JULIUS: You want to replace arguably our three best pitchers with a fluke, a has-been, and a glorified opener?

ISAAC: You got it.

JULIUS: The analytics department has been busting its ass for a month trying to find new pitchers and you’re just-

SCOUT #1: He’s the manager. He answers to himself and God.

ISAAC: I didn’t know God watched The Tigers. Look, guys, you’ve been building Llamanean pitching staffs for the past few years now. And I’ve watched them, and honestly, I can say that there’s teams with good clutch pitching, and there’s teams with bad clutch pitching. And then there’s us. Then there’s fifty feet of crap, and then there’s Drawkland in the Round of 16. We need to change directions, find players who are proven in big-game situations.

JULIUS: The clutch gene was disproven years ago. Any college kid with a laptop can show you there’s no correlation there. WBC50 was just a small sample size. Nothing more than that.

ALASAN: Well, it hasn’t been working. If we think like this in here, we will lose out there.

JULIUS: That’s fortune cookie talk. I can’t support you doing something like this. You think you’re so great because your country has won a WBC more recently...well, playing the game on spreadsheets got us five WBC titles, so maybe we’ll just keep thinking like this in here. You’re going to make it impossible to ever get a national team job for yourself again, after the LBA cans your ass, and you’ll have to explain to your Banijan friends why you retired at fifty-six with a 12-18 career record.

ISAAC: I’m not going to fire you.

JULIUS: Suck my dick, Oladipo.

ISAAC: Okay, maybe now I will.

by **Zwangzug** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 6:12 pm

Tierra de Castro is a socialist country, if not the same kind of socialism common in Zwangzug. There seems to be little in the way of free or fair elections, and the population, wisely, refrains from criticizing this state of affairs. This sort of "top-down" regime allows for many aspects of life to conceivably fall under government control. However, there are some aspects of bodily autonomy with regards to the use of controlled substances that may be freer than Zwangzug; participants 002 and 008 both chose to acquire Castrollano cigars during their visit. Participant 002 seems to have relished the experience, or perhaps retroactively wanted to justify the expense. Participant 008 needed to be instructed by locals as to the proper way of inhaling without choking on it. Still, this demonstrates a degree of risk-taking and open-mindedness.

The Zebras swept the series, which is correlated to participants enjoying themselves and splurging slightly more on souvenirs. Game 1 featured the cool-tempered Benji Arboleda, but even he was shaken after the visitors batted around in the opening frame; the brilliant Jesus Arnal had to go to work early, and it would take a succession of relievers to finish the game. El Zorro tapped the "golden boy" for the second game, but de la Cavallería--now 30--was also hit hard early. Saffie Ross-Singh, the capital's ace, pitched a gem, allowing just two hits through the first six innings; she did allow Capmany to reach, who scored off of Todd Forneris in relief. Orlando Tenorio started game three, and the hosts kept it close, rallying for what appeared to be the go-ahead runs in the eighth through a Lenin Alvarado homer. But Abigail Noonan's double would plate Eduardo Kansone-Westing and Veronica Adler for the Zebras to take the lead in the ninth, and Natalie Chepas-Wood picked up the "save."

Zwangzug now head home to take on the unranked, and unheralded, BohemiaIV, and I predict another sweep--no you don't--what's the worst that could happen there's no penalty for confi--we don't predict baseball now stop it but there's so many fun statistix*100010---.....

by **Cassadaigua** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 7:29 pm

Victoriaville may be close to big bat,
By Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

When you talk about players jumping from one nation to another right now in a transfer window, you are probably talking soccer. There has been a ton of activity going on all across the world, and for the first time, nations from Cassadaigua are taking part. Right now, many people point to Brattleboro Westside as having the most overall improvement with the official moves that have been made so far. The biggest splash, though, is likely Brattleboro FC’s signing of Sophie Johnson, from Kohnhead. In general, there are bigger names finding new homes in the world of international soccer, but since Cassadaigua’s domestic league does not have the level of prestige of many others, the CSL has been shut out of the top teams. Mostly by design, as they have not really attempted. Baseball, however, is a different story. The Cassadagan Baseball League may not be considered the number one league in the world right now, but it is certainly closer to that than it’s soccer equivalent. We have seen big names come to Cassadaigua starting last year, and that is something we hope will continue this year.

Sources out of the Victoriaville Venom report that the club is “very close” to an agreement that would land the club an explosive, power hitting middle infielder who should be an instant fan favorite, and one that will intimidate opposing pitchers. If you can get power at that position, you certainly take it. There have been no names associated with this player, yet, as sources say they do not want to lose the player out from under them, so will not say who they are until everything is made official.

With Drawkland coming to Concord Heights, scouts were looking over their roster pretty quickly too, and it is speculated that Taylor Smart, their starting rightfielder, provided the biggest impression. The Royals of Concord Heights themselves could be a team that is very interested, but New Lakeland and Northbury have also been associated with interest there. It seems as though that in regards to the Drawks, batters are more appealing than pitchers at this time. As for the three games against them, you have to be pleased with how they went, as the Fillies completed a three game sweep of this rival, putting them at 6-0, and leading second place The Hannasean Federation by two games. This has always been thought of as a powerful group, but with sweeps of two of the biggest rivals, and Delaclava only at 3-3, Cassadaigua is doing a good job of letting everyone know that in order to be the best, they’ll have to beat the best.

by **Tikariot** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 8:26 pm

This is the end! (of the RP phase for MD 2, part 2)

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC 51

GROUP STAGE - SERIES 1 – GROUPS 6-10

Group 6

Game 1
Sannyamathland             0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5  6
The Fortem                 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 X  8

Nova Anglicana             0 0 1 1 1 5 0 2 0 10
Quebec and Shingoryeo      1 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 1  8

Marigred                   1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 8 13
Srednjaci                  0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0  3

Game 2 
Sannyamathland             0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 0  4
The Fortem                 0 0 0 3 2 1 2 0 X  8

Nova Anglicana             0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0  4
Quebec and Shingoryeo      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Marigred                   2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  4
Srednjaci                  1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 X  5

Game 3 
Sannyamathland             0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0  4
The Fortem                 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 2  6

Nova Anglicana             0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  4
Quebec and Shingoryeo      0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0  2

Marigred                   0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0  3
Srednjaci                  0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 X  5

P Group 6                Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana           6    6   0    36   21  +15     6
2 The Fortem               6    5   1    31   23   +8     5
3 Marigred                 6    2   4    33   29   +4     2
4 Sannyamathland           6    2   4    30   35   −5     2
5 Srednjaci                6    2   4    23   38  −15     2
6 Quebec and Shingoryeo    6    1   5    20   27   −7     1

Group 7

Game 1 
Karditan                   1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  5
TJUN-ia                    0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0  4

Tierra de Castro           0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  3
HUElavia                   5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X  6

BohemiaIV                  1 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  5
Zwangzug                   0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2

Game 2
Karditan                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
TJUN-ia                    1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  3

Tierra de Castro           0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1  3
HUElavia                   1 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 X  5

BohemiaIV                  2 1 0 0 1 2 1 1 0  8
Zwangzug                   1 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0  5

Game 3
Karditan                   0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0  3
TJUN-ia                    0 0 1 4 0 0 3 0 X  8

Tierra de Castro           0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  4
HUElavia                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

BohemiaIV                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Zwangzug                   3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 X  5

P Group 7               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts  
1 BohemiaIV               6    4   2    24   23   +1     4
2 Zwangzug                6    4   2    34   23  +11     4
3 TJUN-ia                 6    4   2    29   23   +6     4
4 HUElavia                6    3   3    24   24    0     3
5 Karditan                6    2   4    21   26   −5     2
6 Tierra de Castro        6    1   5    20   33  −13     1

Group 8

Game 1
Sicoutimont                0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 1  6
Pratapgadh                 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  5

Banija                     3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Kohnhead                   3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 X  5

South Newlandia            0 0 0 2 4 2 0 6 0 14
St. Saratoga               1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  3

Game 2
Sicoutimont                0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
Pratapgadh                 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1  3

Banija                     0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 0  5
Kohnhead                   0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0  4

South Newlandia            1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 0  6
St. Saratoga               0 0 0 1 3 1 1 0 0 2  8

Game 3
Sicoutimont                0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  3
Pratapgadh                 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3  6

Banija                     2 0 0 3 0 0 1 2 0 0  8
Kohnhead                   1 1 0 1 4 1 0 0 0 2 10

South Newlandia            2 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 2 11
St. Saratoga               0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

P Group 8               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 South Newlandia         6    5   1    50   20  +30     5
2 Kohnhead                6    5   1    29   19  +10     5
3 Banija                  6    3   3    30   33   −3     3
4 Pratapgadh              6    2   4    17   21   −4     2
5 St. Saratoga            6    2   4    26   45  −19     2
6 Sicoutimont             6    1   5    19   33  −14     1

Group 9

Game 1
Hicaña                     0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Bardney                    1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  3

Qzvarkian Qaz              0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0  3
Chromatika                 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 X  4

The Sherpa Empire          3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  5
Quintessence of Dust       0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Game 2
Hicaña                     0 1 0 3 0 0 1 0 0  5
Bardney                    1 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 X  6

Qzvarkian Qaz              2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  5
Chromatika                 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2

The Sherpa Empire          0 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 0  6
Quintessence of Dust       0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0  4

Game 3
Hicaña                     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Bardney                    1 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 X  6

Qzvarkian Qaz              0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0  3
Chromatika                 0 0 0 1 0 3 3 0 X  7

The Sherpa Empire          3 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  8
Quintessence of Dust       0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3  5

P Group 9               Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 The Sherpa Empire       6    5   1    37   26  +11     5
2 Chromatika              6    4   2    29   26   +3     4
3 Bardney                 6    4   2    30   22   +8     4
4 Quintessence of Dust    6    2   4    39   39    0     2
5 Qzvarkian Qaz           6    2   4    31   40   −9     2
6 Hicaña                  6    1   5    20   33  −13     1

Group 10

Game 1
Liventia                   1 0 5 0 0 0 0 5 0 11
Equestrian States          0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  3

Anthor                     2 0 2 0 4 1 5 0 0 14
Aji No Moto                0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1  4

Hampton Island             0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0  4
Crilland                   0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1  3

Game 2
Liventia                   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Equestrian States          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Anthor                     0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0  4
Aji No Moto                0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2  3

Hampton Island             0 2 0 0 0 1 4 0 2  9
Crilland                   0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0  4

Game 3
Liventia                   0 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 1  7
Equestrian States          0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  2

Anthor                     3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  5
Aji No Moto                0 0 0 4 0 0 4 2 X 10

Hampton Island             0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 3  6
Crilland                   0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 1  4

P Group 10		Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Hampton Island          6    5   1    30   18  +12     5
2 Liventia                6    4   2    27   16  +11     4
3 Anthor                  6    3   3    31   27   +4     3
4 Equestrian States       6    2   4    22   41  −19     2
5 Aji No Moto             6    2   4    38   40   −2     2
6 Crilland                6    2   4    21   27   −6     2

by **Hapilopper** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 8:31 pm

Tyler Rocke Memorial, New Llama City, Super-Llamaland
World Baseball Classic 51 Series 2: Hapilopper v. Super-Llamaland
Another three games had come and gone, and to a lot of people’s surprise, the Hap Thrashers had swept all three of them, leaving them one of only a handful of teams undefeated at the end of the second series. But to just say the Haps won three straight games would be to ignore the craziness that happened during those three games. It was a series that saw shrewd pitching, insane hitting and some ridiculous baserunning on the part of the Hap Thrashers, and one half-inning that Hapiloppian fans will never forget.

In the first game, Grant Bonney got the hitting going when he dropped a wormburning groundball through the legs of third baseman Miranda Gray. He’d be brought home thanks to Dayton Rowe hitting a fly ball bouncing off the left field wall, giving the Hap Thrashers one run to start the series off.

And in that first game, Nolan Jefferson, last year’s NLH Pitcher of the Year, pitched himself a gem, allowing just one run and five hits on thirteen strikeouts. He knew he was great, he knew he was doing great, and he made sure everyone knew it. After every strikeout, Nolan pumped his fist and nodded his head. Once he got to 85 pitches, though, he was done around the 6th inning, and Trevor Ashley, Eddie Hedley and Dwayne Pocock wrapped things up. There wasn’t much to speak of, other than a towering shot to deep left field from pitcher/designated hitter Aaron Armstrong, putting two more runs on the board in the top of the 6th inning.

It was a popular home run amongst Hapiloppian fans, primarily since Armstrong, a relief pitcher, had been designated as the Hap Thrashers’ designated hitter for the series. Hapiloppians, to be kind, absolutely hated the concept of the designated hitter, and viewed it as everything from an “atrocity” to a “crime against humanity.” Good thing Aaron Armstrong, with his 22-inch guns, was a hell of a power hitter.

But as the Hap Thrashers celebrated their win, there was a bit of news tempering that celebration. The Surrey Area Police Department announced that a warrant had been issued for Nolan’s arrest for an incident several weeks ago on a road a few miles from BankTrust Park. Nolan, losing his patience with an old lady driving 25 in a 35, bumped her from behind, and kept ramming her until she got up to the speed limit. But then her car hit a pothole, and the locking bumpers sent both cars through a fence and into a large water reservoir. Thankfully, nobody was injured, but both cars went into the drink, and when a couple of SAPD officers reviewed the incident, they determined Nolan had not only been responsible for the incident, but he would be fined $5,000 for contaminating the Surrey area’s fresh water supply.

In game two, the Hap Thrashers got on the board early and often. Four runs in the second and third inning, as well as a fifth run in the fifth inning, was the difference, while a three-run seventh inning from Super-Llamaland wrecked a fantastic performance from Lucky Spalding and ran him out of the ballgame. While he was responsible for the Tigers’ three runs in the seventh, Lucky had registered eleven strikeouts and allowed seven hits and two walks. Even with the seventh inning, Lucky still put on a great show.

But what everyone talked about after the series was the top of the 7th inning in the third game. It’s easy to forget, but the Haps actually trailed the Tigers when the inning started. But it appeared that Genevieve Strauss, Super-Llamaland’s pitcher, was kept on the mound, probably because of something related to the third time through the starting lineup. And the Haps picked up on something in that seventh inning, and as a result, started teeing off on poor Genevieve. They’d get a base hit. And another. And another. And another. And then Dayton Rowe blasted one to the corner of the left-field fence and scored three runs on one hit. And then Jerome By-God Hayden hit a towering shot to deep right field, and surprisingly, didn’t pimp this one. Then Aaron Armstrong hit another home run. Then Melvin Pemberton blasted a double, Grady Elliott hit another home run, and nine runs had been scored in one inning by the Hap Thrashers.

By the time the inning ended, the Hap Thrashers led 12-7 and actually felt kind of sorry for poor Genevieve. It was a big part of the reason Jerome Hayden didn’t watch the home run fly and just ran it out, to the surprise of many.

“It’s one thing if I hit a go-ahead home run, but when I went up to the plate, something was wrong,” Jerome told reporters after the game. “I could tell something was wrong. Genevieve’s a very good pitcher. That inning, she should not have been out there. Period. I don’t know what was going on with those guys, and I can’t speak for them, but I feel like she shouldn’t have been out there on the mound. I just didn’t feel right playing the fool when someone probably shouldn’t be on the mound like that.”

In fact, after the game, numerous Hap Thrasher players took to twii.tur to express concern over Genevieve, saying they hoped she was going to be OK following that 7th inning.

When the Haps got back though, they knew the next series would be a bit different. They’d go up against Grey County, a team nobody really knew anything about, other than the fact that they were last place in the group, and they’d do it in the first series of the WBC at Capital Stadium, which had a brand new turf, the WreckeriaTurf, installed. It was an artificial turf, sure, but one that featured a hell of a lot more give than the old turf. And over 66,000 fans would be more than happy to fill the stadium to cheer on the Hap Thrashers.

(OOC: Wrote this half-asleep and forgot to point out that the angle for the 9-run 7th was based off a conversation I had with SLL a few hours after the results were posted. Llama, I hope this works with your story, and if not, please let me know what needs to be changed.)

by **Le Choix** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 8:55 pm

Le Choix @ Ethane The McTidley Arena

Game 1: Valentine Raynaud was the heroine of the match, hitting a grand slam on the fourth and a two-run double in the eighth as The Chosen withstood a rally through the fifth and sixth innings by Ethane to triumph. Despite some blunders by Sylvie Favre, the lead that The Chosen had built on Carlos Mosacco proved to be too much to overcome. Starter Timothé Saint-Yves had to leave the game after four innings due to a pulled hamstring but is expected to make a full recovery.

Game 2: A pitcher's duel between William Arceneaux and Harry Markwright went into the tenth inning, where he got into a bases loaded jam. Bethsabée Moreau came in to try to get out of it, but Graham Wilde hit the sacrifice fly for Ethane's victory.

Game 3: What? With twelve runs scored on eighteen hits, The Chosen chased Adam Gilchrest off the mound and the three relievers that came after him. Josée Lahaye had a far better outing, allowing four hits in a complete game as The Chosen won a series against a higher ranked opponent on the road.

Pitchers vs. Cassadaigua: RHP Luc Boutroux, LHP Éloïse Lebas, RHP Timothé Saint-Yves

Partie 1
Partie 2

Trente Jours en Enfer (Thirty Days in Hell)
Prologue 1: Comment ce livre a été fait (Prologue 1: How This Book Was Made)

Note: The following are excerpts from the Chosen Novel, Trente Jours en Enfer.

So, how was this book written? Dannielle Thoreau did emerge from The Portal in thirty days; she was immediately apprehended by The Chosen, who took an eyewitness account of how she'd survived thirty days to make sure that the others who made it without their consent wouldn't have as easy of a time. She was the forty-first person to come out of the Portal that The Chosen hadn't intended to survive, but only the second of the year.

After they got her eyewitness account, Dannielle Thoreau was put into an intensive reeducation program, and emerged to the populace ninety days after she went into the portal as Dorothy Pallier, a loyal subject of the Theocracy. The blue text version is read by the upper echelons of The Chosen to learn of the mindset of the dissenter and what they thought of as they went through the hell that The Theocracy created. the black text version was disseminated throughout the populace as propaganda to share the triumphs of another soul being cleansed through the trials of the portal, leading to the Portal being even further revered.

That was the way that things with The Chosen worked. Manipulation, coercion, power.

by **Chromatika** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 9:26 pm

Chromatik Baseball: Narrow Victories
By: Liana Odonis, Baseball Correspondent

Another series, another 2-1 series win for Chromatika. It's not the matches against The Sherpa Empire or Quintessence of Dust, which is a bit worrisome, but a series win is a series win. Let's review:

Qzvarkian Qaz              0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0  3
Chromatika                 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 X  4
Pitching: S. Han 7 IP, 3 ER, W (1-0); J. Edward Jr. 1 IP; H. Salle 1 IP, 1 Save (3)

Qzvarkian Qaz              2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  5
Chromatika                 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
Pitching: O. de Witt 4.2 IP, 5 ER, L (0-1); B. Castreaux 4.1 IP

Qzvarkian Qaz              0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0  3
Chromatika                 0 0 0 1 0 3 3 0 X  7
Pitching: H. Angelou 9 IP, 3 ER, W (1-0)

In Game 1, Samuel Han pitched seven strong innings, conceding three runs on ten hits and getting out of a few bases loaded jams. Then, Joseph Edward Jr. pitched his best inning of the WBC so far. Hine Salle did the rest. Offensively, Mattieu Gammond got on base three times, Laure Valle drove in two runs, and Alisen Moyamoto had two stolen bases.

The Qzvarkian bats got ahead of Oscar de Watt, the Rhoni Rhonin pitcher being chased out after five innings. Leonid Hakeem pitched a gem for the underdogs, going eight strong innings before letting Bowser Henriksson take over for the final inning. Jason Duster was particularly dreadful in the game, striking out five times in the defeat.

Hilary Angelou took the mound for the rubber match and besides a three run homer from Dieter Schleiber, pitched a flawless complete game, ultimately giving up seven hits and the three runs in the victory. Jason Duster made up for his previous game, going four-for-four with five runs batted in, driving in a home run himself.

Chromatika will be better tested in the two series to come as The Sherpa Empire and Quintessence of Dust await.

Pitching Staff:
Starters:
H. Angelou: 2 Starts, 16 IP, 4 ER, (1-0), 1 ND
J. St. Augustine: 1 Start, 4.1 IP, 7 ER, (0-0), 1ND
M. Savey: 1 Start, 10 IP, 4 ER, (1-0)
S. Han: 1 Start, 7 IP, 3 ER, (1-0)
O. de Witt: 1 Start, 4.2 IP, 5 ER, (0-1)

Bullpen:
B. Castreaux: 4.1 IP, 0 ER
O. Bier: 3.2 IP, 0 ER, (1-0)
J. Edward, Jr.: 2 IP, 2 ER, (0-1)
H. Salle: 3 IP, 1 ER, 3 Saves

by **Xanneria** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 9:44 pm

XANAxis announces second empire for Empires VI
excerpt from http://www.xangamer.xan

The next announcement for a nation in Empire VI has been made. The Classic Atlantian Oceanic nation of Starblaydia will be a part of Empires VI. But here's the twist, instead of a leader in government, it's a leader on the pitch. That's right Simone Di Brandi is the leader of the Starblaydian Empire

by **Delaclava** » Wed Mar 31, 2021 10:09 pm

DSGN.com Baseball

Quick recap: Phoenixes at .500 after six WBC games
2-1 in Drawkland, 1-2 in Hannasea (Hannasea??)

by **Bardney** » Thu Apr 01, 2021 8:10 am

Regardless of results on the field, new base ball is a victory for workers

Jack Merriman, Workers' Voice

The courageous decision of Bardneyian base ball players to break off from their capitalist oppressors and form the Bardneyian Association of Professional Base Ball, as well as compete in the Escandinavian Base Ball Championship must be applauded by workers everywhere. By taking control of their own labor and choosing to say no to exploitation, they set a model for workers throughout this country that must be followed. Regardless of how their performance goes on the field, their decision to align themselves with the rest of the world and to resist bosses and the ruling class is a shining beacon of hope for the workers' movement.

Unlike the benighted players in the World Base Ball Classic, the players at the EBC are choosing their own destiny, their own course. They chose their labor and their class and their freedom over the oppression and exploitation of the NAPBBC. It is true that the Bardney team at the WBC swept their foes Hicaña, with the Dartford Flash again tossing nine innings of one-run ball in game one. It is true that players like the Duquesne Dynamite and "Gentleman" Eddie Whitcomb proved instrumental in striking home six runs in game two, without which Bardney would have lost. And it is certainly true that Too-Tall Tad narrowly missed out on a no-hitter in game three. We cannot help but appreciate the talents that workingmen have. But what is more important is their behavior. In choosing to stick with their teams and side with their oppressors against the working man, they continue to perpetuate wage slavery and distract the masses from their plight.

By contrast, even though the Bardneyian team at the EBC failed to score a single run in their match against Zhong Gua, they struck a blow for freedom everywhere. By simply showing that when workingmen cooperate, they can achieve independence from their bosses, they have already become victorious. Additionally, they furthered the cause of proletarian internationalism. Unlike the chauvinistic Bardney WBC team, they found common cause with the Zhong Guans after the game and celebrated with them. One can only hope that this attitude of friendship prevails in Bardney, as the lot of Zhong Guans here is of the uttermost misery due to prejudices stirred up by the capitalist class. The cadres of the Communist Party of Zhong Gua assured me that when the revolution comes in Bardney, they will be our nation's firmest ally. We may also derive pleasure from the defeat of the fascist imperialist Taiyou Teikoku base ball team again. A team from the social-democratic republic of Jyvaskla shut them out, dropping them to 0-2 in the competition. Since fascist imperialist regimes are built on a faulty foundation of assumed superiority, we can only assume that this loss of face will cause the entire system to collapse on itself. The freedom of the oppressed peoples of the Taiyouan Empire will soon be at hand, and socialists around the Pacific will join in the fight.

Take heart, comrades! Sport is a weapon in the hands of the revolutionary, and the inherent contradictions of capitalism are already beginning to show as more and more workingmen flock to our banner! The revolution will be soon, and it will be occasioned by workingmen everywhere throwing off their chains, as some of our finest base ball players are already demonstrating.

Group A
Lukanga                 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Apenninia               0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 X  3

Hellaniki               0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  2
PUdA                    0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 X  3


  Group A               Pld   W  L   RF  RA  RD  Pts 
1 PUdA                    2   2  0    7   2  +5    6
2 Lukanga                 2   1  1    9   9   0    3
3 Apenninia               2   1  1    3   6  −3    3
4 Hellaniki               2   0  2    8  10  −2    0

Group B
Alemagnia               0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Benelujx                1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 X  5

Guryeo                  0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0  3
Notosland               0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3  6


  Group B               Pld   W  L   RF  RA  RD  Pts 
1 Benelujx                2   2  0    8   3  +5    6
2 Notosland               2   1  1    8   6  +2    3
3 Guryeo                  2   1  1    7   9  −2    3
4 Alemagnia               2   0  2    4   9  −5    0

Group C
Qatre-Rivieres          0 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 0  8
Sasunn                  2 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0  6

Bardney                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Zhong Gua               0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 X  2


  Group C               Pld   W  L   RF  RA  RD  Pts 
1 Zhong Gua               2   2  0   12   4  +8    6
2 Bardney                 2   1  1    7   5  +2    3
3 Qatre-Rivieres          2   1  1   11  13  −2    3
4 Sasunn                  2   0  2   10  18  −8    0

Group D
Malkhot bayt David      0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1  3
Hispali                 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1  4

Taiyou Teikoku          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Jyvasklya               0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 X  4


  Group D               Pld   W  L   RF  RA  RD  Pts 
1 Jyvaskyla               2   2  0   14   3 +11    6
2 Malkhot bayt David      2   1  1   12   8  +4    3
3 Hispali                 2   1  1    7  13  −6    3
4 Taiyou Teikoku          2   0  2    4  13  −9    0

OOC: Workers' Voice is the official newspaper of the Bardney Social Democratic Party. The team at the EBC is in no way affiliated with the party, though a couple of players probably vote for it.

by **Quintessence of Dust** » Thu Apr 01, 2021 8:33 am

(Provisional) box scores as posted on the TalkBaseball.qd website.


                      AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
I. Gennarelli CF       2   1   0   0   1   1   0  .294   1   2
  b–N. Kivimäki PH, CF 2   0   0   0   0   1   3  .333   0   0
N. Hisakawa SS         4   0   1   0   0   1   1  .211   2   5
R. Harris LF           4   1   2   0   0   0   1  .316   0   2
S. Akerström 3B        4   1   1   3   0   2   2  .571   3   6
B. Wilson RF           4   0   1   0   0   1   2  .438   1   4
S. Borgþórsson 1B      4   0   1   0   0   0   0  .294   1   6
L. Phelps C            4   0   3   0   0   0   0  .471   1   1
W. Lei P               2   0   0   0   0   1   1  .000   0   0
  J. Isaacson P        0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  a–T. Kaufer PH       1   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  A. Lacroix P         0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  C. Mao P             0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  c–J. Stensrud PH     0   0   0   0   1   0   0  .333   0   0
Y. Hanazawa 2B         3   0   0   0   1   1   3  .286   1   1

a–T. Kaufer pinch-hit for J. Isaacson in the 7th
b–N. Kivimäki pinch-hit for I. Gennarelli in the 7th
b–J. Stensrud pinch-hit for C. Mao in the 9th

Doubles: S. Borgþórsson (1, 2nd inning, 0 on, 0 outs), L. Phelps 2 (2, 2nd inning, 0 on, 1 out; 9th inning, 0 on, 1 out)
Home runs: S. Akerström (3, 3rd inning, 2 on, 1 out)
Total bases: L. Phelps 5, S. Akerström 4, R. Harris 2, S. Borgþórsson 2, N. Hisakawa, B. Wilson
2-out RBI: I. Gennarelli, Y. Hanazawa
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: B. Wilson, Y. Hanazawa, N. Kivimäki
GIDP: S. Borgþórsson, T. Kaufer
Team LOB: 6

BASERUNNING
SB: N. Hisakawa (1)

                        IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS  ERA
W. Lei L (0 – 1)       5.0  8   5   5   1   4   1  92  65 9.00
J. Isaacson            2.0  1   0   0   0   1   0  18  14 0.00
A. Lacroix             1.0  0   0   0   0   0   0   6   4 0.00
C. Mao                 1.0  0   0   0   0   2   0  12   7 0.00

Game score: W. Lei 34
Batters faced: W. Lei 24, J. Isaacson 7, A. Lacroix 3, C. Mao 3
Ground outs – fly outs: W. Lei 6 – 5, J. Isaacson 2 – 3, A. Lacroix 2 – 1, C. Mao 0 – 1


                      AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
I. Gennarelli CF, LF   5   0   2   1   0   1   0  .318   1   3
N. Hisakawa SS         5   0   1   0   0   2   2  .208   2   5
R. Harris LF           2   0   0   0   0   0   3  .286   0   2
  a–N. Kivimäki PH, CF 1   1   0   0   2   1   0  .250   0   0
S. Akerström 3B        3   0   1   1   1   0   1  .529   3   7
  e–T. Kaufer          1   0   0   0   0   0   1  .000   0   0
B. Wilson RF           3   0   0   0   1   0   3  .368   1   4
  M. Ryan P            0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  d–J. Stensrud C      0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .333   0   0
S. Borgþórsson 1B      3   1   0   0   1   0   3  .250   1   6
L. Phelps C            3   1   2   1   1   0   0  .500   1   2
  A. Lacroix P         0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
Z. Jiang P             2   0   0   0   0   1   1  .000   0   0
  b–K. Lin PH          1   0   1   1   0   0   0  .667   0   1
  C. Young P           0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  J-N. Boudreaux P     0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  c–T. Brøndum RF      1   0   0   0   0   0   1  .000   0   0
Y. Hanazawa 2B         4   1   1   0   0   0   2  .278   1   1

a–N. Kivimäki pinch-hit for R. Harris in the 5th
b–K. Lin pinch-hit for Z. Jiang in the 5th
c–T. Brøndum substituted for J-N. Boudreaux in the 8th
d–J. Stensrud substituted for M. Ryan in the 9th
e–T. Kaufer pinch-hit for S. Akerström in the 9th

Total bases: L. Phelps 2, I. Gennarelli 2, N. Hisakawa, S. Akerström, K. Lin, Y. Hanazawa
2-out RBI: S. Akerström, I. Gennarelli, L. Phelps, K. Lin
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: S. Borgþórsson 2, B. Wilson
Team LOB: 9

FIELDING
Errors: N. Hisakawa (1)
Double plays: 1 (Hanazawa – Borgþórsson – Hisakawa)

                                  IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS  ERA
Z. Jiang                         5.0  3   2   2   2   5   0  89  54  3.60
C. Young                         1.0  2   1   1   0   2   0  23  16  9.00
J-N. Boudreaux BS (1) L (0 – 1)  1.2  3   2   2   0   0   0  32  19 10.80
M. Ryan                          0.1  2   1   1   2   0   0  15   5 27.00
A. Lacroix                       1.0  1   0   0   1   1   0  13   7  0.00

Game score: Z. Jiang 59
Batters faced: Z. Jiang 21, C. Young 5, J-N. Boudreaux 7, M. Ryan 4, A. Lacroix 5
Ground outs – fly outs: Z. Jiang 5 – 5, C. Young 1 – 0, J-N. Boudreaux 4 – 0, M. Ryan 0 – 0, A. Lacroix 1 – 1
Inherited runners – scored: M. Ryan 2 – 2


                      AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
I. Gennarelli CF       5   0   1   0   0   1   1  .296   1   3
N. Hisakawa SS         4   0   0   0   0   0   1  .179   2   5
Y. Hanazawa 2B         4   0   0   0   0   1   1  .227   1   1
T. Kaufer 1B           4   0   0   0   0   0   1  .000   0   0
B. Wilson LF           4   1   1   0   0   2   1  .348   1   4
K. Lin 3B              3   2   2   2   1   1   0  .667   1   5
L. Phelps C            4   2   4   1   0   0   0  .583   2   3
J. Martin P            0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .250   0   0
  M. Murphy P          0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  a–A. Lacroix PH      1   0   0   0   0   0   2  .000   0   0
  J. Béranger P        0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  b–N. Kivimäki PH     1   0   1   1   0   0   0  .400   0   1
  J. Fujioka P         0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  c–S. Borgþórsson PH  0   0   0   1   0   0   0  .250   1   7
  M. Ryan P            0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  C. Mao P             0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .000   0   0
  d–S. Akerström PH    1   0   0   0   0   0   0  .500   3   7
T. Brøndum RF          4   0   0   0   0   0   1  .000   0   0

a–A. Lacroix pinch-hit for M. Murphy in the 2nd
b–N. Kivimäki pinch-hit for J. Béranger in the 5th
c–S. Borgþórsson pinch-hit for J. Fujioka in the 7th
d–S. Akerström pinch-hit for C. Mao in the 9th

Doubles: L. Phelps (3, 5th inning, 0 on, 1 out)
Triples: I. Gennarelli (1, 8th inning, 0 on, 0 outs)
Home runs: K. Lin (1, 9th inning, 1 on, 0 outs), L. Phelps (2, 9th inning, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total bases: L. Phelps 8, K. Lin 5, I. Gennarelli 3, N. Kivimäki, B. Wilson
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: A. Lacroix, T. Kaufer
GIDP: T. Brøndum
Sac fly: S. Borgþórsson
Team LOB: 5

FIELDING
Errors: L. Phelps (1), Y. Hanazawa (1), N. Hisakawa (2)

                        IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS  ERA
J. Martin L (1 – 1)    1.2  5   6   6   2   1   1  56  35 32.40
M. Murphy              0.1  1   0   0   0   0   0   7   5  0.00
J. Béranger            3.0  2   0   0   2   2   0  38  21  0.00
J. Fujioka             2.0  2   2   1   0   0   0  29  18  4.50
M. Ryan                0.2  1   0   0   0   0   0  18  12  0.00
C. Mao                 1.1  1   0   0   0   2   0  23  15  0.00

Game score: J. Martin 26
Batters faced: J. Martin 12, M. Murphy 2, J. Béranger 14, J. Fujioka 10, M. Ryan 5, C. Mao 5
Ground outs – fly outs: J. Martin 1 – 3, M. Murphy 1 – 0, J. Béranger 4 – 3, J. Fujioka 3 – 3, M. Ryan 0 – 2, C. Mao 0 – 2
Inherited runners – scored: M. Murphy 1 – 1, C. Mao 1 – 0

by **TJUN-ia** » Thu Apr 01, 2021 8:43 am

Game 1: Karditan (46) 5-4 TJUN-ia (9) (F/12) (KRD lead series 1-0)
The 2nd and final series of the return of TJUN-ian baseball would see Jose Almas starting on the mound as the Wild Kards of Karditan came to Rounders Field. The Battin' Jags were hoping to bounce back from a rubber-game loss to HUElavia, but Karditan would have the momentum in the opening innings as the 1st, 3rd and 5th innings would see a run from our opponents (including a homer by Tremor in the 3rd). Almas would be brought off for Kim Tsu-Ka and things would certainly begin to get more interesting as innings 6-8 would see the Jags outscore the Kards 4-1, including a 2-tun bomb by Bryce Calhoun in the 7th. That left the game tied at 4-4 and with nothing coming of the 9th, we were heading to extras. This would longer than expected, as both 10th and 11th innings also produced nothing, but the 11th certainly would as Adam Ezell sent a go-ahead ball out of the park. TJUN-ia would try and have a final say in this one but Dave Saroyan did enough to hand the Jags its 2nd loss of the WBC so far.

Game 2: Karditan (46) 2-3 TJUN-ia (9) (F/10) (Series tied 1-1)
After that disappointment, we reset with Kyle McNash taking on Pablo Maraville on the pitcher's mound. Things would certainly start hot as both Pedro Moires and Artillery "Art" Support sent souvenirs into the ravenous crowd but after that, things would dry up pretty quickly. McNash and Maraville turned into enforcers of pain and nothing that either Enrique Lopez or Manny D'aquisto could suggest for the batters seemed to help end this drought of offensive play. Both Phillip Hellas-Verona and Gale Wind were getting pretty ticked off about this whole thing, but things would certainly change (finally)...in the 10th. Maraville thought he won this game and the series as he was allowed to walk to home plate at the top of the inning, but McNash had other ideas and his 2-run bomb to deep left walk off the game at 3-2 and tied this series up in dramatic fashion.

Game 3: Karditan (46) 3-8 TJUN-ia (9) (TJU won series 2-1)
After that...peace. Chris Harris started and he would have no real worries until the 7th, as a 2-run bomb sent Carlos Buena to the mound to finish up the contest, but by then, TJUN-ia's series win would nearly be locked in after a Grand Slam by Rafael Llorente in the 4th. Buena had enough time out there to be the game and series clincher in the bottom of the 7th, his 3-run shot going beyond the wall to the roar of the crowd. It may have been tight at times, but TJUN-ia was still going to leave Portside with 2 series wins in the bag and at 4-2, things are certainly looking interesting in the group. Both Zwangzug and unranked BohemiaIV join the Jaguars on that record and with a big series on the road at unranked Tierra de Castro coming up, winning as many games as possible before matchups with the other leading teams is definitely a must. GO JAGS!

SCHEDULE (Group 7)
S1: vs HUElavia (29) - Rounders Field, Portside W 2-1 (2nd)
S2: vs Karditan (46) - Rounders Field, Portside W 2-1 (3rd)
S3: @Tierra de Castro (UR) - Centro Nacional de Béisbol, Tierra de Castro
S4: vs BohemiaIV (UR) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
----------------BREAK TIME----------------
S5: @Zwangzug (12) - Worm Hole, Spenson
S6: @HUElavia (29)
S7: @Karditan (46) - Big Island Field, Ponyburgh
----------------BREAK TIME----------------
S8: vs Tierra de Castro (UR) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington
S9: @BohemiaIV (UR)
S10: vs Zwangzug (12) - Rounders Field, Portside

works? · by **Abanhfleft** » Thu Apr 01, 2021 9:36 am

MUSINGS OF AN ARMORED DINNER JACKET
Official blog of Ibrahim Ahmadinejad, former Right Fielder of the Verbergerkinnh Cubs and the Abanhfleft Revolution

AGE SOMETIMES FEEL LIKE IT'S NOT JUST A NUMBER ANYMORE

The Abanhfleft Revolution All-Stars stand for the national anthem before Game 3 of their away series against The Jovannic U21 Red Princes in the 12th International Baseball Slam. (Courtesy of Crescent News Network Sports Channel/Umkhonto Thabowane)

WRITING FROM PLUVIE - I'm not sure why I just suddenly flashed back to the time that I was playing for the Revolution All-Stars in the 12th International Baseball Slam a few years back, but I guess it's because it's kind of related to the meat of the matter of this particular blog post of mine, but we'll get to that later. The flashback I'm talking about here dates back to that time the Revolutiona All-Stars played The Jovannic's U21 Red Princes in IBS XII. I can't remember exactly which game it was, but it defintely was during the series where Abanhfleft went to The Jovannic. In the flashback I was on third base, and the batter had just hit a big one. I knew what I had to do, but I had no idea if I was going to make it. I'm not even sure how I managed to cover the distance between third base and home plate. Not that I'm arthritic; I'm just surprised I could still do it at my age. I mean sure, I'm not a professional baseball player anymore, but I still keep up with my training (well really, more because it's become an ingrained habit from all those years I spent in the minors and majors), but I also never would have expected myself to be able to turn on the jets one more time to score a run. Sure, it was in a game we lost, but whatever. I still got it. We didn't go that far in that IBS, if I remember correctly. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Now we get to the reason why this flashback is relevant to the current blog post. Watching old man Doyle Rotz rushing from third to home on those short little legs of his to score the leading run in the top of the sixth of Game 1 against Pluvie reminded me of what I did in that game against The Jovannic. It's probably because I looked just like he did when I was reaching for home. If only Petey Langford hadn't dropped the ball so hard in the final inning. Oh, the memories. Ah, the World Baseball Classic. Oh, how I've missed you. How I've missed the craziness and shenanigans that teams pull to take home the dub or hand it straight to the opponent. It's so comforting to know that Abanhfleft is still the inconsistently exhilarating and heartbreaking mess that it was when I left it. Ah, yes. Insert chef's kiss here. I haven't been able to keep up with the Abanhfleft Revolution ever since I became a co-host for the car magazine show Top Speed. Shameless plug, I know, but if there's anything out there that could possibly hope about competing with my love for baseball, it's my love of cars and going fast. As I was saying, I haven't been able to keep up with the World Baseball Classic thanks to my hosting duties with Top Speed, and judging by the results, looks like I haven't missed that much anyway. Anyway, I'm here now, and I have to say I'm feeling strangely optimistic about this particular classic.

But if we're going to continue down this path then I don't think I'll be able to hang on to this optimistic feeling for long. Peter Langford, there's a reason why you've been Abanhfleft's closer for more than ten years now. Game 1 against Pluvie was all set for you to see out. And you were already two-thirds of the way there, my friend! You've already struck out two of their batters. All Petey had to do was to get a third Pluvie batter out and this game would have been ours. But first one, and then two Pluvie batters got walked, and you could see the frustration beginning to crease Petey's forehead. And like many people out there, Peter Langford doesn't do his best work while frustrated. The current Pluvie batter was 2-2; all Petey needed was one more out. The plan that was probably on his mind was to throw a slider since that had worked for him so well earlier in getting the first two outs. But somewhere on the neural pathway between his brain and his arm, the message got mixed up and instead of a slider, Langford threw a slurve. And wouldn't you know it, it's a home run. A three-run homer as well. Truly the most Fleftic way to let slip a narrow 2-1 lead in baseball. Never change, my beloved Revolution. Never change. This is the Armored Dinner Jacket saying ciao, peace. Catch you in my next post.

World Baseball Classic 51 – Everything Thread (IC)

Batter Up!: Short-ish Summaries (vs Karditan)

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