Banijans riding their ace in effort to return to the knockout stages of the World Baseball Classic
27 year old starting pitcher Assan Condé throws a pitch in their Matchday 19 game against Schlitzberg
ISTRIA, MORAVICA- The Banijans have been pulling out all the stops in what seems like a desperate attempt to get back to the knockout stages. While the Banijans have had a strong group stage in general, following up nicely after a hot 5-0 start to stay towards the top of the group for largely the entirety of the group stages, you cannot accuse them of sitting back and resting on their laurels, on what they've accomplished so far. No, Ousman Kakay is managing with his pants on fire. With shifting the rotation around, and using his middle relievers and substitutions aggressively, many players are commenting that Kakay seems locked in- like he's in playoff mode already. Specifically, we must talk about his efforts to use the rotation to its highest point of effectiveness.
The group stages of the World Baseball Classic, for this tournament, and most of the ones that the Banijans have participated in, are structured in a certain way. There are six groups of six, and the top two teams in each group, plus the top four third place squads, will qualify for the knockout stages. In the six groups of six, of course, each team will play each other six times, for a total of 30 games per team. And the way the scheduling is setup, if you're running a five man rotation for the group stages, like Banija is, then your starters, without adjustment, are generally locked in. And unfortunately for Banija, that meant that our #4 and #5 starters in the rotation were locked to face Banija's toughest opponents six times each- Schlitzberg and Ko-oren, both teams ranked in the top 10. Not to mention, that even though Banija is ranked 20th, we're all the way down in Pot 4- an unfortunate happenstance for a team trying to reclimb the ladder in this sport after sliding 8 spots down that ladder after a disastrous 45th World Baseball Classic.
Just looking at that, of course, one can see the obvious problem- as these opponents get to learn out pitcher's weaknesses, as they face the same pitchers over and over again, especially those back of the rotation pitchers, that could cause some serious problems getting towards the end of the group stages. If the Banijans are desperately fighting for a knockout stage berth with only a few games remaining, or if they are in thick of a race for a knockout stage berth, and they're facing teams like Ko-oren and Schlitzberg, who have already faced the same pitchers multiple times before, well, any baseball fan understands the problem that was faced. And so when Ousman Kakay released the pitching schedule, he, understanding that Banija would most likely be in the thick of a race for a knockout stage berth, wanted to give his own team a maximum chance of winning, like all managers do. And what did that mean? Moving his big name starters, specifically Assan Condé and Banta Jawara, around in the rotation for two reasons. One, giving your best starters extra starts is a good way to win more games. And secondly, giving your starters extra starts against the tournament's best teams gives you a chance to win every game, which is what the Banijans certainly want.
The first time he broke from the rotation, was on Matchday 15. Banija's third game against Ko-oren, a visit to their Atlantian Oceania rivals on Matchday 15, saw Assan Condé lined up to go, on the mound, on three days rest. This is something, of course, that he had never done in his career. Was he ready to take on those extra innings, on three days rest, halfway through the group stages? The idea, of course, of riding your ace against the biggest opponents is a big one. And boy, did that manuever pay off. He put in a dominating, even if it was short, performance away from home in Ko-oren. He threw five shutout innings, giving up the ball in line for the win against Ko-oren, a game that the Banijans eventually did win. Came out, on short rest, and did the job against a strong opponent.
But then, here is what happened. Not only did this happen once, but Kakay, maybe wanting to tempt fate, or really test his starter, or really in belief that he wanted the pitching matchups to change over time, threw Assan Condé out on three days rest again, this time, in a big game against Schlitzberg. Schlitzberg, of course, is a historical powerhouse in this sport, and they are in the top 10- certainly a team that is capable of winning the whole tournament, going in. Of course, they have seen some serious struggles, only having a 10-11 record, and four games back of both Banija and Ko-oren with just 9 left. However, they are still capable of beating almost anybody on any given day, and with Assan Condé pitching in his second straight start on three days rest, he answered the bell. He made quick work of the Schlitzberg lineup, throwing 6 shutout innings for a quality start. In that game, Gibril Sowe pitched the seventh, Sarjo Touré pitched the 8th, and Baturu closed it out for a 2-0 Banijan victory, on the road. A perfunctory pitching performance from this rotation, it showed their strength.
Ousman Kakay, after the game, talked about his decision to trust Assan Condé in these big games. "You know, you play better when you have your best players on the field, in the position to win games." He told us. "Going into the tournament, I figured that, at this point, it'd be every game that matters as we fought and hustled against this group for either a top 4 3rd place spot, or even the 2nd spot, which would mean an automatic berth. Of course, the equation has changed- we are looking, right now, in a good position to certainly get one of the automatic berths to the knockouts. But it's not just about making the knockouts- this team has never advanced pass the Round of 16 in the World Baseball Classic before, though we have an Olympic bronze medal from what feels like an eternity ago. The best way to do that? Beat Ko-oren out to the finish line, and win this group. That would be a huge milestone for this team, and for this program, and that is something that we certainly want to do."
" Assan Condé is the definition of a big game pitcher. Look what he's done in his last two starts, away against both Ko-oren and Schlitzberg, who are top 10 squads, both starts on short rest. HE threw a combined 11 innings in those two games, and did not allow a single run in either one. We won both games. Riding your horse is a solid strategy. Assan Condé is 27 years old- he, and his arm, are in the prime of his career. There aren't many pitchers who can come out and pull off the kind of back to back gutsy performances on short rest, both away from home, no less, like Assan Condé has done. As a manager, it is comforting to know that you have a pitcher that you can throw into important spots, like we just did, who will, when asked to do something unconventional, embrace it, and rise to the challenge. That kind of performance, that kind of heart, is what you can build a good team around."
We also talked to Assan Condé about it. "When Ousman told me that was the plan, I told him I'd do anything he asked of me." Assan Condé told reporters. "I want to advance in this tournament, I want us to finally have a deep run here. I've seen Banijans make deep runs in lacrosse, in gridiron football, on the hardwood, and hell, even on the ice in hockey. Why not baseball? And if this is what it takes, then dang, sign me up. I'm ready to go." As of now, Assan Condé has two more scheduled starts to make in this tournament, neither on short rest, with a Matchday 24 start against Schlitzberg on normal rest, and then another start against Schlitzberg on Matchday 29, also on normal rest.
Over the next few days, we'll see if this strategy is a workable one for the next pitcher in the rotation, Banta Jawara. He pitched on short rest against Pratapgadh in Matchday 21, and although we won- his line wasn't the greatest- 5 and 1/3rd innings, 7 hits, 2 walks, 4 earned runs. He'll be working on short rest once again on Matchday 25, against Ko-oren. And, of course, the last game of the group stages is against Ko-oren, the team that Banija is currently tied with for first place in Group 5. He is in line to make a start on that day at the Istria City Baseball Diamond, though of course, that one would be on normal rest. Both pitchers, with those extra starts, will be at 14 for the group stages, rather than 12. Will that gamble, for Kakay to pitch his starters on short rest, continue to work? It seems to have worked with Assan Condé- can Banta Jawara pull it off as well? We'll have to wait and see.
