World Baseball Classic 53 Everything Thread

by **TJUN-ia** » Tue Dec 14, 2021 9:11 am

Our 2nd series loss was many things: maybe a changing of the guard in this group, Milchama's time to reach the playoffs and another sign that TJUN-ia maybe isn't worthy of being considered #3 after all. But it was also the most chaotic of them all, at least in recent memory, so this needs a bit of a deep dive...

Game 1: TJUN-ia (3) 11-8 Milchama (39) (F/11) (TJU lead 1-0)
Davis Johnson would start against Shmuel Shmornen as the battle for Group G against Milchama looked to continue in earnest. With only a game separating the two sides at this point, everything was up for grabs here and that would certainly be reflected in what happened tonight. Milchama got off to a hot start thanks to a run via Annette Baker and a 2-run bomb by Emmett Willits, but Pedro Moires responded with a homer of his own to make it 2-1. But Willits was a player possessed here and his 3-run bomb made it 6-1 to the hosts, spelling the end for Johnson and giving Harrison Kyle a chance on the mound. He managed to hold the line for a time and during this time, the Battin' Jags would mount a fightback for the ages that went a little something like this: 3-run bomb by Matoko Kagawa, 6-4, 2-run homer by Steven Fulmer, 6-6, off comes Shmornen for Boom Tekblam, who concedes a further run to Kagawa to make it 7-6 Jags. That would be the position of this contest until the bottom of the 9th when Martin Jondon sent the ball out to tie the game, send Carlos Buena onto the mound and send this game as a whole to extras. The 10th would be nervy and produce nothing but the 11th surely would, with a Rafael Llorente Grand Slam and a final run from Amos Piochta capping off the 11-8 victory for the Jags and a very fun/stressful game of baseball overall.

Game 2: TJUN-ia (3) 2-8 Milchama (39) (Tied 1-1)
It would be Gene Almac vs Barish Adams for Game 2 of this series, but Almac wouldn't have a good day at all. He conceeded 4 runs before he was replaced by F. G. Greenwood, who then proceeded to conceed a 3-run homer and was himself sent off the mound That left former Cub Jason McRae to be shoved out there and he managed to conceed only 1 further run in the few innings he had, so at least the kid was alright in this lost contest. We did manage to score 2 runs in this game, 1 in the 4th and 1 in the 8th, but that wouldn't change the fact this series was tied and headed to the final game.

Game 3: TJUN-ia (3) 5-7 Milchama (39) (F/11) (MIL win series 2-1)
Jose Almas and Gal Tover would decided all the marbles and, once again, Micheal Handston (2-run bomb) and Yehudit Yehudon got the hosts to the hottest start that would be responded to by a 2-run bomb by Joe Gregory in due course. Then came a lul before back-to-back 1 run innings from the hosts (thanks to Micheal Handston and and a solo-bomb by Emmett Willits) saw Almas replaced by Kim Tsu-Ka, who would stabilise the ship while he was out there. The big moment would come in the 8th, when a 3-run bomb by Gregory again saw the scores tied at 5-5 and both Edwin Filip and Carlos Buena enter proceedings soon after that. The extras did arrive but the big moment, once again, came in the 11th, when Amos Piochta struck gold and hit a 2-run walk-off to not only win the game 7-5, but the series 2-1 and also confirm Milchama's participation in the playoffs in Banija.

That was certainly tough to take, but we have to keep going to ensure we make the cut ourselves as that isn't a surefire thing as of now. LIventia were the first to beat us in a series and now, we must head over to Port Cartfort for the first series of the campaign that utilises the DH. Killian O'Mally will be glad to hear that and with everything not certain with 6 games to play, we have to win this series now...for everyone's sake. GO JAGS!

SCHEDULE (Group G)
S1: vs Muralos (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside W 3-0 (1st)
S2: @Mylderm (UR) W 2-1 (2nd)
S3: vs Milchama (39) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington W 2-1 (1st)
S4: vs Liventia (15) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington L 1-2 (2nd)
----------------BREAK TIME----------------
S5: @Kriegiersien (18) W 2-1 (2nd/10-5/+39RD)
S6: @Muralos (UR) - Venko Field, Okcidenta-Havenurbo W 2-1 (2nd)
S7: vs Mylderm (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside W 3-0 (2nd)
----------------BREAK TIME----------------
S8: @Milchama (39) L 1-2 (2nd)
S9: @Liventia (15) - Port Cartfort Park, Port Cartfort
S10: vs Kriegiersien (18) - Rounders Field, Portside

by **Soldera** » Tue Dec 14, 2021 9:46 am

The differences between the first series between Soldera's national baseball team and Hannasea were numerous.

For starters, the first series took place at Prince Francis Stadium in Branwen while the second series was at Principality Ballpark in Old Blooping. Theprevious series between the teams saw both teams enter it with 3-3 records and merely a game out of the two knockout round positions, although it was still too early to talk seriously about playoff position. This series felt like a must-win for the Choughs, although you could say the same thing for Soldera. Hannasea came into this series at 11-10, still in contention for the knockout rounds despite trailing the 14-7 Snakes by three games. The pressure on Soldera was enormous. Win the series and the Snakes would put themselves in favorable position heading into their second consecutive away series against Sarzonia at Fleetwood Park in Woodstock. They would walk in on a high facing one of the elite teams in the multiverse at their place.

After the series, which saw Hannasea won two out of three games to remain in hailing distance of the knockout stages and prevented Soldera from driving the effective nail in the Choughs' coffin, the Snakes were dispirited. They dropped the first match of the series after forcing extra innings in Game 1 of the series, only to see the Choughs rally for the tying runs in the bottom of the 10th after Soldera took a two-run lead. Hannasea would plate the winning run in the bottom of the 16th as Dylan Baker, in his sixth inning of relief, threw a wild pitch with rightfielder Ethan Harman charging from third and sliding in just under the tag of catcher Mike Owens. That would force manager Ned Willingham to move his rotation up, both to account for Baker getting extensive work in relief and to ensure that his top three starting pitchers would pitch against the Stars in Woodstock.

"I don't give a shit that [Sarzonia manager Geoff Yancey] isn't starting [ace Jeff] Parrish" in the first match of the series, manager Ned Willingham said. "I've got to focus on my team." His team currently sit at 15-9, still in position for a knockout round berth, one game ahead of South Americanastan and ahead 3-0 in the season series against the Bears. However, the nine-game winning streak ended with that extra innings heartbreaker. The Snakes now carry a one-game losing streak with them on the flight to Woodstock.

The Stars (17-7) would get their own disappointment as they lost the first game of their series at Aji No Moto, the worst team in Group C by far. However, Sarzonia rebounded to win the next two games and found themselves two matches clear of the Snakes for the group title. They also sit three games ahead of the Bears with six games left.

"It's going to be interesting," Willingham said. For once, Yancey agreed.

"These stakes are as high as they've been in a while," Yancey said of his team's series against the Snakes. "They've proven themselves to be a team we have to take seriously. That final series in Woodstock is not going to be a coronation."

by **Sarzonia** » Tue Dec 14, 2021 10:10 am

"What a fucking letdown."

Manager Geoff Yancey was fuming after the Sarzonian national baseball team looked flat to start off their series opener against Aji No Moto. He watched as starter Mark Conroy couldn't get out of the second inning, allowing six runs on five hits, two walks and two hit batsmen. He'd trudged out to the mound with Aji No Moto up four runs to check to make sure Conroy was physically well. He'd gone to the South Newlandian umpire with the team's trainer in tow and advised him he was doing a medical visit rather than a mound trip.

After giving up a home run to put the home team ahead by six runs, Yancey made a trip to the mound and signaled for lefthanded long reliever Dima Ostrelov. When he jogged up to the mound, he asked Yancey, "any instructions?"

"Just go as long as you can," Yancey said. That meant Ostrelov would work four innings before Alfred Wagner would come in for three more innings. Carnie Weston would get the last two outs in the frustrating 6-5 defeat that dropped Sarzonia to 15-7 with Soldera and Hannasea still battling it out in extra innings. A Snakes victory would draw both teams level and provide an interesting prelude to the suddenly all important series looming at Fleetwood Park against the Snakes. Fortunately for the Stars, they would do their part to lower the pressure threshold in the next two matches. Jamie Pearson would work five innings, surviving a three-run inning to secure a 6-3 win. Then it was Brian Lynch's turn. He worked seven innings before five relievers finished the job in Sarzonia's 6-2 win to capture the series two games to one.

As Yancey sat in the first class cabin on the way back to Woodstock, he, bench coach Brad Rowland and pitching coach Calen George looked over the scouting reports and the note that Snakes manager Ned Willingham moved up his ace to start the opening match of the series. Yancey already had the request from Jeff Parrish to move up to start the opener against the Snakes. But with Conroy struggling against Aji No Moto of all teams, Yancey felt he couldn't ask Conroy to pitch on short rest, even though he'd only tossed 56 pitches in 1 2/3 innings.

"They're starting [David] Maxwell on short rest," George said.

"I think they had to use their fifth starter in relief against Hannasea," Rowland said.

"Didn't that first game go 16?" George asked.

"Yeah." Rowland said.

"I don't blame them," Yancey said. "Still, if we start Parrish, I don't think we can pitch Conroy on short rest."

"He only threw 56 pitches," Rowland said. "If he's not hurting physically, I think we can pitch him."

"What about pitching Alton [Long, the Stars No. 5 starter] in Game 2?" George asked.

"No, we're not doing that," Yancey said.

"What about a bullpen game?" George persisted.

"Look," Yancey said. "I'm OK with starting Parrish if we feel we need to start him, but I think we can do just fine with Long and then Parrish. Unless we've got injury concerns with Conroy."

"I just got the MRI results. We had doctors look at his arm, his elbow, everything," Howland said. "He's fine. Physically at least. He just hasn't pitched particularly well. Ok, we don't have a consensus here," Howland said. "It really is up to you, boss."

Yancey nodded. At this stage in the game, were he bench coach under Khalil Dennis, this would be where he'd make the recommendation about whether to move Parrish up to the top spot in the rotation. Now, he was responsible for the decision. And with the pressure still on the hosts to clinch their spot against an unranked team that was drawing attention in the baseball multiverse for winning 15 games so far, he knew what he had to do.

He picked up his mobile phone and said, "Jeff, get ready."

He knew he'd said he'd stay with the normal rotation, but with the games against the Snakes being this important, and with Soldera starting its top three pitchers, Yancey knew he had to pivot if he wanted his team to not to have to sweat in their final series in Cassadaigua.

[OOC: The starters are going to be Parrish, Conroy, and Pearson for this series.]

by **Zwangzug** » Tue Dec 14, 2021 2:30 pm

Worms are not the most intimidating or fearsome mascot you can imagine--then again, this is coming from the country that thought Zebras would be a good name to use for their national team, in a world of Warriors and Bears and Jaguars and Tigrs. And yet, Spenson have always been the Worms.

It's fitting, then, that the ever-shifting win expectancy graphs that contort at abrupt angles as teams' chances of victory soar and plummet have been personified by Wally the Worm in the Quodite press--it was rediscovering a scorecard from two long-gone Zwangzug pro teams, the Danhy Monkeygeese and the Trink Fishcattigerstuff, that prompted these graphs to become popular. But Spenson's mascot is older than that.

In part, it's acknowledging the potential for decay. In cities like Zwischen, they put up walls to keep the world out, and Spenson is there to say: try as you might, but the worms will get you anyway. And in part, it's an cosmology joke. If they're the Worms, then they can call their stadium the Worm Hole, a portal to the distant universe. The city that was built around the spaceport now has its own culture, its own pride, but they still dream of the stars. The stadium, fittingly, is mostly high-tech, albeit with an anachronistic modern scoreboard. And the Zebras have chosen to make it their home, too.

Not really, Griffith thinks. The choice was made years before his time, before any of their times, and they've stuck with it out of inertia as much as anything else. A body at rest stays at rest. A body in motion continues to orbit, the wave cresting and pulsing around the seats, carried in a living medium: the fans themselves.

Quentin is the only Worm present on the current roster, which suggests he's their best player. And when your best player is a middle reliever, that's not saying much. He comes in with two outs in the ninth after Evgeni's blows the lead, and works hastily with his warm-up pitches. Relievers like to complain when they don't get "clean" innings, when they're rushed in because it's a high-leverage situation. When there are runners on base who they didn't put there and don't want to take the blame for, if they score. But Quentin ignores Hamerov, taking his lead off second, ignores the crowd, and gets Greditz-Walters to pop up to Kajsa at second.

In the tenth inning, Liu sends him out again.

There's no telling whether he's annoyed or grateful, or some of each. He shakes off Jorgi, then gets Adenov to bounce to Kelly at first, unassisted. One away. Josepph de Haller is up next. He fouls a couple off to the left, pulled hard, and then Quentin hits him in the knee.

Whitney is warming in the bullpen, and Liu walks out, slowly, to talk to Quentin. Stalling for time? Time is strange in the Worm Hole; maybe this is a memory of the past, recalled by some fan charting the Zebras' path through the Classic. Maybe it's a vision of the future, as young Griffith takes in a game in Spenson and dreams of playing for the national team.

Liu says something curt and sees herself out. Hevan-Caritz, who didn't get to start, hits in the eighth spot in place of Dezehaught, who pitched the ninth. The first pitch is low on the ground to Kajsa. Griffith instinctively races to cover second, but she takes it herself, then flips to Kelly, somehow managing to evade both the sprinting de Haller and a stumbling Griffith as she spins.

Quentin's spot is due to lead off the bottom of the tenth, so Jenna bats instead. She fouls off several pitches from Sevigursson, but ultimately is induced to foul out to the catcher, Adenov. Kajsa is next, and gets a long single to right. She makes a wide turn, but is waved back to the bag. They're at home, they have the advantage of knowing how much or how little they need to play for. It's okay to take it slow.

And take it slow is what Sevigursson does to Maia, sending a few tasty changeups over the heart of the plate. But Maia is anxious or not seeing the ball well, because she swings early, angular momentum carrying her around in the batter's box. Two away.

Tyrone is tall and muscular, who looks like a slugger and has no hidden depths. He is a Panther, joining the Tigers, Wildcats, and Bears in the "realistically dangerous carnivores" mascot taxonomy. He twists his hands back and forth on the bat, less to adjust his grip than to show that he can.

One thing about away games is that you can't walk off during them. Whether in Atheara's twelve-inning games or the 189's Earth base, from Esportiva to Rushmore, Zwischen to Spenson, walking off is reserved for the home team. Even if most of the time they're running off in a one-run game or bouncing and bounding off when they have the luxury of a dead ball, and it's the visitors who slowly shuffle off, later.

On a 2-0 count, Sevigursson hangs a slider over the outside corner, and Tyrone makes contact, the trajectory launching it on an arc into the bleachers. There is no shortage of fuel for these kinds of moonshots.

by **StrayaRoos** » Tue Dec 14, 2021 9:43 pm

Roosian Baseball has reacted badly to an day everyone knew was coming,Star Player and Legend Ter has announced he is retiring from baseball after the end of the 53rd World Baseball Classic,An Player of over 1000 games for StrayaRoos,Pale,South StrayaRoos and Coal Coast in addition to being the National Captain for 27 Games plus the All-Time Runs and Outs records in The StrayaRoosProLeague and StrayaRoos Championships will leave an big hole in the Emus Plans for the future with The new captain being Pitcher Yuaj Kui and the new catcher is Lucilla Treay of The Panem Revolution in Pro League W who will debut in the Upcoming games against Tikariot.Ter's Testimonial will take place at an later date (OOC-TG Me if you want the Side to take on your national team)

by **Eshialand** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 12:35 am

"Wow, well done! I think it's safe to say that you have full control over your magical aura!"
"Wait, really?"
"Yep! You're officially one of us!"

For the king, the past week of training with Al Lainsbury had been difficult to say the least. Just being able to control this newfound ability was more than a tough task for him, so to hear that it was finally done was certainly a relief.

"So I can go home now?"
"Well... I'd like to keep you here for a couple more days, just to make sure nothing weird's going on. If we've solved the problem, then you should be free to go soon enough, but if not... I shudder to think about whatever it is that's causing you to act so oddly lately could do with channeled magical aura..."
"But I have a school in an underprivileged neighborhood to visit, I can't just blow that off..."
"Ask Michael to do it! He'd probably be more than--"

"No." Michael flatly replied when the king told him about the school trip an hour later.
"Why not? This is an important visit! Not every student in Eshialand has access to the same education, so this trip is to promote every student's ability to learn to their full potential!"
"Okay, so let's say I did visit. The students will be upset that they didn't get to see you, the school board will be upset that I don't understand the ins and outs of the situation, so what kind of benefit could I bring to the table?"

"Well, as for the recognition with the kids, we can call some famous actor who needs a good deed to atone for the last girlfriend he dumped and allegedly attempted to murder. As for the school board... well come on now, I've seen you steer the geopolitical ship before, surely doing a bit of homework on the Eshian education system won't be too much for you to handle..."

"Okay, but why me? I'm sure there are other people who could do this who don't need to magically transport themselves across the country to do it!"
"I can't contact them from here, now can I? Come on, it'll be great! For the kids!"
"Uggghh, fine. Just tell me what I need to know, and I'll be on my way..."
"I'm sure you can find my reading material in my office, after all, you find everything else in there!" William said with a wink.

"That king will never cease to confuse me, I swear..."
"What is it, Michael?" Prime Minister Peterson asked him as we was reading over a study on broadband internet access among grade schoolers.
"Why does that guy think that I'm the best for this job? I can name at least 5 people who are both more talented and more recognizable than me, why not call them?"

"Look, Michael..." the Prime Minister replied, "I know you might be confused, and I know I've called him an idiot more times than I can count..."
"But that's because he is an idiot."
"Ha ha ha, yeah... but I think, in his own weird way, that he's trying to train you for a life in politics."
"But I don't have any political education, so I doubt I'd ever be able to get into politics on any serious level..."

"Michael... education takes many forms. While you may not have been educated in politics in high school or college, there's so much that happens outside of an academic context. This, right here, is your education. Sure, you won't get a diploma for visiting this school and talking to the school board about how to close the socio-economic education gap, but in politics, that doesn't matter much. It's not like any other job, where some bigwig looks over a resume, looking for those buzzwords that scream 'I'm a hireable candidate! Pick me!'. In politics, if you know your stuff, the people will see that. What the king's having you read right now is an important step in your education. Believe it or not, the king wants to see you in politics. He sees you as a good candidate for office in the future, and I'm inclined to, for once in my life, agree with him. Take this job he's given you. Go to that school, and knock 'em dead. Now if you'd excuse me, I have to go lecture 500 juveniles about why we shouldn't replace every stop sign to make the text on them 1% bolder."

"Wait, but--"

The Prime Minister already left the room, smiling back at Michael as he walked out.

"That was... odd... back to work then, I'll just pretend that was a weird daydream or something..."

by **Super-Llamaland** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 2:31 am

With six games to play in the group stage for WBC53, Super-Llamaland sat comfortably in second place in their group, two games ahead of Le Choix and The 189 despite losing critical series to both on back-to-back weekends. Despite an earlier sweep of group leaders Zwangzug, the 2-4 stretch had sunk any chance the Tigers had of catching up to their Pot 1 rivals. Worse still, their pedestrian 14-10 record (which they'd been somewhat lucky to achieve, given that they had a run differential of -5) had them in line for the fifteenth seed and a date with high-flying WBC52 finalists Quintessence of Dust in the Round of 16. In their current form, it was not a matchup they would survive. With their three best opponents out of the way and only the likes of Atheara and Behetij left to play, the Tigers had chances to improve this record (although they had already lost a series to Atheara in humiliating fashion). With quite a few 14-10 and 15-11 teams to leapfrog, they had (at least in theory) chances to get an easier Ro16 draw - the analysts were eyeing Eshialand out of Group A, although there was always the risk they'd end up with Banija instead.

But none of this was really good enough for Isaac Oladipo, who'd been told many times by the FA - and once, accidentally, by national sporting news outlets - that he was gone if he couldn't secure convincing progression to the quarterfinals. And while 18-12 or 19-11 might be enough to get a reasonable draw (and hit a milestone 500 wins for the national team in WBC play), quarterfinals progression was far from secure in this modern, more competitive WBC. Even this had been the absolute bare minimum for the Llamanean Baseball Association, who'd never fully grasped the concept that their national team was no longer particularly good like it had been in the 30s and early 40s. They'd been back for five cycles now - in their first try, they'd won it all on the sixth - but had shown precious little signs of progress, even when they'd listened to the criticism and backed a manager for three straight cycles.

Of course, Oladipo's position had been secured slightly more by another recent announcement - Maddie Polanco wasn't going to join the Tigers for WBC54. The veteran manager had felt somewhat concerned about the LBA's treatment of Oladipo, as well as the likes of Winston Yi and Sofia "21-3" Rasmussen. She felt that the managers were getting far too little respect, and the various suits too much, and unless she could run both there wasn't much chance of getting her right away. Arguably the greatest Llamanean manager of all time - 22 years running one of the best programs in WBC history and eight top-three finishes didn't lie - might never manage her national team. With the other options either uninspiring (another round of Colin Nittledeen, anyone?) or unwilling to give up cushy domestic positions for roughly a year and a half of trying to appease the insatiable LBA, Oladipo might end up being the one in control of the situation after all. Maybe, even if he was in the quarterfinals, his contract wouldn't be renewed - but it would be him declining to renew for somewhere that treated their managers a little better.

by **Atheara** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 4:11 am

Well, The Exams Are Over
What is education in Atheara like?

Matchday 22
Atheara                   0 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 0  5
Zwangzug                  0 0 1 1 1 0 3 0 X  6

Matchday 23
Atheara                   0 1 2 2 0 1 1 1 0  8
Zwangzug                  0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 2  6

Matchday 24
Atheara                   0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 0  4
Zwangzug                  0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 2  6

So, it's time again that i introduce you the very weird quirks of Athearan life. And maybe the education system is the one to go to. The term of education is both the act of teaching knowledge to others and the act of receiving knowledge from someone else. Education also refers to the knowledge received through schooling or instruction and to the institution of teaching as a whole. Education has a few other senses as a noun. This is the basic outline on what education means in general. And now, we shall be breaking down the education system in Atheara.

The education system may be considered similar or not similar depending on where you are from. For starters, let's start with the students. All students begin school at approximately six years old in Atheara. However, there are some community kindergardens that give children education at the age of four, but it is mandated that children start school at the age of six. In Atheara, education is considered a "free right." In terms, education is considered a human right that should be given for free. All types of children from their race, religion, background, and so on, deserve education in Atheara.

And because that education is a free right, the government pays for the facilities and such. However, the pay is always split between the parents and the government under certain scenarios. But although there are some kids who go uneducated or drop out of school, at around 87% of the population who are under twenty years old have at least "secondary" level education in Atheara, whether paid by the government or have some of the journey paid by their parents And now, it's time to talk about the public or private problem that lies in Atheara.

"There are no private schools in Atheara, as the government already pays for everything, mostly." This is the general reply about private or public schools in Atheara. All of the schools are public, but some may only accept either male or female students. But in the end, the level of education is the same. Talking about the schools themselves now. There are no religious schools in Atheara, however, some schools do give out religious education. The schools that do are most of the time were chosen by the Imperial Council themselves to teach religious studies.

And of course, the school calendar. The school calendar in Atheara always stays in the same year, so no year leaping shit. March - November is always the school schedule, so that means nine months of school. However, only seven of those months are used to do one full semester. The remaining two months are usually just preparation for the next semester, school events, and so on. Why? Because a good social life is important for Athearans. And then, here we go into a verry important part of the system, the teachers that educate the students themselves. What are teachers like in Atheara?

For starters, most teachers are refined, patient, and respectful. Whilst some can be rude and harsh, it's only from a time to time basis, and these teachers do know what they are doing. The higher and more experienced you are at teaching, the more known you would be in the known education staff. Teachers are also treated with utmost respect in Atheara. Well, that's simple as that. And now, i would like to start off the next segment by showing off a bracket that shows the general school system. It's not very complicated, well, the school system in Atheara i mean.

Kindergarden (4 - 6 years old, optional) - Grade School (6 - 10 years old) - Middle School (10 - 12 years old) - High School (12 - 16 years old) - College (16 - 18 years old, optional) - University (16 - 18/19/20 years old, depending on courses; 18 - 20/21/22 years old, if you took college and depending on courses)

Yes, colleges and universities are considered different in Atheara, and colleges are considered lower level education than university, but both graduation certificates have the same amount of prestigious power and award. And that is that about education in Atheara in general. There should be a part two if i'm feeling good that explains more about the classes and the more specific roundabouts, but this is all from me. Signing out.

by **Quintessence of Dust** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 5:03 am

(Provisional) box scores as posted on the TalkBaseball.qd website. This tournament, TBQ will be summarising results entirely through The Wire quotes.


                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
J. Theriault SS            5   1   4   1   0   0   0  .354   2  15
L. Chevalier LF            5   0   0   0   0   0   4  .308   3  13
J. Stevens CF              5   1   2   0   0   1   3  .405   3  13
K. Kawasuda DH             4   1   2   2   1   0   3  .292   0   3
L. Dai 3B                  5   0   1   0   0   3   1  .292   1  17
R. Weber RF                4   1   2   1   0   1   0  .354   1   6
S. Borgþórsson 1B          2   0   0   0   3   1   0  .243   2   9
K. Yutani 2B               3   0   1   1   0   2   3  .333   0   3
B. Meldgaard C             4   1   0   0   0   1   1  .167   0   0

Doubles: J. Theriault 3 (8, 3rd inning, 0 on, 0 outs; 6th inning, 0 on, 0 outs; 8th inning, 0 on, 1 out), K. Kawasuda (2, 1st inning, 1 on, 2 outs), R. Weber (5, 3rd inning, 2 on, 2 outs)
Triples: R. Weber (1, 5th inning, 0 on, 1 out)
Total bases: J. Theriault 7, R. Weber 5, K. Kawasuda 3, J. Stevens 2, L. Dai, K. Yutani
2-out RBI: K. Kawasuda 2, R. Weber
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: K. Yutani 2, K. Kawasuda 2, L. Dai, J. Stevens
GIDP: L. Dai
Sac Fly: K. Yutani
Team LOB: 10

BASERUNNING
CS: K. Yutani (1)

FIELDING
Double plays: 1 (Yutani – Theriault – Borgþórsson)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
J. Martin W (5 – 0)        7.0  3   0   0   0   7   0  82  61  2.12
K. Wahl                    0.2  2   2   2   0   0   0  15  11  5.59
J. Grant                   0.1  1   0   0   0   0   0   7   5  5.40
H. Liang SV (9)            1.0  0   0   0   0   0   0   8   7  0.69

Game score: J. Martin 78
Batters faced: J. Martin 23, K. Wahl 4, J. Grant 2, H. Liang 3
Ground outs – fly outs: J. Martin 3 – 9, K. Wahl 1 – 1, J. Grant 1 – 0, H. Liang 3 – 0
Inherited runners – scored: J. Grant 1 – 1
Hit batpersons: J. Martin

Scoring summary:

1.2: Kutoshi Kawasuda doubles (9LD). Jay Stevens scores.

3.0: Jack Theriault doubles (8LD). Bo Meldgaard scores.

3.2: Kutoshi Kawasuda singles (8LS). Jack Theriault scores.

3.2: Rémy Weber doubles (9LM). Kutoshi Kawasuda scores.

5.1: Kaori Yutani flies out (8). Rémy Weber scores.

8.1: RBI double

8.2: RBI single


                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
J. Theriault SS            5   0   0   0   0   2   7  .333   2  15
L. Chevalier DH            4   0   0   0   0   1   1  .293   3  13
C. Brewster LF             4   0   2   0   0   1   1  .417   0   0
  b–M.P. Yang 3B           1   1   1   2   0   0   0  .200   2   4
J. Stevens CF              4   0   1   0   1   0   3  .398   3  13
K. Yutani 2B               3   0   0   0   0   1   1  .303   0   3
  a–K. Kawasuda PH         0   0   0   0   1   0   0  .292   0   3
  c–J. McCallum LF         1   1   1   0   0   0   0 1.000   0   0
L. Dai 1B                  2   0   0   0   3   1   0  .286   0   0
R. Weber RF                3   0   0   0   2   1   3  .333   0   0
T. Watanabe 3B, 2B         4   0   2   1   1   1   5  .305   1  10
Y. Long C                  2   1   2   0   1   0   0  .309   0   2

a–K. Kawasuda pinch-hit for T. Watanabe in the 7th
b–M.P. Yang substituted for C. Brewster in the 8th
c–J. McCallum substituted for K. Kawasuda in the 8th

Doubles: C. Brewster (1, 1st inning, 0 on, 2 outs), J. McCallum (1, 9th inning, 0 on, 0 outs)
Home runs: M.P. Yang (2, 8th inning, 1 on, 2 outs)
Total bases: M.P. Yang 4, C. Brewster 3, Y. Long 2, J. McCallum 2, T. Watanabe 2, J. Stevens
2-out RBI: M.P. Yang 2
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: J. Theriault 4, T. Watanabe 2, K. Yutani
GIDP: K. Yutani
Hit by Pitch: Y. Long, L. Chevalier
Team LOB: 12

BASERUNNING
SB: C. Brewster (3)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
H. Kalberg                 7.0  3   1   1   1   7   0  87  55  1.83
M. Ibsen                   1.0  0   0   0   2   2   0  20  12  0.00
H. Liang BS (1) W (1 – 0)  1.0  1   1   1   2   2   0  24  14  1.29

Game score: H. Kalberg 73
Batters faced: H. Kalberg 25, M. Ibsen 5, H. Liang 6
Ground outs – fly outs: H. Kalberg 7 – 7, M. Ibsen 0 – 0, H. Liang 0 – 1
Inherited runners – scored: M. Ibsen 1 – 1
Hit batpersons: M. Ibsen

Scoring summary:

8.2: Sacrifice fly

8.2: Maas Pheng Yang homers (7LXD). Yazhu Long scores. Maas Pheng Yang scores.

9.2: Sacrifice fly

9.0: Teijo Watanabe singles (6D). Jude McCallum scores.


                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
J. Theriault SS            4   0   1   0   0   0   2  .330   2  15
  d–K. Yutani PH, 2B       2   0   1   0   0   0   1  .314   0   3
L. Chevalier LF            5   0   2   0   0   0   2  .299   3  13
C. Brewster CF             5   0   2   0   0   0   2  .412   0   0
L. Dai 3B                  5   1   1   0   0   2   4  .281   1  17
S. Borgþórsson 1B          5   1   1   2   0   2   4  .241   3  11
J. Stevens RF              5   1   2   0   0   0   2  .398   3  13
R. Weber DH                3   0   2   1   0   0   0  .352   1   7
  a–K. Kawasuda DH         2   0   0   0   0   0   1  .269   0   3
T. Watanabe 2B, SS         5   0   2   0   0   1   2  .313   1  10
Y. Long C                  3   0   0   0   0   0   3  .293   0   2
  b–M.P. Yang PH           1   0   0   0   0   0   0  .190   2   4
  c–B. Meldgaard C         0   0   0   0   1   0   0  .167   0   0

a–K. Kawasuda substituted for R. Weber in the 9th
b–M.P. Yang pinch-hit for Y. Long in the 9th
c–B. Meldgaard substituted for M.P. Yang in the 10th
d–K. Yutani pinch-hit for J. Theriault in the 10th

Doubles: C. Brewster (2, 4th inning, 1 on, 0 outs), L. Dai (6, 5th inning, 0 on, 1 out)
Home runs: S. Borgþórsson (3, 5th inning, 1 on, 1 out)
Total bases: S. Borgþórsson 4, C. Brewster 3, T. Watanabe 2, L. Dai 2, L. Chevalier 2, J. Stevens 2, R. Weber, J. Theriault, K. Yutani
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: J. Stevens, L. Chevalier, S. Borgþórsson, K. Yutani
GIDP: Y. Long, L. Chevalier
Team LOB: 9

BASERUNNING
SB: J. Stevens (6)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
J. Sakaguchi               7.0  7   3   3   2  10   0 109  76  4.35
M. Ryan                    1.0  0   0   0   0   2   0  12   8  2.00
B. Beaufils                1.0  1   0   0   1   3   0  27  17  2.16
H. Liang L (1 – 1)         1.2  1   1   1   1   2   1  19  13  1.72
B. Amundsen                0.1  0   0   0   0   1   0   5   3  2.45

Game score: J. Sakaguchi 59
Batters faced: J. Sakaguchi 31, M. Ryan 3, B. Beaufils 5, H. Liang 6, B. Amundsen 1
Ground outs – fly outs: J. Sakaguchi 7 – 3, M. Ryan 1 – 0, B. Beaufils 0 – 0, H. Liang 0 – 3, B. Amundsen 0 – 0
Hit batpersons: J. Sakaguchi 2

Scoring summary:

3.2: RBI single

5.1: Sigurkarl Borgþórsson homers (9RD). Lingxin Dai scores. Sigurkarl Borgþórsson scores.

5.1: Rémy Weber singles (6MD). Jay Stevens scores.

7.2: 2-RBI double

11.2: Solo home run

"This is the best work I ever did. I never did a case like this. But it's not enough." -- Leander Sydnor

Though they were not to know it at the time, when Kutoshi Kawasuda smacked his second base hit of the game into centrefield and Jack Theriault hustled in from second to score, they had just confirmed the Things' place in the playoffs. On an unusually mild evening at Raptor Park, fans gradually became aware of news filtering in that The Greater Nordics had taken the first game of their series against Delaclava and, as Kaori Yutani the third batter in succession in a swift 8-pitch 9th inning showing from Hong Liang, Quintessence of Dust were mathematically guaranteed a playoff berth. It later became clear that through similarly tangled arithmetic, Liventia's victory over Muralos had given Milchama a similar qualification, though whichever of the two came first, both were still a long way behind South Newlandia, who had sewn up their own Round of 16 spot days ago. Compared to WBC50, compared to some of the Classics of old, it perhaps all felt slightly underwhelming.

It took the celebratory game at Dodger (Not That One) Stadium to inject a little drama. Both starting pitchers went for seven scoreless innings before the runs started to amass in the 8th. It took a Maas Pheng Yang pinch-hit home run -- becoming something of a specialty for the bench player -- and then at the bottom of the 9th, the first walk-off of the tournament for the Things, as Jude McCallum's first at-bat in the grey uniform saw him double and score on a Teijo Watanabe line drive. Bottom of the 9th, game tied at 2, every ball and strike greeted with oohs and aahs -- at last here was the proper spectacle and theatre worthy of the occasion. It was just a shame that by now it was all utterly academic.

Yet the Things are still playing for seeding, and with a highly competitive Round of 16 awaiting them, cannot take any games for granted in the back stretch. Jun Jiang put out another first-choice team for game 3 and let Juzo Sakaguchi, only recently back from injury, throw 109 pitches; he was in the 70s until a knotty 7th inning he struggled to get out of, giving up a 2-run double in the process as he loaded the bases and tied up the game; Sangti went on to win in extra innings, a home run on the second wobble in successive games from Liang. It's exactly the wrong time for the Things' best reliever to be misfiring, and Jiang will doubtless be watching him carefully, though consoled by the arm barn having had light work in recent weeks.

There are therefore few indications of any major rest in the last weeks, with the exception that the Things will not waive their DH preferences for the home series against Delaclava; in a DH-light group, Kawasuda has had few opportunities, Jiang appears keen to try out different players in the position, and he will not want pitchers getting injured on the basepaths at this late stage -- though a return to pitchers hitting will be unavoidable in the final series, a trip to United Adaikes. A greater degree of rotation can be expected among position players and shortening of pitch counts for starters; but every win remains valuable at this late stage, so there's no indication Jiang will be wrapping up his key players in bubble wrap. Even if that would be kinda fun.

by **Hannasea** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 5:37 am

Choughs' favourite subjects at school

Ethan Harman - medical science: His injured body recovered in record quick time to take the field against Soldera. And nor was he restricting himself to light duty: he was still out there in the 16th inning, scoring from third on a wild pitch with a hard slide in under Mike Owens's tag.

Jason Mathis - physics: If he corrects his launch angle by 2.8 degrees, modifies his batspeed velocity by a factor of x, and let y be the fourth polynomial factor, he can still strike out all the fucking time.

Zach Walker - finger painting: Zach is a solid player; although he had a passed ball in game 1 that proved costly as it moved Mike Owens into a scoring position, he redeemed himself with a clutch 10th inning home run. He's a great team guy, too. He's just thick as two especially thick planks.

Aaron Green - classics: Clearly a fan of the hero myth, the great epic tales of warriors and travellers of ancient lore. Which probably explains why he tries to play hero ball all the time and despite being an excellent fielder has so many errors at third.

Sam Pearce - geography: One of the team's best players. Except when they travel to countries that don't use the DH, where he's relegated to sitting on the bench. So understandably he spends most of his time fretting over maps, darkly muttering about "the forbidden zone".

Jesse Lowe - lunch: Also a big fan of morning snack break and afternoon tea, as well as both sittings of the breakfast club.

Joe Mills - double maths: The most hated lesson of all is Joe's safe place, happily ensconced among the textbooks as his mates drift off to sleep. Numbers swirling on the blackboard, assignments about people buying 47 watermelons... it's still better than recess, where he'll be picked on for being terrible at baseball.

Jay Wagner - nurse's office: Home with a sicknote, Jay Wagner can enjoy watching Hannasean soap operas (notoriously trashy filth) and having his mum make him soup. Much better than going to school, or trying to help his team as they bravely fight off elimination -- ooh, The Price is Right is on next!

Jake Walsh - drama: From hitting 2-out homers to trying (and failing) to steal home, from leaping catches on simple fly-balls to furious arguments over blown strike calls, Jake's actually a pretty decent baseball player, albeit a total drama queen. In school he never got beyond playing "Tree #3" but the WBC has afforded him a grander stage for his theatrical behaviour.

Scoring summaries:

by **Chromatika** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 5:47 am

Six straight wins sees Chromatika at a turnaround point of this Group Stage. The Sherpa Empire awaits next, a chance to truly prove that Chromatika is, indeed, back:

Out of the ashes we rise,
Under all the scrutiny of the world,
The Chromatik people watching with baited breath;
Letting hope come through
In the hope of making it to the knockouts
Endlessly hoping
Results will pan out
Sometime soon.

by **Brookstation** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 5:53 am

This video was uploaded on Wetube on Scott Parker's channel on 28th December 2021

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in the video was based on my personal opinions. Anything in this video doesn't reflect on the Brook Baseball Association's opinions.

Hilarious ! Just hilarious. Isn't it funny to see a team collapse so badly ? 5 losses in a row and this was supposedly the team which was playing well.

Right so welcome back to the channel - your boy is back with another new video. My name is Scott Parker and I make videos on everything related to sports. So if you are a Brook and a sports lover, go and change the colour of the subscribe button.

I just don't understand how, just how can I be so dumb. I was the one who literally for once thought that Brookstation is going to advance to the Round of 16. Last video, I told that that was gonna be my last video on the World Baseball Classic but no. I just can't tolerate these shenanigans anymore. These people have spoilt my Christmas !! I don't get it . For heaven's sake, I don't. I firstly don't understand why does 'luck' not exist in our country. An unranked team getting drawn into a group with the literal holders of the Cup, Abanhfleft and The Sherpa Empire. This team stays at second position in the table after the first half, defeats the world number 1 twice and then loses its two most important series. In the series against The Sherpa Empire, we lost two matches by only 'one', just one freaking run. 'WHY ?'

In the first match, I didn't have any expectation because the great William Shakespeare had said "Don't blame people for disappointing you, blame yourself for expecting too much from them." I knew that we were going to lose terribly but the thing is that you just cant eradicate the love for your nation from your heart. No matter what you say but whenever you see your team hit a home run or score a goal, your heart automatically starts beating faster. The dopamine level in your body has a sudden increase and because of this, I just can't help but feel for my country. This is exactly what happened in the first match. It was Boxing Day and as you must be knowing, boxing day matches have a different significance. The Sherpa Empire was playing Brookstation at home and there was a huge turnout in the ballpark. It is evident to expect such a turnout when its a do or die situation for your team. The Sherpa Empire scored a run in the very first innings when Namgel Rao doubled to the left and Smanla Kumari scored as quickly as she could. The second innings was the one which got me turned up. Moore started the scoring when he swiftly flung the bat and hit a 421 foot home run towards the centre. This was followed by Cahill hitting a beautiful shot towards the right field corner and reach the second base while Ripeppi continue the relay and score at the perfect moment. Tommie Smith hit a 398 feet home run towards the left side of the ballpark. Jensen then hit a shot and the ball just went over the head of Kai Liao, the shortstop. This allowed Connor Harris to reach home and score the fourth run of the innings. This had lighted hopes in the eyes of every Brook audience. The volume of the music was turned up, people started waving their flashlights of the phone. But this joy was not going to last for long. The Brook players had gone into hibernation. The Sherpa Empire players on the other hand continued scoring throughout the match. In the sixth innings, Sherpa Empire got the lead but this didn't affect the players at all. In the very last innings, Brookstation scored its next run but wasn't it late enough already ?

Brookstation's loss in the first match brought more hopes on the next day. This time, Brookstation opened scoring when Malouf reached home base, thanks to an error on the side of Kumari. Brookstation then had a double run score by Moore and Cahill which made the score 3-0. This again lit some hopes but that wasn't enough again.
We can't forget that our players need to fall asleep eventually and yes they did again. I really think the story of the hare and the tortoise should be taught in our schools. Once again, Sherpa Empire played slowly, scoring runs slowly and ended up winning.

The third match attracted a much lesser crowd than usual as there was no point in watching a match, knowing that your team has already lost. Anyway, the people who did turn up had a good time as Brookstation actually won that match. There was a good performance from Pat Jensen and Tommie Smith but they should've done that before. The only reason I will watch the next match is because, we will be headed to the unique and beautiful stadium in Seven. Seeing our players play in the seven shaped stadium. Let's just hope for the best. Short video today, cause it's almost midnight and I gotta go to sleep. Have to bring you all news after all.

by **South Newlandia** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 6:13 am

Previously on Llamaphant Pro Baseball

South Newlandian Divisional Series (1)
Newport Dolphins – Rüsselsheim Blue Sox

The 104-win Dolphins had any reason to look forward to playing the Blue Sox. For one, Rüsselsheim had just been forced to use two of their top pitchers to even reach this spot, while the Dolphins were able to get fully rested. For another, they would have home advantage for the playoff series. Lastly, they had been good against the Sox on the season. That, admittedly, means only so much when you win 104 games, and were good against everyone, but still – a 10-6 H2H, including 9-3 during the time the Dolphins were not absolutely certain they would win their division with ease. The Blue Sox would be at a disadvantage for the series; then again, they were at a disadvantage at Ruditown and in Masmow as well, and they found a way to pull a rabbit out of their hat every time so far. In fact, the only reason Rüsselsheim was able to reach this series at all was the crucial game 160. Needing to beat Newport at home, they knocked them off 4-3, allowing them to pull even with the Dachshunds for the second wildcard.

Newport, a 104-game winner, had success at pretty much everything in the first LPB season. A run differential of +231 could have seen them winning even more games, but the fact remains that they had the best pitching staff in LPB, spearheaded by South Newlandian national teamers Ryan Hunter and Ben Gonzalo, along Adam Gilchrest, former WBC starter for Ethane, and a young Garry Gordon who is just coming into his own, along with a rock-solid bullpen with the pair of Benoît Beaufils (Quintessence of Dust) and Y.P. Ying (Super-Llamaland) running the place. Hunter, Beaufils and Ying each had been named All-Star for their contributions, and they were joined in the field by Kendra Annovar, the Chromtik WBC champion, playing arguably the best season of any Dolphin, and Mike Larsen, who the Dolphins couldn’t even use in the field. That’s how strong the outfield of Annovar, Addison Paterson (Ko-oren), and Luka Chevalier (Quintessence of Dust) is; while the infield featured stars in Stuart Hernandez (Tikariot), David Drum (South Newlandia) and Kelly Tallis (Zwangzug); along with South Newlandian catcher Brad Moore. Each of the named batters has experience for their respective national teams.

The Sox had stars as well, but objectively, the Dolphins were ahead in every department bar one – the Sox had Coach of the Year Ember Marshall. The Kohnheadian had led them on this amazing comeback, and proved to be able to navigate even the most dire straits. Meanwhile, the Dolphins were working with Vincenco Goodman; just 30 years of age, still unproven.

Game 1 saw the Blue Sox’ starter Juzo Sakaguchi matching the Dolphins’ ace, Ryan Hunter. Both of them held the line-ups to a single run in seven innings, with the crucial blast of Kelly Tallis in the bottom of the seventh tying the RBI-double of Jason Mathis from the top of the fourth. With both teams locked in a stalemate, they proceeded to the bullpen. There, the Dolphins would take the lead on the series. In the bottom of the ninth, with a man on, but two outs, Kendra Annovar came through clutch, sending a fastball of Gostaf Sjabard over the fence of Dolphin Stadium to get a 3-1 win in game one, handing the Dolphins game one of the series.

Game two saw the Dolphins’ Ben Gonzalo match up with the Sox’ Noah Harris. The matchup decisively went to the South Newlandian in this case, with the young pitcher delivering eight innings of shut-down ball, allowing zero runs on four hits and two walks. It was as dominating as a playoff performance gets, and six Dolphin-runs were enough to easily cruise to a 2-0 series lead on the back of a 6-0 win in front of their home fans in Dolphin Stadium.

The Sox, down 0-2, would have to win both games in Rüsselsheim to pull even and force a game 5 in Newport. With each of the best pitchers having just had lengthy outings, they went to the rookie, Griffin Gonzalez. Picked fourth overall in the draft, he proved to be a valuable asset for the Sox; and they had to think about games 4 and 5 as well. He would play against the Dolphins’ Gilchrest. The Ethanian had a couple of bumps in his road here, but was a good pitcher nonetheless, very capable of bringing this one home.

The Dolphins struck first, a two-RBI hit by Brad Moore in the top of the second delivering an early lead; but the Sox narrowed the deficit in the bottom of that inning with a sac fly that sent Placido Taboada home to make it an 1-2 ballgame. In the fifth, it was once again the Dolphins at the buzzer, with a two-run shot off the bat of Luka Chevalier giving them a big three-run lead, but again, the Sox answered with one run in the bottom of the same frame, this time with Lucca Hahn sliding home safely after a walk and stolen base, to speed home on a base hit. The 4-2 score stood until the top of the seventh, when a Kendra Annovar double brought home two more runs to make it a 4-run game, ending the day for Gonzalez. The Sox went into the bottom of the eighth facing Ying, and despite a homer by Will Rentería, went into the bottom of the ninth needing three runs against Dolphins’ closer Benoît Beaufils. Things can never come easy, however, and Beaufils allowed hits to allow runners on the corners with none out, bringing the tying run to the plate. With Carolyn Sexton up, Beaufils managed to force weak contact to third. With the runner on the move, Tallis made the decision to fire to second, and a 5-4-3 double play erased a base runner to make it 4-6 with none on and two outs. A risky play by Tallis, but it worked out nicely for them, as Beaufils forced a pop-fly from Tom Abbott (Sanford) to end the game.

The Dolphins had earned a sweep, moving on to the first SNLCS, where they would either face the winner of the North in the Homers, or winner of the South in the Stingrays.

by **Banija** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 6:18 am

Education in Banija

A brief introduction into the Banijan Education System, and talking exactly about how it works.

Grade School System

All children residing in country get educated, and are required to enter school from age 5 into Kindergarten. For that definition, children who are going to be 5 years old by December 1st of any given year, must be entered into Kindergarten in the preceding September of that same year. Every child has the right to enroll into their local public school. Public schools, of course, are paid for with tax dollars. While public schools are largely funded by the national governments, with a mandated national funding formula of a minimum of 85% of a school's funding coming from the national government, a percentage that is higher for poorer areas of the country, the actual control of public schools is devolved from national authorities. The Ministry of Education largely controls funding and focuses on accrediting and regulating Universities(more on that later).

In the City of Busukuma(coterminous with the National Capitol Region), Banija's capitol city, an elected School Board of Education runs the public grade school system within the city. In most regions of the country, however, in all regions besides the Bunyoro Region(more on that later), there is a reigonal-wide Board of Education that is jointly appointed by the regional chief executive, alongside the regional leader of the opposition. While the size of these boards vary, they are all usually odd, and the chief executive always gets to make more appointments than the leader of the opposition. These appointments are done on a partisan basis, and terms last as long as the life cycle of a regional Parliament, so the composition of these boards can swing wildly. Local school districts in these regions, generally with boards who are elected on a non-partisan basis, are usually under the authority of the region-wide Board of Education.

In the Bunyoro Region, however, they have a different system to run their public schools. There is no region-wide Board of Education in that region. Instead, everything is radically devolved, with local school districts on the city level that are totally and 100% independent from one another. It makes education in that region a mismash- politicians from both parties have generally been supportive of this system. It means that school curriculums in Bunyoro can vary wildly from one school district to the next, and standards vary wildly from one region to the next.

Across the country, the only religion that can be promoted in Banijan public schools is the official state religion, Puritan Mormonism. Some public schools teach theology classes in the more conservative areas of the country, while others do not. Many public schools throughout the country will often have Mormon clergy as teachers. As for private schools, Banija has a robust private school system. While Accreditation for private schools works on a private basis, private school accreditors work with the Ministry of Education to establish 'minimum, uniform standards' for private schools across the country. Homeschooling is also legal in all areas of the country besides the National Capitol Region- as Busukuma requires parents to send their children to either a public or a private school, without exception. Private schools are usually created on the basis of having secular schools, as well as having religious education for another religion outside of the nation's dominant religion. There are a number of Teus and Roman Catholic private schools in the country, as well as some Shia Islamic schools as well.

College & University System

While Banijans have a right to a grade school education, Banijans do not have a right to college & University. Therefore, it is not generally free to go to college or University in the country. However, every region in the country, outside of the Moravica Region(Banija's largest), has made community college free to all who attend.

Community colleges in the Moravica Region charge tuition. Four year Universities and graduate schools across the country, of course, charge tuition amounts that vary wildly. Public Universities usually charge students three rates- the regional tuition rate(if you're a resident of the region), the non-regional tuition rate(if you live in Banija but not in the same region as the University), and the international student tuition rate. As part of the Banijan compensation package to Farfadillis because of the nuclear attacks of World Cup 85, all Farfadillis citizens who lived in Farfadillis at the time of the attacks are able to attend any public University in the country at half the regional tuition rate, with the difference covered by the Banijan Foreign Ministry.

Here is a sampling of Banija's major universities. While many were established at separate time frames, there were a couple of main periods of establishment. The first, of course, would be Banija's 'legacy' universities- Banija's universities that were founded during the colonization period, and before independence from Quebec & Shingoyreo in 1906. These would be the University of Loyola-Istria(private school ran by the Mormon Church; founded as a joint mission between Quebecois Jesuits and Banijan Mormons), Northern Moravica University(public school) in Herzegovina City, Sankt Adelheid(Teus Catholic) in Bwubanza, and the Kabaka's Military College. Just four, throughout the whole country.

In the first year after independence, the Lukiiko established 6 public universities- called the "Independence 6". These would be Kizza I College(Busukuma), University of Ankole(Hoima, Ankole), Pumbasa University(Pumbasa, Buganda), Bunyoro A&M University(Byakado, Bunyoro), Mamari University(Mamari, Kitara Region), and the University of Hangaza(Igulu, Hangaza). So those first 8 public schools have national jurisdiction, from the Lukiiko and the Ministry of Education itself. The rest of Banija's public schools were established by their own regional governments, and answer to them.

There are also a number of private schools in the country, mostly ran by the Mormon Church. Loyola University now has three campuses- the main campus in Istria, most famous for its 3-time NSCF champion gridiron team, as well as Loyola-Busukuma(open for future Mormon clergy, as well as for future members of the Banijan Foreign Ministry), as well as Loyola-Jinja. Zawadi University, Heshima & Usian University, and Thabiso University are all also ran by the Church. There are, of course, secular private schools, as well as other religious private universities, like Sankt Adelheid.

Political Debates in Education

Like in most countries, there is fierce political debate and division over how to run the country's schools. While there are many politically salient divisive education topics, there are two main topics that deserve to be discussed.

#1 How to Cover Banijan History- Like in many countries, how your country's history is taught can be subject to widespread debate, and Banija is no expansion. Of course, Banija is not historically some marauding, historical colonial power with brutal foreign abuses that we're trying to hide- that is simply not our history. But there are certain parts of history that have some serious debate by scholars, and debate by politicians on how exactly they should be taught.

This is best captured in the example of the Kitaran migration to Rushmore, or what is known internationally as the Banijan Exile and Creation of Nyowani Kitara. This, of course, refers to the expulsion of Kitarans from Banija following the Banijan Civil war, between the pair of Quebecois Colonization periods in Banija. It is, by and large, agreed internationally that the Banijans kicked the Kitarans out, and sent them to a land where they thought the Kitarans simply could not survive.

But on the cultural right in Banija, there is a narrative that the Kitarans left of their own accord. There was one backbench elected Lukiiko Member who told a reporter one time that saying the Kitarans were exiled was entirely inaccurate. "They did not want to stay here- they simply wanted to leave, and Banijans helped facilitate their move. There is this false narrative, spread by supporters of the Communists in Dewayo, that we forced them out, that we kicked them out. That narrative could not be further from the truth." It's not widely accepted but... It's a theory that has support. There is also fierce division on how to handle other events- the Banijan Civil War, the Banijan Unification Wars, etc.. depending on what kind of light they put Banija and her past monarchs in.

#2 Religion- How much Theology can be taught in a public school?

OF course, Banija is a very pious nation(although becoming less so over time), and economic modernization, alongside increased immigration, has brought about more religious diversity and more secularism among Banijans and society in general. So while the perch of the Puritan Church has not been threatened in society and will never be, there is a movement, especially among the left, to take theology classes out of Banija's public schools- or at least give parents the ability to opt-out of theology classes for their children.

The City of Busukuma has created a city-wide opt-out in recent years out of Mormon theology classes in public schools, a choice a surprisingly large number of people have taken. While many immigrant parents in this diverse city have taken advantage, particularly Farf refugee parents, it has generated political controversy at the center of Banija's political system, with Busukuma being the nation's capitol.

One of the most controversial measures, however, is up for debate in the Ankole Region, Banija's most left-wing region. Their regional Parliament put up a referendum, regarding the removal of theology classes from public schools across the region. It has received fierce criticism from the church, and if it passes, the courts will surely have their say on this issue. But it is a move that has made the ballot, and will hit the ballot alongside the upcoming national elections.

Ankole's regional Premier said, on the floor of their Regional Parliament, that 'in a modern society, the state does not subsidize the Church- parents who want their children education in God have that responsibility to take their children to temple'. He then compared to secular republics around the region that do not do that, and said that Banija stands as a stark outlier. Politicians on the other side of the divide, however, said that Banija standing as an outlier on the issue was 'something to embrace, not something to be ashamed of'.

#3 Funding & Local Control- Who's providing the money, and who's making the decisions?

And lastly, another issue that harshly divides the Banijan populace. Currently, the national government will provide between 85% and 95% of funding for public schools, a significant amount of money. And then, the local governments will be expected to come up with the rest of the money. Very controversially, local schools are generally not allowed to raise their own taxes to provide more money due to 'equalization mandates' from the national government, although they are allowed to raise money through voluntary donations.

There are ideas to reform the system to allow local governments to raise further funds in support of their own public schools- although, in present days, raising extra money without permission from the Ministry of Education(which isn't coming) could put your school's funding from the national government in serious jeopardy. Can regional Boards of Education ask regional Parliaments for more money? Presently no. And at the local school district level, even though tax rates(usually via property taxes), are set by the national government- and adjust on an annual basis to fit the funding formula.

And of course, there's the other question- who's making the decisions. From regional capitols to school district levels across the nation, it is a fight as old as time- how much control do local parents have over their own schools. These are fights that play out across the multiverse. And they happen here as well. Issues that will never permanently be settled, maybe except outside of the Bunyoro Region- who have the most empowered parents in the country.

by **Banija** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 6:33 am

Welcome to the ninth cutoff of the World Baseball Classic. We're getting towards the final, most tense stages. Decisions will be made. Teams will clinch. Others will go home. We're on The Final Countdown towards the end of group play and the beginning of knockout play.

Each MD I will be offering a small prompt. These prompts are not required and there is no extra bonus for doing them compared with doing a match report or any other type of RP; they’re simply there because, with a long group stage format and many tournaments competing for attention, inspiration may be running thin. Feel free to respond in whatever format you like – or ignore them entirely.

Today' we are going to have another nation-building prompts- what are the most controversial parts of your nation's history? Everybody, of course, likes to brag about their nation's greatest accomplishments- but unless your nation is ran directly by the heavens themselves(possible!), no nation is perfect? What are the parts of history in your nation that your country is ashamed of? Has there been terrible crimes of war in your country? Did your country massacre civilians? Did your country exile a minority group all the way out to north Rushmore, like Banija has done? Or is it more embarassing for your country- got wrecked in a war?

Alternatively, you could go another route. Controversial could mean your nation did something extremely problematic- but it could also mean that you have parts of your history that are up for serious debate. What are the divisive moments of your history where people cannot agree what happened? Where do your nation's historians lack consensus?

Matchday 25-27 Scores

Key
Red: Cannot finish top 2 in group, therefore are eliminated and cannot advance to the knockout stages of the World Baseball Classic.
Blue: Cannot finish lower than 2nd place in group, and therefore clinch a berth in the knockout stages of the World Baseball Classic.
Bolded Green: Have clinched 1st place in their group.

Group A

Matchday 25
Banija                    0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2  4
Bardney                   1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Ranoria                   0 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  5
Ardengard                 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0  4

Drawkland                 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  2
Eshialand                 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 X  4

Matchday 26
Banija                    0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  4
Bardney                   0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  3

Ranoria                   0 0 4 0 3 1 0 0 0  8
Ardengard                 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 2  7

Drawkland                 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  3
Eshialand                 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  4

Matchday 27
Banija                    1 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 1  8
Bardney                   0 0 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 0  7

Ranoria                   2 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 0  7
Ardengard                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Drawkland                 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0  4
Eshialand                 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  2

Group A                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Eshialand              27   20   7   140   92  +48
2 Banija                 27   19   8   134   87  +47*
3 Ranoria                27   16  11   122  102  +20
4 Bardney                27    9  18    99  118  −19
5 Drawkland              27    9  18    88  154  −66
6 Ardengard              27    8  19   104  134  −30

*= Although Banija and Ranoria can tie at 19-11, Banija has the 4 games to 2 head-to-head advantage, so Banija has officially clinched a berth in the knockout stages.

Group B

Matchday 25
Quebec & Shingoryeo       0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 1  6
Kohnhead                  2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2  5

StrayaRoos                0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  3
HUElavia                  0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 2  5

Alzavola                  0 0 0 3 0 0 4 0 0  7
Tikariot                  0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 4  9

Matchday 26
Quebec & Shingoryeo       0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0  3
Kohnhead                  0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0  2

StrayaRoos                1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
HUElavia                  0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 X  5

Alzavola                  0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Tikariot                  0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 X  3

Matchday 27
Quebec & Shingoryeo       0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2  4
Kohnhead                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2

StrayaRoos                1 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  5
HUElavia                  0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 2  6

Alzavola                  3 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0  6
Tikariot                  1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2

Group B                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Quebec & Shingoyreo    27   16  11   143  124  +19
2 StrayaRoos             27   14  13   111  101  +10
3 Tikariot               27   14  13   111  118   −7
4 Alzavola               27   14  13   136  147  −11
5 Kohnhead               27   13  14   117  101  +16
6 HUElavia               27   10  17   108  135  −27

Group C

Matchday 25
Soldera                   1 4 0 1 2 4 0 0 0 12
Sarzonia                  0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2  4

Hannasea                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
South Americanastan       0 1 3 0 3 0 0 1 X  8

Cassadaigua               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  2
Aji No Moto               0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Matchday 26
Soldera                   1 0 0 3 2 1 0 6 0 13
Sarzonia                  1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2

Hannasea                  0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 1  5
South Americanastan       0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Cassadaigua               0 0 3 0 0 4 1 1 1 10
Aji No Moto               0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Matchday 27
Soldera                   0 2 1 3 1 1 0 0 4 12
Sarzonia                  0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  2

Hannasea                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0  7
South Americanastan       1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  3

Cassadaigua               0 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1  9
Aji No Moto               0 0 3 1 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0  8

Group C                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Soldera                27   18   9   152   96  +56
2 Sarzonia               27   17  10   128  122   +6
3 South Americanastan    27   15  12   118   96  +22
4 Hannasea               27   15  12   119   95  +24
5 Cassadaigua            27   11  16   108  116   −8
6 Aji No Moto            27    5  22    83  183 −100

Group D

Matchday 25
Nova Anglicana            0 0 1 0 0 7 3 0 0 11
Sangti                    0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

United Adaikes            0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1  4
The Greater Nordics       3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  5

Delaclava                 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Quintessence of Dust      1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 X  5

Matchday 26
Nova Anglicana            0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2  5
Sangti                    0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

United Adaikes            0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 4  7
The Greater Nordics       0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2

Delaclava                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2
Quintessence of Dust      1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 X  3

Matchday 27
Nova Anglicana            0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0  2
Sangti                    0 0 0 2 1 1 0 3 X  7

United Adaikes            0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
The Greater Nordics       1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 X  3

Delaclava                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Quintessence of Dust      0 1 0 1 0 1 2 1 X  6

Group D                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Quintessence of Dust   27   22   5   126   79  +47
2 Nova Anglicana         27   16  11   130   96  +34
3 Delaclava              27   11  16   109  106   +3
4 The Greater Nordics    27   11  16    98  129  −31
5 United Adaikes         27   11  16   105  120  −15
6 Sangti                 27   10  17    92  130  −38

Group E

Matchday 25
The 189                   0 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  8
Le Choix                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  3

Super-Llamaland           0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Atheara                   0 0 0 1 0 1 5 0 X  7

Zwangzug                  1 1 0 0 0 4 0 1 0  7
Behetij                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Matchday 26
The 189                   0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  3
Le Choix                  2 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 X  5

Super-Llamaland           2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Atheara                   0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Zwangzug                  0 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0  4
Behetij                   0 1 0 2 5 0 0 0 X  8

Matchday 27
The 189                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Le Choix                  0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 X  2

Super-Llamaland           0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  2
Atheara                   1 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 X  6

Zwangzug                  1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1  4
Behetij                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2

Group E                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Zwangzug               27   19   8   155  113  +42
2 Super-Llamaland        27   15  12   116  129  −13
3 Le Choix               27   14  13   111  124  −13
4 The 189                27   13  14   119  123   −4
5 Atheara                27   11  16   138  135   +3
6 Behetij                27    9  18   125  140  −15

Group F

Matchday 25
Abanhfleft                3 0 0 9 2 0 2 0 1 17
Equestrian States         0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 2  6

Chromatika                0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  2
The Sherpa Empire         0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 X  4

Brookstation              2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  3
Sevendia                  0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 2  5

Matchday 26
Abanhfleft                1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1  5
Equestrian States         0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  3

Chromatika                2 0 0 0 0 5 3 0 1 11
The Sherpa Empire         0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  2

Brookstation              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2
Sevendia                  0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Matchday 27
Abanhfleft                1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
Equestrian States         0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 3  7

Chromatika                0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 2  6
The Sherpa Empire         1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 4  8

Brookstation              0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0  5
Sevendia                  0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  2

Group F                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 The Sherpa Empire      27   17  10   126  115  +11
2 Abanhfleft             27   16  11   145   96  +49
3 Brookstation           27   15  12   115  109   +6
4 Chromatika             27   15  12   131  125   +6
5 Equestrian States      27    9  18   102  135  −33
6 Sevendia               27    9  18   101  140  −39

Group G

Matchday 25
TJUN-ia                   1 0 2 1 1 0 0 1 0  6
Liventia                  1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Milchama                  1 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1  7
Kriegiersien              1 0 0 0 2 1 0 2 0 0 0  6

Mylderm                   0 0 2 0 1 1 2 0 0  6
Muralos                   0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0  3

Matchday 26
TJUN-ia                   0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 2  6
Liventia                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3  5

Milchama                  0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0  3
Kriegiersien              0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 X  4

Mylderm                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Muralos                   0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 X  2

Matchday 27
TJUN-ia                   3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2  7
Liventia                  0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2  4

Milchama                  0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 0  5
Kriegiersien              0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2

Mylderm                   0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0  3
Muralos                   0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 X  4

Group G                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 Milchama               27   20   7   153  120  +33
2 TJUN-ia                27   19   8   171  101  +70
3 Muralos                27   13  14   120  135  −15
4 Liventia               27   10  17   127  130   −3
5 Kriegiersien           27   10  17    92  130  −38
6 Mylderm                27    9  18    96  143  −47

Group H

Matchday 25
South Newlandia           4 0 5 2 0 3 0 2 0 16
Ethane                    2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  3

Barnettsville             0 2 0 0 4 0 3 0 0  9
Caleon                    0 0 1 0 0 3 1 1 0  6

Daskel                    0 1 0 2 0 0 1 1 0  5
Ko-oren                   1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  7

Matchday 26
South Newlandia           2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 1  7
Ethane                    0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2  3

Barnettsville             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Caleon                    2 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 X  6

Daskel                    0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 2  5
Ko-oren                   1 1 0 1 2 0 2 5 X 12

Matchday 27
South Newlandia           0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  4
Ethane                    0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Barnettsville             0 0 0 4 0 0 1 0 0  5
Caleon                    0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  2

Daskel                    0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  6
Ko-oren                   1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2  4

Group H                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 South Newlandia        27   24   3   163   75  +88
2 Ethane                 27   16  11   106  115   −9
3 Ko-oren                27   12  15    88  112  −24
4 Daskel                 27   11  16   122  135  −13
5 Barnettsville          27   10  17    90  109  −19
6 Caleon                 27    8  19    91  114  −23

Provisional Seeding Table

Seeding                  Pld   W   L    RF   RA   RD 
1 South Newlandia        27   24   3   163   75  +88
1 Quintessence of Dust   27   22   5   126   79  +47
1 Eshialand              27   20   7   140   92  +48
1 Milchama               27   20   7   153  120  +33
1 Zwangzug               27   19   8   155  113  +42
1 Soldera                27   18   9   152   96  +56
1 The Sherpa Empire      27   17  10   126  115  +11
1 Quebec & Shingoyreo    27   16  11   143  124  +19
2 TJUN-ia                27   19   8   171  101  +70
2 Banija                 27   19   8   134   87  +47
2 Sarzonia               27   17  10   128  122   +6
2 Abanhfleft             27   16  11   145   96  +49
2 Nova Anglicana         27   16  11   130   96  +34
2 Ethane                 27   16  11   106  115   −9
2 Super-Llamaland        27   15  12   116  129  −13
2 StrayaRoos             27   14  13   111  101  +10

by **Sarzonia** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 8:08 am

The day went from bad to worse for Sarzonian national team manager Geoff Yancey.

The Sarzonian national baseball team's final home series of the World Baseball Classic saw the fourth ranked team in the multiverse get swept at the hands of a Soldera side that entered the competition unranked and untested. A Solderan team he haughtily dismissed prior to the away series in Branwen had just completed a shocking three-match sweep of Sarzonia in front of an angry Fleetwood Park crowd that let their displeasure be known in multiple ways.

The first defeat, one that saw ace Jeff Parrish chased after just two innings and saw Alton Long come in and pitch 3 1/3 innings on his normal day to pitch. It was one Yancey could simply chalk up to a bad day at the office, and so he just told his team to do better in Game 2 of the series. However, Mark Conroy, who pitched decently enough for seven innings and allowed five unearned runs, was the victim of horrible bullpen work as Carnie Weston coughed up six runs in the eighth of another blowout loss. That one saw Yancey refuse to address the media. The third one saw No. 3 starter Jamie Pearson pitch four innings of yet another complete disaster.

After the third match went final to the tune of a 12-2 loss and the fans pelted the pitch with pretty much anything they could grab hold of, Yancey went ballistic. He criticised the fans for throwing things, but stopped well short of criticising them for booing or being upset.

"If I paid money to watch that display, I'd be angry too," he said in a clearly ragged, hoarse voice after he admitted he gave a "major" tongue-lashing to his team. "We knew going in how important this series was and we shit the bed."

After the rest of the team had showered and dressed in silence after Yancey's temper tantrum, Yancey sat alone in his office just outside the team's dressing room when he heard a forceful knock on the door. He opened it and saw technical director John Owings standing there with a displeased look on his face.

"What can I do for you," Yancey asked as his dour expression suddenly turned into an ashen one.

"Pack your shit," Owings said with an equally dour expression before he suddenly smiled and said, "I'm joking!"

"Not funny!" Yancey retorted.

"Soldera's no joke," Owings said. "I wanted to talk to you about your approach to that team."

"They were unranked coming in," Yancey said.

"We were unranked in 48," Owings said. "We still made the knockout rounds. We may have had the advantage of pedigree, but we still made it to the knockouts as an unranked side. You didn't take Soldera seriously and now look what happened."

"I know," Yancey said.

"One bad series against Cassadaigua and we could be eliminated. What are your plans against Cassadaigua?"

"We're going to play this as a must-win series," he said. "I'm starting Lynch, Parrish and Conroy in that series."

"You sure that's a good idea considering how badly Parrish and Conroy pitched?"

"Parrish and Conroy are our best pitchers," Yancey said. "We need to beat the Fillies or we're toast."

"You'd better," Owings said. "And that's no joke."

by **Soldera** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 9:16 am

If Ned Willingham and his Solderan national baseball team wanted Sarzonia to be a rival, he got his wish.

Soldera entered the three-game series at Fleetwood Park in Woodstock trailing the Stars by two games in the Group C standings. They'd held a precarious one-game lead over South Americanastan and a two-game lead over Hannasea for the second and final spot in the knockout rounds of their debut World Baseball Classic. They entered this series with memories of Stars manager Geoff Yancey haughtily dismissing the notion of a rivalry between the fourth ranked Stars and the previously unranked Snakes.

When Stars designated hitter Luke Brinkley struck out looking for the final out of the series and the Snakes completed a shocking three-game sweep of Sarzonia to move up a game over Sarzonia for the group lead, never mind the second knockout round position, the chorus of boos and the throwing of objects onto the pitch forced the Snakes to scurry into the visiting clubhouse rather than celebrate on the pitch. Willingham expressed frustration that his team were in the line of fire of everything from plastic bottles in varying stages of emptiness to game programs being tossed onto the pitch by an angry Fleetwood Park crowd.

"It's a safety issue," Willingham said. "I'm concerned for [the Stars players] too."

When the proverbial dust settled, Soldera got on the plane to return to Branwen for their final series against South Americanastan needing just one victory to ensure a trip to Banija. Two victories over the Bears would give the Snakes an improbable group title as they would win the tiebreaker against Sarzonia no matter what the Stars did against Cassadaigua. About the only thing that would eliminate Soldera from the knockout rounds would be a three-game sweep of Aji No Moto by Hannasea coupled with a Bears sweep of Soldera at Prince Francis Stadium.

Willingham said he wasn't taking anything for granted.

"The Stars probably though they were going to sweep us and waltz into the knockout rounds," Willingham said. "We proved them wrong."

Manager Geoff Yancey disagreed with the notion that the Stars expected a sweep.

"We took Soldera seriously," he said in response to a reporter's question. "Did we think they were as good as they turned out to be? No. But we knew they were good."

For Sarzonia, they are two games clear of both South Americanastan and Hannasea and have the season series tiebreaker over both teams, so the Stars would need to win at least one of their three games in Cassadaigua to ensure their trip to Banija. Were the knockout stages to start now, the Snakes would be the sixth seed while the Stars would be the 11th seeds. The teams would not meet in the first round of the knockouts because sporting tradition prohibits a group stage rematch in the first knockout stage. Still, Yancey said if the Stars and the Snakes meet in the knockouts, his team would be "out for blood."

"They wanted a rivalry with us," Yancey said. "They've got one now."

by **Zwangzug** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 11:30 am

(OOC: At the risk of typecasting myself I'll be sparse the next few days because I'm, uh, at a science fiction/fantasy convention >.> Good luck in the playoffs to everyone!)

Excerpts from Against Historiography, by Irulan Kang-Coriolis:

The standard, if abbreviated, synopsis of the Consolidation goes as follows: Zwangzug was first inhabited by successive waves of migrants leaving their homelands in search of peace/freedom/forming a utopian community led by an idealist/getting away from that guy who hoarded all the rice. Some of these "first generation" cities survived and thrived; others failed, leading to the coagulation of larger if less utopian "second generation" cities. This took place over many years and centuries, without a common identity or shared state forming, although there were a few small attempts at regional unions.

Only at a relatively late epoch did the traumatic incidents in Zwischen result in chaos and disruption in the city, and its survivors recognized a belief in a shared heritage. Attempts at aiding Zwischen were swept up in a stupendous example of mission creep, as some of the "consolidators"' journeys formed the united country, while others stayed behind to hash out the political system.

The burgeoning country then ran into a barrier, literally and figuratively, to the south; beyond the Alai Mountains lay unfamiliar Unkerlantum. Zwangzug's newfound nationalism inspired a "space race," if perhaps a one-sided one, with modern technological efforts springing up in fast-growing Spenson. While Zwangzug's astronauts may have been first to the moon, they hadn't accounted for the fuel and resources needed to come back, and triumph quickly turned to cynicism. Darren Coriolis' Pragmatic Radical Party fell from grace, and excessive nationalism became a taboo ideology.

This account, while mainstream, is not biased so much as incomplete. It's easy to construct a coherent narrative in retrospect, but why did the Consolidation succeed when other movements had not? For that matter, why were city-states not strongholds of regional pride?

To some extent, the relentlessly pacifistic ethos must have contributed to this. It would have only taken one or two warmongering cities to either force the others down to their level, or conquer the smaller towns to establish their own banner. The remarkable fact about Zwangzug is not that a few eggheads chose "symbolic negotiations" over actual bloodshed, but that the vast majority--even if they thought the chess allusions overdone--didn't stop them.

In recent times, Zwangzug has seen the failure of the social credit system for "nudging" people's mindsets into regressive identitarianism, as our robotic "betters" have observed in other nations. (See SMART CYBORGS, by Joanna McKinsey, for an extensive treatment of this subject.) The fact that the robots only recently attempted this may lead you to think that such extreme movements are a new phenomenon. It might be the case that the scale and influence of such victimhood conceptions, encouraging self-flagellation and performative despair from anyone remotely grounded in reality, is much larger in these other countries than it has been in the past. However, we should not conclude from it that the dangers of these ideologies are new. Indeed, they have always existed, if in more reduced form. It may be that, along with pacifism and a penchant for lipograms, one of the peculiarly "Zwangzugian" traits is extreme vulnerability to this kind of rhetoric, even when unintentional--which leads to erring so far on the side of caution as to deny the existence of any "Zwangzugian" traits whatsoever.

The classic example is, as always, the two cities of Yeaun District. Trink and Danhy, Danhy and Trink. Trink was populated a couple decades before the Consolidation; its founders were refugees from a terrible war that shook their homelands. (The many vagaries of international geography make it impossible to track who and where was afflicted, but given the linguistic and religious diversity in modern Trink, we can assume that several different cultures were entangled.) The desire of such immigrants to seek a new home needs no explanation. As long as there are wars, there will be cities like Trink.

Danhy was populated a few years afterwards, and its founders, too, were fleeing the war. But their homelands were not the victims; they were the aggressors. Whether perpetuating war crimes against their neighbors or unleashing new weapons on a colossal scale, whatever they did was so terrible that the migrants would rather have no national identity at all than be lumped in with the perpetrators. Were they likely to face this? Certainly not from Trink's people, which had noped out of that area as quickly as possible; ironically, the Danhy settlers probably exposed themselves to much more guilt by coincidentally happening to land in what would become Yeaun.

But as long as there are wars, there will be cities like Danhy. Maybe not many of them, but enough. Instead of imagining Zwangzug as a pacifist utopia for Trink's citizens, it's probably wiser to imagine it as a mental terra nullius, a safe haven for Danhy's. One utopia implies the other.

The observant reader may wonder if I, Irulan Kang-Coriolis, am a completely neutral chronicler here. The answer, of course, is in the negative. But that is a story for another time.

by **Nova Anglicana** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 1:21 pm

Controversial Moments in Nova Anglican History: The Pact

Nova Anglicana doesn't have a long history. Fewer than twenty years old, it hasn't had the time to rack up controversial moments, unless you count the original controversies of the French and English settling the territory. Furthermore, being formed through treaty, it never fought an independence war whose leaders could then be regarded as patriots or traitors. Nevertheless, there is one, not very well known moment in Nova Anglican history that must be addressed: the Pact.

When Nova Anglicana was first formed, the driving and organising force behind it was the Movement for a Just Government (MJG), a protest movement that sought to build what it saw as the perfect government, blending Anglican Christian principles with modern liberal ones. In short, a Christian democratic state that put the emphasis on Christian and democratic. The MJG was a broad tent, encompassing those on both the Christian right and Christian left, with a Christian democratic centre. As such, a wide variety of Christian principles were up for debate. Could Nova Anglicana follow the "just war" criteria in a world beset by controversy and terrorism? Could a state really ban usury and still function? What did "loving thy neighbor" really look like?

But on both sides, the driving question was the issue of life. If humans are the image of God, then to allow a human to be killed was a grave crime. On the left, MJG members agitated for a minimal armed forces, worried about guns, pressed for environmental protections, wanted to abolish the death penalty, and urged a welfare state, all aimed at preserving and protecting life. On the right, abortion was the animating issue, but they were also concerned about fetal stem cell research (this was the 2000s, after all), euthanasia and assisted suicide, and proper care for the elderly. The MJG soon split into a left wing, the Progressive Justice Party, and a right wing, the Nova Anglican People's Party, with the centre dividing itself between the two or remaining independent. As antagonism between the two sides rose, centrists on both sides advocated for compromise. In a series of negotiations, the right identified what it saw as the most important issue: Nova Anglicana must be an abortion-free state. After all, how could the new state be a light unto the nations if it was complicit in the murder of innocents, just the same as many other nations?

This was a bitter pill to swallow for the left. Modern liberal values drove them to want to protect bodily autonomy, to preserve the right of freedom of choice for women in their new nation. Even as many of them would have preferred women to choose life, they still wanted women to have that choice. Initially, the PJP rejected the offer, but centrists in both parties kept working at it. What would it take to accept this? After all, if the right were appeased on this issue, the new nation would be much more unified. After much prodding, the left replied: if women would be forbidden to seek abortions, then they must be given every other reasonable alternative. This meant widely available contraception, proper sex education, free healthcare before birth and free or nearly free after birth, strong and active support for adoption and for unwanted children to be surrendered, and an extensive welfare state that made it possible for even low-income individuals to easily raise a family (payments, housing assistance, childcare assistance, etc). And they would not accept a total ban. The right must at least exempt victims of rape and incest and allow for abortions if the mother's life was in danger or if the child was likely to suffer severely and not live long. The People's Party leaders accepted the offer, effectively ceding that Nova Anglicana would be a welfare state, necessitating additional taxation. This disappointed economic liberals and small government advocates, but social conservatism was driving the bus of the PP.

As important as it is to the foundation of Nova Anglican politics, the Pact is not talked about very much. It isn't taught in schools, or flaunted by politicians. It was very much a back-room deal made to unify the nation's political class at a time when disunity would have doomed the young nation. If you ask the average Nova Anglican what the Pact is, the vast majority would say they have no idea. All aspects of Nova Anglican policy are often presented as being part of a "seamless garment"; if you want to protect life, you have to accept immigrants and refugees, ban certain kinds of guns, forbid the death penalty, and not allow abortion. The protection of life Nova Anglicana tries to create through policy is the water Nova Anglicans swim in; it is not a tangible thing, it simply is. Some political scientists argue that the Pact is the reason why the PJP has won all but one election in Nova Anglican history. Deprived of the abortion issue as a culture war club, and unable to propose strong rollbacks of the welfare state, the right has been neutered to a certain extent. A blend of left-of-centre economics with moderation on social issues seems to be in tune with the nation. That's not to say that it isn't controversial. The Liberal Secularist Party is strongly in favor of abortion rights, and there are more than a few in the PJP or Stewardship Party who would prefer a pro-choice policy. But they swim so strongly against the mainstream that they have little chance of overcoming it.

Politicians introduced into the halls of power are often told for the first time about the Pact, and an unspoken agreement protects it. Both major parties understand that if it were violated in some major way, either by rolling back the welfare state severely, or a major jump in legalisation, the relatively conflict-free and pragmatism-oriented Nova Anglican political discourse would collapse. It would be a war of all against all that would consume not only the substantive discourse currently favored in Nova Anglican politics, but also both major parties in infighting. The Liberal Secularist Party initially made legalisation of abortion a red line for their support of a PJP government, but they were flatly rejected. The PJP even ran a minority government for a time rather than accede to that demand. Only in abandoning that ask under new leader Emily Waterford did they gain influence and power in government. The National Party wanted to bring back the death penalty for any number of crimes, but the PP nixed that, knowing that advocating for that issue would likely sink the government, in popularity if not in Parliament.

Minor violations of the Pact have been considered to have occurred before. For example, abortion on demand is currently legal up to 12 weeks in the Nova Anglican Administrative Zone of Esportiva. This would seem to be a clear breach, but it was made to comply with WA regulations, and the relative distance of the NAAZE necessarily implies some level of autonomy. Additionally, when the PP under Michael Ramsey proposed stringent cuts to welfare, backroom discussions occurred, questioning if this was a violation. The Pact also does not extend to other issues that might animate social conservatives: for example, the legalisation of same-sex marriage enraged social conservatives, but couldn't be presented as evidence that the left was undermining the Pact.

Simply because it does exist does not mean it will continue to exist. A rising generation of politicians may not accept the Pact, as secular ideas take root on both the left and the right. If revenge and blood-and-soil nationalism (an absurdity, considering how Nova Anglicana was formed, but some still buy it) become the animating forces on the right, immigration, the death penalty, and gun regulation may be in danger. If more politicians on the left follow the lead of Equality's Samantha Speer, who spoke in favor of legalising abortion even while part of the PJP, then there will be no Pact. Young politicians on the left may judge that the PJP has had considerable success and that the right is simply out of touch with the electorate or unable to win elections, and conclude that the Pact is an outdated affront to human rights that can be ditched. Politicians on the right may judge that the left will be willing to uphold the Pact for the sake of protecting Nova Anglican politics, and seek to chip away at its edges, exploiting the fact that the left wants government to work, while the right simply wants government out of its life. Similarly, as minor parties gain more and more influence and even may possibly hold more than 50% of seats in the not too distant future, the Pact could fall. What happens when an agreement made by two parties that no longer have the same kind of hegemonic influence is examined by parties who never had a hand in it in the first place?

OOC: Please note that this is and remains a controversial topic in the modern world. The view expressed here is not necessarily representative of the views of the user behind Nova Anglicana. It is not my intention to stir up controversy. I merely wrote about this because it is an important part of Nova Anglicana's worldbuilding.

by **Banija** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 2:45 pm

The 3-4-3: Three games, four extra innings, and 3 wins for a sweep that puts Banijan baseball into the WBC 53 Knockout Stages

BARDNEY- After dropping 2 out of 3 to the Ranoria Krauts, the Banijans sat 3 games ahead of them for 2nd place in Group A, and 2 games behind Eshialand for first place in the group. Banija is ranked 5th in the World Baseball Classic, and of course, it is our legendary manager's last ride- Ousman Kakay will ride off into the sunset on home soil. Hopefully with a title- but first, we've got to make sure that he's able to manage those games in the knockout stages first. And that, while expected originally to be relatively straightforward in Group A, was proving more difficult than expected. Dropping 2 out of 3 to the Krauts made things significantly more complicated. Of course, not by an insane amount- up 3 games on a team you hold the first tiebreaker with, when six games are remaining in the group stages, is a solid lead to have. But they would want to have that berth clinched before they got back to Banija for the final series. If they hadn't- well, the pressure could seriously mount in our final series in Herzegovina City against Ardengard.

Which put the focus, of course, on getting some road wins against Bardney. Banija's road form has up and down, to say the least- losing 2 out of 3 away to both Eshialand and Ranoria, the other two competitors with this many games left for a spot in the knockout stages. To open the series, we threw our ace, Ramata Kabba, onto the mound. She, of course, threw the only no-hitter in national team history during the group stages of WBC 52. She's dealt with the pressure of being at the front of the staff. And with Ranoria heavily favored against an unranked, last place Ardengard side, she would need to ensure that the series started off on the front foot for the Banijans. And her command wasn't all there in Game 1, allowing a lot of baserunners, but the veteran having the wherewithal to strand a lot of the baserunners. But we'd have to dig deep into the pen- she left after just 4 and 2/3s. She allowed the bases to be loaded in the 1st, 4th, and 5th, allowing earned runs in the first two instances, and Kakay pulling her in the third instance.

From there, he passed it on to the pen. Badara Ogunsola got the final out of that inning, and pitched through the sixth. In the top of the sixth, of course, a solo shot from Luxolo Mbeki cut the Bardney lead in half. In the top of the 7th, when Ogunsola's turn came to bat, there was a man on second base and only one out. He was pulled for a pinch hitter, and Momodou Joof did his job off the bench, with the 36 year old lining a single into right field to allow the baserunner, Bailo Suso, to score from second. The bullpen was the MVP of this one. Badara Ogunsola- 1.1 innings, 0 R. Then, Mizpah Askari for 2 innings, and 0 runs. Then, Alifa Kakay took the mound, for another 2 innings and 0 runs. And then, after a 2 run double from Malik Soley to take the lead in the top of the 10th, Yoro Coulibaly had a 1-2-3 10th inning to record the save. A combined 6.1 innings from four pitchers out of the bullpen, not allowing a single run. Brilliant performance from a much maligned bullpen that usually struggles in those situations.

So with the pen logging so many innings, you'd think we want to get a lot of innings out of our starter for Game 2? Yes. Faraba Conateh then proceeded to log some serious innings himself. Allowing 2 earned runs over 7 innings, he was brilliant. Unfortunately, submarine style pitcher Horace Geiger was doing the same thing. And he was a guy who rarely, if ever, got pulled. The Banijans had the bases loaded in the top of the 8th, and Kakay pulled Conateh off for Momodou Joof to pinch hit. Although Joof had a clutch RBI single in the same situation the night before, on this Game 2, he grounded into an inning ending double play- a brutal result for the manager. What can you do. The bottom half of the inning did not go well either. Ismaela Ndour pitched the whole inning, but allowed a RBI double with a man on first base, with Bardney's aggressive baserunners putting pressure on Banija's outfielders. Malik Solely seemed to not expect French Laplace to round 3rd base and go home, as the pressure put on by the baserunner caused the throw to be offline and for Bardney to take the lead.

Top of the 9th, Geiger going for the complete game. Banijans on the brink, right? Wrong- Malik Solely would make up for his error, by being the hero once again. Geiger was not the type to try and pitch around the superstar- and he was sorry for it. Malik Solely hit an absolutely towering shot into left field, 455 feet, to stun the home crowd and force extras. At this point, of course, we're deep into the bullpen again- to the displeasure of Ousman Kakay. This time, we brought out setup man, Oyella Lagum, to pitch. While he allowed a leadoff single, and then a walk, to start the bottom of the 9th, the youngster got his stuff together. Took advantage of Bardney's baserunning aggressiveness- he picked off the runner at 1st base for the first out, got a guy to strike out for the second out, and while Quickbat McGee lined one into the left-center gap with two outs for what many thought would be a walkoff single, an absolutely brilliant, game-saving diving catch by Banijan left fielder Nyaniso Hani ended the inning and forced extras. Legum got a perfect 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 10th. In the 11th, it would be Mesuli Calata scoring from first on a RBI double by Moses Oneko off of Horace Geiger that would be the game-winning run for Banija. With closer Coulibaly unavailable on the day(sickness), the lefty Lwazi Fassie recorded his first ever save, also with a 1-2-3 innings.

10.1 innings pitched over two games for Banija for the bullpen. And no earned runs. But not how Ousman Kakay likes it. "We need to do more to win these in 9 innings." He said. "Wearing down our bullpen- it's not good for our team's long-term prospects." And yet, game 3 of the series was tantilizing. Banija's magic number to reach the knockout stages was 1- either a win, or a Ranoria loss, would officially eliminate Ranoria from contention and clinch Banija a spot in the playoffs. And earlier in the day, Ranoria won 7-0 in Ardengard to ramp up the pressure on the Banijans. While the last two games were pitching duels, with Horace Geiger throwing 11 innings in a loss, and Kermit Connelly throwing 10 innings, Bardney would throw "Too-Tall Tad" onto the mound. And instead of a pitching duel- you got the equivalent of a shootout.

We jumped out to a big lead early, scoring in each of the first three innings, enough so that we led 5-0 after the top of the 3rd. But slowly, but surely, Bardney came back. Chopping away against Xolile Gola. The only inning they did not score in, between the 3rd and the 9th, was the 4th inning. One run an inning, except for 2 in the 8th. That early 5-0 lead had completely evaporated by the time the 9th rolled around. Xolile Gola was knocked out in the 6th, and Banija's relievers were struggling- those two games prior were a mirage. Using the entire bullpen over the course of 3 games, and then some, was not in the plan for Ousman Kakay. A combined 15 innings out of the pen throughout the series, allowing 4 earned runs, all innings 7-9 of game 3 of the series. Anyways, trailing 7-6 entering the top of the 9th, just like the night before.

Who would start the 9th inning rally for Banija? None other than Joanna Adoyo, pinch hitting for Bailo Suso to lead off the inning. And it worked- a leadoff single. We then used some small ball, having our pitcher at the time, Mizpah Askari, laying down a bunt. Adoyo on second base- a win, of course, to clinch a playoff spot. Mesuli Calata flying out to right field- but Adoyo, being the smart baserunner, tagging up to 3rd base. She was safe only by the smallest of margins. Too-Tall Tad was one out away from Bardney's first victory over Banija of this entire tournament. Moses Oneko was the man at the plate. Moses Oneko to be the hero again? Yes. Once again, the team living on the edge, and once again, their players coming through. Oneko hit the bloopiest of bloop singles- popping it up behind the second baseman and the right fielder, and landing just barely between them. But they all count the same, don't they? He smirked after the single, knowing that he had probably gotten away with a bad swing there- but the game was tied regardless.

And then, in the top of the 10th, an unsung player to play hero for Banija? That's right- it would be Anathi Zimema, who, in a 7-7 game, would hit a solo home run to straightaway center field for Banija to take the lead, and to send Banija to the playoffs. Yoro Coulibaly was back in the bottom half of the inning, and our closer went 1-2-3 for the save as the players ran to the mound to mob the 34 year old. Another playoff appearance clinched- their 8th straight visit to the WBC Round of 16 under Ousman Kakay.

The manager reflected on it all. "I'm fortunate to have such a great group of men and women for this tournament- my final classic." Ousman Kakay said this at a post-game press conference. "It's surreal to kind of take it all in- this will be my last road trip as Banija's manager." And this, of course, was true since Banija's final series, and the actual playoffs, were taking place in country. "It has been the challenge and the privilege of my life to coach this national team. But there's more games to go! I'm not done yet. This has been a hell of a series. I'm an old man- this series was probably not good for my stress levels. All three games in extras! Hell of a job by Bardney, especially their pitchers. Full credit to them, they've shown incredible resilience throughout this series, each of them pitching double-digit innings, showing the mental fortitude to ride the highs and lows of a game, and of a Classic. But hell of a job to our team- we were down for the count multiple times in this series, and players did not crack under pressure- instead, we rose to the moment. Continuously trailing in the 9th inning of games is not a long-term recipe for success, but our ability to not give up, even when our backs are completely against the wall, and win these games is a crucial skill going forward."

The Classic moves back to Herzegovina City for the final 3 games, as Banija hosts last place Ardengard in a 3 game set. It will be the first WBC series ever played in Herzegovina City. Banija sits one game behind Eshialand for first place in the group- but with Eshialand holding the tiebreaker, it is seen as a tall order for Banija to get into first place. Zamekile Mbizo will pitch game 1, Ava Odoyo will throw game 2, and long-time long reliever Alifa Kakay(no relation to Ousman) will start game 3. That will be the first ever WBC start of Kakay's career.

Other News
- The Olympic Committee of Banija has officially named the country's 8 host cities for the World Baseball Classic. They said each city will host two series- one Round of 16 series, and one later on in the tournament. Unsurprisingly, the five cities that hosted Banija games(Sisonke, Istria, Herzegovina City, Mynda, and Busukuma) were chosen to host series. In addition, the cities of Mukeruzi(Ankole Region), Luguyala(Aksum Region) and Busemlu(Buganda Region) have also been chosen to host playoff series at this tournament.
- Istria has also been announced as the host city for the WBC Championship Series, surprising absolutely nobody who has paid attention. The City played host to the Gold Medal match for the XIV Summer Olympiad, as well as the Finals for the 13th International Baseball Slam.

by **Chromatika** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 8:36 pm

After dropping the series to the Sherpa Empire, 1-2, things have become very clear for the Outliners: They have to sweep Sevendia and hope that some things go their way.

The Outliers have lost the head-to-head against both Brookstation and The Sherpa Empire, 2-4; they do have the head-to-head against Abanhfleft, 5-1. The Sherpa Empire and Abanhfleft play each other on the final matchday, while Brookstation will face the Equestrian States.

The best result for the Outliers is if they take at least two wins off Sevendia and then have The Sherpa Empire beat Abanhfleft, and have Equestrian States upset Brookstation.

It's a tough spot for the Outliers, who are the defending champions; they'll have three last chances to prove it.

by **Eshialand** » Thu Dec 16, 2021 1:00 am

OOC: And now, we take a break from our regularly scheduled RP series...

How Did We Get Here?
Drawkland 2-4 Eshialand
Drawkland 3-4 Eshialand (14)
Drawkland 4-2 Eshialand

"Deep fly ball to left field by Saunders, this one looks like it could leave Yeshley Field folks... AND IT DOES! A SOLO SHOT FROM SAUNDERS SEALS IT IN THE BOTTOM OF THE FOURTEENTH! THE OWLS MAKE IT NINE IN A ROW, AND THEY'LL BE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!!"

Josh Seametzle fights back a tear of joy as he repeats the last thing he just said. "The Owls... are going... to the playoffs..."
"You look like you could use a drink..." Charlie the cameraman said.
"Yes, yes, I could use something... what's the strongest drink you have?"
"Well, I think there's some bourbon over in the dry bar over there..."

"20-6... playoff bound... they've f***ing done it Charlie, they actually did it... can you believe it, after where we were going into this, what our expectations were?"

"Honestly, all I have to say is... yes and no. No because, I have to agree, nobody could've seen this coming, given where this team was starting from, but yes because this is clearly an amazing team. They aren't just getting lucky out there, they're putting in the work and getting the job done. This team deserves it more than they may ever know... they deserved to make this happen, right here in Yeshley Field. Right here, today, in front of all of their fans, they deserved this win."

Josh pondered for a moment what he could do next. There were a thousand different things he could do as a sportscaster after a fifth-seeded Eshialand managed to overcome the odds and make the top two with flying colors. He could go have a drink with friends, start an ENN panel, write a Stats Corner article to either explain why this all made sense or make it sound more unbelievable than it was... no, there was only one right thing to do. He took a swig of the bourbon that Charlie fetched for him and walked right down to the field to get a word in with Rebecca Saunders herself.

"Josh, wait, you forgot your mic!" Charlie shouted before Josh left.
"Keep the mic Charlie, what I'm about to do is off the record..."

As he arrived on the field, he saw Rebecca just before she was to leave with her boyfriend. He didn't want to take her out of the moment, what with that homer being perhaps the single most important thing she had done thus far as a baseball player, so he shouted one thing at her before running back up to the announcers' booth.

"Hey! Rebecca! Whatever happened to 'we're screwed'?"

She smiled back at him, tipping her cap as she did so, before she walked out of the stadium to celebrate her team's victory. She earned it. They all earned it.

We'll be seeing you in Banija, Owls. Let's see how long this can last, shall we?

by **Quintessence of Dust** » Thu Dec 16, 2021 4:26 am

(Provisional) box scores as posted on the TalkBaseball.qd website. This tournament, TBQ will be summarising results entirely through The Wire quotes.


                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
J. Theriault SS            4   0   1   0   0   0   2  .326   2  15
L. Chevalier LF            4   0   1   0   0   2   2  .297   3  13
L. Dai 1B                  4   1   1   1   0   1   2  .280   2  18
J. Stevens CF              4   0   1   0   0   1   1  .391   3  13
R. Weber RF                4   0   0   0   0   0   2  .328   1   7
M.P. Yang 3B               3   2   1   0   1   0   0  .208   2   4
K. Kawasuda DH             3   2   2   4   1   0   0  .310   2   7	
T. Watanabe 2B             3   0   1   0   0   1   1  .000   1  10
B. Meldgaard C             2   0   0   0   1   1   2  .154   0   0

Doubles: M.P. Yang (1, 2nd inning, 0 on, 1 out), J. Stevens (9, 5th inning, 0 on, 0 outs)
Home runs: K. Kawasuda 2 (2, 2nd inning, 1 on, 1 out; 4th inning, 1 on, 0 outs), L. Dai (2, 1st inning, 0 on, 2 outs)
Total bases: K. Kawasuda 8, L. Dai 4, M.P. Yang 2, J. Stevens 2, T. Watanabe, L. Chevalier, J. Theriault
2-out RBI: L. Dai
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: J. Theriault, R. Weber, L. Dai
Team LOB: 4

BASERUNNING
SB: T. Watanabe (2)
CS: J. Stevens (3)

FIELDING
Double plays: 1 (Watanabe – Theriault – Dai)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
N. Waismann W (3 – 1)      6.0  3   1   1   1   1   0  74  46  2.31
J. Grant                   2.0  2   0   0   0   2   0  27  18  3.38
M. Ibsen                   1.0  0   0   0   0   2   0  11   8  0.00

Game score: N. Waismann 60
Batters faced: N. Waismann 21, J. Grant 8, M. Ibsen 3
Ground outs – fly outs: N. Waismann 9 – 7, J. Grant 2 – 2, M. Ibsen 1 – 0

Scoring summary:

1.2: Lingxin Dai homers (7LD). Lingxin Dai scores.

2.1: Kutoshi Kawasuda homers (9D). Maas Pheng Yang scores. Kutoshi Kawasuda scores.

4.0: Kutoshi Kawasuda homers (9LD). Maas Pheng Yang scores. Kutoshi Kawasuda scores.

6.1: Valery Robiquet singles (4LM). Kaylor Marshall scores.


                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
J. Theriault SS            3   1   1   1   1   0   1  .327   3  16
L. Chevalier LF            3   2   1   0   0   0   0  .298   3  13
L. Dai 3B                  3   0   0   0   1   2   1  .272   2  18
J. Stevens CF              4   0   3   2   0   0   0  .406   3  15
R. Weber DH                4   0   1   0   0   1   3  .323   1   7
S. Borgþórsson 1B          4   0   0   0   0   0   3  .229   3  11
T. Watanabe 2B             3   0   0   0   0   2   0  .300   1  10
J. McCallum RF             3   0   0   0   0   0   0  .250   0   0
Y. Long C                  3   0   2   0   0   0   0  .311   0   2

Doubles: J. Stevens 3 (12, 4th inning, 0 on, 1 out; 6th inning, 1 on, 1 out; 8th inning, 1 on, 1 out)
Home runs: J. Theriault (3, 1st inning, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total bases: J. Stevens 6, J. Theriault 4, Y. Long 2, R. Weber, L. Chevalier
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: S. Borgþórsson 3, L. Chevalier
GIDP: S. Borgþórsson, L. Chevalier
Hit by Pitch: L. Chevalier
Team LOB: 5

BASERUNNING
SB: L. Chevalier (4)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
J. Scherer                 3.0  1   0   0   0   1   0  37  20  3.44
B. Amundsen W (2 – 0)      3.0  0   0   0   0   1   0  28  17  1.93
M. Ryan                    0.2  0   0   0   0   2   0   9   6  1.86
J. Grant                   0.1  0   0   0   0   0   0   2   1  3.18
H. Liang H (1)             1.0  2   2   2   0   0   2  22  15  2.70
M. Ibsen SV (1)            1.0  0   0   0   1   1   0  13   7  0.00

Game score: J. Scherer 59
Batters faced: J. Scherer 11, B. Amundsen 9, M. Ryan 2, J. Grant 1, H. Liang 5, M. Ibsen 4
Ground outs – fly outs: J. Scherer 6 – 2, B. Amundsen 2 – 6, M. Ryan 0 – 0, J. Grant 1 – 0, H. Liang 0 – 1, M. Ibsen 1 – 1
Hit batsmen: J. Scherer

Scoring summary:

1.0: Jack Theriault homers (8LXD). Jack Theriault scores.

6.1: Jay Stevens doubles (89XD). Luka Chevalier scores.

8.1: Jay Stevens doubles (3L). Luka Chevalier scores.

9.0: Francisco Adam homers (89XD). Francisco Adam scores.

9.0: Valery Robiquet homers (7D). Valery Robiquet scores.


                          AB   R   H  RBI BB   K  LOB  AVG  HR  RBI
J. Theriault SS            5   1   2   0   0   0   1  .330   3  16
L. Chevalier LF            5   1   1   0   0   1   1  .293   3  13
L. Dai 3B                  4   1   1   0   0   0   1  .271   2  18
J. Stevens CF              2   2   2   0   2   0   0  .418   3  15
R. Weber RF                2   0   0   1   1   0   2  .313   1   8
  a–J. McCallum RF         0   0   0   0   0   0   0  .250   0   0
M.P. Yang DH               2   0   1   2   2   0   1  .231   2   6
S. Borgþórsson 1B          3   0   0   0   1   1   5  .221   3  11
T. Watanabe 2B             4   1   1   1   0   1   2  .297   2  11
Y. Long C                  4   0   1   0   0   0   0  .308   0   2

a–J. McCallum substituted for R. Weber in the 9th

Doubles: M.P. Yang (2, 4th inning, 1 on, 2 outs), J. Theriault (9, 7th inning, 0 on, 1 out)
Home runs: T. Watanabe (2, 8th inning, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total bases: T. Watanabe 4, J. Theriault 3, J. Stevens 2, M.P. Yang 2, Y. Long, L. Dai, L. Chevalier
2-out RBI: M.P. Yang 2
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: S. Borgþórsson 3, T. Watanabe 2
GIDP: L. Chevalier
Sac Fly: R. Weber
Team LOB: 4

BASERUNNING
SB: L. Chevalier (5), J. Stevens (7)

FIELDING
Errors: L. Dai (4)
Double plays: 2 (Watanabe – Theriault – Borgþórsson, Watanabe – Theriault – Borgþórsson)

                            IP  H   R  ER  BB   K  HR  PI  PS   ERA
J. Martin W (6 – 0)        9.0  4   0   0   0   7   0  94  65  1.67

Game score: J. Martin 86
Batters faced: J. Martin 30
Ground outs – fly outs: J. Martin 13 – 4

Scoring summary:

2.2: Passed ball. Jay Stevens scores.

4.2: Maas Pheng Yang doubles (7LXD). Jay Stevens scores.

6.1: Rémy Weber flies out (8RXD). Lingxin Dai scores.

7.1: Luka Chevalier steals 2nd base. Throwing error (E2). Jack Theriault scores.

7.2: Maas Pheng Yang walks with the bases loaded. Luka Chevalier scores.

8.0: Teijo Watanabe homers (78XD). Teijo Watanabe scores.

"A man in your line of work start worrying about how other people see you, playin' to other people instead of him self, he gonna get dead." -- Butchie

The Things inflicted a home sweep of Delaclava, though only game 3, where Jack Martin threw his second career complete game shutout, a 4-hit, 7-K effort in under 100 pitches, was much of a blowout. The first two games were relatively close to the end, especially game 2 where the form of Hong Liang -- who gave up back-to-back home runs -- remains worrying. Kutoshi Kawasuda got a a rare outing as designated hitter as Jun Jiang ditched the usual Quodite hospitality and insisted on using the DH; Kawasuda promptly hammered two home runs, the first multi-homer game for a Quodite this tournament. Rémy Weber (with Jude McCallum fielding in right) and Maas Pheng Yang were also given chances at DH. The sweep sewed up the group for the Things, guaranteeing top seeding; they can now finish no lower than 6th overall -- though the presence of teams such as Super-Llamaland, who on current form the Things would meet in the Round of 16, in the bottom half suggests seeding may not matter for much.

The good news is that right fielder Tom Brøndum is expected to be fit again to rejoin the team once they travel to Banija. That probably means either McCallum or Carolina Brewster missing out, but it could create a selection dilemma at right field: Weber has slashed .313/.361/.469 with some welcome extra base power, while Brøndum was hitting just .133/.257/.167 prior to his injury. In non-DH games, unless his offensive game rebounds, it's no longer clear he offers an upgrade over Weber, and with Luka Chevalier drawing an on-base average of .413 with a team-leading 17 bases-on-balls and Jay Stevens raking at .418/.477/.673, there's no room in the outfield for arguably the Things' best player at WBC52. Sigurkarl Borgþórsson's poor form remains a distinct worry too after a second successive group stage totally lacking in power: over nearly 60 games over the previous two tournaments, the "power hitter" has managed just 4 home runs, and went hitless against Delaclava.

On the pitching front, Niklas Waismann compiled another solid start in game 1, but if the team reverts to a 4-person rotation for the playoffs, may not have done enough not to slide to the arm barn given the rebound in Mayumi Kawakami's form; her performance in the final series against United Adaikes will be probably decide the issue. In game 2, Jan Scherer reverted to opener role, throwing just 37 pitches, but sat down 11 batters in 3 innings with just a hit and a hit batter against him. The arm barn combined to 1-hit Delaclava until Liang entered the fray and was promptly dispatched by successive Delaclav batters. Jiang's pitcher use suggests he may keep Haakon Kalberg and Juzo Sakaguchi on short leashes in the final series, but play a largely full-strength batting lineup.

by **TJUN-ia** » Thu Dec 16, 2021 4:53 am

Game 1: TJUN-ia (3) 6-1 Liventia (15) (TJU lead 1-0)
TJUN-ia lost their 2nd series of the campaign on the road in Milchama...and now, we had to fight back. That was the mindset Phillip Hellas-Verona certainly tried to distil within his Battin' Jags heading into the very important series with still-alive Liventia at Port Cartford Park. Everyone knew that TJUN-ia were shaky against Milchama and that was certainly a concern, but Milchama haven't really lost games themselves so...I guess that makes sense. The Red-and-Gold were expected to fight for this game, as they should, but this was going to be interesting for another reason as well as the use of the DH at PCP meant that Killian O'Mally could finally leave the bench and have an impact on the series - which would certainly lead to interesting results.

Kyle McNash and Noah Rippin would start game 1 with both O'Mally and Nicky Minty raring to go, as were the fans in attendance. Things got off to a hot start, with both Pedro Moires and Danny Hugill kicking things off with homers, but from here the Jaguars seized control of the game and the hosts could do nothing to stop that at all. The 3rd would see a 2-run bomb by Joe Gregory and by the time Calhoun ran in a 4th in the 4th, Rippin was gone and replaced by Doug Rawsthorne. He would help stop the bleeding a little bit but still conceded 2 more runs, a solo-bomb by Gregory in the 5th and Rafael Llorente's cherry on top in the 8th. It was a great start to this series for us and a start we looked to build upon.

Game 2: TJUN-ia (3) 6-5 Liventia (15) (TJU won 2-0)
Chris Harris would face Everton Ing in Game 2 and while the scoreline paints one picture, the game itself would be a completely different story. The first 4.5 innings were all Battin' Jags, there was no doubt about that, and the runs were just flowing for a period of time. Calhoun got a homer in the 2nd, Ki Yung-son managed a run in the 4th and by the time Motoko Kagawa hit a 2-run bomb out of the park, Ing was gone and replaced by Jonathan Embrey. Embrey stopped the bleeding for a while, just enough to set up a chaotic final 2 innings that saw 7 runs combined and a whole lot of drama. Harris had managed a shutout for most of this game, but it was finally broken in the 8th with a 2-run bomb from Reece Raymont. TJUN-ia responded with 2 runs of their own thanks to Calhoun, but Harris' decision to stay out would lead to a 3-run bomb by Corey Martyn, Carlos Buena to be rushed out to end the game and a nervy finish that he managed to pull through. The series was ours, just about, and with Milchama losing today, the gap was now down to a game at the top.

Game 3: TJUN-ia (3) 7-4 Liventia (15) (TJU win series 3-0)
Davis Johnson faced Daryl Holden knowing that the Jags had punched their ticket to Banija already, but the battle for the group and a Top 8 seed was still up for grabs. That would be reflected right at the start when Steven Fulmer hit a 3-run bomb and began the story of this game. Before Holden was dismissed, a few more runs would be scored by us and 1 from the hosts. Then came Robin Hambleton and the fightback was on, a run in the 7th making things a bit nervy for the finale as both teams scored twice in the 9th...but the margin remained the same. 7-4 was the final score, the series swept 3-0 and the final road series of the campaign was a success.

Only Kriegiersien in Portside remained, a place we are unbeaten thus far, and we many need that if we want a Top 8 seed. If we win 1 more game than Milchama, then things may be decided by H2H RD - a statistic no one knew who led by at this point. The final 3 games will decide the group winner...let's see who wins, then. GO JAGS!

SCHEDULE (Group G)
S1: vs Muralos (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside W 3-0 (1st)
S2: @Mylderm (UR) W 2-1 (2nd)
S3: vs Milchama (39) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington W 2-1 (1st)
S4: vs Liventia (15) - The Diamond in The Gardens, New Washington L 1-2 (2nd)
----------------BREAK TIME----------------
S5: @Kriegiersien (18) W 2-1 (2nd/10-5/+39RD)
S6: @Muralos (UR) - Venko Field, Okcidenta-Havenurbo W 2-1 (2nd)
S7: vs Mylderm (UR) - Rounders Field, Portside W 3-0 (2nd)
----------------BREAK TIME----------------
S8: @Milchama (39) L 1-2 (2nd)
S9: @Liventia (15) - Port Cartfort Park, Port Cartfort W 3-0 (2nd)
S10: vs Kriegiersien (18) - Rounders Field, Portside

by **Brookstation** » Thu Dec 16, 2021 5:07 am

This video was uploaded on Wetube on Scott Parker's channel on 2nd January 2022

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned in the video was based on my personal opinions. Anything in this video doesn't reflect on the Brook Baseball Association's opinions.

Happy New Year everybody !! Let us all hope that this year is a positive one. Moving on to the point, this has been a heck of a tournament. I understand that thrilling tournaments are good but don't you all think that this is too much of suspense ? We are at a do or die situation !! This upcoming series is going to display everything. All our players efforts throughout the tournament are just dependent on this series. We are going to face the Equestrian States at home, here in Halebid and we need to produce the exact same result like last time. We need to washout The Equestrian States and keep our faith on the Sherpa Empire. I am literally getting shivers at this point of time. I don't know whether I'll be able to watch the match properly on that day. Not only do I have to hope that we win all the matches but at the same time I have to constantly pray for The Sherpa Empire and check my phone for the results.

Last series was finally something that went in our favour after a terribly long time. The first match didn't go well and we ended up losing. At that stage, all of us had lost our hopes. We had died from the coldness. There was no fire to light up hope. As freaking usual, Brookstation started on a positive note by scoring a double run thanks to an error on the side of old Seanna-Seven Joudlven. There were some really old aged people in the Sevendian squad, which gave us some advantage but when was the last time, Brookstation actually utilised these advantages ? Hibernation period started shortly when Harris was caught at second base by Hulven and brought an end to the first innings. Sevendia started pretty late in the fourth innings when Ölddrawven hit a home run and Seventy-seven scored on Muggeven's run. I don't understand why our pitchers made it convenient for the Sevendians. They could've simply pitched the ball lower which would have made it difficult for the seven foot tall people to score. But instead they believed too much in 'fair play' and pitched the balls higher than usual, making it easy for them to score. Goghven reached home base before getting caught in the fifth innings which gave them the lead. Brookstation for once levelled the score thanks to a great double from Malouf which allowed Jensen to reach home base just by a split second. It seemed that the match would definitely move into extra innings but NO !! Seven foot tall, Gomeven hit a home run and turned the table entirely. I literally burst into tears. A team which didn't score in the last three innings, suddenly come up and hit a home run. But thats not all. The story isn't over yet. Following the home run, Dragonven singled, Ölddrawven reached second base and yes, Goghven of course scored. Everything was over so soon. I just couldn't believe it. This was really the end.

I was reluctant to watch the second game but there was something within me which developed my urge to watch the match. Oh my god, such a boring match. I never knew such a boring match could ever exist. Six innings passed by, time passed by, tides passed by, but no runs were scored. In the fourth innings, Seventy-seven hit a high shot towards the centre which almost fell in the hands of Brandon Townsend but unfortunately enough it just crossed the boundary and gave Sevendia the lead of the game. Brookstation this time went into hibernation at the very beginning of the match and scored no runs for eight straight innings. It was now down to the last innings and now everyone thought it was time to say goodbye to the World Baseball Classic when suddenly Brookstation woke up from their sleep and decided to equalize. Moore hit a shot toward the left which hit the boundary and that gave Rippepi sufficient time to reach home base and give Brookstation their first run in the very last innings. Match moved into extra innings and in the 10th innings, Kollman homered to the left and the ball travelled all the way and landed on the hands of a man who didn't give the ball back. Brookstation had done it. I mean seriously ? Sleeping throughout the game and then scoring in the very last two innings ? Couldn't you all have done it a little earlier ? I mean it would've helped a lot.

The third match was going to be the deciding one of the series as usual. Brookstation started the scoring in their third innings. Malouf first hit a home run. Then in that very innings Mitchell got an RBI single which made the score 2-0. Sevendia also scored in their third innings. The fourth innings saw saw Connor Harris, the captain do something very unusual. He hit a home run with two runners at base. Yes, a 3 run home run which changed the flow of the match. Brookstation now led by 4 runs. An extraordinary pitching performance by the team halted Sevendia from increasing their runs. It was the last innings when Sevendia's Gomeven hit a home run and brought an end to the match. Brookstation had finally won another series after two staight losses to Abanhfleft and Sherpa Empire. But things weren't over yet. Brookstation was not in the top two yet. There was another series to come and that was going to tell whether Brookstation would make it to the playoffs. The ponies and furrets will come to Brookstation and this is going to be intense, guys. If you are watching this video, then make sure to come to the stadium at all costs. I want a huge crowd at Halebid as cheering and supporting them is the only way we can help. Will we do or die ? Be sure to comment down below. I don't know guys, keep the spirit up.

World Baseball Classic 53 Everything Thread

Batter Up!: Shorter Summaries (@Milchama)

Batter Up!: Shorter Summaries (@Liventia)

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